Polson Race

Two weeks ago I raced in the Polson 5k race to raise money for a Polson gradute, who is hoping to make the 2012 summer Olympics for Pole Vaulting. It was an awesome run but cold. My time wasn't my fastest but it was a decent time considering the freezing cold and drizzling rain. I came 3rd overall for female and 9 overall including men so I placed high. Which i'm really excited about. Plus I got a trophy for winnning in my age group. Overall it was an excited day. My next race is this weekend. Hopefully it will be nicer out so I can beat my PB which I came within 6 seconds of in my race 3 weeks ago. Its a pretty hard time right now 22:30.

Speed Workout

Ugh I hate speed workouts but they are so good for a distance runner. I woke up early on Saturday. I know "gasp" its a Saturday and that means a day to sleep in. Not for a distance runner, expecially in the summer, when you need to run before the heat of the day but its fall. So back to the speed workout... It was freezing cold and foggy and my dad had no mercy on me. I ran a 400m at full speed, on a muddy track. Ugh it hurts, believe me. Then I did 4, 400m at 3/4 speed but the last 150m would be at a full sprint. They help with my kick in longer races like the 800m and 1600m. After that I did a stair workout, which is running up stairs and back down. I did 40 of those. It was painful but it feels good afterwards.

Daly Mansion 5k

On Saturday I ran in the Daly Mansion race. It was very nice out but the course wasn't the best. It was the same course that held the Hamilton Invitational Cross Country meet on the same day. Since we don't have a cross country team here, I had to run in the community race. Well the start line was in the middle of a gopher field. Lets just say the first thing I did was almost twist my ankle in a gopher hole. Then the race continued right into the yard next to the manison. I thought the race would be mostly flat.... awe to bad, the hills were itty bitty but they were steep and numerous. I was in first place for the females until the last 600m, then a 30+ year old came rushing past me. I held on to my second place and got my second best time. My time was 23:50.

Distance Running

Inspirational Running

The Best Running Buddy

It is always better to have somebody to run with. My running buddy just happens to be a 70lbs black lab/golden retriever. She is the best motivation because of her unlimited energy and always ready attitude. The way that she came into my life was kind of crazy. I came home around Christmas last year and happened to stumble on my parents who were on the Animal Control site. I guess they were going to surprise me with a puppy but puppies need to be at least a year to run so we had to adopt. When we first went to animal control my parents didn't want me to get a lab. They wanted me to get a more protective dog but I've always loved labs. So the moment I first saw Puma in her kennel I wanted her. She was found along the freeway running near Frenchtown. So I guess you can say she came running into my life. I got her name because I love the Puma shoe brand plus she just happens to act like a wild puma cat. Now I have the best running partner and coach, Coach Puma.

Running in the Elements

Ok so the weather lately has been nice but for a distance runner it is way tooooo hot. I went on a 3 mile run on Monday and almost died because of the heat. I normally run in the morning and it is nice and cool. But with school starting my nice morning runs have been pushed away into the heat of the day. I should be happy with the sunny weather because in just a few short weeks it will be freezing and icky. I race year round so I have to train year round. Sometimes it is so hard getting motivated to run after a crazy day at school expecially when the weather is not the best. But I still lace up my shoes and hit the pavement because that's what crazy runners do. :-)

Grizzly Hustle

Ok so on Saturday I ran in another 5k race. It was ahead of the Griz Parade on the same route. For once the weather was on my side and it was sunny. There were alot of runners, thankfully I got to the head of the pack at the start. It was very wierd running in front of soooo many people but after the first 1/2 mile I got in my zone and ignored the people. Part of the race was one lap around the griz stadium which was very cool and the field wasn't as large as I thought. After exiting the stadium the race continued down the streets past all the tailgaters and the smell of the food was pretty sickening for a runner. Then we raced around the park next to the school finally finishing in the middle of the park. My time was 23:30, not my best time. My best race time for a 5k is 22:25. I came in 45th place, which out of the hundreds of runners is pretty good.