Detroit International or BUST!!!

It's here...It's FINIAL Y HERE!!!

What's that you ask......................

IT'S TAPER TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But first...let's start with how we got there...

At 11:59 p.m. on December 31st, 2013 I sat on my couch...lap top open...credit card ready...and registered for what was going to be my BIG RACE this year.  Detroit International Half Marathon. Registration opened at midnight...they only allow a certain number of people to register that early and for a SERIOUSLY discounted price and I made the cut.

My husband was all WOOOOO HOOOOOO for the discount........................

And I was already crying...because I just committed to a race that was 10 months away....10 months...a lot can happen in 10 months...But signing up for this race meant that I was committed to not just running this race...but making this the best race I've ever ran.

I know...I've ran 2 other half marathons...But that doesn't mean I was well trained and mentally prepared for them.  My first half you can read about HERE...I was totally under trained... But I was there to finish...and experience it...and I loved it....My next long distance race was a 25 K that I ran in May...You can read about that HERE...I was 100% trained to run a half marathon...not 2.5 miles farther than that. That wall runners hit is no joke. When I passed the 13.1 mark in that race my body said........I'M DONE! I finished...but I remember thinking I could have done better...I could have been stronger...I could have not had so much self doubt...

I knew I wanted this race to be different. I knew I wanted to stand on that start line with all the confidence in the world. To feel like I would not have done one single thing differently. To not have the guilt that comes with missing a long run...or not doing enough cross training...To know without a shadow of a doubt that my body and mind were ready for this race.

Since the night I registered for this race I have been training.

Ran my fastest mile EVER...cutting my last mile test time in HALF!!! 15:30 mile to 7:30 mile in one year!!


I have trained and ran a 25 k,




Placed 2nd in a 5k, PR'd said 5k by 5 minutes.


Ran a sub 9 minute 5 miler that even had a mile of TRAILS in it...and may or may not have finished without my shirt on.............................

Attended countless bootcamps


And then spent the last 4 months training harder than I ever have before with one of the best training partners I could ever ask for.

We completed every.single.long run. From 4 to 11 miles.

We both have little kids...Mine our 5, 3, and 1...Hers are 5, and 2.......In order to not drive our husbands completely crazy we would get up and run our miles or go to boot camps before the sun was even up....

There were mornings I would NEVER have gone without her.  I would have stayed in my warm bed and said..."I'll make up those miles later today." But what I learned from past training is "later today" turns into not happening...which is why I've never been 100% ready for a race...Until now. We didn't let each other quit...we didn't let each other sleep in...we didn't let each other stop early...or skip a workout...we pushed each other to be the best Mother Runners we could possibly be. 

After finishing our last long run on Sunday we celebrated the beginning of TAPER TIME!!! It's the time in training where you cut back to let your body rest and recover for the upcoming race... I have never been so excited to taper and I attribute that to the incredible amount of work we have put in these past few months.  Since finishing our run yesterday I have randomly busted out singing IT'S TAPER TIME....IT'S TAPER TIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMEEEEEE!!! 

It's time to rest and let our bodies repair......

And turn it on......................

Because in 6 days we will be standing at the start line with thousands of people getting ready to run..........

We will cross the Ambassador Bridge at sunrise and run the next few miles through Canada...I've never been out of the country...this is big news for this small town girl.

Then we will run back through the tunnel that goes UNDER the river...{Insert small to medium size anxiety attack here................... }and back into the U.S. where we will see our handsome husbands waiting to give us the last push we need to finish the final 5 miles......and by push I mean brightly colored and hand made signs.................HINT HINT HUSBANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  In the stories I've read about this race many people say this is the best part...You can hear the crowd cheering on the U.S. side as you enter the tunnel. I'm already crying about it.

And we will finish those last miles strong...because we have trained like BEASTS for this race. 

We are ready. 

We are 100% ready.

We are the definition of Mother Runners...and damn proud of it.