May 2, 2010

Congratulations to all who ran in Pittsburgh today!

Congratulations to all the runners who participated in the Pittsburgh Marathon, half marathon, or marathon relay today. You braved the terrible weather and a bomb scare (which is crazy) to finish your race. No matter the conditions, finishing the race is quite an accomplishment! Special congratulations go out to Pat and Ed. Pat finished his first marathon in 3:34:02 and Ed finished in 4:42:21. Great job! Congratulations to Ryan Sheehan, a friend and SFU teammate of Kevin, who won the half marathon in 1:05:13. Also, congratulations to Trent Briney, a former Hanson's teammate of Kevin, who finished fifth in the half in a time of 1:08:10. If there is anyone else we know that ran today let us know how you did! Hopefully next year I'll be able to participate in one of the races.

My running has been going well. Each time I go out I have been able to go a little further and run a little faster. So while I still feel out of shape, at least I can take away that with every run I am getting stronger. I also tend to go out and run too hard so I end up walking more than I would like. I am trying to keep my pace slower so I can maintain it longer and reduce the amount I need to walk. On my last few runs, that philosophy has worked and I have really reduced my pace and also reduced how much I walk. The warmer weather has been a good motivator too. It was so chilly and windy at the beginning of the week that in addition to feeling so out of shape, the weather was a big deterrent. I still got out on the road, so that's what counts.

After Kevin got home from work on Friday, I went out and ran my 3.1 mile loop into town. I didn't get in a run on Saturday as I planned. Both our kids let us get a good night sleep Friday night/sleep in Saturday morning so Kevin and I decided to take advantage of that instead of getting in an early morning run (Thank you Maddie and Miles!!). Friday night, Miles slept for 7 hours before waking up at 5:30 to eat. After that both he and Maddie slept in until 8:45. That's in complete contrast to last night when Miles was up every 3-4 hours. So as much as I wanted to get a run in, a good night sleep is a rarity so that won out.

Today, just before the Pens game there was a break in the weather and I was able to get out and run my 3 mile loop around Crestwood (my neighborhood). Since I went out a little slower and didn't walk as often, I was able to complete the run in 31:33. It was very humid, but overall I felt good during the run. My pace for the run was 10:29. With my first few runs closer to 11:30 - 12:00, I can really see my efforts paying off and it motivates me to keep working.

The first week back has been tough since I really want to be able to run the pace and distances like I used to. I know if I keep going out each day and putting the effort in, I will be able to get there. Nothing in life comes easy and what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?

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