It was too wet to play
So we ran through Frederick
On that wet, wet, wet day
Okay. . .so maybe that's not exactly how Dr. Seuss wrote it, but that's my adaptation to intro you into a recap of the 2019 Frederick Running Festival Half Marathon. I had never run a race before that rained (and rained hard!) most of the race, so this was definitely a first. Let's recap - the good, the bad, and the wet!
This was my third time participating in the Frederick Running Festival. In 2014, I ran the Twilight 5K and in 2016 I completed the Nut Job Challenge by running the Twilight 5K on Saturday night and the half marathon on Sunday morning. I've always enjoyed this race weekend for several reasons - number one probably being the company I get to keep when running! Several of my friends participate in this race each year so it truly is a fun filled event. In fact, one of the couples we are closest with lives in Frederick and play host to a pasta dinner on Saturday night and open their house to runners to sleep at the night before the half. I also really enjoy the course in Frederick, or at least the first 10 miles of it.
Miles 1 through 10 of the race are ran primarily through the streets of downtown Frederick. Whether you're running through the shopping and dining district or winding through neighborhoods, the course always brings out a good number of fans and the time in town passes quickly. The last few miles of the course though are brutal. The course opens up to basically be wide open road. With all visual interest lost and a pretty terrible uphill climb through mile 11, it's easy to quickly fade out, especially in the rain.
So let's talk about the rain for a minute. We knew a few days out that weather forecasts were predicting a soggy half marathon, but forecasts only increased rain totals as the hours drew closer. Having never run a race in this type of steady and consistent rain before, I was seeking advice from my more experienced friends. Armed with anti-chafe cream, a hat, and my poncho I took to the starting area ready to get this race started and finished. Maybe the rain would motivate me to run faster? About 5 minutes before the race started, the skies opened up big time. As I'm standing at the starting line, I'm watching rain pour from gutters of the surrounding buildings and realize I'm already accumulating puddles of water in my already soaked shoes. It was at this time I started to think that I had made a tremendous mistake. Luckily, the rain eased up as the race began and by a mile into the race, it was a steady, but slow rain. It picked up again around mile 6 and I was again trudging through a downpour for about 2 miles. The highlight of that stretch was one of the volunteers standing outside cheering us on with the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" blaring from his car!
After mile 8, the rain again slowed to a more manageable amount, but by this point I was thoroughly soaked and tired and I slowed considerably for the final miles of the race. I was ahead of pace for where I wanted to be until then, running on average around 11:30 miles, but slowed to over 12:00 miles and then eventually closed in on the 13:00 mile pace. I think I really need to build in some speed work before my next half because when I tried to "kick it in" at the end, I had nothing - no next gear whatsoever. Despite this collapse at the end and the conditions, I actually set a new PR by 11 minutes, besting my previous time of 2:53 with a finish of 2:42.
Overall, I would say the day was a success. With a new PR firmly in hand and proving to myself that I can conquer the weather, I was pretty pleased. However, I think my favorite part of race day was the hot shower that was waiting for me at the end followed by the big greasy cheeseburger from McDonald's - and the bling! And a great perk post race is that Care First provides runners with FREE, yes FREE, race photos! Missed the Frederick Half Marathon, but still looking for more great races in Maryland. Corrigan Sports, the group that hosts the Frederick Half Marathon, also has both the Baltimore 10 Miler and the Baltimore Running Festival coming up in the weeks and months ahead. If you're interested in learning more about the Baltimore Running Festival, check out my referral link here!
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