A good run x 2

If you've been reading my last few posts or follow me on Daily Mile, you will probably know that since the beginning of November, I've had a hard time running. My pace is significantly slower, my breathing labored and my body overall heavy and stiff. I don't know what caused this, but I took it as a sign to slow things down and only run if I was enjoying running. Who wants to run when it sucks? Not me!

So going into a 12k this past weekend, I was a little nervous. I had been doing some longer runs with friends, but at a slower pace and nothing close to 7.5 miles, so the thought of running that long in a race was freaking me out a bit. I decided to make my goal "run the whole thing." I know I couldn't PR this (current 12k PR 1:07), but I could give it what I had, have a fun time with my friend Rebecca and see what would happen.

Rebecca and I - my friend let me borrow her tutu...

We ran the whole hilly beast and had a great time! We finished in 1:12 (my Garmin said 7.56 miles which would be a 9:31 pace), which I'm super stoked about because there were hills for days! The bonus was that I felt completely opposite of what I have been feeling the past couple months - I felt energetic, my body wanted to run (although a bit slower) and it was the first time in a long time that I enjoyed running that far! Yes! I told Rebecca "I hope this is a turning point in my running" and I think it was....

Because this morning I met a friend, Paige, to run 4 miles and we averaged a nice 9:15 pace, which is about where my runs used to be at. Yippee! I'm BACK! I hope I didn't just jinx it...

Being "back" came just at the right time - Half Marathon training started this week! Speed workouts will start tomorrow.