Bring it on!

Yesterday I ran my last long run before the race. How far did I run, you ask?

Oh, just 20km.

That's right, folks. I ran 20 km yesterday. Do you know what that means? I only had 1 more km to run to finish a half marathon distance! My time was 2 hours 21 min. 22 sec. but I hope to shave off a minute or two during the race because yesterday I got stopped at a couple of lights.

How am I feeling?

My legs are utterly exhausted and my muscles are sore in some places, but I did it!

From now until the race, I only have to run short runs in order to keep my muscles loose.

21 km on October 12...bring it on!

A do-run-run-run, a do-run-run

I hit another milestone!! I decided to run home from work. I mapped the route and it would be a 15km run, the furthest I've run yet. Here's the best part...I ran it in 1 hour 39 min. 32 sec. To put that in perspective, I ran 14 km in 1 hour 44 min. last month but keep in mind, it was stinky hot when I ran the 14km so that slowed me down a lot. But still, I am so surprised because there are a couple of hills on my 15km route so I expected to run it in 1 hour 50 min. I even told myself to take my time and so what if I take 2 hours.

To put it in another perspective, I usually run 10km in about 1 hour 8 min. to 1 hour 10 min. I usually run 5km in 33 min. so technically my 15 km run should have taken over 1 hour 41 min. at least. But to come in under 1 hour 40 min....wow is all I can say!

I used two energy gels for the first time throughout my run. I think that definitely helped me out because my running was still very strong and steady during the final 5km. I think I had enough energy to tack on the remaining 6km to make it a half marathon distance. That really boosts my confidence.

In the running world, I'm considered a slow runner but for me, this is a huge accomplishment. I had a lot of people pass me while I was running along the canal but I tried not to let that bother me. I kept telling myself that I'm just a beginner runner and I've only been running for 8 months. Plus I kept checking to see if I was tired or not and I still feeling great so that helped motivate me to keep going. I think I even tackled the last hill at a good pace. I'm so happy. I'm on top of the world right now!

Proud of my Connor

Some of you don't know that Connor worked really hard earlier in the year studying to take an entrance exam to Ashbury College and was accepted. He's had a couple weeks of school and absolutely loves it. I absolutely love the small class sizes (I counted about 16 in his English class).

On Friday, he auditioned for the strings ensemble at school and was accepted! He is playing 2nd violin (the group of violins playing the harmony).

Oh, and in music class, he picked the oboe.