Mastering Body: Races Galore!

Since I last wrote, I’ve run 3 races of all different distances.  March 24 I ran my first of (at least 4) half marathons this year, the Chi-Town Half.  April 7 I ran the famous Shamrock Shuffle and this past Saturday, April 13 I ran the Just Move it Challenge 5k.

Running these races in rapid succession has proved a very good thing for me, because I’m currently super jazzed about running.  I’m loving each and every run and have been looking forward to planning my runs appropriately to maximize results.  Right now, I’m just super excited to run and train all summer.

But also running these races ended up being big physical and mental victories for me.  I’ll talk about the mental victories in Friday’s Mastering Mind post.  So, today, let’s take a look at the awesome physical accomplishments that occurred during these 3 races!

1. The Chi-Town half marathon was much more a mental victory than a physical one, but something physically great did occur.  While my time was 2:21:52, well shy of my PR, I am able to recognize one major accomplishment.  This was the first half marathon in which I ran the whole time.  My previous 2 half marathons both contained very short walks somewhere in the 11th mile.  So, although I was a bit slowed down, I ran the whole time which was a huge accomplishment for me.
2. The Shamrock Shuffle was not a planned running event this year.  I came by an entry 4 days before the race and jumped at the opportunity to do it.  I had no expectations, in fact I couldn’t even remember the last 8k I ran, so I didn’t know what a decent time goal would be.  Until that morning and I just woke up knowing that I could run a 9:45 pace.  Turns out, I was right.  I actually ran 9:39 and PRed with a time of 47:56.  After looking it up, I beat my old 8k PR by about 5 minutes!!!
3. This weekend’s 5k was a great surprise!  While I run 3 miles all the time, I’ve done nothing recently to work on my speed at that distance, because I’ve been too busy enduring longer runs.  So, I just thought I was going to use the race as an excuse to get my 3 miles in for the day, nothing major or noteworthy about it.  UNTIL I PRed in that race too!!!  I ran the 5k in 28:02 (a 9:03 pace) and beat my previous PR by 40 seconds!

Running consistently obviously pays off!!!

Mastering Mind: Returning from Vacation

So in truth, I returned from St. Thomas early in the morning April 3.  However, I seem to have had a very slow transitions out of vacation mode.  I had no intention of taking any time off from the blog during vacation.  I have every intention of pre-writing and scheduling the blog posts for while I was gone.  However, as you know, planning is not my forte and I totally and extremely dropped the ball.  For that, dear reader(s), I apologize.

Vacation didn’t end up being relaxing as I had hoped.  But it definitely served a different (perhaps life altering) purpose.  I was afforded the opportunity for a lot of soul searching and personal reflection and decided it was time to perhaps make some changes.  If these changes come true or prove successful, I will share them on the blog.

But for right now, I wanted to stop by, tell you hello and I’m alive.  I will resume regular blogging on Monday with a new Mastering Body Post.

Until then, I encourage you all to take whatever opportunity presents itself!  Go on the vacation.  Run the race without training.  Become reflective when the mood strikes.  Apply for the dream job.  Reconnect with the old friend.  Forgive yourself for past mistakes.

Carpe Diem!