Talk about a great weekend! I personally had a beautiful Easter weekend in Gore, VA with my family and the running world was blessed with an amazing (and safe) Boston Marathon. To top it all off, Meb Keflezighi won the Boston Marathon (the first American to win since 1983)!
While I was not able to (nor have I ever gone to) the Boston race, I did feel much more bonded to the running community while I ran this weekend. My thoughts during my runs often wandered to the events of last year and the survivors of those tragic events. I have been reading several articles in Runners World magazine, as well as online, and many of these stories played in my head as I ran. The survivors in these stories remain so positive despite their experience and I am shocked but happily amazed by the idea that many of these survivors chose to participate in the race again this year. They chose to come back to the place that changed their lives forever. They chose to come back to the place where they lost a child. Where they lost a limb. Where they watched several people be hurt physically, mentally, and otherwise. These survivors (whether personally harmed or even those who were just present at last year’s event) are incredibly brave and resilient. Their strength is so inspirational to me because I can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it would be to go back to a place that caused so many traumas.
The thoughts and feelings I get when I think about how awesomely resilient these people, the running community, and our country is, I feel like I could run for days. But, for this weekend I stuck with a 10k on Friday, a 5k on Sunday, and a 5 miler today.
Friday’s 10k:
After last weeks 11 miler that felt so slow and really hurt my confidence, the 6.2 miles on Friday helped me get some of my ego back. It wasn’t an amazing run by any means, but it felt good and at the end I still felt like I could have kept going further. Billy (my boyfriend) and I ran this one together before we went our separate ways for the Easter weekend. It was a really nice day and we both felt much better after this one!
Easter Sunday’s 5k:
This was such a BEAUTIFUL run in the mountains of Virginia (see pictures). I went to my grandparent’s cabin for the weekend and woke up to run before everyone was up and moving for the day. Hills and gravel roads aside, I was able to keep a good pace and enjoy some lovely scenery along the way. Whenever I am in the mountains, I always seem to notice nature more. It was so quiet and sunny that morning. The birds were chirping (no need for my headphones on this run). And, I even surprised some neighborhood dogs that (luckily) greeted me kindly and let me be on my way. It was a fantastic way to start my day, which was followed by a yummy breakfast made by my Pop Pop Pearce, church with the family, a fun game of two-hand touch football, chit chatting around the fire, and a yummy dinner made by Grandma to end the weekend.
Today’s 5 miler:
Today’s run wasn’t very exciting after a solid 10K and a wonderful Easter run, but rain is always a fun element to add to a run. I set out for my 5 miles while the sun was shining bright and the weather was a nice 66 degrees. But, of course, right when I started running clouds rolled out and let the rain loose. Luckily, it stayed fairly warm and the rain doesn’t bother me unless it’s freezing out. (Rain also helps keep my allergies at bay…so that was a plus I suppose.)
What’s up next?
I have less than 2 weeks until my Half Marathon in Frederick, MD. This Saturday I have a 12 miler to do, and then after that I just start to taper off my runs until the race on May 4th. I’ll be sure to update about that 12 miler (fingers crossed it is more like the 10k this past weekend and less like the 11 miler last weekend).
While I was not able to (nor have I ever gone to) the Boston race, I did feel much more bonded to the running community while I ran this weekend. My thoughts during my runs often wandered to the events of last year and the survivors of those tragic events. I have been reading several articles in Runners World magazine, as well as online, and many of these stories played in my head as I ran. The survivors in these stories remain so positive despite their experience and I am shocked but happily amazed by the idea that many of these survivors chose to participate in the race again this year. They chose to come back to the place that changed their lives forever. They chose to come back to the place where they lost a child. Where they lost a limb. Where they watched several people be hurt physically, mentally, and otherwise. These survivors (whether personally harmed or even those who were just present at last year’s event) are incredibly brave and resilient. Their strength is so inspirational to me because I can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it would be to go back to a place that caused so many traumas.
The thoughts and feelings I get when I think about how awesomely resilient these people, the running community, and our country is, I feel like I could run for days. But, for this weekend I stuck with a 10k on Friday, a 5k on Sunday, and a 5 miler today.
Friday’s 10k:
After last weeks 11 miler that felt so slow and really hurt my confidence, the 6.2 miles on Friday helped me get some of my ego back. It wasn’t an amazing run by any means, but it felt good and at the end I still felt like I could have kept going further. Billy (my boyfriend) and I ran this one together before we went our separate ways for the Easter weekend. It was a really nice day and we both felt much better after this one!
Easter Sunday’s 5k:
This was such a BEAUTIFUL run in the mountains of Virginia (see pictures). I went to my grandparent’s cabin for the weekend and woke up to run before everyone was up and moving for the day. Hills and gravel roads aside, I was able to keep a good pace and enjoy some lovely scenery along the way. Whenever I am in the mountains, I always seem to notice nature more. It was so quiet and sunny that morning. The birds were chirping (no need for my headphones on this run). And, I even surprised some neighborhood dogs that (luckily) greeted me kindly and let me be on my way. It was a fantastic way to start my day, which was followed by a yummy breakfast made by my Pop Pop Pearce, church with the family, a fun game of two-hand touch football, chit chatting around the fire, and a yummy dinner made by Grandma to end the weekend.
Today’s 5 miler:
Today’s run wasn’t very exciting after a solid 10K and a wonderful Easter run, but rain is always a fun element to add to a run. I set out for my 5 miles while the sun was shining bright and the weather was a nice 66 degrees. But, of course, right when I started running clouds rolled out and let the rain loose. Luckily, it stayed fairly warm and the rain doesn’t bother me unless it’s freezing out. (Rain also helps keep my allergies at bay…so that was a plus I suppose.)
What’s up next?
I have less than 2 weeks until my Half Marathon in Frederick, MD. This Saturday I have a 12 miler to do, and then after that I just start to taper off my runs until the race on May 4th. I’ll be sure to update about that 12 miler (fingers crossed it is more like the 10k this past weekend and less like the 11 miler last weekend).