The race

Getting ready 6am



My Dad. Myself. Aaron

My Dad's finish




My finish (ugglly)

My "fake finish" What I wanted to look like














Our trophies!! I got 3rd. Aaron got 1st!














My Dad. Benji. Aaron. Me. And my Uncle Bill.
We all placed for our age groups!

The day started at 6am. We all got up, got dressed, and were out the door by 7. We got to the race just as the 1 mile fun run was taking off. I think it was for kids 14 and under and boy were they ADORABLE!

After we watched them, we went and picked up our chips. Which went around our ankles. i found my running buddy, Ashley and we lined up at the start together, Aaron was behind me, and my Dad and Uncle were just about last. The gun shot went off, and we were off!

The first mile was seriously killing me! We ran through a turf field and through the woods. (which I didnt know about until I was at the tree line) Which made it interesting. The course was out and back which sucked.. but it was also kind of fun because I had no clue where I was going.. just following, and trying to catch) whoever was in front of me.

I had my eyes set on this one girl who looked about my age.. she stayed in front of me for the 1st 2 miles and then I passed her. There were a few hills, too which is great because I eat hills for breakfast.. I really caught up to people on the hills and past about 5-6 of them.. and then I heard it.. I could hear his footsteps coming right behind me.. My Dad.. I can tell his run from anyone elses.. he started at the back of the pack and he was already going to pass me at mile 2! We ran side by side for the rest of the race until the end where I tried my best to beat him. We sprinted against each other to the finish.. I beat him, but he beat me in time since he started after me.

Anyway, all in all, I am VERY happy with my run.. I have a new personal record of 26:59 - which I found out this morning was the "official" time. I went around all day yesterday, telling people that it was 27:07.. I looked up the official time this morning and it's 26:59! Whew! I'm stoked about that!

I was determind to get 27 minutes at the most.. I'm so happy that I made my goal! It was a fun race and I'm glad that I did it. We're signing up for a Turkey Trot in Chantilly, Va and Ash wants to sign up for a 5k on Halloween. There is the Blue and Gray half marathon December 13th but I'm afraid I wont be ready for it.. we'll see..!

Twenty six

Don't ask me why the picture is sideways. I suck at this stuff.. Buuut, my race number is 26 and that is my (wayyy to big) shirt!

Still not sure if Aaron's running or not.. we'll see come Sunday morning...

Ash and I went to pick up the packets and saw the majority of the track. It seems pretty sweet. Not just pavement! We get to run through a field! It'll be a nice change..


I ran 2 miles this morning and felt like dying. - Not sure if I posted about it yet- Guess thats what I get for taking an extra day off.. Hopefully things will start to shape up and I can get my breathing under control..

Today, my breathing was unreal. I couldn't catch my breath. And Gunner was being a pain in the ass.. like he's never run with me before. He was all over the place.. not focused like he normally is.. which, I guess, made me lose focus. Then I started worrying that I wasn't breathing right and after that happens, it's all down hill for me because I can't think about anything else.

How the hell am I going to sign up for a half when I can't even control a 3 miler? I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought I would be at this point..

There is a half marathon December 13th and I want to make it my new goal to run it.. sooo I need to get with it..

Race - 3 days!

how many days

Okay so they don't look THAT bad.. but I like to show them off, anyway.. I feel better this morning, that arm is still pretty sore. Almost like I got a tetnis shot. Ya know?

So I'll run tonight. Aaron has duty all day tomorrow, my parents come Friday, so Aaron, my Dad, and I will probably run then, take Saturday off, and then the race is Sunday.. Phew!

I know its just a 5k but I get so nervous!

Anyway, Aaron's planning on running The Marine Corps Marathon in October! Isn't he insane? He really wants to do that so I'll update when he finds out more. I know that registration is closed but his Ssgt is signed up but is now injured and I guess you can transfer registrations to someone.. soo Aaron's probably going to take him up on that offer.. we'll see!

Trail running!

So this is the result of trail running. Obviously, I fell because I am so clumsy.

