So, I am a bad, bad blogger

I will one day get this down, I swear! Since my last post, I have manage to limp through two races with the word "Extreme" in their titles, get snowed out of a 25K, finish my first full marathon and complete a 1o mile race 8 days later. All while managing a full time job, an injured greyhound and three kids. Yikes!

I am very proud of my marathon. I realize that even Oprah Winfrey can run a marathon faster than I did. But I ran it faster than I expected (4:41:43) and never hit the proverbial wall. In fact, I felt great the whole time and was already looking for the next one by the time I got home. I ran the Blacksburg Distance Classic a mere 8 days later. I ran it 11 seconds than I had in 2009, so that gives me hope that maybe this season will be better than the last.

Wow! It has been a really long time...

I guess at some point I stopped feeling like a runner, then I started feeling it again, but life gets in the way and sometimes we just don't blog. The summer series thing worked out. I came in number 2. Since I last posted I have been injured, recovered, restarted and run two of the most difficult races I could possibly imagine...one of them twice! I hit a huge PR, I hit a huge low, I thought I might quit for good. I didn't. I have run two half marathons- I placed 1st in my age group at one-and two 15 milers. I came in first overall (even ahead of the men) with a really crappy time at a race in my hometown (no one there runs). I watched my baby get a PR himself at the Bear Hole again this year with a time of 9:35!!! My middle son has started cross country and now can do a 5K faster than my wildest dreams. I have made the best friends along the way.

So now I am blogging again- why, you might ask??? To get myself through to a marathon and beyond. I need to think. I need to write. I need to remember the progress that I have made. I need to ramble in a place where no one can hear me. :)

So onward and onward- race plan. My next race is a 5K in Oakland Maryland on the 9th. I ran 16 miles on Saturday, 3.1 yesterday and need to get out again tomorrow. Perhaps some speedwork is in order. I don't understand much of my life right now, only that I think I am in a really bad place and maybe running will cure that. Or kill me. More later.

The 10K and Fun Run

Well, the 10K was pretty awesome, all told. It was tough course. Apparently one of the "most challenging" 10K courses in West Virginia- which is saying a lot because this is an extremely hilly state. Seriously, one stretch of it was continuously uphill for over a mile! Of course, that meant over a mile of downhill on the way back, so there were tradeoffs. But ultimately, I ran it in 53:22, placing 5th female overall and 1st in my age group, so it was well worth the hard work. Of course, this has gone a long way toward proving to me that I should be doing better on my 5Ks, but that is another post for another day.


Today, I want to talk about my baby. This is the same baby who ran the 800M fun run in the fall. He decided to do the 1 MILE fun run, but of course, he wanted me with him. So, after completing a tough 6.2 miles, I turned around and ran another mile with him. That is one of those moments of motherhood that, no matter what, you will always remember and never, ever regret. He ran every step of the way and somehow his little legs made it in 10:37. I was so very proud of his effort and he came in and got a second place finish. Our trophies are on our mantle. The trophies were handcarved bears made of wood found in the park. This did not impress my 4 year old, who wanted a shiny gold trophy, but I think maybe one day it will actually mean something to him. I know it will always mean something to me.

The Race Rant

Okay, first of all, this summer series that was supposed to motivate me has officially consumed me. I am serious. I am starting to think that I was better off as a loner who barely finished a 5K in under 35 minutes. But no, I joined a running club and *gasp* improved. Not until I started improving did I really and truly realize my competitive nature. The better I get, the better I want to be so that I can beat more people! When I finished a 5K nearly 3 weeks ago with a personal best of 25:27, my first thought was "I have to train harder" because I got outsprinted in the end. What is happening to me?! Additionally, this summer series is a competition to see who can accumulate the most race points by not just completing race, but by receiving awards while doing so. There are different points assigned for overall and for age group awards down to third place. So imagine my shock and horror upon learning that the 4 mile race I ran Saturday only gave 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall without distinguishing between genders (thereby insuring that no woman will ever win unless the fast men all die on course) and then only 1st place in each age group. But, like I said, I'm competitive, so I gave it a good go. I finished in 33:12- the 5th woman overall. Unfortunately, one of the 4 women in front of me was also in my 30-39 age group, so I walked away with nothing when I should have been either first or second in my age group. So instead of the 7 or 8 points I would have earned, I only got a measly 5 for completing it. See....total consumption of my being. And rather than making myself chill a little, my response is train harder, smarter. Eat better, rest better. there has to be a 12 step program or something for this!

