A big race

I'm pretty excited about a decision I've made this week.  I had planned to run a 10k on Memorial Day until I got a message from USATF about the Half Marathon Championship race in Duluth, MN in June.  I've always wanted to run the Grandma's Marathon because I've heard so many great things about it.  Running the second half of it will do just fine.

This race is especially exciting because I feel like it's far enough out that I actually have a shot at getting in good shape for it.  My fitness is by no means great at this point, but my workouts are solid, and I'm definitely handling higher mileage well.

I went to see a new massage therapist last night and loved her.  Jennifer Walker at CMT Sports Therapy is a real pro.  The point of the treatment was for maintenance since I don't have anything that hurts right now.  She explained what she was feeling as she worked over my legs.  At the end of the session, she told me that she really enjoyed working on me because she was able to get all the way through my lower half without needing to spend a ton of time on any one major kink.  She said that I'm in very good shape, my muscles are healthy and fairly balanced.  My psoas got extra special kudos for being more mobile than most runners she works on.  Yay, psoas!  Getting regular massage from Jen will be a key feature of my routine moving forward.  Since I'm building mileage and intensity right now, I'm going to start with a 3-week massage cycle and see how that goes.

I got a new piece of electro gear this week: the Garmin 910XT.  It's a slick unit and definitely an improvement over the 310XT.  It's smaller, a better color (all black) and has new and improved features.  My favorite is a double tap on the watch screen to turn on the light.  It also uploads so much faster than my old GPS.  If anyone is looking for a 310XT, I have one for sale!

Finally, one of my blogging buddies, Girl in Motion, is going through some scary health issues right now.  I'm requesting that you send her some positive vibes and keep her in your thoughts as she works her way through the medical maze to good health.