Today is a pretty gloomy day outside. It's in the low 60s and has been nonstop raining all morning. I've taken a few days off from running since my last run was pretty painful. I've been massaging my lower leg with my foam roller and icing and I think that's helped. I decided to brave the yucky weather and go out for a short run. I drove over to one of my favorite local parks, Hudson Springs Park. There is a small lake there and a 1.8 mile wooded trail that goes around it. Part of the trail though is open and near the trail, they have pavillions, a play area for kids, picnic tables, and swings there. You can also rent canoes and go out on the lake. I have never done that though -- I don't know how, I don't know why, but I know I'd end in the water somehow! Anyhow, the park is really nice with tons to do. My DH and I actually got some of our wedding pictures taken there. It was cute because there I was in my big poofy wedding dress and these little girls were there with their family having a picnic. They kept falling us around talking about how they thought I was a princess! SO CUTE! That was such a beautiful day...unlike today! As I was driving there, the little sprinkles on my windshield grew stronger and more plentiful. By the time I pulled in, it was a pretty steady rain. Oh well, I was already there I figured. I started on my run and luckily, before I knew it, the rain was the last thing on my mind. I focused more on my knees trying to monitor how they were feeling, all while trying to push myself up and down the hills that I seemingly forgot existed. On each hill, just as I felt that I couldn't suck in anymore air, luckily I had reached the top and was ready to come down. I just kept thinking, "What goes up, must come down!" That helped! Anyway, I'm glad to say that I ran the loop twice for 3.6 miles and both knees felt WAY BETTER than my 4 mile run earlier in the week. I had nearly no pain in my right knee and only minor / occasional pain in my left. As soon as I got home, I massaged again with the foam roller and iced. So far so good!
After doing more research on the two races I blogged about yesterday, I think I will do the 5.25 mile race. It turns out that this race is part of the local Blossom Time Festival in Chagrin Falls. The same day of the race, they will be having hot-air balloon races, a parade, and "The Taste of Chagrin" -- you know what that means...yummy food! And if that food weren't yummy enough, there will be the typical fair stuff which means rides, games, and yes...fair food! OMG, my DH loves fair food! And what better way to finish off of 5 mile race than with elephant ears?! (For those non-fair-going people, no they are not literal elephant ears! They're huge pieces of fried dough with cinnamon and sugar. AKA, "crystally goodness!") I still have a few weeks to decide though, but this one sounds good to me!
Now I am contemplating another couple of races, but these aren't until August. The problem is, they are on the same day. Remember how I said that I would LOVE to run another 10 mile race? Well, it turns out there IS another 10 mile race not too far from here. It's the Perfect 10-Miler and is scheduled for Sunday, August 17th. It looks like a pretty popular race with some pretty good runners. I know that because I looked at the results from last year, and there were nearly 30 girls just in my age group. When I compared my recent 1o mile time with their times, I would have been almost dead last! Yikes! The other race is a 10K (6.2 miles). The results from last year show a much smaller group (55 people in the entire race) with times that I could compete with. Oh, and there's one more factor -- both of these races are just 3 weeks before the half marathon I want to run! The 10-mile race could be a good "practice race", but I don't want it to drain me too much for my big race. I don't think it will though. Three weeks should be plenty of time to recoop. So...run the 10-mile with great athletes and prepare to be smoked or run the 10K with fewer, more equal-to-me athletes and hope for a medal? Decisions, decisions...Hmmm, I wonder what food they will have at each...
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