workin out wednesday...

So today I ran at lunch today.. I love to run at lunch because it seems to be warmer in the afternoon than at 530 when I am off work , because it is very easy to loose the motivation on the drive home, and because Kelly is hardcore p90xing it and isn’t running as much (which means that I don’t have a running partner at night) so all of those things cause me to want to run at lunch. One other reason is because the “lunch runners” at work are fast so it pushes me to to run faster..
I do not like running at lunch because I am not running with kelly. I know it may sound cheesy or corny to some of you, but kelly and i started running together... it was something that we do together and enjoy. So it makes me sad we don't do it together as much, but at least we still have our long runs! I know it will get better when it warms up a little, so for now I am ok with the arrangement.

So today on workin’ out Wednesday I am writing about my run. Normally I am a 10 min mile type of girl, but this year I wanted to push myself and get faster.

Last year Kelly and I did 2 half marathons and one full, to me that is a pretty big deal!
*Our first ½ was Boomtown ½ in Joplin, MO on June 13th. Reviewing this race I would say this. If you are looking for a low key run to be your first then it is a good one to do. It was the first year they have done this race so there were only about 400 runners in the ½

They did not have a shirt for me.. WHAT the HECK? It is like I am cursed- first half no shirt, first full no shirt? Why does the shirt god hate me? I did receive my shirt about 2 weeks later in the mail. Grey dry-fit material, not a bad shirt except an ugly random Mole creature on it. Not sure the significance of a mole, but there was one?

Anyway, the course:
It was hilly and the temp was HOT! I don’t know what I expected it to be in the middle of JUNE! There wasn’t a lot of crowd support either, but again first year can’t expect a parade!

Finish line/post race sucked! The medal they give you was the same as the 5k, which kind of downplays your ½ importance.

Also, I don’t think they realized what they needed. They ran out of Gatorade and fruit.. I am sorry, but those are the two things you should have an extreme surplus of! There was also nothing at the end not party, band, or festivities.
Not knocking them because it was the first year, but still. So all in all not a bad first race low key, got it over with ready to do more.
Time: 13.1 miles finished 2:13 average pace per mile 10.08

Second ½ was the Kansas City Half see full post here. Such a dramatic difference between the two! KC was big and elaborate! I will tell you, if you are ok with crowds for your first ½ do a bigger one. The course flew by.

My review of this one would be that the shirts (yes I got one!) were boring and yuck. Plain white with a design on the front and nothing on the back. If you have not caught on by now, I like the shirts!

The course was fabulous. There were a few hills..and by a few I mean some big ‘uns and if you are going to run this one you better make sure that you have done some hill work.

You start off by the crown center where Hallmark is located then head through the power and light district. I have never been to NYC, but the power and light district is what I imagine NYC would be like! There was a lot of course support and I loved running through the plaza and through some of the historic neighborhoods with HUGE houses. Not to be redundant, but it really made the course go by so fast.
The finish line/post race was full of good food bagels, fruit, muffins, and candy. They also had a guy taking pictures and you could download them and print them off for free! Gotta love the free stuff! They also had free massages and I am a sucker for a massage, especially a free one! Then Boulevard Brewery was there, so for those of you that like beer they had a big RV type thing handing out free beer. There was also live music and stuff! KC definitely made a big deal about the race and gave you an awesome finisher’s medal!
Time: 13.1 miles fisnished time 2:15 average pace per mile  10:17
 also, please keep in mind the hills on this run and the fact that we ran 5 miles before it since we were training for a marathon... so i didn't have the freshest legs...

**** Best thing overall about the race was you could sign friends and family up to get text messages throughout the race! My mom always worries about me when I run, so this was a great way for her to keep up with us!*** I wish all races would do that! (click to see the post) was our first full.


 Memphis St. Jude Marathon
The review for this one:

They did a great job of getting the race information to you. They make sure you know exactly where to go, what to do and who to talk to if you have questions.
They did not have a race shirt for me. That angered me a whole lot. They did however fix this problem by promising to send me a new shirt ( I am still waiting for the replacement shirt…We shall see)
The course was fabulous though we ran through the St. Jude campus and it was very inspiring! They had bands the whole time and I didn't have to turn my music on until mile 10.. Which speaks volumes (pun intended!) on how fast the miles went by, normally I have music by mile 2!
Every single mile had a water station! Each one had a group of cheering people, water and gatorade. Some of the local groups set up random stations along the way.. a few had kegs with a ton of beer sitting out on the table, one even had whiskey shots for you to take! Are you kidding who thinks hummm... this is going to  be a hard run better grab a beer and a shot!
They had a great finish line festival it was in the red bird stadium and you could get your picture with elvis.. The food wasn't bad, but KC has got be the best. Memphis had cold pizza, fruit and cookies.
The medal was great though.. it says marathon on it!
So to wrap up why I started this post to begin with is because I ran at lunch yesterday and today.
**remember-- 10 min mile girl!**
Tuesday- 5 miles-total time 43:20 average of 8:40 per mile
Wednesday- 4 miles- total time 34:30 average 8:35 per mile.
yeah for workout wednesday.. and church tonight, gonna learn a little more love and respect!
WHAT are YOU doing for WORK OUT WEDNESDAY???