Spectating a Race-The Pasadena Half Marathon/5K/10K

I thought about running this race but decided not to since I didn't want to deal with the heat! My other half and some of his relatives had invited us to run with them but I knew that I had a long run on the books and I felt like I was trying to squeeze in too much for the week. I decided that I would spectate a race for the first time in my life knowing that it would be a different feeling because I never pass up an opportunity to run!

This is the only distance that my other half will run although he has been kind of hinting at a 10K. I am sure pretty soon he will be talking about a half marathon after the 10K and then once he completes a half we all know how the thoughts of running a marathon sneak into the back of your mind. I really hope he decides to run a marathon. I would love to run it with him and cross the finish line as a team. He thinks it's pretty crazy and swears he would never do it but we shall see.. I used to say the same thing!

Normally my other half is my photographer and the person who stands out there for hours waiting for me to finish my race. He pretty much attends every single one of my races and never complains. I thought it would be fun to do the same for him this time around. I enjoyed myself so I am glad that I did.

It was a hot day and it was about 79 degrees at 7:00 am when the 5K started and about 82 degrees when they finished. It was not a PR for him since the heat was a little overbearing and they decided to take it easy. He finished in 31:49 but he picked up the course at 3.44 miles since they had to cross over to the opposite side of the street to get to the water stops.

They had a great time and my son was amazed with all of the media coverage that was there. He really wanted to be on TV and was standing anywhere he could see the cameras!

Watching those runners crossing the finish line was tough because I wanted to be doing the same! It was fun to cheer on all of the runners but the thought of wondering how long it would have taken me to complete the 5K is still dancing in the back of my mind. I guess that is just the runner in me.

Does your spouse or significant other support your running and attend your races?

Weekly Recap (6/24/13-6/30/13) and How I Survive the Heat on My Long Runs

This picture pretty much sums up my week! This is the biggest reason why I hate training for a winter marathon. I am not a big fan of the treadmill for anything over 6-7 miles but I am sure that I will spending a lot more time with the beloved dreadmill to beat the heat this summer!

I had a decent week with the exception of the heat and I am trying to get my mileage back up again in hopes of squeezing in another marathon by the end of year. Here is how my week turned out.

Run #1: 7.5 miles@ 8:46 on the TM: Had to stay late at work to attend a City Council Meeting. Since I live 40 miles away from work, I left work at my regular time and drove to the gym which is about 4 miles away from my office. I got my run in, took a shower and then headed back to work. No excuses, right?

Run #2: 7.5 miles@8:29. I got my first taste of the early morning heat on this run. I wanted to get a run in before we headed to Disneyland and at 6:00 am it was already 70+ plus degrees out there.

Run #3: 15 Miles @ 9:15. I planned this run for Saturday morning, as you can see above it was a hot day! Sunday was supposed to be even hotter so I stuck with it, but it was not easy and was probably one of the toughest runs that I have experienced in quite a while. The temperature was 73 when I started and was 84 by the middle of the run. I kept the pace easy because I knew if I didn't I wouldn't be able to complete the planned 15 miles. I drank some chocolate milk after my run and it hit the spot!

Next week I am shooting for a long run of 18 miles at a faster pace but if the heat is still a factor then I will definitely be taking it easy!

Total: 30 Miles

How do you survive your long runs during the summer months?

I map out the shadiest routes I can find, wear sunscreen at all times, wear the least amount of clothes that I legally can and stay hydrated. I even have my spots wear I stop to refill my water bottles. I get some crazy looks when I walk in all sweaty and beet red! Here is one of my spots where I always stop to refill my bottles. Can you guess where this is at? I will give you a hint...it starts with Mc..

If you run your long summer runs on the treadmill, what is your record distance on the mill?

My record distance on the treadmill is 13.1 miles

Goodbye Google Reader

I have been hearing that Google Reader will be going away for some time now but haven't done much to make the switch elsewhere. I figured I would hang on until the last minute since it hasn't gone away quite yet. I have been reading some posts about Bloglovin' and decided to check it out last night.

