Last weekend I ran the MDI Half Marathon, the second of two girls trips this fall with Joy and Brittany, aka the Outlander Track Club. The race was just OK, although the weekend itself was absolutely amazing! I got to kick things off with the drive up to Acadia on Thursday night with Brittany, during which we listened to the insanity that was game 4 of the NLCS on the radio (highlights included stopping at a gas station to use the bathroom and buying rally beer for me to put in a coozie in the trunk, screaming "POOKIE" in unison when Sal Frelich stole a base, manifesting a Mitchell home run, and not hitting a very fat raccoon in the road). The Brewers came back from being down 4-0 to win 6-2 and sweep the Dodgers; if you had told me I would see the Brewers finally make the World Series with one of my best friends from a cabin in a national park I would never have believed you, but it was a night I will never forget.
The race wasn't until Sunday, so we were able to spend a couple of days enjoying the park. Friday was rainy but I got out for a really lovely run including a section of the Ocean Path and the park loop road - the foliage was really popping and it was so moody and scenic! We took care of packet pickup on Friday night and went out for dinner in Bar Harbor which was great, minus having to eat dessert with a knife (long story lol). Saturday dawned beautiful and clear; Joy had to head to a vet conference in the afternoon so we tried to all go hiking in the morning. Unfortunately the parking situation on the main loop of Acadia remained VERY busy so we struck out several times trying to find a place to hike. After several false starts, Brittany and I ended up going over to the quiet side to do a hike I had done with Andrew a few years back - it turned out to be slightly more athletic than we had anticipated (the right choice before a race? Maybe not lol) but it was absolutely gorgeous and lovely spending several hours catching up in the woods.
We had to be up relatively early to catch the shuttles from Bar Harbor but the timing worked well - we were able to walk right onto a bus when we arrived at the village green around 6:45. There was an indoor space to wait once we arrived in Northwest Harbor, which was really lovely since it was in the 30s, so we spent awhile in the indoor bathroom line and then hung out until we needed to drop our bags at 8. The bag check security was a dog - the cutest little working dog I ever did see! Joy and I went to warm up over to the secret public bathrooms down by the water, which brought back such a specific memory of being there with Brenda 11 years ago and getting ready to cheer for the half - that day was really the start of my hype queen career! Joy went off to do a longer warmup while I headed towards the start; naturally I had to pee AGAIN so decided to take my chances at the porta potty line close to the start. I made it, but barely - I got in and out, ran up to the start, found what seemed to be a reasonable place in the line, found Joy, tied my shoe, and then the gun went off. Phew!
I felt decent out of the gate although quickly realized I had started too far back and had to spend the first mile or so weaving through people who were not running my pace. I think that led to me probably going out slightly faster than I should have, with my first 3 miles in the mid 7:20s. And I felt OK, but my legs just didn't feel great. I think part of it was probably the hike from the day before and part of it was just my general lack of fitness and hill running, but the uphills felt hard right from the start and I knew there were many more of those to come.
My favorite part of the course came around mile 3; we ran through a flat stretch along this beautiful sound - it was just quintessential Maine; foliage, mountain views, even a fishing boat with a man on it watching the race (I waved to him; he did not wave back lol). The water was like a mirror reflecting the vibrant leaves, and it was just incredibly gorgeous. "Glory Days" happened to be playing on my playlist at this point (my playlist was a strange mashup of Brewers-centric songs, my usual folksy running through the forest vibes, and of course a few techno bangers) and I found myself thinking about the fact that my running glory days were certainly past but that I was content to just enjoy where I was right now.
Naturally, almost immediately after this lovely moment of clarity I found that mindset being put to the test as my legs started to feel TERRIBLE. The remainder of the race was pretty much a fight between what my legs actually wanted to do (stop running) and what I was forcing them to do (...not stop running lol). My pace dropped back to the mid 7:30s - totally fine, and honestly the pace I was expecting to run at for the race, but the rolling hills were just demoralizing - I could tell that every time I hit an uphill, I was slowing down dramatically and then was trying to make up for it on the downhills. I missed a water station around mile 5 (I biffed a water handoff and then didn't want Gatorade so ended up with nothing) which led to me not taking my gel until 6 (way too late). I will say that I probably was in more of a dehydration hole than would have been ideal, which was compounded by the fact that there were only 4 or 5 water stations on the course. It wasn't the end of the world because the temperatures were beautiful in the 40s, but I imagine I might have performed a bit better with more fluids on board. That was pretty much how miles 4-8 elapsed, with consistent splits in the 7:30s but feeling like the climbing at the end of the race was going to be rough indeed.
