Taking 2nd on January 1st!

One of my favorite things to do is run the various road races around town. I started off the year doing a fun one, the YMCA's Frosty 5K. This is the first year that I have done it and really felt like it was "frosty"! The temperature was 26 degrees when the race started and the wind was out of the north. We finished running the last half of the race running into the north wind! Brrrrrrrrr! I was running this one to have fun and get a decent run in while Vicky and Kelly watched the kids in the warmth of the car. They were there at the end to cheer me on to the finish. I ended up placing 2nd in my age group. Not bad. I'm looking to be much better this spring and summer. This picture shows me coming around a corner with a guy right behind me. He was about to pass me at the end and I sped up. He then told me that he "let" me win and to have a happy new year. How nice of him?!

I've been training twice a week with Troy, the football coach at my school and Coach Montgomery, a weight-lifting trainer. Together, they have spent numerous hours researching a good training regime for me to prepare me for my upcoming races, the next one being the Texas Motor Speedway Duathlon in February. I'm really looking forward to this race. It will be my first race as a registered USA Triathlon (USAT) member! Yes, that is right. I'm getting serious! Not really. This is strictly for my own interest. I will be able to see exactly where I rank among other members of this club across the U.S. I just thought it would be fun and maybe even motivating to try. My big race will be the Philadelphia Triathlon in June. Once again, I'll be raising funds for the Leukemia Society (don't worry, I'm not asking family and friends this time) to participate with the Team In Training group. If you haven't heard about my experience with the Team, stay posted, I'm going to blog about it soon. I absolutely loved it, am addicted to it, and will do it as many times as I can! But, that is another blog.

Ultimately, my 2008 goal is to get stronger, faster, and better at racing than ever before. I think I've started off pretty well. Happy New Year everyone!