2018 Richmond Half Marathon Race Recap

This was the second year I ran the Richmond Half Marathon.  (Here's my recap for the first year I ran the race in 2016.)  This year was slightly different because I drove down with my parents the morning before the race so I had the chance to go to the expo to get my packet myself and see the vendors.  I was also determined (and a little nervous) to hit my scary goal of 2:15 for a half marathon.

The expo wasn't really as exciting as I had imagined.  It had a lot of the usual running vendors, but the majority were local for home improvement, and LASIK eye surgery (two booths, right near each other too.)  So my Dad and I basically speed walked through everything.  I was excited to see a booth for 73 Threads and got to talk to the owners a little bit.  I also got to see Dan, another Balega employee who I used to see at a lot of the DC and Maryland race expos.  We then continued on to get our race shirts, which is another strong point for this race.  The shirt is a really nice quality moisture wicking fabric and the printed design is pretty similar to the medal and blanket you receive as a finisher.

The expo was also pretty unremarkable even in terms of freebies.  We got a bag of cashews and a first aid kit when we got our shirts and there were also coupons thrown in which we couldn't use since they were for the Richmond area.  (Like a coupon for Whole Foods that was good only at one specific location close to the race.)  From the vendors we got a cowbell, bandaids, and a tube of sunscreen that looks like lip balm.

So once we got checked into the hotel, I started to lay out everything I would need for the next morning.  The weather was going to be absolutely perfect--in the low 40s at the start when its been at or below freezing the last few years of this race.

Ready as I’ll ever be! Let’s do this 😀 Hoping to PR and it should be a good day for it! Low 40s at the start and sunny ☀️ . . #runrichmond #richmondhalf #oisellevolee #oisellevolèe #flystyle #balegaimpi #balegaimpi2018 #balegabestsocksever #hshive #nuunlife #pickybars #aftershokz #rungoodr #runhappy #flatrunner #oiselleteamdmv

A post shared by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Nov 9, 2018 at 7:20pm PST

Then I had dinner with my parents at an Italian restaurant within walking distance of our hotel.  (I highly recommend getting reservations ahead of time as soon as you can.)  Afterwards we walked back to the hotel and had a generally low-key evening in anticipation of the next morning.

I had a great view of the finisher's area from our hotel.  I woke up in the morning feeling decent, but not great.  My IT band was feeling a bit twitchy and spasmed a couple times during the night and woke me up.  I was not sure if my body would be able to hit a new PR, but mentally I was ready to see what my legs could do.  We were so close to the start that we walked over at 7am.  (Being able to use a real bathroom so close to the start was amazing!)  

Obligatory pre-race selfie!

My Dad and I essentially walked straight to our respective corrals since by the time we got to the starting area the race announcer was urging everyone to get ready to run.  All the waves (at least leading up to mine) left at the time posted on the website.  

The miles were kind of a blur.  I mostly followed the run/walk intervals on my Garmin (2 minutes of running, 30 seconds of walking) except if I was going up some of the hills that were steep.  (The race is generally downhill, but there are still a couple good inclines throughout, especially at the halfway point through the park.)  I aimed to keep my pace at or below the 10:17 pace needed to hit my goal of 2:15.  Generally I managed to keep it up or at least make up for lost time on some of the harder miles.  And I was pretty much ready to be done by mile 8/9, but somehow I managed to pull it together and kept that as my slowest mile the whole race.

I was super happy to see the small Oiselle race signs, because I knew it meant the Volee cowbell corner was coming.  Caitlin (one of the leaders for the DMV chapter of the Volee) managed to get a great picture as I ran past!

I was so happy to see a familiar face and knew that seeing her meant I was almost done.  That -5.5% downhill for the last tenth mile felt glorious, but it was also frustrating because people were clumping up while also slowing down so it was hard to get around them.

Once I crossed the finish I hit the stop button on my Garmin and was shocked.  It said 2:16:20!  So close to my scary goal.  Within sight of the scary goal.  At first I was really frustrated that I was so close.  If only I had gone a little bit faster per mile.  If I didn't slow down so much during mile 8.  I kept going over all the "what ifs" in my head as I got my medal, hat and blanket.  As I walked towards the bridge and post-race snacks I tried to shut down that talk.  I had an amazing race.  I had shaved off over 9 minutes off my previous PR from two years ago when I left the hotel room thinking I might not even get close to a PR.

