Failure...

How difficult can it be to take a good picture? I ran the West Seattle 5k this weekend (a great race along Alki, all the proceeds going to local public schools) thrilled to beat my previous 5k time, only to discover that I look like a goon in the pictures.
During this recovery period I am learning that I need to run slow if I want to avoid pain. Fine with me, I would rather run long distances slowly, than short distances quickly. So my plan for this race was just have fun and support my community. Then the spirit caught me...I was able to remind myself to slow down for most of the race, but it is physically impossible to not sprint the last half mile. I felt great, then the pain caught up to me, I did my stretches and by Monday morning I felt fine. I caught myself looking up other races I could enter. I decided that there is no reason to spend my money for any races right now, I clearly don't have the control to run slowly the whole way and recovery is most important right now.
Moral of the story: I love running

I have been able to add a bit of distance...just a mile or two when I feel like I can. Tonight I am going to surprise my boyfriend at the Seattle Running Company club run. It is a lovely run that goes through volunteer park and the arboretum. I highly recomend it if you are in the neighborhood...I will be the one at the back of the pack!