I think I like it! It is so much easier to manage the blogs you read and much easier to add and delete blogs too. I found that it was much more time consuming to make changes in Google Reader. I also like that I can easily see all of the unread posts from all of the blogs that I follow so I don't miss anything!

I added a Bloglovin' button on the main page of my blog so that you can follow my blog or you can click here if you haven't already! 

Have you made the switch over to Bloglovin'?

Don't forget to follow my blog on Bloglovin'!

Weekly Recap-6/17/13-6/23/13

This week was a little tough for me! I had some pains in my achilles from wearing heels  during my graduation! They were not very high at all but I guess I am not used to wearing them!  I am not a fan of high heels and you will rarely see me wearing them! I was also walking funny in them because my heels kept sinking into to the grass. I did not get a run in until Wednesday and it was a pretty easy one. It is no fun to run through pain so I never take any chances. I wanted to allow myself time to be pain free until I would attempt a run and I am glad I did! Everything is good now.

Run #1: 6.2 Miles on the TM @9:40. This was a super easy paced run but it feels good to take it easy every once in a while. It took me a while to get going but once I did I was able to pick it up a bit in the end.

Run #2: 8.0 Miles @8:40 pace. This was a tough run for me! I was barely hanging on to maintain an 8:40 pace!

Run #3: 13.15 Miles @8:56 pace. The weather was perfect and overcast during my entire run so I kept the pace easy and made this a long and steady run. Next week I will push the long race at a harder pace.

Total Miles: 27.35 Miles

In other news, my other half finally got the bike trainer set up this week so I am looking forward to putting in some miles on my road bike that I bought a year ago but have never used! 

I decided not to run the Pasadena 5K so I will spectating a race for the first time. I will stay with my son and switch roles and be the photographer while my other half runs. I know it is going to be a weird feeling because I am not used to being on the other side of things. 

This coming week is going to be tough for running due to a busy schedule. I have to work late on Tuesday to attend a City Council Meeting, the 5K is on Sunday and I am trying to take my niece to Disneyland as well. NO EXCUSES so I will find time to get my runs in no matter what!

Have you ever spectated at a race? Was it difficult to do?

High Heels or Flats?
Flats, Flip Flops and Running Shoes for me!

My Graduation in Mostly Pictures

The commencement ceremony happened to fall on Father's Day which I thought was kind of odd but it turned out to be a great day. I spent the day with family which included my Dad and my Grandma. Even though it was warm out there, I am glad that I decided to participate in  the ceremony and I know that my Dad was proud of me. He always is.

If you are thinking about going back to school to get your degree, I strongly encourage you to do it.  At first I was intimidated to go back and get my Master's degree but if you have the drive and are willing to dedicate the time then it's a piece of cake. It is kind of like running when you think about it. We are capable of so much more than we ever thought!

Weekly Recap (6/10/13-6/16/13): Getting Back on Track

I have been laying low for the past couple of weeks and haven't been running too many miles. I wanted to make sure that I allowed my body to properly recover. I am finally feeling like it's time to get back into things and this week was the start. My week is done today since I have a planned rest day tomorrow. 

Here is a recap of my week:

Run#1: 7 Miles@8:52 on TM. We have new treadmills at the gym and I can hardly feel the fan. I was sweating like crazy and really miss the fans on the old treadmills. I have even considered bringing my own battery operated fan. That is how hot I feel in that gym!

Run#2: 8 Miles@8:21. I broke in a new pair of shoes and I must have been really excited about it because I had a great run. My goal was to keep the first mile easy to warm up and then run Miles 2-7 between 8:20-8:30 by feel and then last mile would be a cool down. It ended up being Mile 1: 9:12, Miles 2-7 (8:28, 8:16, 8:15, 8:15, 8:16, 8:17) Mile 8: 7:51. I seem to run much faster than when I do not watch the Garmin. Not sure why that is?

Run#3: 12 Miles@8:43. This was supposed to be a group run and I ran a few miles with the group and most of the run on my own. They were making too many stops and I do not like to stop unless I have to since it is hard for me to get back into a comfortable pace with too many breaks.

