Orlando Xtreme Half 2/9/13

This half was definitely extreme for me! It was a completely off road and with gators, buzzards and snakes everywhere. I consider myself a nature outdoor lover but running on this surface was supposed to be easier on the knees, but it seemed a lot harder for me. I know I had a challenging week with work and school and getting my workouts in at 5:30 am with hardly no sleep but I knew I could push through. I've done it many times before. I was pacing well with my runner friend Rosanna. We were averaging an 11:15 pace until mile 5 when out of no where I just fell and slammed down on both knees. My garmin watch is scraped up and my knees were aching when I got back up. A gentleman helped me up and Rosanna too. I was so shocked that I fell. I was getting over my lake Eola trip and fall from 3 weekends earlier still and had my left knee still bandaged up! I don't know why I keep tripping. Maybe I need shoes again. The brooks ghost 4 I run in are pretty big and the bottom are worn. So needless to say, Rosanna stayed back with me and we walked some to get me cleared off and back to ready mode. My left knee in particular was throbbing. I wanted her to go on but she wouldn't leave me. I watched our pace dwindle from 12:14 to 12:20 to then the horrible 12:37 pace. Ugh I hate going backwards but I knew it was best to keep it easy. We both have a race in 3 weeks and no point in killing myself over this one. The remarkable thing about this race was the team spirit and support from all my girls. A few of us had car pooled together but all 7 of them waited at the finish line for me and Rosanna to finish. Just the fact that Rosanna stayed with me until the end was the nicest thing anyone could do. Two of my really good girlfriends came out and had made signs for me and and I saw them before the last mile and it made me feel so confident that I could finish strong even though I felt my limp while running. It was really a beautiful day and the trail course was beautiful around lakes and trees. I didn't care that we finished slower because for Rosanna it was still a PR time and that made me happy and relieved. She's an outstanding woman and forever I will see her as a great friend for staying w me. 5 of the girls in our group placed at this race and I was so happy for them! One just had a baby 7 weeks ago! They continue to inspire me everyday and I feel closer to them with each run we do. Our time ended up being 2:48:23. Not that far off my best of 2:40. But 8 minutes can mean a mile slower to some runners :)