I ran 7 miles

HOLY CRAP! I can't believe that just happened. We did a little walking after some pretty tough hills but the walking maybe added up to 5 minutes.

I honestly didn't think I had that in me. I hadn't been training for it. I hadn't run more than 4.3 since the 5 miler I did back in November. Due to lack of distance runs, I set some pretty low expectations -- 85 minutes which works out to be around a 12 minute mile. Normally I run at a 10-11 minute mile pace so I was definitely giving myself a large walking cushion.

All those hadn't-s and shouldn't-s were taking a tole on my psyche. Then that stupid snowfall and dip in temperatures this week were just insult to injury. So many things were stacking up to make this a potentially brutal run. Amber was also starting to feel ill so I knew that I stood a huge chance of not even attempting it this weekend.

Then this morning happened. Amber made it out to run, the sun was shining -- it was cold, but sunshine makes ALL the difference-- and the race was later in the morning so despite my midnight bed time, I managed to get plenty of sleep. We set off at a good pace. This is a serious running crowd so out of the gate we were at our aggressive 10 min mile pace which worried me. We chatted about times to walk and decided to assess at 20 and 25 minutes how we felt.

Around  25 minutes at the top of the hill we walked. I was feeling so good, I had to be told to walk. My obstinateness is both my friend and my enemy. I know for sure if I hadn't thrown in those walking jaunts I would have completely burned out, but when something is feeling good, I don't like stopping. My other rule: I do not stop in the middle of a hill. You know I'm in real trouble if I stop during a hill.

At about 5 miles, I started feeling the fact that I hadn't been in the routine of running over 4 miles. Theres a reason you're typically not supposed to increase your mileage each week by more than 10% when training for half marathons and marathons and I felt that.

We hit 6 miles and Amber and her friend Scott decided it was time to kick it into gear and catch the guy way ahead of us. I picked it up too despite not feeling ready to do so. We spent that last mile in near sprint mode and passed that guy way ahead of us. He later sprinted way in front of us, but for that brief moment, we were in the lead of him. It was on like donkey kong for Amber and I then. We really wanted to finish together though so we stayed evenly matched. My fellow carrot and I finished simultaneously at 73 minutes and some seconds... I'm not sure how many as I was focused on not collapsing.

85 minutes??? I really thought it was going to take that long???? Maybe if I had been running by myself. I should have known better! We totally beat that by almost 12 minutes! Unlike the Get Lucky, I had nothing left in me for more running. I knew I had pushed myself well.

Surprising moment though happened in the post race room.... I recovered really quickly. I did some stretching but for the most part that post run energy and endorphin high is still AMAZING! The sense of accomplishment along with the chemical effects in the body spur me on. I am leaving this race knowing that I can and will do that half marathon. Thank you Amber, Mike and Scott for keeping me running. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am.

And now I think its time to go soak in the bathtub.