This morning I ran the Frederick Half Marathon for the third time! It's easily one of my favorite races, but I haven't actually run it since 2011, so I've really been looking forward to running this course again.


Back in 2011, I feel like I look super young!

This year was extra special because Meghan was running it too, and it was her very first half marathon!


Meghan and I before the race (and before my headband fell off and got lost at mile 4)

We got up to Frederick about 45 minutes before the race was supposed to start, which left plenty of time to hit the porta-potties multiple times and to find Aila in the crowds.


Aila, me and Meghan at the start

We lined up right near the 10-minute mile pace group, waited for the gun and were off.

I couldn't believe how crowded the course was in the beginning. This is a pretty small race, and I didn't remember the roads being as crowded in years past. I also probably should have started closer to the nine-minute group, but whatever.


Random hot-air ballon fly over at the start

One of the reasons I love this race is because you spend the first part of it running through downtown Frederick, which is so, so pretty.

Plus for a small race, there's always really decent crowd support. In fact, near mile three a minister at one of the churches on the course was out with some people from his congregation cheering for the runners. I thought that was so sweet.

As we headed out of downtown, we turned to run along Carroll Creek. We ran through some neighborhoods where kids were handing out strawberries and high fives.


One of my favorite scenes on the course (Photo credit)

I was feeling pretty good through this point. My splits were faster than I thought they would be, and my energy levels were still pretty high. I took my first Gu around mile five, and was enjoying the fact that the first half of the course was pretty well-shaded.

I felt awesome all the way through mile 8, and up until that point, sub-two was probably still within grasp.

But then the sun came out, the shade went away, and I found myself getting closer and closer to my good friend the Wall.

Mile 9 seemed like it would never get there. I stopped to walk for longer than I would have liked, trying to get myself back in a good mental place for the remainder of the race.

It worked for a little bit and I ran Ok until about mile 11. Then the wheels started to fall off for real.

I was hot. One of my arms was chafing like crazy against my tank top (weird because that never happens in the shirt I wore), and my feet hurt every time they hit the ground.

Between miles 9 and 11, I only stopped to walk once. But between miles 11 and 12.5, I walked like three or four times.

I was so glad when we finally, finally made the last turn onto the track. I knew the finish line wasn't far, and I'd finally be able to get off my feet.

I crossed the line in 2:05:12.

Not my best, not my worst, but overall a time I'm pretty happy with.

Aila totally crushed this race and set a new PR and Meghan rocked her very first half.


With our hardware

As I was walking over to pick up my race shirt, I also bumped into a family friend from PA (who now lives in DC). She and her boyfriend had also run the race as their first half. They did great and are looking forward to doing another one! YAY for more runners!


We are all way more squinty than normal! The sun was brutal!

Plus I also bumped into some Twitter and blog friends! Hi to any of you that are reading! It was so nice to see you in person today!

Honestly, I can't say enough good things about the Frederick half. It's so well-organized and well-run. For a small race, the crowd support is always amazing. Plus the swag is usually pretty awesome.


This year's swag

This race is a keeper and I know I'll be back again.