Easter Week! – 7.14 Miles Total

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

March 31, 2018 – 4.14 Mile Run

I was up early on Saturday morning to get a run in. The goal was to get a “longer” run in. We’d never done the run quite like this before. Instead of doing an Out-n-Back route like we would typically do, we opted to meet at the Finish and drive to the Start. Afterward, I drove Lina back to her car.

We were both hoping that this route was closer to 5 miles, but I came up with it last minute and Lina agreed to it. Later, we talked about how we might add mileage to it. We are both training for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in October. So getting more mileage in is critical.

This run started out hilly, but once we got to a turnaround point, it was all downhill from there. “Downhill” is often seen a negative to most people, but not to Runners. Downhill is the *best*!! I imagine it’s like saying, “Once the children left home for good, our marriage was all downhill.”

To a Runner, that means it is AWESOME! Easy! And something I could roll with for the rest of my life!! *sigh*

I love my kids. I love being their Mom. But I can’t wait to have my house back and my boyfriend back. And for life to be ……. Downhill!

That’s what this run was like. It was great. We’ll have to do it again and add some miles to it. I’ll letcha know how it goes


The next day was Easter! We went to church with my In-Laws. They held their Services outside. It was a very typical Evangelical Easter Service. Very pleasant and uplifting. Afterward, we went to my In-Laws’ house for lunch.

Both kids requested an Easter Egg Hunt. I was surprised by this. Jayda, not so much. She’s 10. I can’t remember the last time I partook in an Easter Egg Hunt, but I am *positive* I was older than 10. I am just as positive that I did NOT partake at 15! And Jordan was the first to ask about one!

Strange? Perhaps not. When I told him that I was surprised that he wanted one, he replied with, “Why? I like candy and money.” Then I remembered why I lost interested in Easter Egg Hunts somewhere between age 10 and 15. The people in charge of my childhood hid eggs. Real. Hard-boiled. Eggs. And it was fun! Until it wasn’t.

So like the schmuck that I am, I dug up the plastic Easter Eggs from years past, scrounged up some Now And Laters that I had rightfully stolen from some unsuspecting children the night before and started stuffing Easter Eggs with candy and dollar bills. *sigh*

I know…. I’m a sucker for my kids.

April 3, 2018 – 3.00 Mile run

This run was a good one too. It was a typical morning run. Out and back. My goal was to maintain a good pace, which is 13:?? for me. I did that. Just enough to keep turning it over, but not so much that I would be exhausted before the end of the workday.

There was nothing remarkable or outstanding about this run. It was just exactly what it needed to be.


I was supposed to run on Thursday, but that run got cancelled. This has been happening more than I’d like lately. For some reason, I thought once the children got a little older, I would have more time to pursue my own interests. That has not been my experience thus far. Saturday, I will be missing an organized Ride that my Crew will be doing. This one really hurts.

I have not been getting the time on my bike that I’d like. There are just too many instances where I can’t leave the house. So I bought myself a Training Stand. This Training Stand!

I haven’t set it up yet, but as soon as I can get some instruction and advice, I will be doing my best to work this into my daily tasks.

As always, I’ll see you on the next run!

And get your Mammogram!

March 28, 2018 – 3.00 Mile Run

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”


You all know that I am not a social person. I am very good in a social situation. I have an army of wonderful friends who I enjoy immensely and I believe they enjoy me too. However, I do really enjoy my own company. Most times, if I were left to my own devices, I would be a Recluse.

I would go to work every day and do my job well. Better than most, in fact. I would go home. I’d eat. I’d have a glass of wine. I’d read or watch TV. Then I’d go to sleep and do it all over again the next day.

And that would be it. No social interaction, actual or virtual. I wouldn’t eat much. Wouldn’t sleep much. Except for my bedroom, all of the rooms in my house would be unnaturally tidy…. And dusty. Because I would never use them. I would inhabit my bedroom only, with the door closed, and locked. Even if there was no one else there.

Well this past week was *very* close to that! And while I’m grateful that this time is very nearly over, I gotta say, I kinda loved it!

What happened was Jordan went to New York City with his High School Choir (GO HIGHLANDERS!!) to sing at Carnegie Hall!! Can you BELIEVE that!! Wow! At the same time, Chris was away on business for what was supposed to be 5 days, but turned out to be 12. So it was just Jayda and me at home for about a week.

