Thanksgiving Day 5k

Hello all,

Hopefully your long weekend was refreshing gave you some momentum to forge into the holiday season! I know that it was MUCH needed personally, but it has been difficult to get my head out of the break-time fog!

While in KC, I managed to rest up, eat some DELICIOUS sushi at RA in OP, eat yummy thanksgiving-time food, (when else does one eat stuffing?), go shopping, create/finalize my Christmas list, and run a little 5K with mi familia!

My bro came down from Des Moines, IA and I was psyched to have some healthy sibling rivalry. Secretly, I thought I would smoke Sam-bo....but we talked about it ahead of time and decided to stay together and finish together...we were both going at about a 8:45/mile pace. BUT, little Sambo, who's not so little anymore, decided to really pick it up the last 1.5. I debated if I could keep up with him, but then thought, "wait a second, I should atleast try to stay with him!" So, I did (kinda) and ran my fastest mile EVER 7:55! He still finished 6 seconds before me, but I definitely blame the race and crowded roadways. I resign that there were too many people for too small of a roadway. I spent most of my time dodging people instead of finding any semblance of a stride. It was a fun way to start the holiday of eating, and good family bonding time! The only bummer was that I couldn't find Ben or Maris to chat with at the finish! Too many peeps!

Let's see...what's next on the race calendar? :)

It's been too long!

Hello Old Friend!

It has been too long since my last post and I've missed blogging dearly! I feel disconnected from an old friend, and many old friends thanks to my millions of fans and devoted readers..ha..ha:)

Anyway, for me this blog feels right when it's about running in some sense of the word. So allow me to recap life since the marathon!

I took about 3 weeks (the remainder of October, post-race) off completely from running. I did other forms of physical activity, but really took a break from lacing up my running kicks. I needed a break physically, mentally, emotionally, and physically! My body was at it's peak of injury-pain when it was time to run in Chicago. Looking back, "bad-timing" doesn't even come close to summarizing the coincidence. My IT band needed some rest, and I backed off, and invested in a foam roller, and have been rolling my way to a "hurts-so-good" recovery. The foam roller puts allows you to use your body weight as a force so the muscle and tendon really get some firm pressure to work out lactic acid, and tightness. At times, it's killer and I make really silly faces while breathing in short gasps. Jack thinks it's play time when I'm on the floor, and my sound effects don't help, but I know what that time is for!

Taken back to running 2-3 times a week. Saturday's just don't feel right if I'm not on the trail for a little bit. I think I've realized that I truly am a runner because last Saturday I slept in (till 8, ha!) and got up, quickly hurried some coffee a' brewin' then made some breakfast. I was thinking, "do I want to eat now, or run?" Well, the agenda was pretty open for the day, so I decided on some yummy cereal and then revisit the running option. The stresses of last week were feeling pretty heavy, and I wondered if the trail would suffice the intensity....it did! I felt right on the trail. I felt like the wide open view was soothing to my soul. Space created peace and it was addicting! I had intended to do 4 miles (farthest distance since the marathon) and felt so good, I went 4.5! My knee (IT band) was hurting the last mile, so I slowed the pace and paused to stretch. It felt right. The pressures from people, places, broken things= dryer :( were a distant memory for a while. Ahh, fresh air, delightful; cleansing.

Yep, I'm a runner. Life, and the demands and pressures of it all, make more sense on the trail. I also just completed this book:
So inspiring, it could be considered, "performance enhancing." You should check it out!

Next read:
So, I'm baaaaaack! Enjoy your Thursday, I hear it's going to be great running weather this afternoon in the Manhattan area:)

Shelb