The first weekend in June found me lining up at another starting line! This time, I was in my old stomping grounds of Williamsburg, Virginia for the run for the dream. The entire circus made the hour drive up to the 'Burg on Friday afternoon. We went to the Expo, got our bibs, I signed up for my race shuttle time, and we headed to the Christiana Campbell's Tavern for dinner. (That was an experience...the kids were very concerned that the "owner" didn't know about the tunnel. She asked us if we liked the ferry from Norfolk to Williamsburg.) Then it was off to Sno to Go for some yumminess.
Saturday was hot and sunny. We got on the Williamsburg bus, drove around our elbows to get to our noses, got dropped off at Merchant's Square and then walked about a mile to Zable Stadium for the kids' races. (Now, I should mention that Russ had some pretty invasive surgery on the Wednesday before this race. Riding a bus and then walking was pretty rough for him. He was a trooper!) My running friend's daughter ran the mile and the boys ran the 400 meter.
 |
| Elmo was there with Cookie Monster to cheer the kids on! |
 |
| Jeffrey Starting |
 |
| Laughing and looking where he's already been |
 |
| Jeffrey crossing the finish line |
 |
| Jacob halfway there |
 |
| Jeffrey halfway there |
 |
| Jake at the start |
 |
| Jake at the finish...he's in there, look under the R in RUN. |
We ran back to the hotel as fast as the bus could take us and FLEW to our reservation at Chickahominy House for lunch. After lunch, everyone was hot and tired and cranky. The boys and I went down to the pool while Daddy stayed in the room and took a nap.
That evening, our wonderful babysitter, who was going to help take care of the boys so I could run, came to spend the evening with us! We went to Sal's by Victor for some yummy carbolicious pasta and then back to Sno to Go....because we were so close. We headed back to the hotel for an early night.
The alarm went off at 5 on Sunday morning. I got dressed (in the dark) and then my running friend, Kris, and I got our bus to the starting line. (The bus dropped us off right at Confusion Corner, so we had a short little walk down Jamestown Road to Phi Beta Kappa Hall. That walk took me down memory lane and past my old dorms and classroom buildings.....ah...the memories.)
We had some time to kill at the start, so we sat on the steps, went into PBK to pee a few times, met some girls from the Princess Posse! (Totally random, but they are great ladies!) Then it was time to go. After the national anthem and a moment of silence for Boston, the gun went off the the Fife and Drum Corps started playing, and the race was starting.
I started out slowly. I was already hot and I knew that it was only going to get hotter. The field thinned out once we got up Jamestown Road and onto Duke of Gloucester Street. We dodged horse poop and little old ladies trying to get to church at Bruton Parish along the way. I was able to find a hole to start my intervals just before the first mile marker. We ran past the Capitol building and then back towards the College on a street parallel to DOG Street. We cut up the Palace Green toward the Governor's Palace and then turned to head out of Colonial Williamsburg. We ended up on Route 60 (I am sure the road has a name, I just don't know what it is) and my super fast friend Susan was manning a water stop in her coconut bra and grass skirt just before mile 3. (There were a LOT of themed water stops...those volunteers were having a great time!) Then we turned onto Quarterpath Road and headed back toward Route 199. This was the first hill of the race and it didn't mess around. We were on a gravel road to nowhere when all of a sudden, there was a pretty big hill and up we went. We ran around the back of Quarterpath Shopping Center (which was NOT there when I was in school) and ran on 199 to the Colonial Parkway. I texted my husband after the shopping center to let him know that I was making GREAT time!! I was ahead of the 2:45 pacer and was feeling great.
Apparently the Colonial Parkway is the great equalizer.
Once I ran down the ramp onto the Parkway, I started seeing the runners coming back from the turnaround. I really like running with those people coming toward me. I am a people watcher, so watching them run (way faster than me) helps pass the time. Right about here, George and his 2:45 pace group caught me. I was still doing my intervals, so I would catch him when he was walking up the hills. I overheard him tell someone not to waste energy on the uphills, so he would stop to walk. I figured he knew what he was doing, so I tried doing it his way. We got down to Jamestown Beach, turned around and headed back to Williamsburg.
Side note - there were 3 hills from the time we got on the Parkway until we turned around. That meant there were 3 hills on the way back. Thank goodness the Parkway is pretty shaded, or that race would have been BRUTAL. It was hard enough in the shade.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming.....At mile 9 or so, I couldn't run George's race anymore. He was walking up the hills, but then he was running faster and longer than I could keep up on the downhills and the flat sections. Trying to keep up with the 2:45 pace was too hard and took a lot out of me. At mile 10, I gassed out. I was done, but I still had 3 miles to go.
After thinking the Colonial Parkway would never, and I mean, never ever, end, we finally ramped up onto Henry Street. I was doing way more walking than running at this point, but I was still moving forward, so I thought that was pretty good. I don't remember all of the street names, but we wound around until we were on the backside of the Campus Center. We cut through and came back to Jamestown Road right by Taliaferro Hall. Then we turned onto Landrum Drive by Barrett and headed through campus. (Another side note....running through campus was the part of this race I was looking forward to the most. I was very disappointed. We ran through new campus, behind all of the buildings, up by Freshman land, past the Hall, down by the Health Center, and then up the hill (really....up the hill??) by the Lodges and into the stadium. Not the prettiest part of campus, but probably the safest for running.) The race ended with a lap around the track.
 |
| Seeing my babies! |
It was HOT in Williamsburg that day. I took Gatorade at every other water stop (because that is when it was offered) and at least one cup of water at every stop. I drank all of the water that I carried. I ate my Gu Chomps every 3 miles. I felt pretty good until mile 10. I did see a couple of people who were getting medical assistance along the route - one lady was packed in ice and a man was getting an IV. The medical staff was working overtime!
I was close to crushing my PR and finishing in 2:45 for 10 miles. I think my downfall was trying to run the pacer's race instead of my own race. I did finish in under 3 hours (barely, but it was under 3!)
Aside from the heat, it was a great race! The Expo was little, but that's okay. The kids' races were very, very well organized. The half marathon course was challenging, but the race directors did not keep that part a secret. The water stops were well staffed. There were ice cold towels and ice cold water bottles at the end of the race. The medal is great!! I am looking forward to 2014!
 |
| Me with my running (and cheering) boys |
 |
| My running friend Kris...one day I will finish with her!! |
Race Stats:
2:59:24
13.42 minute miles
From the Garmin:
WAY better than I thought at the time. It's taken me a month to get brave enough to look at the stats.
Split
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Avg Pace
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 2:59:29.2 | 13.27 | 13:32 |
| 1 | 11:26.5 | 1.00 | 11:27 |
| 2 | 12:21.8 | 1.00 | 12:22 |
| 3 | 12:37.5 | 1.00 | 12:38 |
| 4 | 12:23.7 | 1.00 | 12:24 |
| 5 | 13:26.7 | 1.00 | 13:27 |
| 6 | 12:38.0 | 1.00 | 12:38 |
| 7 | 13:23.1 | 1.00 | 13:23 |
| 8 | 12:34.9 | 1.00 | 12:35 |
| 9 | 13:29.8 | 1.00 | 13:30 |
| 10 | 15:04.4 | 1.00 | 15:05 |
| 11 | 14:34.8 | 1.00 | 14:35 |
| 12 | 15:49.6 | 1.00 | 15:50 |
| 13 | 16:20.3 | 1.00 | 16:21 |
