I'm officially more than half-way to completing a half marathon in all 50 states + DC!
Woot! Woot!
The trip to Mobile, Alabama was a blast. Both kiddies came - and I have to say, both Ron and I were impressed that they wanted to go. Yes, of course they wanted to cheer me on ...at the finish, of course - neither one wakes up any earlier than 8am to see Momma off! God forbid we lose some of our Winter Break sleep. But really, I was impressed that they were genuinely eager to see what it was like in Mobile. Running these half marathons is such a great way to see parts of the country that I would most likely never visit, or experience. Did I tell you I also joined the 7 Continents Club? (I'll save that for another post!)
And, wow, I'm glad they came! The Gulf Coast of Alabama is beautiful! I didn't expect it to be so beautiful! We saw dolphins, and pelicans, and this beautiful sunset!
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| Sunset on Ferry from Dauphin Island, Alabama |
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| Gulf Coast, Alabama |
This of course, was after my big race upset!
See, I wanted to run the race 1:40 or better. I planned on keeping a 7:40 minute mile pace. I was going strong until mile 8. Then, I couldn't hold the pace, and I sunk to 7:45-7:50. I should have been able to hold this pace - especially since the race was a pretty flat, and I trained pretty hard. In and of itself, the race was very sweet - it ran through very quaint residential streets and neighborhood of Mobile.
Yes, I would recommend it!
About mile 12, out of nowhere, came these two young girls. It was as if I were standing still when they passed me. I joked and said, "As long as you're not 50 or so, you can pass me." What I didn't see, but heard, was another woman behind them who yelled, "I'm 52!". She blew by me with the young girls. Grrrr!
But every cloud has a silver lining and mine was Meredith O'Brien. Meredith ran the 2016 Back-To-Back Challenge. I thought I heard her say that she was a pacer the day before(?). I had my eyes glued to Meredith's back for the last 5 miles. Somewhere around mile 9/10, Meredith started to take little stretch breaks, to stretch out her calves or ankle (?) Personally, I can't even imagine running back-to-back half marathons at that pace! As I caught up to Meredith, I'd yell, "C'mon girl, Let's go!" Then she'd start up again - and once she did, she'd blow by me only to have to stop, and stretch again. I'd shout out to cheer her on, and off she went, like a little EverReady Bunny!
This went on until Ms Stimpson (aka 52/F) passed me.
Then Meredith started coaching me,
"C'mon, you can do this. That's it, that's it!"
Thank you, Meredith, during that last 1/4 mile - I really tried to push. I wanted so bad to come in under that "1:42 my hamstring still hurts" rut I've been stuck in for a year now. I truly appreciate your shouting out me as I sprinted into the finish!
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| Meredith is in the red shirt! |
It's all good.
I took Second Overall Female Grand Masters!
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| Yes I am freezing, and No, I didn't drink that beer - well, just two sips! |
And I got to spend a great weekend with both kids during their winter break!
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| Luvuguyz! |
Train Smart Today!
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