It didn’t exactly go as planned. But, whatev.

I was so stressed about this race that I had bad dreams all night, the night before, about not being able to find the starting line, about Reagan making secret breakfast plans that made me miss the starting gun, etc.. I’m not sure why I was so worked up about it. The weather was awesome, I had family there. I had friends there. Reagan was waiting at the finish. It was basically ideal. I have an amazing gift for psyching myself out. I’m sure that totally slacking on the training for the last two weeks factored in.

To sum up what happened, my goal was 3:10. I scored a 3:24. I blew it in the last 4 miles. Until then, I was on or ahead of pace. But, I’m trying not to feel bad about it. It wasn’t one of those races where afterward I was like “crap, I should have pushed more at mile such and such.” I pushed hard. I was doing awesome (by my personal standards), until about mile 22. I really just ran out of energy. I could feel myself slowing down and it made me really, really mad. I could not physically make my legs move any faster. When the 3:20 pacer guy blew past me at mile 24, it almost crushed me. I could go on and on about the highs/ lows and mental/ physical experiences of the race, but I’ll spare you.

Overall, it was a great experience. We met up with my cousins on Friday and drove to Hartford with them. They were able to meet Piper on the way up, which was awesome. We even were able to have dinner at my cousin Jill’s in-laws place in Glastonbury with the whole gang. It was delicious and fun. We was also able to meet my cousin Jill’s husband for the first time.

In a surprise move, Reagan decided to go ahead and run the half-marathon at the last minute. She has been trying to recover from bronchitis for the last two weeks, so I just kind of assumed that she was going to sit it out. She is one tough/crazy cookie. I can’t say that I blame her for doing it. It is hard being there with everyone getting ready to race, feeling that powerful energy and excitement– without having a very strong desire to participate. She said that she didn’t have a very good race. But, I’m pretty impressed that she tackled it at all, in her condition.

Next race: NYC Marathon, in 28 days. From what I have heard. It is kind of a big deal. Hehe

I think that I’m going to start evaluating my running on a weekly basis, assigning a letter grade each Friday. I came up with that idea, because this week I earned an F-. It is only Friday, but I can already make that assessment, since today was my first run, since last Friday. So, from here on out, I can only improve. My grade will be based on, how many days I run (ideally 6, per week); how many miles, how many gorgeous mornings I wasted by hitting snooze, etc..  I’m hoping to keep the grading thing going at least until after marathon season, this fall.

It has been a rough week, weather-wise, and I’m still battling blisters from my new sneaks. Just the same, I have been reading about all of my friends out west who have been battling through the snow, on their runs. So, I don’t really feel like the weather excuse is holding up so well.

On a positive note, my goal to run 500 miles between 1-22-10 and 1-22-11 seems to be going fairly well.

According to my little Nike Plus chart, I’m almost 34 miles ahead of schedule, as of today. Something to feel good about, I guess. But seriously, the thing that gets me going the most, is all of the positivity from my friends who also run. I think that you guys are so awesome. I know that running isn’t a team sport, in the traditional sense. But, it really motivates me to feel like I’m a part of the running community. Kind of nerdy/sappy, I know.

Anyway, to wrap up this post, here is some entertainment. The shot below is from the Central Park Conservancy 4 mi. race, weekend before last. Look how awesome that guy in the Five Fingers looks. I almost want to get a pair, just so I can look more hard core.

I think that Reagan is making burritos for dinner. Heaven.