Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 12

Per the usual, this week's re-cap has been brought to you on a slight delay.

Monday, 3/14 - Zumba
Tuesday, 3/15 - off
Wednesday, 3/16 - 5 miles in 54 minutes (10:53 average)
Thursday, 3/17 - 5 miles in 54 minutes (10:49 average)
Friday, 3/18 - off
Saturday, 3/19 - off
Sunday, 3/20 - RACE DAY!  Cincinnati Heart Mini - 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 19 minutes (10:26 average)

I am excited to report that I have finally run my first OFFICIAL half marathon!  In all of my training to date, I have never signed up for a formal half marathon race until now.  I gotta tell ya, this might be my distance.  I definitely felt challenged and know that running a half requires a fair amount of training, but I didn't feel like I was going to flat out die afterwards (a common side effect of running any distance over 15 miles in one go), and - bonus! - I could walk without a limp the next day!

The weather was dreary, a bit chilly, and somewhat drizzly at times - but to me, it was great running weather.  My mom and step-dad ran the 5k portion of the event that started right as I was finishing, and being as how they were my ride home, I had 45 minutes to kill as I waited.  And THAT was when I really felt the cold!  Thankfully, a local hotel allowed people to wait inside its lobby so at least I didn't have to shiver outside.  That is something  I learned about winter running - sometimes it doesn't even have to be that cold outside to give you a nasty chill as soon as that sweat starts drying.

Anyhow, I was pretty pumped with my time - I know it might not sound that fast, but my goal was 2:30 and to beat that by more than 10 minutes was exciting for me!  The best part was that I felt pretty darn good throughout the race - even on the hills - and I was able to pick up the pace towards the end.

... and it is for a great cause!!

On the other hand, the days leading up to the race were rough.  I had been feeling really worn out, and my legs were begging for a couple of rest days.  So rest days they got!  I cut my scheduled 8-miler down to 5 (my friend Ashley and I were both quite literally dragging our feet halfway through our St. Patty's Day run, and both of us agreed to skip out on the last three), and completely took off Friday and Saturday to prepare for Sunday's big race.  As much as I hate to miss runs, I feel like it was the best decision, because I woke up rearing to go on Sunday morning!


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 31
Completed (This Week): 23 (74%)
Scheduled (Overall): 309
Completed (Overall): 253 (82%)