This week, I finished up my presentation which included Introduction, Reason of Interest, My Plan, My Goal, People Involved, Weeks 1-8 of my training, My Workouts, Favorite Stretches, Race Day schedule, Sights Along the Way, Pictures and Videos, and My Reflection. My presentation is this week, so all week I will be finishing up my essay and practicing presentations with my mom listening and helping.

This week, I mainly focused on my presentation because my project is due in 14 days. In my presentation, I will include a title slide, my plans and goals, my training schedule throughout 8 weeks, what I do for workouts, my favorite stretches, what race day was like, lots of pictures, videos, my reflection, my research project, and tips for a beginner running a half marathon. My biggest struggle will be time management because I am the second person in line to present my project that is due in 15 days. I will have to block lots of time off to make sure my essay and presentation is perfect and will have to keep up with the due dates of the 1984 research paper. By next week, I plan to have my power point finished and about a page or so to go with my paper.

This week, I began finding resources for my reseach project. I found two articles on Ebsco and two on Google. I started my paper and have researched the importance of building a base of mileage before you start workouts, how much easier it is to run with a partner, and finding the perfect plan that matches your lifestyle. I also began my power point presentation. I plan to make an introduction slide, then do a slide for every week of my training. Next, I will put all the pictures of the half marathon on a slide and talk about my race, then finally put my beginner tips for running your first half marathon.

This week was more of a transition week in terms of my project, giving myself a little break before I get back into it again. I’ve been taking it easy on my running since I started back on Thursday, only running 3 miles. I’m still living off the hype of my race and can’t believe I actually did it and in that amount of time. The next thing I plan to start is making my own version of a beginners guide for runners including how to train for your first 5k.

Finally the week I’ve been waiting for! The week leading up to my race I backed off a little in mileage to make sure my legs would be feeling good on Saturday. On Friday morning we got on the plane bright and early and headed to Florida! Not going to lie, after all the walking on the first night and getting to bed late I was a little concerned with reaching my goal, but all my hard work payed off! I woke up at 3:15 am to get ready and head down to Epcot to the starting line. It was a breathtaking experience with tents, speakers, and screens everywhere. I was in corral A which was perfect because I was in the front of the 18,415 other runners that were just as crazy as I am. The gun went off and from then on it was the best run ever!!! I was so distracted by all the sights and people that I didn’t feel any pain. I crossed the finish line at 1:46:34 which shattered my goal of 2 hours!!! I was so proud and had my family there to support me which was so special. If you’re wondering what my plans are after this, I’m going to make a running guide for beginners based on my personal experiences.

This week has been mostly maintaining mileage since my race is next week, but I reached a huge milestone (haha, literally) in my running career on Sunday. I ran 10 miles for the first time, which was my final long run before the race!!!!! We ran 10 miles from Coolville all the way to Eastern, and our pace ended up being the fastest we have ran all year! I am now fully confident that I am ready for the race on Saturday, but there will always be the pre-race jitters. The excitement is settling in because I started packing over the weekend. Can’t believe that my next blog will be me reflecting on my race. Happy running!

T-minus 11 days until my race! This week was a very important week for my training and everything went as planned. I set a PR for 8 miles and ran 9 miles for the first time since my freshman year! For 8 miles we ran New Hope road to Chester and then back to the school which is now one of my favorite loops. Over Christmas break, I reached my water goal of drinking 60 oz. of water per day. The team ran in Athens on New Years Eve which was supposed to be fun, but it ended up being in the pouring rain! We made the best of it though and got breakfast after. Next week, I have my final long run of 10 miles on Sunday and then I’m Florida bound the following Friday. Still can’t believe I’m actually doing this!

Can’t believe there is only 24 days left until the race!! Time is flying by. I have been running 6 miles and I ran a PR (48:55) this week. On Sunday, I ran 7 miles for the first time, which made my legs very sore.

I am at the point in my training that I need to pay attention to how my body feels and if necessary back down a couple miles to avoid injury this close to the race. Improvements have been made on my water intake, but could still use an extra 10 oz per day. The biggest challenge for me is coming up, keeping active and hydrated over Christmas break. I have some long runs coming up, and I need to make sure I feel good and my calories are under control. Stay tuned to see if I rise to the challenge!

I am having so much fun with my project so far!! All this week I have been running 5 miles and have set a new PR (40:52) for this winter season!

On Friday, I ran my first 6 miler.

Something I need to improve on is my water intake. I need to be drinking about 20 more ounces of water a day than I recently have been.

After Lunch on Dec. 9th To improve, I need to get back in the habit of bringing my water bottle to school so I can stay hydrated throughout the day. My pace has increased tremendously since I began running, which means I am building endurance. No injuries so far, everything is running smooth!