12.5, Proof.

This would be the smiling faces of two very-pleased-with-themselves rundaters:

(pardon the giant forehead shot, haha)

Saturday marked that 12.5 prove-you-can-do-this-half-marathon run I talked about earlier in the week. I needed this long run to be a good, solid, rockstar run. To prove to myself, to that brain of mine, that I can — and will – rock 13.1 on May 6.

And wouldn’t you know — that’s exactly what Saturday’s run proved to me. It was the #PROOF I needed that my body — and my mind — are more than ready to nail the Providence Cox Rhode Race half in just a few weeks. *Such* the confidence boost I needed.

A quick recap of how the run went down:

Set out around 7:45 after a *really* good night’s sleep on Friday. Sushi the night prior apparently makes for really good pre-long-run fuel. Highly recommended.

Didn’t eat much before I left. This was by design — I just can’t run with much in my stomach…unless I have hours to digest it. I didn’t have that luxury on Saturday. So a handful of fiber one cereal (random, I know) and a bit of water and off we went, handheld water bottle in hand (er, in Scott’s hand) and Honey Stingers stuffed in my pocket.

Utterly gorgeous Saturday morning — bright, bright sunshine, gleaming blue skies, birds chirping. Slight chill in the air. The first leg of our run was fairly uneventful, ‘cept for a really good push up this long, rolling, hill that totally sneaks up on us no matter how many times we run this route. That hill’s got nothin’ on us, for the record. 😉

The second leg of our run was admittedly tougher. Mostly physically tougher vs. mentally. I tried to push the thought out of my head that we had a good 6 miles left to go, but my body was the constant reminder that the miles were starting to add up. My knees were a little achy (mainly the ache from piling on the miles, not an achy/pain/something-is-wrong ache) and my upper back was starting to get tight. (I think I’m focusing a little *too* much on keeping proper upper body form when I run now…I totally blame that on my barre n9ne practice which is *all* about form. I need to relax that ‘shoulders down and back’ b9 form thing a bit when I run I do believe…note to self.)

It was the final mile of our run when the whole #PROOF thing really settled in. I thought to myself that we literally just ran almost 12 miles and I still felt pretty darn good, all things considered. And if I was feeling that decent on a training run, I sure as hell ought to feel pretty decent running all 13.1 on race day. I got this, why yes, yes I do.

And guess what? By the end of the run, I was tired, sore and ready for the oatmeal I’d been dreaming about for the past 12.5 miles (hehe), but I didn’t feel half bad otherwise. No pukey feeling (as has been known to happen to me in the past on long runs and post-race…I think this fueling thing is finally working for me), no I-want-to-die feeling.

Just spent, worked — and proven.

It’s all I needed. Well that – and a good long stretch, too.
With picture #PROOF of course (see? I really DO stretch now, look at me!)

PS – remember that time I mentioned I was itching for change? Well – I went for it on Saturday. In a big way. This is by far the sassiest haircut I’ve EVER had. Not gonna lie — I kinda love it 😉