We are three friends in Colorado who are virtually training together to run a half marathon during the fall of 2011. Some of us are veteran half marathoners, and for some, this will be our first. We'll be using this blog to document our training and nutrition, our struggles, and to inspire each other and you!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Double Digits

August 7, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 10 miles

I ran ten miles this morning!! I haven't run this far since I was 16 years old and was on the cross country team in high school. I guess double digits is a big step for long distance runners, and I certainly feel that way about hitting this milestone after all these weeks and months of training.

I woke up early at my in-laws' house in Colorado Springs (way too early, 5 a.m., for a Sunday morning, in my opinion), and after stashing a Gatorade at my turnaround point, found my way downtown to America the Beautiful Park, where the half marathon I'll be running on Labor Day will start and end.

I had a really nice run, and didn't feel like I had to push myself too hard until about the last mile. I'm thrilled that I've now seen most of the course I'll be running on race day...again, familiarity = confidence for me.

It's a really nice course, and I'm so happy that this is the race I've chosen for my first half marathon. A lot of the course was on a soft-surface/dirt trail, and much of it was shaded from the sun.

Three weeks until I taper (not sure how that works yet, time to figure it out I suppose). I'm feeling really good about my training and know that I'll be ready come race day. Many training programs I've seen recommend doing a ten mile run, one time, before race day. I'm happy that I still have a few weeks to stay at 10 or even up my mileage to 11 or 12 miles before race day. I'm getting SO exited!!!
Posted by Rachel at 7:10 PM