Total Miles: 27

Next week my long run will be a 13-14 miler at MGP (Marathon Goal Pace.) I haven't decided what marathon I am running yet but I want to stay in training mode and continue to improve my pace and endurance. 

Tomorrow is a planned rest day since it is Father's Day and my Graduation! I am looking forward to spending some time with my family and celebrating Father's Day with the men who are most important in my life.

What are your plans for Father's Day?

We are planning to go to my graduation and then have lunch together. Restaurants are always so crowded on Father's Day but we always make reservations way in advance.

Feeling Thankful and a Little Lucky Too!

I am feeling so thankful today for the many blessings in my life. So many good things have happened to me in the last few weeks and I am always reminding myself to count my blessings. I am feeling so grateful and I have even had a little bit of luck on my side too!

1) I am thankful to be spending Father's Day with my Dad this Sunday. I never imagined that he would be such a fighter and be able to tolerate his cancer treatment so bravely! 

2) I will be graduating this Sunday. Yes the commencement ceremony falls on Father's Day. I am so thankful that my Dad will be sitting out in the audience watching me participate in the ceremony. I want him to be proud of me and know that he raised me the right way and instilled so many values in me. Education is something that my Dad was not able to pursue and always encouraged me to do so I am sure he will be proud. 

3) I am not sure if my last marathon PR was a result of good luck or not but I am still feeling so grateful that I was able to improve my time more than I even expected to! More than anything I am grateful that I am able to run because so many cannot.

4) I am also feeling pretty lucky! I won an amazing giveaway from Run with Jess! Jess is a pretty inspiring runner who is always running some kind of race and striving to meet new goals. Thank you for all of the awesome goodies Jess! You made my day!

Remember to count your blessings every single day!
What are you grateful for today?

Weekly Recap (6/3/13-6/9/13) and Another Marathon in the Near Future

Last week was a really low mileage week (18.34 miles to be exact) plus I threw a little 10K in there last Sunday and felt pretty strong and pain free. I did better than I expected for not looking at my watch. I am not sure if I will do that again since I think I would have done better if I had looked at my Garmin a little sooner than Mile 6!

I am planning to start running at least 25 miles per week starting this week. It has been two weeks since my marathon so I feel like I have completely recovered and I am ready to get back into things. With summer making it's debut on June 21st, I have been hesitant to sign up for any races in the month of June or July. I do not run well in the summer heat but will probably end up training through the summer to prepare myself for another marathon at the end of this year or in early 2014.

I am registered for the Long Beach Half Marathon in October and may consider moving up to the full marathon if that is what works out for me. I have my eye on a ton of other marathons I want to run but I have not committed to anything as of yet. I really want to run an out of state marathon since most of my races have been local but travel costs can be expensive. I think I might consider planning a vacation which conveniently falls on the same day as a race!

I haven't ran a 5K in quite some time and I am considering running the Pasadena 5K on June 30th. Some other family members mentioned it to us the other day and I have kind of been thinking about it. Since it might be hot, the distance should not be so bad. I might even run it with my other half since he is starting to like this whole 5K thing and wants to improve his time.

Do you run races during the summer months? 

How do you survive marathon training in the summer months?

6/8/13: Ontario Mills 10K

This starting line of this race is about 2.5 miles from my house and the bib pick up is less than a mile from my front door but can you believe that I have never signed up for it? This event is usually held in January and it rains almost every year that it is held so I think that is what has held me back. The event is always held on Saturdays as well and I most of my classes for school were held on Saturday mornings which also stopped me from signing up. Since the event was held for a second time this year I decided that I would give it a try. It is a super small race so I figured what the heck.

I set my alarm for 6:00 am and left the house by 6:35 am. I parked and spotted Megan right away at the 5K start. We chatted for a bit and then her uncle told me that the 5K and the 10K started in different spots so I had to hurry and run to the 10K start. It was not far away but it would have been nice if something was posted to let the runners know the plan.

The 5K and the 10K started at the same time and there was no timing mat at the start which I found odd. Apparently the start time is the same for everyone and your time is picked up when you finish. I wish I had known that or else I would have gotten just a little bit closer to the front. I am also glad that I was not shooting for a PR!

