Summer Run Season Over!

It seems like it was only last week when Tim and I were riding our bikes every day to ready ourselves for RAGBRAI and now it is practically mid-August and my summer run season is over. I have not had a run since June so I am calling it done and in the books. However, I recently signed up for the Swamp Fox 5k in Marion on September 6th. The only other race I have done in Marion is the Turkey Trot and that is usually a fun race/run so I am looking forward to this one. Plus, one of my former students asked me to run it with her since she was doing the couch to 5k training. She will probably run past me, they do that, but I will give it my best shot. Don't get me wrong, I still run every other day or so, at least 4 times per week, but I don't have anything on my schedule. So this is why I said I am done with summer. The season went pretty good for me. I started my first race in April, the Color Run in Iowa City. It turned out not to be a 5k more like 2.5 miles. But it was fun, ran with another one of my former students and her boyfriend and there were people from work there as well. Next year I won't run for time, instead just walk/run with a group and try to laugh! Then the next weekend I did the Demon Dash in Washington, Iowa. It is a 4-mile run and proceeds go to the PE department at Washington Community schools. I believe I placed in my age-division just can't remember which one. I will have to look it up. Then the end of April was the River Run in Iowa City. It's a 10k race and I won first place in my age group. There were only three women in my age group but I wasn't last! In May three of my students and myself drove out to Lake McBride and ran the trails out there. We were able to get 10-miles which I need more but it had some killer hills so I was ok with that. The next race I had was the Dam to Dam in Des Moines. That was warm. By 5 a.m. it was already 72 degrees. I knew I would have to be careful and not overheat. I think I did ok until we got home and I was really exhausted and thirsty. Did nothing the rest of the day and by Sunday felt ok. The next weekend I decided to do another half-marathon since I had trained for it I thought I would be fine. I was ok until mile 11 or so and then by mile 12 I had really burned everything up. I did not have much left to finish, I ran a better time than the Dam to Dam but I sure felt like I was much slower. Weird how that goes. The stupid humidity does it do me every time. By the following week I entered a Friday night race in Kalona, 5k and the next morning a 10K in Keota. I did pretty good in both, got 2nd place in my age group. Not first but I medaled. My time in Keota was good, I will have to look back to compare to River Run but I think it was faster. And then the last race I had was the Swinging Bridge 5k in Columbus Junction. Finished first in my age group and I think I was the either second or third woman in. So I was pretty happy to have a good season overall. Seemed much longer but after writing it up it seems like I did not do a lot of races. Training for September. Best of luck to all you runners out there and if you are not a runner just trying jogging a block. See how it goes. And then go a little farther the next time. Eventually you will be out there hitting the pavement, gravel, or dirt roads and loving every minute of it. It is therapy I can't live without. -Angie