June- Hustle N Bustle WWP 10k

Woot woot! June marked my 6th race of the year, halfway there! A few months ago when I wasn't sure how all of this training was going to go I decided to put another 10k on the calendar to help keep me motivated! That was before I fell in love with running and started training like a REAL runner!

My competitive spirit kicked in the night before the race when I decided I wanted to PR and finish in under an hour, so did my nerves. I ran this race solo but my amazing husband came out to cheer me on and take me to brunch afterwards! The race was in Prince William Forest Park! The scenery was picturesque but the hills were brutal.  Most of the race was through the woods on a service road or gravel inclines! When I say incline I'm not joking! The hill I try to avoid by my house looks like an anthill compared to the forest hills but I powered through somehow and managed to beat my April time and finish in under an hour! Roger got a good laugh waiting at the finish line because every runner that crossed the line was complaining about the hills.

Running with Buddies

Sweet, sweet summertime is upon us and if you would've asked me back in December what I was looking forward to MOST about summer time THE LAST THING I would've said was waking up early and running! But here we are in June and I'm beyond thrilled to be able to get up early and run! What's even better is the fact that I can run with buddies! I have gotten in a few great runs with Kimberly and Eileen who I love running with and the change of scenery is always nice too!

10 Running Lessons

1. Mental training is important and positive self-talk is key! I have a handful of mantras including "She believed she could, so she did." The faster you run the faster you're done." "You got this!" I have shut off the little voice that says, "Running sucks!" or "How the hell are you going to run 13.1 if you are complaining about 3?"
2. I run, so therefore, I am a runner! No more "wannabe-runner" status for this girl!
3. It is hard to hold pee while running.
4. Mouth boogers kind of suck.
5. Chaffing is real, prior to running I've only READ about it. Yup, it's an actual thing.
6. Running is the MOST expensive free sport. At some point my husband may put a budget on my running allowance.
7. A running plan is the best way for me to stay focused. I love checking off each day and I have a routine. No excuses for not running.
8. Listening to the same running mix is an awesome way to keep track of pace and mileage.
9. I can tell you exact landmarks for mile increments in our neighborhood.
10. Hills that look "little" in the car are actually MUCH bigger when you are trying to run up them.

Color Run 5k

Katie and I had a blast this morning at the Color Run at National Harbor! She is partly responsible for this running journey. Last June she invited me to do Run or DYE. I politely declined several times but she would not take no for an answer. And that race is where the addiction started! 

It is amazing how far I have come in a year. I just finished a month of consistent half marathon training, my times keep improving and I actually look forward to running.  I think I kind of LIKE running (gasp). THAT was not at all my mentality a year ago! 

She believed she could… So she did…

<---- my new motto :)! 1 week of training down and 19 more to go!!! This week I ran 13 + miles and my pace keeps improving!

Manassas Runway 10k

Manassas Runway 10K

Today was my first solo race and a 10k at that! My wonderful husband came out to support me which was AWESOME! It was a little chilly and the wind was absolutely miserable. I was also a little nervous to be running alone BUT I threw in my headphones and focused on the race. I was actually more concerned about getting lost than finishing the race which might have motivated me to start out at such an awesome pace {personal record 8:44 min/mile}. 

I set a PR today and ran faster today than I did for the 8k in March and December! I don't have official times yet but MMR says 1:02 so I'll take that! Funny story, lots of people doing the 10k actually decided to do the 5k instead after they had started the race. Now the times need to be sorted out so they are taking a little longer than normal! The wind was miserable and I laughed out loud at the email from the race director explaining the delay with times! I also felt really proud that other runners QUIT and most days I don't even consider myself a "real runner."

Wearing a hot pink running shirt and tutu makes it easy to be spotted! I was one of the only tutu wearing runners and got lots of compliments and comments! 

The airplane might have been holding me up (immediately post race). Although I missed having a running buddy I had an awesome run and loved having my husband there! Maybe that had something to do with my PR!

OR these colorful sparkly races might have put some speed in my step! Now my goal is to keep the training going full speed ahead :)! I might be getting a little addicted to running.

March & April

Most of March slipped away from me.  Actually, I collected a lot of motivation from Facebook running pages and Pinterest although it took awhile for it to kick in :). I also found lots of cute shirts on Etsy, necklaces and charms & car decals.  I might have been trying to bribe myself to run. I bought cute new spring/summer running gear and found a whole bunch of running plans. BUT I did not run once between March and mid April!

I could list the excuses why I didn't run beginning with the weather (snow and ridiculously cold temps in March), followed by my knee and then coming down with bronchitis that stuck in my chest FOREVER. When it did finally start to warm up my allergies went crazy and my inhaler became my best friend. I also kept reminding myself that I DON'T even like to run! I had 101 reasons NOT to run....

Before I could blink it was days {literally} before my April race! You can't run a 10k without SOME training I told myself so I laced up my shoes and started running! THIS week I became Runner Girl. I ran MORE this week than in the entire year! The week leading up to the race I ran 15.16 miles! I may have also started to fall in love with running. I knew it would eventually happen. Ok, so I am not in LOVE with running yet but I've come a long way.