Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed the three F’s: families and friends and foods. I was mildly disappointed this year as I wanted to eat a lot more than I was able to. This is quite an uncommon occurrence and it may just be that I’ve become a person who eats until she is full and then miracle of all miracles, stops. Ha! (Then again, I could have just made a really HUGE first plate.)

I ran two 5Ks in the last two weeks and am reminded that I have not been doing enough speed work. I’m rectifying that this week with some fartleks and track from Coach Mason and Coach Jon. The 5Ks weren’t anything special so they aren’t getting their own race reports. But there were a few differences I’ll quickly point out.

New Orleans YMCA Corporate Cup 11/12/16
(These stats are all per my Garmin)
Mile 1: 7:28
Mile 2: 7:38
Mile 3: 7:38
.11: 6:02 pace
Total Time: 23:25
Overall I was super happy with this race! I mean, holding on to those last two miles makes me VERY happy. The weather was great, the course was flat and I was 2nd in my age group.

Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot 11/24/16
(Again, stats per my Garmin)
Mile 1: 7:21
Mile 2: 7:39
Mile 3: 7:58
.14: 7:21 pace
Total Time: 24:02
This is painful to type but I know this course is not an easy one for me. The first mile is downhill and then there are a couple of punchy little uphills. I also didn’t fight as much for mile three. I’m going on record as saying I will not run over 24 minutes next year dammit! On the plus side, still good enough for a top 125 finisher mug.

Besides racing, I did take the Road Runners Club of America coaching certification course last weekend and passed the test. Overall, I enjoyed the course, but I do think every course I’ve taken for running thus far has a little bit of the instructor’s or organization’s opinions built in. As there is no real governing body for “running” it’s up to those of us who do coach to get as much information and knowledge on our sport as possible. I’m grateful that these courses exist and want to always keep learning and growing as a coach and as an athlete. I would recommend this for someone looking to coach others as they have a nice section on the business of coaching.

What else? Hm. Well, work is still going great and I’m plugging along with my own training. It’s really time to buckle down as my full marathon, while seemingly off in the distance, will come up faster than I realize.

Oh, and lest I forget, I saw the ONE AND ONLY – DOLLY PARTON! She came to Tampa last night and blew the roof off the arena. Everyone I know who went was nothing but awed by the spunk, pipes and showmanship of this 70 year old woman. I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, Dolly Parton is a national treasure.

What’s going on with you all?