Do you like my new motto?  I feel like it sums me up as a “runner.”  I’m not fast, I run for distance over speed (at least for now) and fun fact about my childhood: Tortoise was my nickname from first grade until I went to high school.

 

 

I was not the most athletic kid growing up.  I played soccer for 5 years from age 5 to age 10, but wasn’t great at running around the field because I’d get side cramps and be winded in a matter of 3 minutes.  I started dancing when I was 7 but wasn’t good at that either until I got older.  I was always the kid picked last in gym class when we played cool games like kickball and capture the flag and it wasn’t until high school that I became a fan of professional sports and started understanding why I couldn’t keep running around the bases in baseball if someone out in the field catches the ball.   And that was only if I happened to got lucky enough to hit it that far… which was rare.

When I started running about a year ago, it was during a time when I needed a new challenge.  I chose the Couch to 5K plan and stuck with it.  Now, a year later, my personal life is in complete disarray (notice how I said disarray and not something dramatic like “OMG MY WORLD IS FALLING APART” … baby steps, people) but my running mojo has never been better.  Funny how life works that way, huh?

I think the reason I was able to run my first 10K a few weekends back without stopping was because of the emotions I used to push myself.  Anger, for example, can really go a long way when you want to prove something to yourself.  Regret is another.  I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a good thing, but at the time, it helped.  I was able to run those emotions out of my body, at least temporarily, and finally felt like running could give me clarity when I needed it most.

But even after I finished the 5K training and got a few races under my belt last year, I wasn’t the type of person to just go out and run.  Sure, it’s become my cardio of choice at the gym (sorry elliptical, I like you sometimes too, but you can be a one-way ticket to SnoozeVille) but I’m not one to wake up at 5am and go running every day.  Still, it’s become a time when I can just listen to my music and think.

It’s me time.

Since I’m spending 7 weeks in London this summer (God help me as I try to navigate those streets while I’m running) and do not plan on racing there, I want to get a few more races in between now when I leave at the end of June.  Unfortunately, almost every single second of my June calendar is filled with some sort of dance something so we’ll have to figure it out when June rolls around.  Until then, here’s what’s coming up:

Chase the Gorilla Down Argilla (Saturday April 14th, Ipswitch MA) – Tentative.
Yup, that’s this upcoming Saturday.  I’m also competiting with Unyted Stylz that day so I’m still trying to figure out if this race is doable.

Marblehead Beach to Beach 5K (Saturday May 12th, Marblehead MA) – Registered.
I’m very excited to say that I’ve registered to run this race for the second year in a row.  This was my first ever road race and I’m determined to crush my 5K PR.

Krit Classic 5K (Sunday June 3rd, Andover MA) – Tentative
Just gotta find some funds for this one and I will be running it.

Ideally, I’d love to do another 10K before I leave for London.  Still looking for one of those that doesn’t conflict with dance, but if you know of any, please send them my way!

And in other, completely unrelated news…

– The DanceWorks Boston show is Wednesday, Thursday, Friday June 6-8th at the BU Dance Theater.  If you love me, you should come.  I’m literally in every other number (7 total including the finale) so I promise you won’t be bored.  If you’d like ticket info, leave me a comment or visit www.danceworksboston.com!

– Similiarly, Unyted Stylz is having a performance at the BU Dance Theater on Saturday, June 16th.  You should probably come to that too.

– I’ve lost about 8 more pounds and feeling good about myself right now.  Thanks running/million hours of dance every week!

– I have 24 days left until the Semester from Hell ends.  Oh dear God, get me to May 2nd!!

Tell me!!  What spring races are you planning on running?  Do you a good 10K near me that I can run before I peace out to Europe?  Do you use your emotions to push yourself when you run?  Do you want to borrow my first dance recital costume because I guarentee my mom still has it somewhere.  Will you come watch me dance? I’ll love you forever.