High Country and Rescue Squad 5K's

It's a two for one special :) I'm not exceptionally proud of my performance at either of these races, which I guess is why I haven't written about them until now.

The High Country 5K was in Birmingham, AL. It was supposed to be a group affair, but I ended up running it alone because my buddy had injuries. I really tried to start out slow, but the first 1.5 miles was all downhill. Yeah, you know what that means. The last 1.5 was uphill. It killed me. I mean, brutal. The highlight of the day was getting to meet Jeff Galloway. He is a pretty awesome guy. And, it felt pretty good to have someone of that caliber tell me that I'm doing good :)

The Rescue Squad 5K was one that I found out about couple of days before the race. I hadn't planned on running it, but it was local and I couldn't help myself. It was completely run the the state park near my house. I run there a lot on the trails, but never thought to run the roads. The turnout was VERY small. (probably due to the lack of exposure) It was a cool race though. I'm getting to know some of the local runners, all of whom are faster than me. Every one of them was waiting at the finish line to cheer me on and give high fives at the end. It was a fun race, but one of my slowest. very hilly. I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Yeah, I need to do some hill work. I scored hardware though. Possibly by default, but it's ok. I got my butt up early on a Saturday to run in the rain. I'll take it.

The March - 5K

The forecast all week has been rain, rain, rain, so it was no surprise that it was raining this morning. I don't mind running in it though, so it didn't bother me one bit. Apparently not everyone feels the same way, because there were a bunch of people that didn't race because of it.

I had mixed emotions about this race. On one hand, this is the course that I PR'd on last time I ran it. On the other hand, I seriously bombed the last 5K I raced. I didn't know if I should be hopeful or not. It is an out and back, on a country road overlooking mostly farmland. It was really neat today with a layer of fog on the rolling hills. I got a chuckle as I ran by a cow field, and they mooed at me like they recognized me as one of their own :) This happened on both of my trips by, once right when the leader was passing my on his way back. (He ended up finishing in 14:33. holy crap)

Anyway, I forgot my garmin, so I didn't have any gadgets to play with. I just ran without any concept of how fast, slow, far, good, bad, etc I was doing. I don't think I've ever raced without it, so it was a strange feeling. I kept thinking about my last race and how I just wanted to beat that time.

Well, I ended up coming in 6 minutes ahead of my last race and it really boosted my confidence for next week's race in Alabama. I also won 3rd in my age group. Granted, there weren't many people there, but who cares? I got up early, and ran my butt off in the rain. I'll take the medal :)

angel falls overlook

it was an awesome day for a hike. about 55 and sunny. we have never been to the big south fork, so we decided to try a hike up there. i picked it out, and we headed out as soon as greg got home from work. it took about 1.5 hours to get to the trailhead, which is a little less than getting to the smokies. it was a great park, with a lot less people.

the trail was mostly flat for about 2 miles, and followed the river. the water is high, so it was gorgeous. we came to the end of the line, and ended up taking a side trail that was NOT part of the trail that we were supposed to be on. all in all, i think we went about half, to a mile out of our way. oh well. we found the correct trail again, and started the "climb" portion. about a mile of decent uphill. when you are coming up the trail, you see the bluffs that you know you are going to have to climb, and it's a little intimidating, but you actually climb up the backside, so it's not so bad. the view from the top was great. you get a full view of the river that you hiked along most of the way. it is an out and back trail, so you get to see the same scenery on the way back. the return trip went much faster as it was downhill, and we knew where we were going.

i'm totally worn out and starving, so i know it was a good day. all in all, i think we went about 7 miles with our little "side trip". great hike though, and i'd like to see it again when the trees are green.

let's try this again

well, i'm kind of disappointed that i let my blog go so long without posting. it's not surprising though, as i haven't really been running, so there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. i go to work. go to school. do homework. sleep. now i run again too. i've been dragging my butt out of bed at 5:30 and running. it feels good to be doing it again. even if i'm heavier than i would like, and it's harder than i remember it being last time i did it. i'm having some foot issues too, so i hope that doesn't become a big problem. all in all, i'm feeling hopeful again.

