Hittin' the pavement

Met up with Hannah, Nicki and Wendy at the trail for a Wednesday run. I haven't been planning my running but it just seems to be flowing lately. I got the GYRO text this afternoon and was excited to get out of work on time to get in a few miles--5 to be exact with excellent conversation (even though I talked most of the time ;) ). I felt good. My knee is still a little sore but I did so backwards running that seemed to stretch it out. It sure makes me a little dizzy to be running backwards and talking haha.

It has been quite sometime since I did 21 miles in 4 days :) but I like it! The best part. Steve is back in VA and I'm planning on some outdoor activities for the weekend!

GYRO,

Sarah

The first ever GYRO race

Today was the day. The very first ever GYRO race. I woke up very excited but with a nervous stomach like on every race day..whether a big race or small. Got my favorite shorts and shirt on and headed downstairs to see that it was raining. I stepped outside to a nice cool morning and the rain drops were kind of refreshing. I was a little bummed when I checked the radar to see that is was coming our rain. We really need the rain here in VA but I can't tell you the last time it rained on a Saturday... but the race must still go one. We gathered our gear and headed out the door. As we were waiting for everyone to arrive it was nice to hear everyone excited about the race and not worrying about the rain.

We had a great turnout..especially for our first one! 11 people! 5 people did the 10k (myself, Nicki, Wendy, Mathis and Evan) and the other 6 did the 5k (my brother Matt, neighbor Daron, co-worker Monqiue, friends Stacie, Lisa and Jed).

The whole gang walking afterwards minus a few..

It rained hard and we were soaked but it was really fun. I ran with Nicki they whole time and we kept a great pace..even though I couldn't see at times due to the rain! We finished in 57:37 to a line of fans :)

Soaked at the half way point :)

Everyone did so well..we had some new faces to GYRO who are really trying to like running and a wet cool morning doesn't make you love running so they'll have to come back again ;) We had some occasional runners..you know the kind that run really fast whenever, with no training..yeah those guys. But, I was really proud of Wendy. She's been grinding it out for the last few months training for her first half marathon. And by grinding it out, I mean running at least 3 days a week and letting me talk her into crazy runs :) She ran a great time today and looked great--I was so proud because I know she'll always be a ball player (basketball) first but she sure is coming around to running.

Wendy in action

Some other shoutouts--I roped some friends into volunteering to be at the turn arounds and finish line. They are real true friends because it was raining so they were wet and probably cold.. did I mention how nice the temperture was?! Anyway, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to my hubby Steve, college roommate Erin and her hubby Greg and friend Jackie. We couldn't have done it without you :)

Ok enough about the race, afterwards we headed back to myplace for a potluck breakfast that was AWESOME! We pretty much ate everything then just relaxed the rest of the morning/ afternoon.

Check out the spread!

Thanks for all the support and we had such a great time! Until next time..

GYRO,

Sarah

7 miles in the heat

Well, my running schedule has been pretty screwy the past few weeks because of a few factors, the heat, family in town, us traveling out of town, being lazy, etc.

Today I could really feel the psychological affects of not running.. I was getting a little testy and my legs were itching to get out there. I had to wait until 5pm for the heat to die down but I was so glad when Wendy picked me up.

I was a little nervous running in the heat but i hydrated throughout the day and knew the shade on the Huckleberry would give some comfort.

We ran 7 miles. A milestone for Wendy.. she's training for a 1/2 in September and has only really be training for 3 months (not to mention she had a baby 11 months ago!) It was hot but I felt great..and I think she did too..although tomorrow might be a sore day for us both.

I'm headed to bed before I eat the house out...Until next time..

GYRO,

Sarah


PS. Don't forget about the GYRO race on July 31st..If you need more information, leave me a comment and I'll e-mail you!

A Wednesday without Sarah

I wasn't able to attend GYRO on Wednesday because we had family in town BUT..I got a recap from Hannah, Wendy and Jessamyn (although she just said..it was different... ;)).

