The Chase

My sister sent me this text this morning. I really couldn't agree more, and had to share.

She's biased as September is her birthday month... but I love the descriptor.

Onwards. I went to bed at 8:30 PM last night and it was beautiful. What was even more beautiful was getting up at 5:30 AM on a Monday without any hesitation or sadness. 8.5 hours of sleep night was exactly what I needed, and so I hopped out of bed cranked out the short little workout below:

5 rounds

-25 situps

-12 pushups

-15 jump squats

Short, sweet, and a little bit sweaty. Good way to start off a Monday.

So was this:

Commutes to work are way better when God decides to show off.

Something peculiar happened today. I got home from work and had to crank out a quick 9 miles before an event I had later this evening. So I shoved some raspberries and two semi-healthy cookies down my throat (what?) and called it fuel. Shot out the door with no pace in mind.

So I make my way along the harbor, right, my typical week day route. The brick isn't exactly forgiving on my feet, but I enjoy the people watching and the boat watching and the hustle and bustle of the city. My Garmin and I have had a love/hate relationship lately, but this particular evening I was watching it like a hawk, trying to sit in the 7:30's.

How do I say this without sounding like an A-hole? ... In my normal, healthy body, I'm not used to getting passed by other girls. I mean it happens obviously, I'm not the fastest grape on the vine. And when it does:

following my 17 this past Saturday..

So I'm uber competitive, sue me. 

Anyways long story short, mile 7 is coming in hot and I'm feeling decent. Holding in the mid-sevens, entering into the Fells Point neighborhood. I glance back as I'm crossing a street and literally did a double-take. Another girl is on my heels.

Like on my heels, hard. 

My instant reaction to run faster. I mean obviously, if she felt the need to keep a mere arms-length distance between us, she wanted me to know that she was there right? So my inner-athlete flared up and told me I better not even allow the concept of being passed by another girl cross my mind.

If I had to guess, it looked like a chase scene. For a solid mile or so, she was right on my butt all the way through Fells as we wove in and out of pedestrians. People were probably wondering if I had mugged her, or who was pissed at who over boy problems.

I'm not exaggerating; she never let more than 10 feet between us. And we were definitely moving compared to some of the other runners who were out for a leisurely post-work run. See mile 7 for proof:

She dropped off just outside of Canton to take a different route, hence why mile 8 and 9 slowed a bit. All-in-all, I got home feeling great, semi-thrilled that another fellow-female gave me a short run for my money. Fast runner girl in the pink: I like you, let's be friends.

You love the seflies.

And now ya'll think I'm a little unstable, but hey at least I'm being honest. Quite thrilling for a Monday run.

Bedtime for me. Keith Urban has a new album out tomorrow, so I'm forecasting this Tuesday to be well above the norm.

Keep it real, cheers - 

K

For the girls

It isn't too often that the competitor inside of me is able to take a step back before a race and say, "Hey Kait, chill out."

Saturday morning, that happened at the Central Maryland Girls on the Run 5k. Because, although it was hard to wrap my athlete-crazed mind around, those 3.1 miles weren't about the times, or the places everyone finished in. It was about just accomplishing something awesome, and proving that it could be done.

About two months ago I wrote about how I became involved with Girls on the Run as an assistant coach. It's been a crazy, fun and challenging two months with our 3rd- 5th grade girls. They are awesome, full of energy and completely unfiltered.

It was so awesome to see them compete against themselves yesterday. In particular, I ran with Ana, a feisty ball of fire who immediately let me know that she "didn't like when people passed us." Our pacing shot back and forth from a dead on sprint to a shuffle of a jog, but that didn't matter. She did an awesome job, only walked twice, and came in right over the 27 minute mark.

"Hey Ana, run ahead of me and I'll take your picture!"

After the race called for breakfast at Eggspectations, which blew my mind as always...

Rain speckled the area yesterday, with some occasional sun making an appearance. Andrew and I went to the evening service for church, and met up with some friends for dinner afterwards. It was a solid Saturday.

In other news, apparently it's National Runner's Month? Sounds good to me, I'll celebrate that with 6 miles today. It's borderline inappropriate how excited I am to put on some good music and pound some pavement after I publish this bad boy.

Thanks for the heads up Dicks Sporting Goods.

And of course, this post wouldn't be complete without a shout out to my wonderful mother. She's amazing in so many ways, and I can't wait to see her again when I head home in June. Miss you mom!

Cheers to all the awesome moms out there!