Titanium Girl Recap

On my quest to become a Half Fanatic, I became a Titanium Girl! Yours truly completed the Iron Girl Columbia and Frederick Running Festival half marathons exactly one week apart from one another. Below is a my brief recap of both races:

Iron Girl Columbia:

Sunday, April 27th was another “wake up & lace up” day, as I set forth to tackle the hills in Columbia, and be crowned an Iron Girl. I experienced many mixed emotions about this race, because about 5 -6 weeks before it was announced that the organization was having financial limbo. To train or not to train? Register for another race or wait it out? These were just a few questions that ran through my head, before it was announced that another organization stepped up to the plate, and the race would go on. Needless to say, I kept the course and continued my training. Thanks to  BGR! Baltimore and W.E. Run! for the hill training and completing half #2 (Philadelphia Love Run) a month before, I was overly confident about the race. Despite the delayed start (apparent accident on course), I truly enjoyed this race, and it’s a for sure do over! My favorite moments were: BGR! cheer groups, seeing my name in chalked into the ground around mile 10.5 (love ya Chris), and a new PR. Yep I shaved over 15 minutes for Philly!

Frederick Running Festival:

Fast forward a week later and it was time to do it all over again. I arrived to Frederick and met up with my W.E. Run! crew, and they knew I wasn’t feeling it. My mood was blah, and all I could think of was why in the hell did I sign-up to run another 13 point 1 freaking miles. I made my way to my corral, and chilled until it was “go time.” About 1.5-2 miles in I heard chants & screams of my name, and was surprised to see some of my run-boos from BGR! DC.  Thankfully, that gave me the extra push I needed, bc it usually takes me 3-4 miles just to get in my groove. About mile 4, I met up with some more Black Girls RUN! ladies who were doing 1:1 intervals, they invited me to join.  We laughed, talked and shared stories and the miles we’re just flying by. The scenic views in downtown Frederick and the neighborhoods were just beautiful. I zoned out and loved how involved the community was. As expected I hit my “wall” around mile 11, but thankfully looked down at my watch and saw I was on pace for another PR. For those last 2+ miles, I was in my zone. Dropped the intervals and just wanted it to be over already! Before I could blink, I beasted (yeah i made that word up) up that final hill, and took my victory lap around the track. Just as I was closing in on the finish line, I was greeted by more cheers from my run-boos and ended the race with another PR.