How It's Going Week 10 ~ Half Marathon Training

Last night I did my longest training run until my half marathon at the BMO Vancouver Marathon (13 days, 15 hours away). I decided to do a 12 miler even though I've been assured 10 miles is enough of a distance in training for a 13 mile race, but I really wanted to know how 12 miles felt (mile 11-12 was painful). Last weekend I ran to my parents house which was 10 miles on the dot and I was so proud when I got there only to be crushed by my dads cynicism in letting me know the race distance was 30% more then what I had just done. Thanks dad! 3 miles sounds doable, 30% more sounds like almost 50% more. He was honestly just trying to be helpful (I tell myself) but it made me wonder if those extra 3 miles would be a huge stretch. I'm reassured to know that although my upper thighs will be extremely tired and sore, I can still manage to keep myself moving until the end and maybe even be able to manage a last mile sprint. Also, all of my training runs have been very, very hilly throughout so I'm hoping that because my race has one hill i'll actually be less tired and run at a faster pace. Do those of you that run races notice you run your races faster then your training runs?

I wore my Mind over Matter Crops, or MOM crops if you will, on last nights run and I think these are my favourite crops of all time. The fit is not as snug as my Dash crops which have the same higher rise so I had to tie the waist to keep them from sliding down. Not an issue at all once I tied them, they stayed perfectly in place and didn't budge.  Mine are a size 8 but I think sizing down to a 6 may make them a bit sheer stretched over my bum. What I love the most in these crops is the short length and the amount of circle mesh on the lower leg. The area behind my knees and the backs of my upper calves seems to get very hot so the circle mesh was nice for keeping me cool.  The ruffles on the calf are placed perfectly to give you a very slimming effect. Seriously, my legs were looking gooooood in these crops yesterday. I'm no less a serious runner for appreciating the fashion forward details (of course fit and function are primary concerns) , it just helps when you need to wear your gear to and from your activity. I mentally motivated myself for my run yesterday by wearing my MOM crops around doing errands earlier in the day so it was nice to be wearing a cute pair of crops with feminine detailing instead of plain old frumpy run gear.

Last week I purchased the Run Energy SL (circa Spring 2010) off the Lululemon Exchange Page and if it arrives in time I will be wearing that to my Half. I really like the silverescent material (I had the I Just Wanna Run Tank in the same material) It's super lightweight and feels like your not wearing anything at all. I missed out on this shirt last year since I wasn't sure how I felt about the varsity writing for every day neighborhood runs.  Now that I'm running a race that will require as much motivation as I can find I think the slogan is perfect. The passion colored top will look great with my red medal around my neck :) and will make it easier for my family to spot me coming across the finish line.

I'll have a few more half marathon posts between now and May 1st so keep checking back. I have a product review coming soon for you and some updates on the training taper/fine tuning and race prep. 

Mind Over Matter Crops

Run Energy SL