Hyannis Half

I love a race that starts at 10 a.m. Even though I stayed an hour away, I didn't have to get up until 7. I grabbed a coffee for the drive and headed to Hyannis. The temperature was 40 but it felt rather chilly. It must have been the sea air.

I arrived pretty early and it turned out to be a good thing. I ended up waiting in the longest ladies' room line I've ever seen. I was starting to wonder if I'd even make it, but luckily I did. I hate having to pee during a race.

The start wasn't as crowded as I expected and I easily settled into my goal pace of just around 9 minutes per mile. I was running this race as a training run for IMNO 70.3 so I wanted to make it a strong effort, but not overdo it. I was a little nervous about my plantar fascia and iliotibial band since both have been acting up lately. But it turned out to be my day and aside from some minor knee pain, the race went phenomenally well.

The course took us through Hyannis and along the water with some stunning views. It was amazing to be running a race in the middle of winter and be able to taste and smell the salt air. There were just enough hills, mostly gradual ones, to make it challenging, but not overly difficult. I ran the entire race with a fellow BTer and it made the time go by incredibly fast. I've never talked the full way through a half marathon. It made a huge difference.

There were 3 races - a 10K, half marathon and marathon - all being run at the same time. We split from the 10K runners early on, but the marathon runners were doing 2 loops. There were a lot of first timers and it reminded me how special the marathon experience is.

There was a post race gathering and I got the chance to spend a great deal of time chatting with the woman who referred me to my coach. It was great to hear about her first Ironman last year and her experiences training. She has lost over 100 pounds and completely changed her life. There are some really incredible people in this sport and I had the pleasure of sharing a weekend with them.

Running (Hyannis Half Marathon)
Distance - 13.1 miles
Time - 1:57:21