The road to redemption

After a nice two week break, I ran the Newburyport GreenStrides Half marathon today. Similar name, definitely not a similar experience to Newport.  In fact, so different that I almost titled this post, SUCK IT NEWPORT.  But, that wouldn't be very adult of me, now would it? So I opted for a more mature title, even if I am still thinking the other in my head.  Actually, I thought that a lot on my last few miles this morning.  Because it turns out, it wasn't the hills or the weather, it was just a bad day last time.  Finishing this half in 1:49 has given me a good sense of redemption and I feel better about the whole running career thing again.  Don't you worry, I'll stick in my official results and my Garmin map so you can see my pace, which matches up in the splits to be a lot more consistent than it looks on the map.  Seriously, if I went by the graph, it looks like my pace and heart-rate were doing their own thing but it didn't seem like that.  I'd also like to take a moment to point out that someone told me recently that 176 BPM is not a sustainable heart rate for a long distance run. To that person, I'd like to point out that you were wrong.  It may not be the BEST choice for a heart rate, but it was sustainable.
There are a couple of things I would like to say about this race.  Number one, the porta-potty situation has got to get under control.  Sure, I used them when the lines were short, but by now you would think that there would be an endless row of potties for the amount of people that are expected to show up.  I'm fairly certain that most of the people in the lines did not make it to the race start on time.  Number two, this course was a lot better than I remember it being.  Last time I ran it, we were a week out from doing MCM and I wasn't aiming for a PR or anything.  I do remember not loving the course though, and thinking that there were more hills than necessary.  This time around it didn't seem nearly as hilly and honestly, the miles flew by.  There were crowds in helpful places too.  The worst part was the finish.  This didn't change from 2013.  You come around a bend and suddenly you're on a wooden walkway, surrounded by cheering people on both sides. Lovely and inspiring, but tight if you're trying to beat it to the finish line.  Nearly impossible to pass, even though I managed it.  Sure, I smashed into someone's elbow, but when you're trying to get across that line before the clock hits 1:50, anything goes.  (Sorry unknown lady, hope your elbow was ok.)  So, I wish they would have a wider finish area.  I was in a pretty good clump of people, so there was a bit of a bottleneck effect going on, which is not ideal when you just want to be done.  I'm definitely going to have to go back to 2013 and read my original thoughts on this race now, but I really did enjoy the run.  Oh and I got my free slice of pizza afterwards, so that's a double win.  We also watched an adorable proposal at the finish.  The girl came around the bend with her friend and the boyfriend was waiting just in front of the line.  He proposed, she said yes, he carried her across the finish line, the friend puked 3 times, it was really romantic.  Ok, maybe not for the friend, but at least it's a story she'll never forget.  I'm probably going to have to get another new pair of Hoka's soon, but I suppose that's the price you have to pay for wanting to run Boston.  Plus, the shoes are totally worth the money as far as impact absorption goes.  As far as running goes, that's about it for now, nothing else new to report.  I'm working on that fundraising, so keep on DONATING if you're feeling generous. To all the Gibbs' and other family members that have already donated, thank you so much!
And now, pictures and my map

Official time. 

Best race swag this year

And my after run lunch.  Sure, I probably should start eating breakfast BEFORE the runs, but this worked too.