Wow, has it been a while!

While I don't want to say that my running hasn't happened, or hasn't been good...I'm just too lazy to blog :o)

Bad blogger...no chocolate cake for you!



So, I guess it's best to take it one (major) race at a time.  I've had three big races since I last blogged:  The Army Ten Miler, Run for Hospice 10 miler, and the Dirt Cheap Stage Race.

I'll just give a quick summary of all three, since it's kind of too late too recall every detail:

ARMY TEN MILER - 1:40:45

I PR'd this course and my 10-mile time, but was just a couple seconds per mile shy of a sub-10 min/mile that I wanted which bugged me a bit.  But considering the weather was rather warm, hydration was an issue the day before (two females driving 8 hours...stopping to pee then reloading on fluids never goes well!), I was happy.  The start/finish was rearranged, and not for the better.  I really hope they fix it before next year.

Bonus afterwards was an AWESOME dinner at an Irish pub (in Chinatown, no less!), and seeing John, my old roommate from Columbus, OH who now is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army and currently working for the Surgeon General.

Amy is a worldly girl...Oktoberfest beer in an Italian restaurant.  In Chinatown!

Grub from Vapiano

It's GO time!

Best Shepherd's Pie.  Ever!

 RUN FOR HOSPICE 10-MILER - 1:34:48

Wasn't planning on doing this race a week after ATM, but since our running team manager said he'd come to collect our cold-weather gear at the start and tote it back to the finish (since the start was about 3/4 mile from where we park our cars), I figured "why not?"  The start was cold and windy, and the race itself was plenty flat, and raining.  Still, it ended up being a good choice...smashed my PR (it's safe to say I run my best in inclement weather, statistically) and time from the Army Ten Miler.

About Mile 8 -
photo courtesy Barb Boutillier

VETERAN'S DAY WEEKEND - Stars and Stripes VeteRUN, and Dirt Cheap Stage Race...

Well, pretty much since Run for Hospice, I has been sick.  Which made for running this weekend a bit challenging.  And I wasn't just sick, I likely had pneumonia according to my doctor.  I was really hoping that the Stage Race was going to be "my" race for the fall - the one I train specifically for.  But it wasn't to be.  I guess I found some comfort in knowing that I would likely PR this course from the last time I ran it (which was back in 2009) - which would be a slam-dunk since I ran all but 2 miles of the whole series with an ankle that looked like this...

Third-degree sprain, Dirt Cheap Stage Race 2009

The VeteRun was relatively uneventful...kind of a drab course, but challenging if you wanted it to be:  an out and back that was pretty much downhill for the first half.  

The weather was cold and incredibly windy.  Being a weekday race I placed pretty well considering a sub-par performance: 28:42, 5th out of 16 AG.  Dave, for not running in nearly 3 months after tweaking his knee at Time to Sperr 10k, did pretty good:  30:44, 9th out of 21 AG.  

Up next...The Dirt Cheap Stage Race.  Stay tuned!