Last full week of training is done. One week from today, I will be running the Women’s Half Marathon in St. Pete, my sixth half marathon. I might be more excited about this one than any of the others and I can only assume it’s because I’ve been training my butt off for this one.

After last week’s 12 mile run that was so hard and ended with foot paint, I didn’t run for 3 days (2 of those days would have been rest days so I missed one day of running). I enjoyed the time off, but it also drive me crazy not to run. I iced my foot and took Motrin. On Thursday, I headed out on a 5 mile run and it was perfect. I didn’t take a single walk break and I didn’t have any foot pain. On Friday, I ran 3 miles. I was very happy to be back to it. This morning, I ran my last long run of 8 miles. It was a great run! Looking back at the last 13 weeks, it’s amazing that I only missed one run. I’ve done my best to play it safe and push myself along the way. Training has done wonders for my running and I am now a believer in structured training plans.

 

Week 13

 

Monday – Rest

 

Tuesday – Rest

 

Wednesday – Rest (skipped 3 mile run)

 

Thursday – 5 miles

 

 

Friday – 3 miles

 

 

Saturday – Rest

 

Sunday – 8 miles

 

Several times during this morning’s run, I checked my watch and knew that I was running faster that I maybe should have been, but it was comfortable. I didn’t realize until I finished, just how fast I was actually running, especially on my last mile. A 09:56 minute mile at the end? Holy cow. This is my first long run that has been an average pace in the 10:00’s, even if just by one second. I will gladly take it. And… Being the numbers girl that I am, I checked to see what my time was on my last 8 mile run, which was at the beginning of October and it was 01:34:17 with an average pace of 11:46. Today’s run shows a very nice improvement!

 

 

I was very happy to be back at my favorite running spot this morning. The Memorial Causeway and Clearwater Beach is the best of everything – water, sunrise, breeze, beach, and plenty of scenery.

 

 

We also saw Beth and Nick running this morning. When we spotted Nick’s car, I had to take a picture for a shameless plug for the Best Damn Race. It’s always nice to see running friends out and about.

 

 

Total miles for Week 13 is 16.03. I have 3 short runs this coming week (3 miles, 2 miles, and 2 miles) and then Sunday is my half marathon! I can’t wait!

 

Do you get excited before a race? What do you look forward to the most?