Shamrock Shuffle

Alright, I know it's been several weeks since I've posted... I've been busy training, at least when I wasn't sick (I was sick with some sinus thing and bronchitis for a couple of weeks... still have the cough).

Today was the big day! The goal I set for myself a year ago happened... I ran the Shuffle. And yes, I RAN the whole thing! I think my time is around an hour... I'll post my time when I get it. There were a few spots in the run that were tough... around mile 2 I wanted to die... and mile 4 was pretty rough, but at that point I just told myself that I only had a mile left and I had never run that far outside before so I might as well finish what I started! The stinky part of the Shuffle is that the last quarter mile has a HUGE hill on it which SUCKS... I ran up it... my feet weren't going too far in front of each other as they were moving, but I ran up it! When I got to the top I just had this feeling of relief, even though I still had a bit more to run. As I turned the corner for the finish line, my legs just took over... I don't think I'd ever run that fast in my life. I was just praying that my lungs could keep up because I couldn't get my legs to stop. It was like they had a mind of their own and just wanted to finish it! But I'm pretty proud of myself for accomplishing this goal.

Funny how your goals change sometimes. When I originally said that I wanted to do the Shuffle, I just wanted to do it... complete the 5 miles, however that happened. When I finally started telling people I was going to run it, many looked at me like I was crazy (which maybe I was a bit). I heard lots of "but you're not a runner" and "WHY???" which made me want to accomplish my goal even more. When I first started training, I wasn't able to run a quarter mile. My maximum time on the treadmill before I started training was maybe a half hour... and that's pushing it (and all walking time). As I progressed with my running I thought that maybe I'd want to run the majority of the race, maybe only taking 2 or 3 breaks. But in the last few weeks I changed my goal to run the whole thing without a break or walking... which I did. Now, I can say that I can run 5 miles... without stopping... and outside according to my own pace. That was the furthest I've ever run outside. (I've been training outside when I could the last three weeks or so.) There are times that I think a treadmill is easier to run on because it paces you, but as I've been running outside I've learned to pace myself... to push myself when I feel like it's too easy, but to ease back when I'm having a rough time.

So, yeah... YEA ME for accomplishing a goal and finishing what I started. I'm pretty proud of myself, which is a nice thing to be able to say. And, for those that are wondering, yes, I have future runs planned.... I think my next one will just be a 5K along the bike path in Batavia... the Fox Trot or something like that at the end of April... then I have another one at the beginning of June... and then... I don't know... maybe the half in September? Haven't committed to the last one yet, but.... you never know...

Thanks to everyone for their love, support, and prayers these last few months while I've been training. It really has meant a lot to me... I couldn't have done it without you!

V

Addendum: They have the times posted already... I finished in 1:00:26... I'm pretty proud of that... since my last 5 mile run was at 1:07:08... that's almost 7 minutes cut off!!! (AND... there were 400 girls in my category that finished after me... I wasn't the last one!)