Long Run FAIL...

I had been looking forward to this run...we (Brandy and I) were headed to the B&A trail to log 13.1. It would be a first for both of us and a confidence booster for our upcoming half. What could of happened did...

• I woke up late and missed eating breakfast. Thought I could make up for it with GU gel and a couple chomps...I was wrong - stomach pains started around 5.5. Cost me about 2 miles on my run.
• We headed the wrong way and ended up near the city. Could have been worse but there is nothing worse than passing your car knowing that I still had another 8 miles to log. Oh and dodging some sketchy people.
• Brandy's shoes were killing her feet and eventually she took them off in favor of running in socks.

Surprisingly, I'm actually relieved that things didn't go accordingly. It is a good reminder that not everyday is an awesome running day. We struggled (me more than her) and it happens. We will try again next week and learn the lessons of this week.

Race Goals: Frederick Half Marathon

The countdown in on, with only 23 days left until my very first Half Marathon! I am unbelievably excited and am over planning (it is what I do). You can only have one first Half Marathon right? Everything needs to be perfect! So here are my goals in order of importance:

• I need a cute outfit. So far I have my Lululemon Skirt and my Brooks Ravenna shoes will be here Friday...I'm still in need of a t-shirt or tank and a hat.

• Get to sleep by 8 pm the night before. My alarm will go off at 4 a.m. so if I can get a good 8 hours of sleep I think I will be set.
• Get at least 1 good running picture out of the event. I have too many bad pictures and not enough good ones. I won't have any spectators up there to cheer me on so hopefully the pros will get a few of me so my chances of getting a good one are a little higher.
• Finish under 2:15:00. 2:10:00!

At the end of the day I just want to have fun - which means trying to relax, go with the flow, and whatever happens happens. It may be my day to rock it...it may not. Either way it is my first half marathon so I want the memory to be wonderful!

Race: Cherry Pit 10 Mile

This was a last minute addition to my "schedule". I can't really call it a schedule since it is more by the seat of my pants than anything and on top of that I'm not really a racer per se but more like a lolly gagger who enjoys trying to beat my self. I had decided that my training, or lack there of, could use a forced long run and I knew that I wouldn't walk in front of all those people.

I went in with no goals other than to finish. This was a training run for me. It was so much better than the added pressure of having to accomplish some feat. I started in the very back, there were literally 15 people behind me. I knew that there were some really fast people there including the Navy Marathon team so sticking to the back seemed like a fine plan.

Mile 1 (10:36): Once the race started I quickly realized that starting in the back is fine...if you want to run 11 min/miles. Passing was also a bear in the beginning since we were running on the shoulder of Rt. 2 and some groups were running 4 wide. At the end of the first mile the runners started to thin out a little bit and it was much easier to navigate through.

Mile 2-4 (9:54,9:49,9:36): Rolling hills along Rt. 2 with 1 water stop. I was carrying my UD Water Bottle so I passed the water stations. After Mile 1 I cut my mile times into the 9's so my goal was to take it as easy as possible. End of mile 4 was the beginning of a beautiful downhill section.

Mile 5&6 (9:30,9:36): Downhill and flat! Took the opportunity to let gravity do its work. Still feeling good about the pace I was at - didn't feel like I was pushing too hard and still had a lot to give. I remember being ecstatic that I hit halfway. There was one steep hill in the middle of mile 6 and I saw a couple of people walking that one.

Mile 7-9 (9:42,9:56,9:28): The hills were back and with a vengeance. According to my Garmin we gained 113 feet in mile 7. I'm used to running Kent Island which is as flat as they come. BUT I was unbelievably proud of myself - I passed people on the hills. My pace didn't falter because of the hills and not once did I think that I couldn't do it.

Mile 10 (9:25): This was my worst mental mile. I knew that I was almost done and it made the mile drag on - I kept looking and looking for the finish line! My legs still felt pretty good though and it was reassuring to know that even after that many miles I was still hitting my pace. And come to find out my quickest mile. Finish Time 1:38:09

Overall this race was a lot of fun. It was challenging, a great distance and put on by a great group (Annapolis Striders). The volunteers were wonderful and the police officers and reservists were eager to help when I discovered my car key disappeared somewhere along the way. I can feel the running spark coming back!

385 out of 539 overall
36 out of 48 in my division (Fem. 20-29)
142 out of 251 in females