Time Off, Yeti Chase, FYBO, and La cours de l amour

I took a break from racing from November 2, 2015-January 23^rd, 2016. I PRed on the 5k on October 24^th and PRed in the Mile on November 1^st. I felt burnt out on racing and decided to take some time off. My son also decided that he wanted to start running 5ks, so I ran with him at The Great Candy Run, Chasing Santa 5k, Ugly Sweater Run, and Resolution Run. This allowed me to stay part of the racing scene without running as fast as I can. It was so fun to see my son accomplish his goals.

Unfortunately, with the time off and the holidays, I also gained 10 pounds. I started the Low Carb High Fat diet on January 9^th. I have done LCHF before, but never stuck with it. I always lose weight fast and I start feeling less fatigued when running. This time, I actually felt really sick and weak for about 4 days. It was so hard to stick with the diet. Then, my speed came back full force on January 14^th. I started setting my goals for the next year. I decided on three goals for the Winter/Spring season; PR in the 10k, PR in the 10 mile and do more trail running.

I registered for Yeti Chase 10k because I really like the course and I felt like I wasn't adequately prepared for this race when I ran it in 2015. I wanted to run it again to see what I could do. I set a goal for myself of 42:40, which would mean a huge PR over last year's time of 44:45. Unfortunately, I did not make my goal and actually finished 26 seconds slower. This just happens in running sometimes. This race is nicknamed, "Death by Hills" and for a good reason. It starts off at a big downhill and then goes into a big uphill and this continues for the entire race. That burn in the legs is so painful and it was so hard to keep a consistent pace. As upset as I was about my time, I did manage to get 1^st AG. The day after I raced, I woke up with a cold, so I think that may have had something to do with why I didn't meet my goal. Either way, I was still very happy to get a 1^st AG at a pretty competitive race.

My next race was a 5k on February 6^th, which was organized by my good friends. I had done the race twice before and loved it, but it is usually freezing, hence the name, "Freeze Your Buns Off". The race course was changed for the better and traveled down the Plum Creek Trail. In past years, it went out by the street and I did not like that part. I didn't have a time goal for the race, except for winning. I wasn't sure that this was possible, since I had just done a 3 hour run a Bergen Peak the previous day. The race started out fast and a few girls ran ahead of me, but I got into pace and took the lead. The first half was downhill but had a few icy patches that don't work well with racing flats. I managed to stay upright, but struggled on the uphill on the way back. My legs just wouldn't go any faster. I did manage to win and I had so much fun.

My next race was the La cours de l amour 10k at City Park on February 13^th. This course is very fast and flat and I love seeing how fast I can go without uphill or downhill. My goal for this race was a 42:40, since I wasn't able to achieve this goal at the Yeti Chase. Unfortunately, I woke up with a bad cold AGAIN and ended up finishing in 44:07 which got me a 3^rd Overall Female. I stayed at a very consistent 7:06 pace, which I am very proud of. The race was very well organized and a ton of fun.