Here is Wendy's account:
Hannah, Erin, Jessamyn and I met at the Huckleberry Trail in Blacksburg. We decided we'd do 4 miles and embarked on a route that Hannah had run previously. Since we didn't have either of our trusty friends with the GPS watches, we had to pick a route someone had done before who knew the mileage. :)

We ran up Draper Rd and took a right on Airport. We continued on Airport and took a right on Southgate. We ran past "chicken hill" and the south rec. fields at VT and turned onto Duckpond Drive. We cut through the Duckpond and turned left onto West Campus Dr. After taking a quick break to decide the rest of our route, we turned onto Perry St. and passed by Derring, Bishop-Favaro, and Durham Hall. We turned right onto Kent Street and ran past the Drillfield, Newman Library, and up the hill past the President's Quad dorms. We crossed Washington Street and took and quick left/right to end back up at our cars in the lot on Harrell St. We changed the original route we planned on, but Hannah mapped it later and it still turned out to be 4 miles. It was fairly steamy out, and all of us were struggling with our legs and our minds. None of us really wanted to be out there, and the whole run was a struggle! Not my favorite GYRO moment but it was good to push through and I am glad we didn't quite half-way through as we discussed. Runs like those remind me that I can do it even when I don't feel like it. Also, it was great to get off the Huckleberry and run around town (or in the case campus) with people. We had to be more mindful of traffic but we were able to see some sights that we don't run by often and that was nice. It was the first time I've run with other people around campus in a decade... that was fun. 




Here is Hannah's account:
Gryo minus our leader Sarah
When: Wed night - 7pm
Who: Erin, Hannah, Jessamyn & Wendy
Where: Blacksburg Huck to south gate, duck pond & through campus
How far: 4 miles
How it felt: tough!  Wendy had already gone for a ride on her bike with Daisy, Jess & I were just tired.  Erin felt good. 

Overall:   Good to get out & have a change of scenery, great conversation, good to get the miles...tough to keep going!


At least I know they missed me..I was enjoying Gloriana at the local fair! It was fun but I sure did miss the run..

I'mmmm back!

Sorry for the impromptu blog hiatus. Sometimes, you just have so much going on you can barely go to the bathroom, let alone blog..or run!

But anyway, I'm back.. Let's not focus on the last two weeks.. let's move forward.

Wendy and Hannah both texted me on Friday night wanting to get a long run in on Saturday morning. I had pushed running aside because of my crazy life right now but sometimes you need people to kick you into gear. Running is just what I needed. We ran 6.5 miles..didn't have my watch and quite frankly, didn't care to! It felt great to be out there sweating and pushing through the pains of not running for 2 weeks but over all the attitude adjustment running gives me is remarkable. I felt refreshed, motivated and back to normal.

Last night, I met GYRO (Nicki, Wendy, Jessamyn, Hannah, Erin & Morgan) we did 4 miles..kind of together and kind of on our own and it was HOT but again it felt really good to be out there and feeling strong. My knee was feeling pretty tight but overall I felt strong. Lots of stretching and water drinking always help ease the pains.

During the run, I ran by myself for about a mile and I was thinking about why I run. I'm a pretty uptight and high strung person but somehow I always cut running out when I'm stressed because it's something that is easy to cut out and opens up a chunk of time..but it's the thing (next to my personal relationship with God) that I really need the most. It's my balance and 'happy pill'.

I'm taking today off but plan on some ab and weight workout this evening.

A back to normal, happy, stress free (kinda), running Sarah

GYRO!

The Week Update

Woah--it's been a week since I've posted. Normally this would mean that I haven't been running but I'm happy to report it's because I've been running too much to blog about it :) Let's start where we left off.

Monday, the 28th I met Wendy and Jessamyn at the trail. The clouds were looming but we thought we'd roll the dice and see if we could make it 3 without getting caught in the rain.. NO SUCH LUCK! We got about .25 miles in and it came pouring down..so we turned around and sprinted to the car. We could have kept going but the lightening and thunder made it a little dangerous. We aren't afraid of a little rain ;)

Tuesday, the 29th was a make up run. We ran 3 on the Huckleberry sans the rain.

Wednesday, the 30th we headed to a local high school for a track workout. Side note: I haven't done a true track workout since high school! It brought back a ton of memories :) Hannah, Wendy and myself did a warm up, 4 800's and a little cool down totaling just around 4 miles. My running plan suggested I run the 800's in 4:38 which I thought should be tough but I was about to run them at an average of 3:55. I was feeling good. The other girls did great with maintaining the same time each 800 (consistency is key!)

Saturday, the 3rd was a big day. 7 MILES. I had run 8 back in April but I haven't really gone that far since then. We kept a pretty easy pace in the beginning..it takes some time to warm up then we picked it up. We finished in about 73 minutes but the last 3.5 were quite a bit faster.

