It's been a while

Like almost 3 months!

The injury was a big bummer for me. I couldn't run for a few weeks, but, I could walk. That's what kept me sane. I ended up dropping to the 10K from the Music half marathon, in February. I was able to walk it with Jackie, Kim and Leslie. We had a great time, even stopping in for a hot late at the Starbucks on St Armand's Circle! I then walked the Sasquatch 10K. That one was on my own, but I was able to keep up a pretty decent pace, considering it was on trail. And, I wasn't the last one to finish! :D

Starbucks stop with Leslie and Jackie during the Music 10K.

By the time Gasparilla came around, on Feb 24th, I was able to run, but I had not been running long or on back to back days. This was Gina and Wendy's annual birthday weekend race/party, so I wasn't going to skip it. I just planned going out and running, but not "racing" like I normally do. I had signed up for the 15K and 5K on Saturday and the 8K on Sunday. I started off slow for the 15K. I was feeling pretty good for the first few miles, but then the groin area starting hurting about half way in. I had to stretch a few times, when I stopped for water. Thankfully, I had come across Linda, who ran with me for most of the race. When I finished, I knew I shouldn't attempt to run the 5K that day. So, Carolyn and I hung out, while Gina and Wendy ran the 5K. Sunday, I surprisingly felt pretty good. The 8K starts pretty late, to give the half marathoners time to get in, so it was very hot at the start. I took it easy for this run. The heat was getting to me, but my legs felt pretty good.

The weekend after Gasparilla, Carolyn, Gina, Sandy and I headed up to St Pete to run the inaugural Skyway 10K. The first time, since the bridge first opened, that a race was held on this bridge. They shut down the northbound lanes for the 6,000 plus runners. It was pretty awesome! I'm not great with heights, but this didn't bother me at all. We were worried about the steep up hill, but we all made it up without walking! We didn't push the pace at all, just enjoyed the beauty and stopped for several photos. My injury didn't bother me at all! I was very happy.

Skyway 10K. Hope they bring this back next year!

My weekends continued to be full of races. Two weeks after the Skyway run, Carolyn and I teamed up to run the Sarasota Half as a relay team. She took the first half, which was 6 miles and included the bridge. I had just over 7 miles through the neighborhood north of downtown. It was a very humid morning for a race. I was glad I wasn't running the 13.1 miles. I had been getting in more speed work, so I tried to push the pace. I managed to keep up a 9 min mile average pace for my part of the race. I was really happy with that. Hopefully I can get back to that for the entire half distance.

At the end of March, I had one more event. The Croom Fools run. Back in the fall, I had signed up for the 50K. I was looking forward to running my third ultra. But, when I got injured, and discovered it would be weeks of recover, I emailed the race director about dropping down the the 16 mile distance. Bonnie and I headed up very early on the morning of the event. It was just under a 2 hour drive, so we left at 4am! This is a very challenging trail run in north Florida. Bonnie and I had a great time on the trails. We treated it as a (challenging) long run. Once again, I felt pretty good until the last couple of miles. But, I'm seeing improvement! I just need to gradually add those miles on.

Next up: The Withlacoochee Moon River Half marathon. A night trail run!