Fall racing!

Hello moms! 
I ran my first race in months last Sunday and had a BLAST!  A buddy and I did the Phoenix 10K doubleheader which is a 5K timed race followed by a timed 10K.  The weather was spectacular, the planets aligned and I PR'd by over a minute in the 5K!  I was 5th in my age division, but was happy nonetheless.  The 10K went well too even though I didn't PR I felt strong and quick which is a welcome change from my summer blues.  I'm still on the fence about my next marathon.  With Tina doing Carlsbad, I was contemplating running the Lost Dutchman full on Feb. 19th but my other running buddy told me he knows a fast, flat marathon the same day.  I've officially started a training program (I'm a huge believer in the FIRST program where you get in 3 quality runs a week and crosstrain 2 other days) but haven't signed up for either marathon.  I'm trying something new where I'm going to train and sign up at the last minute.  You can't do that for the larger marathons, but these small ones you can so I'm going to see if that clears my head.  I tend to sign up, get stressed out and train too hard.  I'm hoping by delaying signing up and just taking the training one week at a time I won't put too much pressure on myself. 
On another note, in regards to my previous post about my friend John Vaupel, he will be doing the "Javelina Jundred" tomorrow!  I bumped into him at the gym yesterday and we had a good talk.  He seems ready and his biggest fear is not going out too fast.  I reminded him of the Tortoise and the Hare - slow and steady wins the race!  Especially when you are running 100 miles...I can't even wrap my brain around it.  He is such an inspiration.  I can't wait to let you all know how he pulls through!  He's promised to help me figure out my nutrition (my biggest marathon obstacle) for my next race and if there's anyone who knows his stuff it's John.  Until next time, take care, stay safe, be healthy and keep running!