Carlsbad (half!) Marathon

I'm a little nervous since it has been 2-1/2 years since I last ran a half marathon, but I'm in...

November: 56.14 miles

Turkey Trot 5K

This morning I ran the local Turkey Trot 5K. I've always wanted to run a Thanksgiving morning race because it seems like a great way to start the holiday, but for whatever reason I hadn't until today. Today's race was also my first 5K. I've run many organized events from 8Ks to marathons, but never a 5K. It may be a new favorite distance.

This morning I finished strong and, in hindsight, I totally could have run faster the entire distance. Today I finished 12th in my division (age & sex) and ran an (official) 8:11 pace to finish in 25:18 or thereabouts. That's my Garmin finish time. The race was "old school" and didn't have chip timing but my finish time was just a few seconds more.

In all, a fantastic race and a great race for me personally!

October: 54.16 miles

September: 0 miles

August: 18.40 miles

July: 38.64 miles

June: 63.15 miles

Yay!

new runners

Aren't these the prettiest running shoes you've ever seen?? I cannot wait to run in them tomorrow morning! (188.98)

IronGirl 10K

This morning's 10K race was brutal. I knew it would be hot since yesterday was also very warm, but it was already in the low 70s by the race start time. Ouch. It was my first race in nearly 2 years and I'm okay with how I did given the conditions and route. Still, you always wish you could have gone a little faster or not taken a walk break. Slowly I will get there...

** Also, when did a 10K mean 6.54 miles...??

over!

Woo-hoo!! This morning's run put my mileage for the year over last year's total mileage. It's been a slow start as I get myself back into running, but things are definitely becoming easier and the runs are getting longer. Yippee!

upcoming race event

I registered for a 10K yesterday! I haven't participated in a running event in almost two full years. The last one I ran was a 4th of July half marathon in 2006 and it was a personal best with a pace of 8:43 minute miles. Running has been spotty due to life happenings and getting back into a rhythm has been difficult. Running hills all the time is difficult. I'm a little nervous about the 10K coming up!

May: 43.57 miles

So close to going over last month's total, but that last week in Oregon didn't include a single run. I thought about running, but that doesn't count so no miles the last week. Bummer.

5:30am

Some mornings I want to crawl back into bed and save my Saturday run for another time, maybe even another day. But mornings like today's make getting out of bed all worth it. It was cool, crisp and the sunrise was beautiful. Having the ocean all to myself for a half mile run on the beach was also pretty nice. Today's run (six miles!) was my longest distance run in quite some time. It was a fantastic way to start the weekend.

April: 46.29 miles

Hooray! Always a good thing when your mileage this month is more than the previous month!

spotted

I'm always surprised by just how long it takes for my body to get back into the rhythm of running. I've been running 3 or 4 times a week for the past several (five?) weeks and this morning's run was finally the one that felt good. It finally felt comfortable. It finally felt like it wasn't a struggle the entire time. I actually felt like I could have gone further but that pesty little Garmin I was wearing began beeping "battery low" and with me being the total nerd and information-obsessed person I am with running, I turned around at that point to double back. Because if the battery died along the way back, I would still know exactly how far I had run. Yes, I know, I'm a slave to the darn thing...

Later in the morning I bumped into a woman I know and she said the dreaded "Hey, I saw you running this morning." I always wonder if I looked miserable at the time of the spotting. Was my running form good? Was I running a faster pace at that point? I guess this is why I don't like family and friends to be spectators at races. Silly, silly me.

Carlsbad 5000

Yesterday was the world famous Carlsbad 5000. The race touts itself as being the world's fastest 5K and there have been many records, both national and international, set at this particular race. But along with the invited elite racers are the runners who simply run for the pure joy of running. I didn't run it this year, but will definitely be toeing the line next year.

This year we were all spectators. It's weird how runners never really look like they are moving that fast, but they really, really are! We watched the 30-something men finish and the first guy crossed in at 15:06. That translates to a 4:51 minute mile. Amazing!

Today during my treadmill run I punched up the speed to a 7:30 minute mile. And I could barely keep up. And I only held on for about a 1/4 of a mile.

I have so much respect and admiration for everyone who runs, regardless of pace or distance. Seeing runners push themselves like they did yesterday really inspires me.

March: 36.83 miles

I've impressed myself with my mileage this week. No particularly long or fast runs, but I finally was able to knock out some mileage. Whew! It's hard to "get back into running" once you've stopped for awhile. I'm really making an effort to get out there and find that love I have for the sport again. It's always been my thing, my time. I'm finding that I need it these days more than ever.

new running routes

Running has totally taken a backseat these last several months. I'm hoping some new running routes and races will revive my running. I started today by heading out for a run along the beach. It was a perfectly cool and cloudy afternoon for a run.

February: 0 miles

January: 9.09 miles

December: 2.30 miles

Wow. My mileage for this year is not even close to what I had hoped to hit. It would be a major disappointment if I were to dwell on it, so I'm not going to do that. Instead, onward and upward. I'm hoping to turn things around beginning today. Today is the first day of my marathon training program and I actually ran. Yippee!!