The Night Before the 5K

So, tomorrow's my goal race... or, at least, it was supposed to be. PR-ing my time trial a few weeks ago at Hearts and Soles kind of shot my motivation. I mean, when you reach your goal before you had planned, it's kind of hard to keep going. I suppose I could have taken that shiny new PR and used it to say, "Heeeey! You're even faster than you thought. Keep training this way, and you'll be even faster at your actual goal race."

...but I really haven't.

Instead, I've let lots of cold, rainy Thursdays without teammates drive me from the track to the treadmill for half-baked speedwork (or, worse, lazy miles without any speedwork). I've let the fact that I've had at least a day each week with someone in my family under-the-weather be an excuse to take it easy. I've let myself seriously check out of the last four weeks of 5K training, because, well, quiet honestly, I no longer want to PR at Publix.

I started off this training cycle wanting to get myself back in "fast shape", and I nailed it. Instead of raising my goal, I was content to check the "PR" box and call this cycle good.

And you know what?

I am 100% cool with it.

I'm actually really glad that tomorrow isn't my goal race. I'm nowhere near in good enough shape for it, and I don't mean training-wise. Spending the last two days on my feet downtown, volunteering for the Olympic Marathon Trials, has been amazing, but it's really exhausted me. Couple that with attempting to be at least a decent co-parent for my husband when I've been in the house, and I don't think I've got anything left to give tomorrow.

I am soooooo grateful I had the race I had at Hearts and Soles four weeks ago. Now I can just enjoy running tomorrow without feeling like I'm slacking off on the goal I'd set for myself. 

So, what do I want for tomorrow? Um, idk.

Honestly, it's 7:30pm the night before the race, and I still haven't figured out:

• how I'm getting to the race (MARTA or driving)
• what time I need to leave my house (or even wake up)
• what I'm wearing/bringing

These are things I'm normally have SET two days in advance. 

So, yeah, I haven't even thought about what I want to run. Guess I'll figure that out before the gun goes off tomorrow? 

5K Training: Week 11/12

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Wow, we're already at Week 11 of 12? This training cycle has gone really well. I feel like I've been working hard, but not so much that I'm consumed by running/training thoughts all the time, or having to modify my life to accommodate training. Opting to train for a 5K instead of a spring half was definitely the right call. 

Monday

Scheduled: rest
Did: rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10K w/strides
Did: 10KTuesday with 4xhill repeats= 6.35mi @ 9:49/mi avg, Big 2
Hooray for having training partners back! :D We had some nice easy miles to start (all really consistently around 9:40 after the WU mile), and then took off for the hills. I felt really fast and really strong up them, but my pace was "only" in the 7s for the ~150m or so of hill. Oh well, still felt like I had good form and got something out of it. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: XT
Did: 20min weights, 10min yoga
Heeeey, look at me, I'm doing something on Wednesdays! Special thanks to the littlest baby in our house for having a reasonable sleep schedule that facilitates this sort of thing. ;) 

Arms, chest, back, and then some hip-opener yoga

Thursday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, 5x1000(4:11)/400, 1mi CD
Did: rest
Felt kind of sick and opted out of working out. Got a 90min sports massage to deal with my IT tightness. Oof. Hurt so good.

Friday

Scheduled: 3-4mi easy
Did: 2mi @ 9:55/mi avg treadmill, Big 5
Felt a bit better from the sickness side of things, but my IT band was definitely feeling the effects of yesterday's massage. I decided to run, but just cut it to 2mi.

Saturday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, 3x2mi(16:00-16:30)/800, 1mi CD = 9.5mi
Did: 2mi WU, 5x1000(~4:30)/400, 2mi CD = 8.72mi @ 8:47/mi avg, Big 5, all-day chorus session
I had a lot of thoughts about what this workout could/should be. I knew I wanted some sort of "challenge" element, and that it probably ought to be on the speed side versus pure distance. I ended up choosing to do Thursday's workout, but parking further from our usual track parking to get extra mileage on the WU and CD. 

It was a cold morning- 28 degrees. The 2mi WU wasn't bad, and then it was just a matter of knocking off a series of (5)-2 1/2 laps with 1 lap in-between. Between my sore IT band, getting over a sickness, being tired, and the cold weather, I had plenty of excuses to lean on when it came to not "going for the gold" on my split times. Based on my indicator, I should've been running 4:11. I let myself not do that today and just went comfortably hard, which ended up shaking out to:

4:30, 4:31, 4:30, 4:28, and 4:27

Good. Enough. 

