This past weekend, my running buddy Alexa and I ran the Martha’s Vineyard 20 miler. When I registered for Boston, I knew I wanted to do either this race or Eastern States, and MV won out since it would force me to get up to a 20 mile long run in before leaving for my honeymoon. TL;DR–this was a fantastic, well-run event and just the loveliest way to get a hard training run in!
Alexa and I headed down to Falmouth on Friday night, and stayed with my cousins before heading to the ferry terminal in Wood’s Hole nice and early. We ended up getting on the later of the two recommended ferries, which meant we had time to enjoy coffee at Pie in the Sky, a must-visit! We bought our tickets early and sauntered onto the ferry, which was comfortable and not too crowded. We even made some awesome ferry friends who were running the relay!
After a nice chat we made sure to use the boat’s bathrooms and walked off the gangway directly into the registration area. The bib pickup and bag drop were smooth and easy, and we were able to stay warm indoors at the ferry terminal, chatting with various running friends up until the race start.
After a loud gunshot blast, we were off! The first 10 miles of the race were beyond gorgeous–we were running along the shore on flat roads and paths, with amazing views of the ocean and the seaside homes. The weather was fabulous–in the upper 30s, sunny, and not too windy–and the first 10 miles were easy breezy. We treated this as a long run, not a true race, stopping to take water and fuel when we needed.
After the 10 mile mark we ramped it up for the first of three sets of MGP miles–just as the course got hilly and stayed that way until the end. We cranked it through three miles in the 7:30s and then hung together until mile 15, when I was feeling good enough to speed ahead. The only downside of the small race size was that I was pretty much alone for this last chunk–but the water stop volunteers and cops were awesome and I kicked it into high gear for the last three miles–7:38, 7:57, and 7:10. Overall, I finished at around an 8:10 average (according to my watch), feeling fairly strong and happy. 
Alexa was there soon afterwards and we grabbed a quick bite at the post-race gathering (they had Mexican food and hot chocolate!) We made a quick run to the shuttle though when we realized we could make the early ferry back to the Cape. We had a quick and comfy ride back to the terminal, and then we settled onto the ferry for some well-deserved post-race beers. Back in Falmouth we grabbed some stellar grub at Anejo, and we drove the 90 minutes back to Boston and were home by 6:30.
We had just the best mini racecation, and I would recommend the 20 miler to anyone who is training for a spring marathon. The relay looked super fun for anyone who isn’t (it’s 2 10 mile legs). Next race recap will be coming at you from my first international race in NEW ZEALAND, mate!
This was a huge and hugely successful week of training! First, this will be my last weekly update until mid-March–J and I are heading to New Zealand for our honeymoon on Wednesday and I’ll be mostly offline while I’m there. 
The sunset didn’t hurt either!
Today I enjoyed the gorgeous snow from an overnight storm and J and I did a morning yoga class–a great start to working out the kinks. This afternoon once most of the snow had melted away I did my recovery run. Onto two more days of work before we jet off–can’t wait!!!
I’m back again with one last race recap of 2017 (I promise!) and I have to admit, I did not want to run this one. I definitely overbooked myself this fall on the racing front and was just feeling very blah overall this week–a little bit frustrated professionally, and annoyed I had missed a few runs/workouts due to poor planning. I was excited for a morning with the Oiselle gals but just not geared up for the 5k.
We started up near-ish to the front of the corrals and took the announcer’s advice to “go go go!” The first mile started a little bit slow as we worked our way around some slower runners to settle into the pack. We hit the first full mile split at 6:34–right on track. I barely looked at my watch during this race, keeping the effort hard but steady and pacing along with Cait. The second mile started to feel pretty tough–there’s a slight but steady uphill at this point, and my nose was pretty stuffed up from the cold. I got a little lift from seeing a friend in the pack and getting some cheers from the girls spectating. Cait and I checked in with each other to make sure the pace was ok, and then pushed through the second mile at a 6:29. I knew at this point I was going to hang on as best I could, gutting it out to the finish. We could tell there weren’t many women ahead of us so we picked off a few in the last quarter mile or so, hitting mile 3 at a 6:22 pace and then sprinting it in at 5:20 pace for the .1.
We ended the morning with a quick stop by the post-race party (it was COLD) and then a fun coffee meetup with the team. Big props to the 
This was my first time in Prospect Park and it was absolutely gorgeous. We kept our layers on as long as possible before sneaking up to the front of the start corrals. The one downside of this race was that the start wasn’t seeded at all, which made for a pretty chaotic start with 2000+ runners and walkers. Either way, Ari was off like a shot and I started out at a hard but steady clip. I did have some goals in mind for this race:
Given those goals, I figured I would try to keep the pace under 6:50, which was my previous 5 mile PR pace. The first mile was on a slight downhill, and felt fairly smooth at 6:40 pace. During mile 2 we started to climb up, so I kept my effort even and let it slip a bit to a 6:48 pace. During mile 3, we hit a fairly long and steep climb, and my pace was at a 7:02. It was at this point that the crowd had thinned considerably, but the course wasn’t closed off so there were lots of walkers and joggers in and around the racers. I was legitimately shocked when someone called out from the side of the path “You’re third woman!” I was pretty convinced they were wrong, but just in case I figured I would hold on as best I could despite some small cramps that were creeping up. I got some encouragement from J along the sidelines and then put my head down and cranked the pace up to a 6:29 for mile 4 and another 6:29 for mile 5.
Before I knew it, I had crossed the finish line and was being directed over to the sidelines to pick up my prize–for the first time in my life, I had come in as the third female finisher!! I dizzily spelled my name for the guy at the finish line and happily accepted my prize–an apple crumb pie, which I proudly carried as we headed for celebratory hot chocolate and snacks at the finish.
So this was an incredibly gratifying surprise, especially given that this was a good-size race in a big city. My official time was 33:31, which was good for 3rd woman overall (out of 1,260 female finishers). Needless to say, I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day. Overall, the race was reasonably priced ($25 if you register early), had great swag and medals, and was well-organized and fun. I’m hoping to be back next year with more family members in tow!
Shorter and Faster 