Badge of Honor and new running duds

Well, well, well. You will be happy to know I am not writing this to you from the grave because I survived the 'Percy Warner 11.2'!!! And quite well I might add ;) I finished my 12 miles in under 2 hours, (yes, I know the course is 11.2 but if you know me, you know I am likely to 'misplace' myself sometimes.) You may also be thinking that 12 miles in 2 hours is not that speedy, to which I would reply, "bite me". The run went a little something like this...

It was around 40ish degrees when we started with a light drizzle and I was ready to rock and roll - ipod loaded and GU gels stuffed in my pants. I headed out with the 10-minute pace group and we began our journey. The first 4-5 miles were pretty solid; gorgeous scenery, great pace, strong legs - feelin' good. I kept looking ahead for the 'Mile 9 hill' (*we ran the course backwards so this hill came first) so I could size it up and mentally prepare, and then out of nowhere- BAM. We started climbing. I literally stayed about 2 feet behind our pacer, who had gigantic calves, and stared at his legs the entire time - osmosis? Maybe. Imaginary tiny ropes tied from his legs pulling mine behind him? Possibly. Whatever it was, it worked! We made it to the top and took a much needed water break. And...breaks over. Back to it. We continued on and made it to the Belle Meade entrance which was about half-way. At this point the full marathoners broke off for their extra 8 miles, which meant my inspiring man calves were gone :( I started again with a smaller group and started to hit my stride. I knew we had one more monster hill so I was trying to be mindful and save some energy in my bag of tricks. Finally, we got to it and I was ready to power through and then get ready to finish up the last few miles and BE DONE. This hill was much steeper, but also shorter, that should have been my first clue... I remember thinking, man, that wasn't too bad, psshh... I cranked up some Salt-n-Peppa "now push it real good.." and started to pick up the pace. Well...by the time I got to the actual 'Mile 3 Hill', I.was.spent. I was seriously scared that if I stopped running, I wouldn't be able to start again. It was that bad. And it never ended. Turn after turn, I snail-paced it up to the top. Victory. With just a few miles to go I was desperate to be done, my legs were in pain, I was tired, irritated and cranky. And then I got lost. .8 miles felt like 10, especially when its uphill. When I finally noticed I was running in the opposite direction of the cars I about broke my neck trying to turn around and get back on the right trail. Finally the run came to an end, and as I made my way to my car (why the hell did I park so far?!) I couldn't help but be proud. I conquered the Percy Warner 11.2 and lived to tell about it.

After such a grueling run, I figured I had earned at least 2 treats :) Here is my new running gear!

How cute are these?! Pink, sparkly earbud covers for my headphones! Everytime I come around your city bling, bling...thank goodness I moved to the 'burbs - can't be sporting these in the hood.

I know what you are thinking, they are kind of borderline lezzer, and I wasn't really sure how I felt about 'sports' glasses in general, but they are really functional and don't slip around on your face when you are running, so...hopefully the sparkly earbuds will balance them out.