Well, it’s been a LONG time! Life has been busy but very GOOD! We moved in October and enjoyed the holidays in our new home. It is now spring and we are looking forward to our first spring and summer in our new home. Yeah for warmer weather!

I guess I should back up and update my running history the past few months. I will not bore you with the weekly mileage but I have had the best running year since college. Maybe even better! I am really enjoying it now and I don’t feel like it’s my job. It is something I love to do and I love improving and trying to better myself.

RACES!!

I felt pretty good. The first two miles were fine but I really started to cramp up and hurt the last mile. Definitely not used to running that fast! (sub 7 minute pace!) I finished 9th overall. My goal was to break 20 minutes. I was a little dissapointed that this didn’t happen but I knew it would soon.

October 24, 2009- Soaring Wings Half Marathon- 1:39:00
I felt great! The first 8 miles were right at 7:45 pace or under. I wanted to be conservative and not go too fast. I felt like I was really holding back so by mile 8 I just let loose and took off. My last 5 miles were obviously a lot faster, bringing my overall average to a 7:30 pace.

I was much more prepared for the speed since I had run a 5K just 2 weeks prior to this race. During the last mile I was much stronger and was able to maintain a 6:45 minute pace so that was good. Best of all, I finished under 20 minutes which is something I haven’t done since I was 21!! (10 years ago!)

WE DID IT!! Kem and I both qualified for BOSTON!!! We were so focused and prepared. What a great race. I will never forget it! We ran the first 20 together and averaged just under an 8:15 pace. The last 6 I still felt really good so I just let go and took off. Kem knew she could make it if she just kept it under 9 minutes. My last 6 miles were my fastest- mile 26 was the best of all. (around 7:45 avg.) I was so happy when I crossed the line and saw John right there waiting for me. He had driven to several places on the course to cheer for me. Boston 2010 was already filled by mid-November so we will register for Boston 2011 as soon as registration opens in Sept. of 2010.

Great race! Obviously, since I set my Half PR by 2 1/2 minutes. The good thing about this event was that we trained specifically for this Half. It wasn’t just a training race during marathon training. We set our pace for 7:30 but by Mile 5 I was ready to kick it up a notch. I tried to aim for 7:15. I’d love to knock it down to 1:34 but we’ll just have to work on that. I don’t have any other half marathons planned for the near future. My next is Soaring Wings in October so it will be a while! Anyway, I finished 10th overall and couldn’t be happier about the run. The last two miles I just kept thanking God for letting me be able to do this and for making me healthy. ( The day prior to the race I felt sick and wasn’t even sure if I’d run. In fact, John stayed home with all the kids because they were still sick.) So overall, great race and looking forward to the start of spring running!