#ChiWomensHalf Training Update, Week 10

Last night, after a long weekend of celebrating moms and motherhood, I hit up the store where I found (among other things) this New Balance running belt:

It was marked down to $13, which is not what it rang up for—I scored it or $5. [Insert happy dance here.] Now, I don't carry a lot with me when I go running. Typically just my phone for safety purposes, music and so I can track myself on MapMyRun. And I usually just hold it unless it's cold enough for a jacket with pockets, but I'm getting up there in mileage as my half marathon approaches, which means I need to bring some water with me now:

I have not yet figured out how to recruit people to set up water stations for me. Wouldn't that be nice? A girl can dream... Needless to say, I found out this weekend when I ran eight miles that this double-fisting is not a comfortable solution. I'm fairly used to running with my phone in one hand, but these two items are not balanced. And having two items in-hand means that I can't alternate from one to another, which ultimately leads to some shoulder fatigue. My right shoulder is already a bum sometimes, so I needed a belt of sorts.

Obviously the color is awesome. Pink is my favorite color, cue the Aerosmith song. (And yes, that's a mini Bobble and it belongs to my daughter.) It fits my iPhone, although it's a tight fit. There is still some room for a key, credit card or some sport beans if need be. And you can't see it, but there's an attached ID tab that you can write on so you don't really have to carry yours.

Verdict? I love it, although I can't wear it on the front. It bounced too much so I had to turn it toward the back, which ended up working out nicely. And with my music cranked, I could still jam and I heard every message from MapMyRun. For $5, I'd say this was a good purchase. Even when it's not on sale, I think it retailed for about $20.

But that's enough about the belt. I still need to update you on last week's training.

Yeah, I only ran once during the week. I had to switch around the 6:00AM schedule at the gym, which left me teaching three times last week. I no longer teach on Mondays, hence my ability to run today. I switched to Wednesdays, but the Monday instructor couldn't take over last week which left me teaching both. I'm not really a two-a-day girl, so I left out the short run that typically takes place on Wednesdays.

I don't really think it affected my training, as I ran a great 8-miler on Saturday. Here's how it split:

1) My time was great. In fact, I was really happy with it. I started off a bit slow, but then I  clocked in even faster than I had hoped for. Time: 1hr, 16mins and 27secs. Average pace: 9mins and 33secs. Fingers crossed I can sustain something similar to this as I get closer to race day.

2) The weather was much cooler than it was during my last run, which made a huge difference. Also, I ran first-thing, which also seems to impact my performance a bit.

3) The path was new and different to me. I've run bits and pieces of it before, but never altogether. And parts of it where really nice and peaceful.

4) The legs felt great. The last mile was tough, but the last mile is always tough—but I push through it, and always do my best to increase my speed. Gotta race to the finish, right?

In other news, the search is on for a new running skirt. I love my black skirt I got from Target years ago, and since I'm making my return to the half marathon, I figured it would be motivating for me to buy myself a new running outfit to wear on the big day.

Question: What race day traditions do you have? New clothes? New music? Special breakfast?