2nd race on the books!

It was such a beautiful morning, a perfect morning for a race!  This one was going to be held in my park, on the roads.  I was familiar with the route they had mapped out and knew there would be plenty of inclines, so the plan was to take it nice and steady, and the goals today were simply to finish and run each step of the way.  I was pretty sure this one was going to take a bit longer.

One of the sponsors was my favorite health food store, and they had lots of free goodies.  This race was well organized and fun, and it was only the second annual event.  It was for a great cause and they really did it up right.  There were free Zumba dance classes and plenty of games for the kiddos before the race, and they offered free professional massages for the runners afterward.

The race started on an incline, so I put myself toward the back of the pack knowing I was going to start out slowly.  Just as I thought it was going to level out for a minute, we were heading back up a hill of broken down, rutted and uneven road with lots of rocks and leaves, I was forced to watch each step as opposed to looking up and around and enjoying the scenery.

There would be a lot of step watching today.  I was so happy to be back running again and I didn't want to roll an ankle on any of the rocks or walnuts that were plaguing the route today, but it was an absolutely beautiful route which I enjoyed thoroughly (even while wondering if the inclines would ever level out!)

Even while feeling the strain on my entire system, my legs were strong and I held steady throughout the entire run.  And here it was, the incline that forced a slow gradual start.  It was now a downhill sprint to the finish which I absolutely loved, smiling every step of the way!!

By holding steady and knowing what to expect at each turn, I was able to come in under my goal time and did better than I had expected.  In fact, if this race had awarded age grouper medals, I would have won my first one!

HAPPY RUNNING!!

Post run evening: A big batch of homemade lentil stew