Running to my roots

I'm training for the Akron Marathon and so far things are going well. A few weeks ago I ran the Bill Luti 5-miler - a race I won in 2004 and 2006 and haven't really done since just because of scheduling conflicts. I made the trip up to New Hampshire for it this year and put in my best effort and came out in third place. The competition was fierce this year: the woman who won ran in the Olympic Trials marathon. The following week I ran the Jim Kane Sugarbowl 5K with my club team. I haven't raced the 5K in awhile so I went out completely stupid fast and hung on for dear life. Everyone else went out fast too and didn't fare as well, so even though I was seventh at the mile I finished in second place with an 18:27. Success!

Running in Ohio was awesome. My parents watched the kids every morning so I could go run trails.

They are the trails that I ran on in middle and high school when I really fell in love with running. The trails have rolling hills and some roots but are very runnable.

There are only a few hazards. 

I ran with my sister, the cross country team from my high school, and a former teammate. I put in plenty of mileage and am getting excited for the marathon. I am racing a 10-miler at the end of August and a 25K on Labor Day that will help me get ready for the big race at the end of September.