I Have Broken Through

Not much to say other than that....Did 10 miles this weekend at a decent 8:44 pace. Felt great!!! I am back in the game!

...that is until the 5 miles at 8:25 we are supposed to do tomorrow morning....Gina, I should start apologizing now for holding you back...

Best New Song

Seriously, if you see a crazy lady running and pumping her fists in the air it is just me listening to the Foo Fighters song The Pretender. It rocks.

Slump

Is it that time of year or what? I have read at least 4 other blog entries on the site about slumps. I have attributed mine to sick kids, being trapped in the house, allergies, you name it! I know I used to love this running thing. I used to talk about it all the time. So much so my husband keeps telling me when the boys are in school I should work at a running store so he doesn't have to hear about it all the time! I know that feeling will come back....I just hope it happens soon. I miss the satisfaction of a good run. I am trying not to be too neurotic about my training plan and listen to my body if it is telling me to take a break, but it's hard. Maybe I am having a mini identity crisis....if I don't love running, what defines me? (That sounds like such cheese, sorry!!!)

When I had kids 4+ years ago I began defining myself completely as a mother to my children, I lost something when I did that. About 3 years ago when I started running it was life changing to define myself as a runner and not a mother. I think the rub comes when I just give myself that one label (whether it is mother or runner). So I guess the hard work it using this slump to re-prioritize and re-define. Of course running is part of that, but I know it isn't the whole....

As a side note, I have to publicly apologize to Angie for the pity party I threw for myself while I was on the phone with her last week. Seriously, she just had a baby and I was crying about feeling fat and not getting enough sleep! Making me laugh right now...

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

Allison and I ran the Cherry Blossom. It was frustratingly crowded and I would have liked to have run it faster but I was tired at the end so I don't know how realistic I am being. But Haines Point was a traffic nightmare! I am looking forward to some less populated races coming up. I was hoping to do the GW Parkway Classic but Pacers said it is sold out! Man! I know lots of SMR racers are doing that one and I am sorry to miss it! Anyway, here are our times:

Allison: 1:28:54, 8:54 pace, 200/883 age group (22.7%)
Elizabeth: 1:26:06, 8:37 pace, 243/1262 age group (19.3%)