Hello folks and happy Saturday! I finally broke out my running shoes this week to get outside for my first outdoor runs of 2018. The weather this winter has not been very pleasant for running, but since I have signed up for two half marathons in the spring I need to get some miles in if I want to hit my goals. Luckily we had some beautiful days this week to get a few good runs under my feet.
I am thankful to @chelsea88 for first introducing me to the #runforsteem challenge hosted by @jumowa. I started following the posts a few weeks ago and was encouraged to see the nice little community that is starting. My trainer pal JJ is a great running partner, but our schedules do not always coincide to allow us to run together so it is great to have a little digital community to help motivate me to keep running. You can check out the post for this week here if you want to join in: https://steemit.com/runforsteem/@jumowa/weekly-run-for-steem-challenge-jan-22ns-jan-29th-and-payout-for-last-week-s-running
I'll share my stats down below, but don't you want to drool over my lovely running course first? ;) I am really lucky to work right near some great running trails. I can run straight from one of our corporate gyms and be at the Chattahoochee Nature Preserve in about a mile. There are quite a few different trails you can take, and a big part of it runs right next to the river. Not a bad view to enjoy, right?
You see all types of people enjoying the trails. Old and young, slow and fast, couples holding hands and local cross country and track teams training. I appreciate that it is always busy enough that I never feel scared to run there alone, but I've never had a problem with it being too busy that I can't keep the pace I want. :) There is also quite a bit of wildlife. The geese were enjoying the day, too.
Ok, so I guess I have to prove I actually ran and didn't just stroll and take pictures. Here are my stats from my Garmin Forerunner 620 for Thursday 1/25. I am pretty happy with how I felt. JJ and I ran on Sunday in her very hilly neighborhood and my legs definitely felt a little sluggish. This run definitely felt a whole lot better.
I had a few little surges in there, but mostly kept that just above 9-minute mile pace. The first half I am signed up for is March 10th. I really have no expectations for that run, it's just hosted by my college so I do one of the distances they offer every year. It really is a beautiful campus, so that run I just want to enjoy. My goal race is April 28th. That one I am looking to break the 1:55 mark, so I feel pretty good that I will get there in the next few months!
I will definitely try to keep up with my weekly participation in this challenge! Thanks again to @jumowa for hosting and @chelsea88 for helping to motivate me. :)
Hopefully my post will help motivate some other folks to have a great run, too!
