9 miles... done!!

White Rock half marathon training is getting serious now! We are just less then one month away and I ran 9 miles yesterday! Ollie ran over 7 with me. He probably could have kept going but 9 seemed like a lot! The weather was getting a little warm (we went around noon), but it was a beautiful day to run. When I dropped him off at the house, I grabbed water and a package of Swedish Fish (Halloween Candy) for fuel, which I definitely think helped. Usually towards the end of my long runs, my pace just goes out the window and I slow majorly down, but I took some inspiration from my daily running read SkinnyRunner and pushed through even when I did not want to do. I finished my 9 miles in 1 hour 22 minutes and 19 seconds at a pace of 9:09 miles per minute. Not bad. I finished White Rock last year at a 9:26 pace I think, so this is an improvement! I thought it would be interesting to see where I was in my training last year, so I looked it up on Map My Run, the app I use to log my runs on my iphone, to see my run this time last year.

Well, last year at this time, we were in Greenville, SC visiting my brother's family for his birthday and Halloween. It was very hilly there and it was a hard run. I am not used to hills at all here in Texas and I remember almost not being able to finish. I ran 9 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes and 18 seconds at a 11:32 pace. Granted that was with hills but that is a big difference! Over 2 minutes per mile! The next weekend, I ran back in Texas on flat land 10 miles in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 15 seconds or a 10:01 pace. Still a minute improvement almost!

It is encouraging to see the improvement in my times. These long runs are not nearly as taxing on my body as they were last year. I remember finishing and coming home and just wanting to do nothing and of course whining to Eric about how sore my legs were! My goal is finish White Rock in less than two hours this year. I almost don't want to say that in case I don't, but seeing these times gives me some confidence that I will be able to do that. I am excited to try!!

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!! Eric and I had like no trick-or-treaters. I think our bell rang 5 times. I am throwing the candy away today because Eric (not me!) will just eat it. I don't know what the deal was! We have lots of kids in the neighborhood! Here are some stolen pics of our nieces and nephew of their Halloween costumes, since no post is complete without pictures!