We have a two-week respite between the end of regular season cross-country and the championship regional race. This year, nestled in the two-week break was the Clarksburg Half Marathon, a race that’s part of the “road” series in the year-long PA circuit. If you’ve been reading my writing for a long time, you may remember that I ran Clarksburg a few years ago and had a rather horrible day— the kind that involves emergency bathroom stops on empty country roads. Last year’s race was cancelled/postponed due to the fires in Paradise, and for whatever reason — probably low registration fees, the willingness to help field a full women’s team, and the not-to-be-dismissed desire for redemption — I signed-up for the 2019 iteration. 

Again, if you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, you probably remember that historically, half marathons and I don’t really jibe well, typically because I’m more-often-than-not in the thick of marathon training (hello cumulative fatigue!), and/or my stomach falls to pieces. So far in 2019, I ran the Silicon Valley half as a workout (that actually went pretty well, surprisingly), and in late July, I ran the second half marathon at SF for funsies on basically untrained/residual marathon fitness legs. At any rate, going into Clarksburg, I figured I should at least be able to fare better than I did at SF (barely squeaking in with a 1:49), but with no fast running under my belt recently (other than weekly XC races) and very limited time and volume on roads lately, I rightfully had no idea what to expect. 

The tl;dr version: I’m delighted to say it wasn’t terrible. I finished in 1:46 and change, and as much as my record-keeping indicates, it was my longest run on roads since (wait for it)… the SF half in late July, which kinda blows my mind. I haven’t been running super long lately (aside from a couple 16 milers on trails in the past ~month), and my medium-distance LRs have typically topped out around 10-12 miles, almost exclusively on trails. I ain’t mad about it, but it baffles me that I’ve managed to go literal months without posting any significant-distance LRs on roads. Who am I??

Logistically speaking, everything about Clarksburg this year was the same as it was a couple years ago when I last ran there: easy race-day pickup, a suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper flat course (like, 9’ of elevation gain flat), desolate country roads, everything. It’s a course that’s obviously conducive to super fast times, though maybe one day my own performance will help verify that claim. 

I’m so grateful that Coach Lisa drove up most of our team the 2-hours-and-change journey northward, and having both a full men’s and women’s team out there made the experience really fun. There aren’t many OAB sections on the course, but the few times there were, it was such a nice pick-me-up to cheer for my fellow harriers. Plus, I got to spend most of my Sunday morning with teammates I rarely get to see, which is awesome. 

In terms of my actual racing performance, I went out a bit too aggressively, given my relative fitness, faded for a bit, and then rallied at the very end. In these PA races, gun time is what matters most, so it behooves runners to toe the line (or get as close to it as they can, anyway) and get outta dodge FAST. Somewhere in the mix of the race, I swore off this distance and this actual race forever, too, even though I didn’t feel particularly bad at any time, maybe just a little uninspired. (I had a lot of those internal “be so grateful you’re out here!” conversations, and they did a good job of re-centering me appropriately). My teammate, Maria, and I hung together for the first few miles before I bid her adieu (great job, gf!), and I more-or-less ran sola for the near-entirety of the race. My stomach held it together well, though by the race’s end, it was getting pretty uncomfortable and distressed. 

A 1:46 isn’t my fastest or slowest half time, and ultimately, averaging a low-8 pace for what was essentially a training run was solidly fine, given my fitness right now. It’s bizarre to me that I haven’t run that far on roads since late July, but then again, when I think about my past few months’ worth of training in big picture terms, it makes a lot of sense; I’ve been spending way more time on trails and chasing elevation than I have been running monster long distances on the rolling roads near home.  

I always say that one of these days, I’ll actually and properly train for a half marathon, but these plans have yet to materialize; there’s just so much other stuff I want to do instead. At any rate, If you’re local and are looking for a fast half in early November, Clarksburg is a pretty solid race choice. Just like I said a couple years ago, however, if you’re into big crowds and lots of fanfare, this race won’t offer you any of that (though you might get lucky and end up on a local news show, like my teammates and I did). It’s charming in the way that small races usually are, but its organization rivals that of its top-tier, significantly larger and more robust competitors. Plus, if you’re into wine country and stuff along those lines, this race may be attractive due to its proximity to all that (and if not, that’s ok, too! The country roads and vineyards are still pretty in their own rite). I don’t know why this race is on the PA circuit, but in a way, I’m glad it is, because I would have never had a reason to venture up that way otherwise.

We have one more down week before the regional champs for XC, and I am delighted to say that I won’t be racing this upcoming weekend (shockingly!). Instead, I’ll be celebrating our wedding anniversary and my birthday all week long 🙂  

Local friends, again, open invite to come play at the XC championship race in Golden Gate Park, at Lindley Meadow, two Sundays from now (November 17)! It’s guaranteed to be a good (very hard) and fun time. 🙂