Good morning! Did you all have a fabulous weekend? I sure hope so! We had a great time around here. Although, exhausting!

I kicked off the weekend with one of my final long runs before Savannah. That means in less than TWO WEEKS I will be running my first half marathon!!!!! 

The run went really well. I did 12 uneventful miles.

Uneventful is a wonderful thing. I dressed well enough for the weather so I didn’t die of cold in the 40 degree weather (go ahead and mock me, you Northerners!). I kept a steady pace. I had no pain and didn’t battle any mental walls to finish. I just trod along until I finished and it felt fab-u-LOUS.

The only downside I had was that I think I tied my shoes too tight. The top of my right foot hurt – no stabbing pain, just tender – for the rest of the day and part of Sunday. So, odd.

Do note, however, that running 12 miles and then having to turn around right away to prep and throw a toddler birthday party is no small task. I had just enough downtime for breakfast, an ice bath, and a shower, before I had to break into party mode for the birthday girl.

I didn’t have too much to do because I managed to pick the perfect snacking arrangement. We had:

Flower Cheese Crackers (wheat thins with cheese cutouts using a mini flower cookie cutter and finished off with a mini pepperoni)

Fruit & Pink Dip (berry Chobani Champions yogurt with grapes + strawberries)

Princess Party Mix (random assortment of kid loves – popcorn, pretzels, and pastel colored marshmallows)

Spinach & Artichoke Dip (my mom’s special dip she offered to bring – OH. YUM!)

It turned into the perfect spread for the perfect birthday party day at the park.

The kids snacked, ran around, and fed the ducks.

Then, came time for the special cake!!! Sadly, I didn’t get a great shot of it…but it was a princess with a cake dress made to look like Belle’s on top of a cake “stage”.

Makenzie was in love. Go figure.  

All in all, it was a perfect party and I had such a great time! But, man, it wiped me out! I literally crawled into bed right after laying the kids down. Then, promptly slept for ten hours straight. Oh, how I would love to sleep ten hours every night!

• What was the most tiring thing you did this weekend? And, then…what was the most relaxing?
• What is your favorite kind of dip? Mine is my mom’s spinach & artichoke dip by far!!! I ate two very hefty servings on Saturday and wish I had more!

I had the best time this morning! Everything aligned to make the perfect race. I see why Lee likes to run the Peachtree City Classic 15K so much. It really is a great one!

As you already know, I woke up bright and early to hit the road for the over hour drive to the race venue. I grabbed my bib number and met up with Lee about an hour before the race started.

We spent the time catching up since more than two months had quickly passed since our last time hanging out. How does that happen??

Finally, the announcers let everyone know the race would be starting in just a couple short minutes. I was ready.

And then, I was off!

The race course has to be the best one I have run yet. I felt so happy running the entire thing! The course itself winds through golf courses, some residential areas, and next to a beautiful lake.

For some reason it felt so cheerful and serene. There weren’t a ton of spectators, but some of the people would stand in their driveways and cheer people along. Plus, there was an entire strip along one of the paths with “Good Luck” messages in sidewalk chalk. It put a smile on my face.

I’m like the wind and the camera can’t catch me. Ha!

Crazily enough, the entire thing passed by in a blur. I felt like I ran a 5K, not a 15K. I could hardly believe when I suddenly found myself hitting mile 4, then mile 7, then mile 9, and not too long after the finish line.

PS – extra nice touch = ^this guy^ calling out and cheering each person on by name as they came up to the finish line. How awesome!

Now for the racing deets…

For the race, I decided to take the advice of reader/friend, Cindy, who suggested running the race at the pace I hope to run in my half.

She explained that I should still finish with energy, since the race distance is only about 3/4 of the half marathon distance, and get a good idea of how the pace will feel for Savannah. That sounded very reasonable to me, so I decided to take that approach. What a great balance to hopefully have no burnout but still get in good practice for my “A race” in a few weeks.

I didn’t really know what pace I planned to shoot for in my half, so I settled to aim for around 9 minute miles, 15-20 seconds faster than my standard long run pace.

How did it go?

I finished in 1:24:33 clock time. A 9:05 average pace. My chip time will likely show even closer to 9:00 minute average. Perfect!

And to top it all off, I felt like I could have easily run four more miles. Hopefully that’s a good sign for Savannah! I’m soooooo excited now! I can barely contain myself!!!! Time to celebrate! With none other than one of these and some of this . Ohhhh yeah! Happy Saturday!

• What is something you are looking forward to right now?