Monday, the 5th was a Holiday from work so I finally "enjoyed" Hannah's RPM (cycling) class at the gym where she works. Let's just say..cycling is hard. The seats are really small and well my lower half isn't so small so I find it quite uncomfortable. It really worked some different muscles. After our cycling class, Hannah, Wendy and Nicki and myself headed to the Huckleberry (the Blacksburg side!) for an easy 3 miles. It took some time to stretch the legs from the cycling but it felt great at the end.

Lots of running and exercising planned for this week. Including watching my sugar and calorie intake (thanks to the app for that!)

Also, planning on adding the sit-ups, planks and push-ups back into the routine after the runs.. We shall see how it goes.

Please remember to drink LOTS of WATER today and this week..it's going to be HOT :)

GYRO,

Sarah

5 miles

Whew, what a weekend.

I think I should take the day and just go recover from all the fun. Since Wednesday night, I haven't been asleep until well after midnight (my normal wind down time is 9..) I had girls night on Thursday night, Date night on Friday night, Shopping trip to NC on Saturday and Church lunch and redecorating on Sunday. It was all really fun and felt like a nice long weekend but I need some sleep! Surprisingly, it hasn't really hit me until now. 10am on Monday morning. Sitting in front of my computer with a to-do a mile long not wanting to do any of it.

Anyway, enough about my lack of sleep. I also haven't run since Wednesday. I walked A LOT in flip flops--not great for runners precious feet. I was scheduled to run 7 miles on Saturday but I had a shopping trip to NC to IKEA that just couldn't be missed so I aimed to do it Sunday evening. I met Jessamyn and Wendy at the trail and due to some recent news I was on an adrenaline kick. I talked the whole first 2.5 miles.. no one else got a word in. I was feeling good and could have kept going but Wendy and Jess have never run 5 miles (well it has been quite some time..) so I wanted to stay with them and encourage them to finish it out. THEY DID IT and even ran up the nasty hill at the end! It was starting to cool off after we turned around which helped and Steve, the waterboy was on his bike keeping us hydrated.. SIDE NOTE: this heat is miserable! I'm so proud of them and excited about their progress.

I didn't get my 7 in because Steve needed to go help some friends. It's just another way, I'm not letting this training make  me selfish again!

GYRO,

Sarah

Running cadence

I'm married to a drummer. There are always drumming sounds coming from tapping on the table, his legs, a pen, the steering wheel while driving, the drum set in my living room, etc.This is his cadence.While, I don't have as much rhythm as my hubby, I do have my very own running cadence. One breath in, two breath out & a stride that is my very own. It's taken me almost 16 years to feel comfortable with my running and find my cadence (if you know me in real life that means I started running when I was 9--my very first XC race in Louisiana).

Last night, I was in the zone. It was hot AGAIN but, I was really feeling my strides and breathing. I had all intentions of running 5, because my new running plan suggested I do a 5 tempo run (side note: tempo means it should be hard for your talk while running..ha.. you must be crazy..I run to talk!) We got to the 2 mile turn around and Jessamyn and Erin looked pooped and I knew if I ran to the 2.5 mile turn around..I'd be alone the whole way back..NO THANKS! I decided to turn around with them and boy, am I glad I did. The heat just zaps your energy. Erin met up with me and we ran one of the miles at 8:45 (told ya I was feeling it). We slowed down after that because of the hills and just plain ol' tired. Erin works at a gym and taught I think 4 classes that day so she had definitely got her workouts in for the day. Jessamyn was behind us just a little she finished strong--she has turned (back) into quite the little runner!

Nicki, Mathis and Jess S. ran 3 miles without watches and just for fun. Which is great! Sometimes you need to remember..Running is Fun! When you obsess about time, pace, distance, etc it becomes a chore. One of the main reasons (beside U of L moving to the Big East) I choose to not peruse a college running career was because I love to run. I don't want it to be my job or my life or a chore. It's the balance that I need.

Have you found your running cadence?

GYRO,

Sarah

A different 3

Tonight, I met the GYRO crew at the trail with a new idea for a bit of a change. We've been running 3, 4, 5, etc with no change in pace, hills, anything. I thought it would be good to change up our pace and do mile repeats. We did 3 of them. I tried to keep my pace well under 10 min mile..I was hoping for like 9:30. I did that! I ran the repeats in 26:47 mins. It made me feel pretty good to prove to myself, I can run at the 9 min mile pace. The middle repeat was the easiest.. and the last one was the worst because it was pretty hilly. Wendy, Hannah, Jed & Stacie were there and they all did GREAT! I think everyone liked the change in speed and pushing themselves a little bit...comment if you disagree ;)

Again, it was really hot..I'm thinking that is affecting our running pretty badly. I mean we are DRENCHED within about 5 mins of running. I think this is the warmest summer we have had in a while and it just isn't cooling off by 5:30 when we run. On days like today, you can't drink enough water to hydrate!

