Richmond Half Marathon 2019 – East Coast Appetite

Richmond 8K 2019 Race Report

November 22, 2019November 21, 2019Posted in Race Recaps, Richmond Half Marathon 2019, Running, Training, VirginiaTagged 5 Miler, 8k, Races, Richmond, Richmond 8K, Running, RunRichmond, Training4 Comments

My action shots from MarathonFoto are so awful, so there aren’t many photos to share. But I had a really great race, despite it being only my 2nd in the last 9 months. The others were Al Gordon in February where I was sick, then a tuneup 5K last weekend. And of course, many months of being injured in between. I’m so glad this was my comeback! I was hemming and hawing about doing the half in Richmond but knew that I wouldn’t PR and didn’t feel extra ready for the distance as my long runs had dropped off since mid-October. Plus, by the time I signed up, the half cost $100 and the 8K was only $40. Done!

After flying in Thursday night and going to bed at the late hour of 11pm, I skipped doing a shakeout on Friday. After picking up my packet, I ate way too much at ZZQ, Richmond’s new Texas-style BBQ joint. Then I had some pasta for dinner and slept poorly until my 5am wakeup call. The 8K went off right at 7am, so I hopped out for a 1 mile warmup and settled into the corrals. Times under 48 minutes were Corral 1, and I was shooting for 43. My previous 5 mile best time was 43:28 and I was pretty sure I could get this under an 8:43 pace.

Screen Shot 2019-11-20 at 3.34.43 PM — Those Splits tho

I met a fellow NYC-er in the corrals and we chatted for 5 minutes, then we were off! I took it out a smidge too fast then got concerned on mile two (plus that mile had the most elevation increase). Then after the turn onto Mulberry and move to Grace Street came the cobblestones. At one point, my foot got temporarily lodged into one and I stumbled. That was a real adrenaline rush and I recovered then was able to speed it up on the fourth mile. Then came the real downhills. I remembered the finish from running the Richmond Marathon two years ago and loved it again.

Screen Shot 2019-11-20 at 3.38.34 PM.png — Flying downhill

Screen Shot 2019-11-20 at 3.39.09 PM — PR Victory!

I was done by 7:43 and met my parents at the post-finish party. I rang the PR bell, ate a banana and my Dad kindly purchased me some Richmond gear to warm me up until we got back to the car. My pockets are bulging with the snacks I took at the end, though I skipped the Papa John’s pizza this time.

Then I met up with college girlfriends and we ate amazing food at Perch.

If my lottery entries for Berlin and NYC in 2020 are both no-gos, then I am strongly considering running the Richmond full again. I recommend their race series to everyone.

Richmond 2019 Training

November 14, 2019November 14, 2019Posted in Chicago, Food, New York State, NYC, Puerto Rico, Richmond Half Marathon 2019, Running, TrainingTagged 8k, Chicago, distance running, Richmond, Running, TrainingLeave a comment

This post originally titled Richmond Half 2019 Training and was supposed to cover everything in September, but then I never published it in September. Or October. My running has been pretty good (some weeks higher in mileage than others) but I’ve kept my weekend long runs right around 10 miles for the most part. Essentially, I feel like I could run a half at any time, but I couldn’t hit a PR. I got medical clearance from my doctor and PT to run a half this fall/winter (but not a full marathon, which is fine). But the consistency of training never really happened. So I’m just going to do the 8K in Richmond on 11/16/19.

I moved out of Brooklyn in September and have been exploring Central Park a lot more. There are so many paths and trails and things to see (namely waterfalls) off the main 6-mile path. My goal is to run them all, plus run the entire perimeter of the park on 5th Avenue and Central Park South/West/North. It’s a lot easier to get to the many NYRR and other races in Central Park now, so I’ve popped by to cheer on friends or pace long runs.

In late September, I did a Tracksmith-sponsored long run in Rockefeller Park State Preserve and loved hitting the trails. The hills were killer, but I stayed steady and on the slower side. Obviously I wore Tracksmith.

I went to Chicago in mid-October to spectate the marathon (for the third time in four years) and see friends from across the country and eat deep dish pizza. I ran a Nike-sponsored 4×800 race at Soldier Field and was pleased enough with my time. If anything, it made me want to get back to the track a bit more. In my injury-prone state, I haven’t been doing much speed work. Also, our team met Colleen Quigley!

Fall by the numbers:

Longest long run: 11 miles

Fastest speed: I hit 10 mph (a 6:00 minute mile) for maybe a minute during a Barry’s Bootcamp treadmill session and didn’t die or fly off the treadmill

I ran my first race since February, a 5K on Randall’s Island in 26:26, about 90 seconds off my PR.

I ran in Saratoga Springs NY, Chicago IL, and San Juan Puerto Rico.

Plus, I went to a driving range for the first time in over a decade, got into sourdough bread baking, am a happy owner of a Theragun, and kept up eating delicious stuff all over town (and other places).

Piña colada and red snapper in Old San Juan

Deep dish pizza and the best salad at Lou Malnati’s in Chicago

Pre-Richmond Half Training Weeks

September 10, 2019September 7, 2019Posted in Richmond Half Marathon 20192 Comments

With the approval of my physiatrist and physical therapist, I’m hoping to race the Richmond Half November 16th. I still need to see my sports medicine doctor again and plan to keep going to PT, but am feeling hopeful overall. This will be my first fall in a few years without training for a full marathon. It’ll be nice to have some of the time back (no 3 hour long runs) but still get in some time running with friends.

I only ran once on my trip to Austin, but boy did I eat well. I also finally checked out Barton Springs; the cold water is amazing for recovery on a hot day.

Once back in NYC, I got to do a longish run during SummerStreets, which got me up to 7 miles with quite a few stops for water, Nuun, and free snacks. I kept bumping into people, which was delightful. I got to run and catch up with several PPTC folks. One such catch-up made the PPTC instagram, thanks to Elle. I wore my cool new Tracksmith singlet since I haven’t gotten to wear it for a race yet. A little concerned that it won’t be singlet weather once I can actually race, but hopefully I can layer it over a long-sleeve.

I managed to get in some cross training, though very much need to keep up with strength and do more regular yoga. I went back to my first barre class in a year or two and had a blast, despite all the push-ups.

Skewers, soup dumplings, and pad see eww at HK Food Court

And that brings us up to Week 1 (8/26) of a 12-week training plan for the Richmond Half. More to come!