The Ride of a Lifetime…

What up folks? It’s me, Meghan.

Did the Ride of a Lifetime on March 6 and it was… well… DOPE! Perfect way to spend a chilly Sunday morning. The ROAL, because I am already sick of typing the whole thing out, is an event put on by Life Time Fitness billed as the world’s largest cycling class. Last year was the first year and apparently they broke a Guinness Book of World Record. Who knew there was such a record?

Pre-ride

It was a two-hour indoor spin class held at the St. Paul River Center with more than 1,000 sexy people in spandex. Okay, okay, the sexy part is debatable but you get the point. It was decked out. Banners everywhere, fruit and coffee aplenty, coat check, and the best part… 1,000 stationary bikes fully equipped with clean towels and a brandy new free water bottle. Suh-weet!

Life Time Fitness CEO, Bahram Akradi led the majority of the “class” along with four of his best spin instructors in the country. Not the annoying instructors who pick the worst music possible… The ones who basically make you angry just listening to them talk… The ones you are stuck with because it is the only class that fits in your schedule. These were four of his top spin instructors in the entire country! Again I say, dope.

On to the ride…

Once you get past your typical “How we feeling? I can’t here you! I said how we feeling?” crap and of course the obligatory “when I say hey, you say ho” hoopla the ROAL was yep, you guessed it, dope. What? A live DJ? Okay I guess that is kinda cool. Oh and now you wanna spin Michael Jackson, Prince and a lil Janet all while the live drummer next to you goes to town on his sick bongo set. Oh okay, I guess that is average. Oh, and what is that? All I have to do is sit here and listen to you tell me what to do for two hours, watch you have a blast on stage and in turn I burn 1,200 calories? And then as if that isn’t enough, you have dozens of volunteers running around with clean towels, fruit, energy gels and they want to refill my water bottle for me? BRING IT ON!

The event cost me $50. That $50 earned me a Life Time Fitness cycling club jersey and all of the aforementioned goodies plus the extra water bottle I snagged on the way out for good measure. Next year it will only cost me $20 because now I own the jersey. Totally worth it.

Look at all those bikers!

If you live in Minnesota you are painfully aware that we still have a bit of winter to endure and these next few weeks are among the toughest to get through because it should just be spring already – for the love of god! Are there any fun random things like this in your neck of the woods? What are you doing to keep your sanity during these indoor training months? Can I come?

race recap: valentine’s day TC 5k

This past Saturday, my niece (who happens to my god-daughter), Kate, ran her first 5k.
And I got to be there.

It was my birthday present to her for her 16th birthday.

I know – I made the poor kid run a 5k for her birthday? What kind of godmother am I?

Well, in my defense, she started it. Back when she came to watch me run the Mankato Marathon, she put out into the universe that she wanted to run a 5K and I took it and ran.

We were suppose to run one back in December, which ended up being the race that wasn’t. Stupid weather.

So we decided to celebrate her sweet 16 by getting our sweat on while running the Valentine’s Day TC 5k.

Kate came down the night before so I could feed her pasta with pesto, salad, and a brownie. The girl must be properly fueled. I made her go to bed early. This is mainly due the fact that I’m out like a light by 9 p.m. on most Friday nights.

On Saturday morning, we were gifted some warm weather. Warm is relative in MN. It was 25 degrees at the race start. Considering that the highs for the preceding week were between 0-5, 25 was a dang heat wave!

The race was a classic 5k around Lake Harriet and organized well by the folks at Twin Cities in Motion. They handed out great gear – long sleeve tech tee’s (with a women’s fit!), socks and a hat. Score. They also had signs you could pin on your back to signify your status – Single, Taken or It’s Complicated. I believe there was a meet and greet after the race if you wanted to connect with someone you met on the course. How fun is that?

Like most of the 5k’s around this lake, the start was pretty congested. We weren’t looking to set speed records so this all worked out fine. Slow and steady.

