Lots of running

The mystery run was a blast! Definitely going to do it every year from now until eternity. I think next year we will have a better plan and more people and create a "team".... which is kind of like cheating but I'm ok with that.

I have 3 races to update on:

1. Speedy Skunk 10k. This is the first year I've ran and it was HOT. It's not like normal hot weather, it's like no-shade, nowhere to hide, blazing sun, cut through the humidity with a knife, kind of hot weather. One mile into the race I started thinking about ways I could decrease the amount of clothing I was wearing. I even started to wonder how many people would be offended if I took of my shorts and ran in my thong. True story. Anyway, I decided to keep my shorts on and ended up PRing by over 3 minutes!

2. Cross Country 5k. The 5ks have been kicking my ass lately. The one I did in Illinois I didn't even come close to running what I wanted to. I ran this one poorly too. I've always been a negative split kind of runner. Start slow, pace yourself, and tear it up at the end. Not the case anymore. My first mile was 7:37 and my last mile was 8:18. The difference in mile splits is embarrassing. So my goal for the next 5k- which is at the end of June- is to pace myself so that 1. I run around 23:45 and 2. I run even or negative splits. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.

3. War Eagle 25k. This race is badass. If you've ran this race, you are a badass. Once again, I've spectated the past 2 years. This is the first year I've actually ran. This is also the race I debated on doing the 50k. Here is the issue I faced with this particular run: The actual distance you run on these trail races is different than what the distance says it's supposed to be. This is something you know going into the race. It's not a surprise. But I couldn't stop thinking about the 10k two years ago that ended up being 9 miles instead of 6.2. NINE. Yikes. So the whole time I kept thinking about "what if this race ends up being 17 miles? I'd better pace myself just in case." Of course, in hindsight that line of thinking was totally stupid. It's not like this is the first year they've done the 25k. So obviously if there was a distance issue, they would have fixed it already. Sometimes I very seriously think I need to be medicated..... like anti-anxiety type medicated. I bet I'd be a better runner.
The husband ran with me for this race which was cool. Well, 90% of the time it was cool. The other 10% I was thinking about throwing a rock at his head. Like at mile 12 when he asked me how my shoes were doing. Really?? We're 12 miles into what ended up being a 13.3 miles race... does it really matter now how my shoes are doing?? No, it doesn't. What a strange question to ask.

So that's my update. I feel like I need to give a shout-out to some super runners before I go:
-My husband totally kicked that War Eagle 25k's butt. We both think he can and should do the 50k next year.
-Brian ran the 50k and that in itself is amazing
-My dad ran that 5k back in Illinois with me and he did great! Not too many people over the age of 50 can just up and run a 5k without training. Ok, really not many people at all can just up and run a 5k. My dad has always had an amazing ability to run, usually pretty fast, without training. I think that's a trait inherent to natural-born runners, which he is.