Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Team Ortho Half Marathon Report!

Hi everyone, I just got up from a really long nap! I ran in the Team Ortho Half Marathon this morning and it totally wiped me out! Let me just say right now that I have had better races.

Saturday morning I headed off to the race expo to pick up my bib and race packet . I arrived there at 10:15 AM and it was already packed!
This is what this years t-shirt looks like....I really love the color:)
This was my one purchase of the day. I was checking out all of the expo retail shops and found this shirt! I couldn't resist! It had my name written all over it! I have many comments on my last post with people telling me that I am in several of the Team Ortho's Face Book Page. There were four photographers volunteering taking pictures of the packet pickup/expo. I had a woman photographer following me throughout my stay. She told me that I should check out the web page for several pictures that she took of me:) There is a picture of me that is very similar to the one above.

I did not sleep well last night and I kept waking up every hour on the hour:( My alarm went off at 4 AM....I was not in the mood to get up! I was still so tired and I had to force myself to move my butt! After my shower I felt a little better. I drove into Minneapolis with hopes of scoring a cheap parking spot close to the Depot/race start and finish. I scored! I drove into a little parking lot very close to a Caribou Coffee and 1 block from the Depot! I was elated to find out that my parking for the morning would only be $1.50:)

Just look at my bib number...7587! There are two sevens in it and seven just happens to be my favorite number! Does this mean that I have a double lucky bib? Well, if you read my first paragraph, you already know the answer to this question.
I stopped off at the Depot where I used the Biffs and then people watched for a bit.
This picture is of my new friend Brenda:) We met in the parking lot and ended up talking about 30 minutes. Brenda ran in the full marathon and told me what to expect for the half.

This picture was taken about 20 minutes to the start.
Here I am in line...I went back in forth between the 1:50 and 1:55 pacers. Part of me thought it would be better to go with Scott the 1:55 pacer but he was doing the full and would leave me at mile 9. Mike led the 1:50 group. I really wanted to stay with him for the entire race and hoped for the best:)
This is a picture of all of the runners in front of me. Both the half and full marathoners started together. We shuffled up to the start and we were off. The first two miles went fine and I felt okay. I had no problem staying with Mike and the rest of the group. Mile three rolled along and I started to feel nauseous! Crap and what the hell! No! Do not feel sick! Just keep going and breath....just breath. It was getting warm and there were just way too many people for there to be any airflow. I stopped at all of the water stops and drank every drop. Mile four I was still with Mike and we were on schedule. I struggled with feeling like getting sick and having a slight headache.

It was at mile four and a half where I knew that I would absolutely need a bathroom break. OMG, my GI system was doing a darn good number on me! I was hoping for a Biffy sighting ASAP! I really can't tell you where I spotted the Biffs but I had to stand in line! There were two other guys in line:( I don't even want to think about the minutes that ticked away with this first stop. It was so damn hot in that Biff and I honestly felt like passing out. Once I got back outside I felt a little better. I continued on....I lost my pacer:( I pretty much knew that I was on my own now and that just sucked!
I really tried to stay positive and kept on thinking...just enjoy the run...don't worry about your time. Yea, that wasn't working. It was a tough run for me and I knew it was going to be a battle just getting to the finish.
I actually started to take my first fuel gel at mile three and it was gone before mile four. I am thinking that I lost my second gel during my bathroom break. I was messing with my Spibelt and forgot to zip it shut! When I noticed this I was so bummed because I knew that I would never make it without my second pack. I continued on...down the hills and up the hills. This course was harder for me than the Lake Minnetonka half. I would like to do it again minus all of my issues. I continued to grab water at every station. Sometimes I grabbed two cups and just inhaled them. I was dehydrated and needed fuel. After I hit mile eight I knew that I need to use the Biffs again. My next Biffy stop I didn't have to wait in line but I just watched the minutes tick by. For the past few weeks I have been dealing with GI issues and it is an on again off again thing. It was so frustrating and it was hard to keep a good attitude. When I finally made it to the turn around I knew that I had a little more than three miles. The thing that sucked was that the last portion of the run was uphill! Yes, my favorite! Just keep moving...quick little steps! Some nice man yelled, "Go Julie, you are almost done...just around the corner!" I forgot that my name was on my bib:) Just hearing someone yell my name and cheer for me was a huge energy booster! I attempted to run faster and I know that I wasn't sprinting in...I really wanted to be but it just wasn't going to happen for this race. After I crossed the finish line I pulled over to the side for a few minutes...I was spent! I must of looked like it because a woman wanted to know if I needed medical attention. Really? Do I look that bad? After about ten minutes I continued down the line and picked up my finishers medal! God, I love bling:)
Well, I finished!