I decided that I would try to run these miles by feel and not look at my Garmin. It was tough because there were no mile markers after the 5K mark and I really wanted to see my pace. The last half seemed really long but I hung in there and stayed strong. I settled into a comfortable pace around mile 2 and then kind of picked other runners to help pace myself. I ended up passing most of them and felt really good the last mile so I picked it up a bit. I am still kicking myself about Mile 2, which is the only mile that was not under a 8:00 pace!

Megan and her family were waiting at the finish and we hung out and talked for a while. It is always fun to meet up with other bloggers. It is almost like you have known them forever but you finally get to see them in person.

Let me say that this was a very, very small race! There were roughly 137 people who ran the 10K and 69 of them were women. I ended up being the 6th woman overall and second in my age group. Only in this small of a race will I ever place! 

 

My official time was 49:40 which was not a PR but had the course picked up at 6.2 miles then it would have been! My Garmin picked it up at 6.33@7:51 pace.

This was my 9th race this year! I still have to complete four more races to meet my goal of 13 races in 2013!

Three Things Thursday

 1. I didn't get a run in on National Running Day because my son was under the weather and my Grandma needed help balancing her checkbook. Family first so I will head to the gym tonight to get a good run in on the treadmill because it's going to be 85 degrees today. I was bummed but when you are mom it happens!

2. I have been really wanting a Nutribullet and I finally got one. My Grandma bought it for me as a graduation present and I am so excited! It was $99 but we only paid $60 after all of my discounts and Kohl's cash. I thought it was a pretty good deal! We tried it out last night and I love it! My son was not so fond of it because he said our concoction smelled and tasted like plants. He prefers his without the spinach of course.

 

 3. I am running a small, local 10K on Saturday. I am so not ready for it but I am just doing it for the heck of it since it is within running distance of my front door. How often does that happen for me? Almost never. I am also excited to be meeting up at the race with this lady and this lady! This will be even better than a PR!

 Anybody have any good Nutribullet recipes they want to share with me?

Happy National Running Day!

Happy National Running Day! I run for so many reasons. I run to relieve stress. I run for the challenge. I run for those who cannot. I run for my Dad who is battling cancer. I run to enjoy the company of the many friends that running has brought into my life. I can't lie though I also run because I love to eat!

When I first starting running, my goal was to lose weight but then it quickly became my passion. I promise that the "eating whatever I want" part of running is not as bad as it sounds. I now make better choices but if I want to have one of those cupcakes that I love, it now comes with less guilt because I know that it is not going to kill me.

Today I am planning on going out for a short run without my Garmin. Today I just want to enjoy the fact that I can run and not have to worry about time or anything else. 

WHY DO YOU RUN? 

So What Is Next For Me and My Goals for June?

Now that I have unexpectedly come closer to that BQ, it is almost a given that I must continue to chase it down! I have had some time to digest my last marathon and start thinking about what I want to do moving forward. I am a little over four minutes away from a BQ time of 3:45 but in my mind that is a huge amount of time to shave off of a marathon time. Yes, the doubts are trying to settle back in. Was it the course? Did I just have a good day? Is that the best that I can possibly do? Will it ever happen again? It's almost like I need to sign up for another marathon right away while it is still fresh in my mind. In all honesty, I am looking towards Boston, 2015. I don't think it's going to happen for me in 2014. I am sure it is going to be a lot harder to get into Boston, 2014 even with a qualifying time based on what I have been reading.

After thinking it through, there are still lots of things that I need to improve on before I attempt another step towards that elusive BQ. I need to train even harder and I would not say that I have completely owned those last 6.2 miles quite yet. I still struggle in the end but I have improved a heck of a lot since my past two marathons. I think the last 10K of my third marathon is what I am most happy about. I was comparing my pace during the last 6 miles of the three marathons that I have completed and it was kind of embarrassing how I completely died in the first two. I gotta work on that!

I have some other marathons in mind but have not signed up for any as of yet. There are so many marathons that I want to run but I have to find the right one. I usually go race crazy on National Running Day with all of the discounts that are offered so hopefully I don't pull the trigger too soon! I really want to try some out of state races but I am hoping to get one more local marathon in by the end of the year to keep me familiar with the distance.

