After many long months of recuperating from lower back issues, I've finally started to gingerly run again. And when I say gingerly, I mean lots of walking and some jogging. I'm trying not to push too hard or too soon, and have been swimming 4 to 5 days a week to balance these easier workouts. I've noticed a big difference in muscle tone since I've been cross-training with treadmill, swimming and dry-land exercises. And to show for this new dedication to my back health, I was finally able to register for a race this weekend! The Reno Rock-N-River races has become a pretty huge event for Reno, drawing hundreds of runners for each of the 4 distances offered. I chose the shortest, and was lucky enough to talk two Carson City runners into running this event with me. Anne stuck by my side through the whole race, with Traci only about a minute behind. I could have run quite a bit faster, but I still don't want to pull all the stops out- I'm saving up for the Reno Tahoe Odyssey relay race which is just a month away! Although I did run (an easy 5) miles on the trail near my house today (and ha ha got sunburned- yay [early] summer!) and now my calves are sore from two days of running in my Vibrams and am wearing compression socks even now (which are awesome- thanks Scott and Sara!). Not only did I get to run with Anne and Traci, but all of Team Library Dork was in attendance! Turi set a new PR by 4 minutes in the half marathon (1:28.14!!! Dang dude!), with Chris pacing him for all but the first mile, and Dave also ran the 10k in under an hour. I don't mind not being competitive when I could have been weaving through people right and left, because I was just happy-thankful-grateful to be out there with the hoards of runners, sharing a cool morning with some blessed sunshine.
