Presque Isle Half Marathon

This is the 8th time that I have run this race and in the last few years, it has really grown.  In 2009 there were just over 750 runners and this year there were 1335 finishers (only 1150 were recorded according to the web site but many of the unrecorded runners were early walkers).  The course is very flat, but the peninsula is pretty and you can catch sites of the city of Erie, the lake, and even some wildlife if you are good.  The tough part about the course being flat and a bit boring is that your mind can wander if it isn't on task, and I often have found myself there during this race.  Often that is due to the weather (always seems to be warm (often hot) and humid) and the fact that the scenery can be a bi redundant.  I've run times all over the place on this course as I'm not always in a great place in July for running, I've been lazy in June, or I've come off injury.  It is also July and usually fall race schedules have not yet started to ramp up.  This year felt like it really was no different other than the fact that I felt like I might have more fitness than I realized and if the weather was pretty good, I thought that I just might try to "race" (as much as one can "race" in July) and see how it goes.

Presque Isle is a 45-50 minute drive from Chautauqua, so the three of us (myself, Mary Pat and Chris - women that I train with here all summer), had to leave at o'dark o'clock) 5 am! to get to the start area in order to register, hit the bathrooms, etc. before the race begins promptly at 6:45 am.  The start used to be 7:30, but as the field got larger and we were blessed with a couple of years where the temps were in the high 70s, the Erie Runners Club folks (they direct the race and do a darn good job of it) moved the start time to 6:45 am.  Yes, that is before even 7 am which is a rarity for most northern races and requires those of us who drive a ways (and many folks come from as far as Pittsburgh or Cleveland or Buffalo) to get up and leave when it is still dark.

MP, Me, Chris in a bad selfie

This year the weather has been very weird. A couple of weeks back we had nothing but heat and humidity, but this past week, we had a cold front go through with lots of rain and lows in the 50s!  Believe me, running in 58F weather and 90% humidity is way better than 70F weather and 90% humidity.  It rained pretty much all day Saturday so we had no idea what was to be in store for us in the morning.  As we left CHQ and headed down to to Presque Isle (and it is indeed down as we are at 1300-1400 ft at CHQ and  580 ft  in Presque Isle), the temperature crawled up to 68F and the humidity was on the rise as well (we found out later it was 88%).  When we warmed up, we decided we need to lessen our load by losing a layer, and I ran in a bra top and skirt for the first time in years.  I was real glad I made that decision and I'm also glad that no one was looking at this 50+ yr old woman.  I'm sure the pictures will be most interesting.  It turned out to be a great decision as I was completely drenched at the end of the race and was glad to have brought dry clothes.

I wasn't sure where to go with the race, so I started off at what felt like a slow pace with a controlled heart rate (8:09) and then I just let it go from there.  No where along the course did I feel like I was over doing it as I just ran how I felt.  For the most part, the course is indeed flat, but if you look at the profile, you will see the subtle ups and downs throughout.  My mile times were pretty consistent, but I did drop off in the last couple a few seconds per mile while holding my HR steady.  (The last mile does run deceptively up just a bit and it is evident in those few seconds as you tire).  I tried to finish as strong as I could and came in with the 2nd fastest time that I have run on the course (with the fastest time being in the September race so the weather is/was better) in the summer.  I beat last year's time by 1:15 which lets me realize that while I feel like I am struggling, I am a lot further along than I thought.  

Statistics from this year were interesting: 2nd AG (F50-54), 172nd Overall, 38th Woman; 7th Master.  Last year, I was also 2nd AG, 179th Overall, 41st Woman; and 10th Master.  The same woman who beats me every year did it again (she ran a 1:39 so kudos to her), but I'm not as far behind as I was last year as she ran the same time then!   

PS I just looked at last year's data from my Garmin, and although I thought it was "cold" last year, the weather recorded was actually 66F and 88% humidity.  So pretty much the same!

PPSS As an aside to my blog, the alleged friend of the Boston Bomber was found guilty today on several counts and could be sentenced to as many as 25 yrs in jail.  I'm still torn as to how I feel as he may or may not be just a "friend" protecting a "friend", but then again - the jury did separate the charges and they seem to have gone through them very methodically.