1/2 Mary - 8Sept (am)

Yesterday was a small half marathon (13.1 miles) on base which I was using as a training run for the upcoming Army 10-Miler in Washington D.C. on October 7.

I'll admit it, I've been pretty slack in my distance training: only running 8 miles a couple times in the last 2 months mixed with the occasional 45 minute bike ride and 30 minute swims. But I have been following the Crossfit WODs religiously. So the point of this run was to help build some strength and give me an accurate gauge of my fitness.

The plan was to run around 8:30-9:00 minutes per mile (my approximate full-marathon pace) for the duration of the run, and see where that put me. I ended up finishing 7th overall in 1:50, an average pace of 8:24 mpm. While I'm not in the same distance running shape as I was 3 months ago, I'm carrying an extra 15 lbs of muscle (yes, it's really muscle) and overall this felt fairly smooth and easy until after the 10th mile. I've got the confidence I needed going into next month's race.