I am absolutely insane everybody.

It's true. Today I put together my 2012 race schedule. I must really have a lot of faith in myself... It starts out in March with the Riverton Half Marathon, then April brings the Thanksgiving Point Half, June will feature the Utah Valley Marathon, July: the Timpanogos Half, August gets two races, the Moonlight Half and the Park City Marathon. September is the Nebo Half and I believe the Spanish Fork Half will be in there too. Then October brings the Ragnar Relay in Las Vegas, and November will be the ultimate in running awesomeness, the original Marathon in Greece! And this list isn't counting any of the 5Ks, 10Ks, or any other various and sundry races that may grab my attention. See? I'm am officially a crazy person. (I blame all the sweet gear that comes in the race packets and all those shiny, pretty medals you get when you finish a race.)

I did another race last weekend. It was a nice little 10K to raise money to build a hospital in Kenya. The weather held for the race and it was quite pleasant. I finished in the time I expected to, which was a whole lot slower than most of the other racers. But I don't mind. I'm just glad I can finish at all. It wasn't that long ago that a 6.2 mile run had me shaking in my sassy buckled boots. Tonight, I did an 8 mile run, just because I could. I think I've come a long way. And while my race schedule is a bit daunting, I really think I can at least live through it and maybe even enjoy it. Besides, all that running means more shiny medals!

Happy running :)

A faster run, a shorter distance.

Dear reader. I have a confession to make. I feel that if I run less than 4 or 5 miles at a time, I haven't really been doing my time as a runner. But last night I freed myself from this thinking. At first, I was just going to take Tuesday as a rest day. But the weather was actually cooperating after work and I felt that I should do something at least. So I told myself I would only make myself run two miles. A measly two miles. But I had to do it fast. As fast as I could without falling over dead from a myocardial infarction. And I did just that! I managed those two miles in 20 minutes even! Now a 10 minute mile may not seem speedy to those of you who consistently run at the rate of Olympic athletes. But for this girl, whose numbers have been between 12 and 13 minutes per mile, 10 minutes is akin to breaking the sound barrier. I did manage to get a nice side ache after the first mile. I had to really work on keeping my breathing in check. My helpful heart rate monitor informed me that my heart was on the verge of explosion basically from the start, but I lived! I was so pleased with my non-dying that I think I will work in one short/fast run per week. Maybe someday I'll get faster overall. Either that, or I'll keel over. But I'm working on living without fear. I have to in order to get through the next year of running that I have planned for myself. At this point it includes 3 full marathons and the Ragnar Relay race. Eeep! (That's the sound I make when frightened, in case you were wondering.)

Happy running!