Race Report - Chilly Half Marathon

Chilly Half Marathon
Newton, MA
Start time 7:30am
Temp at start, 45 degrees, mostly cloudy
Chip time 2:44:37


So this was it. The 12th & final half marathon of my 12 1/2 in '12 challenge. A fun fact about this challenge: it's not a real thing. I came up with the idea during a half marathon I was running March, one month out from running the Boston Marathon. We were on a step-back week, which basically means the mileage for the weekly long runs drops down after increasing for 2-3 weeks. I had just run a 20-mile race 2 weeks before this half marathon, so this week was my easy week. Pfft, sounds kinda pretentious, right? Anyway, during that half, I felt no pressure at all. It really felt like a short run to me, and I remember somewhere around mile 8 being struck with this idea that the half marathon distance was just so... manageable. I could easily do races like these every month. You barely need to disrupt your regular schedule, since you'll be home before lunch time, and what's more, once you're already trained to run this distance, you can just maintain that fitness level by continuing to do one a month. Genius! I wanted to be clear on this 12 1/2 in '12 business, because last week a friend asked me for more information about it because she had a friend who was thinking about doing it next year. I told her that there wasn't much to tell since I just made it up. We both shared a chuckle when we realized that she thought this was an ACTUAL challenge. Nope, just me, playing Queen of the World, watching a movie starring me, myself and I.

But enough about me, let's get back to me. I had done the Chilly Half Marathon last year and after that race, I swore I'd never do it again. It's a really hilly course. Buuuut, it's in a neighboring town, and it benefits the American Liver Foundation, and the race organization and support is pretty good, and it's the last local half marathon before 2013. So I signed up again. Last year, I knew no one because it was before my affiliation with the American Liver Foundation, and I had no friends. This year, I'm like Little Miss Popular. Ok, not really, but I did have a couple of friends who were running, including Lisa and Jim, both of whom I met through the Liver Team for last year's Boston Marathon. Jim got a liver transplant 3 years ago, and this was his 14th or 15th half for the year - why stop at 12?! Another Liver Lover, Jennie, was supposed to run, but was sick, and Becca, a friend of Lisa & Jennie, was there too. Becca finished 45 minutes ahead of us, and was still there cheering for us when we turned the corner toward the finish line. There were also some Liver Lovers volunteering, so it was nice to see familiar faces before, during & after the race at various aid stations. I always used to think I was a lone wolf when it came to running. That's not true anymore. I like running with people, and not just "see ya at the end!" people, although that's nice too. My last two marathons I ran step-by-step with another person, and also didn't use my ipod at all for either one. (Truth be told, my ipod today was broken, but I still ran the whole race without it.)

I hadn't planned to run with Lisa, but before the race I said that I didn't care about my time today, so Lisa asked if I would run with her for the first couple of miles. Before we knew it, the first couple of miles turned into 13.1. That's not to say the race was easy. It wasn't. It was hard, and hilly, and my legs still hurt as I type this. But I guarantee that the race would have been even harder had I not had a running buddy.

And at the end of the day, I don't really even care that I've done twelve half marathons this year. I'm happy that I have a network of friends that I can run with, who will listen to me talk about nothing for 2 hours, especially when THEIR ipod isn't the one that's broken, and who volunteer to make a kickass cover photo for my facebook page. Thanks for a great run Lisa!