Hello everyone! As you can see I have changed a few things on the blog, updated some things and the color is looking a little different! If there is anything you think I should change please let me know I am always open to suggestions!
I have some exciting things going on right now, and once I finalize everything I will fill all of you in! New adventures are always fun right! But in running news I wanted to recap the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon I ran a few weeks ago in Portland Maine!
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to run this race with my Mom, this was her first Half (She did great and loved it!) and I will say a few days before the race we both weren't feeling it. She was nervous of the distance and I just wasn't feeling great. Even the morning we were suppose to leave we were still up in the air. We decided we were going to go. We had signed up and we weren't backing out. We drove from the Cape to Portland about a three hour drive make that three and a half there is a sonic on the way so you know we had to stop there on the way and also coming home haha! There slushies' are delicious!
Once we got to Portland we went straight to get our numbers the expo closed at 6 and we were kind of cutting it close with time so we went straight there instead of checking into our hotel. Parking was not super convenient for this, We ended up parking in some lot for $20 which we thought was a bit steep but there was really no other place to park. It was about a five minute walk to number pick up. We went and grabbed our numbers and they told my mom about the beer garden not me though I must not look 21 haha and then we walked around the expo a little. There were not a ton of vendors maybe a handful and nothing I was too interested in. One thing about the number pick up and race that I am not sure if I liked or not was t-shirts were not included. You could pre-pay for one with your registration or chance getting on at the expo. I got one there it was only $12 and it was a nice form fitting tech shirt but I don't know I almost felt like it should have been included. They were also offering for $30 or $35 a really nice singlet that you pre ordered and then it was shipped to your house at a later date. Had they had those there without them getting shipped later I would have bought one they were really nice.
Anyways moving right along we walked around old port for a bit hitting some shops, they have some very cool shopping and TONS of restaurants and then we headed over to our hotel to check in. We stayed at the comfort inn, it was about 10 minutes from the start line and had a shuttle the next morning to and from the race which was great. I do wish they had an expo shuttle too that way we wouldn't have had to pay so much to park but that's ok. We checked in went and grabbed something small to eat and then headed to bed we had an early wake up time.
We woke up around 4:30 our shuttle was leaving for the race at 5:30. The hotel was great they had coffee and granola bars and such for the runners down in the lobby so we didn't have to worry about getting anything the day before for breakfast. We then headed down to the start line. We were probably one of the first people there but it was nice we were able to use the port-o-potties without waiting in line forever and relax before the start of the race. Pretty soon it was time to go!
The Corrals lined up down this pier which was very neat, I was scared I was going to fall in the water though so I stayed away form the edge. They had pulse starts which was great and fast and pretty soon we were running. The route is kind of like an out and back but a little different. You head out and then weave your way back through. The first three miles are pretty hilly I mean there were some huge hills but there was also significant downhill's with every terrible uphill so you had time to recover. We passed the start line around mile 6 which was a bit of a tease and then we headed up a GIANT hill, it was not fun. After that it was a very flat course, just a few small inclines but nothing like before. Around mile 8 you head around this big lake, it might have been the ocean, I am not sure, it was a large body of water haha! That was nice and flat but a little dusty because parts of it were dirt, once you went around that you then headed back towards the finish but first you went by this sewerage plant that smelled awful, not something you want to be smelling 11 miles into the run. The last mile is down a bike bath and then you head into the finish.
This race was a great race a bit challenging but not hard enough that you felt you couldn't finish. There were a few things I didn't like about the race however. First thing being there was a serious lack of water at the finish. This should NEVER happen! Water and Gatorade are the most important parts of a race I think so there should be more then enough. I was able to get one water bottle but they were gone once my mom finished about 20 minutes after me. In saying that there were a good amount of water stops along the way. Next and this comes from my Mom, there were not enough port-o-potties around the race course. There were only a few and the lines seems to be long at them. Hey when you gotta go you gotta go. Lastly the finish was very crowded, I felt like I couldn't move around and just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. It was a small area but I think the area the bathrooms were in was larger, maybe a different set up would help with this.
All in all I enjoyed the race, it was a beautiful course and like I said challenging but not too bad. The medals were very nice and the t-shirts were nice even though you had to pay for them. I do think I would put this race on my race calendar again.
"Disclaimer: Although I was provided with a number all opinions are my own"
QOTD:Did you run the Shipyard Old Port Half and did you like it??!?!
