Back to Blogging

I haven't been blogging too much lately...I've been too busy! Life has been really fun and hectic lately, and I just haven't had the werewithal to formulate a post in my mind. I'm pretty much addicted to Twitter, and I find that it has impeded my blogging a little bit. But, I still love writing here and I hope to resume posting more frequently.

A couple of weeks ago I ran the Jessamine County Cancer Coalition 2k for a Cure race. This was one of the best races I've ever run. Here's a list of the things that made it so great:

• 9am start (...able to sleep in, eat, pick up my packet, & walk Emma...all before the race!)
  
• Only 1.2 miles
  
• The race start was 1 mile from our house (running to the start was a good warm-up!)
• The race finish was about .25 miles from our house
  
• The race course was part of the route that I run every morning
• Dog participation was encouraged
  
• The race raised funds and awareness for breast cancer and colon cancer
• I set a 2k PR
  
• I got 3rd overall!!
  

It was really a great race. I went back and forth over whether or not I should bring Emma, but in the end I decided to leave her at home. This race was part of the Jessamine Jamboree, a festival that is held in Nicholasville during the first weekend of October every year. Every year, the parade starts at 10:00am. The police close Main Street to traffic around 9:30am, and the race was held on the closed street at 9:45am. Since I was running a mile to the start, I didn't think Emma could handle both the 1 mile run to the start, and then the 1.2 mile race. So I decided that I would run the race, then go home and bring her out in our front yard to watch the parade and to mingle with the other dogs as they walked back by our house.

My goal for the race was to finish in 8:30. I knew that there would be awards for the top three finishers with dogs, and the top three finishers without dogs. I hoped to finish in the top three without dogs category. I ran down to the race start at 9:30, and had about 5 minutes before the race started. Once the race started, I took off and tried to establish a good pace. I knew the run would be over before I knew it, so I tried to really give it my all. I was right behind the lead pack, and just in front of the middle pack - I ran all by myself for most of the race! It was fun to run on the parade route, as the course was lined from start to finish with spectators. In the lead pack ahead of me I could count three people with dogs and two guys without dogs. I knew if no one without a dog passed me, then I would get 3rd. I kept on booking it down the street, checking behind me every now and then to see if someone without a dog was gaining on me. I never saw anyone, so I figured I was pretty safely in 3rd. I crossed the line in 8:47 - a little slower than I had hoped, but I was happy to have held a 7:19 pace.

Top three finishers in the "without a dog" category!

Accepting my plaque!

...Mine is the smallest one on the right!

I will defintily be doing this run again next year!

My next running adventure took place this past Saturday. My friend Kelly and her husband Tony are training for the Walt Disney World marathon in January. Kelly and I run every Saturday morning in Wilmore, which is a tiny little town. Kelly and Tony needed to get 12 miles in, so instead of looping around Wilmore a couple of times like we normally do, we decided to run to Lexington. There is a Panera Bread right at the corner of Harrodsburg Rd. and Man-O-War Drive...exactly 12 miles from Wilmore! The 1st annual Bourbon Chase run was going on in Lexington this weekend, and since we weren't doing the Bourbon Chase, we figured we would do the Bagel Chase!

Harrodsburg Rd., which runs directly from Wilmore to Lexington, is currently under construction - they are basically building a new 4-lane road. We figured that there would only be a short window of time where we could run to Lexington safely - running the majority of the way on the new road which is closed to traffic.

This actually worked out perfectly - we set out from Wilmore at 7:40am and arrived at Panera 2 hours and 5 minutes later - cold, muddy and tired! It was a great run, and I was very happy to end at a place that had hot coffee and cinnamon crunch bagels!

I have two more 5ks this month - the "Delta Dash" on the 24th in Nicholasville and the "Black Cat Chase"(a night run) in Frankfort on the 30th. My mom, dad, twin sister Megan and her chiuaua are coming to visit us the weekend of the 24th. We have lots of fun Kentucky stuff planned, and there just so happened to be a race (the "Delta Dash") here in Nicholasville that weekend. Megan and I are fiercly competitive with one another, so there is likely to be shoving and possibly tripping near the end. It will be interesting to see those race results!