i have something to look forward to. i signed up for a local 5K on march 28th, and another the weekend after in birmingham, al. i'm finally getting to meet up with one of my running buddies and do a race together. she claims to be as slow as me, so it should be fun to have some company that i don't have to chase. after the race, we are getting cleaned up and going to see the broadway musical, wicked. i've been wanting to see it for a long time, so i can't wait.

even though my running was practically nonexistent, i have been doing some hiking. this is the best time of year to get outside in tennessee, before it gets blazing hot and the ticks come out. we hiked to northrup falls a couple of times in the last month. and last weekend did part of the chimney tops trail in the smokies. we didn't make the summit because there was too much ice on the trail. who would have thought that crampons would be useful in the south?

anyway, i'm back at it and thought i would write it down to make it official. :)

Turkey Trot 5K

Just a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have believed you if you told me I would be getting up at 5:30 am to run on Thanksgiving morning. Thanksgiving consisted of sleeping in, overeating, and watching the Lions game. This year, I did none of the above.

I have really been working hard leading up to this race. I felt confident and was very excited about it. We picked up Michael on our way out of town, and were going to meet up with Vera, Aaron and Carolyn once we got there. Vera got pulled over, and apparently harassed the cop, so she and Aaron were later than expected :)

I started out the race feeling really good. The first mile went by quick and painless. I started to slow down during the second, and the third I just fell apart. I don't know what happened. There were a couple decent sized hills and they just wiped me out. The last quarter mile or so was downhill, so that was nice. Aaron came and ran me in at the end, and I swear I almost hyperventilated :) His slow is my fast. He finished in 23:something, which was about 10 minutes faster than the last 5K I ran with him! He's lost 50lbs since then and is really kicking butt. I'm very proud :) Greg also came and joined us near the finish line. It was like I had a couple of my own Richard Simmons cheering me on. So, I ended up finishing with my worst 5K time ever. I guess there's nowhere to go but up from here, right?

After the race, we went to IHOP for breakfast. Eggs Benedict baby!

another running revelation

in light of a recent discussion with a runner that i have just recently gotten to know, and already have great respect for, i have been rethinking my entire running outlook.

we were talking about how he is a time driven person, while i am not. my goals have always been just to finish. i realized i have become one of those people who gives everyone an "A" for effort (whether they deserve it or not), just so nobody gets their feelings hurt. i loathe those people. if something is worthwile, it's going to take work.

so i did an honest evaluation of myself. why don't i use time goals? am i afraid of disappointment? yes. am i scared of failure? yes. upon further review, i also discovered that because i never feel that i will be "good" at running, i haven't really been taking it/myself seriously. no comittment, no disappointment.

the conclusion.... just because i'm not fast, doesn't mean that i shouldn't work and push myself to be better. yes, my time goals may be laughable to some faster people but who cares. there is no good reason that i shouldn't set and work towards them. yes, there will be disappointments. get over it. keep going.

thanks kal :)

in the mood for change

I've been in one of those moods lately. I don't know what is triggering it, but I'm starting to get back into the mindset that I had back when I started running. I'm tired of the way things have been. I'm tired of being in a downward spiral and feeling like there's nothing I can do about it. It's time to take control again and shape up. No more blaming my issues on medical problems. No more excuses. My real moment of truth came the other day when I saw myself in a picture and hated what I saw. I'm finally healthy again, so I can run. When I started running in the first place, I used the word 'discipline' as my mantra. If I didn't want to get out of bed - 'discipline'. When I wanted to eat something I shouldn't - 'discipline'. It worked for me, and somewhere alone the line, I've lost that. I'm determined to make 2009 a year for change. I want to do a triathlon this year, as well as some road races with my running friends. I have found that runners are the greatest group of people around, and if I surround myself with them I have a much greater chance of reaching my goals. In general we all share the same struggles and victories. Other runners just "get it".
So, thank you to all the special people in my life who support, encourage, and give me a kick in the butt when I need it. I appreciate you <3