Active Listener: Mrs. O'Brien will blog...

...Ms. Brooks is finding that difficult at the moment. Its been nearly a month since my last post, which probably has something to do with the fact that its less than a month until my wedding! Some very quick updates:

Turkey Trots

November tends to be a very race-heavy month, thanks largely to all of the turkey trots. In addition to the Down's Park 5-miler (see previous post), Andrew and I each did a couple other runs in November. First up was the Striders' Cold Turkey 10K. I was really dreading this race for some reason, but then I did great! I felt strong through the whole thing and came in with my 2nd-fastest 10K time ever: 1:03:30. The pictures of me are all terrible, so here's one of Andrew:

Finishing strong!

On Thanksgiving day, Andrew and I were in separate cities, but we both found local turkey trots. I did a 5-miler sponsored by the local Fleet Feet store. This wasn't a race- just a "fun run"- but 800 people still turned up for it!

The sea of people at the start.

I love living in such a fit town!

Andrew was down in his hometown of Norfolk, VA on Thanksgiving where he ran his fastest 10K to date! I told him that he became a real runner that day because he registered for and ran a race completely without me. His brother took this photo:

Looking strong!

The Annapolis Half Marathon

Last Saturday, Andrew and I completed the 2nd running of the Annapolis Half Marathon. I did the inaugural running of this race last year, and there were some major issues (see this post for details). This year, things were MUCH better, but there were still a few hiccups. The mile markers were way off. According to my GPS, some were only 3/4 of a mile apart, while others were well over a mile. Every time I passed one, I heard at least 3 or 4 people turning to their friends and saying "Wait a minute- is that right?" It became a bit of a joke by the end. Also, the overall course seemed to be a bit short. It was certified at 13.1 miles, but my GPS said 12.95... and so did the GPS of everyone else I talked to. It was the most consistency I've ever seen between many GPS watches!

If the course was short, I'm not complaining because it was also HARD. It changed a lot from last year, and there were several little out-and-back stretches added, all of them hilly. By about mile 5, I knew I was on pace to finish really well. I wasn't sure how well because of the issues with the mile markers (which was frustrating), but I tried to put that out of my mind and keep pushing. Miles 10-12 were brutal, but I hit mile 13 at about 2:05 and knew I had a decent shot at a PR. When I knew I was near the finish, I went into a sprint so aggressive that I actually dry-heaved at the finish line, but it was worth it when I saw my time: 2:16:15! Not only is that a PR, but its way faster than any other half I ran this year.

After I finished (and stopped heaving), I found my mother and Andrew's parents, who had come to watch the race, and we started looking for Andrew. I had spotted him at mile 8, and he looked good, but even I was surprised when he came around the final turn for the finish. He crossed the line at 2:36:19, a nearly 8-minute improvement over his 2:44:22 finish at the Baltimore Half! He was so excited that he got a little choked up, and so did I.

Smile if you ran a PR a month before your wedding!

I think a little credit for Andrew's stellar performance goes to my friend Jaquisha, who was out cheering with the group Black Girls Run! She saw me around mile 6, and I told her to keep an eye out for Andrew. When she spotted him, she told him to hurry up and catch me, and then she started running with him. Their photo wound up on the Black Girls Run! Facebook page later that day: