Don't Forget Your Running Shoes

Let's be honest. Keeping up your fitness/exercise/running program going while traveling is never easy. If you're like me, you do what you can to get your runs and avoid the hotel dreadmill.

But when you go to a new or an unfamiliar town, finding a good place to run can be a challenge.

So imagine my surprise and absolute delight when I found the Greenbelt Park when I recently spent the better part of two weeks in Kingsport, Tenn., as I worked a couple of college baseball tournaments. And it was a double score since I had easy access to it from my hotel, meaning I could just step out of my hotel room and begin running to the park.

It was a lovely situation for me.

I Just Wanna Run

OK, it's official. I've got the running bug.

AND I LOVE IT!

It's all I want to do anymore. I'm constantly checking the hourly weather forecast to see when I can get a run dry without having to deal with any rain or foul weather.

Sometimes I Surprise Myself

Saturday, I ran my first 5K in who knows when. Now I know some of you are thinking, "Wait? You've run two half marathons in the past year but can't remember when you last ran a 5K?" Yeah, well, I do things a little differently.

It's been over 20 years since I've ran in a 5K. Honestly, I don't remember what race it was or when it was. All I know is that it has been a long time.

But after my last half marathon I wanted to find some other races to run before my next 13.1-miler as well as find some local races to participate in. The first one I came across was the Thin Mint Sprint 5K, a race to help raise support for Girl Scouts.

Wow! What A Prize Pack!

Calling all runners! OK, that's pretty much every one of you who are reading this.

Now that I've got your attention, you might want to go over to RunToTheFinish's blog and check out the giveaway the blog's author Amanda Brooks is having. Lots of great stuff.

To see all the items that are up for grabs, follow this link. You will be impressed.

What A Way To Celebrate

It was in May of 2010 in which I began my full-fledged life as a runner. It was this time a year ago Dave Parsons talked me into running the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Half Marathon.

Wanting to get a jump on things, I began training almost immediately so I could steadily build my mileage up to be ready to go come July when it was time to begin training in earnest for the October race. Dave kicked off his running career on May 26, 2010.

Truth be told, I had run off and on for the past five, six years. However, it was not until May of 2010 that I truly took to the sport.

Milestone Delayed Worth the Wait

At the end of March, I bemoaned the fact I was unable to hit the 100-mile mark for the month due to illness. I was disappointed because I wasn't sure when I would have my next shot at reaching the milestone.

Since I was running a half marathon in April, I did not think I would run 100 miles in the month because I was not sure how I would bounce back from the race. And May is a crazy time for me at work since I tend to travel a lot, and we all know it's not always the easiest to get the miles in when taking out of your routine.

Consequently, I thought June would be the earliest I could achieve the milestone.

Well ... I. Thought. WRONG.