If the shoe fits...RUN! Off to the ball

I did a weekly maintenance run tonight on the treadmill. 3 miles in 33:12 to earn this beautiful medal

If the shoe fits...RUN! Classic Beauty

Today I ran my longest run to date - 11 miles. Say what? You heard me... 11 miles! In the cold, none the less!
I finished the 12th week of my half marathon training and there is only 6 weeks to go before my first half marathon.

I carb loaded for the first time yesterday. I did a lot of research on it & figured "what did I have to lose". Hmmm, apparently all I had to lose was minutes... OFF MY TIME! 2 weeks ago when I ran 9.5 miles, I finished it in 1:47:24. And today, when I hit the 9.5 mark, I checked my time and I was only at 1:44:46 - I had shaved about 3 minutes off my time. YEAH!
I finished the 11 miles strong at 2:01:15 with a pace of 11:00 exactly. Heck yes!  Only 2.1 miles more would put me aprox at 2:23:10 for a half marathon. wow!
I never got tired or sluggish and I didn't hit a wall. I felt great... it felt like I FLEW through those 11 miles. And usually after my long runs, I feel sluggish/tired for the rest of the day, but so far (it's now 4pm and my run was at 8am this morning) I am feeling energetic and great!
I think I like this carb loading idea!

And because today I earned the last medal in the If the shoe fits...RUN! Princess set 1, I got to proudly display all 4 medals!

Running is a Winter Sport!

Remember the pictures of the awesome medals I shared with you a few days ago?!
Well, I earned the 5k/10k one today!

Since my run was 11 miles (which is more than a 5k & 10k combined) I decided that it counted for BOTH distances on the medal! I more than earned this medal!

The weather was a cool 23 degrees. Starting out was a little rough, but by a mile in, I was nice & toasty warm.
I carb loaded for the first time yesterday (testing it out for my first half marathon which is 6 weeks way) and I have to say that it really helped! I soared through those 11 miles, never got tired, sluggish or hit a wall.  I had set a goal for 2 hours & 6 minutes and ended up finishing in 2 hours and 1 minute! I exceeded my own expectations and it felt amazing!!

My 5k time was 33:16 - not a PR, but still a good solid time for me.
And my 10k time was 1:06:53... very close to a PR. I missed it by about 45 seconds, but still one of the best 10k times for me, so I'll take it!

I honestly hate being cold and I hate cold weather. A few months ago, if you had said I would be running ELEVEN miles in the cold, I would have thought you were crazy. But I did it! And I made it look easy!
Running can indeed be a winter sport!  I even had this pretty bib to print & wear for my run!

And of course it helped that I got to earn this amazing medal!

I will be earning the 13.1 medal next! I can't wait to add that beauty to my collection.

As usual these medals from Jost Running are stunningly beautiful. And actually, each new one seems to outdo the one before it, if that is even possible!  I'm sure they put alot of hard work into these designs and it pays off! And the quality of the medals is absolutely top notch!

When I was done with my race, I submitted my results to Jost Running so that they could add my results to their leader board (found on their website) 

Right now I'm standing strong at #7!

Here's my collection of Jost Running medals so far. I have the other September Soaring medal (yellow & green plane, you can see my previous post for pics) that I let my son hang on his medal rack.

Don't forget to use the code "Countdown" to get 10% off the "In with the New Year" race from Jost Running.  I bet it will be a real beauty!

And they even have gift certificates, so why not give the gift of a race to someone you love... or maybe ask Santa to put one in your stocking ;)

Running is indeed a winter sport!

I haven't earned these medals yet, but they were just too beautiful to keep hidden until I actually do earn them.
I'm not a fan of being cold, but I don't think I will mind running 11 miles in the cold on Sunday to earn one of these beauties!! I will be earning the 5k/10k medal this weekend - hey, I'm running 11 miles, that covers both distances!! LOL

Jost Running (www.jostrunning) does NOT disappoint with their medals. They are big, glittery & just absolutely breathtaking!
I can't wait to see what they have in store for January - I'm sure it will be absolutely worth it! And you can even get 10% off their January race - In with the New Year by using the code "Countdown".
Check back in with me in a few days to hear about my run!
In the mean time, Happy Running!

If the shoe fits...RUN! Arabian Nights

With the time change,  we all know it gets darker earlier. I don't mind running in the cold, but I don't feel safe running outside in the dark alone. So I decided to join a local gym for the next few months. I hate hate hate running on the treadmill (aka DREADmill), but earning some bling helps it be more enjoyable for sure!

Tonight I ran a 3 mile maintenance run on the treadmill. Nothing major to report about a treadmill run. We all know how it goes - you turn the machine on & go... there's no fun new route or pretty scenery to take in. It's dull & boring, but it's safer than the alternative right now, so I do what I have to do.

But at the end of my run, I earned this pretty medal - Arabian Nights, and it made it all worth it! And I even got into the spirit just a little bit by wearing some "jasmine" inspired colored running clothes today - blue & turquoise, it seemed appropriate!

If the shoe fits...RUN! Under the Sea

Today I earned my Under the Sea medal.  The second one from If the shoe fits...RUN series (princess part 1).
I did 4 miles today and it seemed appropriate that I earned this one in the... rain (and cold!).

The run itself was pretty routine. Nothing really major to report about a 4 mile run.

A rite of passage?

So IT finally happened - a black toe nail!
Before you ask, yes I was professionally fitted for my shoes, they are half a size bigger, etc, etc. What I don't understand is that I have been wearing them for 5 months and they have never caused any problems before. So I don't know what caused it, except maybe running 9.5 miles??
But after running 9.5 miles a week ago, I had a pretty purple blister form under my nail... it started off small and got bigger and bigger and turned black. It hurt like heck for the first couple of days.

I read up on it and there's basically nothing I can do at this point. the blister will go away on it's own and the nail may eventually fall off and a new one will grow in. I've never lost a toe nail before, but I have lost a finger nail.
And some even consider it a rite of passage as a long distance runner. So I guess it's proof I worked hard for those 9.5 miles?