Athens Half Marathon: Final Countdown

My first "A" race of the year - the Athens Half Marathon - is a mere four days away. I think I'm in a state of denial or, maybe, ignorance with all that has gone in the past week that it will actually happen. Either way, I feel so separated from the quality training I've put in that a hard-earned time seems almost out of reach.

And then I ran today.


I had 3 miles, with 2 at race pace, on tap, and I set myself up for success {insert sarcasm font}by deciding last night that I would take advantage of warming weather, sleeping in and taking Miles in the BOB. Stroller running is tough - period. Running a race pace workout is tough - period. Together, well, it was sure to be interesting.

As it turns out, interesting was a surprise run that felt hard but not as hard as it should have for the splits on my GPS: 9:07, 8:37, 8:30, 2:13 for 0.25-mile (8:54 pace).

Admittedly, I was pushing the pace out of fear, fear that I wouldn't nail the range I had in my mind for the race pace miles - 8:45-8:50 - but I didn't feel dead. I didn't feel defeated. I didn't feel like goals were out of reach. I had a bit of "help" with a couple stops, meeting requests for suckers, tying shoes and following traffic laws. But still, I was faster than goal pace and pushing 23 pounds of stroller + 28 pounds of toddler.

Does it mean that I'll smoke the course on Sunday? No. Of course not. It's the work I've done that will give me the edge then - and the work is what gave it to me today.

Training, in summary:

Plan: "Train Like a Mother" Half Marathon: Own It plan

Miles logged (thus far): 271.86

Farthest run: 14.6 miles, at 9:22 pace, on March 23 (three weeks out from race)

Fastest run: 8:34 pace for 5.75 miles (total time 49:16) on March 12. The workout was 2 x (1-2-3-2-1) intervals with 2 minutes recovery and 5-minute recovery between sets.

Most challenging run: Recently, it was my failed intervals on Friday but I think my long run on March 2 takes the cake. There was 4 inches of fresh snow, and I just could not get into it. I would have called it quits after 2 miles if I hadn't been with Joe. We manged 8.1 miles in 1:30:57, an 11:14 pace.

Shoes: I've been rotating between a pair of Brooks Ravenna 4 and Altra Provisioness 1. Both have less than 200 miles on them, and I'll be wearing Brooks on race day.

Fuel used: Rough estimate - 24 Gus (Salted Caramel and Chocolate Outrage) and 3,421 tubes of Nuun (currently using Nuun Energy Wild Berry - so good)

Biggest hurdle: No doubt, it was the weather. While I was able to stick to the weekday runs in my plan, thanks to the treadmill, I did not fulfill the long runs. Indiana was covered in snow and ice for the entirety of three months - no joke - and it made going far very challenging, if not impossible.

Greatest success: Toughing out the quality workouts. This cycle is the first time in a long time when I've put in some hard miles week after week. Even when I felt sluggish or tired, I made myself attempt the workout and only twice did I not make it through.

Goal working toward: A strong half, hopefully beating my post-baby PR of 1:58:56 at Fort4Fitness last year and coming as close to my life PR of 1:54:12 (from F4F 2010) as I can.

Will you be mine?

I love my newfound running group. It's not a secret. At least among us. I mean, I don't spend every step of a 12-mile slush fest professing my undying admiration and appreciation.

But maybe I should. Or at least show them that I care. A little bit. And there's no better time than Valentine's Day!

While I typically loathe Valentine's Day, mostly because I want to throat-punch Jane Seymour upon seeing another heart necklace commercial, I was inspired by the holiday to create some fun best running friend sentiments - perfect to hand out at the group run this weekend as L.A. Marathon girl tackles 21 miles.

"I always NUUN you were the one." Yes, my friends, that is a valentine filled with love and electrolytes.

Disclosure: These Valentine's were just for fun, because I like silly puns, and in no way related to my ambassadorship.

I made a jpeg on PicMonkey, leaving a space for a single-serve Nuun packet. I uploaded the file, had it printed as a photo at Walgreen's and picked up the Nuun there, as well. For about 50 cents a card, I have some pretty rad - and useful - gifts for my crew.

Other Valentine ideas for BRFs:

Your stride is ELECTRO-fying. It's the same concept as the cards I made, using a single-serve Nuun tab. This time, the word play is on electrolytes.

We go together like ... Put those words on a card or handwritten note and attach Peanut Butter and Jet Blackberry Gus to it for a play on PB&J.

Bottled up. Whether you tuck it inside or attach with ribbon around the neck, write a note that says, "I can't keep it bottled up any longer - I love running with you," and pair it with a handheld (this one is super cute) or other water bottle.

Won't Chew Be Mine? Attach the sentiment to a pack of Chomps, which is what my friends bring on the long runs. The strawberry are my personal fave.

And for a more personal idea ...

Let's stick together. There's a few options with this - a stick or Tiger Tail massager or a stick of deodorant or Body Glide.

After all, nothing says I love you like giving a gift that says, "I'm thinking about your nipples."