Ok, time for a re-cap...

I haven't really posted since last Friday...and I am dreadfully sorry about that because, even though yesterday's news to me was terrible and saddening, I do have some good news.

But first, now that I have had some time to gather my thoughts, I will say a bit on Ray Crothers...

I grew up going to his store (which is co-owned by John Vitale, another great runner). It is, to this day, the only place I have gotten running shoes from. My dad has been going there since he started running way back when. It's truly a tiny hole in the wall, a closet full of running shoes, gear, and sports magazines. But that tiny store was filled with personality and running comraderie, no matter how gloomy the day was...I guess that's a runner thing.

Ray was quiet; I knew he was a great runner because of stories that my dad told me when I was growing up and first started getting running shoes, but he never had a cocky "I'm an awesome runner so I know everything" tone. He was understanding, experienced, and really one of the nicest guys I have ever met.

Yesterday, my dad traveled to the store to talk to John and see how Ray was doing. Only later did he call me up and tell me the news; it was then that I was browsing the Runner's World website and saw Amby Burfoot's memorial article.

And I know that I never really, really knew Mr. Crothers but he truly impacted my running life, however indirectly that may have been. And shopping for running shoes will never be the same. He will be truly missed by many Connecticut runners.

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And now for some good news: As it may or may not be known, I ran a 5k on Sunday. I arrived at the race feeling somewhat meh about the whole situation. It was cold, windy, and I was exhausted. Plus, since I had not done real honest speedwork since before Thanksgiving, I was not all that optimistic about what my time was going to be: I was expecting 24 or 25 minutes. Then, about 10 minutes before the start, a man who had run the race before proclaimed it to be a "very difficult course" with a "huge hill for the first mile"...and that lowered my morale just a little bit more (despite the fact that it shouldn't have...the hills I run on in VA are monstrous at best).

When the "gun" went off, my legs felt heavy and I couldn't tell what my turnover was. Then I saw the fairly long, but not really steep hill looming ahead of me. And really, I think that hill is what turned the race around for me. After huffing my way up half the hill, my legs were finally warmed up and I could feel my pace slightly quickening. By the time the turn around came, my pace had definitely sped up and, with the rest of the race being either downhill or flat, I was feeling good. (The band was also playing one of my favorite Billy Joel songs so that didn't hurt either...)

I crossed the finish line at 22.21...easily one of my best official 5ks ever. I didn't place in my age group simply because there are so many other fast women in that area of the state, but I am more than pleased with myself. It's amazing what an unexpected good time can do for running motivation.

With that said, I am taking the rest of this week off from running to rest my knee because it was killing me when I tried to run on Monday. So it'll be biking until next week when my half marathon training plan starts!