Another Year, Another Off Road Series

I keep trying to pretend like I'm a runner, but I'm pretty sure my inconsistency prevents against that. I'm trying to get back into it though. I set yet another running resolution this year and my friend and I registered for the Winter Off Road Series. I have done this series before. I thought about going back and looking through my tshirts to see if I could figure out how many years I had done it, but then I got lazy. I think this was the 4th or 5th year though. When I signed up, I thought that it would motivate me to actually run some to train a little bit, but I was wrong...

The first run was a 3k so I didn't feel bad about not training. I did feel bad about the fact that it was about 20 degrees and there were spots of ice on the ground and I couldn't feel my toes for half the race... The 5k was 2 weeks later. I probably ran once or twice in between and only like 2 miles at a time, but it was a trail run so I knew it would be a slower-than-normal pace so I wasn't too worried about it. It was a hard run. It had rained the day before so it was super muddy! And there were lots of hills. And roots. And constantly looking down. But we did it.

My streak continued and again I didn't really run or train in between the 5k and the 8k. But we were determined! This was the hardest race, by far! Aside from the fact that we hadn't trained properly, it was the hottest race which is such an adjustment on your body and lungs so that made it rough! And about 3 miles in, shit hit the fan! I'll leave it at that. But it was a rough race!

The 10k was the weekend after the 8k and we were determined to be more prepared! We ran twice that week. One was 2 miles and the other 3, but it was better than we had been doing. The weather was pretty perfect for a run and the trail kept the pace slow so I actually think that this was our best race. We ran the 6.7 miles feeling pretty good! But I will say that the last half mile was brutal. Not that the actual course was that hard, but I had mentally prepared for 6.2 miles and every step after that seemed to get heavier. Further proof that running is such a mental sport!

I will say that I feel so much better when I'm running consistently and I eat better because a) I can tell a difference in my runs when I've been eating well and b) I don't want to waste the workout by eating crap. It also allows me to run out my frustrations and gives me a chance to clear my head and think through things. So basically, running is good for all areas of my life! Hopefully this series was a good jumpstart and I will stay more consistent from here out. We'll see...