The Best Time Ever (***update at end of post***)

It's been a bit of a rough week. I was glad for it to be over and head up to the beautiful Lehigh Valley for the half marathon this weekend with my good friend, Amy. This is my third consecutive year running this race. I ran it with Amy the first year and she returned again this year for another go at it. We came into town early afternoon on Saturday to go to the expo. Here's Amy,, looking cute as ever with her expo gear bag. And here we are, oh so cute and fabulous outside the expo. I'm warning you... if you haven't already figured it out.. there are going to be a lot of pictures in this entry, so if you're one of those running goobers who is primarily interested in the blow-by-blow race report, perhaps this entry isn't for you.
The past two years, there has been a Peep car at the expo. Essentially, it's a yellow VW Beetle with a giant yellow peep chick molded onto the top. It's become tradition to have one's picture taken with the Peep-mobile. We were sorely disappointed at it's absence this year. So, of course, I improvised. Amy was nervous that I'd be arrested by one of the half dozen officers standing about twenty feet away. Of course, that didn't happen. If she hadn't have been such a nervous Nelly, I may have hopped up on the seat.

After the expo, we took a trip to Allentown's recycling center. Yes, it's more exciting than it may sound. And then, off to the hairdresser. Amy has lived in the Philadelphia area for several years now, but being the loyal lass that she is, she returns every few months to visit her hairdresser of ten years (who's name is escaping me right now). Fabulous 'do! We (her hairdresser and I) tried to talk her into something a little different, but clearly, Amy doesn't do too well with change.
After buying some fabulous new sunglasses at the Bon-ton (dig the zexy security tag), we met up with Sarah, Meera, Tom, and Deb for a lovely dinner at one of Allentown's fine dining establishments. Then it was off to one of the new super-fabulous Wawas (you know, the fancy ones with the gas pumps) to get some breakfast stuff. Amy didn't know it, but I lifted a Sweet & Low packet right from under the noses of some of Allentown's finest (for some reason, I think they were following us). Here I am posing for my mug shot. We arrived plenty early for the pre-race socializing (and porta-potty-party). This is one of my favorite pictures... truly captures what me and Amy are all about. I had made arrangements to meet up with Maggie - a fellow blogger who I have not before had the pleasure of meeting. Unfortunately, by the time we caught up with each other, my bag (along with my camera) had been checked. It was great to finally meet her and her husband after reading her blog for so many months. See Maggie's blog for an artistic rendering of the scene.

Okay, okay... onto the actual race stuff.... We could not have asked for a better day, weather wise. Conditions were puuurfect. Overcast, low 50s, no real wind to speak of. Just perfect. This is definitely the hilliest race that I regularly run. This being my third shot at it, I felt fairly comfortable in knowing where the hills are and what, in general, to expect from the course. There are slight and gradual inclines and declines in the first five or six miles, but it really isn't until into the eighth mile that the hills start to come. None of them are particularly long, but some of them are fairly steep. Plus after already running eight or more miles, the legs are kind of tired. Miles eight, nine, and ten have the worst of the hills. Knowing this, I kept my pace in check for those first six miles, I knew that I'd like to average an 8:40 pace or below.

My first three miles were each 8:35 exactly. Yes, I was impressed with my pacing. Subsequent miles were a bit faster, but I was feeling strong and felt as though the pace was relaxed. Of course, the hills were a bummer and tough, but I got through them as well as I could and still had enough left in the tank to run well enough in those last three miles. I vividly remember last year, just having almost nothing left by that point and really hating the race. It didn't get to that point this year, and for that, I was very pleased.

At the time of this posting, the official results weren't up, but according to my watch, I finished in 1:52:20 - more than 5 minutes ahead of my time from last year and my fastest time on this course by over three minutes. I was pleased. I really felt like I ran a smart race. This kind of feels like another first in my evolution as a runner - actually having a plan for a race and successfully implementing it. I'm happy! And Amy surprised herself with running a great race for supposedly being out of shape. Whatever, Amy... you rock.

We decided to 'cool down' by walking back to the hotel - which was probably about a mile from the race finish. We debated the merits of this decision - given that our legs were aching and we were both having some left knee issues. But this made it all worthwhile. Only in Allentown, ladies and gentlemen:
Please note the Jesus painting, the Monster Truck/Demolition Derby poster, and the Billy Graham flyer (the wrestler, not to be confused with the Evangelical preacher). Priceless.

We will definitely be back next year.

UPDATE
And now the stats you've all been waiting for...
Official Chip Time is 1:52:24
54th woman in my age group (out of 246 women)
306th woman out of 1527 women runners
And MOST importantly....
FIRST PLACE in the coveted Rebecca Division (out of 12)!!!!