I can only go as fast as my legs will take me...
More than four months after my first 5K, I finished my second one. Sunday was the GW Parkway Classic - a local race in my own town. Under overcast skies and in 50 degrees weather with 96% humidity, I dropped more than 3 minutes off my previous 5K time (finished in 32:35), and ran my fastest pace yet (10:39). Let me tell you, I could feel the burn and adrenaline in the last mile... To try and continue running towards my goal of the half marathon this fall, I'm running in this Sunday's Sallie Mae 10K in Washington. It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend, so there is definitely the potential to improve from my previous 10K time.I really need to work on running faster. Then running a lot of miles wouldn't take so long.(Thanks to Steve for taking the pictures from the race. He's my favorite cheerleader.)
Here I come... 
There I go...
Stew vs. Wegmans
The verdict on Stew Leonard's versus Wegmans... I have to put Stew Leonard's in more of a "specialty" market category, rather than a supermarket. It's more of an experience than getting your regular grocery shopping done. And the one aisle path is incredibly inefficient, not to mention there seems to be no logical layout of all the departments. However, you could probably get a decent meal out of all the samples, and if you have two hours to battle with the other crazy shoppers and go through the aisle path more than once because you forgot something... it's the place for you. I'll give them props for a great flower and wine selection though. Still not convinced that orange juice comes from an orange cow. And while it's a market I won't mind visiting every once in a while, give me Wegmans any day. At least I know I can do my grocery shopping efficiently there every day, and find everything I need. Oh, and I know that they've never had any trouble with the IRS. :o)
10K... check!
I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but I don't have a life until after May 28, as I live and breathe the Greece event...It's been a crazy couple of weeks. And I've had some out of town visitors, too... Casey came down from Boston over St. Patty's weekend (yes, she wasn't thinking about the fact that it was St. Patty's and she left Boston...) and it was a fun girls night out! My oldest friend Doris (not that she's old, but I have literally known her my entire life) was in town for business the week after that, so we proceeded to stuff ourselves at Clyde's - yum! Otter was in town for business last week, and we made our significant others jealous by having sushi in Georgetown. And now - Steve is currently in the DC area, looking for a job. Fingers crossed that something comes his way soon...Last, but certainly not least... another race under my belt. Saturday was the Ukrop's Monument 10K in Richmond - 20,000 participants, 80 degree weather and high humidity - let's just say that at every mile marker for the first four miles, I didn't think I would cross the finish line. But there were neighbors with sprinklers, junior high cheerleading squads, local bands, and Steve cheering me on at mile 5, and I knew I had to keep going. I felt awesome when I crossed the finish line at 1:12:38. A little bit slower than I was hoping for, but given the conditions, pretty darn good for placing 9531 out of 16,460 runners. (Yes, Steve kicked my pokey butt, finishing in 51 minutes.) And of course, what better way to reward yourself after 6.2 miles than a good house party? Thanks to Bill and Veronica for hosting a great night (and letting us crash on the LovSac)!Spring is in the air... just another week of the cherry blossoms here. The GW Parkway race is in two weeks (5K), and the Sallie Mae 10K is in three. I'm tempted by Nate's suggestion of the 7.5 miler in Boston in June. It's actually probably a good idea, as I continue to build to the half-marathon... Casey, are you still up for the Boston one in October?
