That beautiful cousin of mine just finished up her Masters and GRADUATED yesterday. The two of us were so crazy close all growing up and I feel especially proud of her.
The best of the best were all there to celebrate her accomplishment!
We combined her graduation party with celebrating Cinco de Mayo and had tacos for dinner.
We ate out on the deck with quite the views.
And then we drove back and got way too wild before bedtime.
I hit the hay early.com (after a bowl of cereal:). I have always believed that the night before the night before a race is when your sleep is extra important. I always have a hard time sleeping the night before a race. Also, race day usually means an early wake-up call SO I try to get an extra good night sleep the night before that. You do what you can control and let go of the rest, right!?
My friend sent a picture of her Cinco de Mayo DONUT—> yes, that is a churro inside of her donut. Brilliance.
I hope your Friday is a good one. I saw this last weekend and it made me laugh pretty hard….
Oh, and you know you want it (six days left)!!!
————————————————————————
You guys are absolutely amazing. THANK YOU for sending your running accomplishments in and keep them coming!!!
runningaccomplishments@gmail.com
————————————————————————
Ann!!! “I ran the Oshkosh Marathon this past weekend. It was my second marathon. My first I ran in 4:17:48. This one I ran in 3:59:20!!! I wanted to break the four hour mark SO badly. The last six miles were so rough and nothing compared to crossing the finish line and achieving the goal I’d worked so hard for.”
————————————————————————
Jordan!!! “So this past weekend, I was able to run my fourth half marathon (the OKC Memorial Marathon)! This was my first since having my two babies. This was also my first one to finish solo and I PR’d by 8 minutes! I made it in 2:16, which was my B goal but I’m still extremely happy with it. My brother in law started with me, but pulled his groin in training and was still able to make it six miles with me! I’m so grateful to him for that and so much more that day. My other bro-in-law is standing in the middle. He’s a stud and ran in 1:56!”
————————————————————————
Carolyn!!! “My boyfriend and I ran our first half marathon in Washington, DC this past weekend. It rained and the race was a trail run so by the ned I was soaked head-to-toe, but running along the Potomac River made it all worth it. My goal was to run under 2:15 and I ran a 2:09! I’ve already signed up for another half and I can’t wait to improve my time.”
————————————————————————
Patricia!!! “This morning (Saturday 4/30), my mom and I ran a local half, ParktoPark, in Waynesboro VA. We ran last year and both ran under 2 hours- my first time going sub 2- accomplishing a half goal I’ve had for a year. My mom went on to win her age group! We ran it again this morning and again broke 2 hours and my mom won her age group again! 🙂 My mom is my running inspiration nd I hope to be running like her when I am her age!”
————————————————————————
Christine!!! “I wanted to share my running accomplishment from this past weekend! After having my son in November 2014 I wanted to get back into running. I didn’t run much while pregnant, never found support band that made my belly feel supported enough! So I slowly melted off the 60+ baby weight gain (ouch!) and started my running again. I decided I should run half marathon to prove to myself that I could run that distance after having a baby. My previous half marathon time from 2011 (5 years ago!) was 2:15 so I thought if I could PR from that I would be happy. But then, I got this crazy idea to get a 2:00 half marathon time! Could I really shave 15 minutes off my time!? I seriously thought I had gone crazy. So, after 12 weeks of hard training, I was at the starting line of the Earth Rock Run half marathon on May 1st and nervous as heck! I went out on the run with a lot of self doubt. I knew this run would not only be a physical challenge but also a mental one. And let me tell you, I killed it! I finished the half with a 19 minute PR with a time of 1:56:27!!! I pushed hard for every step, for every breath, for every mile- and I could not be happier!”
————————————————————————
Katie!!! “Sunday May 1st me and my best friend ran our first marathon together! It was 40 degrees and rained the entire time but we made it through in 4:10!! This was our second time running the Lindoln Guard Marathon/Half Marathon (we did the half last year) and they always put on an amazing, well organized race! The best part had to be the free massages after the race! It looks like I’m in a lot of pain (I’m in the pink hat) but I think I was laughing. At least that is what I’m going to tell myself!”
