Man, it really has been forever since I've posted anything. I'm gonna blame it on the fabulous spring weather and the crazy amounts of races I've been doing lately. Let's see... I had a St. Patty's Day race in the beginning of March, a 5K at the end of March, a half marathon at the end of April, an impromptu 10 miler at the beginning of May, and then I have a 15K this weekend and then another 5K in the middle of June. Whew! That is a lot of racing for this little girl. But I really love it, and I've been feeling so good lately! Keeping up with Body Pump twice a week and then running about 3-4 times a week. I'm pretty proud of myself, I'll admit :) Here's a recap of my races.
St. Patty's Day Run: Here was my outfit for the race.
Next up was a 5K in Raleigh at the end of March. I ran this with a friend from work, and we did it in 25:28! That is my best 5K time since high school! It was really cool, because we both got second place in our age groups!! My friend who worked the event called me afterward to tell me that I got second place in my age group and he had a gift certificate to give me. Are you serious??? I have NEVER placed in a race since high school, and I must admit it felt damn good! No pics from that race unfortunately. It was unseasonably cold that morning and maybe that's why we were so quick....we just wanted to finish it as fast as possible!
Then came one of my favorite races to date so far. The Nashville Country Music Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I loved loved loved this race!! Mike and I and another couple went to Nashville for a few days and all four of us were gonna run this race, which was fun because the other couple hadn't ever run a half marathon before. Nashville is a great city and I truly had a blast there. Fun bars with great live music and no cover charge....does it get any better? I think not.
Anyway, on Friday we went to the expo and picked up our packets, which was pretty cool. Very organized for an expo for 32,000 runners. It didn't take long at all to get our numbers, and everything was alphabetical by last name, which was nice.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I had a slight mishap with my ankle on Thursday night (race day in T-minus 36 hours at this point). Walking back to the hotel from the bar in my high heel wedges and I stepped off the curb (Ok, I may have danced off the curb, but whatever.), and my ankle rolled. It definitely hurt and I began to panic that I wouldn't be able to run on Saturday morning. All I kept thinking was that after all of these months of training, and being in the best shape I've been in in a loooong time, I sure as hell better be able to run this race. Or shit was gonna hit the fan. So I iced it on Thursday night and Friday at the expo they had people that were wrapping knees and ankles, so I got it wrapped. I really think it helped because I was able to run with no problem, thank goodness! The injury obviously wasn't that bad to begin with, because I could barely feel it anymore on race morning. Let me tell you though, that ankle tape was looking (and smelling) pretty rough by Sunday night when I finally took it off.
So anyway, we are all laying in bed on Friday night before the race and this obnoxious alarm starts going off throughout the hotel. Everyone went out in the hall and no one knew what was going on. All we could think of was "Crap, is this a tornado alarm?" Because all day we had been hearing about the tornado watch for Saturday morning. The weather was supposed to be horrendous for the later part of the race. So bad, in fact, that if you were doing the full marathon, and you weren't on point to complete it in 4:30, they were going to divert you to the half at mile 11.2. How much would that suck?? You have been training for months for this, and just because you aren't some Olympic caliber athlete, you can't complete the race? I felt so bad for those people.
Mike at 4:45 AM race morning. Can't you just feel his excitement? Haha.
I was the drill sergeant this morning to keep everyone on time. I got up 5 minutes before everyone else and got the coffee started. I made sure my outfit and everything I needed was nicely layed out the night before, so that I didn't have to worry about forgetting anything. I woke up happy and excited, because like I said, I love this! There were shuttles from the finish line to the start line and our hotel was only about a mile from the finish line, so we decided to walk there to avoid all of the traffic (Excellent idea, as the line of traffic was intense. I really think we were walking faster than the cars were moving.) The last shuttle left at 6AM and I wanted to make sure we were there in plenty of time, so I told everyone the night before "This train leaves at 5:15. You can come with me or come later if you want, but I am leaving no later than 5:15." Just wanted to put it out there, you know. But I give our group props, because they were ready and we were gone at 5:15. I was pleasantly surprised.
We all started together in corral #16, which was the 2:15 pace group. Our friends were originally in a slower corral and I was originally in a faster one, but we all wanted to start together, so we started in Mike's corral. Looking back on it, if I was really looking to push harder, I think I'd stay in my original spot. It was kind of hard weaving around people, but I do have to say that it felt good to be passing people the whole time instead of the other way around!
There were a lot of people in front of us, and ....
a lot of people behind us.
It's almost our turn!
Here we go!
Saw this sign at about mile 9...great motivator!
I did it! A PR by 2 and a half minutes! Next goal...you got it. Under 2!
Official time: 2:02:20!
Found him! He finished in 2:20:59, and he didn't have to walk at all which was awesome!
So proud of us!!
The medal!
I had such a fantastic time in Nashville! I just can't say enough about it. The course was great, the spectators and volunteers were awesome, annnnnd...the weather held out for us, thank goodness! I waited for my friend to finish, and when we were about a block from our hotel it started to rain. Perfect timing (for us anyway....poor marathoners!) Then we all proceeded to take a 4 hour nap before heading out on town for our last night. All in all a great trip!
So I think that is enough for one post. I'll blog on my impromptu 10 mile race and some of the other random things I've done over the past 2 months in my next post.
But let me conclude with saying that May is one of my absolute favorite months (and no, not just because my birthday and my anniversary happen to fall this month!). There are so many reasons to love the month of May:
The cold weather is finally gone for good !
Spring is here!
Summer is just around the corner!
Pools open May 1st!
First beach trip is usually in May (if not April!)
Picnics and barbecues!
Flowers!
Finally getting to see your neighbors again after months of hibernating!
Running outside without the misery of being freezing for the first 15 minutes!
Outdoor concerts!
And last but definitely not least.....Strawberry season!!! There is nothing better than fresh picked strawberries to put a smile on your face every time!
This was my breakfast this morning!
Cheers to the wonderful month of May in good ole' North Carolina!
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