March Recap

So, I know that it has been forever since my last post.  I cannot explain how crazy life has been the last few weeks.  I have been slammed at work, and trying to keep my running going with all the other things going on in my life has been hard.  But I've done it!  After I do my run today, today will make day 80 of my running streak!  And on Day 62, I broke 200 miles!  I have wanted to give up so many times, but I haven't let myself yet.  And usually on the days that I really want to quit, I'll force myself out there and after the first mile, I am so glad that I did.

So for a very brief recap of my running highlights over the last couple of weeks...

On March 1, I ran the Beignet Bash 5K here in Huntsville.  A friend (you know who you are) was supposed to join me, but she had to cancel at the last minute.  It should have been a new PR, but I was not on my game that morning.  I have kept my new 5K time under 30 minutes though.  I finished that one in 28:46 for an average pace of 9:16.

Then, on March 15, I ran the Rocket Run 10 Miler in Mooresville, AL with one of my partners.  We finished in 1:44 for an average pace of 10:16.  It made me feel good about my upcoming half in a couple of weeks.

I followed that with a 10 mile run the following Friday night.  It was tough and required a couple of stops to catch my breath and not throw up.  However, I never stopped for more than a few seconds, and my running accumulated to 10 miles in 1:37.23 for an average pace of 9:44 (which probably explains my struggle.)  This was by far my fastest long run yet!  I don't want to get my hopes up for the half because I never know what sort of issues I may be dealing with on race day, but I am wishing this is a sign.

As I was finishing this particular long run, I had a welcome committee at my "finish line."

This particular track and park are where Fleet Feet does their fun runs and training, so there are markings all along the course.  This one is my favorite.

Sometimes the message is simple.

Finally, this past weekend, I was in Birmingham and participated with my friend, April, in the Mountain Athletics Running/Peak Bagging clinic at Railroad Park.  It was sponsored by the local Mountain High Outfitters and The North Face.  I thought it was going to be a clinic on running form, but they combined the two sports into one serious workout.  I could barely keep up.  It turns out that I am very weak (okay, maybe this is not a surprise).  April, on the other hand, has been doing cross fit for a year now, and she was killing it!  The clinic was Saturday afternoon, and I can still feel the pain in every muscle of my body!  There was no long run this weekend.  So, I guess my taper will start a little earlier than planned.  Hopefully the strength training will step up my game though!  And we got a bunch of cool swag at the clinic as well.

Okay, that should bring us up to date.  I'm sorry I let things go for so long.  I'm going to try to get back on track now!