Awesome week...ending with 18 miles!

So this week has been very busy...I GOT A NEW JOB!!!  Of course, I am very excited about this opportunity, but it does change how I do my workouts, especially in the upcoming weeks with school beginning.  My last day of summer, Wednesday, began with an AMAZING track workout.  It was last morning track workout (due to the new job) and I went out with a bang!  We did 4 1600s and let me tell you, not to brag, but I rocked them!  For fast runners they may not think anything of this, but I was really proud!

Mile 1 - Warm-up 10:18
Mile 2 - 8:45
Mile 3 - 8:45
Mile 4 - 8:56
Mile 5 - 8:42
Mile 6 - Cool down 10:26

I felt so good afterward, I felt like I could have kept running, which is a great feeling because this is just a little faster than I want to run my upcoming half in.  Now I just need to push myself to run 13.1 miles in 7 days in that speed...I can do it :)

My long run today was slow but I finished all 18 miles and my last mile was just as fast as my first nine miles which made me feel really good.  I began my run with my friend Amy, who was running 20 today and did an awesome job!  We always begin our runs in Reston on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, today we ran east towards Vienna.  As we were running Amy told me it was her dream to run to the caboose in Vienna, she had never run that far east so when we got there, we took pictures and then turned around to head back.

At the Vienna Caboose, mile 6.5

We were only at 6.5 miles and it was HUMID!!!  I told her to go ahead of me because about half way through my run, the humidity really started to hit me so I decided to slow down, walk a little, and get extra hydration.  I filled up my water bottle 5 times?!?!?!  Even though I was walking I had to think about a few things...1-I have a race next weekend, it's ok if I take it easy this weekend, 2-this is the first time I have run 18 miles, it's ok if I take a few breaks, and 3-A MILE IS A MILE NO MATTER HOW FAST IT IS!!!!  Although it wasn't the best time I finished 18 miles in 3:26:00, an average of 11:26 a mile.  My first half was faster than my last, but that's ok...I finished and I'm proud of myself!  I am going to work toward my goal of a 2:00:00 half marathon next weekend...I KNOW I CAN DO IT!

Jodi, Jessica, Amy, and Myself after their 20 miles and my 18 miles

WE ROCK!!!  So proud of you amazing ladies!!!