from Iron Girl to Princess?!!

Oh, I crack myself up. I am an obsessed person in need of some serious help. So this is what happened.... I got my latest issue of Runner's World and I'm looking through it when an advertisement catches my eye. It's the Inagural Disney Princess Half Marathon. It just happens to be when our family goes to Florida every year. There's a Family 5K and various kids races. How perfect. I've been searching for a new goal and this fits perfectly. Okay, I'm officially training for a half marathon in March.

As I'm reading through the information on the website, I happen upon the part that says if you can't prove you can finish the race in under 2 hours and 45 minutes you get placed in the last corral. Well, I can finish it in under that time (that's a 13:30 minute pace). What do I need to do to prove it? They accept any race results of a 10K or higher dating back to 2006. What, 2006? Not 2002?! I ran a 10 mile race and marathon in 2002, but haven't even come close since. What am I going to do? I don't want to start in the last corral!

When I was training for my triathlon I thought about doing a 10K to support Special Olympics. After my hard recovery and lack of motivation I wrote about in my last post, I decided not to. I've only run 3x since the Women's 4 miler and I don't race unless I feel like I can do my best. Well, guess who just went against all her own rules? Yup, me. On Saturday morning I was lining up with 400+ people to run a 10K (6.2 miles) that I wan't exactly trained for.

I was so pleasntly surprised by my results. I ran it in 54:58 which comes out to a 8:52 minute pace. I was thinking I could run it in about a 10 minute pace so I'm really happy. I also ran the race really smart. My first mile was 9:18 and I picked it up from there. My last mile was very tough, but I pushed myself at the end.

So, I'm a woman with a goal once again. I'd like to drop 10 pounds before March because I think it will help my running immensely. I feel much better.

Recovery

It's been three weeks since the race and I've sturggled a little with focus and motivation. I guess that's natural after training for so long. I ran a 4 mile race with my oldest daughter the week after the tri. She did great! I was so proud of her. Her goal was to run the whole thing without walking which she did without a problem. She was able to really pick up the pace at the end and had a great kick through the finish. Way to go Bailee!

I was wiped out after the race and actually sore. I didn't push myself so I was confused. I think it was still from the tri. I took the week off after straining my hamstring doing a workout video with my husband (that's a whole different post!). I've been semi working out ever since. I just can't seem to pull myself out of bed in the morning. I think I just need something to work towards.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the triathlon and how poorly I did on the bike. I'm really mad at myself. What I didn't mention in my first post was how much my seat hurt during the race. I knew it wasn't the most comfortable seat, but WOW I was in pain! My bottom hurt so much that I was almost in tears by the end. I was in pain for several days afterwards. I know that was a factor. I need a new seat! I haven't ridden my bike since the race and I won't until I get a new seat.

That's where I am right now. Recovery and searching for something new.