Kate’s goal? Run the whole thing. I was under strict instructions to not let her stop. I was also trying to keep a steady pace so she didn’t start to fast as her wise Aunt is known to do.

Kate was great! We chatted until she couldn’t talk. Then I just talked. Best part? She had to listen. I took the opportunity to share all sorts of wisdom and life lessons. I only received a few eye-rolls.

We also checked out this wedding party that was running. The bride and groom were leading the crew and they were literally getting married later that evening. How cute are their shirts?

There were a few moments where she wanted to stop, but instead we slowed down a little and just kept on trucking. Then she beat me in the sprint to the finish. The little rascal. She finished well under what she had been training at. According to my Garmin, we finished in 38 minutes. She was thrilled and therefore, so was I.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of her. I wish I had the forethought when I was 16 to be proactive about being in shape. She wants to continue to run, do a couple more 5ks, a 10k or two and maybe some day,  a half marathon. I cannot wait to run more with her.

Oh, did I mention she was going to go to 2 formal dances that evening? How many kids run a 5k and then go to a formal dance?  Seriously. She’s pretty awesome.

Okay, I must stop gushing. It’s just so much fun seeing someone get excited about a sport that I’m passionate about.

Thanks Kate. You inspire me.

Who’s inspiring you lately?

the race that wasn’t

I was suppose to run the Reindeer Run today. I was going to be running with my gorgeous god-daughter in her very first 5K!

Isn’t she cute? That’s her in the Gophers sweatshirt.

Well, the best plans don’t always work out. Two things got in our way.

1. The weather. We got a load of snow yesterday which prevented Joan (sis) and Kate (aforementioned gorgeous god-daughter) from driving in to the city. They would have been sitting in the car for eternity and I would have hated for them to get into any sort of accident. That is never cool.

2. Kate’s had the nastiest of colds including a hacking cough that has prevented her from running for the past few weeks. This would not have been that much fun for her and your first 5k should be fun and exciting!

 

I’m supper bummed we could not run in the race. I have done it in the past…

….and it’s very fun when you are with a group of friends who are as crazy as you to be running in the cold and snow.

 

Alas, since my running partner was stranded, I was not very motivated to go run by myself in cold weather and 6 inches of snow. Group stupidity only works when you are with a group.

I did, however, convince Brette to drive me down to the race site to pick up our t-shirts. I mean, I did pay the registration fee, I might as well get the shirt!

It certainly was a beautiful morning.

So, now we are on the hunt for a 5k in February and then who knows….maybe we’ll be running a half marathon together!

In the meantime, I’m likely going to keep most of my workouts inside, except for the occasional run if the weather is right. Read: no ice, above 20 degrees and not windy. Is that too much to ask for?

Back in the gym, spin classes are back in the fold along with some weight training, circuits and that dang dreadmill. Good thing winter is such a short season in Minnesota. Oh wait…..

 

What about you? Do you brave the elements and workout outside no matter what? Am I the only wimp?

 

 

 

race recap: diva dash 5 mile

There were rumors all week that it was going to snow this weekend. It was hard to believe that since on Tuesday I went running with shorts and a t-shirt on and it was 68 degrees.

Well, this is Minnesota and the weather here is anything but consistent. It turns out the rumors were true and when I woke up this morning there was already a few inches of the white stuff on the ground.  In addition it was a bit on the windy side.

That would not stop me from running. I had a birthday to celebrate!  My friend, Carin’s, birthday was on Friday and running the Diva Dash was how she wanted to celebrate.  I was going to be there no matter the weather.

This was the first year for the Diva Dash, an all female event, and it was put on by Final Stretch, the same organization that ran the Mankato Half Marathon. $5 from every registration went to MOCA (MN Ovarian Cancer Alliance). I always appreciate a charity angle in an event.

The event was held in Centerville, MN, which in regular conditions would take about 35-40 minutes to get to. Today, it took me a little over an hour. The plows had not been out much so the road conditions were not perfect.

