The 35 – 39 Age Group By The Races

 

 

I’m a week away from turning 40 and with that comes the end of the 35 – 39 age group for racing. I thought it would be fun to look back on the races I ran within the 35 – 39 age group which was the busiest racing period of my life!

Just a little background here before we begin:

I didn’t start running races until I was 34. I ran 6 races at the age of 34 (including 3 half marathons, one being my first half marathon) but before that? Running wasn’t really my full fitness focus.

As you may remember, my fitness routine took a back seat when I was pregnant, nursing and then raising my son during his early years < – a new post coming up about this soon.

Running was not the focus that it is now until my son was maybe 7 or 8, when I had more time and when I felt like running was something I wanted to improve upon and do on a super regular basis.

At the same time that I was starting to run races, I also started my blog and became known as a running blogger back in 2013. While I will never run the quantity of races that most other running bloggers do (and I often wonder how I get added to top running blog lists with the best of them) it is interesting (at least for me) to look back at the 35 – 39 age group to see the races I have run.

Let’s start with 35….(2013 – 2014)

My first race in the 35 – 39 age group was the Robert McAvoy 5-Mile Race in Long Beach, NY on September 2, 2013.

I remember how thrilling (and surprising!) it was to place second in my age group, and receive a trophy for it too! However, I started this race WAY TOO FAST. The one mile mark clock read 6:58 which was way too fast for me! Since then, I really do try to start races slower and always think back to this race because of that first mile.

I didn’t run another race until the spring of 2014 in Central Park at the More/Fitness Magazine Women’s Half Marathon on April 13, 2014.

This would be my 4th half marathon but I wouldn’t finish. I turned off the course at mile 7 because I didn’t feel well. I knew something was off but couldn’t really figure out what was wrong at first. I felt a little dizzy, nauseous, hot, cold, and then dizzy again. I felt weird enough to decide not to continue. I turned off the course in Central Park and went to the bathroom at which point I saw that I had gotten my period.  See, I knew I didn’t feel right!

I rebounded a bit a few weeks later at the Long Island Half Marathon on May 4, 2014 but dropping out of the last half left me with this fear that I would feel the need to do it again. With this in my head, I didn’t run my best (3 minutes slower than last year) but at least I finished.

A few weeks later, I ran the City Manager’s 10 Mile Race Long Beach, NY on  May 24, 2014.  It was SO HOT yet so pretty! I love this race Memorial Day weekend as it’s a great way to start the summer season.

And then I was 36…(2014 – 2015)

I made my return for the Robert McAvoy 5-Mile Race in Long Beach, NY on September 1, 2014 but did not place this year! I was off my time from last year by a few seconds.

And WHO did I think I was traveling to Pennsylvania for the Runner’s World Half Marathon & Festival!

I ran the Runner’s World Hat Trick (5k, 10k and Half Marathon) in Bethlehem, PA  on October 18-19, 2014.

While every race I have ever run is an accomplishment, going away for this weekend and running the hat trick was a major moment in my running life. I can’t see myself putting this type of interest/effort in ever again but I’m really glad I did it in 2014!

I really had a most incredible runner weekend, learning so much from the seminars while also learning that I was capable of running a 5k, followed by a 10K, and then a half marathon the next day. I remember feeling so great for that half too!

Then there was the Blue Ribbon Run For Prostate Cancer 10K in Woodbury, NY on November 16, 2014. I wish they still offered this 10K race! It’s super local and was a great little course. It’s still my current 10K PR too!

Next up was the Aspire 10K race in Plainview, NY on March 28, 2015. It was snowing but fun! I love a good 10K.

I never should have run the Long Island Half Marathon on May 3, 2015. I had a 24 hour virus a few days before and thought I was fine. I was not fine. I did not feel hydrated enough or strong enough to run. Wouldn’t do that ever again.

Time to turn 37…(2015 – 2016)

I really thought this could have been a new Half PR race for me when I ran the Entenmann’s Great South Bay Half Marathon in Bay Shore, NY on October 3, 2015 but I was off by two minutes. I didn’t train for this race but felt like I could beat my 2013 PR  but the wind picked up at mile 8 and I slowed way down.

After that half, I “met” Laura and won a giveaway she was running on her blog for a free coaching/training plan. That’s when we decided I would train for the Long Island Half Marathon (my fourth year in a row!) and go for a new PR.

This would be the first time I officially trained for a race!

During the training, I ran the Aspire 10K Plainview, NY April 2, 2016 as a tune-up race.

I ran my CURRENT Half PR (1:45:18) at the Long Island Half Marathon May 1, 2016 

I’m sitting on this Half PR now for over two years. I didn’t realize at the time in 2016 that I wouldn’t be running another half in this age group. Originally I thought I would run a half marathon in the fall of 2016 but planning my son’s Bar Mitzvah took over my life and my interest in/energy for training/running a race wasn’t there.

Suddenly 38….(2016 – 2017)

I ran the 4 Mile Race in Bellmore, NY on July 4, 2016. It was CRAZY hot but I like this race for the watermelon at the finish line and hometown appeal.

I didn’t run another race until almost a year later, right before my 39th birthday with a return to the City Manager’s 10 Mile Race in Long Beach, NY on May 28, 2017.

And then 39…(2017 – 2018)

Two races again. That’s it. Clearly my interest in racing has waned over the years. And that’s okay. Maybe one day it will pick up and maybe it won’t. It’s okay to not want to run a race and just run leisurely around your neighborhood or on the treadmill.

I slowly and subconsciously started cutting back my mileage over the last year.

During this time, I felt like trying a 5K. I ran the Commack Coalition Of Caring 5K October 28, 2017and actually placed second for my age bracket (which was 30 – 39 for this race) but I didn’t realize it until l left the race so I didn’t get my medal. I contacted them but no one ever responded!

To close out the 35 – 39 age group, I recently ran the 10K portion of the Long Island Marathon Weekend on May 6, 2018 and was on the news at the start line!

So let’s total this all up now!

5  –  Half Marathons (plus the Fitness Magazine Half but I dropped out so we can’t totally count it)

2  –  10 Mile races

5  –  10k races

2  –  5 mile races

1  –  4 mile race

2 –  5k races

Have I mentioned I did all of this injury free? That alone probably deserves a medal.

What do I expect for the 40 – 44 age bracket?

Well, I expect to continue running less mileage. One day I do hope to find interest in running half marathons again because breaking 1:45 is still on my mind and certainly doable. To do that though would require me to get back to running longer distances again and right now, I’m not in the mood. It sounds pretty tiring.

I still want to train for a fall 10K race for sure. It’s been fun and rejuvenating to run less and focus on shorter distances rather than the half marathon distance.

I think I will always be super proud of the races I ran in my 30’s and the way my body continued to handle 40+ weeks until my mind decided it was enough. It’s nice to enter this new decade knowing what I’m capable of while also knowing it’s okay to now run less…until the desire returns again to keep going.

Looking back at the races I ran in the 35 - 39 age group on the blog today! #running #run #runner #races #halfmarathon #fitfluential #lirunning #fitness Click To Tweet

Which age group are you currently in for racing? Are you running more/less races right now than in the past?

What’s next on your race calendar?