My Grandparents came down for the night so they watched the boys while Aaron and I went on base and ran the trails. The trails are 5miles long but we only did half because it was getting dark. -so dark that I couldn't see in front of me and I tripped-

But, man was it fun! I was on a runners high all night long after running the trails. I think I did really well. I made it the whole way and even ran about a half mile more after I fell. It was sooo dark though! I mean, we left at 7 and it's dark by 8.. we're stupid.. but it was really the only time we could do it..

Anyway, I wish I could run the trails every time I run. Its easier (if you ask me) Because I don't focus on running. I focus on jumping over roots and watching my feet instead of staring straight ahead at the pavement.

The E-course on base is an obstical course. (we just ran the trail) But the trail itself is pretty crazy. There are a lot of big hills, mud hols, bridges, roots, and BIG rocks that you have to jump over..

I guess I'm still kind of on a runners high about it.. just typing about it makes me want to do it again..

The only thing that sucked was my fall. It sucks even more because the 5k is in 5 days. I'm sore but can still move enough to get around. I just hope it gets better before the race.. I have more pictures but I can't, for the life of me figure out the Blogger picture thing.. so I'll post 'em later..

I did the hills again. I'll do them tonight as well.
The last time I did them, I had the most horrible cramp in my stomach.. It was so bad that I was practically shuffling my feet the last 1/2 mile. Luckily Gunner was still pulling strong after a mile and a half and pulled me the rest of the way..

But these "cramps" lasted the rest of that night til last night. I thought maybe my appendix was going to burst. It made it difficult to walk or even get up out of a chair. But I woke up this morning and they're gone. Hmph..

In other news, my shins are feeling much better! Well, well see how true that statement is after my run tonight.

I did go to my LRS and find out what was wrong with them tho.. and what was causing it. Apparently I run with my right ankle/foot tilted inward. That comes from tearing my ligaments in it so bad when I was younger. My right ankle is VERY weak and tends to tilt in which causing the shin pain. So, after they watched me run, they made shoe suggestions. I'm pretty sure I'll be buying new sneaks after my 5k on the 20th. So I'm PSYCHED about that!

5k - 9 days away!

Eating hills

Did the hills Sunday night. I plan on doing them again tonight.

Looks like the weathers improving! It's been rainy all morning.

I'm so slacking on the C25K. One of my running buddies got hurt and she's been out so I have been taking it upon myself to run about 2 miles whenever I can. It's been every other day lately..but I'm also nursing a shin pain that just wont go away..

Oh and I want one of these: http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx?referrer=4252&gclid=CN39m5Xk4pwCFcZM5QodRktpKQ

Ya know, just in case I get run over by a bus. Id like someone to contact my loved ones and I don't end up like this lady:http://dcist.com/2009/09/woman_struck_by_metrobus_did_not_ha.php

That is all for now. 5k in less then 12 days! (ps - how do I make those into links?) I suck at Blogging!

17 more days until 5k!

This morning we ran on Main side again. I love it. The only thing I don't love is having to wear a glow belt. My glow belt fell right off of my hips today.. what a pain.

I did Week 5, Day 3. I was supposed to do Day 2 but decided to run the whole 20 minutes anyway. I brought Gunner and left the kids. I'm still unsure if I want to bring them with me to mainside because we're running in a lot of traffic and the double is just too wide for the shoulder.

Tomorrow, we're going to run at Lunga Lake on base. The road is gravel but I drove there today and tested the double and it seemed fine. I mapped out our miles and we'll be taking off at 7:30am. The only problem is, we might have trouble running on it because of the loose gravel and bigger stones. We'll see.

Anyway, back to running on base. Like I said before, I love it. I love running in a place where a lot of other people see you. It keeps me motivated. It keeps me from stopping. But more importantly, it keeps me distracted. I love being able to see different cars coming at me, different people running ahead or across the road from me, I love the trees and Smith lake on the other side of the road.. all of these things keep me from thinking about the task at hand. And I'm the type of person who does better when they're not thinking too hard about it. (if that even makes sense)

The 5k is in 17 days! Why am I so nervous about it? I don't know. I always get that way I guess. I even get nervous before my morning run.. just strange I guess..