Miss me?

Holy moly, it's been a while....over two months. A lot has happened and then again a lot is still the same. I am still running, I am still writing my dissertation, I am still doing a lot of the same things. I have run two races this Spring. The first was the St. Patrick's 8K with HW. My time was 45:16, an improvement over last year and my last 5 miler back in November. I was hoping to break 45 minutes but I stayed out late the night before and the wind was a bit harsh on race morning. On April 1, a group of us ran the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. The race went really well, better than I could have imagined. It was overcast and cool and the rain held off. We started out slow and each mile got faster (negative splits). CR and I ran together right up until the very end. I finished in 1:34:28. I am proud of my time...9:27 minutes/mile pace. Secretly, though, I was hoping to do 9:15 min/mile but I don't think I am there yet. I am most proud of my girlfriends, especially MP. This was her day. She had not trained due to some leg problems. However, she still showed up (which I respected) to race and not only started, but finished and RAN THE WHOLE WAY! I have always known she is determined and can do anything she sets her mind to. She truly was an inspiration to me that day. HW trained for this race, she set her goal a long time ago before Christmas. Her discipline was admirable especially during times when her life was very stressful with papers due, etc. She always meets her specified deadline and I respect that so much. CR has been my running buddy since the beginning. This girl amazes me in her passion for not only running, but life. She is always wanting to improve and craves learning more about running, eating healthy, etc. I thought I was the only one that thirsted for knowledge like that and spent my lunch hour scouring the internet for running articles, etc. but she gives me a run for my money! I am so blessed to have these women in my life. They are my best friends in DC and are my family away from home.

Ok, enough sappy stuff...I ran about 5 miles today on the treadmill. Did a bit of a tempo run where I increased my speed until about 30 minutes in the run and then decreased until the end. Towards the end it was tough to keep going, but I am glad to say I logged the miles. I am nearing the end of my training program, the half-marathon is less than three weeks away. I am looking foward to it, but most of all because my mom is walking and brother is running in it. I keep saying that after this, I will stop running so much and do something different. I already wonder if I will truly do that. This past weekend, I ran 11 miles on Sat. morning with CR. We ran Mt. Vernon and it had snowed the night before. It was cold but one of my best runs. My body felt so good and I realized that I LOVE running (ok, well, maybe I should be calling it jogging)....I love every dimension of it.