13.1 Series Dallas - Race Recap

I didn't get a chance to update last weekend. So I will try my best to recap the 13.1 Series Dallas. This was the Inaugural race for Dallas. It started at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Art's District. It was a beautiful venue to run out of. Great sponsors, lots of cool freebies AND a red carpet!!!

I actually did something that I have never done today. I ran a race with my husband by my side! I never thought that would happen. He is a much faster runner that I am, but, he slowed down to my pace for the race. We will be running the White Rock Marathon together, so, I thought we should probably see if we can stand each other through a half marathon. Right?! Well, we did and it was great! He pushed me when I needed it and kept me on pace for my goal time.

I finally chased the elusive PR! I have run 4 half marathons since my PR of 2:38, I have chased it. It has been relentless. I just could not seem to break that number. It haunted me, it beckoned me to beat it if I could, but no. Not until this race that is!!! I ran the race in a record breaking, for me that is, 2:30!!! Now if I can keep that same pace for WR full, I will hit my 5 hour marathon goal too!!!

It was also pretty neat too, because it was the first race for two of my TNT teammates that are training for full marathons. To see their excitement and enthusiasm for their first major races was priceless. So a shout out goes to Eric Thornton and Andy Rose for completing your first half marathons, in damn good times too!!!

As far as the race goes; it was very well organized, well sponsored, well supported on the course, they even had strawberries about mile 8. I really liked the course. It was fast and flat, except for the last 2 miles. That was ONE long hill! Overall, I give it a big thumbs up and I will definitely run the course again next year!!!

Another GREAT race with GREAT friends!!!

Double digit territory

Well, it is finally here, the 10 miler day! Few have crossed these miles before today, so it's kind of exciting to share them with the newest of runners. The TNT 10 mile run is probably one of the hardest that we will run in a season. As you can see my the elevation map, it's NOT a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. Oh sure, we could always have run the 5 mile route two times, but what fun is that!?

It will only go up from here, mileage-wise, so time to buckle down and keep my eye on the prize. The big picture is a PR at White Rock. A PR at 13.1 would be super too! It's not all about speed and time for me, but about improvement. I want to reach my goals and keep surpassing them. I guess that is the benefit to starting off as a slower runner, there are many opportunities for PRs in your future. Where as you go out and run a really super fast race, you might not be able to improve upon that time each race you do. I just don't want to go backwards. I have averaged more runs in the 10/min mile range than the 12/min mile range, so yep, lots of improvement. My approaching half marathon is getting me really excited. I am super excited about the cool new tech shirt, of course the new bling is exciting and I get to start at the art's district and run through all the pretty parts of downtown Dallas. Race day makes me happy. It is exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. But such a rush! THAT, my friends, is why I keep coming back for more.

45 days to White Rock Marathon and many more miles to go. Next week we will be running 14. Bring it!

I need a support group, I am an addict

Yes, it is official folks, I am a running junkie. I don't know the cure to what ails me other than lacing up my kicks and hitting the pavement. I haven't even finished one season of Team in Training when I sign up for another one. What am I nuts?! Good grief. I must mention that I am very susceptible to peer pressure. Everybody's doing it, so that makes me just jump on the bandwagon and sign up again. Mind you I LOVE TNT and I am very happy to get a chance to run with the team for another event, but I also committed to fundraising again too. No pressure there! I know, it's not that much to raise at all and I shouldn't worry, but I always do, just a little until my tank is full!

I have my season mapped out until June next year. Not as full as last year, but this season I am focusing more on quality than quantity. It can't always just be about the bling, right? So here's what I got...

Oct. 22nd - 13.1 Series Dallas
Dec. 4th - Dallas White Rock Marathon
Feb. 19th - Livestrong Austin
March 25th - RNR Dallas
June 3rd - RNR San Diego

I didn't go as crazy as last year. I did an event a month for 6 months. It was TOO much. I wanted to space them out a little this time. So here we are! That is just up until summer, then of course, the winter season starts again and I can't NOT do a winter season of TNT. Maybe I should do Disney or Latin? Decisions, decisions. In due time though.

Run, run as fast I can...

I have never been a fast runner at all. Even the setting on my Garmin classified my once normal pace as a "Slow Jog" (this is anything from 11:00-14:00 minutes per mile). Lately I have been running around 8:30-11:00...the Garmin says that between 9:00-12:00 minutes per mile is a "Jog"! So, yay, I've graduated to a jogger! Maybe I will make it up to a "Fast Jog" someday...that is 8:00-10:00 minutes per mile! As least they can't call me a turtle anymore :) All I can say is, speed work is your friend! I am seeing some PRs in my future.

What a difference a year makes

Today marks a very special day for me in running. It is the day that I have crossed 1,000 miles. I have run 1,000 miles with my my two feet, my creaky knees and my once-upon-a-time smoker lungs! I never in a million years thought I would ever be a runner. I HATED, LOATHED, DESPISED running, more than probably anything. I remember in High School wanting my mom to write me a note to slack off in PE because I didn't want to do it. So how on earth did I become a marathon runner?! If it weren't for that fateful day back in the summer of 2009, being dragged kicking and screaming to an information meeting for Team in Training about running a relay leg of a marathon, I would probably still hate it!

I have the bug, I have a new lease on life, I LOVE TO RUN. All because I bought some running shoes and I TRIED! It is funny how things happen in life. I have begun a journey into health, wellness and overall fitness. If I never stumbled onto running, would I be there now?

When I started running back in 2009, I was SLOW, turtle slow. I ran about a 14 minute pace...gradually getting to about a 13 minute pace. It was hard, my lungs hurt, my knees hurt, my body ached after long runs. Stairs were a formidable foe! Over time, running got easier, it got to be joyous. I looked forward to getting up at the wee hours, strapping on my Camelback belt, getting my shoes laced up and my iPod playlist run worthy. It became, my thing! I never really had a thing before. Someone once asked me what I was passionate about. At the time, there was nothing there to answer that question. I loved to paint, draw, write poetry etc. but was it my "passion"? It really wasn't, not anymore. Something about being in the creative field for a profession, it takes that passion part out of it if you do it everyday for work.

Now, 8 half marathons and a marathon later, I think I can safely say, I AM A RUNNER hear me roar! I believe I will do this the rest of my life, as long as I have the ability to do this! I can see Roy and I growing old together running marathons in our retirement all over the world. That makes me smile just thinking about it :)

So back to today, I not only ran my 1,000th mile, I also ran the fastest 8 mile run I have ever run! It was a GREAT run today! I was doing a happy dance. My heart rate was perfect, I was chatty Cathy the whole time and my breathing wasn't seriously labored at all and my legs felt like I hit this wonderful stride that I haven't quite hit before. I powered up 3 really big hills and didn't skip a beat!!! I looked back at my pace from one year ago on an 8 mile run and I ran 8 in 1:48 at 13:30 pace! Today I ran 8 in 1:25 at 10:43 pace! What a difference a year makes!

I am really getting excited about my upcoming half marathon in October...I feel a PR coming!!! Also, I really think if I can keep up the trend of speeding up my pace, my marathon goal time is very much in my reach. Goal time is 5 hours or less. My marathon time was 5:42, so that is dropping a lot of time, but I am ready! Bring it!!!

Another cause for celebration this day is hitting my fundraising goal this week! I have officially raised all the funds I need to participate in White Rock Marathon. Woo hoo! Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance...

Daily mantra: I can't be stopped!!!
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1 hr 25 min 45 secs
Average pace: 10:43 min/miles
Route: TNT 8 Mile
Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 4
Calories: 1112