I did the thing!!! Another PR in the books: 2:16:20!!! If my Garmin says I ran 13.22, and the last .22 took me 1:42...does that still mean I broke 2:15? 🤔 Had fun this morning and was a little unsure of what would happen. When I woke up this morning my it band was feeling twitchy and that’s when I started to get really nervous. (It was even feeling twitchy at the starting line so I did some stretches, massaged it, and tried some hip openers.) I still kicked this race’s butt and for the rest of the year it’s time for shorter races to focus on! 🙌 (Maybe I’ll finally hit that sub-30 5k I’ve been chasing?) . . #runrichmond #richmondready #oisellevolèe #oiselleteamdmv #richmondhalf #hshive #teamzensah #nuunlife #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador

A post shared by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on Nov 10, 2018 at 10:52am PST

Overall, I would totally recommend this race. The expo is probably the weakest part of the whole race.  The race itself is fantastic and basically made for PRs since it's generally downhill with a lovely downhill to the finish.  (The marathon bills itself as one of the top Boston Marathon qualifiers!)  The crowds are amazing.  The swag is always great too.  If you're thinking about it, just go sign up! 

2018 Across the Bay 10k Race Recap

This was my fifth year running the Across the Bay 10k.  (Here are my previous recaps for 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.)  It's essentially a race across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Annapolis onto Kent Island.  The bridge can be really scary for Washingtonians headed to the Maryland and Delaware beaches because it's really high above the water.  Running it is a totally different experience and I really enjoy it!

Like previous years, the expo was held at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, MD.  Most years you walk in what I would consider the main entrance side, get your bib then walk around to the further side to get your shirt and race merch.  This year you started at the backside of the stadium, get your bib where vendors used to be, and shirts were just before the vendors towards the usual entrance to the stadium.  Not a big deal since either way you end up walking the perimeter of the stadium.  Bib and shirt pickup went really quickly as usual with barely any lines (I usually go after the lunchtime rush so 12:30/1:00 on the first day of the expo.)  The official race merch was a little underwhelming with nothing that I was really eager to buy.  It was more of the same things we've seen in previous years like mugs, keychains, and shirts with race participant names on it.  Charm City Run (a race sponsor and the company who runs the bag check) had a HUGE booth and brought in a lot of different vendors like Balega along with bringing in plenty of their own merchandise from their Annapolis location including race themed shirts.  There were also the usual vendors--a generic running gear store and Geico insurance, but nothing new or notable.  I ended up leaving just with my race shirt, parking pass and bib.  Once I got home, people started pointing out the typo on the race shirt.

The shirt generally was pretty blah this year.  Short sleeved.  Nothing on the back.  This was it.

The typo is in the lower left corner.  Ann is supposed to have an E on the end.

The night before the race I laid out my clothes, all my gear and filled up my hydration pack.  Like previous years, I wore leggings, a tank top and a light(ish) long sleeve top.  It was supposed to be a beautiful day in the upper 40s at the start, but it is always windy at the top of the bridge.  (Pro tip:  Even if you wear shorts year round, with the wind I highly recommend keeping any exposed skin covered.)

On race morning, I left plenty early from my house and drove the half hour to Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD.  I arrived at 6:15 and got a parking space without any issue and walked over to the shuttles.  This part took the usual additional 20ish minutes to get to the starting area.  I used the portajohn (there's rarely ever a line and if there is, it's not long) and headed around the Northrop Grumman building to the starting area.

After a selfie in front of the beautiful sunrise...

And a picture of the bridge...

It was time to head over to the start!

The course was the same as in previous years (let's face it:  The course is over a bridge.  It's hard to deviate.)  I was determined to PR this year, but hoping to finish in under an hour.  My first mile was awesome--10:09 but I didn't want to go out too fast so I pulled it back and ran the second mile in 11:02 (it was also the worst of the 3% incline.)  With the next two miles downhill, I hit them in 9:31 and 9:21 (negative splits!) but by the time the bridge had started to flatten out and we had the gentle uphill to get to the finish I was feeling tired and ready to be done.  I had come to terms with the race being a 10k PR but not under an hour.  The next two miles were 10:13 and 10:06 (negative splits again!) and my pace for the final 0.2 was 8:38!

Final time?  1:02:44!  A PR and within sight of my sub hour 10k!

Now.  If you've read my previous race recaps, you know I'm honest in my reviews.  I don't get easily upset with a race or its organizers.  This time?  I was upset.

After crossing the finish we were handed a medal.  I said to the volunteer that it was the wrong medal.  They assured me that it was correct.  Why was it wrong?  Because it was supposed to be the end piece that we've been promised for 5 years.  We voted earlier in the year for an end piece medal.  This is a screenshot from their Facebook page of the winning design.

What was different about the medal I received?  There was a notch for another medal.

I was ready to be done with the connecting medals.  There are other races on the same day/weekend that I'd like to try.  It would be nice to be able to go up do a day trip NYC to spectate the marathon.  After devoting a total of 5 years to this race and being told this would be the last year for connecting medals and being shown that it would be the last year on social media, I was (and still am) irritated.