Jayda is like me, in that she is also very fond of her own space. So we would cook dinner together when we got home, sit and talk, work on homework, give bunches and bunches of hugs, then retreat to our respective caves. On Sunday, we went to the movies twice in the same day! First, we saw “A Wrinkle in Time” (wish I’d enjoyed that more. I was only halfway through the book at the time of viewing). Then we went back later that day to see “Black Panther” for the second time (phenomenally great movie!).

It was WONDERFUL!!

But with Christopher gone, I realized I have a disturbing tendency to lose interest in things I would normally enjoy very much. Like reading and riding my bike and eating and running. Strangely, though, I was still very fond of WINE!!

Before I sent Jordan off, I picked this up:

I know what you’re thinking. What is a beautiful, knowledgeable, sophisticated woman like Sabrina doing even *considering* wine in a freakin’ BOX?! Well… I had no men at home. And this is as close to disgusting as I’m likely to get. Besides, I’d heard good things about this brand (out of Principal, I can’t use the word “vintage” or “Label”) and I wanted to give it a try. It was a 3-liter box, which was likely to hold me over very well til my men got back.

While the experience was not terrible, it wasn’t great. This was fine. One can hardly expect “greatness” from boxed wine. It was very thin and a tiny bit sweeter than I’d like. It was not very layered, textured or dynamic, and for some reason I really felt like it should be kept in the refrigerator, so it was much colder than it would have been, had I found space for it in my wine ‘fridge.

Bottom line - It was what it was: An adult juice box. And that was ok.

Now….


On to the Run…


This was a good run. Not because it was fast or long, but because I got to do it. I woke up early, as usual. To run, as usual. And we ran hills. I really needed to get this run in because, as previously implied, I felt I was beginning to show symptoms of mild Depression. I am not normally afflicted with Depression or “Soul Fog” of any kind, but Depression is nothing to mess with. So even if it wasn’t Depression, it was an internal shift that I didn’t want to embrace. Therefore, whether I wanted to or not, I was determined to wake up early and get a run in. With hills if I could swing it!


So, I pinged my Girl, Lina and said, “Let’s….”
And, as usual and without missing a beat, she said, “GO!”

We set out early to run the hills of Big Sky. It was great in its familiarity and easy going in its pace. My headlamp went out before I got to the halfway point, but my vest was still blazing bright. So it was all good.

It was good to be out breathing and running again and as always, was a very effective way to get me back to myself. I felt LOADS better after the run and I was ready to join The Living again!


Then, late on Monday night, I picked Jordan up from school after the Choir Trip. We were both embarrassingly happy to see each other. But we played it cool.

And the following Wednesday, I picked Chris up from the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Going to the airport is WONDERFUL and driving in Los Angeles is AWESOME…. When it ends up like this.

So I am back to my old self again now that my family and I are back under the same roof. I love my family. And I love being at home. Home is a good place. There is so much love. So much joy and laughter. No strife. Just peace and honest, unending acceptance, adoration and friendship. And hugs. Lots of love…. And wine.

See you on the next run.

And get your Mammogram!

March 15, 2018 – 2.98 Mile Run

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

This was a typical Maintenance Run. It was just Lina and me this morning, and that’s ok.

Cuz all you need for a party are equal parts Lina and Sabrina. We go together like Wine & Cheese, Socks & Shoes, Mornings & Running. In fact, our Couple Mash-Up Name is still just……. SABRINA.

It was dark out, but not too cold, which was nice. We walked the first half, which was well for me because it had been about a week since I’d been running. It felt good to start off slowly. After the first mile and a half, we started running. Lina slowed her roll and finished the run with me.

We chatted and caught up a little bit. And you know what that is? That’s GROWTH!!

Not only that, it speaks to how much I really love Lina. Because everybody knows that the quickest way to end a friendship with Sabrina is to speak to her whilst she’s running.

Nobody else can do it, but Lina gets a pass because I love her and she is my running Sole Mate. Not that one needs to be as lovely as Lina to run with me. I would run with Conrad Murray if he were in my Pace Group and could shut the eff up!!


On To The Run…
This run was important for a number of reasons. For one, it was the first morning run I’d done since Daylight Savings started. Daylight Savings is typically a turning point for me. It USED to mean that I could choose to run in the morning or after work and still get some daylight. Now that I’m training for a Tri, it means that I will need to figure out whether I want to run in the mornings and swim or ride at night.

