Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated…
“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
-John Bingham
So… I come around to things a little slowly… But I just found this website, where you can type in your zipcode and it will tell you all the races in your area… for the whole year. So… needless to say, I’m obsessed. Or dedicated 🙂
The Elizabeth 8k was this weekend. I didn’t do a whole lot of preparation for this one, hydration-wise, fuel intake or mentally. I just didn’t think about it much. That’s not to say that I wasn’t excited. I just didn’t want to over think it. For a few reasons: 1. It would be my shortest distance race so far, so I should be fine. and 2. my pacer wasn’t going to be there, and none of my team was actually racing. A lot of one2tri racing team members were there, kind of using the race as a training run, or even a warm up, but none of the ladies from #iamone2tri were actually racing. My coach and Tiffany were volunteering and two of my bosses from the club were course monitors (thanks TJ and Beacham :)) and that was about all the support I needed.
So, I ran with a friend, who is not on the team, and not really an avid runner. And I was back and forth on what to do the night before. She had told me that she knew I could outrun her, and that she was fine with me leaving her if I needed to pace ahead. So, that option is on the table. And I would have been perfectly content to run an 8k alone, it’s not so long of a distance that I would be worried about my own pacing, and we weren’t out in the woods, so I wasn’t (too) worried about getting lost… (I’m navigationally challenged, especially when running…) But thinking back to the trail run with Tiffany, I KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tiff could have finished that race in half the time it took me, but she never left my side. Not once. And had she, I might have sat down in the woods and cried.
I made the decision that I would pace for my friend, knowing that we might be a little slower than my goal time, but also, not really worrying about it.
The run itself was fun. I really enjoyed the course, it was well marked and monitored. It winded through neighborhoods and there were tons of people out on their porches, cheering us on. (I like to pretend they’re all out there in support of me… which is why they probably think I’m nuts when I yell thank you as I run by, each and every one…) The weather was perfect. Not cold, not hot. Threatening rain later in the day, so the air was cooled off, and my allergies didn’t even really get to me.
I honestly think the thing I was most worried about was the fact that I changed my running gear up… Different pants, different shirt with no pocket for my phone or anything, couldn’t find my favorite socks, and I got a new handheld water bottle. Last minute I decided I didn’t need the water bottle, and completely forgot that the reason I got that specific one was because the pocket on it was big enough to carry my phone. So… no phone. Which meant no Strava GPS mapping, which I was completely bummed about. Seriously. I was looking forward to seeing the results from each mile again. Cest la vie.
“We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves…The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, ‘You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable.”
-Sir Roger Bannister, first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile
The run went remarkably well, and I was thrilled with the amount of energy I had afterwards. Not to mention I had a huge burst of energy right before the finish line which resulted in my first SPRINT over the line, which felt awesome. My goal for the race was under an hour and I made it in 58:19. I know I could have made a better time, but I enjoyed the run, I enjoyed the atmosphere, and I had all the energy in the world after, which allowed to hang out and mingle with my buddies 🙂
“What distinguishes those of us at the starting line from those of us on the couch is that we learn through running to take what the days gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate.”
-John Bingham, running writer and speaker
So, I spent a majority of my morning finding other races to register for. Because I’ll never get a PR if I don’t do more than one 🙂 Got a pretty good line up. Obviously I won’t do them all, but it’s nice to know what’s coming up and what I CAN do if I WANT to 🙂
4/28 CPCC Skyline Run 5k
5/5 5k Run/Walk For Clean Air
5/11 Right Moves for Youth Twilight 5k
5/19 Riverbound Race Series 5k/10k
6/6 Let Me Know Grand Slam 5k
6/9 Splash Dash 5k/10k
6/23 Summer Breeze 5k
7/3 Firecracker 5k
7/4 Run for Your Life 4 miler
7/13 Streetlight 5k
7/21 Riverbound Race Series 5k/15k
8/4 Blue Points 5k
8/18 Yioussa Greek Festival 5k
9/15 Hit the Brixx 5k/10k
9/22 Riverbound Race Series 5k/Half Marathon
9/22 Color Run (DC)
10/21 Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon
10/27 Color Run (Charlotte)