Stretched, showered, ate, and then set off for another full-day chorus coaching session with my adorable 20+ lb weight strapped on for seven hours.

Sunday

Scheduled: 4-5mi easy with stroller
Did: 5.02mi @ 9:54/mi avg with the double, Big 5

Couldn't figure out why my legs were so sore on a Sunday until my training partner noted she felt the same... due to speedwork on Saturday. Ohhhhh, yeah. River was flooded so our route was limited with the strollers- lots of out-and-backs, but we got our 5mi in. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 22.09

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Definitely does NOT feel like the last week of training before a race... There's no anxiety, excitement, or even confidence leading into this coming week. I think I've already "checked out" of Publix? Maybe it's because my IT band was acting up, or because I already had the performance I was hoping for at my time trial, but I'm just kind of in a "go with the flow" mood for my goal race. 

5K Training: Week 10/12

Week-beginning Thoughts:
Oh, man. BOTH my weekday training partners are out of town this week. Good thing I've got this blog, Garmin, and text messages to keep me accountable.

Monday

Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
When baby woke me up at 3am, I really should have just run instead of attempting to go back to sleep at 4am. I never got back to sleep, and would have been better setup for my day had I just got some monotonous miles in... 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, tempo (20-30s slower than RP), 1mi CD
Did: 4mi PRO (10:11, 9:45, 9:24, 9:01), 4x0.05mi hill (sub 8 pace), recovery, 4x0.1mi hill (sub 9 pace), ~1mi CD = 6.23 @ 9:41/mi avg, Big 5
Another night/morning where, when i got woken up by the baby, I should've just stayed awake and gotten my run in. Up at 12:45am, baby down again by 2am, and I never really got back to sleep until 4:15am, just in time for my 4:20am alarm. Sigh. 

Today was a bit harder than usual, since I was solo. I waffled back and forth about wanting to go outside solo or treadmill it, an eventually opted for outside because: 1) it meant I couldn't just stop whenever I felt like it and be home, 2) I knew I wouldn't actually do "hills" on the treadmill by changing the incline if I stayed indoors, and 3) I was guaranteed to finish my workout without family interruptions if I went outside; inside, I'd be subjected to mom guilt if I heard the kiddos. 

So, I texted one of my traveling training partners a pic of myself pre-run with the caption:
"I'm only doing this right now because I know you are too."

With that for accountability, I headed out in the pouring rain. It was actually pretty nice, after a mile. I enjoyed the serenity, ability to be outside and moving, and then hit the hills hard on the way back. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: XT
Did: 20min weights, 5min yoga
Husband got the baby wake-up at 4am, but baby didn't stay asleep long after the monitor got dropped off with me at 4:30. Sigh. Knowing baby didn't need anything, but not being able to get back to sleep with the cooing/crying, I reluctantly got up, grabbed my dumbbells, and got to work. 

3x15x5lb (each hand)
row
upright row
shoulder press
bicep curl
tricep kickback

1x30x5lb
chest press
fly
skull crushers

Miler Method core workout
30s each:
side/front/side/back plank with leg/hip raises
flutter kick
scissor kick
and
20 knee push-ups

then followed that with some yoga/breathing exercises

Thursday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, 6-8x200/200, 1mi CD
Did: 1mi WU, 400m, 6x200/200, 1mi CD = 4.0 @ 8:44/mi avg, Big 5

Heeeeey, I finally learned my lesson this morning. After multiple days where I'd get up with the baby before 4am and waste time attempting to get back to sleep before my 4:20am running alarm, I finally just stayed up and got my run done early. 4pm is going to suck, but the morning went great. lol


I spent my entire first mile trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my workout. I had 200s on the schedule, but the idea of doing them on a treadmill was intimidating (esp when I saw my prescribed pace was *gulp* 9.9mph. Last week's 9.0 had been intimidating enough. Yeeesh!

My other option, as I saw it, was to re-do last week's 800m workout, since I'd only made it through 4.5 of 6. That, too, was unappealing.