Mile 9 featured some significant uphill, which my legs did not enjoy whatsoever. On one incline I decided that my problem was that I was hot and I needed to take off my arm warmers; I used this as an excuse to walk for a bit lol. I am definitely capable of taking off my armwarmers and putting them in my bra while running, but that just didn't feel like the move at this point in time. That sorted, I did feel slightly better by cooling off and I took my second gel which had caffeine in it around this time which also gave me a boost. But my legs were just FEELING it - the uphills were feeling worse and worse, and my lack of overall mileage and particularly mileage over hills was just showing so spectacularly. I obviously was capable of running the distance and climbing the hills, but attempting to do so at any sort of faster pace was just ripping my legs to shreds. There was an aid station somewhere in here that had a "dance party" circle in chalk on the ground which I loved and took part in; I sadly could not summon the energy to do the hopscotch course that followed because I thought I literally might fall over if I tried.
I knew the big climb from 10-11 was coming, and I knew it was going to be awful, and you know what? IT WAS. Around mile 10 of all of the races I've done this summer/fall has been the point where I can really feel my lack of long runs and this race was no different, only this time that point fell on this massive uphill and man, it was torture. Muscularly my left quad just felt like it was failing and my right leg was fighting to pick up the slack; in the moment I also simply couldn't summon the will to care about not walking so I took a couple of breaks on the climb to try to shake things out. I still stand by the fact that doing this is actually better for my performance in the long run than trying to gut it out when I'm literally shuffling, but I wasn't having a very good time. Despite this I somehow managed to pass a couple of people who were struggling even harder than I was; it was really a testament to how TOUGH this course is (800+ ft of elevation in a normal road half is...a lot lol).
But then FINALLY I crested the hill. And I'll tell you what...I was so happy to be running downhill that I practically lit myself on fire. I may not have had any climbing legs left, but I did have *legs* left, and those legs were ready to push the downhill. At one point I looked down at my watch and it said I was running 6:32 pace, lol. In the meantime, I was focused on important factors like why had Narco STILL not come up on my playlist?! It was the one song I really wanted to hear during the race and I couldn't believe the shuffle gods were holding out on me. The course levels out and cruelly inclines slightly in the last mile, which felt terrible, but I was close enough now to keep on the gas while also deciding I needed to take my phone out of my bra to PUT ON NARCO. So looking like an absolute doof with my arm warmers in one hand and my phone in the other, I crossed the finish line weary but fulfilled, and THANKFULLY with Narco playing in my headphones!!
After locating my bag (eventually, it took the volunteers awhile to find it as it was placed in the wrong number pile), checking the results (4th in my AG, curses, but as I deserved) and looking at the post race food (almost all breakfast items which I had no interest in), I started walking back up the hill to cheer for Joy. I got my megaphone out only to discover that it was BROKEN - it was making crazy crackling sounds whenever I tried to yell into it. SO SAD!! Luckily I had also brought my obnoxious dinner bell that I bought for Boston, so I got that out instead and started yelling and ringing it. People appreciated the cheering SO much - it wasn't exactly a spectator heavy race, and I lost count of the number of people who thanked me for my energy/being there/cheering. Many people also congratulated me since I had my finisher medal on, which is so sweet but I always find awkward - although I suppose, you didn't see many/any other finishers out there cheering, so I always forget I'm a bit of a special breed! I cheered Joy into the finish and she eventually joined me, forcing me to JOG up the hill (ugh) where we posted up to wait for Brittany and cheer for the other runners along the way. We spent a good hour up at the top of the hill in the same spot Brenda and I had cheered all those years ago. It was so much fun; my favorite part of the day as always!
All in all, it was an amazing weekend - while the race wasn't anything to write home about, it was a beautiful morning to run and it always feels good to push myself beyond the places I tend to take myself in training, even if the end time isn't spectacular. I'm not sure I need to run this beast of a course again, but it was a magical weekend in Acadia with my two best friends, and I'll take the price of running a tough half marathon any day to have a weekend like that.
And now, time to figure out what's next!!
MDI Half Marathon
1:40:08
4/79 F35-39, 27/585 F, 79/958 OA
