My longest run so far!

I'm sorry that I have been missing lately.  I have just felt so overwhelmed with life that I had to take a break.  But I'm here NOW!! I promise I'm back to twice a week updates and motivation!

As a lot of you know I have a half marathon coming up in just a few short weeks.  I have been training really hard.  This is not my first half but I decided to take the advice of a few runner friends of mine and do a couple really long runs to not only get the miles on my legs but to really challenge myself.  As I had told you before I struggle with my mental strength in running more than anything so this was a good way for me to show myself that I AM strong and capable of so much more than I give myself credit!

When I long run I don't worry about time just distance.  I'm just out there to put miles on my legs.  I try to keep my pace some where around 30 secs to a min slower than my race pace but really just keep myself moving forward.  I don't listen to music either which I know is strange but running is my time to really talk to God and look around and notice things I normally wouldn't. We live in a suburb but in just a few short miles I can be out in the middle of the country.  There are always new houses and views! 

I have a typical long run route but as my miles keep going up I have really struggled with how to get the miles I need. On this particular run I was supposed to run 15 miles.  My normal route sets up well for about 10 but anything over that I have to repeat part of the run or run around our neighborhood which I find really boring. So my wonderful husband (who grew up in this area) checked out a map and showed me a pretty easy route that would get me pretty close to 15!  It was really nice to have a new route and see new things.  One of the things I saw was this cemetery that had a tank in it.  I'm assuming there were some military buried there but I didn't stop to read the sign.  Just a quick stop to grab a picture! 

I always love to take a runfie (a running selfie) when I get back that explains how I felt either during the run or directly after.  I think this picture explains exactly how I felt after this run.  The run itself felt pretty good too.  But this "OH MY GOSH YEAH!" face sums up how I felt! So I ran 15 miles in 2:55:54 total.  My average pace was 11:43 which isn't too bad for a run that long.  I am pretty happy with how my training has gone this year.  I struggled a bit at the end of this run.  Something about 14 miles I got really upset and frustrated feeling like I was still so far from home and was just struggling.  But as soon as I crossed the major road that leads me home I got a second wind or something and finished strong.  

 With only a few weeks until my first half of the year I am feeling really good.  I'm kind of nervous as I'm going for a PR (personal record) but I have done the work. I have pushed myself, I have eaten healthy, & drank more water. I am into my tapering weeks and I'm nervously excited to be breaking in new shoes (more on that to come) and getting ready to get that PR!

Love, Lacey