When I got home, Nicki had posted to facebook about a cool new running app. I tried it out and I think I'm going to use it in the next few days to work on some custom plans for the GYRO runners for our upcoming race! Did you see the flyer to the right..check it out! It's free and a great motivation for all this running. I'm going to try and run it in less than 54 mins...help me be at the 9 min mile pace Kim is at ;)


GYRO,

Sarah

Running 3

Last night, I met Wendy and Jessamyn at the trail for 3 miles. It was hot, again (side note: seems like all I talk about is how hot it is..) Anyway, it was a nice run and I really like getting to know more about Jessamyn and Wendy while running. We ran 3 miles in 33 minutes which felt fine to me. Wendy is a trooper pushing through the runs on little sleep. Shes had some frustrations from getting into running, then getting sick, then getting back into it, then being on vacation then getting back into it,etc (anyone else know the drill) but I KNOW her hard work and her "base" is there so it should be no time before shes back to 100% and seeing the increase in mileage.

Last night we also talked about the 'running priority'. Last summer, running came first..before anything..my husband..dinner..work..friends..family..etc. I had a goal and nothing was going to stop me. This summer, I'm not going to do that. I can't do that.. I can't be that selfish again. I KNOW I can run 26.2 miles now. I love to run because it makes me happy and reduces stress (and not to mention helps with my waistline). I want to enjoy the runs and spend time with GYRO to be the encourager and motivator. Sure, I need to be building up my own miles but the beauty of never really stopping running from last year..is I'm already there :) After talking to Wendy and Jessamyn, I'm going to move my long runs to Friday mornings or Saturday mornings, that way I have time to rest. I'm not so worried about the weekday runs because well, those are for fun with GYRO. I'm glad I thought about this last night so I can spend energy in the right places. So here is to a new focus, recharged and ready to run Sarah.

GYRO,

Sarah

Try a Sunday run instead of a Sunday drive or both if you wish

We spent the weekend in our hometown, Newark, DE for a wedding of a high school friend. We had a great time dancing the night away and sweating. Boy did we sweat. It was hot!

That meant we had the 6 hour drive home today. My legs do not like being stuck in the sitting position for longer than 30 minutes so the 6 hour drive home is NOT COMFORTABLE! About 4 hours into the trip I started texting my GYRO girls to see if we could get a run in. Luckily, Hannah, Jessamyn and Wendy were all up for a run. Jessamyn's friend, Leana also joined us. We started running and we didn't really have a plan for how far (secretly I always have a plan but sometimes that distance can freak people out--so instead of letting them worry about how far and mentally psh themselves out I play it off). It worked great today. We ran 4 miles! This was the furthest Wendy has run in a while and I was so proud. She has been sticking with it and I KNOW it's going to pay off.

Anyway, this Sunday I had a Sunday drive and a Sunday run.. How about you?

3.5

Met the faithful GYRO VA girls at the trail after work. Jessaymn and Wendy are making serious progress and could up their mileage soon. Nicki joined us too which was fun. We set out to do our normal 3 but Jesse was ready to try for a little more so we ran 3.5 while Nicki and Wendy ran 3. It was pretty hot and there were some big rain drops that cooled us off at the end. Overall I felt great and was really glad I was able to stretch my legs and pick up the pace with Jesse. Shes a former runner who took a long hiatus so in no time she'll be whooping up on me :) I ran the last mile by myself because it's a semi hilly part and I just mentally needs to finish or I'd be walking back to the car. I ran the last mile in probably 8:30 or 9 min miles (I didn't load the data from the watch but when I glanced down that's what it said).

I can't believe it's the end of May--I really need to write my training program for the full in October especially if I'm trying to keep up with Kim!

In other training news. The GYRO race is approaching and we hope any and all ages and skill levels will be able to join us...more to come but start making some time for GYRO so you can run the July 31st with us.

Slacker

I wasn't able to join GYRO last night because I went to a sushi making class (which was great, btw!)

Nicki, Wendy and Jessamyn ran and my co-worker Monique walked. You can read about some of the run here

I'll be doing some lunges while vacuuming tonight cleaning for some company and also lots of stairs running stuff up and downstairs to make the house spic and span.

