Friday, June 4, 2010

Change of Plans

So, Diana, you will be happy to hear that I'm running the 15K.
:-P

Somebody check my temperature.

My friend Ang texted me last night and said that she was going to go and run the 15K. She hasn't been to a race since the Fly with the Eagles Half in February. She claims that she isn't running much, so we can finish last together. However, I know her too well. She will say that and then run off and leave me.

Oh well, bring on that pity applause at the finish line because I'm ready to come in last.
Ah, well, I'll probably still win first in my age group.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Rain Rain Go Away!

The past 2 days, I've had the best intentions of getting up for an early morning run, but there have been thunderstorms between 5-6am both days. Ugh!

The rest of the day: sunny, with no clouds in sight.

Run in the evening? Ha!
Once I get off work, I go straight into couch potato mode. Running later in the evening does not appeal to me at all. Maybe if I had a training partner, but certainly not alone.


It seems I have a choice to make for Saturday. I usually run the Crossroads Dash 15K every year. Last year, I finished dead last at this race with a pace of 11:36/mile. I don't foresee running the race any faster this year than last year. There is also a 5k distance that I could run, but I wouldn't get my planned distance that way. Time for a good old pro-con list for my 3 available options.

Option 1: Run 15K race:

Pros:
Get 9 mile distance for the day.
Run faster than I would at home
Likely to win an age group award, since most people run the shorter race
Spend time with friends

Cons:
Likely to be last finisher, which I HATE
Pay $20 to finish last


Option 2: Run 5K race:

Pros:
Run faster than I would at home, speedwork
Spend time with friends

Cons:
Don't get very many miles for the week.
Pay $20 to run a shorter distance and probably not win anything

Option 3: Run 9-10 miles at home:

Pros:
Get 9 mile distance for the day.
No embarassment of finishing last.
No need to wait until 8am to start running.
FREE

Cons:
Will run slower
Won't get to see my friends at the race, although we could always get together later




I'm leaning toward Option #3, even though I may have led some of my friends to believe I was going to run the 5K. I really can't get myself motivated to think that it's a good idea to go to this race this year, especially when I start thinking about the killer hills near the end.

No. Thank. You.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Two Race Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend I wound up with 4 days off. Our building was closed on Friday, so I was left with a freebie day off. :)


On Friday, I went and saw Sex and the City 2, in the afternoon, when there were only a handful of others there. OK, so I had to take my 16 year old daughter, since my friends were all at work, but it was worth it.


Saturday morning, I ran the Odin Sesquicentennial 5K race. At 8am. In the heat and humidity. My only goal for this race was to NOT run my slowest 5K ever.


Result: Pass! I ran a 32:18, which is very close, but not quite my slowest ever. The course was ok, just the right amount of sun and shade, but the weather was so hot and so humid that I was just glad that it was over.

Saturday afternoon, I spent at my BFF's house for a girls day in. Ang, Barb and I spent the day drinking margaritas and eating chips and salsa. Yum!


One more race- Herrin has their Herrinfesta Italiana over Memorial Day weekend. The race takes place on Memorial Day and is a 10K. I knew what to expect, as I have done this race many times before. As usual, I had talked myself out of how bad it was. I'm good at that selective memory when it comes to race courses. My goal for the race was once again to NOT run my slowest 10K ever.

Result: FAIL! I ran a 1:14. My slowest 10K prior to Monday was 1:05. The race is one giant loop, most of it taking place in the hot hot sun. And, let me tell you, it was HOT on Monday. I think it was in the mid to upper 70s at the race start, and humid. I was miserable and just didn't care that it was a race. I just wanted to get it over with. And, finally, I did. :)
So, even though I failed at my goal, I was not disappointed with my time. I really didn't care.

My friend C had her grandson there and wanted me to come out and run the 1 mile race back with him. I've run with him before, he hasn't quite learned to pace himself yet so there is a lot of walking involved. I agreed to help, and wound up getting in another 2 miles- one out to the 1 mile start and then the mile back.

After the race, we went to G's house and took showers and got ready to go out for lunch. Who would have thought that every place we decided to eat would be closed for Memorial Day? We were on a wild goose chase! We tried 3 different restaurants- all closed. Then, there were signs up all over talking about a wine and arts festival that was taking place Memorial Day weekend. When we found the park where the festival was to be held, we saw one last truck packing up one last display. Ugh! Seriously, isn't Memorial Day a part of Memorial Day weekend?

We were all craving pulled pork, so we finally settled on a little hole in the wall place that was actually open. So disappointing. The barbecue was dry and not very good. The side dishes all tasted like they were served directly from a can. Yuck!

Later, we went to a Southern IL winery. That made up for the race fail and the lunch fail.
It wound up being a fantastic day, I'm glad we stuck it out.