Upper Arlington Memorial Day 5 Miler

Another day, another great race!

Dad and I met at the race site about 45 minutes before the start time. We picked up our ankle chips and milled around with the other runners. I was a little annoyed by the chip because it velcro'ed around our ankle instead of being laced through our shoe laces. At first it felt a little clunky and unbalanced but by the time we got up to the starting line, I forgot it was even there. We started at the back of the pack again but I think I managed to keep up with a good portion of the pack for most of the race, which I was very happy about!

The course wound through the streets of this local neighborhood and many people stood on their lawns to cheer the runners on. Some even had their sprinklers on and facing the street which was MUCH appreciated seeing as how it was about 79 degrees and 90% humidity. I was dripping with sweat before we even started so by mile 4 I was a big sloppy mess. There were two water stops on the course which surprised me (the fact that there were 4, yes f.o.u.r., for the Race for the Cure surprised me as well!) since there was no mention of that in the race information. I don't know if the water stops are just common knowledge for these things or what. I guess I still have a lot to learn!

Did I mention it was all uphill? Yeah. The first mile was pretty painless as most first miles are but by mile 4 I was getting a little pissed off. Why couldn't they run this thing backwards? I guess downhills are just as painful as the uphills but for crap's sake I was just not ready for that. Luckily, the last mile was flat and fast so I finished strong. I don't know my (or my dad's) official time yet but by my watch it was pretty close to 50:20 or so. I'm pretty happy with that!

Back to training....

Minor blip

It's been a bad week over here in my little corner of the world which means a bad week for running. More often than not, whatever is going on in my personal life reflects in the quality and frequency of my runs. I feel sluggish and cut corners, which only hurts my training in the long run. Since I'm not yet starting to train for the marathon (trying to maintain a good base) I've found myself pushing running to the back burner on more than one occasion in order to take care of life-situation issues.

This happens. Life happens. We can't always predict what life will throw at us and have to take it as it comes, adjusting our expectations as we go.

Fortunately, whatever problems I had this week (one major one involving the possibility of not even training for the marathon at all) have resolved themselves and I feel confident that moving forward with my plans is the right thing to do. I don't mean to be so vague; I'm just not sure who reads this and I'm not crazy about airing all my dirty laundry out on this here internet thingy.

So. Seeing as how my train has not been derailed, I have an 8 mile run planned for bright and early tomorrow morning. Sunday, rest. Then my dad and I are running a 5 mile race on Memorial Day. I love that he's found an interest in racing with me. He's always been a runner (remember, he took me out for my first run when I was a freshman in high school) but we've never done races together before. The Race for the Cure was great and I'm looking forward to Monday and many more races after that!

Race for a Cure

My dad and I ran the Komen Columbus Race for the Cure bright and early yesterday on a beautiful Saturday morning. 37,000 other walkers and runners joined us on the road, moving our feet for a cause that is close to the hearts of countless women. Survivors dotted the crowds, easily identified by their special pink t-shirts. Many cried tears of accomplishment and triumph as they crossed the finish line through their own special "pink" finish chute.

This race was unlike any other race I've ever participated in. There were bands on every corner, biker gangs, highschool cheerleaders, and runners/walkers of every shape, size and nationality out there showing their support for people afflicted with this disease. I didn't even care what my time was (I think it was around 30:45, but I can't say for sure) and didn't even notice the hills (for the most part). I felt extremely grateful to be running that morning in a white t-shirt and inspired by those there in pink.

Yikes!

I'm getting ready to register for my first marathon and after I do, I think I might puke.