Fifteen down, one to go!

Saturday I completed my second to last long run.

It's a little scary to think of actually. Up till now, the race was always so far away I didn't have to worry about it too much because there was plenty of time to get over injuries, or to train harder.

Not anymore.

Friday I set out my running clothes in preparation for my 5:30am wake up call.

Running top
Running bra
shorts
favorite pair of running socks
shoes
Fuel Belt
Water bottles
electrolyte caps
Garmin

It felt like it took forever to fall asleep but I finally did. I don't even remember what prompted me, in my sleep, to think "I should check what time it is".

Yeah...it was 5:53am.

I'm supposed to meet the group at South Sound Running at 6am.

I threw off the blankets and ran for the bathroom where I had left all my stuff.
This prompted my cat to sprint in front of me, sure that I was just excited to feed him again. (We feed him in the bathroom to keep the dog out of his food. Not that Grace stands a chance at getting any Spock is that into his food.)

I tripped over him and fell into the door. I guess it could have been worse if the door had been open. At the time it didn't really make a difference to me.
I threw on my clothes and franitcally looked for my car keys.

From the time I woke up to the time I pulled into South Sounds parking lot 16 minutes had past. (10 of which was driving time). It was like early morning seminary all over again.

I even managed to grab a banana and eat it on the way.

I also learned on the car ride over that my Garmin's batteries were dead.
Awesome.

I missed the group so I headed out hopping to catch up with them. It took me about a mile to realize that I was NOT going the same way as the main group.

Awesome. I was running blind on my pace AND distance.

I knew that the route I was on was supposed to be 12.3 miles...and that I was suppose to go 13.1. I figured I would just run out an extra 1/2 mile before turning around.

The question was, HOW was I supposed to measure that 1/2 mile?
After thinking about it (I had plenty of time on my hands) I decided that I normally averaged an 8 minute mile (or close enough for my purposes) so the way to measure it would be to COUNT to 60, 4 times giving me half of an eight minute mile.

Yep. I counted (on my fingers no less) to 60, 4 times while also trying to maintain a consistent pace.
I was special that morning to be sure.
After I got home I mapped my route and figured my average pace based on the total time I was running.

Wait for it....I ran 13.78 miles and averaged 7:50 per mile! WITHOUT ANY HELP PACING!
It was more than a little exciting for me:)