Out Sick

I've been at home on the couch for the last 4 days...b/c of the flu. I'M SO BORED. Broke out into an evil rash on my arms/elbows this AM. Isn't it pretty?

Bah

So ready to get back to normal life.

On steroids, antibiotics and Benadryl now.

Wonder if steroids will improve my performance Saturday during the Run for your Beads 5k, hehe.

2013 Outlook

Ok, here are my races to date:

February 2 - Mardi Gras Run for your Beads 5k... in my hood!
March 10 - Quivering Quads Half Marathon Trail Race, north of St. Louis
April 7 - Go! St. Louis Marathon Relay, running w/ Stray Rescue's Team
April 27 - Louisville Derby MiniMarathon Nike Women's Half Marathon, Washington DC
June 1 - Benton Park 5k... in my hood!
August 10 - SeaWheeze Half Marathon, Vancouver Canada
September 14/15 - Tough Mudder ????????
September 28 - Warrior Dash
October 6 - Mo' Cowbell Half Marathon or Marathon
October 13 - Chicago Marathon ????????
October 27 - St. Louis Rock n Roll Half Marathon

This is going to be an expensive year!!

I spent last weekend in Colorado, and here is one of my favorite shots:

Garden of the Gods

However, I came home and got the flu :o(. Second day on the couch, I'd rather be outside running!!!

One more shot from Colorado:

Garden of the Gods

Quivering Quads

So... not going to do the picture a day thing. I'm already sick of it. I did, however, upload some pictures on my 500px site last night. You can check out my profile here: http://500px.com/RachaelPawlak. It's just too much work. I want to focus on better quality pictures.

I signed up for my first trail half-marathon, the Quivering Quads! I'm so excited. It's nice to have a race to look forward to.

Speaking of quivering quads, I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. WHEW. I am so not fit. My muscles are aching. 

Geese Crossing

Ran into these geese while walking the pups...

Carondelet Park. January 5, 2013. 

Along the Mississippi River

I'm posting three pictures today...

Tracks converging to cross the Mississippi River.

Convergence. January 4, 2013.

I imagine what this street looked like when there was life here...

Vacant. January 4, 2013.

And I'm not particularly happy with this shot, I just wanted to show how low the Mississippi is. Lewis and Clark are typically surrounded by water. When the river is really high, they are submerged.

Lewis and Clark.

Commuter Problems

Three wrecks on I-55 this morning... Woke up to sirens and helicopters.

January 3, 2013.

All Good Things

Ok, so I don't think I'm going to keep up with this picture a day. FAIL. I attempted tonight and first forgot my camera card when I was out and about. So I snapped this picture tonight. CRAP. Maybe I'll just post a picture when I take a good picture. ...I will continue to run however.

January 2, 2013.

New Years 5k 2013

Hello 2013! This morning I ran in a pretty small race at Forest Park. I purchased some new cold weather running gear and was pretty excited to get outside and test it. We had some snow yesterday and the temps were pretty chilly this morning. The race started at 9.00 am and it was only 23°F, with a wind chill of 13°F. Brrr! 

It took me a good mile to warm up and then once I did, I was on fire! My lungs felt really good, even though there were two hills to climb. 

There was a ton of black ice on the road, so I took it pretty slow. In the end, it was an okay race. It wasn't a race to PR, but really a great kick-start for the new year.

I am still not registered for any races. I've been looking into half-marathons, and I've been pretty interested in the Louisville Mini-Marathon, especially since you get to run through Churchill Downs. I'm not certain if I'm going to sign up for any of the upcoming St. Louis races, like the Go! Half. I find that route incredibly ugly and so boring. So I am still trying to figure this all out.

I've been thinking about New Year's Resolutions and nothing too specific, but I plan to keep running, try to lose some pounds, keep eating good food, and drink more water.

I also have been toying around with the idea of taking a picture a day so I can improve on my photography. I don't want to post it on Facebook because I'm pretty sure people will get sick of it, and it really is just for me. So I guess I'll just post it here for now. 

Boring shot... I promise I'll do better in the future. January 1, 2013.

____________________________

Ok, so this wasn't a true 5k. I thought my GPS was way off, but when I looked at the route map, it was spot on. They had to alter the course due to road conditions.

RESULTS:

Rachael Pawlak         00:29:19    9:46  

Place 76/154

Female Age 30-39: 9/23

Overall Female: 36/94