Plans for 2017 Half Marathons

Happy New Year!  A new year and a new slate of half marathons for 2017.  Very excited!  These are the races that I have signed up for:

January - Run to Read Half-Marathon in West Virginia on January 7th  (a new state)

February - Strawberry Plains Half Marathon in Knoxville, Tennessee on February 4th  (a new state)

March - Myrtle Beach Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach, S. Carolina on March 4th  (a new state)

April - Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon in Virginia on April 8th (a new state)

April - Asbury Park Half Marathon in Asbury Park, New Jersey on April 22nd.

May Indy 500 on May 6th (New State)

Aug.  Good Year Half Marathon, Akron Ohio (New State)

Sept - Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K/10K & Half Marathon on Sept. 9th, Vermont (New State)

October - RnR Brooklyn Half Marathon in Brooklyn, NYC on October 14th

This is a NY Half - which I could enter after my birthday:  http://www.pelhamhalf.com/

This is on my Birthday -  Gobble Wobble Half Marathon in Cumming, GA

This is where I stand at the start of this year.   10 States completed. (Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, and Michigan)


Newly added in 2017:   West Virginia (#11), Tennessee (#12), South Carolina (#13), Virginia (#14), Indiana (#15)

Brooklyn Half Marathon (Repeated State)

State #10 - North Carolina

North Carolina (State #10) done @ the Asheville Running Experience 1/2 Marathon. Man Those hills were rough!

State #9 - Michigan

Excellent race and beautiful weather. My best time this year @ 1 hour, and 56 minutes!

Race:  Race 13.1
Location:  Detroit, MI
Course: Flat and fast - around the Island
Bib: 1432
Place: 109 out of 390
Chip Time:  1:56,
Pace:  8:54
Division: M50-54 / 12th place (out of 21)
Weight:  195 lbs
Preparation:  Trained up to 11.5 miles and worked on 1-3 mile sprints. 
Expectation/Results:  Did not work too hard for this race.  Need to be more organized.

My Map is now reaching outside the North-east. :)

State #8 - Maryland

A really wet race!

This weekend I ran in the Crab Run Half Marathon and 5K in Cambridge, Maryland.   This was about a 4 hour ride and I was grateful to have my wife with me.  While we have been to Maryland before - this was our first trip to the Chesapeake Bay area.  Enjoyed the people and the area and found a nice riverside restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely meal the night before the race (Portside Seafood Restaurant). 

Just after finishing the both the half and 5K races. Felt surprisingly good!

The Race: The race was like running in Ireland.  It was very, very wet - but the scenery was breath taking. There was a steady rain without relief throughout the race.  The temperature was in the mid-forties and there was a strong wind blowing which brought the temperature even lower.   The race was organized by a small community and was a little less high tech then others races I have run in.  But it had everything a runner could ask for.   It had an adequate number of bathrooms. The mile markers were well posted, with a good number of water stations.  By the way, thanks to the volunteers which braved the weather!.  The course was great (if you could look beyond the weather) - and ran back and forth along the coast -   beautiful!  I would recommend this race just for the view. 

How I did : Even though this was grueling - I did a respectful 1 hour, and 58 minutes for the half marathon followed with a 30 minute 5k run. 

A Glitch :  There was an issue where they switched my BIB  with another runner.  I asked the timing company to switch the BIB numbers and the times (which they did quickly), however the only problem is my age is listed as 42 instead of 53 (But ---I guess I can live with that). 

                                        

Race:  Dorchester YMCA Crab Run Half Marathon
Location:  Cambridge, Maryland
Course: Flat and fast - there and back
Bib: 1082 (Half) & 193 (5k)
Place: 57 out of 134
Chip Time: Half: 1:58, 5K: 30:03
Pace:  9:02
Division: M50-59 / 8th place
Weight:  191 lbs
Preparation:  Trained up to 11 miles and worked on hills. 
Expectation/Results:  Worked harder for this race, and lost some weight.  Hoping to get close to a personal record. 

updated map

State #7 - Rhode Island

Praise God!

 First Half Marathon for 2016.  Never have I ran a race on such a cold day (mid-twenties).  But it was very scenic race and a beautiful course with a small field of runners. 




Race:  Ocean's Run  (Not a USATF-certified distance)
Location:  Misquamicut State Beach, Westerly, RI
Bib: 290
Place: 220 out of 648
Chip Time:  2:03:14:28 (but my GPS watch indicated the race was 13.5 miles, therefore I contacted the organizers and informed them of the discrepancy)
Pace:  9:22 (9:09 by my GPS)
Division: M50-59 / 20th place
Weight:  194 lbs


Preparation:  Low.  Was up to an easy 9 miles prior to the race.   

Expectation/Results:  Was only hoping to do better then 10 minute miles (I wasn't ready, and did not want to injure myself) - and was able to do close to 9 minute per miles.  I was very, very happy with this time. 



Distance Discrepancy:  The Timers did not change the time - but they listed the race as 13.4 - which in the end is accurate. 

State #6 - Delaware

Today was the inaugural running of the USATF-certified C&D Canal Half Marathon.  Overall, it was a lovely run: very scenic and a nice and mostly flat, paved course. However there were a few issues that the organizers will have to look at next year.  The race was hard to find - because the google directions brought me to the opposite side of the canal.  Ended up just showing up in time for the race.   Which would have been fine but I need to use the bathroom before the race started - and low and behold - the bathroom line was a mile long (only two bathroom for everyone).   I ended up starting the race 18 minutes after the start - which meant I was passing people the whole race.  

Hopefully the organizers work these issue out - and then the race will be golden!   

Race:  C&D Canal
Location:  New Castle, Delaware (my 6th state. 44 to go!)
Bib: 107
Place: 78 out of 298
Chip Time:  1:56
Pace: 8:51
Division: M50-59 / 13th place
Weight:  194 lbs