Wellsfest 5k

After seeing a forecast of 90% chance of rain for Friday night and Sat. a.m. I was glad to get up to dry roads. I was dreading the thought of running in the rain. The race was scheduled for 8 o'clock so I got up at 5:45 a.m. for my traditional slice of toast and water. Yum, doesn't that sound good?

My stomach really didn't seem quite as nervous as usual which I think was due to hurting my back on Friday and being concerned about that. I hoped it wouldn't cause problems in the middle of the race.

On the drive down it was very cloudy and foggy. Some mist began to show up on the windshield. Thankfully, it didn't rain.

When we got to the ballparks where we thought we were suppose to park, there wasn't many runners milling around. Hmm, interesting. Come to find out we were in the wrong place. Thankfully we arrived early and quickly found the right place.At the start we were a little jammed.............but quickly we all spread out. Downhills are a wonderful way to start a race, but unfortunately what goes down, must go up. Toward the end of the race we would be headed back up this hill.

The road flattened a bit and then as we hung a left there it was. A killer hill. I was not prepared for this. For some odd reason I had it in my head this would be a relatively flat course, wrong. The hill was one of those that seemed to go on forever. I was already huffing and puffing. How was I ever going to make it? Only with the help of the good Lord above did I. Trust me, I was already begging.

In almost all the races I have ran previously I always seem to find myself running alone(with exception of the last race). And for the most part, this one was looking about the same until I heard the clomp, clomp of shoes hitting the pavement behind me.Uh-oh, where did she come from? (She) being on the right in this pic. David was standing at the corner here and yell's to us both, we are 2nd and 3rd and no one is behind us. Now (she) being on the left. Hello new racing partner! This has not ever happened before. What shall I do? Hmmm?

As you can see back up the hill from whence we came. Okay, at this point, running up a hill at the end of a race, when you are dog tired, is no fun. We continued up the hill and then took a right at the next light, down straight and then another right in to the parking lot where I knew the finish line waited.At this point, I was thinking I may have kicked(yeah, right-what kick?) too soon. But luckily I made it. Yippee!!Ah, the sweet taste of victory! I brought home the Grand Master trophy.I love receiving these but I know there is always someone who can and will beat me. I never want to take this for granted.As with all runs this is the t-shirts we received. Cute, huh?

In the end I finished 2nd female overall, Grand Masters winner and 17th out of 178 participants.

Right now I am eyeballing a race for next Saturday. Not sure if I will or not. I will just wait and see.

Another Spin in the Park

I made it to the park again today. This is my last practice run before Saturdays race. I don't know why but as soon as I start running that sick stomach feeling starts. Maybe it's adrenaline, I don't know. But I do know I wish it would go away. It stays with me the whole time I'm running and then as soon as I am finished, it's gone.

Today was another hot and muggy day but I set another PR, 21:46. Wish I could run like that on race days. But then again that is only 3 miles and not 3.1. Other than the sick stomach I felt okay with just a little tiredness. Upper thighs are no longer bothering me, yippee!

After my 3 miles of running I walked 2 miles. Thank the good Lord above tomorrow is a rest day.

My Afternoon Run

All day long I was dreading my run. Since I am now working 5 days a week again I will not be able to do my morning runs. It's back to the park and afternoons for this girl.

Weather wise it was a hot and very, very humid day. Temperature was 92 degrees. Argh!

After I stand on my feet all day in this weather, running doesn't sound like much fun but I am happy to report I did it!

After the first 10 yards I was pretty much ready to quit. It's amazing how much running is such a mental game. My brain was so ready to stop but the legs wanted to keep going.

So much to my amazement I made it thru. Yippee!! Thank the good Lord above for cloud cover. Little did I know tho a big, big rain was getting ready to move in.

I finished my 3 miles in 21:49 which is a PR for me. I was able to walk my 4th mile and started on the 5th but the rain set in. Oh well, I'm just glad I got my run in.

A Rainy Run

This morning I couldn't make myself get up for my regular run. I guess there are some days where you need to listen to your body so I did. Of course, as usual, I felt guilty but had told myself I was going to run this afternoon.

But then, just as we pulled into the garage after buying groceries the rain started. Then I really felt guilty cause I didn't run this a.m. But luckily(?) it stopped and I went for it. It was cloudy, 84 degrees and very humid. After about 15 minutes it started raining again. My upper thighs weren't really bothering me so I kept on running. I have to admit I felt like I was running in concrete. At 30 minutes it was still lightly raining and David came out to walk. So, I joined him and we walked together in the rain.

After awhile it started continuously thundering so we decided to call it quits. But I was glad to get in 27 minutes of walking.

This is going to be an interesting week since I have now gone back to work full-time. That means no a.m. running for me. I'll be having to stop at the park to complete my runs on my way home. Since it's a one mile path I'll be able to keep up with how good or bad I am doing.

A Runner's High? Not Hardly

I thought since I hadn't exercised in 4 days I would be feeling great this a.m. Well, that didn't happen. It was very humid this morning with temps in low 70's. I guess I stated out too fast(nothing new to me) and I tired fast. I did run for 36 minutes but was hoping for 45.

After my run and walk I decided I better start implementing some speed running into my training. I ran 5 x100's just to test the water. By the last 100 I was feeling pretty spent.

It won't be long til my next race and hopefully I won't feel like I did this a.m.

My Run this A.M.

Since I didn't really exercise much yesterday due to rain I hoped my run this a.m. would have been energetic. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It was 74 degrees with very high humidity. That really takes a toll.

I had hoped to do some speed work today but it just wasn't in me. At least I did run 36 minutes. I will be taking a few days off this weekend. Then I'll get back to it since my next race is the 26th of Sept.

This Morning's Run

As I opened the garage door I saw that I would be running in the fog. The humidity was still present but the temperature was about 68 degrees. Even though my glasses kept fogging up it was pleasant.

I had hoped after not running yesterday that I would have felt great this a.m. Fact is, I felt about the same.

I started out as usual and when I loosened up I decided to try fartlek. I picked out a landmark and would run as fast as I could to the landmark and then slow the pace. I did this a few times but now I realize I need to have a more structured course in order to do this efficiently.

I really wanted to run longer this a.m. but I guess with the fartlek I tired more and had to stop at my normal 30 minutes.

Afterward I did my normal 30 minute walk. There was a breeze blowing that helped me cool down.

It's a No-Go

Have you ever had one of those mornings when you know you need to get up and run but your brain can't talk you into it? Unfortunately, this was one of those mornings for me.

Normally I like to get up on Sunday a.m.'s and run before going to church. But this morning my brain refused to tell my legs to get up. Was it the fact that my legs were enjoying the soft cushiness of my bed? Or was it that my legs didn't want to get up and be subjected to pounding first thing this a.m.? Or could it have been that I just felt like being lazy this a.m. and was genuinely tired?

Well either way the legs won and I enjoyed a restful morning in my bed until eight o'clock. I haven't slept that late in I don't remember when.

Even though I enjoyed it thoroughly, now I am sitting here as I type this, feeling oh so guilty. I think it is terrible when we runners put this much pressure on ourselves. (or maybe other runners don't and it's just me).

Oh well, I guess I can chose to run this afternoon in the hot and very humid day. Or maybe I'll just do an hour walk with my hubbie.

Whatever your choice of exercise be today I hope you enjoy it more than I know I will mine.

New Update from this past Saturdays Race

Somehow I just found online the official finish results for Run with the Raiders race. I finished 26th out of 136 runners with a 7:15 pace. Nice to see!