A mini really minimizes it....

There is nothing insignificant about a mini marathon...but the name always makes me feel like I'm slacking off. Then I remind myself that 13.1 miles is a great feat, and I was excited to do my 5th half marathon! My training this year I would have called less than adequate, I blame it (mostly) on the weather. The entire last 4 months have been either cold and/or rainy. I can handle my fair share of treadmill training, but not once the runs are more than about 5 miles. Apparently I like encouraging people to try a mini for their first time, because that seems to be my theme with races, and this year my victim was my classmate Natalie ;)

Because of my lack of training (and a seriously terrible 10 mile run/walk the weekend before the race) I was expecting this to be my worst time ever. I came to terms with that fact and decided that even though I was disappointed that I hadn't trained better, it was still a good thing to get out there and move my body for 13 miles (aka guilt-free eating the rest of the weekend!)

This race is so huge that we started about 12 minutes after the race started, and we were nowhere near the end of the line.

The first mile or so is always crazy, weaving in and out of people, being frustrated when you get behind a pack of people that seem to be moving SO slow, but also fun because you forget you are running for that first little bit. Unfortunately we get separated very early (during this chaotic period), but we both put forth some awesome effort throughout the race.

I was feeling good, the temperature outside was perfect (literally the first nice day in a LONG time), and I just tried to keep a steady pace. I had my watch on so knew I was making pretty good time, and gave my self little pep talks along the way.

Mile 8, I came out of Churchill Downs (a part of the race I always love because there are horses running the track and it is a fun site to run through the week before the Derby), and I knew that with only 5 more miles to go, I might be able to beat my previous times. I usually start to struggle a bit around mile 9 (probably because of my lack of long run training), and I did slow down, but I ended up beating my time!

Hanging out at the finish line, I got to see some of my other friends who also ran...Amanda's first race also and she did awesome.

The beginning of an insanely productive day. Wake up at 5 am, run 13.1 miles, eat an awesome lunch (Cheesecake Factory), and then study for finals. The race unfortunately fell the weekend before finals this year, but we managed to pull it off!
Thanks to Grant again for being our chauffeur, phone holder, cheerleader, picture taker, etc. Races are unfortunately expensive, so he "sacrificed" and let me run again this year. He has officer's development school this summer, so his motivation to get in shape comes from that...he didn't need to spend the money on a race like I do to get in shape!
I was feeling it by the end, and still haven't beaten my ultimate goal of finishing under 2 hours, but pretty proud of my 2:03 considering the low expectations I had of myself going in (maybe that's the key!)Now comes the hardest part of all for me...continuing to run once a race is over (especially with summer beginning). Here's to trying to make it happen...again!