 

So what are my goals for June?

1.  Get back into running and stay in "marathon ready shape."

2. Continue to run 25-30+ miles per week. Starting next week since this week is a easy, get back into it week.

3. Train a little bit harder and make every mile count towards my goal!

What are your goals for June?

Do you have plans to run a marathon this year? Which one?

I am looking for an easy course to get closer to that BQ! Does an easy course even exist?? Probably not!

Hello June and what I am looking forward to this month..

May came and went so quickly! I think I kind of lost track of May since I had my big race at the end of the month and was really focused. I love the summer months because my son will be on summer vacation in a couple of weeks and we may take some fun trips but June is not a good month for running. That is the part that I do not like. The summer heat is brutal here in California and makes training and running races a pain in the butt!

May was a low mileage month for me since I was tapering for my marathon and for the last week of the month I did not run to allow my body to rest and recover. I know that recovery is an important part of the whole running a marathon process and I don't want to risk an injury either. 

So what else am I looking forward to in June? 

1. I am looking forward to my graduation ceremony on June 16th. Getting my Master's degree is quite an accomplishment for me since I never ever thought I would even go back to school let alone do it while working a full-time job. The graduation ceremony falls on Father's Day this year so I am also looking forward to seeing my Dad and spending the day with him.

2. My niece will be visiting from South Carolina and will be arriving in California on June 11th. We have some fun stuff planned for her. We really want to take her to Disneyland since she has not been to Cars Land yet. By the way, Disneyland is raising their prices again tomorrow!

3. I am also looking forward to getting back to running and maybe picking things up a little bit. As I have unexpectedly gotten closer to that BQ, it makes me want to work for it that much harder. I am also itching to run another marathon but I am not sure when or where. I want to keep my body and mind familiar with the distance and I might just run another as a training run. I have never done that before but I am glad that I am feeling more gutsy when it comes to 26.2 miles! Prior to this last one, I was scared to death to take it on again.

Tell me about your month of May? Any big plans for June?

Time for some R&R!

Other than my third toenail that is trying to fall off, this week has been full of good stuff like resting, recovering and eating! I only had a three day work week so it was perfect! I am not sure what is wrong with me but I have been more than hungry for the past few days! I have been kind of giving in and eating a little too much.

All of the soreness that I had in my quads was gone when I woke up yesterday morning. I was kind of surprised since my first two marathons left me sore for close to a week. I think that the soreness may have gone away much quicker this time because I have been foam rolling every single day. That thing really works! I think that I might try to run an easy paced 6 on Sunday but we will see what happens.

I have a 10K coming up on June 8th so I need to get a couple of short runs in before then so  that I don't die out there. The start of the race is about 2.5 miles from my house so I might even jog over to the start. My friend Megan will also be in town to run the 5K so I will finally get to meet this sweet girl! I keep telling her that she needs to move back to California so she doesn't have to keep flying in from Georgia to run these 5K's! I don't have any big plans for this 10K but I have not ran one in a while so it will be interesting to see what I can pull off.

In other news, my puppies will be turning a year old on Sunday so I am planning to buy them a peanut butter doggy cake and we will be having a little birthday celebration.

What are your plans for the weekend? Any races on the schedule?

5/26/13: Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (Part Two)

As most of you already know, I wanted to break 4 hours so badly this time around. I was nervous, scared and felt like I was running my very first marathon because it had been so long. I was frustrated with the distance and stayed away from it for a while. I did not want to take it on again until I was physically and mentally prepared and improved my times in some shorter distances. I needed to be ready before I would attempt it again. I backed out of the Surf City Marathon this past February and ran the half because I knew I was not ready.

A few months ago I decided to run the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon but only gave myself about 12 weeks to train for it due to the date of the race. I came up with a 12 week training plan and stuck with it. I blogged about my weekly training and held myself accountable. I ran all my long runs and I ran some of them with 110% effort to track my progress and endurance. I was lacking a lot of confidence and needed to convince myself that I still had a chance to move closer to my ultimate goal of running the Boston Marathon. This was it, I was going for that sub-four! I threw my goal out there and the pressure was on. In fact the pressure was overwhelming for the past week that I wanted to back out so many times and just run the half marathon. I am glad I didn't!

