I took a little break from logging a lot of miles in a week after the Baltimore Marathon in October. In fact, my mileage dropped significantly. There wasn’t a reason to ‘train,’ per se, and as the weather cooled and moved into winter, I was less excited about layering up and breathing the cold air. I give a lot of credit to those who persevere with winter running.
In the winter I decided to take the Titanium Girl Challenge – run the Athleta Iron Girl Half Marathon on one Sunday and the Frederick Half Marathon the following Sunday. Two half marathons in 7 days. I haven’t run that kind of mileage in a week since running it in a day over 6 months ago. I’m not going to lie – I was nervous a the thought.
My friend Lauren and I ran together in the Iron Girl race. The weather was perfect, and with both of us only having run 10 miles at the longest to prepare for the race, we had the same goal: just to finish.
The course was great. Some rolling hills, nice neighborhoods. Lauren had never used Gu before, so I introduced her to Roctane before the race and my new fave, peanut butter flavored Gu, at the half-way point. That energy gel sure gave her energy! I noticed she picked up the pace a little because I started breathing a little heavier. We were going at a slower pace for the first half, but that was changing.
At the 10-mile marker, when I was starting to think that I was on the downhill to getting tired, she said those dreaded words. “I feel great! Want to pick up the pace?” Not one to back down or look like a punk, I said, “Sure, I’ll try and keep up.” And keep up I did.
We were both so excited and a little emotional when we crossed the finish line. At the halfway point I figured if we maintained our pace I would finish well over my last half time, not factoring in the energy burst post-Gu. As we closed in on the finish, I saw that the timer was actually under my time for the Frederick half last year. I thought, “Wow, we REALLY picked up the pace and made up time!” In the end we finished in 2:19:11 and I couldn’t be more proud. I’m really proud of Lauren for doing so great in her first race!
To earn our Titanium Girl medal, we will be running again on Sunday along with my friend Jen. It will be nice to run through my own town and see folks I know cheering us on. I’m feeling pretty great, the weather is looking good, and I’m looking forward to the run.
Titanium Girl Challenge, I’ve got you.
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