I Ran Three Half Marathons in One Month
RBC Brooklyn 1/2 Marathon; 5.18.24
I know what you’re thinking: she’s crazy! Why on earth would she run three half marathons in one month? Well… I didn’t exactly do it on purpose.
The first 1/2 was the Real Simple Women’s 1/2 Marathon - a race I’d run three times before and immediately signed up for. This was going to be my half of the spring. But, then my little sister let slip that one of her bucket list items was to run a half marathon. So, being the capricorn I am, I looked up halfs in her city - and there just so happened to be one the weekend before her birthday! So, I signed up for my second half marathon (neglecting to notice the date) - roping in both of my siblings to have a fun family race and run their first half marathons. Then, as I do every year, I entered the lotteries for both the NYC & Brooklyn half marathons because it’s not guaranteed to get in, and I’ve never run either of these famous halves. While I didn’t get into the NYC Half, I got the amazing email that I was accepted into the Brooklyn Half Marathon! My third of the calendar year!
It was then that I checked the dates for all of these.
My first of the year was April 29th…which was only a week before my second half marathon (the one I was running with my siblings), on May 5th. My third - the prestigious Brooklyn Half - was less than two weeks later on May 18th.
I know what you’re thinking: just skip one! But there was no way I was doing that. I loved the Women’s half; there was zero chance of me skipping the chance to run my siblings’ first half with them (especially since I strong armed them into signing up in the first place); and after three years I had finally been accepted into the Brooklyn Half! So - three half marathons in nearly as many weeks it was.
Race One - Real Simple’s Women’s Half Marathon: 4.28
I had a lofty goal for this race: finish in under two hours (my Personal Best was 2:05). But, considering I had just been in back to back shows and a lot of rehearsals are on Sundays (my long run days), I hadn’t exactly been consistent in my long run department. Don’t get me wrong, I was running at least three times a week (more often four to five), but the most I was running at a time was 9 miles, with my longest run of the week usually capping out at 6.
The morning started out… not great. I had allowed myself an extra 15 minutes of snuggle time, so I was rushing when it came to gathering my things (which I had smartly laid out the night before), making breakfast, putting on K Tape for my IT band that sometimes acts up, and getting out the door. My tape was older, a dupe, and not cooperating, so in an effort to be more on time, I skipped making coffee to simply get out the door.
When I got to the park & ride I realized my next hurdle of the day: it was Sunday, and I had looked up the Saturday transportation times. So, I was now an hour early for the earliest bus. Without caffeine. I kicked myself for that, then used the extra time and did my morning puzzles and a lot of stretching. I was definitely worried I wouldn’t make it on time - but luckily got to the start with more than 20 minutes to spare.
gear: lululemon shorts | asics shoes | compression socks | garmin watch| shokz headphones
After these small inconveniences I was off with the rest of my ‘E’ corral!
I’m not going to lie… about a mile in I had the thought of ‘what if I just….don’t?’. I wasn’t in the mood. I don’t know if it was because I knew there was no one at the race for me, or if it was the fact that it was weirdly between temperatures so it was a little too chilly for a tee but a hair too warm in my long sleeved shirt, or simply because I hadn’t had my coffee. Thankfully, I cranked up my music, powered throught, and around 5K in I was getting in the groove and enjoying myself. My pace was a little slower than I wanted it to be; but I wasn’t beating myself up about it.
But, then the old tape said “I’m out”, and half of my supportive reinforcement had fallen off. Around mile 6, I had to stop to walk for a moment because what I had been dreading occurred - my IT band started to twang. I was so mad. Was I going to have to walk/run the next seven miles? I did NOT want to do that. Thankfully, whatever I did worked and I could keep going, promising myself I’d walk while going through the hydration stations for the remainder of the race (instead of jogging through, as I had been for the first half of the run).
Long story short - I survived (Sarah’s Version). I was able to run the whole thing (barring those small walks at the hydration stations & my initial IT break), and while I didn’t reach my goal of a sub 2 hour half, to my shock and delight, I did recieve my personal best at 2:02:45! And I decided that Brooklyn would be where I’d really go for that sub-2hr goal time.
Notable Signs:
You’re Impossibly Fast and Strong (twilight meme); If Taylor Can Write 31 Songs, You Can Run 13.1 Miles
p.s. don’t judge me for the watermarked race pics, I’m not purchasing race pics unless I feel like I look utterly uh-mazing, which I do not think was the case this run!
Race Two - Dick’s Pittsburgh Half Marathon: 5.5
I am not exaggerating even a little bit when I say this was the best half marathon I’ve ever run. No, it wasn’t my best time. It was barely not-my-worst time. But, it was the first half I ran that wasn’t the Women’s 1/2 course in central park and I ran it with my siblings (this race was both of their first 1/2s!). I loved this course - it was a point a to b, so there were no repeats of locations (I didn’t realize how much I disliked that about the Shape/Real Simple Women’s 1/2); there were no crazy up or down hills; it was so fun and cool to run on a highway; and it was absolutely STUNNING.
Right from the off, I was having an amazing time. I could tell both of my siblings were a little nervous, but I was so proud of them for doing this! I didn’t feel sore or wobbly or scared (despite having just ran another 1/2 the week prior), and I was fueled, caffeinated, and ready to cheerlead the heck out of my siblings. We had our matching 29! t-shirts (it was my sister’s 29th birthday weekend and she loves New Girl); our mis-matching Sprints visors, and we were ready in our corral. Funnily enough, each of us were slated at a different start corral; but after asking we happily discovered that you could move back a slot (just not forward); so we were all able to start together.