I will have to figure out the best way to proceed. As I understand it, it is always best to swim first to avoid cramps. Swimming in the morning sounds just terrible!

Secondly, I was starting to experiment with nutrition. I have a pretty good idea of what will work for me during a foot race, but I have discovered that I my needs are almost completely different when I’m riding and different-er still, when I’m swimming.

If I’m running fewer than 4 miles, I’ll hydrate before the run and carry nothing but MJ on my playlist and three forms of Fitness Tracking. I know. It’s crazy, but there it is. I almost never have any solid food before a run fewer than 4 miles.

When I’m riding, I have discovered that, no matter the distance, I need to fuel up with lean protein and some kind of carb. I like to have a couple pieces of chicken breast and orange slices. And even on a short ride, I always seem to need water. Bikes are annoying.

With swimming – I never eat before a swim and I seem to perform best when I have a bottle of Gatorade (as opposed to plain water) at the head of the lane, so I can take a sip after about 4 laps. I get *extremely* dehydrated when I swim, which I didn’t expect and find very odd. Also, swimming WEARS ME OUT!! Swimming is the worst!

Basically, what this means is that I have to forget everything I ever knew about my own nutritional needs. During the race, swimming is the first leg, then the bike, then the run. And while I am well-versed on what I’ll need for a 2-mile run, I have NO idea what I’ll need for a 2-mile run AFTER a 500 meter swim AND a 6-mile ride.

Anyway…. This morning, I fueled up with just a sip of Gatorade and two of these:

These are Energy Balls. A friend of mine made them for me. They are made with almond butter, chia seeds, figs, organic cacao nibs and honey. They’re tasty enough without being too sweet. Substantial, without being too heavy. And very easy to take on the go. My concern is that they won’t stand up to jostling and high temperatures.

They were perfect for this run, which was at 5:30am on a cold morning, where I left from my house and ate them as I drove to the route. But how will they do sitting in a Transition Station for how ever long it takes me to finish the swim and the bike? On an August afternoon?!

I fear that the structural integrity will be compromised to the point where I will end up with something resembling the contents of a baby’s diaper.

But we’ll see. I’ll keep training with them and let you know how it goes.


See you on the next run.

March 15, 2018 – Trying to Tri

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

Hello Again!! It has been a *very* long time since I’ve posted anything. Spring is on its way! And it is as beautiful as ever in sunny California!

Let me bring you up! Everything is the same. God is still on His Throne. Work is still work. Husband is still better than I deserve. Kids are still crazy. Michael Jackson is still the Greatest Entertainer who ever lived. And running is still a constant comfort.

As always, I am just a mediocre athlete, trying to stay in my jeans!


Just as there are tiny changes to the Seasons in glorious Southern California, there have been tiny changes to my workout regimen. One of the most significant changes is that I signed up for the Santa Barbara Triathlon in August. If you have followed me at all, you know how I feel about other forms of exercise:

Bikes are for Suckas.
Yoga is for Weed Smokers.
Pilates is for Hipsters.
Swimming is for Babies.
And Running is the Sport of Kings! Or in my case, Queens.

While all of these things may ring true, I have to confess that I am still in love with Felicia (She’s my bike. She’s hot!). I have ridden with a Cycling Club for about two years now and I really don’t know what I would do without these people.

So Bikes are now cool.

Yoga and Pilates are still for weirdos. Sorry. I don’t even know how to talk to you folks.


But, Swimming…….. Swimming…… Swimming.


I can’t say I’m a big fan. But swimming is the first leg of the race, so I have got to get it in! Which means I need a pool. Which means I joined a Gym. I realize this flies in the face of my previous assertion that all gyms are crawling with herpes and staph infections, but what am I to do? I’m already registered! So I gotta swim.

And this is no joke! I am not a strong swimmer and the race takes place in open water!
THE OCEAN!!!
That’s crazy, right? I can’t be the only one who thinks so, can I? Swimming in the ocean is not something humans should do!!

Here’s how I see it: If a stranger walked into your house, unannounced, uninvited and unwelcomed, You might let him walk through your house. As long as he doesn’t appear to be a threat to you or your family, you might just let him have a look around and leave when he’s done. You might do that. But no one would fault you for being tempted to shoot him!!

