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Sunday, April 11, 2010

Still smiling

I think I say this every Sunday, but I can't believe the weekend is almost over already. Plus, Spring Break is over, and the kiddo goes back to school tomorrow!

So, yesterday was the big day. Peak training day. This is what the clock said when I came downstairs:

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Keep in mind I had already gotten dressed, brushed my teeth, etc, before I came down! That's EARLY for a Saturday! Right? And, trust me, I am NOT a morning person. But C had a 10:30 soccer game, and I wanted to get this run over and done with. Here I am at 6:00am:

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I was real anxious at this point. I was meeting the girls at 6:30 so we could do a drive through and drop off our waters and gatorades at the "check points". It was our goal to be running by 7:00.

It was cold yesterday morning - around 40 degrees I think?

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See the Fitworks sign in the background? :)

Anyways, it seemed like my Lucy long sleeve shirt wasn't going to be warm enough as we started running. I had a short sleeve shirt underneath, but I was really feeling the wind cut through. As we took the hill down into the valley, though, and entered the park the wind died down and I was perfectly warm. It was actually perfect! I wore my thin gloves and headband, too, and never felt too warm.

The first 10 miles were uneventful, and me, Lauren, and Danielle fell into a pretty even pace, staying right around 9:35 each mile. Here we are at the turnaround point (don't ask why I'm standing like that, I have no idea!):


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Stretching:

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We quickly wrapped it up, and headed back. It mentally helps me when we break the run up into segments. I knew from here we only had 5 miles to the next water stop, another 3 to the final water stop, and then 2 to the finish!

I knew we weren't going to be done before C's 10:30 soccer game, but luckily he plays right in the metroparks so we got to his field right before his game started. The timing was PERFECT.

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I quickly gave hugs and kisses, and said I'd be back in a half hour. We had 2+ miles left to go!

So remember in the middle of this post, when I said we "took the hill down into the valley"? Well, we had to go back up this hill at the end. It's a good thing, as I know the hills in the Pittsburgh marathon are extreme, but that doesn't make it any easier!

We killed it, and finished the official run time in 3:11 (our second half splits were faster than the first half!).

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And we're still smiling!

All in all, I felt that if I HAD to, I could have run the additional 6.2 miles yesterday. Next weekend we're going to try a little "raceday" experiment and start our run when the race actually starts, and not stop at the water stops, but instead walk through them.

Today I have been resting. J and I took Diddy for a mile or so walk, but that is it. Total break for these legs, which was totally needed. Plus, I think I deserved this day off.

Back to the grind tomorrow. I'm teaching Group Power at 5:30am again!

Hope you all had a great weekend - what did you do that you're proud of??



9 comments:

  1. Nice job! SO cool that you have such great friends to run with too. Strangely, I am very proud for completely taking today off! I need more breaks. My body has been aching! I am teaching pump tomorrow at 5:45! Enjoy class :)

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  2. GOod job!!!! It was a great weekend for running. I love knocking out big long runs before noon.

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  3. hi again :) Hope class was kick butt this morning. chickpea burger: http://itzyskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/08/chickpea-burgers.html

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  4. Heatha- Im so proud of you!!! 20 miles and you could have kept going, your ready for marathon day! And so am I! Can't wait to cheer you on :) Have a great day and rest those legs! xoxo

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  5. Fantastic job lady! :) So proud of you!

    Hey - random question. You know that pregnant lady who would teach the 5:30am Power Class? Is she on maternity leave? Who is teaching it? I really want to take that class again, but I wasn't totally crazy about that lady. Can you let me know when you have a chance? :)

    Thanks!

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  6. Thanks, Alexa! Just doin my part in the world.......jk jk jk... :)

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  7. Next time we'll have to train together! You make it look so easy! Miss you!

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  8. Im really proud of you ! ! Love the spray tan - - Looking forward to your run on Sunday as I know you will completely rock it ! ! The only bad thing is what am I going to read now on Monday/Tuesday mornings now that your done with the race. Will you continue with new subjects on your blog ?

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