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?

Last night, I made sure to take all the necessary steps to prepare myself for my race this morning. You know, because there’s nothing like procrastination.

I checked the weather for this morning…

I laid out my gear…

I finally decided to  write down some directions. Kind of important, no?

And let me tell you that a race an hour away makes for a very early wake-up call. Yawn. I really wanted some coffee…but the fear of coffee instigated bathroom needs mid-race stopped me. TMI? Meh.

Back to last night’s prep work. I also made sure to do the most important thing of all and eat up some grub. We normally grab some Subway for dinner on Friday nights (hello any foot long for $5!!!), but I had a craving for something else.

We have boxes of those staring at me from my pantry all the time. We use them once or twice a month for an easy dinner for Makenzie, but I don’t think we have ever had Annie’s Mac and Cheese as our main dinner. I don’t really know why. Clearly we had no good reason, so I grabbed a box for our dinner.

Easy peasy dinner. Annie’s White Cheddar Shells plus some broccoli and onion I cooked up and added to the mix. Alongside some spinach salad with cranberries, golden raisins, walnuts, blue cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

I had a happy belly last night. Let’s just hope that the whole eating something completely different before a race doesn’t backfire on me this morning.

After dinner, I wound down the night by doing something I find all too fun – blog reading! I almost read more of my book, but just didn’t have the mental focus to go with one plot line. Does that happen to anyone else? I know it must!

But anyways…I couldn’t focus on one topic but wanted to zone out with some good entertainment. Blog reading was the perfect way to go. I really love that about blog reading. You can get such variety!

Hi, Monica!

I read so many blogs for so many different reasons. I read some for great recipe ideas. I read some for workout inspiration. I read some for pure entertainment. I read some because I can always count on them for a positive jolt. I read some because I connect in a very significant way to their story. I read some because they know motherhood. I read some to learn something new.

So…my point? I get a lot from blogs. They never get old to me. I like blogs. Great way to spend a Friday night when your husband has random stuff going on.

Added bonus? Motivation for my race today. I promise to be back later with a recap! Wish me luck! <--- luck meaning that I stick with my plan of not killing myself of course

• What is the #1 reason you enjoy reading blogs?
• Are you a procrastinator?