Running Lately

I did not have as much time as I thought I would to start running again in the latter half of this year so instead of setting more unrealistic training plans for the millionth time, I’ve been trying a new approach – to not have a training plan. Even with just one class this semester, there has still a lot getting in the way of a training plan. Without a training plan, every run is an unexpected bit of happiness in my week. I don’t feel bad for not getting in a scheduled run – instead I’m excited that I actually get to run :)

My friend Catie convinced me to run the Pittsburgh Penguins 6.6K in early October. It actually didn’t take much convincing since I had been looking for a race to run in Pittsburgh. It was my first race even though I have lived here for almost two years!

The course was really neat and ran all through the city of Pittsburgh. My time was 43:35 which is a 10:23 pace. Our race bibs got us into the Penguins practice that day which gave us access to the bazillion food options inside Consol. We’re pretty much experts at refueling….with beer and nachos!

Last month I ran Fast Freddies Five Mile Foot Feast on Thanksgiving. It’s a tradition in my family to run the race before stuffing ourselves full of delicious food and pie! Every year, the top 500 finishers get their names on the next year’s shirt. I was a little bummed going into the race because I knew I wasn’t going to make the top 500 this year. I got over that really quickly though when I realized that given my situation and the amount of time I’ve had to train – I was right where I needed to be. I finished in 48:22 which is a 9:40 pace and was super pumped about it. I finished 580 out of 928 runners.

I don’t have any races scheduled for December or January but with graduation right around the corner, I’m excited to have more time to run. Who knows – there might even be time to have an actual training plan :)

How do you fit runs/exercise into your busy schedule?

What races do you have coming up?