Uncharted territory

This Saturday marked my longest run ever: 11.3 miles! My marathoner friend Adam was in town again, and we ran along the Lakefront together. He must be a great motivator, because I was able to do the whole mileage without stopping, aside from the water/Gatorade/Clif shot stop (sponsored by Fleet Feet!) about 8.5 miles in. We were behind a large training group (the lakefront is FULL of them on weekends) and had to wait a bit for water and my legs kind of tightened up after that wait, but we finished the last bit. 15 miles more to go to reach the distance, and thankfully there's still almost 3 months of training left. It's kind of amazing that in 6 weeks I've come from running a hard 3 miles to an okay (I'll probably never call it easy) 11. 

Saturday's reward brunch. There's electrolytes in mimosas right??

Also this upcoming Sunday is my first half marathon, the Chicago Rock N Roll Half Marathon.  I have heard mixed reviews on the race itself, but it lines up perfectly with my training. There are several bands that play along the course, so that should be fun and a nice change from my usual Lakefront long runs. It's a little expensive and I am running another half marathon in September, but I figure now is a good time to shake out some big race logistics. I have to work out the kinks in my hydration and energy plans, figure out how to meet Tim post-race, etc. I'm glad I'm running this race in preparation for another, so there's nothing to be really nervous about. Although running a half marathon (my first!) is still a pretty big deal, I'm not doing anything differently this week than any of my other training weeks. I don't particularly care about my time, just completing the mileage. I will be happy with anything under 2 hrs 30 mins, and judging by my training runs, this is perfectly attainable. 

Chicago is having another mini heat wave this week, so let's hope the weather isn't too hot on Sunday!