Half Marathon

I can't believe it! We ran a HALF MARATHON yesterday!!! It took me 5 months last season (longer than that if you count the pre-team preparations I started in January) to prepare for a 13.1 mile race! Now, in two months...only TWO MONTHS, a 13 mile race (the inaugural Endure-for-a-Cure Double Half) is only a TRAINING RUN!!!! And what a beautiful day for a run too. I am soooo thankful to God for the lovely weather and the beautiful scenery along the Orting Foottrail. One bridge we crossed over made me think of the Blackfoot river close to my Grandma's house. I felt really good for most of the way, but on the way back I was starting to tucker out a bit. Thankfully, my coach from last season caught up with us and she said she noticed I was running well, but completely exhausted when it was time to walk. She recommended that I change up my interval to allow for a greater recovery time, and that made a great difference. My only complaint (which is little and adjustable) is that my socks were rubbing against the callouses on the bottom of my feet. It becomes very uncomfortable and by the last mile or two I was VERY grateful to know I would be stopping soon.
Donna ran SOOO WELL yesterday. She is such a steady runner, if I can just stick with her. I tend to run slightly faster than she does, but I can't sustain it as long as her steady pace. You would think i would have that figured out by now! Oh to be steady like Donna is.... =0)
It was fun to see some of my old teammates out there on the course. This race was also a fundraiser for our Rally Team's Charity ~ Seattle Children's Hospital ~ and the Leukemia/Lymphoma TNT team. My coach Jason, said that they raised $3500 to be split between the two teams! Amazing. Especially because they figured they would have about 30 runners sign up, and we had at least 109 people sign up for one or both days of races! It's called a double half because you could run a 5k,10k, or Half Marathon on Saturday in Orting, and then choose another race to run in Yelm today. So if you wanted to, and you were a "half fanatic", you could run both half marathons, earn you "half fanatic" shirt, and have the satisfaction of knowing you just ran a full marathon in two days! I am not that crazy. I am just going to do it in one day and get it all out of the way in one fell swoop! =0) Of course, I still have 3 months of training to go, so.... My coaches wouldn't let us run a double half anyway. We are not ready yet. We could have done a recovery run of a 5k or 10k, but...naw...not today. Church first. Run second.
It's not too late to make a donation to the cause. Just click on that "Superhero's" link above. (You know I am going to mention that almost every time I write something on here until June, so you have been warned. =0P )
I hope you are blessed by the Father today. He is TRULY amazing! Thank you Father for...everything...the beauty of your creation...this amazing thing called grace...salvation...the ability to "run" 13 miles "without dying"...so many things to praise you for!
Marvelling at what this human body can do when pushed beyond it's perceived limits.
Night y'all.
Eryn