November Miles and New Mojo

Do you ever feel like you've lost your mojo? Taking a big break from anything physical (running/spin class/yoga/hiking/etc) after doing it 5-6 days a week can be a shock to your system. Words cannot even describe the happiness brought to me through the simple act of running! Last month I said, “November, I WILL RUN YOU” and I did just that. October only had 5 runs and November went up to 13 runs, including 4 workouts at the YMCA and 1 race.

Perfect view on a trail run!

Week 1: 1-5: 5.2 miles
Week 2: 5-12: 5.45 miles
Week 3: 13-19: 8.87 miles (Turkey Trot 5k)
Week 4: 20-26: 14.76 miles
Week 5: 27-30: 17.07 miles
Total miles for November: 51.35

The first few weeks were slow. My body was still confused as to why I was making it move and running took major effort. It can be frustrating to put all of your energy into a certain pace or distance that used to be easy. Luckily, I knew it wouldn’t take long to return to my previous level of fitness. After simply focusing on building endurance again, I decided to try some interval speed work. (What’s the worst that could happen? Fly off the treadmill? Pass out with exhaustion?) Following a 10 minute warm up, I repeated 2min fast/1min slow, for a total of 6.4 miles! I couldn’t believe how amazing it felt! My legs seemed stronger and my breathing was under control. I wanted to run on and on…forever! That was the moment I got my mojo back.

Flagging those Turkey Trotters!
As part of my membership through the Greater Bellingham Running Club (GBRC), I had to volunteer at a race, which happened to be the Annual Turkey Trot 5k! The race was held at Squalicum Creek Park in Bellingham and all (100%) of the proceeds go to the Bellingham Food Bank. The day before the race, I found out that I would be a flagger and help direct parking. I also found out that the weather called to be cold, windy, and rainy. After helping set up the registration tables, I got a sweet neon vest with a big flag to wave around at people. Good news: it was cold, but not raining! Bad news: I dressed for rain and was still extremely cold! At 9:58 (two minutes before the race was supposed to start) the race director came and said my job was done! I could run in the race if I wanted to…but I didn’t have time to go to my car and change. I had on my “light” snowboarding jacket with a huge beanie. I thought, “Oh, it’s only a 5k. It won’t bother me too much…” BAD IDEA! Not even half a mile in and I was already wishing it was over. The official results haven’t been posted yet, but my watch read a slow 27:08 which is 8:44min/mi pace. This was the only 5k I had done in 2016 and I wanted to give it a shot! 

She's not as light as she used to be!

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