Long Weekend Rewind Part 1

I don't think i told ya'll, but the running hasn't been going so well. That is, until Friday.

The two weeks prior were filled with good-intentions to run, followed by stopping after 2-3 miles because i felt so lightheaded and sick. I was feeling pretty defeated and seriously wondering if i should not even run the half marathon in 2 weeks. I've never felt so sick from running like these past 2 weeks. No clue what is going on, but after every run i felt like such a loser for not being able to finish or go further.

So up till Friday i was having a lot of doubts about my running ability. At one point, i was like, "wow, what if God doesn't want me to run long distances anymore?!?! what would i do????"

(i'm hoping i never have to really answer that!)

Anyways......Friday morning the temp's were in the 30's and 30 mph winds. Perfect. ha!

My goal was 11 miles. Yeah, crazy long considering i hadn't run more than 4 in the last 2 weeks. I was determined to start reallllllllly slow, because if i couldn't run 11 miles i certainly wasn't going to be able to run 13 in two weeks.

I ran S-L-O-W........like 30-45 seconds slower per mile than my average pace. Whenever i felt myself getting too 'fast' i would make myself slow down. Even though it was pretty cold and brutally windy, i felt really good the entire time.

I mentioned before I had tried Gu and hated it. BUT i tried a new flavor, the Vanilla Bean at mile 6. Right after mile 7, i totally felt that bad boy kick in. I imagine it felt the same as people who use steroids or something. For the next 3 miles i was completely on cloud 9 and feeling AMAZING!!! Seriously, where has this stuff been?!

Long story, not so short, i ran 11 miles and finished feeling the best i've ever felt after a long run. AND i think i could've kept going, too bad the half marathon wasn't this past friday!

I'm pretty excited about the half now, but not uber excited because a. i'm not sure if anyone is going to be there to cheer for me or watch me cross the finish line (Daniel will beat me by at least 30 minutes and is going to church to teach Sunday School. b. you NEVER know how race day will go...weather, temperatures, hills, etc....no matter how much you train, a race is always a little bit different than running in your own backyard.

Daniel and i are both in the market for real running shoes. We both run in trailrunner shoes and are looking for something a little lighter to run in. Hopefully we can hit up the local running store this weekend to see what they have AND get some more Vanilla Bean GU :)

are ya'll training for any races??

Stay tuned for part 2, Dallas!

love

laura