Please excuse my lack of blogging, as I've had my nose to the grindstone training hard for CIM, working lots, and traveling. This last month saw me race a half marathon at San Jose in early October, where I finished 6th in a PR of 1:16:19, feeling comfortable and strong. Then it was back to work, with longer runs and workouts than I'd ever done, prepping for my 26.2 debut.

Thankfully, Providence has blessed me with beautiful fall weather, making this training block go pretty smoothly. Of course, there have been a few challenging days, but I can honestly say that I've enjoyed this process -- this journey -- more than any other training segment I've done! Changing it up with a new event was just what I needed; combine that with the welcoming, wonderful running community in Providence -- sisters in sport -- and I'm doing pretty good!

Another change is that instead of being intimidated by workouts, I'm excited for them - I'm eager for each long run and hard effort, approaching them ready to get after it and see what I can do! This is a shift for me - away from the at times timid runner that I've been in the past, from apprehensive to assertive, a change toward dwelling in positivity and truly running joyfully!

So riding this wave of positivity, I'm racing the Pittsburgh 10-Miler tomorrow! A tune up for CIM that's a month away, this hilly 10-miler across Pittsburgh's 3 rivers should be an excellent opportunity to practice running assertively, competitively, and of course joyfully. Tune in to Twitter tomorrow morning at 8 am for live race coverage - follow @PGH10Miler or hashtag #PGH10Miler #PGHElite for updates!

Yes, this is a personalized ketchup bottle - awesome race gift from the PGH 10 Miler team!