My goal for this race was not to start out too fast because by mile 2 or 3, I usually feel like I'm dying! I would say that I was successfully because the dying feeling didn't come until the last mile. I walked up the 2nd to last hill, but I wish that I would have pushed harder because I missed a personal best time by less than a minute.

After almost 9 months of running more consistently, I feel like I'm getting a little faster although I'm not actively trying to improve speed yet. I feel like I just want to get into a rhythm of running regularly for 1 year before I get into all the nuances, like track workouts, Chi running, barefoot running - and all that complicated stuff! My only 10K last year, the Thomas Bull Memorial Park 10K, was 8 minutes slower than this one. I'm also figuring out the distances I like to run. 5 miles is just perfect for me, but 6.2 miles (10K) comes in 2nd, followed by half-marathons, 15Ks (and 10 miles) and 5Ks last - surprisingly, but I figure if I'm going to pay for a race, I want to be running for more than 25 - 30 minutes.

Most importantly, I'm still having fun. My next race is June 22nd and it's a 15K trail run (Summer Solstice 15 K in Minnewaska State Park). I'm really intimidated and scared, but I love challenges! I'm debating whether or not I should take my ipod - it just seems so wrong to tune out nature while I'm running with it and "being one with it" ... or maybe that's just crazy talk - you know how I love my workout music!