It seems like forever since I raced (July’s San Francisco Half Marathon) and even longer since I raced locally. I was looking forward to this race after getting my running mojo back and with the cooler fall temps, this was going to be a good day. This year they changed the location and time, last year it was at a park across town and at night, this year, early in the AM, ok, not early, but 7:11 am and closer to home.

I met up with a dear friend and run coach Charlene of FABRunning and off we went. Well… let me backtrack here. I saw the temps were going to be cold so I thought it will be a good time to try out my cold weather gear I have set for the Philadelphia Half Marathon. I was less than happy to see it was 34 degrees that morning. In Las Vegas. So, I put on my running gear, than bundled up, and headed out the door.

It was a calm morning before race start… and, overall, I felt confident. Yes, it was a different course, one I am not in love with due to after the turn around, it’s uphill for most of the second half… but, I was confident and knew what I needed to do for a PR. 

The race itself was good…. I had run this path before, so knew what to expect and when to conserve energy. The ending they threw an extra loop around a building in to get the race from its normal 10k route to the 11k… I had a few people around me that I was staying in pace with for most of the race. I knew coming around the last part, I was good to go on energy, mostly… sure my legs were tired, but I was ready for the push. The one lady next to me said “I forgot about the extra loop, burned up my energy, kick this race’s butt for us”, I smiled and off I went. 

Towards the finish I saw Charlene and was ready to toss her my handheld water bottle so I could go all out at the end. I wasn’t surprised when she ran alongside me yelling  cheering me on. I definitely pushed harder than I have since our speed workouts this summer… and finished in 1:11:35. Almost 4 min faster than last year where my time was 1:15:23. I WAS VERY HAPPY!!!! This was just what I needed.

So, we enjoyed some snacks, our medals, and struck a few poses… then, it was time to head home for breakfast and my anniversary weekend celebrations (this blog coming soon)… 

 Another great race and medal! Thanks Heavenly Racing!