Okay. Enough complaining, excuses:
On to part two of my race report...
So we left off going up Goodman approaching the first really big hill, into the Highland Park neighborhood. These people did not disappoint last year and I was looking forward to it again this year. Having them cheering and screaming and showing support in lots of ways, helps getting up the hill a bit more manageable. Here is some video from last year, hopefully you don't get motion sickness easily...
Other things that help, seeing your fellow running friends cheering you on. During this stretching I saw both Laura and Sara. I also got a laugh out of the red lawn chair sitting by the side of the road with chalk sign saying "temptation" with an arrow pointing to the chair. Once I got to the top of Goodman (not quite the top of the hill) I walked as we turned into the park and crested the hill. I picked up my pace before passing the drummers and spectators and used gravity to help push me down the other side of the hill. This is where it starts to get a little quiet and a little difficult. We continued to go through Highland Park with some more rolling hills, but I did enjoy some shade through this section. As we neared the entrance to Mt. Hope Cemetery there was a port-a-potty that I took advantage of for precautionary measures. Why have air conditioned port-a-potties not been invented yet? There is nothing worse when you are hot, sweaty and sticky then to get into a steaming box of you know what.
As we approached the entrance of the cemetery, I saw a sign saying it was the most peaceful section of the course, i.e. quiet and boring in my opinion. People on the FF FB page were commenting on how there were people in gorilla costumes at the entrance, maybe I was too much in my own head at this point but I did not see any gorillas. As soon as you enter the cemetery you are forced to go up a quick, but steep cobblestone hill. Ugh. There was a volunteer there this year that was tell you which side to scale and I really appreciated not having to think about that. You are rewarded at the top with a duet bagpipe and drummer playing beautiful music. Going through the cemetery you experience a lot of rolling hills and exposed areas of direct sun. Even my Dad was struggling on his bike and as I was going up a hill he said the course is really great, but this part kinda sucks. Or something of that nature. Yup Dad, you are correct, thanks for reminding me :) I think he got to see a lot of Rochester that he hasn't before and I know he enjoyed that. The volunteers in the cemetery were wonderful and cheering, but this is a long, boring stretch and I feel like it is when I need loud, crazy support the most! Leaving the cemetery is a water stop and I paused to fill up one of my empty water bottles and then kept moving. I love that most of the water stops are manned by high school sports teams, the kids are really energetic and show support for everyone. At this point I was pretty much running alone, Molly had dropped back a bit, and there were a couple other runners near, Rob and his bike was no where to be found (he wanted to give the runners space through the cemetery). I think he didn't want to ride his new bike over the cobblestone.
Then you enter the University of Rochester Campus and run along the Genesee River until you get back into the city. Usually I despise any race that runs this section. I am not quite sure when this aversion began, but a lot of races cover this ground. During our last training run through this section I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it went by and overall how painless it was. It was here that I saw a firetruck and firefighters hanging out at an intersection that I realized I had see quite a few firetrucks throughout the morning (that weren't there last year) and I wondered if it was to have an increased presence because of the Boston tragedy. Towards the end of the stretch, approaching the Ford Street bridge, I ran into Cheryl. Not literally. She was by herself said she was struggling because she thought she had gone out too fast. I stayed with her for a short time and we ran and talked and I think it was a good distraction for both of us. I tried to encourage her, and told her what little of the course she had left. After all I had been one to answer her questions and encourage her to sign up for the HFM training to tackle her first half marathon. It was the least I could do. Plus I've been there before, and I know what it feels like, and I was just happy to be on the right side of this half marathon.
I got up onto the Ford Street Bridge and I knew that there wasn't too much left. My Dad was encouraging me and the police at the intersection noticed and commented on how I couldn't get rid of my coach, pretty funny. There is actually a not too hideous race photo of me with my Dad smiling and biking along side of me. I ran through Corn Hill and the crowds were increasing and a lot of race finishers were cheering wearing their medals and I couldn't wait to finish and get mine. I also ran by all of the NYPD police cars and NYC yellow taxi's that are in town for the filming of the Spider Man movie. Kinda cool! As I got closer to the arena I saw lots of familiar face cheering and calling my name and I was just happy to be finishing. Finishing a race in the Rochester area isn't complete until Ellen calls your name and she did, and I knew I had completed my 6th half marathon. I collected my medal and then waited in the chute to cheer Molly in. Katie found me and we talked about her sweet PR, my family found me and I even got to see an old college friend who heard my name being called and came over to congratulate me. Then we enjoyed some BBQ from Dino, hey it's kinda a tradition now. Overall it was a great time and it's amazing to see what I have accomplished over the last year.
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