Running... thru March!

Running in March has been tough... but necessary. This is the month of my first race(s) of the year -- and 3 of them at that! I started with the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k, which we did for the 3rd year in a row with both of our colon cancer survivors! I hadn't trained at a "race pace" for this one so I wasn't expecting a new PR but I wasn't exactly thrilled with my time of a little over 28 minutes either. I forgot about the hills in this course so after the first mile, I was struggling. It was nice to have both of our families there participating, so the time wasn't the most important thing. 

This past week, I did the Shamrock 4-miler. You'd think I would know how hilly this course is, as it's right by my office and I drive it at least twice a week - but I didn't consider the hills when signing up. It was my first official 4-mile race, although I've obviously done 4 mile runs before. I passed the 2-mile marker at 13:18 - whew. FLYING, I tell ya. And at 2.4 it hit me... I.AM.GOING.TO.DIE. I know good and well that I cannot maintain that pace. So there it was, I was going to walk even though I started off with a goal of no walking. So I let myself walk for 30 seconds there, at 3.17 and again at 3.4, yes, I was struggling THAT much. I finished in 35:49 - which wasn't bad, but also not ideal. I guess my goal for that race would have been below the 35 mark but it was my first one and it was a hilly course (which I'm feeling today - OW!) 

It was also St. Patrick's day on Saturday - so after the race, I had to have some green beer! We went to the Whitewater Center for live music & beer - and what a gorgeous 81 degree March day it was! We're definitely going to get season passes so we can enjoy the hiking, biking and kayaking at the center. But after my morning run and afternoon in the sun with beer, I was early to bed last night and feeling like I'm headed in that direction again tonight. Less than 2 weeks til the Cooper River Bridge run and 43,000 people trying to cross it at the same time! I'm super excited for our first 10k together. Also hoping that I can get under 55 minutes in the race. Beer will likely be required after that one as well!