Summer Racing...

This past weekend lit my summer racing spark and has made me excited to revamp my fitness routine!  We went to the beach on Friday for the Memorial Day weekend and I decided to sign up for the 20th Annual Masser 5 Miler on Sunday so Friday I did a quick speed session.... I started with a warm up mile @ 8:06 pace then I did 8 x 400 meter repeats for a total of 5.5 miles in 38 minutes.  I have said it a million times that I am not a fan of speed but would rather run for hours and miles on end so to make myself a better all around runner I have made a deal with myself to focus on shorter faster distances this summer! 

On Saturday my hubby was playing softball in Ocean City, MD so I ran from my parents beach place to the softball fields to support his team... My goodness was it windy!  It was about 4 miles from house to fields and it took me about 28 minutes to get there!  Northside Park is a great place for family fitness if you are ever in that area!  It is located on the bay side at 127th street and has a great playground and fitness area that my boys LOVED!  Plus there is a great running trail that has a .25/ .50/.75 loop around the complex! 






Sunday was the Seashore Striders kickoff to their summer racing series at the beach...The 20th Annual Masser 5 miler!   I had a bunch of friends running this race so I decided since I planned on running anyway on my own why not sign up and run with friends!!  I picked up Dawn and we headed to Cape Henelopen in Lewes.  We are use to bigger races and got there wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to early!  Beach racing is much more laid back!  I absolutely loved this race and course!  It was a single loop course with a small part of it on a gravel trail ( I love a trail ) and completely flat!  My Garmin was dead and I forgot my charger so I ran "naked" without my watch and just went off of feel.  I had no expectations or idea how I was going to do....But I was happy with my time and even chatted with a fellow runner about Disney races and marathon training for a mile or so.  That was a pretty good indication that I could push a lot harder! 

Post Race!

2nd in AG

I snagged 2nd in my age group with a time of 34:30 ... I was pleased but felt like I could have ran a lot harder! 

After the race it was time to head back out to the softball fields and cheer on the Titans Softball team!  And then celebrate my mom's birthday!!!  We went to dinner at Fins in Rehoboth and had an amazing dinner and even better brew! 

Real Men Wear Pink!!

Angel and Ginny decided to drive down Monday morning to race the 11th Highway One 5k race and pump and run...So once again I picked up Dawn and we laced up to race again!

 This event is hosted by Races2Run and was awesome!  It started at the Rusty Rudder in Dewey and ran an out and back course.  Since I fueled with some adult beverages the day before and forgot to eat breakfast ( oops ) I really didn't expect much!  It was great to see many of the same faces as Sunday's race back out to run again!  The first mile I just went at a comfortable pace and was still chatty...mile 1.5-ish we turned around an headed back toward the Rudder I passed Angel and she yelled out how many females were ahead of me so then my competitive side kicked in and I started to speed up a bit...I finished the race 4th overall female and 1st in my AG but once again felt like I could have pushed A LOT harder!  3.1 mile sin 21:01...Yup that :01 is killing me!!

Pint Glasses for prizes!

INSTAGRAMMED @DERUNNINGMOM

 So this is my goal for the next 2 months...Push harder on the races and learn how to pace! 

If anyone is from Delaware or is looking to race while here on vacation you must checkout Races2Run or the Seashore Striders websites out for some great races with even better post race parties!  What a great way to start the day then with a workout and a post workout refreshment before hitting the beach?!! 

Hope everyone is staying cool out there today!  HYDRATE!!

Happy Running!