Maybe I could swap this week with next week and do 5x1000s? Nope. That pace was still an 8.9mph. If I didn't want to do 800m at 9.0, was getting a 0.1mph "break" really enough to go another 200m? Nope.

In the end, I opted to run just under a 9mph pace for a bit after my warm-up. I made it through a quarter mile and decided I did not feel like holding a hard pace for that long again today.... so I doubled down and went for the 200s. Solid choice. I felt like I could keep that pace JUST long enough for the 'mill to click to the 200m. I only did 6 of 'em, but, considering the workout was "6-8" AND I'd done a bonus 400, I felt good about it.

Friday

Scheduled: 4mi easy
Did: 3.11mi easy on 'mill @ 9:57/mi, Big 5
Contemplated waiting to run until lunch or after work to be outside, but opted for the 'mill instead just to get it done. Legs are still sore from yesterday, so I only did a 5K, but am planning to "make up" that mile on tomorrow's distance run. 

My legs are definitely appreciating the fact that I'm actually stretching them again. :P 

Saturday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, 10mi push pace, 1mi CD
Re-scheduled: 1mi WU, 3x3mi/1mi = 13ish
Did: 1mi WU, 2x3mi/1mi, 4mi CD = 13.2mi @ 9:19/mi, Big 5, 30min stretching, 15min foam rolling
I changed this workout on Monday from 10mi of push pace to some shorter bursts, hoping to wind up with faster paces. The first one went pretty well (26:00), as did the second (26:40, though the second burst was super hilly). Around mile 8, though, I started feeling some tightness in my right hip/IT band. When my training partner said she was going to cut the last repeat and consider just running it in for an easy 10, I figured it would be a good idea to join her... though I still planned on getting to 13.1.

We ended up both making it to 13.1, but my right leg was not very happy with me the rest of the day. I took a LOT of time to tend to it, with the Big 5 stretches immediately after my run, another 25min of dedicated leg stretching about 1.5hrs later (after tending to children, shower, and eating), and 15min of foam rolling in the evening. Hurt. So. Good.

Sunday

Scheduled: 4-5mi easy with stroller
Did: 3.6mi with double stroller @ 10:22/mi avg, Big 5

Hooray, all the stretching worked! My legs felt much better today. I was looking forward to a nice and easy run with the double today, but flooding drove us from the concrete path to the gravel one, and unexpected rain meant we ran a little faster on the way back than planned... and cut the run a little short. Still a good way to end the week.

Total Weekly Mileage: 30.14 (is this the first time I've been over 30 in awhile?)

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I'm really glad to have my training partners back this coming week. I would not be nearly as consistent of a runner without them.
• I'm also really glad that my right IT band issues were so easily mitigated
• One more week of hard work, and then it's taper time! 

5K Training: Week 9/12

Week-beginning Thoughts:
So, I ran a PR 5K on Saturday, but still have four weeks in my training plan.... That's weird.

Monday

Scheduled: rest
Did: rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: 6.3mi hills
Did: 1mi WU, 2mi tempo, 0.18mi recovery, 1mi tempo, 0.13mi recovery, 1mi tempo-ish, 1mi CD = 6.25mi @ 8:50/mi avg
Because I've gotten SO much from my tempo workouts, I opted to do another one today instead of the hill workout that was scheduled. I'd originally planned to do 2x2mi tempo, but found the first 2mi incredibly hard. I hit the pace I wanted (M1- 8:07, M2- 7:57), but seriously felt like puking at the turnaround. 

Lesson learned: Do not eat a Larabar 5min before you're going to go run. 

I took my recovery, and then bargained with myself: do one more hard, then finish up with a sub-9 last one, and call it good. 

So I did. 

M3- 8:00
M4- 8:38

Wednesday

Scheduled: XT
Did: 20min strength training
To bed at 11pm, up at 2:30am, and up again at 5am.... but I ended up getting a short workout in while baby giggled happily around 5:30. It wasn't much, just using my resistance band (thanks, Fit4Mom) for some rows, lat pulls, bicep curls, etc. and then my old Miler Method core workout. Still, felt good to do something. 

Also, I've got new health insurance with my new job, and it has a pretty sweet "healthy lifestyle" incentives program (Humana's Go365). To earn points, we have to go through little online programs about how to motivate ourselves, and what we want to do to "get active". While part of me rolls my eyes and says, "seriously? I'm already a runner", it's also a neat opportunity to reflect on how far I've come. 

