First 20-Miler

So, I know it's a little late, but here's a post on last weekend's race! Blake, Gary and I ran in the Akron Marathon Relay last Saturday. We all did more than one leg of the race, even though you only need five people and we had five! :) Overachievers. Here is the outline of the relay legs:

Relay Point	Leg	Location	Miles
Point #1	First	0 mile/Start	3.5
Point #2	Second	3.5 mile/High St.	5.7
Point #3	Third	9.2 mile/Brown St.	6.3
Point #4	Fourth	15.5 mile/Sand Run Pkwy	2.8
Point #5	Fifth	18.3 mile/Sand Run Pkwy/Revere	7.9

 All three of us did the first two legs, but Blake and I ran all the way to point five! We handed off the snap bracelet to one of our team members and she handed it off to the last guy, but we just kept going since we were scheduled to run 20 miles that day.

Surprisingly, I REALLY enjoyed running 20 miles! Never thought I'd say that... I mean, don't get me wrong, it was pretty tough, especially after mile 10, but not as bad as I initially thought it would be. It was great to have so many spectators cheering on the thousands of runners and the pacers, they were AMAZING! Especially the one we ran with, which was the 9:55 min/mile pacer. He was so hilarious and motivational. I only hope he's at the Columbus Marathon in three weeks!

Guess who was at the Akron Marathon Expo the night before? HAL HIDGONS himself! I saw that he was going to be there that night and was so excited, but not excited enough to stay the whole time. We got to the expo, got our stuff  and left! It was just nice to be in the same building as the man who created the training plan that has worked so well for me so far. Also, not to mention how amazing and inspiring he was as a runner himself back in the day!

So, now an overview of the morning and after the race that day. I ate a PowerBar (Apple Cinnamon Crisp), some Gatorade, and made about six bathrooms stops before the gun shot off. Of course, I had the butterflies in my stomach, but that's just expected now. After the race I wasn't all that hungry, so I took a shower first and then had a PB&J, banana and yogurt for lunch. But, a few hours later I was STARVING. So, note to self - eat after finishing even if you're not hungry!! It'll catch up to ya later...

Well, tomorrow morning is my last double-digit run before the marathon! Twelve miles tomorrow, four miles Tuesday, three miles Wednesday and four miles Thursday... Not bad! Boy, is my body going to love these few weeks of tapering!

Well, that's all I can think of to write right now. My brain is throbbing from reading all evening for school... That's what I haven't really been posting as often, GRAD SCHOOL! I know one thing it won't stop me from ever doing though - RUNNING. :) I'll promise you that!

Stay fit, my friends! ;-)