It's The Final Countdown...

Let me start by saying the people above are some the greatest, most caring and supportive individuals I have ever met. Ever since I started running with CRC and now with CRC's charity group, L2R, I have felt welcome, and supported ever step of the way.  I am so glad I made the decision to start running with CRC  last January when I was looking for a training program for my first marathon.  The coaches at L2R are funny, knowledgeable and a fun loving bunch and I feel like they have my back when it comes right down to it. I know they will be there cheering me on in the end when I need it. 

 Jill... we got this. We may hurt and think we are dying at some point during this race but  we got this. We've trained hard and maybe not always smart but we have put in the time and I feel like we will finish strong. I know you'll be there in the end to shove food and alcohol in my face and maybe pick me up off the ground.

 This past Sunday we had our end of the year party where award were given out for top fund raiser, most practices attended. It was also an opportunity for me to shove my face full of carbs. I walked away with the prize for top fundraiser and being the first to reach $500 so I have a lovely 80 minute massage and wine tasting for 4 to enjoy! Thanks to everyone who helped me to raise over $1400 for Habitat for Humanity Mid Ohio.

Let's talk about tapering................ It's killing me. I feel like I can't set still and I want to eat everything. EVERYTHING!  Yes, I have extra time now that I'm not running 30 + miles a week. I've been trying to fill that time with doing some fun things with the kids. We've went to pumpkin patches, carnivals, movies.... doctors appts.  Ok that last one's not fun,but a string of different plagues have hit my  house in the past few weeks and we have spend a lot of time in the doctors office as well. I'm really REALLY hoping that it ends soon though. I'm tired of seeing my babies sick.

I tried taking these two clowns out with me to slow me down on one run. It worked. Pushing close to 80 extra lbs plus having to listen to the Frozen and Lego Movie soundtrack blaring from the speakers in your stroller will really slow a person down. A lot. 

We are down to the week before my race and I am excited, nervous and scared all in one. I have worked on getting to this point for over a year. I expect I will get a bit emotional when it comes right down to it. I look forward to crossing that finish line. Picturing that finish line has gotten me through some really tough runs. I can't wait to come back here and tell the story of my first marathon. Yes my first... I'm already looking at my second and possibly 3rd  next year.  I'm excited I have my new friend, Emma, who I get to run for now.  I'm happy that I am able to run this for her since she is not able. Know that you will be in my thoughts along those 26.2 miles, Emma, along with all those people that have help me get where I am.  You are all my heroes. 

Happy Runniversary...

This Saturday was my 1 year runniversary with my friend Jill. Last year we ran our first 5k together (and thought we were dying in the process.) This year we ran the half marathon that was part of the same race. It fell in with our taper so it worked out good for us.  As you can tell from the above picture, we've changed a lot in a year.

It was a rather chilly morning to start. I may look a tad under dressed here but let me tell you, I did not regret this wardrobe decision once I started running. The temp was in the low 40's, it was rainy and windy. FANTASTIC weather for a run...... NOT! 

I put my game face on though (yes, that's my game face) and we celebrated this runniversary properly with a PR!   Let me start by saying that we did not go out to PR.  We were going to run a nice easy pace and throw in some faster miles to spice it up a bit but once we started running, we started out pretty fast and we stayed pretty fast. We had about a 10:12 average pace and we stayed pretty consistent the entire time. This was a hilly course and we powered through those hills like champs. We ran fast up the hills and took it easy on the down side.  When I looked down at my watch at mile 11 and saw that we were at 1:51 I knew we were on target to finish under 2:15.  THIS was highly motivating to keep going those last couple miles and to really push it coming in to the home stretch. When we were about a quarter mile away I started to cry. We were doing it!  We saw the clock and we sprinted for the finish line.  Jill and I ran into the finish hand in hand, even though there were no photographers there to catch it.  We finished together for the first time ever. My official time was 2:13:45, her's 2:13:44 (her winning streak continues) Side note to Jill....... You're going down some day.  Down I tell you!  

Anyways, I cried at the finish line, in between dry heaves, I sobbed. I PR'd by 8 minutes!  I'm fairly certain this record will stand for a while. 

 I ran this race for my brand new IRun4 running buddy, Emma!  I wore a yellow ribbon with her name on it to remind me of her while I was running. Emma has spina bifida so since she can not run, I will be her legs and I will run those miles for her! She kept me going strong when I felt like I wanted to quit.   October is Spina Bifida awareness month so stop over by http://spinabifidaassociation.org/ to learn more about spina bifida and what you can do to help prevent it.

 After we were done with the race we stopped by one of my favorite burger joints, The Pint Room, to grab a celebratory drink and meal. It was a good day. Thanks for everyone's support through this journey. The BIG day is just 2 weeks away. I'm getting excited and nervous about the full marathon but I'm looking forward to the challenge!

P.S.   I am told that I need to make amends as my friend Jill feels she has been portrayed as a horrible person in my first blog post. Jill is a a wonderful, amazing, supportive, up for anything kind of friend.  She may kick my but about 90% of the time but she's there when it counts lol.