Third Time’s a Charm City

I’m going to start by saying this:  I didn’t PR, and I was 7 minutes off my next worst time for this course.

Good.  Now that that’s out of the way, lets talk about how this was the most enjoyable half-marathon I’ve ever run.  

This was my third attempt at the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival Half-Marathon.  I’ve participated in this festival 4 times now, running the half twice before.  This year, every race sold out: the Full Marathon, the Half-Marathon, the Marathon Relay, the 5k and the Kid’s Fun Run.  Over 22,000 particpants in total! 

Boyfriend and I drove up to Baltimore on Friday night to stay at my parents house the night before.  Between traffic and getting out of work a little late, we didn’t arrive until close to 9pm.  Quick visit with the folks and I was off to bed.

Saturday morning, I got up around 6:30, took the dog out and had my daily breakfast of oatmeal with protein powder in it.  Got dressed and ready to go.

 
The forecast at the start said  55* and windy, but sunny.   I dug through my Goodwill bag and came up with a couple items to wear over my racing clothes that I would toss at the start line.  I’m pretty sure the Kenyan who won wore the same outfit at the start.

Someone else was really happy to be up at 6:30 on a Saturday!

We hopped in the car and drove downtown.  Funny, it’s about 13 miles from my parents house in the ‘burbs to the Inner Harbor area.  We joked that  I should have just run home!

Quick stop at Panera for their  -ahem-  facilities and a bagel sandwich for Boyfriend.

Walking over to the start area 

We meandered around a little bit because we had a bit of time before my race started and eventually made our way over to Sliders where my friend Jen was meeting up with her Charm City Run running group.  (Oops except Sliders is out of frame off to the right. Ha!)

This was Jen’s first half-marathon since her ACL surgery last year!  It was a total bummer for her to have to take so much time off after surgery and rehab but she was back in action this year!

P.S. Isn’t her band cute?  We discussed how we both have odd shaped heads and those bands normally just pop off the back of our heads.  She said that this one stayed in place the entire race!  Now I want one!

We gathered our things and headed over to the start.

I’m ready! (‘cept I still had to take those glasses off) 

I lined up at the start, jogged in place to keep warm and yelled “O!” during the National Anthem as all good Baltimorons do. The gun went off at 9:45, Ke$ha’s “Your Love Is My Drug” started on my playlist  and I was off! 

I lost Jen on the walk over to the start line but we were in different waves anyway, so I knew we weren’t going to start together.  Imagine my surprise when a quarter mile into the race, I found her!  She somehow ended up in my corral and just went with it.  We ran together for 2 miles and then I peeled off a little bit.  It was very enjoyable to run with her and in retrospect, I wish we had stuck together the whole time! 

I chose not to run with my Garmin watch because I didn’t want to be obsessively checking my pace.  I did run with a stopwatch just to keep time, and once I realized around mile 6 that I was not on pace for a PR, I let go.   I let go and just smiled.  I let go and just ran with my fellow athletes.  I let go and darted to the side to slap high-fives with the spectators.   I let go and looked around at the scenery of Baltimore on a gorgeous fall morning.  I let go and  smiled and clapped and cheered back at the locals cheering us on.  I let go and let myself be surrounded by the city that I called home for 29 years and sometimes forget that I miss. 

I loved its dirty grungy gritty urban-ness.  I loved the woman running the race with a beehive hairdo and a Todd Heap jersey.  I loved the spectators passing out cups of Natty Boh at mile 9.  I loved running past boarded up rowhomes one minute and Ruth’s Chris the next.  I loved running into old friends from the gym, old sorority sisters from Towson, and a gal I know I went to high school with but spent most of mile 10 trying to remember her name. (…Alice?)

In my past 2 attempts at this race, Mile 11 is where it all comes unraveled.  I start shuffling and fighting with my head of just praying.for.it.to.be.over. 

This year, that never came. 

Last year, I was competitive and edgy. 

This year, around mile 11 (which happens to also be the biggest hill of the course) I started to think about how grateful I am that I have the health and stamina to be able to do this.  I began to think about the people who can’t do this because they’ve lost a limb, or they’re struggling with cancer and chemotherapy, or they’ve been hit by a car.  I became acutely aware of how grateful and humbled I am for my health and my strength.

I crossed the finish line in 2:08:07 with a smile on my face and a heart very full of gratitude.

Anyway, after the race, Boyfriend and I reconnected and caught up with Jen.  We talked about the race and I found out she only finished 2 minutes after I did!  I was very proud of her!

We said our goodbyes and we headed back to my parents house.  I hopped in a quick ice bath…

ate a sandwich…

and we hit the road back to VA.

Today, I’m not only less sore than I was last year, I’m ready to do it again. 

Third time’s a charm.