After explaining this to a fellow runner who didn't understand, we were funneled through the snacks.  There were a mounds of food with more options than I've seen in awhile.  There were tables with pretzels, bananas, fruit snacks (the big vendor sized bags), fruit cups, pineapple juice (that's a new one!) and of course plenty of water.  After walking through I walked past the vendors, but I was anxious to get home and watch the NYC marathon.  I ran into a friend and chatted with him a little bit before heading to the buses to get back to the parking lot.

Then came snafu (and gripe) number 2 of the morning.

For the first time, I managed to get on a bus where the driver got lost.  I had heard stories about it, but it finally happened to me.  It took us at least an hour and a half to get back to the parking lot, when it should've taken half that even when accounting for traffic and the race course being in the way.  After five years of this race you would think organizers would print directions for the bus drivers.  Nope!  Our bus driver took us on a tour of downtown Stevensville (cute little town that I'm sure would be fun to explore under different circumstances) before finally just following the other buses to get to Route 50 and back across the bridge.  Once were finally on the bridge, we saw the final runners and the sag bus.

The whole time on the bus I ate my post-race snacks and kept refreshing my twitter feed following what was happening in NYC.  Fortunately by the time I got back to my car, it was clear I would still have plenty of time to catch the first finishers across the finish line so at least I had that going in my favor.  I got home just in time to see Mary Keitany cross the finish line then Vivian Cheruiyot, followed by Shalane Flanagan (who won the women's division in 2017.)

As of this posting, Ironman (the organizers of the race) have not said anything about the medal snafu.  Lots of comments have been left on their Facebook page and Ironman has stayed completely silent.  Despite getting lost on the bus and being upset about the medals, it seems as if I still had a better experience than others.  (The race ran out of everything--medals, water, and snacks.)

Overall, I'm on the fence as far as if I can recommend this race after this year.  We were told this would be the last year for connecting medals and they put another notch in the medal for next year's medal.  The course isn't going to change much (if at all), but it is perfect for a personal record in the distance because so much of the race is downhill.  It's definitely worth running/walking at least once for the experience because when the weather cooperates the scenery is amazing.  For some people, the mistakes I've mentioned may be a dealbreaker.  Personally I'm undecided.  When I was getting my first degree in Communications, my crisis communications professor told us the first rule is to tell the truth early and tell it often.  If the organizers choose to make a statement about the 2018 race, I will be more than happy to add it to this recap.  But until then, I will wait until I make any decisions about my participation in the 2019 race.

Edit to add on 1/12:  There's a rumor if you've completed the 5 races and email the race organizers, they'll send you a new end piece medal.  I've asked a few friends who have already gotten in contact with them before me and they have yet to receive their new medal.

Thrifty Thursday for January!

Happy New Year!  I'm going to celebrate by showing you guys some of my latest thrifting finds!

Since this time of year I wear tank tops for layering under sweaters and working out (mostly indoors) they get used year round in my wardrobe.  This one felt really comfortable and I love the back!

It mixes it up just a little bit from my usual racerback tank but still within my comfort zone!  And it's just begging to be paired with a fun hoodie or sweater.

Athleta Essence Double Tank:  Originally $54, paid $5

Love a good hoodie this time of year because I am ALWAYS cold.  Title Nine is a company out of California that we don't see much on the east coast so when I see the label or the logo I definitely give the garment a closer look.  The quality is generally on par with Athleta, Oiselle and even Lululemon.  They have their own in-house brand but they also carry a wider range of products from other manufacturers.  (They also tend to rename products from other manufacturers, so if you see something you like definitely do some extra research.  Case in point:  Oiselle's Pocket Jogger Tights, are Pockito Tights at Title Nine.  No idea why they do this.)

Title Nine Power Hoodie Full Zip:  Originally $119, paid $8

Lululemon makes a really amazing line called Swiftly--they come in long sleeves, tees (like above) and tanks.  They wick away sweat beautifully, don't really get stretched out and are a nice light weight.  I've found a few of the long and short sleeved tops in the past, but the tank remains elusive.

Lululemon Swiftly Tech Short Sleeve Tee:  Originally $58, paid $7

I'm starting to find some formerly hard to find brands more often.  One of those brands is Prana.  Their clothes are durable, made with sports/athleisure in minds and the short inseam is perfect.  So when I came across a second pair of pants in my size I grabbed them. (The first pair was featured in my December 2017 Thrifty Thursday post.)

Prana Jenna Pants:  Originally $89 (as of this posting, on sale for $44.50), paid $8

I love Athleta's casual wear almost as much as their athletic wear.  It's always SO comfortable and these pants have a convertible inseam so I can customize them without breaking out my sewing machine.

Athleta Shasta Pants:  Originally $98, paid $7

Anyone have any good thrifting finds?  Any good races coming up?  Next week I'm starting to  train for the Shamrock Dolphin Challenge in Virginia Beach over St. Patrick's Day weekend.  And don't worry--I'm also working on those last few race recaps from last year!