Real quick-like...

I finished my 5k this morning in :30:14. That made me happy. The 10k last weekend took me 1:07:34 (although I heard that they mismeasured the course, and it was a little longer than 6.2. I'm sticking to that story...) I've been getting down on myself lately about my race times - I've definitely lost some speed since the summer, and I wasn't fast to begin with. I have to keep reminding myself that I do it for fun, and that plenty of people never sign up for a race at all, so I should still be proud of my accomplishments.
That being said, Luis and I are going to start doing some speed work this week. I want to run my next 10k in under an hour, dammit. :)

It was lovely being off work today - I got a lot done. I ran a race, washed seven loads of laundry, did the dishes, washed my car, went to the store, and I'm just getting ready to finish up my care plan for obstetrics. I've been super busy the past few weeks, and sleep deprived to boot. Last weekend I worked all weekend, and also wrote two papers. I was up until about 3:30 on Sunday night finishing up, then I had class on Monday, and clinicals on Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 6:30 am. There just hasn't been any time to catch up on sleep. However, I'm off tomorrow, and I can finally sleep in! (If you call my house before 9 am tomorrow, I will hunt you down where you live.) Of course, when I do get up, I have another paper to write. Oh, well. Can't win 'em all...

I'm a runner.

"The difference between a jogger and a runner is the entry blank."

~ Dr. George Sheehan

Tomorrow I'm running a 10k at the Blue Mountain Clinic All Women's Run. This will be my fourth road race, and my second 10k (6.2 miles). I signed up with the same long-legged friend with whom I did the Roots Run, but this time with the good sense to start farther back in the pack than her and a plan to meet up at the finish line.

It's supposed to be cloudy and 37° at race time. Here's hoping for a little sun...

Mileage.

Awww... look - I got a certificate!

(Actually, when I logged in today, I'd run twenty-two runs, with a 110.5 miles total. Since June 8th. Awesome.)

Ten miles!

Yesterday I ran ten miles. That's the farthest I've ever run - I'm pretty pleased with myself. :)

I've added the handy nikeplus run log onto my sidebar. I used it once before in a post, but I didn't realize that it was a fancy one that will update with my new information all by itself. Kind of a cool little gadget, even though it clashes pretty badly with my page. So now, if you feel so inclined, you can track my running progress.

More race and running news:

Here is a link to the article in today's Missoulian about the race. There were over 3,000 participants this year. That's not too shabby in a town of less than 60,000. It's great to live in a place that has so many fit, active people.

I was number 128 out of the 208 female 10k finishers. I'm really proud of that. Not in the top 50%, but close enough to that I will be next year. :)

I run 30 to 45 minutes a few times a week, (or as often as my school schedule allows), but I've never done any actual "training". But, this week Luis is going to help me personalize a training schedule, so that I can be injury-free and prepared for the half marathon in July. I've started reading Jeff Galloway's "Marathon," and the schedules he suggests aren't that much more than what I'm doing - I just need to start increasing the distance on one of my runs each week to start preparing for a longer distance race. Time to recalibrate my nike + ipod kit! (I haven't had time to get to a track to recalibrate it since I got new running shoes a while back, but it's going to make my training so much easier to track and record...) Since I have plenty of spare time this summer (no summer classes - woohoo!), I'm going to go all out - speed work, hills, all of it.

I'm psyched.

Booyah!

I ran my first 10k today.

I finished in 1:02.

I rule.

______________________________

I figured on twelve minute miles plus some cushion for walking and water, which I estimated would put me at the finish in just under 1:20. Instead I averaged ten minute miles. And I did the first one in :09:15. Pretty respectable numbers for my first race. I'm not breaking any records, but I'm not last either. :) I'll post a link to the times when they're available.

I was waiting until after this race to decide for sure, but now it's official. I'm going to run the Missoula half marathon in July!

Feeling the crunch.

I'm in the throes of end-of-semester madness. This is without a doubt the most pressure I've felt ever at the end of a semester. I have several projects and papers that came due at the same time, and poor planning on my part has me scrambling to finish some independent clinical hours that I need for a class. Ick. Time management has never been my strong suit, but I'm working on it. Better luck next semester, I guess...

On a much more exciting note, tomorrow is my first ever road race! I'm running 10k in the Riverbank Run. I'm not fast, but I'm enthusiastic. The weather is supposed to be sunny and 75°. It's going to be a great day. :)