Park Ridge 5K - March 21, 2009

Okay, I know we haven't even closed the books on 2008, but looking ahead to 2009, I'm excited to see that Park Ridge will once again be holding a 5K. (http://www.geocities.com/parkridge5k/). Most of us run for distance more than speed, so the 5K isn't what we live for, but....this has become a great bragging rights run. How great is it to say, "I placed 2nd in my age group"? Not ever going to happen for me in the Marine Corps Marathon, but with the Park Ridge 5K, I have hope of taking home a trophy. So, mark your calenders for Saturday, March 21, 2009.

Scheduled Run - Saturday 12/13 @ 8:30 a.m.

Join us at Rodney Thompson Middle School this Saturday at 8:30 a.m. for a 4 mile'ish run through Augustine. Hope you can join us. Email me for more information/questions at karenegyud@gmail.com.

Blessings,
Karen

New Running Gear

Saw this in ESPN, The Magazine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUuwEq98ByM

As ESPN said, "At last, a way for joggers to work out in the fresh air. Other than, y'know, jogging."

LOL!

Update

It's been a crazy fall for running. HR had it's first "Turkey Trot" on Thanksgiving. I'm hoping that can be a tradition - unfortunately, I'm usually not in town, so someone else will have to carry the torch next year. It was pretty cold, but it made me feel a lot better about the extra pie I ate later in the day :)

I'm thankful the "race season" is over - although I know the Blue Gray Half Marathon is coming up on the 14th. I'd love to run it but I'm trying to limit races to Saturdays (Marine Corps will be an exception:). After the Richmond Marathon, I thought I would want to take off for about a month, but within a week, I was itching to get back out. It is nice to be able to run shorter runs though - 7 miles feels great!

I'm planning on a run 2 weeks from now - assuming nothing changes between now and then, we'll do a run on December 13th - probably around 8 a.m. and probably for about 4 miles.

Blessings,
Karen

Run - Saturday, Oct. 18th

Horizons Runners will have a run this Saturday, Oct. 18th at 7 a.m. We will meet at Rodney Thompson Middle School and the plan is to run 4 miles. Please let me know if you plan to join us - karenegyud@aol.com.

Congrats to Rich on his 1st Half Marathon finish in the Baltimore Running Festival last weekend and to Deb as well - although it was not her first 1/2 :).

On Saturday, I was wishing I had just run the 1/2. I did the full and I felt awful during the last 10 miles or so, but I did improve on last year's marathon time by almost 10 minutes, so I shouldn't complain...but I was hoping for better. As anyone who has done a race knows, the thing you race against the most is your past accomplishments. The Baltimore Marathon has a lot more hills than Marine Corps. I escaped injury free outside of a couple blisters on my toes, but that's normal for me. I will try and redeem my time by running the Richmond Marathon next month. Crazy - yes.

Here are some pictures :) (I'm the one checking my watch to make sure it's over!)

When Will We Run Again

Seriously, I have never known this many people with running injuries. I'm trying not to be paranoid that I'll be next, every time I lace up my shoes!

We are long overdue for a run, but scheduling one seems to be a challenge. I'm just a few weeks out from a marathon, so my Saturday's are currently filled with training runs. I will say there is a possibility of a run on October 4th, and if not then, definitely October 18th.

Dave Robertson shared a scripture the other day that I love - Psalm 73:26 - "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Updates

I hope everyone's running is going well. Due to various stages of race training and injuries, I don't have a run scheduled right now. I'm a little over a month away from the Baltimore Marathon and I'm feeling a little underprepared. I felt that way last time too, so I'm hoping it's just a normal mental reaction to the thought of running 26.2 miles.

I tried something new the other day on my long run (16...). I listened to a book. I've never done that before. The problem with a book instead of music is that it kept my mind more active - I prefer that daze or haze you discover after about an hour. Anyway, I haven't finished the "book" yet, but I will recommend it - "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami. He's a novelist from Japan. It's a journal of his training for the NY Marathon, but it's more like a memoir and talks about how he started running, some of the other marathons he's run, along with an ultra marathon and a run on the marathon course in Athens.

Dave Robertson runs the Northface Endurance Challenge 50 mile trail run in Great Falls, VA this Saturday. Please keep him (and the weather) in your prayers.

I hope to schedule a run in the next week or so - check back for updates or if you haven't run with us before, send me an email to let me know you're interested.

Blessings,
Karen