I knew that I had to run this marathon differently. I knew all of my weaknesses from my past two marathons and if I did not change those things then I knew the result would be another 4:05 or maybe even worse. I know that we cannot control every aspect of a race since some things are simply out of our control like the weather and our health on race day. I knew that if I worked on the things that I was in control of then everything else would fall into place. What did I do differently that worked for me?

1. I trusted my training. After three, strong long runs of hitting a consistent 8:35-8:40 pace (without dying) I knew it was possible to run faster than a 9:22 pace (4:05 finish). If I could do it on a training run why could I not execute it during a race? The next big question question was how confident was I going to be on race day without blowing it?

2. I fought HARD through those last 6.2 miles. That is when the race starts! The plan was to listen to my music but I didn't do that. I ended up doing something totally different. I talked out loud to myself like a crazy woman and refused to let myself throw this race away! I told myself that the wall did not exist! I told myself that I was not going to throw this race away and have to come back to this blog with my tail between my legs! I kept my thoughts all positive and convinced myself that "I can do this!" It worked for me and I found strength during those tough moments. I am sure the other runners around me were looking at me like I was crazy but I didn't care. I was on a mission to break four hours! 

3. I broke the race up differently in my head based on the course elevation. Miles 1-3, Miles 4-5, Miles 6-10, Miles 11-21 and Miles 22-26.2. Mile 20 was not included in the final breakdown. I used Mile 22 instead since Mile 2o which is where I hit the non-existent wall in my last two marathons. Mile 2o did not exist in this race!

4. I did not go out aggressively and I stayed focused! I was patient with the pace! I started out slowly and picked it up when the time was right. I also promised myself that I would not push myself to the point where I knew that the race was going to go south. Patience was key and I followed through with it. If I wasn't feeling strong, then the plan was to back off and just run the race and finish without dying in the end even if the result was not a 3:59:59 finish. Everything has to align and when it's not happening, us runners know it.

5. I found that comfortable pace and stuck with it. I wanted that comfortable pace to be 9:00 but I had previously mentioned that an 8:35-8:40 pace seemed to be feeling a little easier during my training runs and the same held true on race day. The "easier pace" felt comfortable but I played it smart and I backed it off even though I felt strong. An 8:35 pace was not in the plans nor had I planned or trained to run an 8:35 pace for 26.2 miles!  It was not worth the chance on this day so there was no temptation to start setting unrealistic goals at the last minute.

How I ran this marathon Mile by Mile:

Miles 1-3 (8:50, 8:48, 8:48)

At first I decided to line up behind the 3:55 pacer (a little too fast for me but figured I would back off when it I needed to) since the next fastest pacer was 4:10 (not within my goal time.) I asked the pacer what his pacing strategy was and he said he was going to be running an even pace. I studied the course and knew that two miles were uphill and I wasn't sure if I wanted to run an even pace to allow for some slack on those two miles. The second wave of runners started two minutes after the first and the 3:55 pacer took off pretty quickly. The start was a bit crowded so I ended up falling pretty far behind the pacer. The pacer's group was quite large in the beginning. I could see them ahead of me but decided that I did not want to burn too much energy trying to catch them. I knew the pacer was going out way too fast so I decided to just run my own race and not let the pacer determine my race for me. I settled into an 8:50ish pace which seemed to be very comfortable with minimal effort so I stayed with it until Mile 4.

Miles 4-5 (9:01, 8:56) Gradual Uphill Climb

These two miles were the only miles that were slightly uphill so I took them easy. They were not bad but I knew that I needed to ease off for a bit to save my energy. I think my pace fell into a 10 minute pace at some point but towards the end of each mile I was able to make up for the time and finish closer to 9 minute miles.

