the road goes on forever...

Probably my best race ever :)  More details later, but this is the biggest race I ever won! I felt really strong, and actually ran negative splits. I took the lead at mile 4ish and ran out of fear for the next 5.3, picking up the pace just because I was scared of getting caught. 

Long version (more for me to look back on later, don't feel like you need to read it!!):

When Jason and I arrived at the race, I picked out the woman I thought was going to win. So when the race started I kind of went with her and her friend for the first mile. She said she was starting easy and we ended up running around a 6:52, which got me a little worried. I was only aiming to run 7:30s for a 1:10. But I decided to stay with them for as long as I could... why not.  We stayed pretty much on that pace, but by almost four miles I saw her form start to go. So I went for it. When I passed her the fear came and I got really freaked out. I was laughing at myself because I new I went out way too fast, but once again, why not see how long I can hold it. The course was a figure 8, so I new I would be passing the start and seeing Jason at around 4.5. I was so excited for him to see me in first even though I didn't think I could hold it.  I gave him my gloves and saw he was kind of freaked out too (since he knew I was out way faster than expected). I asked him how far back she was and he just yelled at me to go run. Honestly, I couldn't even breathe once I passed him because of the overwhelming emotions, and had to tell myself to get control of my body. So really the next half consisted of me picking up the pace due to fear (dropped to 6:35s). It felt fast, but great. I made sure to enjoy myself as well though, yelling for all the runners and joking around with the volunteers. I had no idea if I could keep it, but when I got to the 8 mile mark I knew I was home free, and I couldn't see any women behind me which was awesome. Since it was a figure 8 the other runners were running in the opposite direction and cheering for me all kinds of encouraging words, and of course being the talker that I am I thanked every one of them or told them good job as well.  I love that part of running. I finished feeling really strong, which makes me feel like I can beat this time one day, it just wouldn't be as fun :) I was also 11th overall, which was something else I was really proud of.  One of the proudest races of my life, definitely my best since college.  Then I ate three chocolate chip cookies and some wafer cookies. Yum!! After the race the woman I picked out in the beginning saw me standing next to Jason's car with the South Carolina tags and she jokingly yelled "Go back to South Carolina!" I loved it! 

Oh, and one guy finished the race on crutches. Crazy.

I am now getting really excited for my marathon (but not so much for my twenty miler!).  

easy miles on the track after class.

4 x 1200 with the gulf winds

rest day! hope everyone had a good one!

about 5 easy miles, rockin out to the ipod :)

it took over ten minutes to find my shoes this morning in my 800 square foot apartment. i wish school would just give me a break so i could clean and do some laundry :(

Estimated about 20 miles, 2:56:45

Long runs done!!! If you can't tell I am writing this right as I got home, so I am still on my runners high and enjoying my chocolate milk :)

Warning: This may contain too much information.

Games I played to keep myself busy:

1. Find the cheapest gas- $2.19 but then I forgot to keep looking once I started running with Michael at mile 10. 

2. I spy something gross- I saw some pretty gross things on my run today. The first one was the spine of an unidentified animal. The cool thing was that I saw it on my 18 miler too, and it was still there this week. I actually got to run by it twice today too, lucky me. The second grossest thing on my run was when at mile 9 I snot rocketed down my own leg. (That was the too much information). The winner of the grossest thing on my run was so gross that I will not share it because seriously, you do not want to hear about it. Let's just say it belonged in a bathroom, and I guarantee you it is not what you are thinking.

3. Holler at cha boy- Count how many obnoxious college guys yell, whistle or honk at me. This number increases exponentially on game days, which happened to fall on both my 18 and 20 milers. I had 6 today, which isn't that much but for 7 miles I was running with a guy friend of mine, which usually deters them. And note that 6 is the number of vehicles, not people, as the truck with 4 drunk guys in the back (yes, at 9am) would have doubled the number.

Sadly, I won't be attending the football game today because when I did that after my 18 my legs screamed at me all night. So I am just going to watch it on tv and do some much needed cleaning.

Time for an AWESOME breakfast!! I am going to make pumpkin carob chip pancakes and turkey bacon. Oh yeaaaahhhh.  

I had a great accomplishment today! I convinced my parents to fly down for my marathon. They weren't sure if they should come because of the cost and all the other things going on at home right now, but I worked on them enough and now they are coming! I ordered their plane tickets for them today so it's official! Since they are accountants they have no life during tax season, and my dad (fellow marathoner) died a little inside when he couldn't see my first marathon. So to make up for it he is running the first half of this one with me (there is a half marathon that is one lap, the marathon is two). How cool is that!

Didn't feel well at all even at the easy pace, so I cut the intervals short. This happened in the spring after my 20 miler too, so no worries.

Ended up doing 1 mile, 1200, 400

easy miles

Reminder for race day: I don't usually feel good until mile 4 or 5, so don't get discouraged if I don't feel good in the beginning.

Ran with Michael. Felt a little faster than I planned but I'll be fine. Maybe it was just because I didn't get very much sleep last night. My turtle is really sick, I took him to the vet last night at 5:30 and 8:30, then again at 7:30 this morning. I slept on the couch so I could keep a better eye on him, and kept waking up and walking over to him to make sure he is alive. He is looking a lot better as of right now. I really hope he makes it, he's the coolest guy ever and only 4 months old. It's been a rough couple of days.

The man:

Very short, slow run around campus I was able to throw in between school obligations.

