Drake Relays Half Marathon

On Saturday I competed in the Drake Relays on the Roads Half Marathon. Beforehand the weather predicted rain and be pretty nasty. I was okay with rain, just not lots of wind. Somehow we got lucky enough have sunshine and 60 degree temps come the start of the race!

I was supposed to start the race off slower than I thought for the first 3 miles, then run at pace until the last 3, when I could just go for it. I started out and felt pretty good the frist 3 miles, and when I looked at my splits, they were pretty quick. I thought the pace I was going at that time would be a good pace to keep for the whole race. But was I going out too fast? Could I hold this pace? I just kept telling myself just hold this pace to mile ten and then see what happens. So it become a matter of staying on pace for 7 more miles, then 6 more miles, 5, and so on. I got to mile ten and spent the rest of the way trying to catch a female that was 200 or so yards in front of me. No matter how hard I tried I could not seem to go any faster, though I did keep the same pace, but so did the girl in front of me. In the end I finished only 30 seconds off my best time from a much flatter course so I can't complain! Even paced and a pretty decent time. All in the sunshine and around great people, so a great day!

Now time to prepare for triathlons, woohoo!

Donut Run

Today I competed in the Donut Run 5k in Ames. This was quite the event. Though I did not partake in the donut eating, it is a running race where participants get time subtracting for each donut eaten. Get your workout in while clogging your arteries, maybe even throw in a little stomach illness, and call it a day. But I guess a few donuts one day is not that bad, it was interesting to watch people eating donuts, running, and getting a second tasting of donuts.

My time was okay, just not as fast I had hoped for. I got second overall for females-real time, not donut time. I wanted to go a little faster, especially for the last half, but it has been a long, tiring week and I guess my legs just didn't have it in them today. I still think that this is just the beginning of a strong season.

Training has been going well...most of it is outside now! That means time to get blown around like a tumbleweed and work on some sexy tan lines. But seriously, outside workouts are amazing-is there a better antidepressant than grabbing a pair of shoes or wheels and hitting the pavement?