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Wineglass Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Corning, New York
United States
Wineglass Marathon
59F / 15C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 37m 32s
Overall Rank = 1996/2691
Age Group = F 40-44
Age Group Rank = 247/328
Pre-race routine:

This race has been on my race wish-list for quite a few years and this year was the year to finally make it happen! Originally it was to be a girls trip, with Cuda, Whale, Lizard, LT, P and myself but ended up only being me and Cuda for an assortment of reasons. We traveled to the Corning area Thursday evening (reservations were already made thinking it was going to be a bigger affair, allowing more time to see the area for those who hadn't been there before).

Friday Cuda and I had fun at the Corning Museum of Glass, making our own blown glass pumpkins, getting our race swag/bags/registration (great swag - nice shirt, a nicer-than-usual string bag, gift cards to stores in town, mini champagne, and naturally a wine glass!) and doing some shopping in town. Later we headed out to a two wineries, one just for hot pickled garlic that I'm addicted to and another to actually buy wine, LOL.

Saturday we both did the 5K, then after we were showered and had lunch we headed to Ithaca. I wanted to go to their running store that I had been to in June - they had hydration vests that I wanted to check out. I ended up buying one and getting a frequent buyer discount of sorts (which really cracked me up considering I live a couple hundred miles from the store and have only been there twice), then we checked out the Apple Festival and bought some kettle corn. I love fresh kettle corn!

Had our night-before-the-race meal at boring old Applebee's mainly because it was close and we were tired. It was also pouring rain and had been raining off and on all day! We hoped it would stop before race start the next day.

We got up early (I forget when) to be sure to get to Corning (a short 5 minute drive) in plenty of time to get adequate parking and catch the shuttle bus that would take us to the town of Campbell for the start. I know Cuda was less than happy about the early times I picked, but once we got there and she saw the parking/traffic situation that I had dodged by picking a different part of town to park in as well as the long line for the buses, she understood my concern and was glad we did what we did.

After our bus ride to Campbell, we were a little uncertain as to what to do first - bag check, bathroom, or hang out in the high school. We opted to hit the port-a-johns first. I offered to stand with our stuff while she went, then we'd switch. Police with K9 units were investigating the school and surrounding area. While I waited in the parking lot for Cuda to use the facilities, a police dog and his handler came up to our bags and stuck his entire head into hers! It was so funny but I wasn't sure how the officer would respond to any comments or laughter, so I half-smiled and waited until they walked away to really chuckle and smile!

After we switched jobs, we thought we might go in the HS to perhaps sit/stretch a bit and also to warm up a little. Cuda is not a fan of chilly weather. I wasn't feeling cold but I wanted to sit and stretch a little. Well! That idea was a very bad one! The school was so full of people that we essentially walked in a slow-moving line way back through a maze of halls only to turn right back around and go through a slow-moving line back out. Crazy!

Given our inability to sit or rest, we ended up dropping our bags at the bag check, hitting the port-a-johns one more time and heading out the road toward the start.

Breakfast had been 2 Pop Tarts, some iced tea and water, then I had more water while we waited and ate some Stinger Chews before we walked to the start. Clothing choice for the day: shorts and a SS shirt. No rain falling but the roads were wet from it raining all night and the previous days.
Event warmup:

Walking to the starting area (about 1/4 mile), then light stretching waiting for the anthem and starting gun. We got a pre-race selfie together then staged in our appropriate areas.
Run
  • 2h 37m 32s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 12m 02s  min/mile
Comments:

The gun went off and we stood there, waiting for the masses ahead of us to move.
Eventually we walked slowly until we got to the start line when we could actually start running slowly. Wait, what's this? An urgent message from my bladder? WTF?! I ran maybe .25 miles then peeled off to hit the porta-johns that were at the high school. Eye roll - what a great start to the race, ha!

