Tuesday, April 6, 2010

8 Hilly Miles....Now Time to Reflect

First off, I have attached some pics from my 3 mile run earlier last week. (sorry for the pic quality), but here I am super sweaty!!! Also, I received my Road ID from the wonderful people at Road ID (and Outside PR) last week. It is soooo super cute and super PINK!!! I wore it for my 3 mile run and it was awesome...didn't even know it was there. This little baby will help someone identify me, should something happen to me out on the road. If you run outside, then you NEED one of these...you just never know what could happen. You can engrave your name, contact information and any health issues right onto it...that way, you can be identified easily (especially since most of us don't carry an ID when we are running)...plus, it is such a cute running accessory!
If you would like to get one of your own, you can go to www.roadid.com and order one. Edward from Road Id has provided a coupon for 20 of my readers to receive a $1 off of their order if you order before April 20th. The coupon code is: ThanksStephanie629114



Now...on to this weekend's long run....
This weekend's run was a lot of fun! We all met up at Frontenac Plaza in Clayton, MO at 6:30am. Sarah had printed out a route where we ran all over the Clayton area. No trail, no park, no clear route...It was going to be an adventure, but it was going to be fun!
This was going to be our last long run, and our last run together before the half the following weekend. We originally were going to do 10 miles, but the route Sarah had was either an 8 mile or a 9 mile route.
We started out running up Clayton Rd. It was fun...This part of St. Louis is VERY ritzy...very rich neighborhoods with really neat, big, expensive homes, and all of the stores look alike...there was even a fancy looking hardware store we ran by...such a neat area! It was a great morning...the rain from the night had passed by and there was only a slight chill in the air.
Off of Clayton Rd, we turned onto Spoede and continued up towards Chaminade. The one thing we noticed early on, was ALL.OF.THE.HILLS! They were everywhere!!! As we approached one, we all kept running and did really good conquering them. This was one of the only runs I had done with this many hills!
We then ended up running onto Lindbergh, which then brought us to MICDS (a private high school, that looked more like a small college campus) We came up on their football stadium and high school track. We weren't sure how to cut through, and because we were right at 3 miles, decided to stop and take off a layer of clothes, hydrate and down a Gu. Afterwards, we took off again and finally figured out how to snake our way off of the track and through the h.s. campus back to the main road.
We then took a right onto Warson, and again...TONS AND TONS OF HILLS! We knew there would be a few, but this was far more than I had EVER ran! It was definitely a good run to prepare us for the half the following weekend, since we have heard it is a little hilly! We then came to Ladue and then took a right into the St. Louis Country Club Golf Course. It was beautiful, and again hilly! We ran past the clubhouse and *down* a hill. At the bottom we stopped for another drink of water...we were right at 6 miles. At that point we decided we would only do 8 miles (it is our taper week, plus these hills were challenging enough...) our butts would be feeling it the next morning. So, we then took a right back onto Clayton and ran UP again, a few more hills until up over one of the hills, I saw Lindbergh and our cars!! Yea!
We finished the 8 miles in right at 1hr 20min. It was such a feeling of accomplishment as we all gave each other high fives for the last time before the big race.

During the run, and on the drive home, I thought about how far I have truly come...not even one year ago, could I run even 1 mile....and now, I am pushing myself to run 8 HILLY miles, and enjoying every second of it. Of course it is hard, and I have struggled at times, but knowing that I can push myself to do this, is such an awesome feeling! It is also awesome to know that I have such great friends to be there with me each step of the way! These girls know all of the sweat, and times of struggle that I have been through (and each of them having their own struggles along the way) to get us to this last training run. Next weekend is what these last 8 weeks have been all about...Race Day!

I can't wait to start and end this race with all of my training buddies, plus approx. 12,500 other runners who are all there for the same thing...to win this race, because we are all winners! This race isn't against anyone but ourselves! Next Sunday at 7am, the gun will go off, and us "runners" will begin our race...and at the end of the race, there will be a medal, but beyond all of that, it will be a HUGE sense of pride...a sense of pride knowing that our bodies and our minds could push us through this and truly, you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to! Next Sunday there will be 4 proud Mommy's cross that finish line, knowing that we DID IT!

5 DAYS UNTIL THE GO ST. LOUIS HALF!

GO HARD OR GO HOME!!!

14 comments:

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

I love my RoadID. Great job with the hills. And good luck this weekend!

Velma said...

Nice work!!! You are so ready, and I love the Road ID. Thanks for your comment on my blog. I have been having back issues, so I am a bit worried about the concrete at GO! Either way, I will be down at the race course on Sunday. It is going to be a great day~!

Kerri O said...

You should be so proud of that progress! Good luck and have so much fun!

Anonymous said...

I really want a RoadID! I definitely am going to buy one soon, once I get some money. Clayton is fancy!! I love all the big houses! Girl I might want to meet up and run with you in the summer! My boyfriend lives in Kirkwood which is out that way! :) Good luck on the half! I'm so excited for it too!!

Jill said...

CUTE pink road ID! It looks very nice with your skintone!! :)

Good luck this weekend, I'm going to be cheering ya on from Denver so listen for that! You're going to be wicked fast - and strong! Have a blast, girl!!!

Running for Me said...

Good Luck this weekend. You give me inspiration that I may someday be able to run a 1/2 marathon myself. I am just starting to get my run on. Love the road ID.

AM! said...

go, go half marathon... so many bloggy gals have half m's this weekend...I love that I get to ride your coat tails...or should I say your running shoes

erica said...

dang girl awesome job with the hills! I love your road ID and it's PINK! Too freaking cute!!

I am just getting into running and have already managed to pull a muscle in my hip and mess up my ankle eeeps!

Have a fab day!
xo

Pining for Pinterest said...

I can't wait to hear all about the half marathon!!! Way to go on your run :)

Valerie said...

Awesome! You're definitely ready for your first half. It will be so much fun and so many people to watch that the miles will fly by. Good Luck!

Anna Banana said...

You are going to do AWESOME! Soak it up you will never forget that day and I hope you get the marathon bug it is fun to have!

Syl said...

Hilly runs are the worst, but way to go my friend, you did amazing!

I love your road ID and I love even more that it's pink :-)

Can't wait to hear about your half!

Anonymous said...

i like the Road Id. i dont have one. I should get one. I do run outside.

and great job on ur 8 miles. that is awesome! and really good timing.

u will rock ur half! 100%

Anonymous said...

hey,
yup, all u have to do is run the distance, let me know your time and then you will be entered into my giveaway for a chance to win some fun things! hehe.
thats all!
thanks for joining me!