Time To Run!!

Long Sleeve Hoodie for this race!!

Fall is here! And it's running season! For the first time in many years my knees aren't screaming with every run and I'm looking forward to running some races! (Plus it will keep up my running fitness for tri season next year!).

I did the Autumn Breeze 5K yesterday! Had a pretty good race. The weather looked a little gloomy and stormy on the drive to the race. The temperature actually dropped a couple degrees by the start and the wind kicked up a little but it was pretty close to perfect running weather.

I started the race with gloves but ditched them within the first mile. (Love, love, love my cheap Target stretch to fit gloves that I pick up at the end of the season - I get them for about $1 a piece, perfect for running and you don't feel bad if you toss them.)

There was a 10K also that morning and they started 5 minutes before we did. Caught a bunch of the slower runners and walkers before the first mile mark too. A little annoying because they were walking 3 and 4 abreast taking up the entire half of the road, but I ran around them. A girl I coach swim with ran the 10K and she expressed the same irritation. One of the interesting things I noticed was something that one of the other runners that I work with mentioned the other day. Some of the walkers look like they are really hating being out there - like REALLY hating it. Heads down walking super, super slow - absolutely miserable. I wonder if they got talked into doing the event and really didn't want to. Food for thought.

My Garmin was dead when I tried to start it on the drive over, so I ran by feel.  I did see one time clock and thought it was around mile 1 it said 12 minutes and change. 7 something pace. I finished in 23:06 and watched the clock tick off the seconds - wish I could have gone under 23:00 - it was a 7:27 pace. Also don't know if the course distance was accurate since I didn't have my Garmin, but I felt like I ran much easier than the Firecracker 5K (in the same neighborhood). I don't seem to have that recorded but I'm pretty sure I ran 7:30's that day. I finished 4th Overall Female and 12th Overall - won my age group!!

Anyway... it was a nice morning! I like running on the Sportspectrum Running Team! Performance pressure never hurt anyone right?? Got the Great Pumpkin Run next Saturday!

And the following is the Race For The Cure Shreveport. Belk (Bill works for Belk!) is one of the big sponsors for that race - Belk supports the Komen Foundation!! I'm raising money for Breast Cancer Research - here is a link if you'd like to donate!! RACE FOR THE CURE! The last time I was in a city that had a Race For The Cure is when I ran on Helen's Hero's, a friend of mine in Dallas who is a Survivor! This run will be for her and my friend Deanna from Hattiesburg, who is also a Survivor!!

That is Deanna on the left - this is when my friends drove down and
surprised me atthe finish of the Rock N Roll New Orleans race all wearing our
 "We're All In This Together"Tshirts!