I used to be like their primary audience. I used to make tons of excuses about why I didn't have time or why working out wasn't necessary for me. I used to have motivation problems. Now, nothing I do on a workout front is "optional" in my head. I don't even question how/if/why I'm going to run, because it's as ingrained in my lifestyle as taking a shower or scrolling Facebook on my phone. 

16 years ago, I looked like this

Running hasn't just changed my health. It's changed my entire outlook on myself and my life. I'm so glad I started 

Thursday

Scheduled: 1mi WU, 6x800 (3:20 or 9mph)/400, 1mi CD
Did: 1mi WU, 4.5x800/400, 1mi CD, 0.5mi walk 
I've been worried about this workout since I saw my required goal splits yesterday. Then the anxiety heightened when I realized the forecast was 100% thunderstorms, meaning I wouldn't be going to the track with my teammate, and would have to do it myself on the treadmill.

Cue additional anxiety when I realized that the 3:20 goal split was a 9.0mph pace on the treadmill. 

Never have I ever run 9.0mph on a treadmill.

...and then, last night, my oldest was kind of sick, which meant that someone else in our family (likely me, since I'm the requested "cuddle buddy" all the time) is about to get sick. 

...and then said kid was up crying/coughing/sick at 3am. 


So, all things considered, this workout was really not fated to happen. I ended up being wide awake at 3:30am and figuring that I might as well just get up and run now, since the chances of going to sleep were slim, especially since there are other children in the house that might also be waking up and needing me.

I did NOT want to do this workout. At ALL.

I reluctantly started running, and the 6.0mph warm-up pace felt like I was already on the hard intervals. Lord, this was going to be a long workout. I put on some Outlander, and tried to focus on that. 

"It'll be over in an hour."


Eventually, I felt comfortable, though I still wasn't quite ready for the gun to go off after the warm-up mile. 

It's just two laps on the track. 

But there wasn't a track. The treadmill was different. Instead of owning the pace myself, able to ebb and flow, I was going to be pulled along at a static pace by the belt, whether I liked it or not.

Spoiler Alert: I did not like it. I did not like it one bit.


As soon a I touched the "9" on my 'mill, the belt felt like it was going WAY TOO FAST. 

How can I even get my legs to turn over that quickly?!!?

I don't know how, but I did. In fact, I managed to hang on for an entire 800m. 

...and then it went downhill. I had one decent recovery jog, another 800 where I started at a 9.0 and dropped to an 8.7, and then, by the third interval, couldn't hang onto an 8.0 without feeling awful.

I ended up doing 4.5 repeats, at:

3:19
3:25
3:23
3:36 (yeah, that's when I knew it was bad)
and 1:50 (equivalent 800= 3:40)

and then calling it quits.

I never stop in the middle of a workout, but when I couldn't hold an 8.0mph without feeling rough, I knew nothing positive would come out of pushing myself through more repeats. It's actually pretty cool to be so in-tune with my body that I can tell when I'm getting sick based on my athletic performance.

not pretty, not as planned
but done

Friday

Scheduled: 3-4mi easy
Did: rest
Kid has flu. I'm next. :/ 

Saturday

Scheduled: 5mi hills
Did: rest
No fever today, but opted to take it easy and give my body another full day to recover from the funk. Enjoyed playing outside in the snow, though. 

and having some coffee after :) 

Sunday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 4mi tempo, 4mi CD
Did: 6.23mi @ 9:32/mi, Big 5
I knew heading out that I wasn't going to do the workout as prescribed today. After a few days out sick, it wasn't smart to do double digits, much less any tempo work. I did, however, hope that I could make it four miles. I told myself I'd evaluate a few times on the run, giving myself an opportunity to bail out every two miles. If I felt awesome and 100% excellent, I'd go the full ten, at an easy pace. Otherwise, whenever I started to feel less than 100% awesome, I'd turn at the next mile. 

I felt great at the 2mi mark, but a little tired at the 4mi. On any other day, I'd chalk it up to mental blergh and push on through to 10, but I've learned enough in the last decade of running to realize that would set me back more than "only running some of the mileage". 

Proud of what I accomplished, and prouder that I was able to gracefully cut a workout "short". 

