Update 2: A New Goal

So one of my goals for 2014 was to finish the Couch to 5k training program and complete my first race. I already talked about meeting those goals in my first update, but I thought I'd give a further update.

I took part in a village race the first Friday of June, the 6th. It was an unusually warm, sunny evening with some sections including black asphalt that had had all day to warm in the sun. I had hydrated well beforehand, but quit drinking over an hour before the race for fear of having to go to the bathroom. That was probably a mistake as my mouth felt quite dry during the race itself, in spite of having gum. This race was 4.3 km and I finished in 25 something (probably around :20). I forgot to stop the watch timer or look at the clock they had up to the left and unfortunately there were no official times. Jason had looked at it at some point, so the time is guess-timated, but it's close. I felt really worn out after the race, probably due to the heat. I still don't run well when it's hot, though I've read eventually the body adjusts. I'm still waiting on that I guess!

The next race was a full 5k - finally! It was July 5th in western PA. I was running this race with my mom, though we did it separately. I finished with an official time of 29:45, which I was really happy with. I had finished 5k in less than 30 minutes! I was a little surprised to discover I had missed 3rd place in my age division by only 20 some seconds. It would have been nice to bring home a commemorative glass, but I was still happy to have beaten my goal time. My mom finished in around 45 min. with a walk/run system. For being 60 years old and never having run a race in her life, this was quite an accomplishment! Definitely something to cross off the bucket list for both of us.

I'm now approaching my 1 year anniversary of running on January 4th. It's hard to believe it's already been a year AND that I've stuck with it faithfully. I've missed a few times due to weather (including this past week) and a week of sickness this fall, but overall I've been consistent. Since our return from the States in August I've been lengthening my runs with my longest continual run being 8.16 km and my longest training run being 10 km in 1:04 with 1 km walking (.50/2x).

Running has been a great way for me to lose weight (12 pounds in June, but unfortunately 6 have returned), to relieve stress, to get in better physical shape, and to give me some "quiet time". I hope I'm able to enjoy many more years, but I guess we'll see how my body holds up once I reach the 40's!

My fitness goals for 2015 are to continue running faithfully, to weigh less next January than I do this year, and to complete a 10k the last weekend of March. I'm already signed up, so I have three months to finish training!