16 days til first race of 2014...a 5k (Carol of the 5K) was postponed from early December.

Still on track to try a half in May...then we will see from there

I thought I had posted here at the start of the year but apparently not!

March 29th, Greenwich Park Tough 5K Run (First 5k Race) - 33:34
May 25th, Bupa 10K (First 10K Race)
July 19th, Race for Life 10K
October 12th, Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon (First HM)
November 29th, MoRun 10k

Just PR'd my half. Very stoked! One more in 7 days! ????

I thought I had posted here at the start of the year but apparently not!

March 29th, Greenwich Park Tough 5K Run (First 5k Race) - 33:34
May 25th, Bupa 10K (First 10K Race)
July 19th, Race for Life 10K
October 12th, Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon (First HM)
November 29th, MoRun 10k

***Update
May 7th - BHF Tower of London Run - 10K
September 14th - Run to the Beat 10K
December 14th - Up and Running MK Half Marathon (ending the year on a high!)

Just PR'd my half. Very stoked! One more in 7 days! ????

This weekend! Excited for you!

I'm new here

4/5 - DFW 5K Mud Run (last weekend, untimed but got my butt handed to me on the obstacles...plus came home with awesome poison ivy)

5/24 - My First 10K! Doing the Hal Higdon Novice 10K training program. Starting week 3 on Monday! My goal is to cross the finish line without assistance from an ambulance.

Welcome!
You will do great, and won't need an ambulance ;-p

I'm new here

4/5 - DFW 5K Mud Run (last weekend, untimed but got my butt handed to me on the obstacles...plus came home with awesome poison ivy)

5/24 - My First 10K! Doing the Hal Higdon Novice 10K training program. Starting week 3 on Monday! My goal is to cross the finish line without assistance from an ambulance.

Poison ivy is the mark of a true beast! I got a nice outbreak last year on a hot trail run, where I took off my shirt. I dove through a bush that had overgrown the trail and recognized it for what it was two seconds after. Not all the Technu/Zanfel in the world could help me.

Jan: Off-Road Series 3K and 5K
Feb: Off-Road Series 8K and 10K
March: Germantown HM and Bad Dog 5K (Yearly PR event)
April: St. Jude Fairway Classic 5K
May: Memphis in May 10K
June: Navy 10NM/Harbortown 5K/Gibson Guitar 5K
July: MRTC Road Race Series 5K (x2) and Women's Run/Walk Memphis (coach?), Stars and Stripes 5K
August: MRTC Road Race Series 5 miler (x2), Women's Run/Walk Memphis, Breakaway Bardog 5K
Sept: MRTC Road Race Series 10K (x2), Women's Run/Walk Memphis 5K
Oct: MRTC Road Race Series 10 miler (x2), Shelby Greenline HM, Shelby Greenline HM?
Nov: MRTC Road Race Series HM (x2), Turkey Trot
Dec: St. Jude HM (maybe if I can make it in)

**Update**

Jan: Off-road 3K time: 20:12/Off-road 5K time: 38:05
Feb: Off-road 8K time: 01:06:27/Off-road 10K time: 01:13:27
Mar: Germantown HM: 02:26:59/Bad Dog 5K: 29:20 (PR!)
Apr: Fairway 5K 31:27
May: Memphis in May 10K: 01:01:07 (3rd in AG)/Zoom through the Zoo 4 miler time: 42:30
June: Harbor Town 5K time: 34:36/Navy 10NM time: 02:04:34

Ran my first half! Primary goal was to finish & have fun. Secondary goal was to finish in under 3 hours. My wishful thinking goal was to finish closer to 2:45. Anything under 2:50 would have left me seriously happy. Finished in 2:36:07. Wow. I watched my pace as I went and I was going a little faster than usual but my perceived effort felt good, so I went.

Got up at 3:00 & was pulling out of my driveway by 4:03. Shuttle service ran from 4:45-5:15. I got there about 4:50 and the line was already long but they kept things moving - they used school buses. Race started at 6:15. After much deliberation I finally decided on peanut butter toast at home. Peanut butter toast not super appealing at 3:30 am. I toasted two slices, ate one, then ate a few sport beans up when I got to the start line.

It was cold (42, foggy and misting) so they had the white flags up for risk of hypothermia. My short sleeved shirt & shorts did not feel sufficient after I had to drop my bag with the sweats & sweatshirt I wore out there (couldn't get into the area with the porta-potties & start gate with a bag). Some nice lady gave me a trash bag to pull over my head, which was warmer, and we were huddled so close together at the start that helped. The gun clock was at 8 minutes before I got to the starting line. They had a record number of runners - this was one I had to get in by lottery and there were still just under 8500 registered to run.

I stopped at 6 miles to use a porta-potty because that had the shortest line of any of them. I never, ever have to use the bathroom when I run but apparently today I did. Spent several minutes there, but I was good the rest of the race. I walked the 4-5 steps it took me to slug back some water or Powerade at the water stations because I didn't want to end up with it everywhere (especially blue powerade) but otherwise I ran the whole thing. At 12.5 miles I was pretty much done, but I knew my friend & cousin were just up ahead, and seeing them gave me the boost I needed to finish. Also there was zero chance I was running 12.5 miles then walking over the finish. I was really surprised how many people I was passing in that final mile because they were walking. In the final mile the bottom of my right foot spasmed/cramped a few times, so that was strange. They had our names on our bibs, so as I'm rounding a smaller corner toward the end (right at the 26 mile marker for the full) a guy looks me in the eye and says "Laura. You look STRONG." I don't know this man, but I love him, because that was the final push I needed.

Thanks Tim! Yeah there were a whole lot of PRs set yesterday, including a new course record for the full (previous record was set 33 years ago by **** Beardsley).

One more bit of geekery from looking at the detailed stats for my run. They had timing strips at 6.9 and 11.9 miles. From the start to 6.9 miles I passed 397 people and was passed by 971. Between 6.9 and 11.9 miles I passed 436 people and was passed by 267. Between 11.9 miles and the finish I passed 91 people and was passed by 9. My average pace in the first segment was 12:32 (that includes the time I spent standing in line to use the porta-potty), in the second segment was 11:22, and in the final segment was 10:47. Average pace overall was 11:56 (my Garmin was a little more generous than the official stats, but I knew it was wrong because I started it .04 miles late and yet it still had me running 13.14 miles total). Feeling really good about getting stronger as the race went on.

I ran my first 5K of the season last Friday and finished 3 minutes ahead of what I thought was realistic considering how hilly the course is. Set a new PR, which I was excited about.

I've got a registration form on my desk for another 5K on August 9. Last year that was the first 5K where I ran the entire thing, so I'm looking forward to doing it again this year to see how it feels in comparison. Last year it was just a few weeks after graduating from C25K so it should be easier this year!