So, I am scheduled to run a 10K this weekend. Race 8 of 10. Of course, I will do more racing and choose my 10 best, so maybe that sexist race will ultimately not count at all for anything but the experienec of a race distance I had never tried before. But I had to rant, nonetheless. It's what I do best.

Racing thoughts

As down, I sit her to jot this all down, my thoughts are racing. and my racing thoughts seem to be about racing and this all consuming summer series! Last week, I survived yet another 5K in the hot, hot sun. I got my best time ever and still only managed a 6th place in my age group finish. BLAH. It really stunk because the first place finishers in the two age groups behind me had times slower than mine! What the heck???!!! Since when are the old girls the fast ones? I got out sprinted up a hill in the very end by 2 people. We all finished withing one second or less of each other, but man was it ever disheartening. With that in mind, I decided to step away from my summer series and do a 5 mile trail run- an inaugural event- in my hometown area.

I was more than a little scared, I will freely admit. I don't trail run. It did spur me to train pretty thoroughly this week (I had a 30 mile week!) and I showed up not really knowing what to expect, but more than ready for the break from the pack I usually run with, around, and from. :) It turns out, it was a great experience.

First of all, it is so much cooler in the woods. Literally. The shade was wonderful and sunglasses were unnecessary. I shed my iPod for the third time this week and it was ever so liberating. I am learning to run without music and that seems to not be a bad thing. It felt good to be at one with nature and running the way my body seemed to be intended.

Of course, there are always drawbacks and the biggest one I found to trail running is that it is horribly difficult to pass on the narrow trails. Believe me when I say, I am not the world's most patient individual, either. So that aspect was a little rough on me. The hills were steep and tough to negotiate in places, but I did it.

And imagine my very pleasant surprise when I was nearing the end and begging a volunteer to PLEASE tell me it was almost over and she said "honey, you're almost there and you're only the third woman!" Of course, my competitive nature overcame me then and I bolted for God only knows how long and finished third female over all!!!

Maybe I will trail run a little more often.

A Blog About Nothing

Kind of like Seinfeld, except not nearly as funny. I have had a bad week. I think that is putting it mildly, but I am still standing, and I guess that says something, though I am not sure what. Probably that I am either too stubborn or too stupid to just give up. I hate when my life gets this way because my running inevitably suffers for it. I ran a little on Sunday, I did a good workout on Tuesday and last night I ran and I swear my legs felt like they were made of lead. So I walked today at lunch and had hoped to do a run tonight, but as usual the fates conspired against me and I found myself on the side of the road with a flat tire and so I had to go and buy two new tires and suddenly my evening was all gone. I am hoping that the little I have done (with speedwork...extra hope there) is enough to get me through what feels like my billionth 5K this weekend.

Seriously, at first I was really fired up about this summer series thing. Now I am just burning out. It is keeping me from doing the long runs that I so deperately need to do- not only for training, but for my mental health! I have gotten to the point where I feel like a fraud somehow if my mileage for the week is too low. I make myself crazy obsessing over numbers ALL the time.

But one good thing that my race schedule has done for me as of late is to help me make much better food choices. I use the Weight Watchers points system and the whole time I have done it, it has always been about how much food I can get for the least amount of points, but now the focus has shifted to what foods will better feed my body, thereby helping me run better. This can't be a bad thing.

Well, I have to cut this short. Duty calls. Duty always calls. That was supposed to be a part of the ramblings, but...

Before and after...