Grantham Run for the Rec 5k!

I've happily and successfully completed my second 5k! The past few weeks, I've had some great runs. I've been doing longer distances and kept a pretty good pace. My longer runs usually have me running 9 minute miles, but that's fine with me as long as I can get through the distance. I've been averaging 15 to 20 miles a week, which seems to be a nice healthy balance. I've kept up with taking days off, because I've realized as much as I love running and hate taking a day off, my body needs the rest and I run better when I balance it out.

I woke up this morning a little after 6 am, already thinking about the race. I wasn't planning to get up until well after 7, but I usually wake up early when I know I have something exciting going on. I spent about an hour on the couch, watching re-runs of the OC and reading. It was a very relaxing morning. A little after 7, I made some coffee and had a bagel.

I wasn't feeling as pumped for the 5k as I was last time, partly due to the weather and partly due to a late night last night. I ended up being DD for a friend, which I didn't mind, except this morning on my way to the 5k, I saw that someone had hit my car. At this time, no one has come forward and I'm still steaming about it.

Anyways, I had breakfast and continued to relax. I left the house a little after 8 and made my way to Grantham. Its about a 25 minute drive into the country. On my way, I noticed that the mountain had its first white covering. We got some snow yesterday and it definitely stuck on the higher grounds.

I got to the race location around 9 and immediately saw Chris. We ran the last 5k together. And when I say together, I usually follow him and then towards the end he takes off. I did a lot more warming up today, since it was pretty cold. About 40 degrees out, but with the wind chill, definitely in the 30s. We also ran part of the course, because neither of us knew the route.

A little before 10, everyone lined up. I learned from the last race to get a good front spot, which I did again this time. At 10am, we took off. The first half-mile is all up hill, which is a hard start. But I pushed hard to the top, and I pushed hard. About half way up the hill, I figured out I was in 7th position behind 6 guys, so I was the first girl (I kept this as the motivation for the race). At the top, you turn off onto a wide, steep downhill dirt path. It was a rough run on the legs with the terrain. I was definitely afraid of either slipping on the wet gravel or twisting an ankle. The rest of the run until the half way point was a dirt road.

At the water stop, everyone turned around and ran the same route, except this time, you had to run up the rough dirt path. It was the worst. I've run hills, but this was hard and it was a long hill. I had a few moments that I thought I wasn't going to make it, but I pushed. I could hear women behind me and I was afraid they were going to pass me. I made it to the top, still pushing. The rest was a half-mile down hill on pavement. A little down the hill, SHE passed me! She congratulated me on the pace I kept but she perused right by. I was irritated that I let a woman pass me, but either way I was feeling good about my run. I kept close to her for the remainder of the run.

At the bottom of the hill, I heard someone else behind me, and I wasn't going to let it happen. I knew it was another woman and I was determined to keep my position. And I did. I flew to the finish line. I finished 9th overall, 2nd for women, and 1st for women in my age group. My time was 25:14, which was a minute slower than my last 5k but given the brutal hills, I am definitely happy with my performance.

Overall, I'm really happy that I've taken up running and stuck with it. There are days where I definitely don't want to do it, but I do. Its not just physically beneficial, its definitely beneficial to my sanity as well. Running gives me time to think about everything, and it keeps me focused on something other than the actual run.

Next up might be the Monster Dash on Halloween. Its another 5k but everyone runs in costumes. Its a debatable run, since I don't want to push myself too much. I have registered for the Sunapee Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and I'm trying to recruit more family and Appleseed team members to do it too!

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

This week's been good. Been really busy at work, which is a nice change since it was so quiet this summer.

I started the process of applying for new jobs. I haven't led on to my boss that I am looking but with the summer work coming to an end, I have no choice. I've applied for two this week and will keep applying until I find something.

I've got a busy Columbus Day weekend planned with tons of work, and a few social plans here and there. I'm working two boats on Saturday and two boats on Sunday. Makes for long days, but the money's good and hey who couldn't use some extra cash. Secretly I'm planning on finally getting a new laptop and possibly an ipod touch after this weekend.

Running has been somewhat painful lately. I don't know if sometimes I've just pushed it too hard or what, but about once a month I have some ailment that causes pain when running. Right now its my left calf. Last month, I had the same problem with shin splints. I figure I'll take it easy for a few days maybe just do small runs every other day and pick back up next week.

I'm scheduled to run my second 5k next Saturday. Its another small fun run. My friend Chris is running this one again too, so I'm happy I'll have a running buddy, even if I'm just chasing his dust the whole run. I also signed up for the Sunapee Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I'm hoping that more of Team Appleseed will sign up too.

Its about a month until my swearing in and my parents' trip to NH. I'm more excited to see them than I am for the swearing in. The last time I saw my mom we were both 30 plus pounds heavier, so I think it'll be great to see each other so thin.

My wise words of advice for the week: if you're not happy, you're the only one that change that. Go out and do something about it!

73 Miles!

Seriously, I've been tracking my running, including mileage, times, and my average running time for a mile. Over the course of September, I ran 73.13 miles! I wasn't expecting it to be that much, but I'm excited just the same.

I'd like to hit 80 for October but if I don't, I wouldn't be let down. I feel a whole lot healthier these days, and some days I can't believe what I looked like and felt like a year ago.

Besides running and spending time with friends, life has been pretty quiet lately. I've been meeting up with friends a lot more, which is nice, but I realized the toll of my social life when it took me over 3 hours to clean my apartment yesterday. This weekend its all about working, and getting my resume in order to begin the arduous process of job hunting.