I found a parking spot and decided to wait in the car until Carin arrived.  They took a different route than I did and had some major issues finding the start. It looked like we would be starting well after the official start time.

Since the point was to have a fun run together, I was not upset. It’s not like I was going to win the thing. I watched the runners go by my car (I was parked on the route) and I must admit, they looked miserable. I was happy to be in my nice warm car.

Carin arrived and we decided to start from where I was parked instead of trucking to the start and just turning right around. Since we didn’t cross the finish line, we would not have an official time. Again, no big deal. I was going to at least time us and get our mileage on my Garmin, but I had forgotten to turn on the GPS and futzing with it in the cold and snow just wasn’t happening. So we ran the race unplugged.

We were by ourselves the entire time. There were two water stations with trooper volunteers handing out water, but other than that, just us and the snow.

On a few stretches the snow was pelting our faces so hard, we were wincing with pain. I have never run in conditions such as these and I don’t know that it will be on my list to do again. :)

My knee had been acting up this week so we took a few walk breaks at my request. I think I might need a rest from running.

We only saw one mile marker along the way  for mile 4. I was so glad we only had a mile to go. Surprisingly, the finish line was still up and there were a few volunteers in addition to Carin’s hubby, daughter and sister there cheering.

We were officially last and proud of it! Since we never crossed the start line, we don’t have a finish time, but I’m okay with that. This race was about running with a great friend to celebrate her birthday.

And now we can totally brag about how idiotic awesome we were that we braved those crazy elements!

Obviously I didn’t bring my camera along with me on the run part, but I do have a photo of us at the end that I think shows the glorious conditions we ran in.

 

Thanks for a great run Carin!

Have you ever ran (or biked) in crazy weather? Do tell!

One year ago: Betty’ Crocker’s words of wisdom on the food pyramid.

race recap: monster dash 10 mile

One week after I ran the Mankato Half-marathon (read the recap), I found myself at the start line of the Monster Dash 10 mile.  A couple of months ago when I signed up, I didn’t think anything of running two races one week apart. However, once I got to the start line, I was questioning my decision.

Don’t get me wrong, I felt recovered. The soreness from the half only lasted a couple of days (thank you yoga) and I got in two short treadmill runs of 30 minutes. I knew I could do it.

I just wasn’t in this one mentally. My attitude about this race was completely different than last week. Remember my race week plan? I did not stick to that at all this week. I didn’t hydrate well. I definitely did not get 8 hours a sleep a night. When it came to the night before the race, I had no idea what I was going to eat. (I ended up with squash, a green smoothie, and a slice of bread) I almost forgot to charge my Garmin. I had no idea what I was going to wear.

It was a very different race.  I had no goals. No expectations. I was just there to run and have fun.

My running buddy, Willa, and I met at my house prior to the race and I was relieved to hear that she had the same plan I did (or lack there of). We were just going to see what happened.

It was looking to be a beautiful day with sun and temps in the 40’s during the race – awesome running weather.

Brette dropped us off at the start with what we thought was enough time to use the bathroom and get a spot in the start corral. When we saw the line for the port-a-potties, I was almost grateful that I was not as well hydrated as I should be. They were at least 50 people deep! Major fail.

As we were waiting to begin, I got to meet Charlotte from one of my favorite fitness blogs, The Great Fitness Experiment. I’m hoping I didn’t come off as a complete dork or like a 12 year old, but it was super cool to see her in person. Hi Charlotte!

After about 15 minutes of trying to stay warm in the start corral, the race finally began and we were off. We kept a pretty consistent pace and just tried to think of it as a training run. Miles 1-5 were pretty steady and we just gabbed away while running.

