No matter how many races I do, there’s always a battle of nerves and self-doubt. And going into this race, after all the challenges of the last two months, I didn’t know what to expect from myself. So I didn’t have a goal — just hope that I could have fun, and feel good.

Miles 1 and 2 zipped by, and I felt cautiously hopeful it was going to be a great day. The weather was perfect and the course is gorgeous along the coast — not to mention, Jared and I have been running this race for 10 YEARS, so it’s full of memories… I soaked it all in.

• Mile 1 – 7:46
• Mile 2 – 7:31
• Mile 3 – 7:34
• Mile 4 – 7:24

At Miles 5 and 7, I saw Jared and the kids, which is always uplifting. After so many years of spectating, Jared is basically a pro. I could hear his loud whistle and cheers before I could even see him. Leo was all smiles, hopping around, “throwing” me hugs, while Liv rocked her fuzzy unicorn onesie, holding the sign she’d made: “Go Mom Go. Never ever give up.” ❤

• Mile 5 – 7:38
• Mile 6 – 7:20
• Mile 7 – 7:45
• Mile 8 – 7:29
• Mile 9 – 7:23

By Mile 10, I was barely hanging onto the 1:40 pacers, who were 10 or 20 feet ahead of me. But I took my second gel, put “I Ain’t Done“ on repeat, and dug in.

Mile 11, I pulled ahead, and never looked back.

• Mile 10 – 7:29
• Mile 11 – 7:31
• Mile 12 – 7:30
• Mile 13 – 6:56 !!!!
• Last 0.18 @ 6:33/mile

I crossed the Finish Line unsure of my time, just grateful to feel like myself again after the misery of CIM (and food poisoning 2 weeks ago)… I found my family quickly, and we hurried back to the course to see Amanda finish. She was all sunshine and smiles!

I was so swept up in the excitement that it wasn’t until later that I started processing my race. Jared looked up my time, found my previous PR, and figured out it was a 12 second PR. I still hardly believe it!

Official Finish — 13.1 miles, 1:38:25 @ 7:30/mile

Part of me wants to dismiss this race like I didn’t “deserve” it — like the stars aligned, and it was just a fluke, or a stroke of good luck… But the harder task is to own it, to be proud of my grind and grit, and to admit that deep down, I know I have more.

“As long as there’s breath in my lungs, I ain’t done“ (Andy Mineo)

❤