Monday, February 20, 2012

Half at the Hamptons

 
February 20 - Yesterday I completed my 2nd half marathon in Hampton, NH. Half at the Hamptons is a popular race because the course is one of the flattest in New England and many runners use it as a Boston Marathon training run. Hampton is a small seacoast town with all the charm of the typical summer beach destination. The white washed buildings are weathered by the ocean winds and the streets are protected by a seawall with the beach on the other side.


Hubs and I arrived in Hampton early so there was plenty of time to park, check-in, use the restrooms, and meet my running partner, D. Hampton offers hundreds of parking spots up and down the beach (which were free for the race) as well a street parking and some large lots that charged $5. Check-in at the Ashworth by the Sea Hotel was quick and we received a cute cotton long sleeve lavender race shirt. After stopping at Ds car, we made our way to the start line.


Even though there weren't corals (the race capped at 1400 runners) it was easy to find a spot and we ended up very near the 9:00mm Pacer, Timmy. The course's reputation was accurate, and along with the temps in the mid 30s and the sun shining, it was a perfect day to...PR!!

Special thanks to Hubs for biking around to take these awesome pics!

I had hoped to finish this half better than my first last August at RNR PROV because my training has improved and I have been injury free. I NEVER thought that I would finish sub 2 hours though. D and I stayed together sticking with Pacer Timmy until about mile 6. She started to pull ahead, but I was afraid to push my speed anymore, so I held back. I think I made the right decision because the last 2 miles were difficult. My hips started tightening up, but I managed to keep up with Pacer Timmy's pack and finish 1:57:51.


After the race, hubs and I headed to Portsmouth to lunch with a group of runners, bloggers, FitFluential Ambassadors and a fellow Rhode Scholar at the casual British pub, Coat of Arms. It was a great day to spend with old and new friends.

Samantha / D / Group - Halen, Janine, Greg, Samantha

Now it is time to take a few recovery runs, then maintain my training for the Cox Rhode Races Half Marathon in May. It has been a great winter to train and I am hoping that Spring is right around the corner. So as I take a few days to savor my new PR and "I just ran a half marathon" moments, I'm already thinking about the fun to come.





18 comments:

  1. Great run and post, Amy! Congrats on your PR. I'm running my first half this weekend. :)

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    1. Oh, have fun! I can't wait to read all about it =)

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  2. Thanks Janine! And maybe we can run together soon?

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  3. WOOHOOO on the PR!! That's always the BEST feeling!!

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  4. Congrats on a pr, yay!! Sounds like you paced yourself perfectly, and gave it your all. So fun that you got to meet other bloggers, too!

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  5. ahhhh so many things...

    1. SOOO HAPPY FOR YOU! you've been training so hard and been so dedicated all winter through some tough, cold days. You DESERVE that PR, you earned it!
    2. This whole time I thought your race was in the Hamptons... Long Island... until just reading this post I had a very wrong assumption. doh.
    3. Love that your husband biked around and took pics... so supportive! HOY (husband of the year) award nomination!
    4. can't wait to hear your next goals... so exciting to have breakthroughs like this... very excited to see what the spring has in store for you!

    maybe do some yoga this week to stretch the hips out! But def celebrate up that PR all week!!!

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    1. The yoga hip stretches really helped! Thanks!

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  6. congrats, amy (and D)... you have to be on a high after a sub 2hrs! it must've been the pepperoni calzone fuel in ya! sweet picts... rest up for the next one.

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    1. Haha! Don't mess with what works right? Enjoy your vacay!

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  7. Congratulations on the PR Jenn!! I PR'd too! It was a beautiful race and great day!! :-)

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  8. Major congratulations. It's strange because I've run 5 marathons but only one half marathon and I'm doing my second on March 17th. I was wondering what PR goal to set...something under 2 hours I hope but thanks for giving me a little motivation to do it! That looked like a lot of fun :)

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  9. Yay congratulations!!! Your first sub 2- you should be very proud!! Well done :) Looks like it was a nice sunny day and a little chilly- perfect for half marathon running.

    And a British pub to celebrate? Perfect! I hope beer and chips (british ones) were consumed in large quantities! :)

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  10. Congrats on a stellar PR! I love this race! It's the third year in a row that I've run, and I see myself running again next year...I love your pics too!

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  11. CONGRATS!!! Oh my gosh it's so exciting that you ran sub 2!! You are epic!! Sounds like an awesome race. I still haven't done a half but you just made me want to try one so much more!!

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  12. Congrats, looks like you had much nicer weather than when I did the smuttynose in October (torrential rain) I think I'm going to do that one again this year and way toying with the idea of running the full but might be two halfs this year and a full next year I'm still on the fence. Anyway great job and pics!

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