————————————————————————
Rachelle!!! “I’ve been struggling with a grade 2 hip flexor strain and faithfully doing outpatient and at home PT but zero running for 5 weeks. I’m probably not the best example because this past weekend I broke rank and was a renegade even though I’m not at 100% yet. Ran a half marathon I had signed up for before my injury with a plan to run/walk. I ended up running slowly with my Garmin covered up. My fellow runners understand better than anyone why I would do something crazy like this. I went in knowing it would likely be a recovery setback but decided it was worth the world I’ll be doing to get back to racing again in the fall. Not that we all don’t work equally hard but runners finishing later are sometimes overcoming major obstacles just to see the finish line. It was a painfully sweet day. I hope my PT doesn’t fire me!”
————————————————————————
Georgina wrote in about Ryan!!! “Huge shout-out to my best friend Ryan (the person who got me hooked on running!). Congratulations on rocking your latest half-marathon!!! I’m SO proud of you for training for this race while maintaining straight As in school. No surprise there! Even with plantar fasciitis you ran this race faster than you expected and absolutely smashed it! I can’t wait to tackle our first full marathon together!”
————————————————————————
Krissie!!! “I did the Le Chocolat half marathon in Windsor, ON (Canada) this past weekend. I signed up because it was a flat course, and maybe also for the two full bottles of wine in the race kit and the firefighters at the finish line:) I was expecting a PB of a few minutes from my previous half PB of 2:26:03. I didn’t get that… I crushed it!!! I finished in 2:13:24, an almost 13 minute PB. Woohoo!!!!:
————————————————————————
Michelle!!! “The running accomplishment that I’d like to share is not my own, but my mother’s! This past Sunday, she completed her very first half marathon. She and I have been working together all winter and spring to build up her endurance, get her fueling on track, and more importantly, build up her confidence that she really could finish a half marathon. On Sunday, in less than perfect conditions (rainy! yuck!), she crossed that finish line and got her medal. She finished in 2 hours and 47 minutes, a pace of 12:47 per mile, and I was lucky to be by her side with her the whole time. She is over the moon. I am incredibly proud of her accomplishment, and wanted to share it with the world!”
————————————————————————
Kelly!!! “The past two months I’ve made a conscious effort to refuel after running. This may be the norm for many, but for me it is a big accomplishment to my running. Typically I would finish my run, change, grab my work stuff, and jump into the car to shuttle the kiddos to and from their practices/activities, then get home and do the evening routine. My post run (short and long!) refuel used to be water, cup of coffee, maybe moments. This obviously lead to feeling wiped and depleted at 10 pm, or give me tired legs the next day. Now i make sure to pack a quality snack for the time between my run and getting home. April was a ‘record’ mileage month for me with weekly numbers being 44 miles-51 miles and I bet it’s from the better care post run.”
————————————————————————
Alma!!! “I am a bit of an obsessive planner when it comes to my running- I haven’t met a spreadsheet I don’t like. This spring was no different- I planned my race dates out with lots of preparation beforehand, short tapers (for the half marathons), and solid recovery time. So, it really threw me for a loop when my first race (a very hilly half marathon) was postponed the day before the race due to severe weather. I went ahead and scheduled a 15k two weeks later so my training didn’t go to waste and I was pretty confident the half would not get rescheduled so soon. I was wrong! I wound up with a 15k, a hilly half, and a 10k scheduled three weeks in a row. Yikes!!! I did my best not to panic and told myself to just get out there and have fun (worst case-treat the half as a long run). Well, I did have fun (although those hills were brutal-even with all my hill training this year). But I also PRed at all three distances by big margins. This picture is after the first race- the CTFastrak 15k on April 17 (you run the bus route-so smooth!). I am so happy that I decided to just trust my training and go for it, and have fun. Congrats to everyone else on their accomplishments!”
————————————————————————
Do you sleep well the night before a race?
What time is your IDEAL race time start??
Go to cereal these days?!?
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
