The Anti-Running Runner

The Goal: To Finish Goal Achieved! The Rollin' Oats Trop 10K at St. Pete Run Fest was an incredible race. My dear friend and sister in Christ, Terry, ran with me, and we not only finished under an hour and a half, but we ran the whole time! Not to mention we had a blast running together. The weather was overcast with high 60's to low 70's and a gentle breeze. We couldn't have prayed for a more perfect day to race. Terry and I preparing to start the race Me, Terry, Amy, Kim, and Michelle in the corral This is the second year of St. Pete Run Fest, and the first year for a 10K to be included. The course started in front of the Dali Museum, and looped around some of the downtown streets before heading up 1st Ave South (slight incline) all the way to Tropicana Field where we got to do a lap inside the stadium. Then the course went beyond the Trop, looped back around to Central Avenue, and we followed the slight decline all the way to the waterfront. ...

Hea, Mike, and me ready to run together! Pic by James Sciandra. Our first race of the season! It's always an exciting time, even though I'm only signed up for two more races at the moment. One of my favorites, the Women's Half Marathon here in November, was canceled for no given reason. I've heard from a reliable source that a low number of sign-ups was the cause. That seems crazy to me because it's always a huge turnout. Anyway, back to the Sunrise Run ! This is one of my favorite 5Ks ever. Karen VanderPloeg, a sweet friend and sister in Christ, created this faith-based race several years ago. Because of her health, she was unable to have the run for the last couple of years. I was so happy when she announced that it was coming back. Many friends from the church I used to attend and the one where I attend now were there either volunteering or running. What a blessing to reconnect with these dear friends, some that I hadn't seen in years! Stephanie,...

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Humperdink is.... Wait, no, that's another story. Today, I'm back after a long time lapse. I've blogged about writing quite a bit over at Writing for the Love . But it's been a tough summer for running. I feel like that every summer, but this one felt worse than others. It didn't rain as much as usual, and I have a theory that the heat index was higher because of it. The humidity...killer. Although my running suffered from consistency this summer, I still ran fairly regularly. Thanks to the bi-weekly group runs at  St. Pete Running Company , I was able to join in a few times and ran with friends new and old. The Blackjack group run. I'm in pink in the center. We all got two cards on the way out and back. At the store, we could hit or stay. Winners got a prize. They think up such fun things for the group runs. More on the SPRC  below. On Wednesday mornings, I got up early to meet a friend, Te...

I didn't realize it was National Running Day until I saw people posting about it on Facebook. Because I started meeting with a friend, Terry, each Wednesday morning to run, we already celebrated NRD without knowing it! These days my running averages three to ten miles about three times a week. It's that time of year where starting after sunrise becomes more and more challenging. When I do manage to crawl out of bed before sunrise (like today), it makes a huge difference. This was a wonderfully cool morning. Terry and I had a great time chatting, getting to know each other better, lifting each other up in encouragement, and praising God for the gift of another day to run. If I get a late start, I still try to run consistently with my planned goal of every other day. So my punishment for hitting snooze is suffering through the heat. A few pics from a late start a couple weeks ago at the pier: The pier building is closed but there's still a water fountain. Lo...