20 miler ~ New distance! 03:45/ 11:15 pace

Today was the big day...my 20 miler! It was hot and humid, but I got it done. Woohoo!! So thankful my friend Amanda kept me company today. She had planned to run about 10, but I think the heat and humidity got her around mile 4. We had planned on her biking the last 10, so she ended up heading back to the truck to get my mountain bike to finish out the 20 miles with me. So glad she rode the rest because it was so good to have the company!

Here are my splits. If I calculated this right, that's an average of 11:00/. I'm only showing miles 5-20 to get an idea on the pace I ran.
(5-10) 11:04, 11:14, 10:44, 11:01, 11:15, 11:03
(11-15) 10:34, 10:26, 11:07, 10:40, 10:59
(16-20) 11:27, 11:15, 11:51, 11:44, 12:26

Love how #20 looks on the Garmin! A new number for me.

  
I ran pretty slow today, but I was trying to find a comfortable pace that I knew I could finish out the 20 with. You can see where I am really feeling it around mile 18 on. Feet and hips were getting tired. I took a couple of walk breaks for a few feet on those last 2.5 to 3 miles just to give myself some peace of mind. 20 miles is a long way, and when I finished I was feeling it. The weather today made it so much more difficult than the 18 miler I did in the rain two weeks ago. Today was tough, but it was good training. Feels good to have it done. Kinda tired, but enjoyed every bit of it. Loving marathon training. Now the taper begins!!

Oak Mtn Bike Trails ~ 12.16 mi/ 01:58

Another great day of mountain biking! I had planned to run, but just felt like this was what I needed today. Wanted to end on a good note before my 20 miler on Sunday. This was definitely the way to go!! There is just something about mountain biking that is good for the soul.

Glad the vampires weren't out today because I left some DNA out on the trail. :) Crashed and burned one good time. Not really sure how it happened. Apparently my confidence had built up a little too much around mile 10, and I went over a really rooty area with a little too much speed. It's a weird feeling to go sailing over the handlebars and hit the ground. No injuries...just a little blood today. So much fun though! Whooty-whoo!! (That one is for you KB. Hope I spelled it right!)

Not my crash site, but the only warning sign I encountered

There was a lot going on in the woods today! Saw a doe running along side of me in the woods at one point. Stopped and watched her for a bit. Had a hawk that flew out of a tree and startled me. I even met some other bikers on the trail a few times and didn't cause any crashes. I call that a successful ride!

Wishing everyone good luck on any races or runs this weekend!! See you guys after 20 on Sunday.

Mountain Biking at Oak Mtn ~ 9.77 mi/ 01:39

I think I just fell in love!!! Just met Jenifer C. out at Oak Mtn and had THE...BEST...TIME...EVER! This was my first time biking the trails, so I was really excited to have someone to go with. Lots of rocks and roots and trees on the single trail. Really got to plan your path. We hollered and laughed and cut up the entire ride. It was girls gone wild this morning at OM. Woohooo!! I only ran into one tree. And to my defense, it was in the middle of the trail and it was more like a twig. Found the bar on my bike one time. :/ We biked some pretty challenging places, so it was a blast. Oh, and even met a couple of bikers on the path and didn't run into them. :)

I love running the trails, but biking them is really something else entirely. If there is a such thing as a biker's high, I've got it! Awesome ride! So much fun with Jenifer today.

Montgomery Half Marathon ~ 13.29 mi/ 2:00:39

So one year ago, I ran my first half marathon in Montgomery in 2:16:07. This morning, my goal was to crush last year's time and hopefully run another sub 2:00. This was half #6 for me. Very exciting! Nerves weren't too bad this morning. This was gun start and a chip finish, so I got in the front of the pack so as not to lose any time on the clock. Started out WAY too strong. Half a mile in my legs were feeling way too tired. Looked down and saw I was running a 7:45 pace...and this was all on the first incline. Knew I needed to slow it down a bit. Kinda hot and humid out today. Course was a little hillier than I remembered it being.

Around mile 7.75, I started feeling a stitch in my side and thought, Oh, no....not now!! Just needed to hang on to the pace for...several more miles. :) I knew the big hill was coming at mile 10, and pulled it very nicely. Last year I walked it...never again! Adam G. joined me around mile 12, after rockin' his 5K, and paced me to the finish. It was so good to have the company and have someone talk me through the rest of the race. Around mile 12.5, I was losing quite a bit of steam. I knew the course was long and saw I wasn't going to make the sub 2:00. Adam pushed me pretty hard, which is exactly what I needed at that point, because I was mentally and physically whipped. Finally made it around into the stadium and to the finish.

Official time was 2:00:39. Not a new PR on time because of the extra distance; however, new PR on a half pace. 9:05/ pace on 13.29 miles today vs. 9:13/ pace on 13:03 miles at Talladega (1:59:58 finish). So I'm very proud to have run two halfs very strong and consistently back to back. And I beat last year's time by a long shot! Woohooo!!

Splits were (1-6) 8:20, 9:02, 8:46, 9:00, 8:56, 9:04, (7-13) 9:12, 9:34, 9:50, 9:30, 9:49, 9:07, 8:14, 8:02 (1/4 mile)

Place: 237 / 756
Sex Place: 64 / 351
Age Grp Place: 15 / 76

A Year's Time...

Carbing, hydrating, and mentally preparing for Saturday's race. I'm really excited about this race because a year ago Saturday, I ran my first half marathon and finished in 2:16:07. That was *the day* I fell in love with running. I will never forget the emotions when I crossed the finish line.

A lot has happened in a year's time. I have been after a new PR ever since. In the middle of training for the Mercedes, I developed an issue with my ITB and had to stop training. But I ran it anyway because I was determined not to quit.  Pretty decent time, but not a PR.  My third half was the Country Music Half in Nashville in April, and I missed a new PR by 18 seconds!  The route was hilly and crowded and the course was long.  It was a huge disappointment, but I gave it my all and ran it hard.  Had terrible pain in my right shin after that. Came home and ran a couple of trails and decided to sign up for the XTERRA Half.  Ran the XTERRA Half in May, which was my first trail half, with leg pain. Cortisone shot helped that one day...Woohoo!  Finally found out the pain was from a varicose vein and had leg surgery in June.  Decided I wanted the "marathoner" title, so marathon training began in July. Finally I was injury free and decided at the last minute to run Talladega three weeks ago. Unexpectedly, I came home with that new PR I've been after all this time...1:59:58!!  I wanted a new PR, but never in a million years would I have thought I was capable of a sub 2:00.

So will I PR again at MGM this weekend?  Who knows. But I know one thing, I plan to lay it all out on the table this Saturday.  \m/\m/  Hope everyone has a great weekend of running!!