Today's race was cleansing and awakening. Cleansing for two reasons: the downpour of rain, the speed (and pain) achieved only at races. Awakening because the marathon is in 2 weeks! I have not ran a race since last year's marathon. I forgot how HARD the marathon truly is. Although only a 15K, all the feelings of the marathon came flooding in. Am I prepared? On the bright side, Kensington is hands down the most beautiful place I have ever ran. Craig can second that. With the Fall colors beginning to appear on the trees, the lake dotted with swans and fishermen, the rain misting the ground and lake, and runners in pain; I soaked in the beauty. Why have I not been doing training runs there? It is about a 40 minute drive for us, but worth it. I will be doing this race next year. So I started out with my first mile at 6:25. A bit gung-ho. I paid for that with some nausea the next couple of miles. By mile 3 I was in a groove. I tried running to the cadence of each song that came up on the ipod. That didn't prove to be very helpful, as my mix was certainly a mix. I like the theory of running to a cadence--but I don't think I could run to a metronome or a song with the same beat the whole race. So, I think I'll just let my body do what it wants--with a little guidance from my mind:) The next 8 and a half miles were pretty consistent, about 7:15's. That's what I want for the marathon, but it was hard I tell you! It was not fun watching 7 or 8 ladies pass me either. I picked it up a little the last mile and finished feeling pooped, but happy. I ran back to meet Craig. He did awesome for very minimal training. He finished in about 1:20, feeling uppity.
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