12 miles

The Saturday after Thanksgiving I did my last long run before my half marathon.  I ran exactly 12 miles in 2:14:06. I drank all the water that I carried with me, and all the gummie chews that I carried with me. I got through my entire playlist and it started to repeat.  

I have only run this far 3 times in my life.  As soon as I was done, I thought, ok, I am ready to run 13.1 in 2 weeks.  5 minutes after I was done, I thought, hey, maybe I could train for a full 26.2 marathon!  20 minutes after I was I done, I thought, what the hell am I doing this for, again?

The whole rest of the day my legs really didn't want to carry me around. We watched Clemson beat USC with some friends and I basically laid on the couch.  I was completely exhausted.  The next day was better.  My husband asked if I was going out to run.  I looked at him like he was a crazy person. Um no, rest day!

My view at 5 miles

My route goes all past Lake Norman in a couple of places.  I love looking out over the lake and feeling the breeze.  I guess it gives me something to look forward to as I run.  I also run in and out of neighborhoods around town.  Sometimes drivers share the road, other times they just don't pay attention.   One lady ran a stop sign and just about ran into me.  Another driver though it would be funny to sneak up behind me (I was on a sidewalk) and blow his horn.  I looked over to see him and his friend laughing.  Jerks.  

I like to pass other runners and wave.  Most people wave back.  I also like it when I pass runners that I know.  It's fun to high five each other and keep going.  I find it hard to actually run with other people.  Usually they are going much faster than I am, and it's a push for me to keep up.  I am getting faster, though.  When I ran a half marathon in 2010, it took me 3 hours.  I'm hoping to do this one in under 2.5 hours.  Wow that seems crazy that I will run for that long.  11 days to go!