12/50: Delaware – Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon

Happy holidays, y’all!

Wow, can you believe it’s the end of December? This year has flown by.

I ran my last half of 2015 earlier this month — the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Half Marathon in Delaware.

Despite the name, there were actually no seashore views during the run, which was a bummer because I’m a beach girl and was totally looking forward to a little ocean gazing.

The weather was perfect though, and the course was pretty flat, so I can’t complain too much. Also, I ended up getting another PR — I beat my time in Vegas by one minute! Excited about that. But it came at the expense of my knee. Not so excited about that.

Friday

I drove up to Delaware late-morning on Friday. It was a short drive, about 3 hours.

The downtown/boardwalk part of Rehoboth Beach is very cute, and not very big, which is nice.

My first stop was the expo at the Rehoboth Beach Running Company to pick up my bib and shirt. I met up with my friend, Jen, there — spotted her taking photos of her bib just after I had finished taking photos of my own. (Great minds…)

Afterward, I checked into my hotel — the Admiral Baltimore, located just off the boardwalk.

Jen was waiting for a couple of other friends to arrive, so we hung out in a coffee shop for a few hours, catching up, and then went over to Dogfish House Brewery for beers and a light snack (duck poutine!).

The other girls, Emily and Stefanie, arrived around 8 p.m., just in time for the dinner reservations. We carbo-loaded at an Italian place called DiFebo’s. I ordered the penne vodka, which was delicious, but the portion wasn’t big enough, so I ordered meatballs afterward. I highly recommend the penne vodka if you’re not super hungry.

After dinner, I went back to my hotel, and other three went to Emily’s — her parents’ have a beachfront condo — the view from their balcony is amazing.

I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Race day

Start time was at 7 a.m.

So, that meant my first alarm went off at 4:30. The second went off at 4:45. And the third went off at 5. I didn’t actually get out of bed until 5:15. I’m a snoozer. I like to build in extra time to snooze.

It was the usual race day morning routine: coffee, wash up, get dressed, stretch, eat (force down) protein bar, bathroom.

I left the hotel around 6:40. It was a three minute walk to the start line at the Rehoboth Beach bandstand —thanks, Jen for texting me about this! For some reason, I thought the start was at the Rehoboth Beach Running Company, where the expo was. That’s what (I thought) it said on their website. Weather was a bit chilly, but I knew once we started running it would be perfect.

 

It was a smallish race — only about 3,000 participants. As we waited to start, I scanned the crowd for my aunt and uncle, who were both running the full marathon. I didn’t find them before the start, but my aunt spotted me around mile 4 and yelled my name — we waved. I am one of those people that doesn’t usually notice other people (I know) while running (or while driving). So if you spot me, say hi, because chances are, I did not see you.

The first half of the course went through side streets and neighborhoods in Rehoboth. There really wasn’t much to look at. The second half was more of a trail run, winding through the Junction and Breakwater Trail in Cape Henlopen State Park. I don’t typically enjoy trail running — I’m definitely more of a pavement runner — but this trail wasn’t too bad. It was pretty flat, and most parts weren’t too rocky. However, there were some narrow portions, which forced participants to run kind of in a single-file line. This was frustrating if you wanted to pass the person in front of you. Overall though, it was fine. And I actually thought the second half went by a lot faster than the first half.

History lesson: The Junction and Breakwater Trail is the third rail trail built in Delaware, and at 6-miles, is the longest in the state. It once served as the Penn Central rail line transporting passengers between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, as well as other stops along the coast in southern Delaware.

It was around mile 10 when I realized that if I picked up the pace, I could maybe beat my time in Vegas. So I booked it. I ran a little faster the next couple of miles, and sprinted the final mile. I made it — I beat my time by ONE MINUTE.

I wasn’t planning on going super fast during this race because of my knee pain. If I had started out a little faster though, I may have been able to beat my Vegas time without having to sprint the end. My knee was really feeling it after the race. And now, almost three weeks later, it still hurts. After a little research and talking to others, I think I may have Iliotibial band syndrome, which apparently is a common overuse injury among runners.

Anyway, aside from the knee pain, I thought it was good race. Great running weather, nice course (second half), and awesome post-race party. Let me tell you about this post-race party: I have never seen so much food and unlimited beer at a post-race event. The food included hamburgers, hot dogs, bagels and pancakes. And there were at least a few different kinds of beers to choose from. Oh, and there was great music, too! Lots of fun.

I stayed at the post-race party for a little while before heading back to my hotel to shower and check-out. Afterward, I had lunch with the other girls at The Greene Turtle before hitting the road to go home. I would have stayed a little longer, but I had plan with some friends in Arlington later that night.

State number 12 is done! 🙂

Race details

Name: Rehoboth Beach Seashore Half Marathon
Date: December 5, 2015
Cost: $85.00
Race day weather: Cool, windy, low 40s

Race start time: 7 a.m. ET
Course description: Flat and fast. First half going through residential areas and the town, and the second half on a trail.
Race organization: So-so organized
Finish time: 2:17:52

Other costs:
Gas: $25
Hotel: $225
Food and drinks: about $75
Total = $385