Total Weekly Mileage: 17.47

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Man, I remember when 7mpw was an incredible, "omg, that's SO many miles" feeling. Now, I look at the 17.47 and think, "omg, that's, like, nothing". lol
• If I had to get sick, the week after my time trial was a pretty good time for it. 
• My show chorus is looking at getting a group together for a gimmicky run in May. I don't relish the thought of paying over $50 for a race just to get a bunch of themed crap I won't use/wear/appreciate, but I will say that it is really freaking cool to be fast enough that I might have a shot a placing. 

5K Training: Week 8/12

Week-beginning Thoughts:
Life feels busy. Time to find a way to slow down and smell the roses.

Monday

Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
There's nothing quite like going through your day still smelling the poop from when you changed your baby at 5:30am, despite washing your hands and arms six times. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 6.3mi with hills
Did: 3.27mi WU @ 9:30/mi, 6x200m hills (<8:00/mi)/200m recovery, 2x200m hill (easier)/200m recovery, 1mi CD = 6.24mi @ 9:28/mi avg, Big 5
Pretty solid workout here. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: XT
Did: 20min strength training, 15min yoga
Baby slept until 4am, then got up for a quick change/feed before allowing me to get up and get a half-baked workout in before getting ready for work. :) Woo, look, ma, I cross-trained! 

with my cat

...and then, after work, I helped my older one practice on a pedal bike, which wrecked my back from all the hunching over to support him, but was super fun. :)

Thursday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 8x300(@ mile pace)/100m, 2mi CD
Did: 1mi WU, 8x300(@ mile pace)/100m, 1mi CD = 4.4mi @ 8: 49/mi avg, Big 5
Oh, man, am I feeling my arms/shoulders/back today! Ooooof.
Thought I only had a 1mi WU/CD when I got to the track-- oops.
Wasn't sure what I needed to hit for my 300m, but I'd had 67.5 in my head. 

#1- 68.5s
Whelp, there goes that... I think I might've let myself give up a little after this one. I didn't want to be push that hard, and it was easy to make excuses. 
         My back is sore. 

That has nothing to do with your legs, and, if you're not twisting, 

you shouldn't even feel your back too much.

       I have a time trial Saturday; I should take it easy. 

This workout was specifically given to me by an Olympian coach for

two days before my GOAL race one season. NO modifying necessary.

       I'm on my period. 

So what?

I didn't give up completely, but didn't push myself to where I needed in order to get the most out of this workout. I showed up, and that was about it.

#2- 70.5
#3- 70.3
#4- 72.6
#5- 73.8
#6- 75.2
#7- 75.1
#8- 72.6

Friday

Scheduled: 3-4mi easy
Did: 3.0mi on treadmill @ 9:49/mi avg, Big 5
It throws my whole day when I don't just run first thing after waking up. I "only" waited until 6am, but it was still so hard to stop what I was doing and run after I'd gotten started with my day.

Saturday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 5K Time Trial, 2mi CD
Did: 7.11mi total @ 8:53/mi avg, Big 5
Race Report

Sunday

Scheduled: 4-5mi easy with stroller
Did: 5.0mi with double stroller @ 9:50/mi avg, Big 2
Definitely felt a lot better than the day after a PR should have :) In fact, this felt just like every other Sunday Runday ever. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 25.75

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Loving what the tempo workouts have done for me :D 
• Looking forward to pushing hard over the next four weeks to see just what I can do at my goal race

Race Report: Hearts and Soles 5K

Previous PR: 22:36 (11/4/18)
90% Goal: 23:59
50% Goal: 23:30
10% Goal: 22:30
Result: 22:18 (PR!)


Training:
I'm currently on week 7 of a 12-week 5K training plan culminating at the Publix 5K on March 1. I put the plan together myself, combining pieces and parts of various other plans I had available. Generally, I'm running 5 days a week for around 30mpw:

Mon rest
Tuesday 10K with hills, strides, or a tempo component
Wednesday XT/rest
Thursday speedwork (repeats at the track)
Friday easy 3-4mi on treadmill
Saturday long run, with a tempo component
Sunday easy 4-5 with stroller

Long runs have varied from 8-12mi, with a 3-4mi "tempo" component for the past couple of weeks that's been around an 8min/mi. Speedwork has been 200m to mile repeats, usually summing up to around a 5K of distance.

