A New Personal Record!

I finished the Illinois Half Marathon in 2:40:36. It's a new PR! That beat my previous best of 2:58:22, set on the same course last year. It also beat my unofficial PR of 2:44 set during a training run in February. That was my goal for this race--2:44 or less. Full race report will follow, but for now I need a nap.

A little tip: Make sure you get plenty of rest the night before the night before a race. No, that's not a typo. Two nights before your race is when you need to get good rest. The night before your race? You'll be too excited to sleep well. Especially if it's your first race, a particularly special race, or a race for which you have an ambitious goal. This was my 7th half and 8th endurance race over all, and I've found that to be true for all of them. Maybe I'll get to the point when a race isn't a big deal any more, but I hope not. I love the excitement.

Last night, I did not sleep much, and when I did I had weird dreams. One dream was that I was walking to the start line when I realized everyone, including myself, was wearing matching bridesmaid dresses. I was freaking out, thinking how am I going to run in heels and a floor length skirt, when I woke up to the phone ringing. No, my toddlers weren't too scared to sleep at Aunt S's. It was a wrong number drunk dial. That's the first time I've ever been drunk dialed. Guess I can check that off the bucket list.