It’s Spring, supposedly.
PW (Personal Worst)
My first race of 2015 was the TARC Spring Thaw. Last year I came in second place by running 28.5 miles in six hours — the trail had some snow and ice, but it was minimal and manageable. This year, there was a 1-2 foot snow pack that caused ankle-tweaking postholing and just general unpleasantness. I went to the race with low expectations, and after completing one 4-mile loop of mostly walking in a long conga line of equally frustrated trail runners… I was done. One hour, 15 minutes for 4 miles… Sure, I could have done more loops, but given the scheduling constraints of the day, plus my realistic fear of damaging my ankles/lower calf in ridiculous conditions, I decided to pack it in and go run 13 hilly road miles.
This gave me a ridiculous 14.04% rank on Ultrasignup (based on the total miles of the top woman — a local legend — which was 28.5 miles). Embarrassing Internet result… but in ultrarunning, there is a very fine line ‘tween grit and foolhardiness. I am content with my 4 miles and 14.04% rank.
At the start (far right) with hardier runners than I
PR (Personal Record)
This past week, we visited family in Pennsylvania. Since all of the early-spring road half-marathons in Boston have been cancelled due to snow banks, Mr. P and I decided to look for a half-marathon around Philly… and serendiptiously found the Caesar Rodney half-marathon in Wilmington, Delaware. It was hilly, but I decided to go for a PR road half-marathon (judging my previous PR — 1:47 — to be soft).
On Sunday morning we left Little Boy with his grandparents and drive to Wilmington. We don’t go on dinner dates anymore — just half-marathon dates. And it was such a treat to go to a race with Mr. P! It was windy. Well-organized, about 1000 runners? Delaware Senator Tom Carper — who was running — gave a speech at the starting line. Over the megaphone, I couldn’t understand a word. When the race started, Mr. P ran ahead of me and I fell into a 7:30 pace, knowing the first six miles were flat and fast. The hills were madness. Still, with all the winter’s treadmill speed work, I easily attained a new PR in 1:42.
