I hadn't run at all the week of the race, but wasn't worried about being able to finish since I had been running regularly otherwise. Everything was going smoothly during the race, except for one stretch close to the 7 mile mark, when I got a very bad cramp on my right side. I had to stop & when I tried running again, I doubled over in pain. I managed to make it to the 7 mile water station, and drinking water helped, plus I had a PowerBar Energy Blast (my favorite long run fuel), and I was good to go. Not sure what caused me to cramp up but I suspect not drinking enough water in the days leading up to the race (and I wish I had taken the gel at mile 6 like I do in training). The hills were also killer (especially on the 2nd loop where the hill was arounf mile 8)! But this made me realize that hill workouts are a must ... something that I've been dreading, but needs to be done ... time to put on the big girl panties and just do it :-)

Six months ago when I started running, 3.1 miles seemed so far, and here I am running a freaking 10 mile race, and not once did I think I wouldn't be able to complete it, so I was ecstatic when I got an award for 3rd place in my age group.

I'm sure people have lots of different things that motivate them to workout - I'm just glad I found something that works for me, and I really hope you all have found what works for you!