It's a new year, time for new goals?

Well, it's the first day of March, 2019. And I am finally making a post. I think my goal for this year would be to post more. :)

I've had a busy first two months of the year. I ran my first 30K distance trail run on January 13th. It was a tough one for me. A very hot day, with little shade. I struggled. I walked a good chunk of the second half.

On January 19th, I attended the annual Manasota Track Club Banquet. I was surprised and delighted to receive the Volunteer of the Year award for 2018! I've been a MTC member for many years. On the Board for a few years now. I love this club and all that it does for the community.

On January 26th, I ran the Achieva 5K. Not a great time, but I feel like I'm getting my speed back a little. The next day, I was set to run the Chilly Willy 5K (just for fun), but the weather conditions forced the RD to change it to a 2 mile run. It was a small event. I still managed to come in 2nd overall! :D This weekend was the start of 7 weeks in a row of running a race!

Around mile 7 of the Music Half.

February 3rd was the Sarasota Music Half marathon (#87). Finally, I was able to run this local half. And, I was disappointed in it. There were only a few bands on the course. Not as many people out cheering as I thought there would be. The best part, was seeing a bunch of friends on the out and back sections. The food was not so great at the finish. I didn't stay long. Happy with my time 2:04:19. I pushed the pace, but still had more in me, to push harder.

February 10th, I ran the new St Pete Distance Classic half (#88). I enjoyed the course, which was a little different from the other half marathons I've run in St Pete. Not much by way of crowd support, but I think that will change as the race grows.  Awesome medal, but post race food was only good for those who could eat pasta. I had a banana, then went to Starbucks.

February 16th was the Super Hero 5K at Benderson Park. I was there for the cause, which helps support foster children. I was not planning to "race" this event. I ran 7.25 miles before the race. The race was huge! Over 1000 participants. At this large of a number, the race should have been put on in an area that could handle that many people. The run was crowded the entire time. And, when the lead runners where coming back, they had to fight for space on the sidewalk with the people still heading out.

Top 10% mug for the 5K

February 23-24, Gasparilla weekend races celebrating Gina and Wendy's birthday! Most of us ran the 15K and 5K on Saturday, plus the 8K on Sunday. Carolyn was a rock star, running all 4 races this year. It was HOT!! I did decent for the 15K. A little better then last year. Granted last year, I was recovering from an injury. But this year, it was much hotter. The 5K was nothing special, but, Gina and I were both fast enough to finish top 10% in our age group! We had some fun at the after party. Then got showered and changed, before heading out to see Hamilton. What a great show!. Dinner, then early to bed. Sunday was even hotter. The 8K started at 9:15. So late in the morning! Lots of sun and humid conditions made it a tough race for me. I started out OK, but when I hit the turn around, the heat hit me hard. I thought I was going to throw up! I had to walk a bit. This hit me a couple more times on the way to the finish. I slowed my pace down, but still ended up walking a couple more times, before finally crossing the finish line. Once again, the conditions seemed to slow most everyone down. Gina and I finished top 10% for the 8K!

Up next: the Shark's Tooth 10K, Carolyn's birthday race!