Cape Henry Running Festival

Here's another running (& cycling) opportunity coming up this fall. Thank you Mike for sending the information along. It's the Cape Henry Running Festival & Duathlon on Saturday, November 21st. There's a Duathlon ( 5K run, 32K bike, 5K run) and a 10 mile run. More information can be found at http://capehenry.kalerunning.com/index.html.

Run Scheduled - Saturday, September 19

Everyone's invited to meet up with us this Saturday, Sept. 19th at 7 a.m. in the Horizons Church parking lot for a run. We have some new runners interested in participating, so the run length may vary based on who shows up. We may split to do a 3 mile group and a 5 mile group. As always, if you want to run more, you're welcome to run to the group or to add some extra mileage on at the end of our group run.

I have a new fav running gadget. My ipod nano is now going to collect dust. I am the proud owner of a Sansa Clip. I have a subscription to Rhapsody which allows you to listen to any music on your computer or authorized devices - of which the Clip is one. I've been listening to the same songs for a year on my ipod, so I'm pretty thrilled to be listening to new Crowder, NeedtoBreathe, POD, etc. while I'm running. It's very small, has a radio and has 4 GB of memory.

Congrats to my brother Don who finished his first marathon last Sunday (Erie, PA) and has caught the bug to run more.

If you're going to be in town for Thanksgiving, mark your calendars now for our 2nd annual Turkey Trot (or should we call it, Eat More Pie?) run. Time & distance to be disclosed at a later date.

Finally, for those training for a marathon (or, you simply like long runs), if you are interested in doing a 20 mile run on 9/26, please email me (karenegyud@gmail.com). I will also be scheduling a 16 mile run in early November.

For some reason, blogger won't let me put paragraph breaks in above, so I apologize for it the "run-on paragraphs".

Run Scheduled/Capital Crescent Trail

So, I found a "new" running path that I love.

Last Saturday, in search of a flat run, I headed to Georgetown to run the C&O Canal Towpath, which is the only flat run in the metro area I'm familiar with. But, in my search for parking longer than 2 hours, I ended up at the Capital Crescent Trail. It runs parallel to the C&O for a couple miles before diverting up to Bethesda. I was thrilled because unlike C&O, it's paved instead of gravel - easier on the feet! It was a great 14+ mile run, but NOT flat. When I got home and plugged in the Garmin, I found out that it's a 500ft+ elevation increase from Georgetown to Bethesda. So much for a flat run.

Now that September 1st is here, and we are enjoying low humidity and lower temperatures, I will put those hard runs behind me, and look forward to long runs in perfect temperatures! (LOL - how long will this last, 5 days, 6 if we're lucky?)

Anyways, for those who are in town this weekend, Horizons Runners will be meeting in the Horizons Church parking lot this Saturday, September 5th at 7 a.m. for a 5 mile run. Feel free to add miles before or after if needed - last time I made it a 10 mile run.

Love running with y'all!

Blessings,
Karen

Running Sins

Okay, so I know Horizons is doing a series on sin, so this is a very appropriate link for our group.

http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2009/08/forgive-me-bart-for-i-have-sinned.html#comments

I love the comments about the running sins...I'll be bold enough to add my own.

My sin is that I've been following a "have never run a marathon" training program, when in reality, I've run 3 in the last 2 years, so I should be progressing a little more than I'm committing to and should be following the intermediate program. But that requires a LOT more running. Forgive me. In my defense, or for my penance, I will say as much of the "Hail Mary" as I know, and I will try to run 6 miles 2 days in a row.

Blessings,
Karen

Run Scheduled - This Saturday (8/22 @ 7 a.m.)

Join Horizons Runners this Saturday at 7 a.m. for a 5 mile run. We'll meet in the parking lot of Horizons Church and run the out and back through Augustine. There are runners of all skill level who come out and run, so even if you feel like 5 miles is a stretch...or your concerned about keeping up...please don't let you that hinder you from coming out. If you're concerned about this aspect, please feel free to email me (karenegyud@gmail.com) and we can talk through where you're at as a runner.

By the way, now I'm a big fan of this:

Blessings,

Karen

Run Scheduled - August 8 @ 7 a.m.

"The biological ages of runners are at least 10 years younger than their chronological ones." Steve Hawkins, Ph.D.

Join Horizons Runners this Saturday at 7 a.m. for a 5 mile run. We'll meet in the parking lot of Horizons Church and run the out and back through Augustine.

There are runners of all skill level who come out and run, so even if you feel like 5 miles is a stretch...or your concerned about keeping up...please don't let you that hinder you from coming out. If you're concerned about this aspect, please feel free to email me (karenegyud@gmail.com) and we can talk through where you're at as a runner.

Blessings,
Karen

Mind Games & Goal Setting

I have been reading a book about ultrarunning (thanks Dave) - it's a collection of different runners' experiences with doing runs 50K and up. While I type this, Bob H. is probably finishing his 50K, Dave R. is prepping for his 50K next week (Dahlgren - still entry spots available). I'm amazed at their ability to run these distances. I still struggle with the mental part of running 26.2 - or even 10. It can be overwhelming to think about running for that long of a period of time.

One of the runners in the book talked about how much of running is goal setting. Set the goal, put your mind to it and the body will follow. I do know it works because it's what has enabled me to run as much as I have already. And yes, it will be what it takes to run a 50K, if I can ever manage to work up that much courage.

My encouragement to you is that when you're training, make sure you're setting some goals that stretch your mind - not just your body. Don't believe you can even run 1 mile, let alone a marathon? What if you try believing that you can, and setting out to prove yourself right?

Even more so in the race of life that we are running, remember the words of 1 Peter 1:13 "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Blessings,
Karen