No wonder I am tired!

I have run 23 races this year so far. Five half marathons, two 15K's, one 12K, six 10K's, one 5-mile and one 8K, and six 5K's, all of which were competitive races; plus an 8-mile (Nancy's 8 on the 8th) and a 10-mile relay which I ran solo as a training run.

I have run over 1,263 miles through yesterday (including the races), plus 6.2 miles this morning. That's sixty more miles than I ran in all of 2007. I'm looking to meet, and probably beat, my goal of 1,500 miles in 2008.

I still have one half marathon on the docket for December, plus probably a 10K in November and another 5K before the end of the year.

I'm a little bit tired.

Maybe it's a little understandable how I just missed breaking the two-hour half marathon in Maine, but then came nowhere near it in Victoria last weekend.

I don't want to get tired of running. I don't want to not want to run more races and half marathons. I don't think that's going to happen.

But I do think it's a good thing that I'm taking a breather from races for a few weeks before Las Vegas. Okay, maybe that one Thanksgiving 10K on November 8. Which I'm going to run for fun, not to beat my 10K PR.

In November I'm going to work on some serious training to try to get my best result in Las Vegas. But I'm also cutting myself a little bit of slack. I'm running for health* and happiness, not records, right? And for the joy of running, and everything it has brought me, and will hopefully continue to bring me for years to come, regardless of the numbers on the clock when I cross the finish line. Because crossing it is really all that matters.


*And a cheering thought—you burn as many calories running slow as fast. It just takes longer.