first 25K, a half marathon PR, and a sore IT Band

Go Short, Go Long, Go Very Long 25K was this weekend. Such an amazing race! We literally ran all over Tulsa and the weather was wonderful- chilly in the early morning and then warming up about an hour and a half into the race. I kept a good pace, was basically pain free, and my breathing was perfect all through mile 11.. after mile 11, my IT band started acting up and I kept having to stop and stretch it all through mile 15.5. I was beyond happy to cross the finish line and eat/drink. That long of a distance really takes it outta you and makes you hungry. I had a wonderful lunch at a little cafe in Utica Square (a fancy little center filled with high end shopping and restaurants). I treated myself to a pizza with a white pesto, mozzarella, chicken, spinach, and mushrooms- great post race food :) We left before they had calculated race results.. every time I leave before they calculate them, I come home to find I have placed in my age group.. which is exactly what happened yesterday. I came home to find I had gotten 3rd in my age group- pretty shocking since I felt like my last 4.5 miles weren't strong at all. So today I'm just relaxing, going to Starbucks, and laying around. I feel so accomplished finally running in a race that was over 13.1 miles.. It gave me a little bit of insight as to how much more I really need to train for a full marathon. Here's some pics from the race....