The weather started out not so great. It was raining as we were waiting to start; but then as we got to the line, it stopped! It remained dry, and it was honestly perfect running weather - cloudy and cool. It wasn’t until around mile 10 that we were kind of wishing for the rain to come back.
Running with other people is so much lighter and less stressful than trying to beat a time. Our goal as a whole was to stay together, and finish in less than three hours. And might I just say - we crushed it. We clocked the 2:45 pacer and were determined to beat him. We stayed together (despite a small hiccup of ‘oof gotta walk my foot hurts’ from one of us), we hydrated, refueled, laughed, and groaned together (“what do you MEAN we’re only halfway?!”), and I absolutely cried when as we approached the finish line my little sister yelled “We finish all together!”. Which - we did. Our times were all identical. I absolutely made a core memory (scream singing ‘shake it’ and having other random runners join in was iconic), and definitely want to make this an annual thing (at least with my little sister, who enjoyed it far more than than my older sibling!).
Notable signs:
KEEP RUNNING JAGOFF; Hi Barbie!; Run Like You Have the Zoomies; The Tourtured Runners Department; Lights Camera Bitch Smile (Even When You Wanna Die); I literally could never do what you’re doing; What Are You Running From?; May The Course Be With You
Again, sorry not sorry for the watermarked race pics, I’m not purchasing race pics unless I feel like I look utterly uh-mazing, and the only un-watermarked picture was the one I thought was ‘worth it’
Race Three - RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon: 5.18
I know I had literally just written this… but sorry Pittsburgh, this is the best half marathon I’ve ever run. The day started pretty great - I had plenty of time for pre race coffee & fuel; and didn’t have to worry about public transportation. John, our friend & our dog Izzy would be hanging out at the finish line of Coney Island Beach to cheer me on, so on the way there I rode in the back seat next to our cute little girly pop. Talk about a great way to go into a race!
When I got to the start corrall, I was plagued by two feelings: one was the usual ‘I need to go to the bathroom’ and the other was nerves. This shocked me. Why was I nervous? I had literally just run two of these! I knew I could do it - so why were there butterflies in my stomach? Yes, this was my last scheduled half (so far) of the year, and I really wanted to break that 2 hour mark… but still. I' was prepared - I’d trained more for this race than I had for any of the five previous half marathons I’d ever run. Trying to shake away the nerves, I focused on stretching and warming up, and then in what felt like five mintues (but was closer to 45), my corral was approaching the start!
Once I was off, I felt really good. I felt faster than I had in the previous two 1/2s of the month, and I felt ready. There was no ‘why am I doing this’ dread - I was simply having fun!
Very early, I noticed I was just behind the 9:35 per mile/finish in 2:05 pacer and I knew I needed to kick it up a notch and pass them. I don’t quite remember at what point I did get ahead of them - all I know is that I was relatively smart about it, making sure I didn’t gas myself out too early and end up falling behind them when it mattered most.
I was delightfully surprised that at every hydration station, I didn’t need to stop to walk. I was running this whole damn thing, and it all felt effortless. At halfway through, I felt amazing! At mile 6.9, we exited the park for the long stretch down the highway and I was beaming. I could do this all day!
But as with every long run, the crisis time approached. It was at Mile 8 - I was getting toasty. The weather was absolutely perfect, but I’d been running for over an hour at this point. The sun was shining, and I was warm. I well and truly thought we were at mile 10, but then my watch informed me we were not, and I had the thought of holy shit, there’s FIVE MILES LEFT? I don’t want to run five more miles!
I was also a little worried about my projected end time. Yeah, I had passed the 2:05 person, and was averaging at under a 9 minute mile, but I had no idea what the next benchmark for a pacer was. Was the next sign I was going to see be 1:50? 1:45? But then, I spotted them. The person holding up that glorious ‘2:00 finish time’ sign. And zeroed in on them. I needed to kick it into gear to finally reach my goal.
It wasn’t easy. I sped up, passing them - but there was still an entire 5K left to run. I tried my usual mantra of ‘it’s just a 5K! You do these practically every day!’, but for some reason it wasn’t as invigorating as usual. The thought of ‘just stop to walk a little’ entered my head, but I quickly batted it away. I didn’t need to walk. My legs weren’t tired, it was just my mind I had to hurdle. I kept pushing and counting down every mile, a little terrified that 2:00 pacer was going to come back and pass me. But then - we were arriving at the Coney Island Boardwalk, I was turning on to it, and the finish line was in sight! I immediately started scanning the crowd for John, our friend & Izzy, determined to go, go, go! When I crossed the finish line I saw them - and it meant everything to me. Then I looked down at my stopped watch.
1:53:58.
Not only had I finally achieved the under 2 hour mark - but I had destroyed my previous PR by almost ten minutes! I was so happy and so proud of myself. After a bit of a kerfuffle, I made my way to John, our friend & Izzy on the Coney Island beach and let me just say: every long race should end at the ocean. The feeling of immediately taking off your shoes and stepping into the water was pure bliss.
RBC Brooklyn Half - I loved you. I well and truly hope I get the opportunity to run this race again and again and again.
Notable Signs:
Pain is just French for Bread; 6.9 Miles…Nice; We Get It, You Run; 1,2,3, Let’s Go Bitch!; Smile if You’re Not Wearing Underwear; Find a cute butt and follow it!
Y’all finally got paid-for race pics for this one, because I actually liked these ones (despite not really loving my body at the moment - but that’s a story for a different blog post); and I was just so damn proud of myself.
And now, it’s the Monday after the last Half Marathon I’d signed up for in 2024… and I’d be absolutely lying if I said I wasn’t already scouring Runner’s World to see if there’s any other feasible halves to run this year! While I’m going to try not to squeeze three half marathons in one month again; I’m definitely not going to stop running them any time soon!