It's a beautiful day here in Virginia. Hope you all GYRO.

GYRO,
Sarah

Dodging the rain

Last night we (Hannah, Jessamyn and myself) met at the Huckleberry to run 3 miles (we only had time to run 3 because another storm was approaching). They did awesome! I'm just glad we missed the thunderstorm. We are scheduled to run again this evening and I hoping we will miss the rain again.

Sometimes it's the little things that make your day.. and getting to run in between thunderstorms made mine yesterday. Sometimes you only have an hour or 30 minutes. Do you have a go to workout? Leave a comment to share what you do when time is limited!

GYRO,
Sarah

The Official VA club

Well after months and months of talking about getting GYRO going in VA and taking a few personal goals and conquering them.. We finally have an official club and something to run for (more on that in a minute).

Last week I finally got myself together to plan a few runs and gather the e-mails and invite the runners we've been talking to over the past few months to join us for some runs. A few of us met yesterday (just Wendy, Hannah and myself) to run a quick 3 before the rain storm came through. It was nice to get out there and run. I personally need to start preparing for the marathon to keep up with Kim..and improve my time but I've got some other training plans to do for that. Other than that I don't mind getting out there to run with anyone at their pace. I'm hoping the rain holds off tonight so we can hit the pavement again tonight (Side Note: I don't normally recommend running multiple days in a row but when the mileage is slow it's ok).

Now, what we are running for... a few runs back Nicki and I came up with the idea to hold the 1st Annual GYRO race on July 31st at The Huckleberry. We will have a 10k and 5k. It will give our new runners and more experienced runners something to train for this summer while keep the cost of racing down and allowing some runners race experience to be more about running with friends. We are opening up the run to anyone who just needs some motivation to train for that can mean running or walking.. hopefully more running than walking but we won't discriminate!

Well hope to see some more new faces at GYRO this week and also circle July 31st. I'll be running the 10k and I hope you can make it too!!

GYRO,
Sarah

an unexpected 3

Well it's WAY past my bedtime but as I was drifting off to dream world..I remembered I forgot to blog today..and that would be no good for the 30 day challenge. I think we are on day 17!

Anyway, I actually have some running to talk about today. I didn't really plan on running today until about 3pm. It was a beautiful warm day, felt like summer and I just couldn't the resist to run. I quickly thought of Nicki who is training for a 1/2 and a full and I was so thankful she accepted my invitation. Side note: [everyone should have 3 or 4 running buddies you can call when you get the urge, running with friends is always more fun] We ran 3 in 30:23 on the Huckleberry. I felt OK. A little sore from Saturday and a lot dehydrated from the heat (87!) I'm really excited to run with Nicki more and watch her accomplish her goals.

Thank you to all who have posted comments. I'm working on integrating all your ideas into the next few days post. But for now, Good Night!

April's 10k

Meet April Uebel. She works with the BCM at Virginia Tech and goes to my church ,[nlcf]. She is a novice runner who has just got into running in the past few months. Here is her post about her 10k in Richmond, VA this past Saturday.

I did it. I ran 6.2 miles on Saturday and it never felt so good. As I mentioned last week, I have been training and preparing for the Monument Avenue 10K since January. Well race day finally got here and I was amazed at how my body rose to the challenge!

We left Blacksburg Friday afternoon and our first stop as soon as we got into Richmond was to pick up my race packet. As soon as Nic put the car in park I could feel the butterflies flutter in my stomach. I started thinking, "What in the world have I done? These people have driven all the way to Richmond to see me run-I can't back out now" (just to clarify my exaggeration here, "these people" include Nic and my parents, who would have gladly driven to Maine to see me walk one mile). Once I got out of the car and saw all the other race participants with their "free" stuff, I was more than happy to walk into the expo. There were tons of people inside but it was really well organized, so I walked right up, traded in my race postcard for my running bib/time chip and was well on my way to running my first 10K. My name even came up on the TV screen on the way out the door- proof that my time chip was activated and ready to go!

I wish I could say I slept well Friday night, but unfortunately I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I kept waking up staring at the clock, counting down the hours till race time. I finally woke up for the last time around 7:30 and started getting ready for my day. We were up and out of the hotel by 8:30 (the valet parking concierge gave us a little cheer on the way out the door) and around 9:00 I was lining up with my wave. I had been ok till now, but as soon as I stood with the rest of "the pack" I started freaking out. Luckily I saw my friends Lauren and Robin, who graciously decided to drop back to a slower wave to start the race with me, and I started feeling better. As we got closer to the starting line I could hear the man on the microphone say "Wave SA-2 minutes till start time, 1 minute, 30 seconds, and GO!"

