A PR in Aggieland!

This past weekend started out a little rocky. The Dallas area was blanketed with ice last Thursday night which caused school closures, business closures and even the cancellation of the Dallas Marathon. Lucky for me I was not registered to do the Dallas half marathon but I was registered to run the BCS (Bryan-College Station) half marathon on Sunday.

After spending the day at home on Friday with the kids and Scott, we decided that we would try to drive to College Station Saturday afternoon with the hopes that there had been enough traffic and sand trucks out that we could get through Dallas safely.

As planned, we left around lunch and headed south. It ended up taking us about 2 hours to get through Dallas with most of that being stopped in traffic on 35 because of an accident. We took it nice and slow and once we got South of Dallas the roads were completely clear.

We arrived in College Station around 4. We drove straight over to the Expo to pick up my sister-in-law’s and my race packets and then to the store to get stuff for our yummy pasta dinner (and a birthday cake for my SIL’s birthday!).

After dinner, cake and a shopping trip to find mittens for AMC, we turned in for the night to get some much needed rest.

AMC of course did not sleep very well and woke up a couple times during the night (which is par for the course when we are somewhere other than home) so when my alarm went off on Sunday morning, I really wanted to turn it off and go back to sleep! I of course didn’t and got up and ready for the race.

My SIL and me ready to run!

When we got there, my SIL and I found our corrals and finished gearing up. Since I had just run the Route 66 Half Marathon 2 weeks prior, my plan for this race was simple -- just run comfortably, have fun and don’t worry about time.

After a few minutes we were on our way.

Getting our "Good Luck" fives from ARC! (She is an awesome cheer person for runners!) 

 Hey look! It is Santa! 

Around mile 4, I was noticing how comfortable my running was and how I couldn’t believe that I had already run 4 miles. As much as I had wanted to look at the time on my watch, I forced myself to not. About this time, I also ran into Scott, my BIL and the kids. I did not see them at first because I was so into my run and enjoying the course.  I had known they would be somewhere along the course but no idea where because Scott did not tell me. 

Surprised about seeing my family! 

 My SIL coming into mile 4!

As I continued forward I kept wondering what was going on. Here I was at mile 5, 6, and 7 and I STILL felt great. I kept remembering how worn out I was at the Route 66 and was amazed that I was still going strong.  

At around Mile 8 we entered onto the Texas A&M campus and I got really excited because I love the campus and could not wait to run through it. As we weaved through campus and ran by some of my most beloved spots, we were cheered on by several student organizations. I really got lost in the moment and before I knew it, I had arrived at mile 10 (still feeling awesome!). 

Waiting for me as I was exiting campus was Scott, my BIL and the kids.

 Gig'em! Only 3 more to go!

I stopped to get some love from ARC and headed out to finish the race!

 

This little one is SO much fun to have on the sidelines cheering me on!

As I was coming into mile 11, I started feeling tired but not TIRED. I knew that I had this and would be able to push through to the end. I still forced myself not to look at my watch.

By the time I got to the 26 mile marker, I couldn’t help myself any longer and I looked at my watch.  When I did, I KNEW I was about to PR yet AGAIN! I was so excited that I was all smiles coming into the finish area.

 Only a few more yards to go!

 

My SIL almost finished!

I crossed the finish, stopped my watch, had my medal placed around my neck by the sweetest little girl and about cried because I had not only PRed, I had done so by almost six minutes for an official time of 2:35:22!

 

Yay! We did it!

 

This race was something I needed to experience. While I had PRed at the Route 66, I was still a little disappointed because I knew I had trained harder than that and expected a faster PR. It really goes to show that sometimes it comes down to the day. I definitely learned that sometimes you have to just trust in your training, relax and let the run happen.

Another PR in the books! WHOOP!

 

My next big race is the New Orleans Rock & Roll Half Marathon where I plan to get even closer to 2:30 if not finally break through it but first I must take a couple days off.