May 2010 Archives
Impulse race
A week ago I saw a listing for the Tualatin River Trail 10 Mile run. I’d been feeling like I haven’t been running enough lately (I barely get up early enough to get in 3 miles before work in the morning and didn’t do a long run last weekend.) The race sounded pretty and, more importantly, it’s limited to 250 people. I don’t think I’ve ever run in a race of less than 1,000 people, so I was curious.
It was a lot of fun. Since I haven’t been running a lot, I wasn’t sure if I’d need to walk some of it, but I did fine. We ran through various parks and neighborhoods in Tualatin/Tigard, and it was very pretty. After about the first 2 miles, the crowd really started to separate, and there were very few people around. I was following one woman for most of the race – she’d be about 20 yards ahead of me, then I’d reach her or pass her on an uphill, and then she’d pass me on the downhill. But around mile 7, there was a long incline and I passed her…and she never caught up again. By the end I was the only runner for probably 100 yards – that’s how spaced out everyone was. It was a fun little event, and generally well-organized.
And I now know that I’m in good enough shape that I can sign up for a 10-mile race on a whim, and do just fine. Last year at this time I was training hard and nervous about running 6.2 miles, and now I can do 10 without any sort of preparation. I want to stay in this kind of shape!
No marathon
I decided a while ago, but forgot to post it here. (Not that I imagine anyone was on the edge of their seats, waiting to find out.) I’m just incredibly stressed out this term – it is a very challenging term and I’m barely going to make it to finals without going crazy. So I want to spend this summer relaxing, and I don’t want to have the stress of finding time to do a ton of miles every week. Plus C’s job is ending in June and he’ll basically have the summer off, while I work full time, so I want to make sure I have enough time to do lots of fun things with him (as well as everyone else I’ve neglected!) Add to this that I’m getting burnt out on my routes that I can run from my house without having to drive somewhere, and it just seems like it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, I’m going to sign up for another half marathon in October – probably Run Like Hell in Bend. Maybe next year I’ll try for a marathon.
From above
Yesterday, as my birthday present to C, we went to a park with C’s son and had a family photo shoot. As we were walking over to the photographer, I felt something hit my head. As it turns out, I had been pooped upon. Some bird shat on my hair and sweater and purse. Luckily, it was on the back side of me, not the front, so we won’t have pictures featuring bird poo. Good times.
