Race Season

Race season is upon us, runner friends!

I kicked off my race season with a 5 mile Shamrock Shuffle in Glens Falls, NY. I wasn't looking to "race race" this one, but use it as a nice last weekend-workout while tapering. However, I ran this race last year and it was bitter cold and I wasn't feeling well. So, I did want to better my time.

And better it I did! The official race time ended up being 51:54. That puts me at a 10:23 average mile, with over a minute off my time from last year. And... I was reigning it in. I was constantly reminding myself (as i continuted to buzz by people) to SLOW DOWN. I even resisted the urge to chick a couple of old guys in the final stretch. I did not want to over push it and wear myself out. This was a TAPER run. But, this time puts me at the FASTEST per mile average of any road race I've run yet! This is super confidence building to me because I was running at a comfortable pace the whole time, I really felt like the miles were clicking by. This felt so much better than last year! I LOVE seeing improvements in my running. It's really starting to feel more natural (well, the shorter distances at least).

I did have some ankle pain after the race, which concerns me a bit. But I'm feeling okay now, I'm paying close attention to it, and I am going to keep up my regimen of lower leg and foot stretching and rolling out that arch with a tennis and/or golf ball (really helps!).

This Sunday brings me to my first big race of the season! The Oleksak Half Marathon in Westfield, MA. I am so ready! I don't feel nervous or burnt out like I have in previous training cycles! I'm just excited!!!

I don't really have any time goals for this race. I've stated before that this year is about building endurance as opposed to speed. I'm using this race as a building block for the main event (MARATHON!)

I would like to finish around 2:30. I'm a bit worried about the hills as I haven't done much hill training this cycle. But, and i'll credit weight lifting with this, I have found that I feel much stronger running hills now than I have in the past. Overall, I just hoping for a solid race!

Good luck to all of you racing this weekend as well!