The Ocean is the Shark’s HOUSE!!! And I can’t blame it for wanting to kill me!!! And yet here we are, paying money to invade the home of a known killer. Just to swim a few meters!!! (500 to be exact)

I don’t get it, but that’s how it goes. So we must train for it.


So now swimming is, well… It’s not cool. It’s crazy….. which is kinda cool.


In other News!

While I absolutely still believe that Michael Jackson is the baddest man to ever hold a mic, I gotta give proper respect to this guy!

I’m taking my husband to see Bruno Mars for his birthday!!! For my husband’s birthday, not Bruno’s birthday. I know it’s exciting, but I can’t run around with misplaced pronouns!

This is SUPER exciting for me!! Bruno Mars is one of the very few artists that I will mention in the same sentence with Michael Jackson. I never got to see Michael in concert when he was alive. So when I learned that Bruno was coming to Los Angeles, I couldn’t pass it up. I’ll letcha know how it goes.


Also, here is a pic of me and the kids going to see Black Panther.

This movie was great! If you haven’t seen it twice, go see it again! It’s amazing. The acting, the writing, the cinematography, the costuming, the casting. I can’t say enough about this movie. Everything about it was remarkably well done. My whole family loved it. Wakanda Forever!!


And now, for the Run


I ran a quick 2 miles on Tuesday. It had been quite a while since I had run at all. About a week. This is unusual for me. And after a week, my body began to rebel a little bit.

If you know a little bit about my backstory, you know that I was diagnosed with DCIS about 4 years ago and have been on Anti-Cancer medication for about 3 years. One of the side effects of the medication is Anxiety. Previously, I had never suffered with anxiety, so I never realized just how aptly named it is.

Anxiety is a terrifying condition that afflicts millions of Americans and there absolutely no shame in it. If you think you might suffer with Anxiety, don’t hesitate to get help. Many women who are on Tamoxifen (and other medications) also take Anti-Anxiety meds.

I don’t take Anti-Anxiety meds because, fortunately for me, running keeps it completely in check. But I gotta run! And when I don’t, my body reacts. Poorly.

Check out my heart rate on my last run:

I was taking it *really* easily. I walked the first half and my Heart Rate still reached 198!! That is dangerously high!! Seriously. If you need it, get help. Anxiety is unnecessarily hard on your body.

When I am running regularly, my normal Heart Rate stays pretty low:

This was a snapshot of my Heart Rate while I was at the office! #SuperStressful
My Resting Heart Rate is even lower.

My point is, Anxiety is real. If you or someone you know suffers with it, get help. Fast.


So…. We’re all caught up now! Not much has changed. And not much as stayed the same. I will write again soon.

As always, see you on the next run…..

….. And get your Mammogram!

June 2017

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”


Much has changed since I last posted…. and much has stayed the same. As for what has stayed the same: I still believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I still believe my husband is the hottest thing on two feet. I still believe Michael Jackson is the Greatest Entertainer Who Ever Lived! And I still believe the only real athletes are Runners.

But….

I have developed a pretty serious love affair with a bike. My bike! I bought a bike! Her name is Felicia and I *LOVE* her!!!

But we’ll get to that in a bit. Cuz that’s a pretty big change and deserves its due.

Now…. To the Run!

I have maintained a steady flow with Running over the years and I still enjoy it tremendously. I have discovered that I have come to love it more as I’ve gotten older and I found myself wondering why that might be. I certainly have NOT gotten any better at it. I am still super excited with a 12 min/mi pace and I’m pretty content with running 13 miles… Or less. The 10 Miler is still my favorite distance. I am not at all tempted by the Marathon. Maybe later.

These days, running is more about maintaining balance. I fill my body with poison every day and willfully knock everything off kilter! Running keeps everything in its proper place.

Just keeping my body moving on a regular basis cuts down on side effects and improves cognitive function. I find myself letting my mind wander at about the 2-mile mark. This is when the run gets really fun for me. I parse through work issues, home issues and review inner monologues where I discover that I would be absolutely in the right to fly off the handle over a perceived injustice! Then, by the time I get to mile three, I’ve reasoned that there are almost always two sides to every story and remembered that “A gentle answer turns away wrath”.