Today's race wasn't actually the goal race for the training cycle, but something new (for me): a time trial. I got this idea from my friends' Hansons training philosophy. A few weeks before your goal race, do another race and see where you're at. So, I did. 


Pre-Race:
My husband and I drove down together, and then I ran an easy 2mi with my training partner, checking out the new course, which had a LOT of switchbacks. I'm glad I took the time to survey the course; it really helped during the race.


Race:
I wasn't sure whether I should start in the front of Wave B or the back of Wave A. I wasn't certain I'd go the requisite 7:30/mi for Wave A. Spoiler Alert: that was an absolutely unfounded concern. My husband rolled his eyes and told me I definitely wanted to be in Wave A, and not the back. "You'll stuck behind people on the switchbacks otherwise. Wave A."

Alright. So, I made my way into A, and tried to think about what sort of race strategy to employ. 

Nope. Not happening. Guess I'll just run fast?

I saw a friend's professional Ironman friend ahead of me, and tried to mimic her stride a bit. Watching her leg swing and kick distracted me for a bit. The first half mile felt easy. I was sure I was probably running a high 8. Nope. 6:50/mi. 

This feels EASY? WUT.

I held the sub-7 pace easily, until the first of many switchbacks/u-turns. We ran down a big hill, around a little parking lot, and then had to climb a big hill followed by a smaller one leading up to the Mile 1 marker. I focused on my arms and breathing, but still felt like my 7:07 split was easy. 

not a bad elevation profile

Mental math. If I run 7:07 for the rest of the course, which is probably unlikely because I had a niiiiiiiiiice downhill for the first bit, that's 7x3 = 21 + 3x7s = 21:21, plus a little less than a minute for the last <200m. 22:21. That's a PR. OMG, I could actually PR today.

Mile 2 was nice-ish. We had a big downhill that I tried to take advantage of, and then a long stretch of flat road, until we'd turn left onto the greenway path that would take us back to the start. It was at this point that I started looking for the softball field as a landmark, which would mark that turn off. I wasn't hurting, but I was definitely looking forward to being at least halfway through. I saw one of my favorite running friends as a course monitor as we turned onto the greenway, which made me smile. 

My second mile was a 7:17. I was starting to tire a little, but not too bad. I focused on enjoying the greenway, using my arms, and maintaining the push. One more mile.

It got a little hard around the 19min mark, and I found myself mentally struggling with whether or not I should push harder and risk burning out before the end, or if it was okay to maintain this pace and kick a little later. I held the pace, and started counting down "track laps". 

mid-race dip = the hill
latter dip = mental blergh

Breaking the last mile+ into "no more than 5 laps" was really helpful. I'm so glad I've got a regular day of training at the track each week to help me wrap my mind around how fast I can run a given distance. 

I continued the mental math, realizing I had lost some ground, but was still more than capable of a PR... if I didn't let up. 

Not only did I not let up, but I kept telling myself "you've come this far, now capitalize on it-- get the PR you can get. Every second faster that you can run is one less second on your net time."

When I got off the greenway, there was a small hill into the parking lot, and then a series of three switchbacks through the aisles I had to make until I could get across the line. SO glad I knew that was coming. I focused on my arms, my lean, and my legs, and went for it. 

Professional triathlete Haley Chura, and the Running Mamas

Reflections:

• So proud!!! I'm 6mo post-partum, and just ran a 5K PR. This is a victory on SO many levels.
• Also kind of scared because now that I've run a 22:18, that means I'll have to run faster the next time I want to PR... which is actually in four weeks at my goal race :/
• It's amazing to think that I was barely over a minute slower than my speedster husband, and less than a minute slower than what I might need for a Peachtree A Wave bib. I believe I'm capable of that sub-22 time.
• Still can't figure out if I ran hard enough, because while I had some mental "ugh, I don't want to be pushing right now" moments during the race, I never felt like I really pushed myself to my limit.... 
• I also had seriously positive splits, though (7:08, 7:16, 7:21), so maybe?

• Life is good. Life is happy. :D I have a ton to think about, though, on how I want to use this experience to best prepare me for my actual goal race. 

Grateful for my husband who supports me at events, but also by getting the kids up and ready 70% solo on the mornings I run before the sun