I went on the web page to find my official running stats and they looked like this.......

Officail finish time 2:00:15
I placed 1003 out of 3355 runners.
I placed 465 out of 2196 female runners.
I placed 58 out of 292 for my age group.

I did not PR today but I finished! My 1:50 PR race will have to come another day:)

I stayed around to watch the marathoners finish! I cheered for all of the runners until I saw my blogger friend Average A come down the shoot! She did awesome!

Average A is adorable and so nice! I was so glad that I stayed and had the chance to meet her:) Congrats on your first marathon!

Well, that is all I have for now. I am so far behind blogging and I will do my best to catch up! Happy running, biking, swimming and lifting:) Cheers to you all! I will link in giveaways as soon as I get a chance:)

Shannon is hosting a $15 Starbucks giveaway!
Rad Runner is hosting a Vegan Cookies giveaway!
Kovas is hosting a Heart Smart Diabetes Kitchen Cookbook giveaway!
Molly is hosting a Drymax socks giveaway!
Amanda is hosting a yummy chocolate and a $80 CSN giftcard giveaway!

77 comments:

  1. Julie! Look at you already putting up a race report!! :) I've been working on mine but think I need to wait for a few more pictures from Marathon Foto to fully emphasize all the suffering that happened during my run. :)

    Thank you SO much for staying around and cheering, and for all of your support! I am so glad we got to finally met! I am really bummed to hear you didn't do as well as you'd like, but that seems to be the general consensus of all the runners from today. I think everyone was super dehydrated!! :(

    I'm wondering if I can get a copy of this pic from you!? I have one my dad took that I can send you (it's really pixelated and poor quality, though), and then once my photographer friend uploads her pix I'll have more to send. :)

    I still think you kicked ass today -- so glad we got to meet!!!! :D
    xoxo
    A

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  2. Silly me ... you uploaded this as a full-size image so I can just grab it. :) Thanks!!! I think I saw you write your e-mail address on a previous post (I think to a giveaway winner), so I'll just stalk your blog a bit for your address to send these to. :)

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  3. Great job - another half-marathon in the books!

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  4. ugh, stomach issues are my biggest fear, sorry you had to deal with them this time around. Even though you didn't PR, you totally rocked it Chickie!

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  5. Still a great time!

    Thanks for providing a detailed race report. Great pics too!

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  6. Congrats on having a "bad" race and still getting a 2-hour half! The bad races only make you appreciate the good ones. Good job getting through it and having a great time!

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  7. You are fast lady, even on a non PR day! That was my exact time for 12.4 miles!
    Love the shirt and the bling and yay for making new friends :)

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  8. I'm sorry you had such a tough race. I hope you are feeling better now. I'm sooo impressed you still did it in 2 hours - that is amazing!!!

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  9. I think you did great. That is a beautiful color shirt. Are the letters making some kind of design and is the medal a triangle? It looks like the course was pretty. How many halves have you done this year? How many races? Sorry for all the questions. I think you race even more than I do! You look great even if you didn't feel so good.

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  10. That's a great time with stomach issues and all--way to go!
    Nice bling too!

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  11. Another nice job Julie! That is a pretty cool looking race shirt.

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  12. HOW do y'all DO IT??? Look at that last picture--just look at it!!! You've just run a half and Average A has just run a whole, and you both look amazing!

    One of these days I'm gonna post a picture of what I look like after just five miles or so and scare the crap out of all of you!

