When you start running and your knee hurts before you get to the two minute mark…you know its not going to be your day. I am disappointed with my 2:41 finish (I’ve set PRs in every half I’ve ran and this was not one), but it was the best I could do today.

Today started off with a 4:35 a.m. wake up call and some foam rolling. I was out the door by 5:20 a.m. to meet my friend Brian to take the train downtown. We got on the 6 a.m. train. After finding the bag check and a quick bathroom stop, the race was about to start.

The weather was perfect! It was a little rainy, but my socks were dry the whole time so no complaints from me. Since I had knee pain from the beginning, I did a run-walk. I pretty much walked every four minutes. As the race went on, the pain traveled from my knee up my hip. Can we say IT band?

I was so happy to see my family at mile nine and then again at mile 11. They gave me that extra push I needed to finish and since I was running alone, I really appreciated that they got out of bed early to come see me.

Thank you to everyone on Twitter and Facebook for your support. Your cheers and well wishes made my day.

And now I am off to foam roll and probably cry…

Yesterday, I ran in the Great Race 10k and set a new record! Sidenote: is it a PR if you’ve never raced that distance before? I’ve run 5-milers, half-marathons and marathons, but I’ve never rank in a 10k or 5k, until yesterday. Either way, it’s still a new record.

My friend Jen and I headed downtown to park the car and waited in a long line for the bus to the start. Like Abby, I had a lot of the same complaints about the race. The $2 shuttle fee was collected by a random guy with a plastic bag. It was so sketch and we weren’t even 100% sure we didn’t give our money to someone not even affiliated with the race that we actually took a cell phone picture of the guy in case they didn’t let us on the bus. Great Race, please make sure all your volunteers wear some sort of identifying t-shirt or badge next year.

Finally, we got to the start and really needed to use the facilities. Unfortunately, the line for the porta-pottys was long-long-long, so we decided to use the wooded area in the cemetery across the street to take care of business. We weren’t the only ones, but seriously there should have been more at the start line for a race with 7,000 people.

And for the race, I didn’t even have a goal time. My last five mile race was a good year or two ago and my best time was around 55 minutes. While waiting for the start, I said I want to finish in 1:10. Well folks, I finished in 1:04! After three years of off and on running, I’m finally starting to understand how to get faster. Because really, when you go from not being a runner to a runner, there are only two speeds: running and not running.

I was feeling a little down and out about my training and starting to have some serious doubts about being ready for the marathon, but this race totally revitalized me.

We planned to run 14-miles post race so we could get in a 20-miler. Uhh, that did not happen. We should have done our 20 on Saturday and then the 10k on Sunday. That was our first mistake. Our second mistake was leaving downtown to head to the trail where we usually run. Traveling took a good 30 minutes and we realized we are so bored with the scenery there. We should have just kept running downtown. We got about six miles in, three of which were walking since I was so tuckered out.

This weekend is the Hershey Half Marathon and I’m hoping to set a new half PR while I am there. The half is my favorite distance, so I’m excited for this mini road trip and chocolate!

This weekend marks one year back in Pittsburgh. Last August, I declined all my full-time business school acceptances, resigned from my job and moved back to Pittsburgh to live with my parents without a solid plan. Since then, I’ve found a job in Pittsburgh, started working on my mba part-time and brought a condo. After spending my high school years wanting to get away from the place that made me, I spent the next ten years trying to find a way back via Rochester, DC, San Francisco and Boston. The ride has not been smooth – countless interviews and rejections, working retail during the holiday season and using up some of my savings fast, but was been worth it. While being in the same city as they grew up in is a crazy thought for some people, I love it. I love meals with my mom, taking my grandma shopping, Sunday night dinners with my dad and annoying my sister in-person. Its been fun rediscovering old places and finding new favorites.

While my life is not exactly how I pictured it would be at 28, its pretty darn good. For once, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and in a place where I belong. A lot can change in a year and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

What a day! It started with a 4:45 a.m. wake up call to be ready for my 5:30 a.m. ride to the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon with my friend Jen.We hung out in the parking garage with Julie for a bit until we headed over to the porta pottys and by the time we got thru the line, it was time to line up!

They were calling for rain and thunderstorms, but it was nice and overcast when we started the race. I was hopeful the rain would hold off since I refused to acknowledge the possibility of rain all week. It started to rain at mile 1.9 and did not stop for the entire race. I lost Jen before mile two and I think Julie and I separated before mile four or five. I felt bad leaving my friends but I knew we all had to run our own races.

And the rain was not that bad for the first half of the race. Around mile eight or so, I just got really annoyed with the rain. I was soaked to the bone and I could feel the water swishing around in my shoe. I was miserable. But, I was still able to hit 10 miles in about two hours. The last three miles were hard and I took a ton of walk breaks. Races like this show you what you’re made of. I’m tough and I don’t quit.

I really wanted to set a new half-marathon PR and get around 2:20 or better, but it just was not in the cards today. I finished in about 2:40. I’m kinda disappointed, but I knew I did the best I could today given the weather and my so-so training.

I just about fell over once I got to the finish. The chute for water/medals/food was pretty bottlenecked and the combo of not running almost caused my legs to give out. Luckily, they had a ton of food at the end, so I grabbed the food and went to sit down, so I could eat and let folks know where I was. Jen was going to come meet me, but she wasn’t able to because there was a bomb threat and they stopped the race! Luckily, they were able to take care of it and divert some of the runners. Such a scary thought since I ran right by it most likely!

I’m not feeling too bad right now, my hips scream every time I stand up and I think I’m going to have blisters given the wet socks. I took a cold bath when I got home and tried to keep moving today, so I don’t think I’ll feel too bad tomorrow. But, I do know I’ll still feel awesome for competing a race in less than ideal circumstances.

Thank you to everyone that offered words or tweets of encouragement and congrats, it is much appreciated and I love being part of such a supportive community. And major props to all the volunteers on the course who handled their duties with a smile, thank you!

P.S., Like the new name and design? I’m still working out some of the kinks, but I think its a great improvement over the pink so far!

Finally, the moment I have been waiting for…the start of football season! It is weird watching the game at home instead of at a Steeler bar, but I’ll take it. I hope to kick some butt in the Muzzy family football pool this year too and win the big bucks.

And hockey season is not that far away either. The Pens visited President Obama at the White House today.

I’m looking forward to watching both upcoming seasons here in Pittsburgh. Speaking of Pittsburgh, I’m going to be meeting up with some blog friends this weekend and I am wicked excited to meet these ladies in real life! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Today I told my boss I was planning on moving out of Boston at the end of summer. Boston is a very transient place if you don’t have any strong ties to the city. A big leap, considering I don’t have a job lined up or a place to live that is not a relative’s house. This is a great chance to find the job that is right for me. I can take the the time to make sure that the new job is the right fit.

I’m looking forward to returning home to Pittsburgh. I’m looking forward to being close to the family, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, finally starting on my MBA and rediscovering my hometown. Plus, I’ll be within 4 hours of some of my closest friends from college, bonus! So excited.

I’ll be sad to leave Boston, but know this is the right choice for me. I’m a Pittsburgh girl at heart and have had the opportunity to live in some amazing cities, but there is no place like home.