Miles 6-10 (8:42, 8:40, 8:47, 8:46, 8:45)

These miles were when the gradual downhill started so I went picked it back up to an 8:50ish pace and it still felt good. I was not babysitting the Garmin so there were times when I may have gone a little fast but not by much. When I realized I was off pace, I brought it back down. I told myself that if I still felt strong the time would come to pick up the pace. I actually passed the 3:55 pacer right about Mile 7 and I never saw the group again. The original pacer was a man and at Mile 7 it was a woman so I am not sure what happened to the first guy.

Miles 11-21 (8:35, 8:34, 8:37, 8:37, 8:39, 8:37, 8:34, 8:33, 8:36, 8:36,8:29)
It was at this point in the race that I decided to pick up the pace. I was feeling really good. I was not tired at all and everything seemed to be right. I hit all of these miles under 8:40 and was still feeling good. I promised myself that if I started to feel tired that I would back off. I did not want to die in the end. In fact I refused to let it happen again. I got a little anxious at Mile 19 because I knew my worst enemy (Mile 20/The Wall) was coming. I saw my friend Mariam right before Mile 20 and talking to her was a great distraction. It was perfect timing!

At Mile 21, another one of my friends was waiting for me and she ran with me for a bit until we passed the point where you had to view the finish line. I never saw it because she distracted me. I also saw my other half at Mile 21 and I think he was a  bit surprised that I made it to this point so soon. This is the text he sent to me right before the race started at 6:00 am. He always believes in me but still thinks that running marathons is kind of crazy! 

Miles 22 to the Finish (8:40, 8:43, 8:51, 9:02, 8:51, and 8:09 for the final .29)

Miles 23 and 24 were the toughest due to the out and back to get back onto the bike path to head to the finish! The shade was gone, it was starting to warm up a little bit and watching the other runners head to the finish was not helping. My pace started to drop and I wanted to give up but I fought through it. That uncomfortable feeling started to really kick in at Mile 25. I never hit the wall but I started to feel my energy decreasing which is probably normal at this stage in the race. I was not going to walk so I scolded myself out loud and rode it to the finish. It was not easy but I had come too far to throw it all away. I refused. My legs were tired. I wanted to walk with the others who were walking. I wanted to stop for a quick break. I wanted any excuse to stop but once I spotted that finish line those thoughts left my mind. I knew I was going to come in under fours. I didn't know by how much but I knew that if I kept running I had a very good chance. My ability to calculate splits becomes impossible after Mile 20! I didn't want to babysit the Garmin but instead I emptied the tank for whatever it was worth and then saw the clock at the finish and it read 3:51:29.

I thought that was my time and I was excited! Once I stopped my Garmin and saw 3:49:10, I was confused and I thought my watch was off but then I remembered that the second wave started about two minutes after the gun. I was in shock. How did this happen? Who was I out there today? Is this really happening to me? Yes, it was an incredible day but it was never easy!

I left everything I had out on that course! I gave it 110%! I did not give up this time! Anything is possible when you are patient, when you listen to your body and you run a smart race. I have never ran a race like this before and it made such a difference. I am now only 4 minutes away from a BQ but I don't want to get overly confident. I know that every race will not be as great as this one so I will continue to be patient and chip away at my marathon time until I get that BQ. What's next? I don't really know. I am still living in this moment! I don't want it to go away just yet. 

For anyone who is looking to improve their marathon time, you can do it! I am not a great or fast runner. I do not run high mileage. I do not have any natural talent to run like so many of you do. All you have to do is set your mind to it, be patient, commit to the training and make every mile count. Step out of your comfort zone and push yourself during your training to see what you are capable of. What worked for me may not work for everyone but I just wanted to share what made a difference for me. I found that a lot of it is mental! If you can think it, you can do it! If you tell yourself that you can't, then you probably won't!

This week will be my break from running to let my body rest and properly recover. I will start to slowly get back into it again when I am 100%. I am actually looking forward to taking a small break so I can come back rested and motivated to keep reaching for my goals! I know that I have lots more work to do but I will not give up!

Thank you so, so much to everyone who supported me for the past 12 weeks. During those tough times out on the course, I thought about all of the words of encouragement and advice that everyone sent to me. Your words carried me through so many tough moments!