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  13. well done julie and plenty more still to aim for

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  14. i love how many race shirts you're accumulating! and nice shirt purchase;-)

    way to pull out yet another half marathon. dang!

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  15. JulieA, you racing queen, you!!! Well, I know the GI issues were frustrating but wow, what a great attitude you had about it, and just roll with it all. I need to be more ike you and less hard on myself. I absolutely LOVE that shirt, very cool color indeed...in fact, I was getting confused on the race shirt and the shirt you wore ;). You did amazing, girl, so very proud of you for cranking out another race! This weather is making all our race times slower and our bodies more cranky...hang in there!!! xo

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  16. I love your 'Does this shirt make my butt look fast' shirt!

    Sounds like a really tough race but you did awesome!

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  17. Congratulations on finishing another half! Stomach issues are never fun during a run so great job for still finishing in a decent time. I love how you always reach out to meet your blogger friends when you do these races.

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  18. The PB will come soon, don't worry. Good job on the half. Great post and great pictures.

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  19. Julie,
    Nice bling! Sorry it wasn't a great race for you, but you still did awesome!! Running with GI issues absolutely sucks. I have no doubt you'll get your 1:50 yet this summer.

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  20. Great race Julie!! You look fab as usual and that race shirt has got to be the best design ever. I love it. Keep up the good work!!!

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  21. It may not be a PR, but it's still an awesome time! Congrats!

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  22. Congrats Julie! That's a crazy awesome time considering the stops you had to make...wow!!

    Great race shirt...I love the color!

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  23. Oh darn! I totally didn't catch that you were racing this weekend so I could give you a shout out on my friday shout out post. I'm sorry! I've been keeping my notepad with me at all times when i'm reading other blogs so I can jot down who is doing what race and when. I dropped the ball on yours...my bad :(

    I think you still finished quite strong for having all the biffy breaks and not feeling 100%. I wonder if the heat had a lot to do with it since you haven't really had much hot weather yet to get acclimated to.

    Love the t-shirt you bought! Very cute!

    And now I have to ask...is biff or biffy a Minnesota kind of term for the port-o-john? Never heard it called that before. I like it though. May start using that term too.

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  24. I haz GI issues often as well, and I hates them, Baggins :-) Way to grit it out and GET IT DONE! A fine effort and learning experience!

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  25. GREAT job! COnsidering the heat and GI, you did an amazing job. Congrats!

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  26. Way to stick it out when you were feeling bad. We all have those races now and again--you will be tougher for it and hungrier next time you race!

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  27. I have the same shirt (does this make my butt look fast) and people always crack up! You are a racing QUEEN this year- awesome job once again Julie!

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  28. That is still a good time, well done! Even under not perfect conditions you did well. very nice pics! I love both shirts.

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  29. Too bad it wasn't such a great race for you, but if you minus the time you waited for the biffs, and consider that you ran that thing in two hours with stomach issues and only one gel early on - I'd say you did pretty great! I love the new shirts!

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  30. Seems to me, considering your stomach problem, you stuck it out bravely and ran very well indeed. I doubt if I could have caught you!

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  31. Wow, you never cease to amaze me.

    When you become a duathelte, and, well, we both know you will, I will trade you half my biking skills for a tenth of your running skills. Sound like a deal?

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  32. 7587 also adds up to 27, which can be read as two sevens. :) Love both shirts!

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  33. Julie-
    great pics and shirt! Make sure you look at the race elevation chart for Grandma's Half! prepare for Lemon Drop Hill:) it has DROPPED ME the last two years:( ...ALSO- right NOW goto Grandma's web page and you can sign people up for text msg updates on your run, its cool you just need the ccell #, proveder, and an email address for the person and friends and family can get txt msg when you start / finish and a few spots along the way probably (maybe less for the half)

    https://secure.marathonguide.com/runnertracking/grandmas2010/

    last year this sign up tracker was only availa ble for a few days so get in your numbers now or fwd it to people you want.