2 x 1 mile, 1 x 800

Sorry for the lame entries, my home computer is broken and I don't have time at school to say much. I haven't gotten to read a lot people's stuff lately but I hope everyone is doing great!! Especially all those sickos out there. I'm glad I'm 2000 miles away from you!

I'm illegally putting this run in before I do it because I won't have computer access for a while. But I plan on doing about 7 before I leave for North Carolina for a conference. One week til the big day!!!!!!!!!!

2 marathon pace miles sandwiched my mile jogs.

I will be getting a new computer this week!!!! Then I will be able to catch up with everyone.

There is a chance of rain right now for Saturday morning but I am not letting it freak me out too bad. However, if any SGers who ran in the rain and wind this year have any pointers in dealing with the adverse weather, I'd love to hear them! 

I think I am going to watch Spirit of a Marathon tonight. Or Run Fatboy Run :) 

3 easy miles

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! What a great day to have to carbo-load :) 

I'm going to Boston!!!!!!!!

 
Sorry for the delay! My home computer is completely broken.  I'll give details later, but I felt horrible, weather was crappy, but I still got what I needed!! I look forward to killing this time sometime soon. Right now it looks like Boston may wait until 2010, but I'm really excited! Splits and details to come...

Super-detailed race report for future reference:

At the start of the race it was 68 degrees with a dew point of 65. I couldn't believe how hot and humid it felt, especially after training in Tallahassee. There was a wind of 5-10 which was bitter sweet because it made it tough to run but also wicked away a little sweat.

Mile 1: 8:01  My dad and I decided I would try to do the first half at 8-8:10 pace. That meant any time under 8:23s (what I needed for Boston) could be used in the second half.

Mile 2: 8:03

Mile 3: 8:07 Still feeling pretty heavy at this point and couldn't get comfortable with the pace. I figured it would take a couple more miles. 

Mile 4: 8:04

Mile 5: 7:58 Usually the magic mile, but still felt crappy today. My dad asked how I felt and I just kept saying "it's still early."

Mile 6: 8:03 Still feeling bad but happy with my splits so far.

Mile 7: 8:12 I knew my time I planned to finish would have made me win this race 50% of the previous years which made me really nervous. At this point there was a small out and back portion and I saw 3 women in front of me which actually made me feel great and really calmed me down. It meant I could run my own race.

Mile 8: 8:05 Still felt bad and realized that I most likely would the whole race. Began to realize that this is what a bad running day feels like. I hadn't felt bad on race day in years, so I was well overdue! Took a gu hoping for a little help.

Mile 9: 8:04

Mile 10: 8:12 I usually take a few sips at water stops, but by this point I realized I needed to take in a full cup at each one.

Mile 11: 8:03 This is where the races split and my dad went towards the finish. Game time! It got really lonely after this point, I only passed 5-6 people from here until the end of the race. 

Mile 12: 8:04 Ate an orange slice.

Mile 13: 8:04 Ate another gu and and realized this was the hardest half marathon I had ever run in my life. I was more tired than my fastest half. My split was around 1:46, giving me 4 minutes "in the bank" as my dad and I referred to it. That was good to know.

Mile 14: 8:11 By this point I was taking two cups at each water stop, drinking the gatorade and half the water, then dumping the other half of the water over my head. I never had to do that before. I passed a guy and he looked at me, didn't say a word and fist-bumped me. It was the coolest thing ever, I may need to steal that idea. I passed another guy and gave him some encouraging words. He just looked at me and in the most miserable voice moaned "I'm dyiiingggg." 

Mile 15: 8:03

Mile 16: 7:59 Still keeping my splits where they needed to be, and knew I just needed to hold on to it as long as I could.  At this point I had 5 minutes "in the bank." 

Mile 17: 8:15 

Mile 18: 8:23  Another gu. It started to thunder and we all anxiously waited for the rain, hoping somehow we would only get a nice cooling drizzle.

Mile 19: 8:27 It began to downpour right at the mile marker, with thunder, lightning and wind... the works. 

Mile 20: 8:22 Shoes now completely soaked through for the first time on a long run. Didn't think they would feel this heavy, but I guess anything does 20 miles in.  I just stared at the ground and pulled myself ahead. I knew this would be the longest six miles of my life. It was the first time I felt too tired to talk to other runners that were running in the opposite direction. Most of them I couldn't even pick up my head to make eye contact with.

Mile 21: 8:37 Honestly the only thing going on in my head from here to the finish was "this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life." Over and over. I tried to think about other things but it was too hard, so I went back to that.

Mile 22: 8:36

Mile 23: 8:35 Continued to just pull myself. Ate a gu but it took an entire mile to finish.

Mile 24: 8:50 I think this is where there was a bad head wind.

Mile 25:  8:52 There was no one around me and I actually thought I was lost. That's something that will freak you out 25 miles in! I finished with a 7 minute bubble around me of no runners. 

Mile 26: 8:35 

Finish: 3:37:16. I saw my parents and started to hyperventilate because of all the emotion of being done. Kind of embarrassing. My legs were the achiest they have ever been and I was soooo cold after I stopped, but warm clothes and jambalaya felt awesome! I was 4th girl, 2nd in my age group, and something like 17th overall (I think).

I know this was really detailed, but I want to remember what it felt like to run this far while feeling horrible. It was the strongest my mind ever had to be during a race to get me through this. I did what I had to do to get my BQ, which is awesome, but I can't wait to kill this time! I know if I am feeling good and have good weather I can do it.  I think I will aim for 3:30 next time. I will be working on my race plans for the next week or two, and I'll let you know! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support!