Mile 1 – 10:29 <– weaving through congestion

Mile 2 – 10:15

Mile 3 – 10:13

Mile 4 – 10:28 <– water stop

Mile 5 – 10:14

At about mile 6 we heard some commotion and a “way to go Jen and Willa”. There was Brette along with some surprise guests, Meghan and Dennis. It was such a motivation to see some friendly faces!

Did I mention they encourage costumes in this race? Check out the avatars behind us!

Mile 6 – 10:39 <—water stop

At the water stop around mile 7.5 ish, we got split up. We were starting to catch up to the half marathoners (the monster dash has both a half and a 10 mile and we share parts of the route).   Willa got tangled with other runners trying to get water and then I got stuck behind a pace group on the congested route. I did some maneuvering to get around them and just kept trucking. I wasn’t too worried as we’ve always had an agreement not to stress over getting split up – especially if one of us is feeling really on fire (or not).

This next stretch had the two major climbs of the race. I’m proud to say I did not stop, I ran up both of them, chanting “I love hills. I love hills.”. I used to do that when biking and it helped a ton. It seemed to do the trick here too.

Mile 7 – 10:27

Mile 8 – 10:23

At about the 8.5 ish mile mark, we turned the corner to run along Lake Harriet. It was the last stretch of the race with the finish line about half way around the lake. As I was turning onto the lake road, I spotted friend BK and Carin along with baby Grace and dog Carter out for a Saturday run. What luck! Carin came over and joined me for about a half mile and it was such a boost!I had a huge energy surge. Plus, it helps that Carin is a faster runner than I am and I didn’t want to seem to slow. :) She gave me some words of encouragement and told me to pick up the pace for that last mile. I listened. Thanks to Carin, my last 2 miles were my fastest! I finished the race at a sprint and let the roar of the crowd take me across the line. Man, I love finish lines. What a rush.

Mile 9 – 10:05

Mile 10 – 9:56 <-– sweet!

Mile .08 – 7:53 <– sprint!

According to my garmin, I ran 10.08 miles at a 10:18 pace….3 seconds faster than last week’s half marathon. I’ll take it. Willa was not far behind me and also ran a faster pace than last weekend.

We feel better than we look.

My biking friend Scottie and his wife, Mel, ran their first Half Marathon and rocked it!

I’m pretty sure Scott’s cheeks are filled with salted nut rolls.

 

I love having friends cheering at races – especially when I didn’t know they were coming!

Scottie, Dennis, Jen, Meghan, Willa

Race thoughts:

The race in general was a good one. I loved that it was close to home and a route that was very familiar. Plus, Team Ortho always has great gear. This year, all the runners received black half-zip running hoodies – complete with thumb holes. I love it!

The organization in general was pretty good. However, there were a few issues.

• Lack of port-o-potties. Not only were the lines long at the start, there were lines at every one along the route. I was so thankful I didn’t need to use one, because waiting in line for 5 minutes in the middle of a race would have made me very crabby.
• Although they made some route changes to ease congestion, there were still a number of sketchy areas. The biggest one being when the leaders of the half-marathon were passing the 10-milers. The fast runners had to go up on the curb to get around. I felt so bad for them. They did not look happy.
• The water stops were very chaotic. The volunteers were great, but they’re were not enough of them to keep up with demand.
• The post-race area of water and food was a major mess. It took forever to weave your way through the “lines” and get to actual food and water.

Even with all of those things, I would do this event again. It’s fun to run amongst costumes and everyone is in good spirits. Having right in my neighborhood makes it even better.

Next race? I’ll be doing the Diva Dash 5 mile race on 11/13 to celebrate Carin’s Birthday. My goal is to keep up with her as long as I can.

 

One year ago: Restaurant Review: Café Twenty-Eight

race recap: 2010 mankato half-marathon

I cannot believe it’s over! I signed up for this race last spring and I started training the first week of August. It  seems like just yesterday and now it’s all done.

And it was fantastic.

I had a great race, learned a lot,  and finished with a personal record of 2:15. Yay!

But let’s back up a bit, shall we?

