3 Miles, 18 Days, 1 Month....

Today is kind of a big day...why you ask??? Well, it is the day after I ran my fastest 3 miles to date, it is the day that marks exactly 18 days until my first 1/2 marathon, and it is the day that marks 1 month until we leave for Mexico! Dang...IT-IS-A-BIG-DAY!

Last night I met up with my awesome, fully dedicated, ever inspiring running neighbor, Jen, to run my short run (which she liked to call my TEMPO run...I have never ran a TEMPO run before, so I was EXCITED!) Jen has been running for 3 years or so, and has ran quite a few 1/2's and 2-3 marathons. She gets up most mornings during the week to run with some elite runners and then sometimes runs in the evenings, or we head to the gym together.

This particular night I was planning on running, and she said she would like to run with me...I was a little nervous, because the girls I run with are all on my level...we normally run approx. 10min miles during our training runs. Jen's pace is 9miles, and she told me she would start me at her pace and then we would decide if we needed to slow down depending on how I felt.

So, at 7:30ish last night we set out...we were going to take my normal 3 mile loop through our neighborhood into the neighborhood next door, and back. She told me that she would talk to me the whole time, so not worry if I got tired and couldn't. We started out, and she has such a nice stride and makes it seem so effortless. We definitely started out faster than I normally do, but I felt good! (I had done a Gu right before, because I wanted to make sure I had the energy to put my full effort into this run...I wanted to prove to Jen, plus myself that I had come a long way!)

At mile 1, we had kept close to a 9 mile pace, and we were talking back and forth, and I felt really good. Jen said she was very impressed and we kept on. At the half way point, we were at 13min something seconds (she has a Garmin, so that was nice) We picked up the pace a little and kept going. I had to stop once to tie my shoe (I had never had my shoe come untied, but of course when I am trying to get a REALLY good time, my shoe doesn't cooperate!) This only took a few seconds, and we were off again. As we headed into our last mile, we really picked up the pace, but I felt AWESOME! I was a little winded, but was still carrying on a conversation and my body felt great! We came around the corner onto our street, and she stopped us at 3 miles...She asked me what the fastest I had ever ran this route was. I told her approx. 28min 30 seconds..she told me we blew that out of the water...

Final Stats:

Mile 1: 9:08
Mile 2: 9:03

Mile 3: 7:48 (told you we picked up the pace)

Final Time: 26.03

AWESOME...I was on cloud 9! I was sooo proud of myself and sooo thankful to Jen for pushing me and helping me prove to myself that I can run faster! I hope to continue to do some runs with her. I think she will really help me improve my time.

As for the 18 days...the Go St. Louis 1/2 is in 18 days...Woo Hoo! This weekend I will be running my longest run ever...11 miles! I can't wait!

And....drum roll please....1 month until Mexico! Me and my husband are leaving for Mexico in April to celebrate our 5 Year Anniversary! So fun...but also holly one month to lose these extra pounds...so, what did I do this morning??? I committed to REALLY REALLY REALLY trying to stick to my Weight Watchers Online program. I have been doing fairly well, but have fallen off occasionally. Plus, I need to kick it in full gear with the 30 Day Shred...cause like I mentioned, I only have 30 Days until VACA!

On a side note, I received my "Name That Garmin" present from Amanda at 5 Miles 2 Empty. I helped name her garmin...I was the last name...NIMRAG!

Anyways, I received some running laundry detergent, and a super cute Nike running hat! I don't have a running hat, so I was SUPER excited! As you can see from the pics above, I wore it on my 10 miler this past Saturday. Thanks Amanda!

Have a great rest of the week,

Stephanie