My best run (of this year)…

 

 

In my alternate Facebook life we were challenged to do a virtual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day. I laced up, went out, and ran my 5K in a decent amount of time. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to get out of my over-crowded with family and food house. It felt good to not be winded after one mile.

 

 On Saturday I was running a 5K for real, my first race since April and I actually had a time goal in mind. I had done this course before, so I knew that it was hilly and going to be a tough run. It was very, very cold (27 degrees) at the start of the race. On the first turn I rolled my ankle and was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to go on, but I did. I can honestly say that I never once thought about stopping or slowing down (except for the drink station, I always walk through those. Hal Higdon says it’s okay). When I saw the sign for 2 miles I knew I had it. I didn’t look at my watch because I was afraid that I might be going too slow to hit my goal of under 35:00. When I got to the 3 mile mark and had to run uphill for the last part of the race, I didn’t care, I felt AWESOME! I haven’t felt awesome on a run since January of 2011. I crossed the finish line in 34:53, under my time goal!

 

The other great thing about Saturday was it was the first race my husband, my son and I had all ran since March of 2011. We didn’t bring the baby because of the cold and I didn’t want to push that damn jogging stroller up those hills.

 

Yesterday on my first week of half marathon training I was running and I finally had a happy moment to hold onto, that wasn’t from 2 or 3 years ago. I cherish my good run memories and they really motivate me to keep going or go faster. I want to get back to the point of where running doesn’t feel like a chore, and I think I might be on my way!