    -DR

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  34. PS - be prepared for the end of the half at Grandma's you have a lot of hokey turns and you will think you are done but you are not, you have to go all the way around the Ship after you think you are done...for me it has been extremely annoying !!!!
    look at the map
    -D

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  35. GI issues suck. I have struggled off and on with them. Messes with your head too because you're always worried they're going to come up. Looks like you still had a great race though.

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  36. Great attitude, Julie! You know, some races are going to be not great. It's just how racing plays out. You still did great, though:)

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  37. Sheesh, the only way I can beat that time is when I have an absolutely perfect race. Good job finishing despite the tummy troubles and dehydration!

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  38. I agree with Jill - you ARE the racing queen! You did a great job in spite of the GI issues - I think all runners understand b/c everyone has that "hit" now and then! Totally neat that you got to meet Average A. Although the race didn't go quite like you had hoped, it still sounds like a fun day. Have a great week!
    K

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  39. Wow what a Rad looking race! Great time! You look wonderful both b4 and after the race!

    Hey! I still need your addy! You won the Peaceful Mountain Package! Its callin' ur name Julie!

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  40. Aww... I'm sorry to hear you felt bad for a lot of the race. If it makes you feel any better I would be ECSTATIC to hit the time that you did.

    My guess is they said something to you because you weren't moving to go pick up your medal. Not because of how you looked. Hope your stomach doesn't keep giving you problems!

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  41. Ha! We got yelled at by some people at Marathon Foto for taking pics with that border. :) Whoops! I sent you an email (with pics) to your work address today ... but I sent it from a really obsolete address of mine. Let me know if you get them!!

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  42. I'm so sorry that your half didn't go as well as you would have liked. GI issues and being dehydrated just completely sucks! I know you didn't get your PR, but you pushed through and finished!!! Woohoo!

    Oh, and I think the race t-shirt is so cool! It's so much better than boring white shirts...I have so many of those in my closet!

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  43. I saw a pic of you on FB so I had to come se eho wyou did! You look hot.. so what the heck right? LOL Keep up the great work- you will get that PR! Np Worries!!

    La-

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  44. Great Job Julie!!! It looked like a fun race. Great photos. I hope I get to meet you up at Grandma's Marathon. I will be at the finish line handing out medals.

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  45. Damn GI issues?! Why do they make their presence known at the absolute worst times! You still did great Julie. Proud of you!
    Have a great week!

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  46. I have to give you big time props for not only finishing your race with Biffy stops, but also posting pretty good numbers even though you did not PR. I don't know if I could finish a race with GI issues. You are one tough woman!

    Reading you blog just makes me curse my knee. I actually miss my long runs. I guess I will have to live my running life through you.

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  47. Good for you - and I am happy that butt loads of pictures have returned to the blog!

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  48. Sorry to hear about your tummy troubles! I love the pics and that you made a new friend! Awesome shirt as well! Are you doing the half at Grandma's?

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  49. Congrats on finishing another Half Marathon, big sis! How many is that now this year?

    Sorry to hear about the running "issues"...why can't our bodies just cooperate sometimes?!?! Keep at it, Julie! I have a feeling @ your next half mary you are going to get your 1:50:00.

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  50. You made great time considering all the potty stops. Hope you get you tummy troubles worked out.

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  51. Good pace on the half. I love the "Does this shirt make my butt look fast".

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  52. Love that race shirt. Almost wish I had done that race just to get one! If it hadn't been for the pit stops, I'm sure you would have gotten that PR! Congrats on pushing through.

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  53. Wow Julie! You sure got determation to finish the race, I'm really impressed that you didn't quit! (know I would).

    You have every right to be proud of yourself after such a hard race.

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  54. Amazing! That is a great time! And I love the shirt!

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  55. Oh man, sounds like a tough day! Great job sticking out a rough race! And great pics too!

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  56. Great job pounding out those races.

    Your excitement and attitude for them is great.

    It's all TCM training now.

    .... do the Afton 25k. Best training run you could do. You would love it.

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  57. Hey, Julie! I never know if I should respond to the comment on my blog or go to another blog to comment or email...

