I promised a while back that I would share more about my running experiences, because I always find it helpful to read about other people’s races and how they felt. It’s a good way to determine which races you want to run, and just to see other people doing the same thing as you. When I started out signing up for races, I did it blind. I just googled random search terms and signed up for races as they popped up on my screen. Needless to say, I was pretty lucky because I lived in Baltimore and there are a ton of really good races in the area.
These are the races I have run:
| Date | Name | Distance | Time | Pace |
| October 10, 2009 | Baltimore Running Festival | 5k | 24:59 | 8:03 |
| March 20, 2010 | Carefirst BlueCross Blue Shield National Half Marathon | Half | 2:05:47 | 9:36 |
| June 19, 2010 | Baltimore 10-miler | 10 mi | injured | |
| October 16, 2010 | Baltimore Running Festival | Half | 2:03:03 | 9:24 |
| November 25, 2010 | Turkey Trot | 5 mi | sick | —– |
| January 9, 2011 | 2011 Walt Disney World Marathon/Half Marathon | Half | 2:26:01 | 11:08 |
| March 26, 2011 | SunTrust National Marathon | Half | 2:06:19 | 9:39 |
| April 3, 2011 | The Cherry Blossom 10miler | 10 mi | 1:32:05 | 9:13 |
| May 15, 2011 | The Maryland Half Marathon | Half | 2:09:58 | 9:56 |
| July 31, 2011 | The San Francisco Marathon | Marathon | 4:30:48 | 10:20 |
| October 15, 2011 | Baltimore Running Festival | Half | 2:18:44 | 10:35 |
| November 19, 2011 | TCS: Annapolis Half Marathon | Half | 2:17:33 | 10:30 |
| April 1, 2012 | Cherry Blossom 10miler | 10 mi | 1:41:58 | 10:12 |
| April 14, 2012 | St. Charles Running Festival | 10 mi | 1:43:42 | 10:22 |
| April 29, 2012 | Althea Columbia ½ Marathon | Half | 1:59:47 | 9:09 |
As you can see, I was pretty ambitious in 2011 and ran 101.7 race miles, but at the end of the year I felt broken. My times had really been dropping off, and I was cranky at the end of my races (totally not like me). I gave myself a couple months to get my head back in the game, and signed up for races for April of 2012. I had thought that giving myself 4 months of race-free running would be a good way to come back stronger and faster than ever.
I started off with two 10 milers. Both were miserable. My times were horrible, my legs hurt, my stomach bothered me, and I dressed poorly for both. These two races really took it out of me. I was mentally and physically tired at the end of each, and I knew it was time to take a break. I had committed to a half with my friend Courtney, and this race was where things “clicked” again for me again. (I wrote about it here). I know it’s really easy to get THAT feeling back and then sign up for more races, and push yourself… but I decided, for the first time in nearly 3 years that it was time to take more than a couple months off.
So… It has been nearly a year since that race, and my next race is April 28. When I run, it’ll almost exactly a year to the day of my last race in 2012. I am feeling good about running again. I am back to a good place where I am running for fun and not fighting with my watch, my shoes, or my head.
What about you guys? What races have you run? Did you ever feel like you needed to take a whole year off to get back into the game?
(Also! If you have any questions about the races that I’ve run, please let me know! I’d love to give my impressions of the races for those who are interested!)
Kaprise! 