Ready to Run

I’ve always been able to push myself further, farther, faster, stronger with anything I put my mind to except running. I did my first 5k because of peer pressure and although I placed fourth in my age division I still had it in my head that it was just a fluke.

I thought it was something that I did once and wouldn’t probably do again. I told myself “running is just not for me”. Then I did a 5k obstacle and loved it, so I signed up for another 5k and placed second in my age group!

I still told myself though that I “wasn’t a runner”. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never run further than 3.1 miles because I was “not a runner” and I was okay with that. Recently though I have learned that I’m capable of running longer distances if I just put my mind to it, like everything else. Through some encouragement, I have registered for two longer distances races. One is a 10k that’s coming up next weekend 😱 (what am I thinking?!?). The other is a half marathon in Vegas in November (at least I have some time to train for that).

Here is a breakdown of the two races.

Springtime 10k Syracuse

 

This 10k is actually set on the outskirts of Syracuse in the country side of Jamesville, NY.  It is a very hilly route and was formed to give Syracuse athletes a preview of the Ironman 70.3 course as well as the Mountain Goat run in May.  I am not entirely sure what I’m thinking signing up for this race when I haven’t had any real chance to train.  I have honestly only ran a total of four miles since last Fall but when I did, I was able to do it at a 8:30 min/mile or less pace so Im just going to go out there and take it slow.  I also have confidence that the conditioning work that I have been doing all winter will really help me to be able to push through all those hills and run without much struggle.  I may be putting my foot in my mouth but we will see! I will post an update after I run and let you know if I survived or not!

The other race that I registered for is a half marathon in Las Vegas.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon Vegas

This race takes place on the 16th of November but really includes an entire weekend of Vegas-style fun! You get to run along the scenic strip and live bands play along the course while you race.  According to the race site the course is pretty flat which just might seem a bit easier in comparison to the hilly race I am going to be running next weekend. A half marathon seems like a really big stretch right now but how much fun does running along  the strip of Vegas at night sound?!? I was encouraged to do this race by a friend and after looking at her 18 week training schedule, I really feel that I just might be able to pull this off.  Plus, I get to take a girls trip to Vegas with my sister…how awesome is that?

So now that I have committed, I have to do it.  First though, I will need to train (for the half at least).  I will be posting training updates and sharing my struggles and triumphs along the way. I’m hoping for smooth sailing but as we all know, there are bound to be some bumps and metaphorical hills to conquer.  Fingers crossed.