    I'll be doing Afton on July 3rd. I see that Patten mentioned that one to you as a good training run...I bet you'd enjoy it.

    Did you check your schedule for the 5K relay in September?

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  58. Hi Julie, I just can't keep up with all your races. Way to push through it on this one! I always have some sort of GI issue on long runs, except lately it's been a bit better with Hammer gels. I love your report and your pix. I want that "Does this shirt make my butt look fast?" T-Shirt! :) Have a great week!

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  59. Well... No offense but it's about time you didn't PR! ;-) you have been a PR machine lately!

    Sorry the race didn't go so well overall, but you toughed it out and still finished in a very respectable time!

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  60. Congrats Julie, a great time again! I think you are improving slightly. Love the t-shirt you bought :)
    Thanks for the nice "picture" of our italian running team which you gave the 4th of June at the beginning of your post.

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  61. If your serious about doing a relay, I am thinking next year, email me Tri_diesel@yahoo.com, We could find a third person to do the swim (1.2 Miles), i will bike (56 miles), you run (13.1 miles) , and we can do a Half Ironman race. Think about it, and for next year, and email me if you are serious.

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  62. Great job with the race. I love all the pictures

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  63. Great report! At the rate that you are doing races, that PR will only be a matter of time! :)

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  64. Wow, another half??? You are an animal, Julie. A nice, pretty, animal!! Great race report and as always, I appreciate your nice pictures.
    Happy Friday tomorrow!

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  65. congrats on a great race, loved the recap and love those shirts!

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  66. Bummer Julie! But you still had a very respectable time. If they were all easy and uneventful then they wouldn't be as much fun right?

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  67. I swear, sometimes it's like we're the same person! 1) I have that "Does this shirt make my butt look fast" shirt, 2)Love the number 7...OK, that's pretty much it, but I'm just sayin'...!

    Great recap! Love to visit your blog- always makes me happy:)

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  68. I love that T-Shirt!!

    Great RR! Bummer that you didn't PR, but you still had an awesome race - pushing through those tummy problems isn't easy!

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  69. Did I already ask you about the Red, White & Boom half marathon on July 4th in NE Mpls? I just signed up to run it (with a 5-person team), but I'll be running individually... thinking of attempting the 1:50 half marathon pace group! Maybe, just maybe?! :) Any chance you'll be there?

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  70. Well done! And you still look great after running a half marathon! I'm so impressed.

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  71. Hey! I did Hal Higdon's Intermediate I training plan as well, thinking that I was going into this with a solid base of winter running and many halves under my belt. His book "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide" suggests starting with the Novice program if it's your first marathon, but I think you'll be fine with the Intermediate program. It's all based on what your goals are: if you're looking to finish, Novice will do the trick, but if you want to do it in a respectable time, I think intermediate is a good choice. I did one 20-mile run and one 22-mile run (I sort of tweaked his plan a little to make sure I was adequately prepared). 22 was the furthest I went before race day.

    No need to be jealous about the running coach -- he seriously couldn't do too much from afar (since he can't see how I was doing or recovering), but he does offer some great advice! :)

    Please let me know what you decide about the RW&B half! It would be so fun to run together!!! I'm not sure I could do 1:50, but heck, nothing says I can't try!!

    Enjoy the last of your weekend! xoxo
    A

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  72. Way to go!!! You will get your 1:50 next time!! Great race report and pictures!

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  73. I'm new to your blog, and I really am impressed by looking through some of your recent posts. I'm following.

    Congratulations on finishing a race under the circumstances! I'm sure you will get your PR next time!

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  74. Nice work!! Way to go!! I was out there cheering, but I must have missed you!! (It WAS pretty crowded out there at times!)

    Congrats on your 2:00!!!

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  75. I seriously just laughed out loud at your comment on my adding rum to EFS. :)

    Hope you're having a great day and avoiding the storms!!

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  76. Hi Julie, yes I'll be doing the 4th and last race in the trail series this Sunday. Tomorrow I'll go buy new shoes and probably stay with the same. Will do shoe surgery once I'm sure the pair I choose is 100% fine.

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