Running evolution (part 2)...

All right - the last post ended with my running the Color Run - great experience, great first race, and everything I had hoped it would be.  So here's some of the run-centered highlights since:

c210k
After the Color Run, I decided to attempt to "level up".  The same outfit that made the c25k app that I used also makes a c210k app, so I commenced download.  Since I was still riding the high of finising c25k as well as the Color Run, the increasingly long runs (peaking at 60 minutes with no walking) didn't seem completely daunting.  Off I went, and after a few runs I came face to face with my first running related (I guess we can call it an) injury:

Nipple
After I came in from one of my runs, I was sitting out on the deck, cooling off.  My wife came out to chat, and upon seeing me, started laughing hysterically.  We snapped a pic for posterity:

Yes, yes it is - that is my nipple bleeding through my shirt.  After doing a bit of Google research (which had a fairly shocking start due to my admittedly poorly chosen search string "bloody nipple"), I found out that this is somewhat of a common running issue, especially with men.  It turned out to be fairly easy to remedy - I gave the nipple a few days of hard earned rest, and then busted out the next few runs wearing band-aids (which is an awesome look for me.  No photos of that one - you're welcome).

The long term solution for my pink little buddies is to apply a product I found from Gold Bond before each run that goes on like a stick of deodorant.  It's called (and I've decided that this will also be my name if/when I become a superhero) "FRICTION DEFENDER"!!

The next 5k
I found that I really liked having a race "out there" that I was training for.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I find it motivating, so I signed up for another local 5k that was a few weeks away.  Come race day, this one was a different experience, but also fun.  I ran it alone, since my daughter has a bunch on things on her plate this summer.

This race was a bit more competitive.  (Well, for some people, that is.  The only things I was competing against were myself and common sense.)  Unlike the Color Run, this one was timed via a chip you tie to your shoe, and to my surprise they announce your name and snap a picture of you as you cross the finish line:

Even though the Color Run wan't officially timed, I knew how long it took me to run via my fancy-dancy GPS watch.  To my surprise, I beat that time by four minutes on this run.  It's true what they say about race day adrenaline.

Thank you sir may I have another
By now, I'm well into the c210k program (I've got two more runs until I "graduate").  While I didn't feel comfortable signing up for a 10k (my 60 minute runs are only taking me about 8k, not the 10k pace the app expects you to run), I wanted to have a race out there on my horizon, so I signed up for another local 5k.

Once again, I beat my previous time (by three minutes this time), and it was a complete blast.  Here's the requisite finish line photo they took:

With this race, however, I think I've come to an epiphany.  There were two races run here on this day:  the 5k, and a half-marathon (13.1 miles/21k).  We all started and finished from the same spot.  In watching everyone mill around at the starting line, and watching some of the half-marathoners finish, I've come to the conclusion that I think I want to run this half next year.

I really think I can do it - and I'm going to make it a goal.  I've run my last race for this season, but I'm going to continue training throughout the winter (I'm not quite sure how that is going to work yet, but...yeah.), and I'm trying to put a race schedule together for myself that culminates with this half-marathon at the end of next summer.

In other news, inches are still disappearing, but as you may notice in my weigh-ins to the right, the pounds are coming off ever so slowly.  I'll address this in my next post.