GoTriErin: Back on my feet

I have "ran" a whole 6.5 miles in the month of September! Yay! It still isn't real running, but its getting there. So far I have done:

14 minutes, alternating 1 min walking, 1 min running. That sure was tough! (/sarcasm)
17 minutes of the 1 min walk/run deal
20 minutes of 1 min walking, 2 min running
28 minutes of the 1 min walk/run deal

The fun part is that Will is running with me. Its pretty funny because even though I've been broken all summer, I am still in much better shape. The last couple of minutes back to our house is up a small hill and I always push that hill. Will was breathing pretty hard and I was being very helpful, trying to make him talk and pushing the pace. I'm supportive like that.

The other great part is that I've been running just before sunset and the weather is fantastic. The light is amazing, the fall colors are great. I try to not think about the fact that snow will be flying soon. I'm just trying to enjoy things right now, in the moment.

I also volunteered at a trail race yesterday - the Bear Chase Race, which consisted of a 10k, half marathon, 50k and 50 mile trail race. I worked the 5 - 10 AM shift (with a 3:45 wake up time... yowzers) and I got a free reflective vest for my efforts. It was really early, but it was also fun.

I brought some of my SunRype along, as I just got a shipment of 480 Just Fruit and Grains bars (summer berry). I brought a couple of boxes with me, hoping to help out. I was not prepared for the literal buffet our aid station had. Seriously, it was crazy. Oranges, watermelon, banana, nilla wafers, oreos, honey stinger gels and waffles, m&ms (plain and peanut), skittles, pretzles, chips, pb&j sandwiches. My poor SunRype bars weren't getting a whole lot of love.

I was carpooling, so I had to leave right at 10 AM. In my time at the aid station, I saw the half marathoners (a lot of them grabbed pb&j's.... for a half. marathon. ) and I saw 2 loops of the 50k and 50 milers. These people had run ~24 miles by the time I saw them. And most of them looked really good. I wish I could have stuck around longer, as it was very inspirational to be around these athletes.

This volunteer effort meants 5+ hours on my feet, which is something I haven't done in a very long time. It was sore but I managed to do my "run" last night (28 minutes of the 1 min run/walk deal) and today all is well.