What a nice day today was! It was perfect to run half marathon #5.
Last week I registered on a whim for the the Inaugural Fall Foliage Half Marathon in Rhinebeck, NY, which was only a short drive from Albany. I could sleep in my own bed. 
The race started at 10:00am to allow time for traveling from Albany or NYC. Since it took an hour to get there, I decided to eat a smaller breakfast when I got up, which was completely random since I forgot to bring my standard pre-race fuel of a bagel and peanut butter to my parents where I was staying over. I decided on some Cherrios and instead of my usual almond milk, my sister had this gem in the refrigerator:
It tasted yummy with the cheerios! Except it was SO sweet since I’m used to drinking unsweetened almond milk. Its nice once in awhile, though!
The breakfast of champions…
Anyway, back to the race! My sister came along too and ran the 5K. She rocked it, of course.
They started 10 minutes before we did, so I didn’t get to see her start since I was in line for the bathroom. Boo!
Next up: half marathoners!
There were a little over 600 registered runners…so it was a small race in the quaint town of Rhinebeck! I had no appetite before the race. I had planned on eating half of a peanut butter sandwich but opted for some gu chomps instead. They seemed to do the trick.
The one thing I knew about this race was that there were a lot of hills. But, I didn’t think it could be any worse than the Camp Chingachgook Challenge in Lake George?
I think it was just as hilly, if not more! There was hill after hill, except I think there might have been more downhills than uphills! No flat road in sight.
The first few miles were tough. I told myself I had to run all the hills up until mile 6 so I could save energy for the rest of the race and then walk the rest of the hills. I stuck to that for the most part.
Miles 5-10 were a blur. I just tried to enjoy the scenery.
Before I knew it…we were at mile 13. And then there was this.
A monster hill at mile 13…seriously? I walked some of it and then when I thought I saw the finish line started running again!
And finally, the finish.
2:11:54 later…
Official time is 2:14:00. My sister ran the 5K in 37 minutes!
My legs are SORE now after that race. Holy hills.
After some stretching and a quick change, we headed back home where my mom made blueberry pancakes for lunch. Tasty!
Well, that was my last half of the year. It was tough but I’m glad I did it. Until May 2012…
Congratulations on a great impromptu half! The pumpkin spice soy milk looks right up my alley – going to have to check our stores for that!
abbi recently posted..Obsessed?
Great job! Looks like you and Julie had a lot of fun
Christina recently posted..The Great Turtle Run on Mackinac Island
Nice bumping into you. Yes, it was hilly…much hilly than I expected esp the 2nd half. Can I borrow some of your pics for my blog??
Darlene recently posted..Last Week in Review
sure! just make sure to give me credit and link back to this post!
Jen,
You said it…crazy hills indeed
We made it though, didn’t we…great work!!
Chris