I did it! 13.1 Miles

I woke up on Saturday feeling excited and a little nervous. I was more worried about the cold as it was around 28-30 degrees when I woke up. The week prior had been a gorgeous 60 degrees. So I had not trained in colder weather and I was nervous about what I should wear.

I ended up wearing:

• C9 by Champion® Women's Compression Tights from Target
• C9 by Champion® Women's Premium Skort from Target
• My Kudzu Green Sport Tek T-Shirt from work
• Oiselle Running Women's Solid Arm Warmers from Amazon
• My green light weight jacket with the thumb holes
• My Brooks Ghost 6 from my local Running Store Off n' Running
• Armpocket
• Ultimate Direction Access Waist Pack

I thought I'd end up shedding the jacket but it was just too cold and I ended up being very comfortable with it on.

The week before the race I started becoming very nervous about the hills. I had trained on some hills but I was not sure I had done enough. Luckily they ended up not being so bad. I tried to not focus on them and instead would pick runners near me that I wanted to pass. It became a fun game and with every runner I passed the more confident I became and the faster the miles went by.

Greensboro Half Marathon Elevation Map

Race Map

My goal going into the race was to finish in 2 hours 15 minutes. Which would be a pace of  about 10 minutes 18 seconds per mile. Which was very reasonable from my training and gave some extra time for the hills.

I ended up finishing in 2 hours 6 minutes and 43 seconds! I was super proud of that finish. I did have a secret dream of doing it in 2 hours but hey this was my first and you always have to have goals. Plus the hills definitley were a factor. Although I will say I did a pretty good job of keeping a consistent pace even with the hills.

According MapMyRun my race splits were:

Distance	Pace
1 Mile	09:37 min/mi
2 Mile	09:38 min/mi
3 Mile	09:42 min/mi
4 Mile	09:50 min/mi
5 Mile	09:24 min/mi
6 Mile	09:12 min/mi
7 Mile	09:31 min/mi
8 Mile	09:16 min/mi
9 Mile	09:29 min/mi
10 Mile	09:43 min/mi
11 Mile	09:44 min/mi
12 Mile	09:47 min/mi
13 Mile	09:37 min/mi
13.3 Mile	08:20 min/mi

One of my favorite parts of the race was having my family there to cheer me on. My In-laws were visiting and came a day early so they could make the race. That meant a lot to me. My husband and daughter were of course there. I saw them at the start, around mile 6 and at the finish. Most of the pictures were taken by my husband.

I was also surprised at the finish line by my boss and his daughter. I veered over and gave him a high five right before crossing the finish line. It felt awesome to have all the support.

A highlight for me was around mile 7. I was running along when all of a sudden I was passed by the winner of the marathon who was followed by a cop car. For him it was around mile 20. It was so cool seeing him fly by doing twice the distance I was doing. The marathoners started 45 minutes before the half marathoners. He won the race doing the 26.2 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds! It was amazing to watch the elite runners. Eight Marathoners finished in under 3 hours.

The winner of the half marathon finished it in 1 hour 12 minutes.

I have to say it was a pretty perfect experience. All my training paid off as I had no problems completing the distance. I felt great the whole time. I was able to beat my original goal. I had a great cheering team. The weather was cold but ended up being a nice temperature for racing once I got going. The event had a lot of wonderful volunteers. I'm so glad I committed to doing this.

Here were my finial results:
Finish percentile is top 41%
Age group percentile is top 37%

What's next? I'm thinking the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Half Marathon with a goal of 2 hours :)

Armpocket Review & Giveaway

A little while ago I had talked about wanting an Armpocket. Well I finally got one and I have been using it for a little over a week.

I got the i-30 in pink with small arm strap. Armpocket recommended that I get the i-30 model since I have the humungous Samsung Galaxy S3 with Body Glove Case. I'm glad they recommended that one because I don't think it would have fit in the i-15.

Tech Specs

Model: i-30

Colors: Black, Pink, Splash, Yellow
Dimensions (H x W x D): - 5.5" x 3.8" x 0.8", (14 cm x 9.5 cm x 1.9 cm)
Strap Sizes (measured around upper arm):
- Small: 7" - 11" (18 cm - 28 cm)
- Medium: 10" - 15" (25 cm - 38 cm)
- Large: 13" - 18" (33 cm - 46 cm)
Recommended for:
- Most phones with Large Cases (Otterbox), including iPhone 4/4s/5
- Samsung Galaxy SIII/S4 (with a thin case)

Here is my review of the Armpocket i-30 


Note: There is actually a size bigger available. The i-35 which fits the Galaxy Note 2 and other devices/cases up to 6 inches.

I'm excited to announce that one lucky winner will win their very own Armpocket.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

First Long Run

I had to complete a 6 mile run on Sunday. I was both excited and dreading it. I had only ran 6 miles at my 10K back in June and that was the farthest I've ever ran.

I got a late start and ended up not going out until 12:30pm. Luckily it was a nice day and not a lot of heat and humidity.

Flip Belt | I have the gray one

I got a little past my halfway point and realized my ID was missing. I had put it in my Flip Belt along with some money and a credit card (I will never put them in like that again). It must have fallen out when I had taken my phone out to check my distance. I ended up back tracking looking for it and ended up logging an extra mile. I could not find it and just kept my eyes open hoping to come across it. Then I spotted a walker up ahead and decided to ask her if she had found a license. And to my complete surprise and  relief she had! SCORE! Thank goodness :) I told her thank you and that she had made my day.

The time is still an hour ahead on here for the start time. Not sure why, I have it on New York Time Zone.

Women's Nike Air Relentless 2

 Overall I felt great on my run. At first my right calf felt pretty tight but lossend up as I got further into the run. I kept experiencing some numbness in my left foot. Not sure if I had my shoe too tight. I'll have to keep aware of that. I may need to get fitted fora better running shoe. Since I am new to running and long distance running my biggest fear is dealing with injuries. I'd hate to cause any that I could have missed.

The shoe I am currently running in is the Women's Nike Air Relentless 2 Running Shoes. I got them at Kohl's just before my 10K. They are really cute and overall comfortable. I'm just not sure they will perform well for my long runs. We will see...

Armpocket | i-15

I noticed a couple blisters on both my heels. They are very miner and don't hurt at all. I will also have to keep on eye on those. Overall it was a great run with some adventure.

I really want an Armpocket now to hold my Galaxy S3. It has room for money, cards and a key. It can also fit the phone with a case on it which is so great because I hate taking the protective case off an on. After losing my ID using the Flip Belt I just don't trust it now. After looking around I think the Armpocket is the way to go. I'm hoping I get it for my birthday on Wednesday :)

Tomorrow I run 4 miles. Now I got to go to bed. I've got to get better about going to bed earlier if I ever hope to actually get up at a descent hour to get my runs in before work and before it gets too hot out.