Monday, September 5, 2011

My last race with my maiden name

It is officially WEDDING week and I was hoping to start this week off with a bang by running a 15k race.  It was perfect timing as I could run my last race with my maiden name!

All week the weather said 80% chance of rain for Monday morning which was slightly depressing because I did not want to run a race in almost pouring rain.  Sunday night was pretty rainy with lots of lightning but when I woke up just before 6am on Monday there was no rain! Thank goodness!

I wasn't really nervous for this race - I just wanted to go out there and run a good race!  I ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and we were on our way.  For a special treat, Brian's mom and dad came with us to the race.  I was touched that they took the time to come and cheer me on!

We arrived at the race with time to spare and I picked up my bib and waited for my running buddy to arrive.  Somehow I had managed to convince her to run this race and use it as a training run for her half marathon in two weeks!  I was excited to at least have someone there to warm up with and wave to on the out and back course!

Running buddies!
Walking to the start.

Soon it was time to go! With out much fanfare, the gun went off and we were off.  I took off much too fast but the pace didn't seem to hurt and I could not slow down.  It took me almost a whole mile to rein in my pace to just over 7 min/mile.  We had one small out and back portion first and I saw everyone in front and behind me which was a great boost.  The course was right by the lake and it was just beautiful to run by.  Just before mile two I passed my little spectating crew! It was great to see them but sadly that was the last time I saw them until the finish.


Still happy!

The next portion was a long out and back loop and as I continued on, the group I was with slowly began to thin from 10 runners to 6 to 4.  An older man and I ran with each other for almost 5 miles and it was great to have a pacer but I fell behind in the last mile.  The course was apparently a net down hill but there were two long gradual hills from mile 3 to 5 which took its toll on me later.  By mile 8, I just kept telling myself - "one more mile that's 7 minutes, that's easy you can run for 7 more minutes!" 

I didn't realize my time until I turned the corner and saw the finish clock ticking up.  I was so surprised to see it tick just into the 1:06 times.  I sprinted as fast as my legs would take me and crossed the finish line - thankful to be done!  It was an awesome race that really was just a blur for me.  I think I was concentrating so hard on putting one foot in front of each other that I missed many of the details of the race.

Now there is my death face!

To the finish!!


Final Stats
Time: 1:06:21 (a five minute PR - previous time of 1:11:13)
Place: 101/544
Female: 23/246
AG: 5/40

I could not have asked for a better way to start this week!  I cannot believe that I ran so fast today and in just under 5 days I will get to marry Brian!  Basically this is going to be the best week of my life!

19 comments:

Nicole said...

LIVE IT UP J!! I'm SO Excited for you- WHAT A PERFECT WAY to start the path to wifey! ahhh i'm so so so happy for you! i cant believe its finally here! What an amazing amazing journey!!! ahhhhhh i'm totally smiling and thinking of you ALL week! EMAIL ME IF YOU NEED ANYTHING!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Chelsea said...

What a great race to "retire" your maiden name. YAY! for wedding week.

Unknown said...

Congrats on such a great race. Take time and enjoy the wedding. Hope it is wonderful. :)

Rebecca said...

YAYYYYY!!!! This really was the awesomeest start to your wedding week! You did SO WELL :-) I kind of wish I could haved raced, but it was a great training run for the half!

Elizabeth said...

That's amazing! Soooo fast! Congrats to you and happy wedding week!

Marlene said...

I nearly SQUEALED when I saw your time! So seriously fast and you ran a GREAT race! What better what to kick off the week. CONGRATS and have fun this week. :)

Zaneta @ Runner's Luck said...

yay yay yay!!! Enjoy EVERYTHING this week... it goes by so fast!! :)
Congrats on the PR! :)

Tricia said...

congrats!

super excited for you

Jen @ Run for Anna said...

Great race and a great way to start the week! Enjoy every moment! :)

Anonymous said...

awwwwwwwwwwwww what a way to start and end a week!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your PR! And you are right, this is a fabulous way to start your wedding week! Sooooooooooo excited for you!!!! :)

Unknown said...

Wow! Congrats on you PR! I hope you have an amazing wedding week!!!

Christine said...

CONGRATULATIONS!! Great race!!!!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

First off, happy Wedding Week!!!!!

Nice work!! You are so speedy, girl! What a great way to start and an amazing week!

Kim said...

Congrats on your awesome PR! I love the pics - you look great!

And I can't believe the week is finally here!!! YAY!!!!

Jeri said...

wowsers, what a killer race and NEW PR! WHOO!! Love the death photos at the end. Always gotta be a couple of those, right? ;)

Jamie said...

Awesome job on the 15k! And enjoy wedding week! It goes by way too fast so be sure to stop and cherish the little moments.

Glenn Jones said...

Congrats on the PR and the upcoming wedding! Have a ton of fun!

kaydi327 said...

Awesome race! Hooray, your wedding day is finally here! You are going to be such a beautiful bride- I can't wait to see pictures!

-Katie @ Legally Fit