September/October 2016 Racing

I found out about a 10k race in Golden on September 25th and it had a cash prize for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd overall female. I had never registered for a race that had a cash prize so I wanted to do it. When I arrived, it looked like a really well organized race. There were tons of volunteers and the start and finish were right in front of the arch in Golden. When I got to the start line, I saw 2 girls that looked like serious competition. I can usually tell who my competitors are by the way they are dressed and their body type. I was correct on this one because those were the 2 girls that passed me. I started off running slightly behind one girl. She stayed in my sight and I just ran with another pack of guys for about 3.5 miles. I didn't even look behind me to see if any other female was close. I was shocked when another girl came running up fast from behind me. She had a ton of power and I was fairly sure I couldn't catch her. I stayed right behind those 2 girls and pretty much accepted that I was going to be in 3^rd place, which I was happy with. At mile 4, the course connected with the 5k runners and they were slow and in the way. I didn't really know how to keep my speed without running into them so I just squeezed between them. I did end up brushing one girl, but I just kept running. I finished the race 40 seconds slower than the 1^st place girl and 20 seconds behind the 2^nd place girl. I got frustrated that I couldn't make up a mere 40 seconds, but then I found out that they both beat a course record. I then felt a lot better and I did receive a cash prize.

I was invited to an awards ceremony on September for winning 1^st place Age Group in a 3-race series. I thought this was an opportunity to get my family together for a fun night.

I received a very nice award this week for winning my Age Group in the Broncos 7k. Sports teams always give the most valuable rewards.

I also ran a 5k on October 2^nd that I have ran every year since 2010. The race raises money for human trafficking and I have never missed a race. I know the race director well and she is such a kind-hearted person. The kids have also ran this race for the last few years. Connor ran the full 5k last year in 32 minutes. This race fell on a day when I was really depressed over a teacher evaluation that I had recently received. My cooperating teacher told me that she disagreed with me having so many outside activities going on while I was student teaching. She told me that she wanted me at the school for 2 hours longer each day and said that I needed to take my kids out of sports and stop my marathon training. I was devastated and was just going to jog slow during the race. Connor actually told me that he wanted me to race and win. When the race started, I blew up. I was so angry at everything and it came out in my racing. I finished a whole 2 minutes ahead of the 2^nd place girl. I won 1^st overall female and $60. This made me realize that no one can ever take running away from me. It is necessary for my mental health. Connor finished his race in 35 minutes. The girls ran together and Camilla came in 3^rd place.

I made it into Colorado Runner Magazine for this win:

http://www.coloradorunnermag.com/2016/10/03/colorado-racing-results-october-1-2-2016/

Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race on October 9th was supposed to be a training run for New York City Marathon. Surprisingly, I actually came in 3^rd place overall female. I was in 4^th place for most of the race but passed a girl in the last few miles.