Eek. I didn’t mean to disappear for about a whole month. I wish I could say it’s because I’ve been super on top of my training, or because I’ve been doing absolutely fabulous things that made it impossible to sit down for a second and write about it. In reality, I’ve been working, A LOT, and throwing myself pity parties left and right.
But, I’m not coming back to talk about what a whiney baby I’ve been for the past month. I am here, belated as always, to recap one of my favorite races.
I love half marathons. I love the distance. I love the atmosphere and energy at the starting line and throughout the course. But what I loved most about running the New Bedford Half Marathon last weekend on St. Patrick’s Day, was the fact that my Mom ran it, too!
Several months ago, my sister, who goes to school near New Bedford, mentioned the New Bedford Half Marathon to us. While she was only joking about running the Half, my Mom and I signed up and started to get excited about her first race. My Mom followed the beginner’s training program by Hal Higdon, read Kara Goucher’s running book, and come race weekend was fully ready to cross the starting line and make her way to the finish. I couldn’t be more proud of her for completing the Half in and of itself. But what’s even more amazing is that she planned to finish in 2 hours and 36 minutes, and she crossed the finish line at 2 hours and 28 minutes (actual chip time was 2 hours and 25 minutes!). She PRed on her very first race!!
As I have been mentioning, training for me has continued to be sporadic while work has been hectic. I have tried to run as often as possible, but in this case actions speak louder than words, and I certainly have not been following through. Despite my less than adequate training, as of late, I finished the race in 2 hours 21 minutes and 46 seconds, which is only 30 second slower than my last half marathon. I was content for now, and motivated to get back in a groove so that I can PR in Nashville.
I was the annoying runner, though, that crosses the finish line and refuses to move. I anxiously waited with my iPhone camera ready to snap a picture of my Mom crossing the finish line. I couldn’t be happier at my own annoyingness because I was able to capture this:
Race Recap: I had read good things, and heard great things about the race, and it lived up to the hype. For a local race I was very impressed with the number of water stands that they had, the number of people out to support the runners, and the after party festivities.
The course was well-marked, and gave me a whole new perspective of the town of New Bedford. Prior to the race I had seen the inside of my sister’s apartment in New Bedford (which I love! – but I didn’t know what the town was like from seeing this), and I had seen the industrial areas in New Bedford. But I had not had the chance to see the downtown area or parts along the water. I loved running through the town!
I have finally learned my lesson, and now, prior to races I check course maps to see whether there will be hills or anything out of the ordinary. From the course map, I anticipated hills at the 3rd mile and at the 12thmile. My Mom and I had prepped for this, but I’m not going to lie, the hills were a little bit harder and longer than I expected. Also, I did not recall reading anything about a hill at the 2nd mile, and well, it was there! So for future New Bedford Half Marathon runners, prepare for a hill at the 2nd mile, a lengthy hill at the 3rd mile, and a never ending-borderline-unbearable hill at the 12th mile.
The water stops were perfectly placed at every two miles, and the volunteer staff was really friendly. One thing to note, though, is that fuel (Gu, ShotBloks, Powerade Gels, etc,) is not given out along the course. I always bring my own because I’m particular about brands and flavors, but I heard a few runners at the finish line say that this disappointed them. I generally would not expect to receive fuel at a race unless it is sponsored by one of the fueling product companies.
At the end of the race, the New Bedford Half Marathon Committee gave all of the runners New England Clam Chowder and Fish Sandwiches to sample the local seaport food. After running 13.1 miles in the freezing cold, this was absolutely amazing!
So, overall, I loved the New Bedford Half Marathon. I would certainly do this race again, and I’m psyched that I got to run with my Mom for her first Half Marathon!
Over the past week, I’ve been trying to get back to training. I will be posting my training/lack of training updates soon. But I am happy to say that today I ran 20 miles! 🙂 This week is the last week of the crazy season at work (hopefully). So I plan to be back to posting regularly soon.
I hope everyone has a great week!!
What I’m Running to: I love it (feat. Charli XCX) – Icona Pop
Fueled by Endorphins 
4 responses to “New Bedford Half Marathon Recap”
Lori, I'm not going to lie……I'm pretty jealous reading your recap. I was supposed to run New Bedford as part of my marathon training, but had to skip it due to my stupid heel injury. I ran it back in 2009, and while I remember the long hill between miles 12 and 13, it was actually the big one at mile 3 that kicked my ass! The hill at the end is longer, but the crowds totally pulled me through…..I was looking forward to experiencing that again, but it'll have to wait until next year. Glad you had such a great time!
Hi Bill! I'm so sorry to hear that you weren't able to do the New Bedford Half. That's a really good point about the crowds between 12 and 13. As tough as it was everyone's enthusiasm really helped. A few people gave me high-fives and it's actually unbelievable how much that makes me run faster. I hope that you are resting up and your heel is all better for the Vermont Marathon!
Hey love! Sounds like we both took an extended time-out for March. I hope things are going well 🙂
I LOVE that you waited around to take that picture at the finish line – love it!
CONGRATS on the half!!
Thank you so much! 🙂 For some reason it has been so hard to get back into the swing of things.
I hope you are feeling much better and that everything is going well!