Weekend in Review

Saturday morning I ran the Still Pond to Betterton Tree Run.  It's a point-to-point race that starts at the old Still Pond store and ends at Betterton Beach.  Ryann and I ran this race for the first time last year.  This year I was solo...Ryann decided to be a cheerleader instead of a participant.  It was cold and rainy...not a steady rain but definitely a solid sprinkle.  Instead of shirts, we got visors.  Normally I would prefer a shirt over anything else, but a visor was awesome because I absolutely love running in a visor!  So I plopped it right on my head and wore it for the race.  It helped to keep the rain out of my face.

The first mile of the race was really challenging for me because I was having a hard time finding my pace.  They were giving splits at the 1 mile point and I ran 8:07 for the first mile.  Way too fast!  I was mainly worried about the hills since I have not been training hills at all.  Luckily I had a really good mindset and was able to attack the hills instead of letting them intimidate me.  I gained several spots on the hills.

Overall I felt really strong.  I finished in 31:21 which is an 8:43 per mile pace.  I was also the 6th overall female finisher!  YAY ME!  Here is a picture that Stephen took as I'm entering the town of Betterton.

The family was standing outside the church cheering for me.  There was about a quarter mile left in the race at this point.

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day.  About 10:30 in the morning I decided to head out and go for a solo run.  I have never been good at running by myself.  My head really tends to get in my way on solo runs.  The first mile was a warm up and I didn't worry about my pace.  After that, I tried to keep my pace around a 9:30.  At mile 4 I made a pit stop at Dave and Lisa's house.  I dropped off my jacket (definitely dressed too warm) and drank a glass of water.  Thanks guys!  The last mile was a struggle to maintain my pace but other than that I felt really good.

I loved the run.  It gave me confidence that I'm in better shape than I thought.  I had really been doubting my fitness level and my readiness for the half marathon.  But based on how good I felt at the race and on the solo run on Sunday, I have much more faith that I can finish the half in a decent time.  I still may not beat 2 hours, but I have let that go!!!

I have never wanted to be a redhead but I had my hair done on Friday and it turned red.  Should I call this blog "As the Red Ponytail Bounces"???