Oktoberfest!

After having the second crazy weekend in a row I finally have walked away with some decisions made...I'm out on the upcoming race...which actually is ok...I don't have the stress of fitting runs in anymore or the guilt when I can't do what I'm should be doing.

For the busy weekend, it started off with the Oktoberfest 5K...the first year I've done the race. It was fun to do the shorter race especially after running 8-10 miles all the time it made 3 seem like a walk in the park...I went to the race with Lori and some girls from the club so we did a true warm up with dynamic stretching...I started to get my ipod all set so I could tell times and stuff...however it locked up. I tried to turn it off and then it wouldn't turn back on...so there we go...no music...no watch just run...instead of getting irritated I just ran, enjoyed being downtown and really had time to notice the hills...and the last hill was a long annoying hill...At that point I was thanking God for doing all those repeat hill workouts. The final turn, you run through the tents and tables that are set up for the VIP Oktoberfest people...not exactly the ideal situation for speeding up to finish strong...However, when I crossed the finish line the clock said 24:35. I was super excited with that, but then I started thinking I was seeing things. So then I spent much of the afternoon waiting for them to post results...The official results finally said 25:15 which I question...but I'm still happy with it. Louis ran Brooke to dance in Broomfield and then I ran Tyler to soccer...

After the exciting day I thought the run on Sunday would be great...no knee pain...feeling great etc etc...I was rather disappointed when at mile 5 my knee locked up, I tried to walk and it loosend up a little so I ran another mile...only to have it hurt immensly and had to walk the last two miles...After that expierence I have decided that I'm out for the 1/2. It's ok...heal the knee and look forward to a different race. That will be the best for me right now both mentally and physically...

I have to mention...Tyler has been so cute...with his overly obvious observations...I don't really have any specifics but I love it!

Big Decisison...

Since the last post I've been floundering (I guess would maybe be the right term) because of a nagging knee issue. I've had to 'rest' my knee by not running, originally for 2-3 days...So I did, it still hurt and I ended up resting my knee for an entire week missing an important 12 mile run along with several hill workouts and other various runs and workouts. I kept telling myself that I'm in good enough shape that it will be fine. So I changed the run schedule a little (made this weeks run a little longer) and said that if I could handle that then I would go full steam ahead with the 1/2 marathon. Otherwise I'll go into full support team mode. Well I'm still torn...I ran the 10 miles today, my knee was sore for the first 3ish miles. I picked up the pace and it felt better...At mile 9 I joined someone running and slowed down and could feel the pain again so I sped back up and it was a little better. I then decided to take it easy for the rest of the day, but I guess the bottom line is that I still don't know if I should run the race or just wait and let my knee heal. I don't want to be in pain for the whole time I'm running.  Am I stressing myself out because I missed some important runs and therefore psyching myself out? Is 2 serious 1/2 marathons in 6 months more than my body can handle? Do I just feel too much pressure with the rest of my life to add this on also? I guess all I've decided is that I'll wait and see how I feel this week and then sign up...This coming weekend I'm running a 5k and then supposed to do 14 miles on Sunday...I guess if I can make it through that, I'll bite the bullet. I'm currently reading about Marshall Ulrich...this amazing ultra marathon runner and I sometimes figure that if he can run with all the pain and agony then why can't I keep running with simple knee issue? I guess I must just be a giant wimp.

In other news...Tyler is back to playing soccer and played very well in his first game yesterday...I love to see him involved in the game and making plays and actually knowing what he is supposed to be doing. Brooke danced in the Harvest festival parade as well yesterday...She did well for as far as she had to go, but it was an enlightening experience for her.