So trust me, running is much cheaper than therapy and it keeps me from sockin’ people in the face. It’s a good thing.

One thing that has changed is that I almost never run alone anymore. I am a pretty anti-social person and an even less social runner. But about two years ago, I was really feeling like I needed a change. Even though I know it is completely against my grain, I prayed and asked God for the patience to join a Running Group.

Of course, God knows me better than that. He didn’t grant me patience (Thank God, I don’t have time for Patience!). Instead, he blessed me with these ladies.

This is my Running Crew: Sue, Sarah, Lina and the pup is Lily. They keep me going and make running not only fun, but a necessity. And they are exactly what I needed. They are all much faster than me. So even though, technically, I run with a group, I am almost always running alone. And that works out just fine for me. They are sweet, wonderful and expert Mimosa makers. Our runs frequently end with a refreshing libation. Cheers to you Ladies! I love you.


Now!! What’s this nonsense about a BIKE?!!

Yes, I have always held to the notion that bikes are for suckas and cyclists are the nasty people cluttering up my Running Route.

But wait! As I mentioned previously, there are almost always two sides to every story! What if Cyclists *aren’t* fallen angels, sent to earth to corrupt and shame? What if Bikes *aren’t* death traps and a direct result of The Fall?

What if they are wonderful? And liberating? Dynamic and stimulating? What if they’re a sh_t ton of fun???

Turns out they are all of that and more. They are a community of lovely people: Moms, Dads, Professionals, talented, gifted people. I could not have been more wrong about the thrill of bikes and biking. I brought Felicia home about a year ago and cannot imagine life with out her.

Not only have I fallen in love with my bike, but I’m in love with this rag-tag buncha misfits!

We bike on weekends and I look forward to every ride. They are a mixture of elite, intermediate and novice riders. Riding has improved my running by giving me practice at pushing past the point of exhaustion and that is tremendous for a runner.

I have been so blessed by the experience and I take back everything I said about bikes.


As for more change, I now have another man living in my house! My sweet Jordan graduated from Middle School earlier this month. Look at these handsome men! At times I am staggered by how much they have grown and matured and become such manly gentlemen.

They have been friends since they were in Elementary School. They have grown up together, played sports and learned what it is to be a Man through the loving guidance of their Moms and Dads. I am so proud of these fine, strapping young men.

This is a pic of those same “Men” playing in a public fountain after Graduation. Ah, well…..
I still love ‘em and I’m blessed by them every day.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to over the last couple of years. I am still running regularly. I have come to love cycling and working out in groups. Something I swore I’d never do. I spend most of free time in running gear or biking jerseys. This is what I look like when I’m not running….. Always with a book.
#NerdsAreHot

See you on the next run!
And as always….. Get your Mammogram!

July 18th – 21st, 2015 – 7.43 Mile Run & 3.04 Mile Run

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”


I really have been meaning to write for months. I just haven’t been disciplined enough to make the time. But now I feel like I really need to get a goal posted!!

The Santa to the Sea Half Marathon is screaming towards us! December is just around the corner! A friend of mine, running genius and personal fitness consultant, Kim Melvin, gave me a Half Marathon training schedule. It’s about 12 weeks, which is typical, and seems quite doable.

I have never actually followed a training schedule when I was training for a Half. I just built up the miles and ran it! It seems to work for me. My position on running is that I’ll do it for as long as it’s fun. Once it stops being fun, I’ll stop doing it.

Once I discovered that focusing too much on speed robs me of the joy of running, I switched my focus and the joy returned.

Because of this, following a set schedule seemed like something that might rob my joy as well. But I can’t be sure until I try it. Maybe it will enhance the experience.

Ideally, I would run with friends. Running with friends helps with motivation, of course, but I’ve always been a rather solitary runner. For several reasons: (1) I run when I feel like it. Most times running with a group means I have to get up at the crack of dawn to meet them and I *really* hate mornings. (2) Speed has never been my main focus with running. Strength and endurance have always been the focus for me. Frankly, I don’t want to slow anyone down. If get up in the morning to run with a group that is faster than me, I end up running alone anyway. Might as well sleep in and run alone later, right? (3) I am just not a social runner. Even when I do run with others, I tend to have my headphones in and I almost never talk to people while I’m running. The only exception I can think of is my brother, who cracks me up so much during a run, I can hardly breathe. And (4) having a young family and working full-time means I am with people almost constantly. Alone time is a very rare commodity and running is my alone time. Just me and Michael and the open road and a bottle of pepper spray. Bliss.