Took care of business very quickly and was back at it. Found Cuda (since she now bascially caught up to me) and ran with her a little bit after 'sneaking' up on her. Chatted a tiny bit then resumed my pace. It was a foggy, low-cloud, cloudy day but yet very pretty and enjoyable just the same. A few trees had started to change their colors on the surrounding hills.

The route was fairly rural at this point with houses spread far apart by wide, expansive yards and fields, yet the support and presence of the locals was impressive! Residents came out to cheer and watch at the end of driveways. The elderly ones out there with walkers impressed me the most, standing there voicing their support. I wished I could hug every single one! I have a major soft spot for old people. I settled for waving, smiling, and yelling 'hi' or 'good morning' to them. ;)

A few miles in, I noticed a bunch of people looking and taking selfies and/or pictures of something. Scenery? Random pics? Nope, try Sasquatch! Or at least a life-sized wood carving of Sasquatch. I laughed and wished I had my phone along to get a pic.

My coach had set some pace goals for me that gradually increased over the duration of the race. Start very conservative and pick up the pace every 3 miles or so. With this tactic I was essentially passing people the entire race, an interesting phenomenon. I felt really, really great and happy and loving the day for the first 9-ish miles, then it all changed.

At mile 9 I attempted to pick up the pace a bit more per coach's plan. It sort of worked, but I couldn't hold it. **Important point: I don't think my 'implosion' had anything to do with coach's plan, I think my fitness (and knees) just weren't quite where they needed to be. My knees and Achilles had been reminding me they weren't happy for a few miles but now they were really speaking their figurative minds. I felt like I was exerting myself much harder than I was in reality. I tried all sorts of little distraction-y mind games which would work for a little, then no more.

Eventually it felt like I was running through sand and every single step hurt. I was no longer happy. I was no longer savoring the experience or the day. I was in pain but yet still very determined to finish. I saw a woman with a shirt that read, "I can. I will." I used that as my mantra and used some other mind tricks yet again, thinking of those who aren't able to do this for one reason or another.

My discomfort was so that I didn't even partake of gummy bears or Swedish fish some high schoolers were passing out around mile 12. Somewhere in that stretch between 12 and the end was another photographer. I tried to summon a smile but didn't do so well. I was determined not to walk because switching from walking to running or vice versa made my knees scream worse.

Finally, FINALLY we were back in town and making our way down the main drag toward the finish. Why does it seem like I'm not getting any closer to the line?! I swear they were moving it! I was to the point where I was pretty much in a stupor, not fulling paying attention to what was around me. I saw the finish area had two sides, a left 'lane' and a right 'lane'. I couldn't ascertain a difference between the two so I headed to the right since there were people in the left. Much later I realized they split the lanes one for the HM and the other for the M. Naturally I ran through the side that was eventually used to time the marathon. Oops. It didn't seem to matter at that time as the first marathoner hadn't come through yet. Also later I noticed there were big potted chrysanthemums dividing the lanes - were they there when I went through? I really don't think so...I think they put them there later. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I crossed the line and was so glad the race was over!
What would you do differently?:

Firstly, lose weight. I know my extra poundage adds to my knee pain and discomfort and of course slows me down.

Secondly, I'm not 100% sure what caused the tail end of my race to go pear-shaped. Hydration and electrolytes may have played a part, maybe I needed another gel in there somewhere? Hard to say for sure what went wrong, exactly.
Post race
Warm down:

After crossing the finish line and getting my awesome glass 'medal', I was asked by a volunteer if I was OK. Kind of but not really, but I didn't feel quite bad enough to necessitate medical care, plus I didn't want to get whisked away to a med tent or something and for Cuda to finish and have no idea where I was or what happened, so I said I was OK. I felt a bit out of it. Make that a lot out of it.

I got a water and a chocolate milk (chocolate milk! Heaven!), then found a place to sit near where they were offering massages. No massage, just borrowing the chairs. Oh, how bad my knees and Achilles hurt! I wasn't sure my knees were going to bend and then support me as I sat, but it went reasonably OK. I sat there and drank my chocolate milk and rubbed my knees.