And just like that we were off. Lauren and Robin were trying to run the race in 65 minutes or less. Me? I just wanted to finish it without walking, so we waved goodbye and they were soon out of sight. I put in my iPod (thank you David Crowder for your musical accompaniment) and could hear my friend Sarah's voice in my head, "Be sure you set your own pace and stick with it from the beginning, people fly out of the gate, just let them pass you, don't worry about what they're doing." Sure enough she was right, I felt like the slowest runner out there but I decided that was alright and I cranked up the volume and kept running. About a half a mile in I passed my personal cheerleaders. Mom & Dad had made me neon green and orange signs so I spotted them before they even saw me! The route was really flat and lined with cheering fans. I started hurting after about a mile and a half but luckily I knew there was a water stop at the 2 mile marker so I kept running thinking about the water! Sure enough I grabbed my water, chugged it (not sure how much of it really went into my mouth though) and kept on running.

I finally reached the halfway point and was feeling good; my legs weren't too heavy and my breathing was pretty steady. I kept looking for the bright mile marker signs and slowly but surely I passed Mile 4 and 5. After I passed the 5th mile marker I knew I had to rely on my adrenaline to propel me forward since my longest training run was 5 miles. That little voice in my head (some might call it Sarah) reappeared and I started to visualize crossing the finish line and what satisfaction I would feel when I was done. So I pushed forward and gave it everything I had.

I finished in 1:16:54, not bad considering I wasn't worried about time at all. I had just run 6.2 miles straight WITHOUT walking AT ALL and no one can ever take that away from me. Walt Disney said it best when he said "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

You can read more about April's life here. I'm so thankful I met her and look forward to running with her more and making some more lasting memories. April sent me this picture over e-mail. It made my day and brought a huge smile to my face. This is just the beginning of what I see for GYRO.

I'd love to see some pictures and stories from your upcoming races. Be sure to send them to me!

GYRO VA

Tonight was the 1st official meeting of GYRO VA. Now, this is something that has been done many times unofficially and also been talked about ALOT but tonight was the 1st OFFICIAL gathering. I met Wendy and April at the trail after work. We didn't really specify a distance yet (that comes in later GYRO meetings). However, April is training for a 10 k on Saturday (her first race whohoo!) and needed to run 5 miles. Wendy is just getting back into running shape since having her baby girl 6 months ago. It wasn't perfect weather but I was excited all day to meet them after work and get back into that running habit. It's my happy place!

I ran the 5 miles with April and she did awesome even better than Saturday. I really didn't feel comfortable having her out there running by herself near sunset. Wendy ran the first mile with us and turned back. I feel really confident her competitive and athletic spirit will get her to be running with us the distance but this is only her 2nd time running since giving birth. I'd say 2 miles is a great accomplishment.

Stay tuned to tomorrow's GYRO blog for our first ever GYRO FREE GIVEAWAY!!

A lazy Sunday

Well, I had all intentions of running this afternoon but the comfort of the couch and of NCAA basketball seemed too good to leave. I feel so unmotivated. It's a pretty overcast day and a little cool. However, it's no excuse. Working on sit-ups, planning some meals and runs this week. My rule: if it's not planned, it won't happen :)

Also, I've sent the 1st edition of GYRO VA. If you didn't receive it and would like to, please leave a comment with your e-mail.

Need something humbling to read? Check out this post from a dear friend

Motivation: Found

Lots of big news for GYRO.

First, today was the first time since November 9th that I hit the pavement. I ran a little over 5 miles with Nicki and Ashley. And those names right there are where the motivation was found. I couldn't believe how easy 5 miles felt. We ran it in 60 minutes on the dot because there was still some ice and snow build up on the ground. However, it was a beautiful day and I felt so inspired and just happy to be hitting the trail again. This was both the longest distance these two have run (I tend to push people a little ;) ). I was so happy to see their excitement as they completed this milestone which leads me to the next big news...

This weekend, GYRO VA officially began. I've been talking about with some friends about some 'novice' runners who really want to give running a shot but just can't seem to do it so today marked the first meeting. I plan on sending the weekly e-mail out later this week to officially kick off the club. So far we have 6 members!

Finally, the next race has been decided. The Blacksburg 10 miler on February 20th.

Tonight I need to write my running plan but I'm so excited to finally be back into it.. and it's much easier than I remembered ;)