Less than 2 Weeks Away!

We are all now in our taper stage - thank goodness! Lindsey and I completed out last "long" run this Saturday. We ran 15 miles at a pretty good pace, although we stopped a few times - once to check out a garage sale! That was really fun.

I can't believe we are one weekend away from the marathon, though. I am getting nervous, but excited at the same time. We have 9 miles to run this next weekend, then take it easy, travel to Vegas, and take off.

San Antonio Rock n' Roll

This last weekend I did my last "long" run before I taper in San Antonio, and it was a blast!!! I went down there with my dad, my uncle, and my cousin. My cousin was running his first half marathon (which he ran in 1 hour 45 minutes!!!!), and my dad ran with me... We were signed up for the half marathon, but out schedule called for a 22 mile training run. So, we stayed on the marathon course for 15 miles, then crossed over to the back half of the marathon course at mile 19, and ran in the remainder of our 22 miles.

Although the weather was not perfect, I had a great run. So glad I got to end the long runs on a positive note! We started out running a bit fast for my training runs (11:15 or so), but we kept that pace throughout. We even sped up to sub-10 for the last 3 miles. At that point I was just ready to get it over with! Anyway, I was so proud of my run - definitely my best yet!

The route was pretty cool too, for anyone interested in running one, the San Antonio Rock n' Roll marathon or half is definitely a great run. We ran through downtown, right past the Alamo (a little history for the runners) and through the mission district south of downtown. So all in all a great race - I highly recommend it.

The pictures I have posted are of my dad and I at mile 9. (Not quite worn out yet!) It has been so great sharing this experience with him... I hope that someday I can actually keep up with him!!!

~Lindsey

No matter how slow you run it is still faster than someone sitting on a couch.

We are now less than a month away from Vegas. Wow.

And I know I can do it.

That's because I ran 20 miles in the Fort Worth Marathon race this weekend by myself. (When I say "by myself" I mean that I didn't know anyone of the 400 people running and I ran the whole thing with nothing but my iPod and my thoughts to keep me company).

My goal was to finish in 4 hours. That's an even 12 minute pace including water stops. I was vigilent about keeping my pace even. At mile 10, I was at 1 hr, 57 min. At mile 20, I was at 4 hrs; 56 seconds. According to my Garmin, I ran 20.2 miles at an avg. 11:59 pace.

And at the end of the race, although I was exhausted, spent, sore, aching, etc., I knew I had enough left to do another few miles. I knew if I had to, I could do another 6.2 miles. I knew I had reached the point where I was ready for the marathon. And that feels great.

I am pleased that I have set my marathon finish time at 5 hrs 20 minutes. I think that's absolutely doable. If I do it faster, great! If not, that's okay. I know Lindsey and I won't be running it together. And that's okay. Because I was able to keep myself going for 4 solid hours on the most boring route possible with nothing but my will and my awesome playlist.

Boo Run 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

Our running class was scheduled to run the DRC 1/2 marathon on November 1, which was a Sunday, but Lindsey and I decided to find a 1/2 marathon on Saturday so we could go out and enjoy Halloween evening. So, we searched and found the inaugural "Boo Run" in Cleburne, Texas. The run was to benefit those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It sounded like a good cause and it was only about an hour drive, so we thought: "Why not?"

I picked Lindsey up at around 6:00 a.m. and we took off toward Cleburne. When we got to the race site, it was obvious that this was not going to be a large race, but we did see runners milling around and some bumper stickers with "26.2" and "13.1" so, we were among friends! We picked up our race number and timing chip and discovered only about 30 people had signed up for the 1/2 marathon. The race also had a 10k and 5k, so there were plenty of other runners for those races. I think there ended up being about 100 runners in all. The race was very well organized , though, and it was extremely touching because the recipients of our race funds were giving out water at the water stops. What an inspirational experience.

Lindsey and I had our race plan set: 10:50 pace for 13.1 miles = 2:22 finish time.

We were off! First mile we looked at the watch and we were running between 9:50 and 10:00. Ok, slow down, we told ourselves - well, guess what? We never did. We pretty much kept an even 10:00 pace the first 6.7 miles of the race. We stopped for water and fuel at the halfway point and kept on going. We tried to slow it down just a bit the second half so we didn't die at the end, but the weather was gorgeous and we knew the course (as it was 2 loops around) and we just kept on going. We did stop at more water stops the second time around as we were more thirsty and the people working at the water stops seemed so disappointed when we passed them by the first time. At about mile 10 my legs started to feel tired, but by then we only had a 5k to go, so we powered on. I got a second wind around mile 11 and I think Lindsey experienced the same. We glided on in to the finish line with a time of 2:17:58. Woo hoo! Nearly 5 minutes ahead of our goal time. We both felt great after the race and the people were so appreciative of our participation. It was a great 1/2 marathon experience and we will be coming back to at least run the 10k next year.

My plan to party it up on Halloween didn't quite work out the way I planned though. I was so tired, I was a total bump on a log the whole night. Oops. Live and learn.

Our class performed fabulously at the DRC 1/2 marathon on Sunday and we are so proud to have this goal behind us. The marathon is getting closer and we feel READY!

Pic on the Run

One thing I love about our long runs is that you really get to know the Dallas neighborhoods. We went running through Preston Hollow a couple of weeks ago. The houses are amazing! And their Halloween/Fall decorations were superb. Here's a pic of my running group in front of a pumpkin patch (i.e. someone's front lawn!).

First Half Marathon Race - Check!

This weekend, we all participated in a half marathon race. For Lindsey, it was #2. But it was the first for Jennifer and I. And it was great!

Jennifer and Lindsey ran in the Boo Run, a race that raised money for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They both ran a great race and came in second in their age groups!!! They totally dominated my time at 2 hrs, 17 minutes. I'll let them tell you about it, but it sounded awesome!!!

I ran in the DRC Half-Marathon with my running class. The weather started off really cold and ended up pretty hot. But it was a great day to run. The half was a lot harder for me than I anticipated. I mean, we run upwards of 20 miles now. How hard can 13.1 be? Well, when you run at a pace nearly 1 minute below your training pace - it's pretty hard.

Again - the mental came into play for me. I fell behind my group on the spillway at a bottleneck, but I was able to keep them in my sights. I resorted to my iPod, which really provided the inspiration to get through those last 3 miles. I had to really dig down deep to keep from walking. And I found that even though I was spent, hot, thirsty, hurting, tired - I didn't want to let myself quit. I had a goal to finish in 2 hrs and 30 minutes. I did it in 2:24:20!

I was really grateful for all the supporters and my coaches who helped me get here. Now, I just have to do it again in 5 weeks (this time, double!).