thanksgiving!

after the 87 mile ride with Judi on Sunday, i wasn't sure how the legs would cooperate for the race this morning. i mean, i felt great on the ride. i lifted weights and swam a little on Monday. I swam masters on Tuesday...

then, on Wednesday, I went out for an easy 7 miles. and my legs felt sooo heavy. at that point, i decided i would just have fun with the race. i had a previous, somewhat far-fetched goal of running in the 41 min range.

after dinner with mom and my niece and nephew Wednesday night, i got up Thursday morning to meet the Cincy Express folks at the local running store about 5 blocks from my place. We chatted a bit and ran over to the start. it was chilly, but i knew it'd heat up quickly once the run started.

we all corraled before the 7 min pace signs and waited for go time. there were almost 17,000 people registered, so even that close up, it took over a minute to get to the start. and then it was a mad house trying to run through the people running a 10 min pace. weaving in and out, i just went forward, through downtown Cincy. i hit the first mile around 6:50. the second was 13:14, the third, 20:17. i passed an old boyfriend from high school that just did IMKY who said he'd not done much of anything since then. (funny how IM training will do that to some people) I picked up a guy who wanted to pace off me. i'd seen him in the first mile. (dude, do you know i'm not the greatest pacer?)

from there on, i just relaxed. lately, i've just not had it in me to hurt too much. usually, i'm uber competitive, but the spark has left me. so, i just took it home, thinking about all the things i've got to be grateful for, particularly, sport and the people it's brought into my life.

i have amazing friends. and family. they all support me. they show up to races. they pick me up when i'm feeling down. they encourage me and always tell me how i inspire them. heck, i couldn't have gotten through this year without them. it wasn't so long ago, i thought this racing season was over. IMKY was a shadowy prospect. but it's turned out to be one of the most amazing seasons of my life.

and with all that, i got a new 10k PR. 42:19 (6:49 pace...looks like i didn't do so bad pacing after all :)). not blazing fast, but better than the past.

from there, i met a buddy for a swim. while he ran home to get his trunks, i warmed up with an easy 700 and then we set out to do 50x50, but we were cut short because the gym was closing. got in 38 of them though.

it was a beautiful day. thank you so much for all you do. i'm a very blessed girl