I look like crap.. But that’s what 6:30 in the morning does to you, I suppose. And lack of sleep. Etc. I got up at 5:30 to go running this morning.. It was lovely. :] A perfect 27 degrees, and I overdressed a bit.. I might have to take off the long-sleeve from now on, and just keep gloves on my cold hands. :L  

Perhaps I’ll start doing this more often if I can get to sleep at a decent time.. 

Not very attractive a face I realize.. ahha. I just woke up. :P But there you have it. Post-Thanksgiving Day run, here I go ! :]

throwbacksongs:

Mandy Moore - Crush

I got up a little late this morning, quickly scarfed down a piece of peanut butter toast and a glass of iced tea, got dressed, and headed to the race. I couldn’t find a parking place too close, but I figured - hey, running there is a good warm-up! So I parked a few streets over and jogged to the registration table. I got my t-shirt & racing bib, #148. I jogged back to my vehicle, took off my sweat pants & sweat-shirt, pinned my bib onto my t-shirt, put on my watch, and ran back over to the race. I still had about 15 minutes before race time, so I jogged around some more, working up a sweat. It was a beautiful, slightly foggy, slightly slippery 30 degree morning. A lot of people, mainly people who aren’t runners, think I am crazy for wearing barely anything in 20-40 degree weather, but to me that’s the perfect temperature. I must admit, my fingers were a little cold this morning, though.

When the race began, I was stuck in the middle of about 400-500 people, runners & walkers alike. It took me the first 8 minutes to get up to a good pace, but I didn’t mind; for the first eight minutes I gradually sped up, passing many people (and who doesn’t like passing people?? even if they were going slow, some of them). Around 8 minutes in I more or less settled at a good pace. Of course, the person who had the same pace as me was a middle-aged man wearing metallic spandex. Nice sight, right ? 

I was feeling really great, and the first half was mostly a gradual downhill slope. Even at my settled pace I was still passing some people. 

Perhaps it was because this was my first race since July, but I felt so insanely giddy and wonderful while running. x]

At the turn-around point (it was just along a bike-path through town, nothing fancy in the woods or anything), I decided to pick up the pace a bit. I was at 11:57 at the 2.5k point, so it wasn’t completely terrible. However, even though I ran much harder during the second half of the race, it was mostly a gradual uphill, thus slightly more difficult. Not to mention, by that point my asthma was beginning to act up and I’d forgotten to bring along my inhaler, and the muscles in my butt were aching so I thought they’d cramp up! (I’m so out of shape!)

Even so, I managed to pass more people along the way back, and I ended at a 24:04 - right in between my goal (23:00) and my estimate (25:00). I must say, I was rather happy. I’m sure I could have gotten 23:00 had I pushed it a bit harder at the end, but seeing as I was at this race alone (no friends, no family today), and I didn’t have my inhaler, I wasn’t about to allow an asthma attack occur. 

Ah well, no regrets. :] 

Now I can just work on getting in super shape for the first 5k of the season in April. :]