Two weeks ago I ran my first trail race ever. I usually run the 5k cross country race at Maymont on Friday night. Last year I won it.

Maymont 2011

A year later: undertrained, ill-prepared, excited, nervous….

Horribly ugly race photo that I paid 25 dollars for. I need to get into the photography business.

24 hours later I could not walk. So as you might have guessed, I already signed up for another trail race. It’s a sickness, really. But things are about to get even more interesting.

Steph, Brandon, and Mia after Mohawk Hudson Marathon last weekend. 3:38 for Steph and 3:37 for Brandon, 50 minute PRs!

After spending last weekend coaching and cheering for Piece of Cake Running’s #1 and #2 athletes, I caught the marathon bug again. So, seven weeks from today I will be loading up on pasta and getting ready for my second real marathon.

Tonight I will be running a 5k in Virginia Beach, the All Access 5k. Here are my racing plans for the next few weeks:

Oct. 20 10k on the Noland Trail
Oct. 27 Bertie Spooktacular 5k (I finished 2nd in 2010 and 4th last year)
Nov. 3 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5k (the day before the NYC Marathon)
Nov. 22 Troy Turkey Trot (Thanksgiving family tradition since 1995! That’s hard to believe…)
Dec. 2 Three Bridges Marathon

The first week of marathon training went very well:
Monday- rest
Tuesday- 8 miles and 10 x 100 meter strides
Wednesday- 10 miles
Thursday- 6 mile recovery run
Friday- rest
Saturday- 3 miles am

I’ll get in 7 tonight and I have 16 planned for tomorrow, which brings me to 50 miles for the week. Feeling good so far, but I’m interested to see what will happen at the race tonight. It’s kind of fun to race when you know you’re not in great shape… no pressure, just have fun and see how hard you can push yourself.

Have you ever raced your way into shape? Ever run a marathon with a short build up, a la Lauren Fleshman? Have you caught the fall racing bug yet?