Fun in the wilderness - Weekly Recap

What a week. There were a lot of ups and downs but overall it definitely ended on the 'up'.

 Monday - a big fat zero. I anticipated going to Body Pump but work got in the way.
Tuesday - I went for a great run when I got home. Short, but pretty speedy. Lately I've been having trouble keeping my pace down, which is a new problem for me
Wednesday - Considered riding but wanted to run instead. Particularly with daylight going faster every day
Thursday - I worked late until volleyball. It was fun but it confirmed my decision to stop playing after this session. It doesn't bring me joy anymore. No time for stuff that doesn't.
Friday -  Hubz got home late but we had enough time to go play Tennis. It was really weird playing under the lights! I had a lot of trouble finding the ball and my eyesight just seemed terrible. We split games before deciding to call it quits. I'm glad we did because, frankly, I'd had fun but was just kind of over it. It was enough exercise to justify eating the naked burrito I ordered for Dinner which is exactly what I needed
Saturday - Wilderness 5k with Emily!! My first race since Muncie

I got an email from Headfirst Performance while I was in London about the Wilderness 5k. It was put on by Headfirst as part of the Mayor's fall Hike at Jefferson Memorial Forest. It was touted as a great trail race for beginners - it didn't disappoint! I immediately forwarded it to my Bestie Emily, who ran her first 5k just a few weeks ago - and she was in.

A note about Emily: she is amazing. We've been friends for over 10 years now and she's my go-to gal. I've never met someone as crazy, funny, interesting, sincere and wonderful as her. She started running a little while back with the Couch 2 5K program and has just nailed it! She did her first 5k 2 weeks ago and this was her third one in three weeks. She inspires me to get my butt off the couch.

Looking gorgeous as my maid of honor

So Emily picked me up around 8am to head out to the Forest. I woke up insanely early, then fell back asleep on the couch. I finally woke up about 10 minutes before she got here. Man, what a major change from endurance racing! I changed into some capri's and a long sleeved shirt. It was about 40 degrees at the start and I knew we'd be waiting around for a bit so I wore a jacket to the start. I thought I'd change into a pullover but...nope! Turns out I'm still a wimp in the cold. A big one.

I'd never been to the forest before but I'd heard tell from other Landsharks about the massive hill heading up to the visitors center. There was a nice crowd gathered and people were setting up for the fall festival that followed the race. Emily and I checked in then hung out in the car for a bit before the start. Around 9 everyone was assembled and we were off and running!

The course was in fact perfect for trail newbies. I.e. Me. It was equal parts gravel paths and actual trails. The leaves were about half changed and some of the trails were a little hard to spot. At one point both of us tripped on some roots but no major tumbles, luckily. The race itself was awesome. I loved just being out in the woods and hanging out with my Bestie. Before we knew it we were back at the finish, some 2.4 miles later. So yeah, not a 5K at all. Nevertheless, I had a perfect morning and look forward to running out there again!

This week could be rough. I'm slated to start a trial tomorrow morning that is making my stomach knot. Hopefully I can get to body pump tomorrow but I'm not holding out hope. I'm setting out my running stuff in case I can't sleep - then maybe I can get up and get a run in. I'm gonna just try to take it as it comes and stay positive.

And stop eating so much chocolate. Yeah. That too.

Happy Running!