Trenton Half Marathon (11/9) Recap: Saving the best (half of 2013) for last

I'm a bit behind on race recaps, but this was the final half of 2013 so I guess that's partly why I've been postponing writing it up (and life getting the way).  This was the first year I ran the Trenton Half, we were supposed to run the 10K last year but kiddo woke up that morning with a very high fever so I didn't get to run. Coming off the Princeton Half 6 days before I wasn't sure how I was going to feel so I didn't come up with a race plan, the plan instead was to see how I felt and adjust accordingly.

Clothes laid out the night before and ready to go.

Since this race is a local race for me, I was excited because my extended family and friends were going to see me run and I was going to be one of 700+ members of Black Girls Run taking part in the race. 

Getting good luck licks from our doggie before heading to the start

I though I would preserve my legs and walk over to the hotel to catch the shuttle to the start. I should have just walked because there was only one bus going from the hotel to the start, which was packed every loop they did.

Finally getting on the bus (30 minutes later)

Between the shuttle being delayed and getting through bag check, I missed the group photo.  I got this one of me before the start.

Ready to go (if not a bit cold)

We got lined up in the corrals, the mood was decidedly different than Princeton, with people chatting with each other, pumping each other up.

In the corral ready to go

I decided my only race plan was to stay ahead of the 11 min mile pacer for as long as I could.  The race started and we were off. I will say running on roads I normally drive on is a very different (and cool) experience and it also is useful to know the course and where I am in the race.  

One highlight of the race was seeing my friends and family in our neighborhood. Talk about a high and having people cheering for you for almost a mile.  If for no other reason this is why I would totally recommend hometown races.

And friends make awesome signs.

And I get to have my family cheer me on (kiddo and I are wearing matching skirts) photos from two angles

I definitely felt good for 2 miles after the runner love from my family and friends. For this race I decided not to run with my runmeter (my phone dies by the end of the race when I use it) and instead with my timex watch as a timer.  Doing it this way gave me something to think about at each mile marker and also gave me an idea of where my time would be at the finish (and a Garmin watch is on my Christmas list, for now this works just fine).  My body was feeling pretty good until about mile 11 when my hips started to get tight and fatigued, I knew I was really in the home stretch and just needed to dig deep and finish since this was the last half until January.  Coming into the stadium for the finish, my family was there cheering for me which was just the final energy push I needed before the last lap around the outfield. 

My mom (red coat) and daughter cheering me on in the final stretch

Coming up on the finish line I could see that I was going to beat my Princeton Half time by 4 minutes, I had a little bit left at the end to pick up the pace and I crossed the finish strong.

Crossing the line!

So I ended up with a time of 2:24:00 and a new PR from the previous week! I picked up my medal, met my family for some photos with my daughter, picked up my warm clothes from bag check and then got ready for the kids race.  

Happy kiddo and momma

As long as I kept moving, my legs were not feeling too sore.  I knew that if I sat down, I would not be getting back up again for a while.  So we got kiddo lined up for the kids race (one lap around the stadium for the little kids) and she asked to run it with me, my husband would be taking photos while we ran.  The race started and kiddo and I were off.  

Happy Kiddo Running

She was so excited to run this race by herself and crossed the finish line strong!  We are very proud of her.  

We picked up her medal and then met our family so she could show them what she accomplished. 

Another medal to add to her collection (and mine too)

And then we caught the shuttle back towards our house where my legs finally said they had enough.  Good thing my mom was here to give me a quick massage :)

Love her!

So this experience was very different from the last one with the support of fellow runners, family and friends. I'll definitely have this race on my list for next year (and maybe not do 2 half marathons in 6 days or maybe not 2 half marathons with PR's). 

Is your fall racing season over? What are you looking forward to next?