Thanks NPR!

This week has been incredibly long because I was dreading today. But I woke up this morning and Philippians 4:13 popped into my head. After that, I was good. Even looking forward to running. Funny how that works sometimes.

Last week, towards the end of the 10k, all I could hear was my own shallow breathing and that only made me pay attention to everything that hurt. My head was in a negative place and I hated myself for putting myself in that situation.

So this week I brought my iPod to keep my thoughts away from myself and it worked incredibly well! Last night I made a special music playlist for today, but I once again proved to myself that music just isn't a good running buddy. It's good to start off with something upbeat and happy, but 5 minutes into it I had to switch. So I flipped over to my podcasts and listened to NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, then Car Talk. Both programs drip with positive energy and that's exactly what I needed. That and the ibuprofen I took when I passed mile 7. Oh yes, I carried it with me in my running belt.

I'm a little disappointed that the only people who finished behind me were 2 ladies walked most of the first half. They walked till I caught up with them, then started trotting so I couldn't pass them. I didn't get ahead of them until around mile 5. I'm proud of myself for running the whole race, even though my pace is terrible.

The awesome thing about the half marathon will be that even though I'll be one of the last to finish, I'll be finishing along with the people who ran the full marathon. So they won't be taking the equipment down when I finally finish. That will be nice.

Run to Overcome 10k

Yesterday I ran my first 10k. I'm happy that I ran the whole thing without stopping, but my finish time leaves much room for improvement.

For breakfast, I had a bowl of oatmeal with a chopped up apple, brown sugar, and apple pie spices. It was a delicious start to my day and I was far from hungry at the start of the race, but I almost made a deposit on the side of the road at mile 4. So no oatmeal next Sunday before the Governor's Cup. I'm thinking waffles. Hot, tasty waffles.

I'd love to post all the photos from the race but my Picasa album is full and I can't remember the password to my Flickr account. So until I delete all my wedding pictures from Picasa to free up some space or remember my stupid Flickr password, just check them out on Facebook.

If you're in the Lincoln are and you're not running in the Governor's Cup next Sunday, I hear they need volunteers. If you can help at packet pickup or as a course monitor please call the race director, Karen Bestial, at 402-476-1776.

Back to Back Madness

Tonight was an easy finish to my Time 2 Train class and now that it's over, it's time to get ready for this month's races. We have the 10k on Sunday, then the 15k Governor's Cup the next Sunday. I'm nervous.

Tips?