Running for Jen

What a Great Day!  I set a personal best by over 30 minutes!  Prior to this race, my best time was a 4:42:10.  To break 4:15 was awesome, let alone 4:12.  I even had a negative split.  I was so excited!  This is the first time where I have felt pretty good from beginning to end.  It was cold at the start, but not as cold as it has been at home, therefore it was a perfect day for a run.  I dressed perfectly for me and just enjoyed myself as much as I could.  Two friends of mine met me in Jacksonville, one of which also had a PR, so all together we had a great running weekend.

I was a little worried going into this, because I have had a cold and because I was worried that I was getting a fever during my drive down to Florida. I picked up some Tylenol 8 hour, which wound up being a life saver.  At the start of the race, for the first time, my GPS stopped working. I was waiting for a signal and realized that it wasn't moving.  When I went to turn it off, it wouldn't turn off or do anything.  It just stayed locked up.  Fortunately, the race had pacers and I was able to tag along with the 4:15 guy, who I later found out was named Ed.  I wound up running with him from at least 9 - 10 miles and on.  I felt so relaxed.  I knew that the day was going well when I still felt good at 17 and then 18 miles.  At this point, my gut was telling me it was going to be a good day.  At around mile 21 or so, we ran into some friends of the pacer that wound up joining us. One of them named Annie ran with me from about 23 miles to the finish, which was awesome.  It was so nice having someone just to talk to me and remain positive.  I didn't even know her and she saw me pulling away from the group and joined me.  Those last few miles are always a bit of a struggle, so to have someone there was great.  I started feeling that awkward feeling in my right leg around 23 or so, but was able to push through it.

 I am now looking forward to a great night's sleep and the next two weeks off from work.  I am going to enjoy some good eats for the next day or so and then get back to normal.

Mileage is approximate.  This was my first run post-marathon.  My husband and I were in North Fort Myers, FL for the holiday.  I ran post holiday meal.  I felt a bit nauseous at first, but the running made me feel better after a mile or two.  It felt good to be out there again, although running on my mother in-law's street did not feel so good.  I had a pain just above my left knee.  It hurt when I ran, but not when I walked.  I decided to attempt to run through the pain and fortunately, the pain went away.  It was warm outside, low 70's, but the ground was nice and flat.  It was nice to get back into the swing of things.  I won't be able to run tomorrow since we are heading back to Georgia first thing and after nine hours in the car, I don't think I am going to want to run.