Runner's World Heartbreak HIll Half & Festival

This past weekend I participated in the Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival as a Hat Trick participant. This meant that I was running a 5k and a 10k on Saturday then a half on Sunday. I was worried about how I would hold up doing back to back races, but I knew I could only do my best. This weekend was hot too.

On Friday I went to pick up my bib for the weekend. It was not super crowded which made for a quick and easy pickup process. While I was there I also signed up for the Zooma Half in Cape Cod. I've been going back and forth with it for a little while so I decided why not sign up now! It will be good training for my marathons too so it works.

On Saturday my friend Carrick picked me up and off we went into Boston. He's amazing for getting up super early on his day off to hang out in the heat while I run. We met up with my friend Kevin there, wished each other luck, then we were off. I knew I didn't want to push the 5k and was on track for a PR. By mile 2 I was feeling the heat. I pushed through and finished. I got back to my friends, ate a little bit, and was back in the corral for the 10k pretty quickly.

Kev & I before heading to the 10k.

The 10k went down Heartbreak Hill, then back up it. I can't imagine doing that at mile 20! I did get to see Shalane Flanagan on the opposite side of the street. She was shouting how good we were all doing and smiles the entire time. My knee started hurting about half way through. (This is seeming more common and more irritating every time.) I knew I needed ice at the finish. I saw Carrick right outside of BC before the finish. I sprinted to the finish. My friend Kevin couldn't believe that was me. My justification was I needed ice and that made it go by faster.










After the 10k Carrick and I hung around to watch people gather for the dog run then I went to a seminar. It was good to hear from different women about running.

After the seminar I went back to the Expo to meet Shalane Flanagan. She was autographing cards or whatever you brought with you. It was nice to just be able to say hi and be in the company of greatness.

Dream!

We left BC and grabbed some lunch. Next thing I knew I was in bed and resting for the next morning. The alarm went off too early the next morning. I got up gathered my stuff and left for BC for the half. My lovely boyfriend got up super early and drove after working late the night before. It was more crowded than the the previous day. I got really nervous before running. Sometimes I'm not nervous at all (i.e. Saturday) and other times I want to be sick over my nerves (i.e. Sunday). Luckily the nerves wore off quickly. I wasn't sure how my knee would be, but luckily it didn't. I got to see Shalane again running on the second half of the course (while I was still on the first half). She was shouting over to us again. The heat was rough and I was really feeling it by the end. There was a guy spraying us with his hose which we all loved. Actually one runner told him she loved him for it. We all needed that. All the volunteers were awesome along the course. I somehow missed the mile 11 marker (this happens a lot to me. I'm not sure why.) I knew mile 12 was Heartbreak Hill. If you look at my splits you can tell I just crumbled from the heat. I was getting texts of encouragement and I knew I needed to pick up the pace. I got over the finish line with Bart Yasso yelling my name. 

I've run a lot. I need water!

I did a lot better than I thought I would do. My body felt a lot better than I thought. I felt good the next day even! 

Hat Trick Finisher.

I can't imagine ending my 26th year any other way. I would definitely put myself through this again. Hopefully I will next year!