After resting a few minutes, I slowly made my way through the food line, zombie-like with my knees and Achilles and feet aching. My stomach doesn't really like heavy, solid foods after I'm done racing, so I passed by many things like cookies, bagels, bananas, apples, bars, pizza (yes, I passed on pizza) and chose chicken noodle soup. I went off to the side out of the way and ate my soup. Either the chocolate milk or the soup brought me around and improved my condition noticeably (I think it was the soup). Of course it wasn't a 100% improvement but I felt considerably more 'with it'.

Dragged my carcass to the bag pick up, then to the car, moving glacially. Slugs were passing me! Sat in the car a bit, then changed, then dragged myself to the finish to watch for Cuda and managed to get a few pics of her coming in to the finish.

Pictures: yes, I changed clothes and hats after I was finished, hence the different clothing! First pic is the glass 'medal' (so cool!). #2 is Cuda and I before the start; #3 is us after the race after I changed; #4 is one of the numerous K9 officers (and his person) keeping us safe at the finish. I don't think this is the same one who snooped in Cuda's bag - that one was a German Shepard, this guy looks like a Belgian Malinois. :)

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being a 'sturdy girl' as Cuda would say.

Event comments:

I can understand why this has been a long-standing, very popular race: quality swag, nice town, nice course, good volunteers, good organization. The glass medals are custom made by Corning Glass and are different colors and designs each year. The HM and M are different colors, too. I will definitely return someday to do this race again!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2015-12-08 12:00 AM
Running
02:37:32 | 13.1 miles | 12m 02s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/328
Overall: 0/2691
Performance:
Course: Point to point starting in Campbell, going through rural areas, back roads, small towns and eventually returning to downtown Corning, the Gaffer District. Net downhill, but there are a few gradual hills along the route.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2016-10-28 2:52 PM

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Pennsylvania
Subject: Wineglass Half Marathon


2016-10-28 3:23 PM
in reply to: #5203284

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Master
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Rio Rancho, NM
Subject: RE: Wineglass Half Marathon

So sorry you had a sucky finish

Great job on working the plan, until you didn't. Sounds like a great course!

I think I would have laughed when the dog sniffed, but your restraint was probably better, ya just never know.

The first year DS2 and I did RnR Denver he complained about getting up early, until he experienced the logistics of getting there.

Congrats on finishing, in spite of the challenges.

2016-10-30 8:13 AM
in reply to: rrrunner

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Wineglass Half Marathon

That was a great job powering through. I am glad it was a good time for most of the race.

2016-10-31 10:48 AM
in reply to: ceilidh

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Middle River, Maryland
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Subject: RE: Wineglass Half Marathon

Sounds like a fun race...don't sweat the HM meltdown - it has happened to me often.  Tough race to plan and execute but that was a great job getting through to the finish!

2016-10-31 3:31 PM
in reply to: jmhpsu93

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Master
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Toronto
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Subject: RE: Wineglass Half Marathon

Nice race report - sounds like a good race ... maybe one to put on the radar for the future.

Great job on getting it done even though you didn't feel so great - you did run a 5k the day before! 

2016-11-01 9:31 AM
in reply to: jmhpsu93

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Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Wineglass Half Marathon

Originally posted by jmhpsu93

Sounds like a fun race...don't sweat the HM meltdown - it has happened to me often.  Tough race to plan and execute but that was a great job getting through to the finish!

So true!!  I'm definitely still figuring this distance out.  This was my 2nd best HM time (20 minutes slower than my PR), which isn't saying much considering basically all the others had meltdowns as part of the day. I've done 5-6 HMs so far and only 1 was good, in fact all but perfect.  I'm still hoping to have another one of those races someday!  It was the best feeling.



2016-11-05 7:51 PM
in reply to: melbo55

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Orlando
Subject: RE: Wineglass Half Marathon

I hope your knees and Achilles are ok! Great job getting through it as well as you did.

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