Run!

I kicked some major PR tail this Saturday at the 1/2 marathon in Charlotte, taking 25 minutes off my first 1/2 marathon to finish in 1:57:33. Amazing what training will do for your performance - ha ha!

Here are my stats:

Mile 1 9:05

Mile 2 9:04

Mile 3 8:39

Mile 4 9:00

Mile 5 9:30

Mile 6 9:12

Mile 7 9:17

Mile 8 9:16

Mile 9 9:10

Mile 10 8:56

Mile 11 8:30

Mile 12 8:26

Mile 13 7:53

Average pace: 8:59

Overall placement: 1088/3227 (33.5%)

Division placement: 83/355 (23.4%)

My family came out to watch me. My mom, dad, Mack & Elizabeth cheered me on around mile 8 (Mack was so funny because he saw me but he just stared at me, like "What on earth is mommy doing?"). That was right when I needed a boost! When I got to mile 10 I realized that I felt really great and started to pick up the pace, as you can tell above. I finished so much more quickly than I'd expected that no one was waiting for me at the finish line yet. Poor Richard didn't get to see me run at all! He'd come down to the race with me in the morning to help me find my way and get settled in, but was stuck downtown during the race and then missed my finish, too. I had to call him on a stranger's cell phone to tell him where to find me. My poor coach - all his hard work trying to keep me on schedule these past many months and he doesn't even get to watch the results.

Mack partaking of a recovery bar after the race:

Afterwards we walked over to the Bank of America building, enjoyed the mammoth Christmas decorations, and watched the Singing Bears' Christmas Concert. Mack and the other little kiddies there were so enthralled by them! It was really cute.

Then back to the house for a big yummy lunch and a looooong nap (for me)!