This was a the inaugural Mankato Marathon and Half-Marathon so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We headed down on Friday afternoon, picked up my parents, and headed to the packet pick-up and expo. Everything was very organized and the expo was hopping. They had some cute merchandise and had already sold out of some things 2 hours into the expo. I picked up a super cute white running hoodie. I adore cute running clothes.

That evening, we hosted dinner at my parent’s house for our out-of-town runner friends and their family – a total of 10. I loved this. It was so fun to be together over great food and talk about the looming race. There were a number of local restaurants offering pasta specials, but I really wanted to be in control of what I was eating. Are you shocked? Plus, this was way more relaxed and casual.

On the menu:

Whole wheat pasta with roasted veggies in a tomato basil sauce

Quinoa pineapple and cashew stir-fry

Sautéed chicken and chicken a la George Foreman

Salad greens with goat cheese, pomegranate seeds and walnuts

Slaw salad with peanut dressing

Fresh fruit

Bread and butter

Cookies – oatmeal and chocolate chip made my mother (she’s the best cookie baker I know)

My mom and I cooked the main dishes and our guests brought the sides. Everything was delicious and no one went to be hungry.

I had a decent night’s sleep and am so grateful. Both Brette and I were fighting off sickness all week so sleep was even more important than normal. The days leading up the race, we were living on zicam, airborne and ecchinacea immune-boosting tea. I truly believe it helped.

Everyone brought along their pre-race breakfast of choice (never try something new on race day!).  For me: cinnamon raisin english muffin with pepita butter and banana. For Brette: granola of course.

Here we are ready to go!

BK, Willa, Me and Brette – ready to run!

Unfortunately, my dear friend, Carin, was not able to race. She had been pretty sick all week and just was not in race condition. It was a major bummer. The positive? She was able to take photos and be a superstar spectator!

On to the race!

All week, the weather was saying rain on race day. It did rain during the night and a few sprinkles were present before the start, but then like magic, the sprinkles stopped and it stayed dry for the entire race! It was overcast and in the mid 50’s. Perfect!

My Race:

I feel like I ran two separate races. My first half and second half were completely different. Here’s why…

I decided to line up with the 2:10 pace group at the start and see what happened as we went.

As I predicted, I felt great at the start (who doesn’t?) and moved ahead of the pace group. My first few miles (9:35, 9:25, 9:55) felt great and I was feeling very strong. I was a bit worried that I had gone out to fast, but I didn’t feel like I was going all out so I thought I was fine.

We turned onto the Red Jacket trail and the next three miles included a significant downhill and then some gentle ups and downs (9:53,9:31, 9:33). I was still feeling good but now seriously concerned I went out to fast.

I did.

Things started to change at the halfway point. I walked through the water stop at mile 6.5, put down a GU, and started running again. I felt slower and I was starting to feel tired. This was also the point I started hitting some parts of the trail where there were no spectators and I felt like I was all by myself. I was wishing I had brought my ipod to distract my brain. I was having a hard time motivating myself. The next three miles (10:04, 10:28, 10:17) were rough. Those splits do not include the couple walk breaks I took. At one point I stopped and a woman came up behind me and said, “nope”. That was needed and appreciated. I picked it up and started running again. It was shortly after that the 2:10 pace group passed me. My heart sunk a little. I knew I was not going to be able to hit that goal. I was determined though to hit my primary goal of getting a personal record.

Those next three miles (10:25, 10:48, 10:49)were lonely and my head was playing mind games. There were some highlights though! We ran through sibley park, one of my favorite parks as a kid, and passed by my beloved billy goats who were also cheering on the runners. It was hysterical. The fans would cheer and then all the billy goats would start bellowing. It was a much needed laugh.

As we exited the park, I realized I just had a mile and change to go. I could do this! I managed to pick it up a bit (10:30) and just focused on the finish. I couldn’t wait to hear if Brette made his goal and how my friends had fared.

