The Middle Half Marathonm

Me, Caitlin, Roy and Shawn after the race

My training for the Rocket City Marathon in December may be in full swing but that didn't stop me from running (and struggling through) The Middle Half Marathon Saturday. Miles and Melinda Tate (who had their daughter's wedding at the club a few years ago) are the masterminds behind the race. They are awesome and today was such a good race day. I must say not only because I had my personal record (1:46:42) but because the weather was great and I ran with a great group!

I found my running buddies, Catilin, Roy and Shawn before the race started. Like always, Roy had a plan for us and like always we tried to stick to it but eventually we started picking up the pace. Roy is kind of our ringleader in the early mornings, we show up at 5 or 5:30 and he has a plan for us, whether it be 8 miles of hills or warm up and cool down at a 10 minute mile pace and four miles at 8:30. Roy told us we were going to start the marathon at a 9 minute mile pace and work up (or down) to 8:30 and keep it at that pace for the remainder of the race. We started to go a bit faster with every mile and were under 8 minutes for some of them. Shawn left us in the dust after halfway but Caitlin and I stuck together until about the 13th mile. I had run the course a couple times with the Special Kids group and I think that helped along with having someone to run with and push myself against. It was great to have someone to talk to so that I didn't just think about how heavy I was breathing. The race was nice and flat, unlike country music, and I really felt great for most of it. I started to get tired again at about mile 13. This makes me a little nervous because next time that will not even be halfway!


We also saw the Special Kids coaches, Mike, Sharon and Margaret on the side and they were rooting for us and cheering us on. You would be surprised how much difference this makes when you are on a long stretch and see someone who is yelling your name or giving you that kick you need to make it to the finish.

The race ended on the MTSU track and as soon as I hit that track I starte booking it. I like to save a great big oomph for the very end of the race. Unfortunately the result of that oomph is what you will see below. I was really happy to see my time when I crossed because I was shooting for 1:48!

Are you ready for the hottest picture of me ever?
This photo is me thinking, "Thank God that is over and now I want to pass out". Imagine what I will look like at the end of 26.2??

My training for this week looks like this:

Monday: Cross Train 1 hour

Tuesday: 4 miles easy and cross trail 1 hour

Wednesday: 8ish miles (or whatever Roy has in store)

Thursday: 5-6 miles

Saturday: 18 mile long run

I think I can handle the 18-miler but it is the 20 mile long run in a couple weeks that scares me. I think I can, I think I can...