Today my daughter Carrie and I ran the Vermont Maple Leaf Half Marathon. 

 I was honestly shocked about how good I felt running this half.   It was a very hilly race, yet my energy levels were very consistent throughout the race.  My running mile splits were a bit inconsistent due to the hills, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I’m certain Barbell Strength classes played a big role with my overall strength.  This 53-year-old women, wife, mom, allergic asthmatic still has it!  What a nice way to kick off Autumn running.  Back to the recap….

         The race was held in Manchester Vermont, which is about a 3 1/2 -hour ride from Boston. We drove up on Friday night, checked in to the Hampton Suites, swam in their pool, used the jacuzzi and then grabbed a pizza for dinner. The pizza was so delicious.  It was one of the best pizzas I had in a long time.  Two hours later, it was time for bed.  

        We had breakfast in the hotel breakfast area.  My traditional morning snack is Yogurt. Here is the funny part. I love my traditional Yoplait and kids these days like thick Greek /Icelandic style! I hate Greek Yogurt. I was so pleased that they had my yogurt – I knew it would be a great race – even if the server thought I was nuts talking about my yogurt.  After breakfast, we packed the car and headed to the start of the race.

         Race morning was nice. The weather was perfect 60s – low 70’s.  The mountains provided plenty of shade, which kept the runners comfortable. The race started at the Dana Thompson Recreational Park in. We got there a little bit before 7:00am to avoid race stressors. One runner at out hotel, freaked me out when she mentioned the roads to the start will be closing soon to all traffic.  She was wrong. The race started at 8:00 am. Knowing we had an hour to kill, we focused on channeling our pre-race jitters and then we used the bathrooms and headed to the start line. 

      The national anthem was sung, and we were off. 

    My goal for this race was to come in before 3:15 and have a solid finish.  

   The race was  very challenging, yet I had a fun time. 

   The first 8 miles were very hilly.  Hills are very hard for me, but I was able to power through them.  My strategy was to walk all the uphill portions and run the downhill portions. This method allowed me to conserve my energy, so I can finish the race strong,

       I was also chomping on twizzlers at each mile for extra strength. It helped move me along the course. ` Love that, Sugar!

After mile 9, the course flattened out a bit, Thank goodness. 

Once I hit 10 miles, I was so happy……Just a 5k (3 miles) to go! 

I ran across the finish line and collected my Medal. Carrie and I grabbed some water at the finish and then we headed back to Massachusetts.

My time was 3:14:25.

I am pleased with my pace.  Among the average runner its slow, but I am very proud. I am physically stronger and mentally stronger.  I had a good training session leading up to the race. 

For dinner I had a   delectable double chocolate muffin, to replace the lost glycogen in my muscles.

Also, shout out to my daughter Izzy who watched my 4 DOGS when I was away. 

Next big event…..Dopey Challenge in January consisting of 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon.