It's actually quiet in the house right now since my nephew, Sawyer, is taking a nap! He is so precious! I have been watching him 2 days a week in the summer, and wow, are those days BUSY! Shout out to the moms/dads out there...I don't know how you do it! I would stay TIRED! We've had a great day today though. We played at the playground, fed the ducks, and played with chalk. That kid would LIVE outside if he could!
I am getting him into Disney already:-P
I posted about Mountain Mania 15k in my last blog, but I did not post about the Chick-fil-a 10k in Decatur on June 14th! The race started at 7:30, and it did get hot rather quickly! My goal was the finished the 10k in less than an hour with the race course being so flat BUT keeping the heat in mind, and I DID IT! This race was to celebrate my sister's bday, and of course, she did AWESOME too! She even won a $50 Target gift card in a random bib number drawing....woo hoo!
It was my best 10k so far with my fastest mile being at a 8:31 pace and my average pace being 9:02! I honestly couldn't believe it, and it makes me hope if I can be this much faster in the heat, I hope to be even speedier in the fall/winter while training for marathon #2 (Rocket City Marathon!). For this race, I started out much faster (in my mind I was telling myself "it will only get hotter so speed it up NOW!") so once I "slowed down" and got a little tired around mile 4, I was really still going much faster that I usually do! I placed 3rd in my age group, and Christina and Heather placed 1st in their age groups! :-D
Honestly, I thank the Tuesday & Thursday group in We Run Huntsville that I started running with this summer for my increase in my pace, and wow, some of those folks are FAST!
I don't recommend running with faster people all the time, but it really does help when you change it up and you do, it can only make you better! And let me be real, do I always stay at their pace? HECK NO! But my goal is to not lose sight of them, so the run ends up turning into a mental game for me:-P I am going to be so sad when school starts and I can't make these morning group runs :-(
By the way, I just went to the beach with my husband, and it was AMAZING! The weather was beautiful in Ft Walton, and the ocean water was so clear, and the sand was so clean! Even with it being Fourth of July week, it wasn't too terribly crowded. We stayed at the Sheraton Four Points, and it was wonderful! Pools, hot tubs, lounging areas...it was really a lazy trip! David works so hard with grad school and now his NEW job, so he deserved a LAZY, FUN trip! :) And I will be going with Leslie to Chicago this weekend, and I have NEVER been to Chicago. Should be a lot of fun! :)
So, my next races coming up for this year. I signed up for the Monte Sano 15k in October, and like I already mentioned, I signed up for the Rocket City Marathon in December for marathon #2! I also plan on signing up for the Huntsville Half Marathon once registration opens. I might be convinced to do the Dizzy 50s Trail Race...just maybe, and I know that I will do the Recover from the Holidays 50k...it will be my first Ultra (about 31 miles!). For next year, I will be doing the St Jude Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville since I enjoyed it so much last year, but it is in April, so I got a while until that race! I did the full marathon this past year. I signed for the half marathon, but you can upgrade to the full marathon on race day for a small fee...maybe I will be persuaded to do 26.2 for a third time...haha!! :-P And I also plan on doing the McKay Hollow 25k Trail Race for the first time...I really want to do my first trail race this year or next year.
Well, I am actually resting today, no running and weight training, because of my bruised and swollen foot. My clumsy self injured my right foot/ankle during trail running on Monte Sano yesterday while running Death Trail....owww. The rocks, elevation, etc made me trip twice and fall once, ugh! Trail running does keep me humble, and it makes me think that running on the flat, nice pavement or treadmill is EASY! HAHA! So I am elevating my foot and icing it when I can. I can already tell a difference and the swelling is going down. Woo hoo:)
Enjoy the summer, folks! Spend it with the ones you love, stay active, and hey, be lazy every now and then. :-P My next blog post will be about my 30 day ab challenge for July (before and after pictures included!). I am curious to see the results!
-Holly
I stole this from my running friend, Patricia, and I love it!!! Pardon the sassiness:-P It doesn't have to be running, folks! Find the exercise of your choice to help you feel better and live longer!!!
