Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)

That’s right.  I conquered my first Half Marathon and it felt Great!! 

This past weekend I traveled to Myrtle Beach to meet up with my two best girls Mags and Betts for the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon.  We decided to make this a couple’s weekend since Betts husband was also running in the ½.    Lark and I arrived in MB and stopped off at the Expo to pick up the race packet.  I picked up a few goodies and then we headed to the condo. 

 

Friday night was going to be a low key night with an early bed time.  This is very unusual for us when we are at the DC condo.  After stuffing our bellies with pasta, salad and bread, I tried to call it a night.  Considering we had to be up at 4:00AM, (Gun-Time was 6:30AM) it was in my best interest to get a good night’s sleep.  WRONG.  I think I woke up every hour on the hour!

The alarm sounded and it was game time.  Every runner has their “routine” before a race.  After we all had our coffee and power breakfast we got on the road to Broadway at the Beach.  The plan was for Lark and Chris to drop us off and then meet us at the finish line.  Instructions were given on round-about times we should finish so we could all meet in the end. 

I started training for this event mid-November and I couldn’t believe the race clock was ticking down.  The gun sounded and it was time to get moving.  6,000 people all going in the same direction.  It took around 3 minutes just to get to the start line.  The run was great.  I spotted Lark and Chris cheering for us around mile 3 or 4.  It’s such a comforting feeling to see a familiar face while you are out there on the road.  The first portion of the race was on Highway 17, followed by a loop in the Market Common Shopping Area before we crossed over to Ocean Drive for the last half of the race.  Running down Ocean Drive was awesome though it did get a little breezy.  This is where I have to mention that the weather was PERFECT.  All of my training runs had been in sub 30 degree weather so running in 50 degree weather was an added bonus.  I passed mile 12 and knew that I didn’t have much farther to go.  I checked my watch and was happy thus far.  Just as I turned the corner to enter the lanes towards the finish line, Betts came out and ran a portion with me.  Then I saw Lark cheering me on.  I gave him a High-5 as I passed by and knew that it was time to gun-it. 

Get there….Get there faster…is what was going through my mind.  I did it….I crossed the finish line!!!  My chip time was 2:36:44.    I was alive, somewhat pain free and knew in my heart that I did my best and would definitely do it again.  That was my goal…. cross the finish line with the feeling that I would do another ½ in the future. 

After meeting up with the gang for a few group photos we headed off to breakfast and then back to the condo to relax in the sun.  They guys hung around the condo and Mags, Betts and I went back to where it all started…sitting on the beach listening to Sugarland.

After rejuvenating in the sun, we headed out for a victory dinner at Bistro 217.  The meal was incredible and the company was the best.  A trip to the DC Condo isn’t complete without a stop at the Causeway.  The next morning came too quickly though it was the perfect way to end the weekend.  Nothing beats a sunrise with your best friends. 

 As I wrap up my details of this memorable weekend, I have to dedicate “Thank-You” by Keith Urban to my husband and my two best girls.  I can’t wait to do this again with you.

Signing off this week as the one and only Trix

It's Finally Here!!

4 days away…WOW. I can’t believe it’s finally here.  I’m going to run my first Half Marathon.  Flash back to a beach trip in Mid October when me and my two best friends Kristen and Lori a/k/a Mags and Betts were sitting on the beach listening to Sugarland and Lori convinced us to do the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon.  (Side note, Lori is a cross-country coach and triathlete and neither Kristen nor I have ever competed in anything longer than a 5K or 10K).  Needless to say, we agreed to do it. The last time we ran together was for my bachelorette party (Greer Earth Day 5k).  I’m not saying that we will all finish at the same time since  Lori is hoping to PR her ½ .  I just want to cross the finish line and not be HATING life and unable to enjoy the rest of the day.   I would like to walk away from all of this with the feeling that I would do it again

Garden City...Where this All Started.

The Tri-Fecta
(Mags, Trix and Betts)

The training has been great thanks to a wonderful group of ladies that I run with on Monday/Wed/Saturday (Jill, Sarah, Sherry, Leslie, JoJo and Wendy) and fellow coaches from the Stoic Runners of Greenville (Nova, Jeanne & Wendi).  I’ve learned so much from each of these ladies and thank them for pushing me to sometimes go outside of the comfort zone.  It has truly made a difference running with a group vs. running alone.  Lastly, I have to thank my husband for putting up with my contstant talk of "running",  5AM Alarm buzzing on Saturday mornings and the lack of Friday Night “Date Nights” because of “Long Runs” on Saturdays

Sole Sisters @ the Reindeer Run 5K

With Nova, A great Coach and Friend after the Christmas Eve 6AM Run

My Sweet and Patient Husband.

I know this is going to be a wonderful experience and personal achievement.  I’m looking forward to everything about the race from the expo on Friday, the starting line jitters, running along side of the ocean for the last portion of the race and crossing the finish line with my awesome best friends!!

Thanks again to everyone who’s helped me prepare for this weekend.  I look forward to posting my weekend wrap-up and post race pictures.

Have a great week

 Trix (the alter ego)

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend we traveled to Atlanta to visit my wonderful in-laws.  They have two parties a year (official parties that is….) Labor Day and Super Bowl.

It was a low key Friday night since my last long run was Saturday AM.  Earlier in the week I connected with a Galloway Group in Gwinnett County and scheduled to do my long run with them.  They had one group doing 10 miles at 5AM then picking up a 2^nd group at 7:30 for another 10 miles.  My training for the week was to do 12 miles so I opted to do the 7:30AM. 

Saturday AM started early with my pre-run breakfast of peanut butter on a sandwich thin w/ half a banana and one cup of coffee.  I thought the rain would have stopped over night ….but as luck would have it, it didn’t.  I met up with the group and we started out on our journey through the Norcross area.  Man, I thought that I did a lot of hills during the week….

The first 8 miles flew by.  Guess that is what happens when you are in a new area and dodging puddles.  I think we were all getting hungry between miles 8-10 so we played an alphabet/word game associated with foods.  This really helped to pass time.  The group was only scheduled to do 10 miles so at the end of the route I said my goodbyes and headed off to do 2 more miles.  I ended up doing a 2 mile loop around the Forum Shopping Center and my pace actually improved.  I hit 12.37 miles!!  I was tempted to go one more mile since I was so close but listened to my body and called it a day.  By this time, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to come out….GO FIGURE…. Overall, I felt great after the 12 miles except for my knee that I banged into the side of the coffee table on Wed Night.  It was starting to hurt along with my hips.  I must make time for yoga and stretching this week.  This is an area that I need to improve on when it comes to running.

After the run, I met the hubby and parentals at my sister-in-law’s house for a cup of coffee and to play with the nieces.  The rest of the afternoon included a trip to Sephora and Nordstrom Racks and then back to the house to hang out.  Shoes tend to be a reward for long runs…actually I’ve been on the hunt for a pair of brown boots.  I didn’t find brown ones but did find these great Jessica Simpson boots. (Early Birthday Gift from Lark).  The color is called Lead.  I think these will be a great addition to the wardrobe.

The rest of the weekend was low key and the Super Bowl Party was a success.  I even managed to win the final square of the football pool.  Even though the Steelers didn’t win, it was a great end to the 2010-2011 Football Season and the Halftime Show was great…HELLO... Usher making a surprise appearance!! 

Happy Monday.

TD