Another week off

I am having to take another week off from running.  My muscle is still giving me problems.  I thought it was better and so Tuesday I went out for a run but as soon as I started, I had to stop due to shooting pain.  I did some research online to see what was going on (anything to avoid the doctor!) and I found some helpful stretches and exercises that will hopefully take care of the muscle.  Most of the research I did said it would take about 2-3 weeks to heal.  If I am not feeling better by then I will go have it checked out by a doctor.   

Mixed Emotion

On Saturday I strained a muscle in my leg so I am taking the week off from running to let it heal.  I am so disappointed I can't run this week because the weather is absolutely perfect for running!
I have been planning next months race for a couple of weeks now.  There is a race in March that is a muddy obstacle course that I have been looking at since January, but it wasn't something I wanted to do by myself.  One day on facebook I noticed some highschool friends talking about doing the race and I commented to them that I would be very interested in doing it with them.  Today I was able to register for the race and I am so excited about it!  I will probably be switching up my training a bit for the next month to be able to complete the race.  Can't wait!

February race!

Saturday's trail run was awesome!  The weather was perfect, maybe a little chilly for the girls and Dave, but perfect for running.  Running on a trail was a lot more fun than I had expected.  You had to focus on each step you were taking and it made the time go by fast.  My time was 49 min 40 sec and I placed 5th in my age group (26-30) out of 14 females.  I came in 73rd place overall-out of 132 people.  I hope to be able to do the run again next year!  Here are two stories from the run that I want to remember:
About half way through the run, two men had slowly began to overtake me in speed.  I had also been working on staying at the same pace as another female runner who looked to be about my age.  She was quicker than I was but I wanted to keep her in my sights.  At about 3 3/4 miles we came to a very steep hill.  As soon as I reached the hill, I sprinted as fast as I could.  For some reason, the hill recharged me instead of tiring me out.  I picked up my pace and completely lost the two men and the female.  I didn't see them for the rest of the race and I even managed to pass a few more people before I crossed the finish line, one girl in my age group!
Second, as the female runners crossed the finish line they are handed a carnation, to celebrate Valentine's day.  I was handed my carnation and proceeded to try and walk until I could catch my breath.  As soon as my breathing returned to normal, I turned around to look for Dave and the girls.  I saw them and Emily and Ally started running towards me.  I was so excited to see them and I thought they were coming to give me a big hug!  I kneeled down to give them a hug and both of them went straight for my carnation!  Neither of them wanted to hug me and they quickly began arguing over who got to hold the flower first.  What a proud moment!
Overall it was a fantastic day!  We were served breakfast tacos, coffee, fruit, chocolate milk (which Emily and Ally were very excited about), and girl scout cookies!  This was by far my favorite race and I liked the 5 mile distance.  Maybe next month I will try for a 10k!  

Trail run!

Tuesday I ran 5.5 miles in 52 min in preparation for a 5 mile trail run I will be participating in on Saturday!  I am taking the day off today in order to be rested and ready to go Saturday.  I had thought about trying to get in a short run, but a cold front came in yesterday and it is chilly and windy today.  I am so excited about doing a trail run!  I was afraid I might get board trying to do a years worth of 5k's, but there are so many different varieties of races offered.  I jumped at the chance to get off the road and hit the trail!  I am a little nervous because I have ran 5 miles once about a month ago before my Tuesday run.  Wish me luck!

Sunday run

So Texas had its first freeze this past week and I chose not to run during that.  Today was absolutely beautiful outside and I could not wait to go for a run!  I set a goal to run for an hour, but I stopped at 46 min 45 sec due to lack of hydration.  I physically felt like I could have run for longer but I was dying for water!  After I got some water, I had Emily and Ally come sit on the curb and help me do sprints.  I did six 30 second sprints to make up for not meeting my hour long run goal. 

Running in the wind

I did not get to run last Saturday because we were out of town and then this morning a major cold front blew through Houston bringing gale force winds and torrential rainfall.  This afternoon my body was aching to run!  It was 35 degrees and incredibly windy, but I had a great evening run!  I decided to just do 3.1 miles and I ran it in 28 minutes!  A new record!  There were points in my run that I thought I wasn't moving at all because the wind was blowing so strong, but when I stopped my watch at the end I was very excited to see my time!  I am not sure what the rest of my week holds for running because the weather is supposed to be bad and we are headed out of town again, but I am hoping to be able to get a couple of more runs in.