When I could hear the crowd at the finish, I got really excited. That last stretch was awesome. Some of my running friends (who weren’t racing) had made the trek to cheer at the finish and that was so motivating. My parents, sister, niece were at the final turn and that’s when I put it in to high gear. I was literally by myself for the final .1 and I wanted to make it big. I sprinted with everything I had in me. The crowd was awesome and cheering loudly. I crossed the line with a smile on my face and right past the line, were Brette, BK and Carin screaming their heads off.

It was awesome.

I crushed my last half marathon time by 6 minutes and that it something I’m very proud of.

Like all runners, I’ve gone through all of the “what ifs” of my race and out of that know what I need to work on to continue to achieve personal records. The biggest thing being the obvious: pacing. I’m going to save that for another post and for now, focus on the positive. I had a great race, a personal record, and I can’t wait to run another one. Races are addictive!

What made my race extra super special?

These guys.

The main reason I signed up for this race was because it was in my hometown and I wanted my parents to be there.  I’ve done all sorts of biking and running events (and have helped plan quite a few too!), but it has never worked out for my parents to actually see it. It meant the world to me that they were there.

My sister Joan and my niece/god-daughter, Kate, were also there which was amazing! Seeing my family at multiple spots along the course was so exciting and it’s crazy how much it helps. Joan and Kate made some awesome signs for the route….however, they forgot them in the car. That is something that would happen to me. How awesome are these signs?

Some people want beer at the finish…some people get excited for eggplant. That would be me. My family knows me so well.

Family

Friends

How did the rest of the crew do?

Brette also had a personal record and finished in 1:37 – a speedy 7:29 pace. This husband of mine amazes me. He was 46 out of 871 runners. How awesome is he?

It must be the beard.

BK also had a PR and hit his goal of a sub-2 hour half marathon coming in at 1:58!

 

BK on his way to a personal record.

So happy to be done and celebrating with his sweetie.

 

Willa, my awesome and inspiring training buddy ran such an awesome, smart and consistent race and completely crushed her goal. It was so exciting to see her finish her first half!

Amy-Marie, my long time gym-buddy, decided after she realized that it was just not her best running day, to help  someone she met on the route finish her first half. She became that runners cheerleader and moral support for the race. I love that she did that, but I’m sure that fellow runner loved it even more. I just love the running community. I wish I had a photo of her crossing the finish line because it was the cutest gallop I had ever seen.

As for the overall event? It was fantastic. The route was beautiful. I did struggle with the times where I felt so alone and there were no spectators, but now that I know that, I’ll bring the ipod next time. The volunteer support was incredible and I was very impressed with the organization. The water/fueling stops were frequent and well staffed. The route was well marked. Everything about the event itself and the communications before hand were great – I have no complaints.

Areas for improvement: The only issue I had was the event t-shirt. I know, it’s kind of silly, but I love event swag, so I was disappointed when they gave me the shirt. They warned me that they ran big and gave me an XS.  I look like I’m swimming in this shirt and the fact that it is an XS if hysterical. It’s a technical t-shirt and I’d love to wear it for future training runs, but it’s just way to big. Major bummer. I would love if it if they would consider women’s sizes for next year. Hint hint.

I’m confident this event will continue to grow and my plan is to stay a part of it. I would highly recommend this race to others.

Way to go Mankato – you made me very proud to say you are my hometown. See you in 2011!

A big thank you to all of you that have supported me and send good vibes my way – I really appreciate it.

So, what’s next? The Monster Dash 10 mile this coming Saturday! The thought of running 10 miles does not sound so hot right now since I’ve been walking around like an old lady all day, but I’m sure that will change. Good thing I’m just running it for “fun”.

race recap: 13.1 Minneapolis 5k

As I mentioned, Anne and I are in process of making some changes (mostly cosmetic) to the blog. Please bear with us in the process.

