#joyofrunning

[boneheadkenny]

Joy. It can be found where you least expect it. Running at different times of day, in different conditions, and different locations brings me joy. Keep moving forward #CarefreeLane #KeepMovingForward #CancerActive #JoyOfRunning #OssumSports #BoneheadRunning #BoneheadCoaching (at Black Mountain, North Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQb84kMhqhB/?utm_medium=tumblr

[coachkai]

Athletes! I’ll be chatting with one of my grittiest athlete, an inspiring and motivating coach, and creator of one of the top running blogs, @runningbrina 6pm tonight on @instagram LIVE! We will also be taking questions. See you guys tonight! _ #runningbrina #joyofrunning #powerofrunning #nycfitness #nycrunning #runninginspiration #runningmotivation #wellness #instagramlive (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-sFJyZH3kl/?igshid=1a09dkri2352a

[iwritewhatilikelove]

Joy of running!

“Running is an addiction (if you’re doing it right)” ~Casey Neistat

In this post, I would like to share my experience running the Go Green - St. Patrick’s day Half Marathon last weekend (3/18).

who signed me up?

Until March 9th, I don’t have any clue about this race.  Thanks Tyler Graf for sharing this race and expressing his interest in having a time target for 1:30 finish. Oh my good lord (that was my mind voice). I have always loved running fast but then 1:30 seemed too much out of my league and agreed to race but my realistic goal was 1:35ish.

Race day Update

And the day came, weather was perfect for running. Parking lot was a good ~1 mile away from the start line. I had to return to the car mid-way as I forgot my race bib :|. After all it’s a good warmup. I’m glad that race start was 10 mins delayed due to the parking situation.

I was running with 1:35 pacer. Tyler was running with me for first 2.5 miles and he increased his pace to meet his goad. I decided to hang out with the 1:35 pace group. All went well until I stopped at the aid station for some electrolytes. They didn’t have any electrolytes and my pacer was well ahead of me. Next 2-3 miles was a struggle. I wish I carried some electrolytes.

Struggle is real :D

Running by myself, only thing that kept me going was cheering the runners in the opposite direction :). I badly wanted someone to pace me to keep up by pace. Then came some unknown runner! She was at the right pace for me to follow.  I was following her until mile ~10. Trail was getting busy as I was approaching closer to the finish line and this brought some extra energy in me. I decided not to push very hard as I felt like my quads were cramping. I kept my pace steady and sprinted like a horse in the final 0.5 miles and you can’t beat the feel of a STRONG finish!

Some Gyan :P

Few things that keeps me going in these tough races,

Thank the volunteers and supported along the way

Cheer up the fellow runner

Keep that SMILE on. I had supporters calling this out explicitly more than once “You still have that smile!”. That just gives an instant energy booster.

Less often I run with time goal, even I do - Do what your body says and not what your watch says.

End of the day, It was a TOUGH race and I achieved what I wanted to :) and I smashed by PR by 4 minutes :D (I still have lot to improve on)

Thanks to Tyler, Ronan, Piyush, Shweta and the whole ILP group who make my runs lot more fun :)

You might be interested in this One foot in front of the other. #shameless #plug

[tottology]

#AurovilleMarathon #HalfMarathon #TrailRunning .. 12th Half marathons in 8 months... #run #Running #JoyOfRunning (at Auroville, Pondicherry)

[runwillis]

Medal Monday! My favorite Medal I have ever earned. #tcsnycmarathon2016 #nycmarathon #celebrate #myfavorite #love2run #medalmonday #marathonmonday #joyofrunning #memories

[becomingbraxton]

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."