Running Away

With the end of winter and the promises of cute bathing suits for the summer, I have started running again like crazy. I love running, and I've set forth some lofty, marathon-length goals for the future. In pursuit of building up for it, I've implemented a weekly long run. This weekend, I signed up for a 5k, the first of several I will run this month.

The Hogeye 5k was the shortest of several running events that took place yesterday. I've not trained enough to run the half-marathon, let alone the full--so I signed up for the 5k. It was nice to wake up, stroll to the starting line (warmed up from the walk), run the race, then stroll home in the beautiful spring sunshine.

This race showed me the results of my training: I was able to run it easily--even with all the Arkansas hills--and finished strongly. I saw the faces of several others who finished around me, and they looked like they were going to fall over, yet I felt invigorated and like I could run more. I passed one girl on a steep hill who was running too hard: her breath was labored and she sounded as though she might keel over at any moment. I was expecting more of a challenge, but this race was...effortless. That tells me I need to start training to run a 5k distance faster, and also start training for longer distances.

I like running races for the competitiveness and challenge: I feel bad if I try to "compete" with the other runners on the track when I'm just working out, but in the race setting, it's perfectly okay to pass someone and feel good about it. I especially feel good about passing men. A couple of guys I know ran the race as well, and I beat them.

I'm pretty motivated to keep running. I want to improve my fitness, run faster and farther, and have awesome running muscles. Next weekend is another 5k that a friend signed me up for, and then the week after that is the Race for the Cure that I promised to run with a friend. Should be exciting!