While mother nature finally cut us some slack on the temperature and held off on the snow, the wind was CRAZY! I (stupidly) turned on the news when I woke up and when the weather came on I wanted to run right back into the safety of my bed.
65mph wind gusts?? Are you kidding me?! For the first time ever I was thankful for the extra meat on my bones so that I wouldn't blow away to Oz.
I was really nervous going into the run because 1. the wind, duh. and 2. it would be my longest distance ever. Like usual, I debated running with the 12 minute pace group or the 13's. I ended up going to the 12 minute group because I like the pace leader (Hi Thea! :) and I like running with the girls in that group.
 |
| Awesome pace group, post-run |
I surprised myself and stayed with them the whole run. There were a couple points where they were kind of specks in the distance, but for the most part I kept up. I was even more proud of myself because a good portion of our run was against the wind. It was brutal at some points but not having to deal with snow/sleet/ice like usual made it much more bearable!
The first 5 miles went by pretty quickly and I was feeling really good. I ate a Gu right around the half-way point and think it helped power me through the second half (which was much more challenging -- weather and route wise -- than the first!) Gu always tastes like boogers to me and the flavors I've tried so far all kind of suck. Although, today I tried the chocolate flavor, and dare I say it tasted a little like hot fudge?? I mean I don't think I'll be putting it on my ice cream any time soon, but I didn't feel like I was eating boogers. Win.
One of the coaches met us at a couple different points along the route to cheer us on and give us encouragement. This was a HUGE help and mental boost when I saw him around mile 7... I was behind my group and was struggling with the hill. Sometimes some encouraging words really help you to power through the tough parts - thanks Coach Mike! (end Fleet Feet PSA)
I made it through and officially set a new distance record for myself -- 9 miles!!
Overall it was a really great run and I felt good. I still can't believe that I just ran NINE miles...and that I enjoyed all 111 minutes of it! Obviously some parts were more enjoyable than others, but I can honestly say that this was one of my favorite runs so far! AND I think I even got a tan:
I'd say my face is only like 25% sweat, definitely 75% color from the sun. The freckles on my forehead are proof. And yes, I do sit in the parking lot after my run so that I can take pictures of myself to document my excitement. Its fine.
Thank you to all of my 12 minute pace groupies for the awesome run today! It was about time we had a great Saturday morning...and a great Saturday morning it was! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment