I ran the Delaware Half Marathon -- part of the Delaware Marathon Running Festival -- on May 13th (mothers day).
I have never really been to Delaware to speak of so I did not really know what to expect. I've driven through the state and really did not think there was much to this state. OK so I didn't really see Delaware this day either but... I will have to say I was impressed.
The start/end of the race is located along the river. The first 2 miles of the race you run along the river (at first it was weird as it was in a business park) that looks like it is being developed and is really cute with some neat shops and restaurants -- I think I would like to check this out sometime for fun (well maybe when I have someone to check it out with!).
This was my 3rd half marathon and so far my favorite. I also ran Broad street one year. The other races were HUGE! OK running with 30,000 other people has some perks because you are never alone but ... I don't know this race had all the amenities those big races have but better. Prior to the race it was like a big party with music and stuff. They even had water and bananas out for people -- maybe other stuff too I did not explore too much. The weather was perfect (to start) too so that might have been another plus.
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| Half Marathon Training group from Fleet Feet North Wales |
There are a lot of details about the day that I will leave out. My fueling was good and I felt well prepared for the race. The weather did get a little hot but the course has a lot of shade. There are a few hills -- yes and they were killer -- but the course is great. A large portion is run through a park and very cute neighborhoods. There are a lot of turns but I think they did a great job to keep it interesting as 13.1 miles is not a walk in the park. There are also 3 other races going on -- you have the marathoners that start first and do 2 loops of the 13.1 course. Than there are 2 relays of the marathon -- 4 person and 8 person teams. Truly something for everyone. A great first race I think for many.
OK so as far as running -- well not much to say. I felt kind of bloated the whole race ... still have to work on perfecting my pre-race plan to eliminate this in the future. But I did what I wanted to do, which was beat my last half time of 2:14:03 -- my time at this race was 2:09:29! Not too bad...I walked more than I should have and probably didn't push as much as I could have --the difference between racing and running!
By Wednesday I felt great and ready to run again -- went out for a short run on Tuesday just to loosen the muscles. I think it was probably the fastest recovery I have had from a long race! Hmmm must be doing something right!
Up next Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon on June 2nd -- my goal is to run faster than 2:09:29! I think I can do it but will I?
