10K Race Report

85 degrees and sunny---what a perfect day for a race (my favorite running conditions). I hate to sweat, but there is nothing like running in the heat on a bright, sunny day.

I got caught up in race day 'magic' and started out a little fast, but I felt really good. I didn't do a long run this weekend, so my body was rested and prepared. After mile one I found a good pace and tried to maintain that pace until I hit the hill at mile five. Since it was a small town, local race, it was great to be cheered on by people I knew.

I finished with a strong kick and a PR, placing second in my division. Unofficially, my time was 49:19 (about 3 minutes faster than last year). Who needs speed work-outs?!?

The strangest thing I have ever seen during a race occurred during mile three. All of the sudden I smelled smoke and I thought, one of the spectators must be sitting on their porch smoking. I quickly noticed that a runner, a few people in front of me was SMOKING and running at the same time. How is that possible? And, how can he be ahead of me? I wish I had a camera with me. No one is ever going to believe me. There he goes again, another puff and he's still running. I must be on candid-camera.

Happy Memorial Day!

AA, Michelle, Dianna, Susie 

Susie about to cross the finish line

All I really needed was a little band-aid and this is what they gave me. :)

the 'distraction' injury 

Cleaning House

1. Bluff Point Twilight Trail Race
I enjoyed another great race and RBF get together with Michelle, Dianna, Susie, Bill and his wife. As fate would have it, it poured moments before the start of the race and the days prior to the race, so the trails were muddy and full of puddles (and in some cases, mini-lakes). At first we navigated around the puddles but eventually we just ran through them.
Dianna and I ran together for most of the race. We had fun chatting away every now and then, attempting to guess our pace (because her foot-pod battery died), and smiling at the runner in front of us who was Whistling!

I tried to keep my eyes on the ground most of the time because I had to watch my footing. The wet rocks and roots were slippery and I didn’t want to fall. So....when I reached the flat field I thought it would be ‘safe’ to look ahead and ‘casually’ check out the cute Coast Guard Academy guys staffing the first water stop. Bad idea! I don’t know how it happened, but I fell straight down. Thankfully, it only took me a few seconds to get back on my feet and keep running, even though I turned three shades of red in the process.

I stayed with Dianna until the last half mile when she turned on her jet-pack and flew away. It was great to see Bill and his son cheering us on at the end and I was happy to finish with a PR. After the race I realized my knee was little bloody, so Dianna forced me to see the medics. Once again, I was extremely embarrassed. It was just a little cut, but the medic (who also happened to be cute) wrapped it, to make it look as though it was a huge gash. What a race!

It was fun to chat with the Michelle, Susie, Bill and Dianna after the race. If it wasn’t so cold we probably would have stayed longer, but I’m hoping the trail race will be an annual RBF tradition.

2. San Diego
A week from today I will be in San Diego running the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon. The count down is on. I can’t wait!!

3. Memorial Day
Tomorrow is the 10K Memorial Day race in town. I am looking forward to one of my favorite races of the year. The hill during the last mile is a killer, but thankfully the first few miles are mostly flat. I love the small, town races. This will be my seventh time running the course, so it’s always fun to compare times and race stories.

Most important, I will be thinking about the men and women who made sacrifices for our country and remembering the soldiers who are overseas right now. We are blessed to live in freedom! Happy Memorial Day!

~ Training has been going much better this week.

~ I am very excited about the Bluff Point race tomorrow evening. It will be fun to catch up with the RBF members and enjoy the trails.

~ I recently accepted a 5th grade teaching position (which lasts until the end of the school year and then I will job search for the fall). This means......I won't be able to comment/post as much as I would like, but I will try to keep reading blogs.

~ Life is busy, but Good! :)

The 20 Mile Monster #2

I didn't conquer the 20 mile monster this weekend. Instead, I retreated and tried to hang on for dear life. But, I did survive.

From the start, I just wasn't feeling 'it', but as the miles ticked on I found my running grove every now and then. Dianna's encouragement kept me going, especially when I talked about walking and she refused to listen. (thank you Di!)

Things I want to forget....
- the rain (sprinkling, drizzling and later pouring)
- the hills
- the sudden sprints into the woods to find the biggest tree because...(how do you say it with grace? Let me just say, everything that was in my system, went straight through me. yuck--that still didn't sound good)
- the weary legs and feet during the last few miles

What is that saying--what doesn't kill you,makes you stronger? :)
I'm ready for you San Diego!

The black cloud lingering above the Running Chick and A.maria headed my way too. I only ran once this past week, for no reason besides the fact that I was feeling burnt out. A.maria described it best...

knowing you have to run, not wanting to run.... but then also wanting to run...

I planned to run today. After work I had my running gear ready. I knew I needed to run, but I didn't want to do it. Instead, I sat in front of the tv, watched Oprah and ate junk. The whole time I felt guilty, yet I couldn't stop myself. Why is it so difficult for me to make good decisions? I question how I can run a marathon, when I make such poor choices--when I know the 'right' things I should be doing. I feel like a 'fake runner' because I don't take running serious enough by eating healthy, doing speed workouts or getting in my training miles. I know I will always have a passion for running, but I felt it starting to slip away this week.

I'm not looking for people to make me feel better about this funk, I just needed a place to vent. So I'm sorry for the rant, but I guess we need the bad days to really appreciate the good ones.

Heres' to wishing for the black cloud to float far, far away from the RBF.

It's official!  

Jog with Judy 5K race medal 

Good Things Come on Saturdays

1. I ran a small, local 5k race yesterday and had a blast! It was my first race since last October, so it was fun to be caught up in 'race day spirit' again. It was a perfect day for running too, a beautiful warm, sunny day. Without the running chicks by my side I was a little unsure how to pace myself (especially for a course with a gradual decline for the first half and gradual incline for the last half). So I did what I thought was best, I thought about this post. I finished with a time of 23:17. Not a PR, but good enough for me. I actually finished first in my division so I received a medal (Shhh....I think there were only 3 or 4 runners in my division). :) After the race, I went back to the finish line with some friends to cheer for the remaining runners, mostly the adorable kids. They were so cute and I swear their final kicks were stronger than mine. I love how determined they were. They didn't have to worry about their form, they just ran as fast as their little legs would carry them, with a smile on their faces all the way to the finish line.

2. My teacher certification from the State Board of Education came in the mail yesterday.

What a day! :)

Are you serious?

I love the first of the month. It is a time for reflection and starting over and that is exactly what I need to do. I have to get serious about eating healthy. For dinner last week I had: cereal once, pizza twice and salsa/triscuits twice (along with several handfuls of left-over Easter candy). I know I need to eat healthier and I was doing well for a long time, but life got busy.

This month is going to be different. I went to the market yesterday and bought chicken and beef (not in a tv dinner), strawberries, oranges, grapes, and potatoes. My basket looked so healthy, I could hardly believe it was mine.

It’s time to uncover Jeff’s quote on my refrigerator again.
are you serious about your fitness, weight and training? then get serious about what you fuel your body with.

Here’s to wishing for a healthy new month for the RBF!