If it seems like I’m making it excuses, I may be. I don’t know. I’ll have to try it and see.

First, I’ll have to adopt a schedule. Kim’s is awesome. Here it is:

Second, I’ll needed to find a group to run with. This came to me out of the beautiful blue. By the beautiful blue, I don’t mean the sky, I mean the Facebook blue.

Lina, a runner friend of mine posted that she was in search of someone who wanted to get up at 7:00am on Saturday to run 7+ miles with her.

As you all know, I am a person of Faith. I had been praying for the discipline to get up early to get the serious miles in. My relationship with God is very long-standing, so I have no idea why it always surprises me when He answers my prayers so swiftly. One must be careful what one prays for.

So up I got at 6:00am, so I could fuel up and leave for the agreed upon meeting place. A park, about a mile and a half from my house. A mile and a half is a perfect warm-up so I set out feeling pretty good.

When I got to the park, Lina wasn’t there yet, so I took the time to stretch and breathe.

When she showed up, looking cute and sweet and super fast, we exchanged pleasantries, briefly shared expectations (Me: Feel free to pull ahead. I am super slow and getting faster is not the goal for me / Lina: Ok, cool. Let’s go!) and hit the road.

It was a route that I am very accustomed to. I was very comfortable and the pace I kept was Half Marathon pace for me (about 12:30 min/mi).

This run was all joy. I hope we get to do it again sometime.

So! Now that I have a schedule and a friend to train with, I should be ready to go! Right? RIGHT!

I’ll keep you posted!


May 21st, 2015 – 3.04 Mile Run

This was just a maintenance run. Tuesday was calls for 3 miles. I did 3 miles. Doing 3 miles is fun. There’s not much to say against a 3-mile run.

It was humid but breezy. I ran it right after work and I didn’t take the time to fuel up properly or even hydrate appropriately. But it was 3 miles.

Three miles to an experienced runner, is like a Chocolate Labrador puppy. It’s smart, unintimidating and… cute.

See ya on the next run!!!

March 15th, 2015 - 3.07 Mile Run

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

This was just a regular maintenance run. There was nothing particularly wonderful about it. It was a little slow and it had been a little too long since my previous run, but I had to get this one in.

Today was the L.A. Marathon. I wasn't running it, of course, but I was there in spirit, as I knew a few people who were taking it on.

Lately, running has become more of a mental thing for me. I often find myself wrestling internally.

Should I go? I should go. I'm bummed because I can't go! Look at that lady! She's going! Wish I could go. I should have gotten up early to go. I'm not getting up early to go. No one's paying me to go. It's too cold to go. It's too dark to go. It's too hot to go. When should I go???

The obvious answer to these questions is forever and always "JUST GO!"

That is the challenge this spring and summer. To just go!

The biggest challenge will be working in a run while I'm taking care of these folks.

It may mean that the next few months will be about speed. Not because I want to get faster, exactly, but because I won't have much time to get my workouts in. I will try to keep my sessions under an hour.

This is an interesting challenge for me. I would very much like to PR in the 5k this year, but I can't help feeling a little lame for registering for a 5k. It may sound a bit snobby, but it's not just me!!! I know several runners who won't waste their Race Fees budget on 5ks. Not only that, the last time I did a race and I was stressed out about it because I felt like I hadn't trained well enough, the general consensus was "It's just a 5k. You're an experienced runner. You don't need to train, just go out and do it."

And they were not wrong!! My fitness is certainly at a level where simply finishing a 5k is a matter of course. But finishing well is not to be taken for granted.

I think for this reason, the 5k gets kind of a bad rap. My mother-in-law actually said to me once, "I didn't think you bothered with 5ks anymore."

The sad truth is , part of me wants to be seen this way! Like some racing badass who's too good for a measly 5k. But I know better. I know that I could spend the entire summer trying to PR in the 5k, and fail.

Yes, I would consider 3 miles a short run. Still, an experienced runner always respects the distance.

So that's the plan this summer. Lame or not, I will be on the watch for interesting 5 and 10k races.

And maybe a Half in the Fall. Sound good?

See you on the next run!