Twilight 12K

I decided at the last minute to run the Twilight 12K last night.  I knew I wouldn't race it hard because of my marathon next Saturday, but I decided it would be a good opportunity for one last training run! 

Photo courtesy of Skinny Raven

It had been raining allllll week in Anchorage and around noon on Friday it was pouring, so when the clouds parted and the sun started to poke out around 6pm... there were 2,500 happy runners!  I met up with a couple of my friends at the start and waited for the 7:05 start time!

The gun went off and I felt surprisingly great!  Runs have been hit or miss lately thanks to my broken pinky toe.... but last night it was hardly noticeable with all of the adrenaline!  If you don't know this about me... I'm slightly competitive, so I made a pact to myself to not run at race pace to save my legs for next weekend. I managed to hold a steady, comfortable pace where I didn't feel winded.  I also jammed to my Pandora station and just had a great time!  The second I thought about beating other runners, I focused on my REO Speedwagon station instead.  P.S. I highly recommend this station.  The best. 

The course is pretty hilly and there were a couple of sections with a nice headwind, but I was happy to finish with a comfortable 54:57 (7:26/mi).  For a training run, I was happy.  Although I'm definitely looking forward to running it hard next year!

Bright and early this morning, Michelle and I did another hilly 8 miles, so my legs currently feel like jello.  It's time to rest, recover and get ready for racing next weekend!  I hope you're having a great weekend!