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20 mile race recap-TAPER TIME

Movin' it with Michelle

This week has been a whirl wind with busy work schedules; single Mom duty because my husband was in the field for Army training, and a slight lack of running…

I am not your typical runner in training.  I can only run 3 times, 4 times tops per week.  My knee just won’t tolerate any consecutive miles, and thankfully I know my body pretty well.  I also listen to what my body is telling me, for the most part. 

So I started this 18 week training plan months early, getting a couple ½ marathons under my belt, all while slowly building up my long runs.  I joined the Fox Valley Marathon training runs when I was at the 14 mile mark for long runs, and honestly believe they changed my life-for ways of the better.  I was nervous to meet up with ‘strangers’ but my friend Rob from daily mile talked me into it, and the rest is well, history…

Not all of my training runs went well…well DUH you say…but just throwing out a bit of honesty in this post.  Some HURT, some mentally mind jacked me, and some just left me feeling as if I couldn’t run another mile…

But MANY of my training runs were amazing, outstanding, and thrilling to say the least as I was surrounded by family, friends, and fellow runners who I am learning are an added family in my life. 

But back to the recap…J

I was blessed to have my Dad show up the evening before, and he entertained my girls while I had dinner with Carolyn at Francesca’s for the Dine and Dash with the race coordinators.  HOW FUN!!!! 

I woke up promptly at 5 a.m. to get up and ready for my sister to arrive at 5:30.  Thankfully the night before I set everything out so all I had to do was brush my teeth, wash my face, and get dressed.  I got the “we’re at your front door freezing” text from Bobbi around 5:28 so ran downstairs to let her inside.  We got our bibs on, bags packed and were out the door 20 minutes later so we could meet up with the Chicago Bloggers. 
 

How awesome to meet so many people that I have been following.  You ladies are amazing.  We were even blessed to have Kim (who just did a 50K yesterday) and Britt be there to cheer us on!  You ladies rock.  Hugs from my dear friend Carolyn, and Kyla made me feel ready to toe the line…

We lined up around 6:43, just in time for the National Anthem to be sang…I felt nervous, but strangely ready…And we were off…heading down the course I have training on all summer.  A few new twists and turns, but this was MY territory, and I loved every minute of it…

We were blessed to see friends and my family along the way…and this lifted my spirits ten fold…amazing what a smile, hug, or kiss from your girls can do to alleviate an aching knee!

And thanks to Andrea from Dailymile, for well, being EPIC. 
 

Bobbi and I held strong nearly the entire run…started to get sore towards the end so stopped to stretch a few times, but we ran the entire course.  Her stomach started acting up, but she stayed with me like a trooper and I couldn’t be more pleased that she ran this with me after her mileage from the week.  She’s a rock star!
 

We crossed the finish line, hand in hand, with our oldest daughters running us through the finish line…was truly, EPIC. 

I crossed the line in tears, but know this isn’t it for me.

 

 

The race coordinators, volunteers, and spectators were truly amazing…

And watching my friend Kyla cross the line with her family for her first marathon was amazing!  I jumped the fence to give her sweaty hugs, and I couldn’t be more proud of her!
 

 

Bring on Chicago in 3 weeks!  I then, will be a MARATHONER!!!!!  YAHOO!

Published by Movin' it with Michelle

My name is Michelle and I am a retired Air Force Master Sergeant. I have found a passion for running, cooking, writing, photography and all things that move my love for life! I've ran 3 full marathons, with a PR of 4:25, and 17 half marathons with a PR of 2:00:11 (yup-missed sub 2 by 11 seconds, lol). Thanks for joining me on my journey!

31 thoughts on “20 mile race recap-TAPER TIME”

  8. Girl, you and Bobbi looked AH-mazing! Really strong – and TOTALLY cute! You have Chicago Marathon in your hands. You will ROCK that race! SOOOO proud of you! Epic Shit Done. Carry on. xoxo

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  17. THANK YOU for runing this with me! So much fun, from start to finish (even when you were trying to kill me the last half mile!) LOVE YOU! In 3 weeks, you'll be a marathoner! SO PROUD of how well you ran yesterday!

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  18. So proud of you, Michelle…..so glad you got to run with your sister……and SOOOOOOOO looking forward to hearing all about how you're going to ROCK the Chicago Marathon!!! Go, Lady M, Go!!!

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  19. COngrats on the 20 miler! You are so ready to rock the socks off of the Chicago Marathon! It was so nice meeting you yesterday. I loved your running skirt! Less than 3 weeks to go until you are a MARATHONER!!! 🙂

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  21. Running friends are AWESOME. And a running sister…well, yours is amazing. 🙂 Way to go on your 20 miler! I'm not a person who can do much back to back running; in fact, at MOST I ran 3 days a week during my marathon training, and if it wasn't for stomach issues I'd have been super close to meeting my A goal. You're smart to listen to your body. You are READY for this marathon!!

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  31. Hi Michelle.I stumbled across your blog through the Chicago Running Bloggers. I did this race as well! It is great to read another blgger who is so close. Congratulations on a great race!

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