Smaller Goals...

I must admit; I have those days that the last thing I want to do is train. The mornings I don’t want to get out of bed when the alarm goes off at 4:30 am. The nights after a long day at work; working at both SwimLabs and the county pool; that’s when I really don’t want to get my training in. The one thing I can say for those times of day I don’t want to train. They’ve been worth it. Every single stroke, every single pedal stroke, every single stride; oh yeah and every single side plank, it makes it all worth it. I’m sure my thoughts aren’t different from any other athlete’s thoughts. Sometimes you just don’t want to do it. Lately, to be completely honest I’ve been feeling that way. I got to a point in my training for several weeks of the my off-season so far that I would get out and in the midst of a workout I’d want to call it a day and just give in. But all those times I’ve stuck at it. It’s been worth it.



Even though I’m in my triathlon off-season; I’ve been working toward smaller goals in running and swimming. On Sunday November 11th, I ran my first stand-alone 5k in what was like maybe 4 or 5 years. I ran the Montgomery County Road Runners Club Candy Cane City 5k in Chevy Chase Maryland. This was the first 5k I did when I moved back to the DC area in 2008 and it was time I did a race with my dear running dad Joe; so we chose this 5k. The morning was PERFECT. Temps were in the mid-20s, the sun was out in full force, and there was no wind. I had a few goals for Candy Cane City; to run the race at an even pace and to just break 28 minutes, nothing more and nothing less. Well; you can say I met my goals and even demolished them. My minute mile average pace for the 5k was 8:33 with an 8:37, 8:33, and an 8:36 minute mile pace for each mile. My 5k time; wait for it; was a 26:35 (a PR for the season). I got 2nd out of 8 gals in my age group and 14th out of something like 71 gals overall. Oh and I got to race with Joe; well we each ran our own race but you get the picture. Next up; The 6th Annual and my 6th Germantown Masters Solstice Swim Meet.

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