Tuesday, April 5, 2016

The Final Countdown: Half Marathon #7

It's April and not only does that mean spring is here (or at least she is suppose to be, she is a little confused right now) it also means that race season begins for many of us runners. Only four more days until the Half Marathon Unplugged. This also marks my seventh Half Marathon! It still is crazy  to think that I have done half a dozen Half's and there was once a day that just doing a 5K was a challenge for me. Now my challenges are bigger and require more determination. I have set my goals higher and I am ready to start my 2016 race schedule!

March turned out to be an awesome running month for me. I really wanted to be ready for this weekends upcoming race and decided I needed to get out there as much as I possibly could. I even added in a day of short stroller runs (pending weather). Running while pushing fifty pounds is not exactly euphoric to me. I love running yet running and pushing weight is very different. I guess it should count as strength training more than an actual run. I always hate my times and feel like a turtle trying to hurry to cross the finish line. It does strengthen me as well as adds more miles in for training. There is a silver lining at the end of a stroller run.


I was not specifically going for a certain amount of miles this month...at first. Then I saw that my weekly mileage was higher than usual and decided 140 would be fabulous. I was pretty thrilled to actually finish the month with 150 miles! That makes March my second highest month in mileage. Ever! Typically during race season I average about 120-130 miles a week. Anything over a 100 makes me happy.


The weather is not looking very promising for Saturday's race. Thankfully we are not going to get hit with a blizzard but it is suppose to be in the 20's with snow showers. The course is set along the bike path and Lake Champlain. Last year it was windy yet it was also 40 degrees. This year it will be ten degrees colder and possible snow covered grounds. Gotta love living in New England! The extended forecast shows just a couple days later temps in the upper 40's. Mother Nature is truly confused! I am afraid we already had spring and now she is bringing back winter! The only up side is that I have run in all conditions: rain, snow, sleet and even hail this year. If I had to run in one of those it wouldn't be the first time. This race I trained for could very well turn into a long run with hundreds of my fellow runners rather than attempting to beat last years time for this race. That hope may be diminished by Mother Nature. Sometimes she is such a bitch! 

I am going not not even focus on that right now. What I will focus on is how awesome it is I get to run my first race of 2016. This will be Half Marathon #7 and in some way I will CONQUER it.  There's a reason that is my word of the year. It's time to follow through with the commitment I made to myself. A PR would be great but when it comes down to it I am just excited to be a part of a sport that challenges me, strengthens me, and makes me feel fierce. 

The rest of this week I will be happily fueling my body with carb-a-licious foods and taking a couple rest days at the end of the week in order to be ready for Saturday. No matter what, this race will be awesome because I am going to choosing it to be!

Happy Running


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14 comments:

  1. Woohoo! So exciting! Good luck!!!!!!!!!
    P.S. I'm w/ you about this whole spring business....it's depressing!

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    1. Thanx!!! It's very exciting, kind of like Christmas!

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  2. That's great that you have already conquered running in all those conditions! You will be ready for whatever comes your way. Happy race prepping and have a wonderful race day!

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    1. Thank you so much Diane!As long as it isn't a blizzard I am ready!

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  3. Girl, you inspire me with your mileage and stroller running- that is bad ass! Here's to hoping the weather forecast changes but regardless you're going to ROCK IT!!!! Can't wait to read all about it <3

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    1. Thanx love! I appreciate your encouragement. <3 xo

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  4. That's some serious mileage! Congrats on a great month and good luck at the race.

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  5. That's some serious mileage! Congrats on a great month and good luck at the race.

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  6. Awesome! So excited for you! What time approximately do you think you'll be running by Echo area? Me and the boys will cheer there and duck into Echo for a little visit. :)

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    1. Hmm...The From the Echo I think I got about 3 miles-ish from there to finish. So maybe around 10:15-10:25?? That is if everything goes well. We will see how tomorrow goes! I will keep my eyes peeled for you.

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  7. Good luck this weekend! The weather has been crazy I hope it cooperates for you!

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    1. Thank you Deb! The weather has been so weird! Mother Nature better be nice tomorrow!

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  8. Good luck! I can't wait to read how you did!

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