One of the things I am going to be writing more about is fitness.

Why?

Short answer: It’s my blog and I’ll write about what I want to write about. :)

Longer answer: Working out is a big part of my life and I believe being active is important for a healthy lifestyle. AND, it makes for less guilt when I want the second serving of pasta. AND, I’ve been inspired by reading other bloggers tales about races and training and so on….so maybe somebody will be inspired by mine.

Currently, I’m training for my second half-marathon. As of today, I’m 25% done with training. Wow – that went fast!

I’m training with my friend, Willa. This will be her first half-marathon. It has been so awesome to have a training partner. She is going to do awesome!

As part of the training, we are doing a couple of races. Today was the first. We did the 13.1 Minneapolis 5K. Confusing name, right? Well, 13.1 is the “brand” and they had a 5k in addition to the half marathon.

I have done countless 5k’s over the past 5 years. Most of them I finish around 31-32 minutes. I’ve never been super serious about them. Here’s a photo from one of my first ones – the Monster Dash on Halloween. Costumes are encouraged.

I’m pretty sure this was the Halloween of 2005. Do you love our costumes?
Action shot!

This is a great event and it’s a beautiful time of year in Minnesota.

These guys were great running partners. Jackie just moved back to Minneapolis so as soon as she is recovered from baby #2, she’ll be back running. Yay! Jon is one of my best biking pals and will run the occasional 5k or…marathon. He’s always up for something. Sadly, he currently lives in PA. Jon…..come back!

Okay, back to the event at hand.

This  event was different for me. This was a race and not just a run. It was business.

I got up early enough (2 hours before race time – so 5:15) to eat my favorite pre-run meal: toast with almond butter and  a mashed banana on top plus a cup of coffee for an energy boost. I gave myself some time to digest and wake up. Running right after eating does not treat me well.

I parked about 3/4 of a mile away from the start line so I could walk a bit to get my body warmed up. I think that definitely helps get my legs ready.

My goal today was two fold.

1. I wanted a personal record. For me, I believe that would be under 31 minutes.

2. I wanted to finish in under 30 minutes.

I was pretty confident I could do it, but was still nervous. I have been doing speed-work as part of my training and have definitely become a faster runner this past year. However, it’s super humid here and that tends to slow me down. I was also worried I’d go out too fast and then hit a wall. I know, it seems funny to be worried about hitting a wall when I’m only running 3.1 miles, right?

I felt good at the start of the race. The timer started and we were off! I felt strong and in control.

Mile 1: 8:55.

I’m pretty sure I’ve never run a mile under 9 minutes so this was on one hand, exciting (!), but on the other, worrisome that I wouldn’t keep up the pace. However, I felt awesome and kept reminding myself that I could give it my all for a half hour and would have all day to recover.  Just do it!

Mile 2: 9:07.

I was still amazed by this. Super fast for me. This included a short hill that I knew was coming but still stunk.  At this point, I knew I was going to hit my goals and that was super thrilling.

Mile 3: 9:24.

This is about the pace I intended to keep all race long. I think I was beaming now. Plus, knowing I only had .1 to go was nice. The last .1 I picked up the pace more so I could be strong at the finish.

Mile .1: 1:00 (8:27 pace)

I finished in 28:28 by my watch.

PR!!

I was so excited I could hardly stand it.

Then I turned around and there was Willa also claiming a PR! It was a great day all around.

Humidity? You don’t scare me. I can PR no matter how high you are.

The race itself was very well organized and the half marathon seemed well put together as well. They had water stops out for both routes along with mile markers and clock on top of each one. Loved that!

At the end they had water, gatorade, bananas and bagels. I opted for the gatorade and snagged a banana for later.

We walked back to our cars which were conveniently parked by my favorite coffee shop. A giant coffee was in order. We needed to rehash every step of the race – that’s the best part!

All sweaty and gross but so amped about the run!

Are you training for anything? What are your fitness goals?