I'm not one to stay up super late on NYE, but ironically, last night I was up late thanks to insomnia. Thank you 2020 for one last kick in the teeth. So, I'm up a bit later than normal and sucking down caffeine like it's my job. Seems appropriate to hook up with Deb and Coco for a coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that normally I spend December wrapping things up here on the blog and setting up my goals for the next year. Last year was so weird that I just couldn't seem to wrap (ha!) my head around it. I'm pretty sure I didn't run a single in person race. I ran a ridiculous number of virtual races, but I never got more than 4 miles from my house in any of those races. I even ran a 50K in 2 mile loops near my … [Read more...]
Last Coffee Date of 2020
2020 has been a year of major ups and downs. In some ways, it's been the hardest year of my life, but there have been some really amazing things as well. Beer Geek and I got to go on vacation in Bermuda before the world shut down and we celebrated 25 years of marriage. Jones graduated high school and got a major scholarship to college. Shoo finished middle school and is actually doing surprisingly well with online high school. So, when I struggle to not slide into darkness, I have to remind myself that not everything sucks. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I continue to struggle with running. It's not the actual running that's a problem - it's the motivation to do it. Once I'm out there, running itself is usually fine. … [Read more...]
Seed Probiotics: a science based approach
I'm a big believer in probiotics. I have taken various ones over the years and have definitely felt better when I'm taking them consistently. And if you do any research, there are plenty of studies out there that confirm the potential benefits of probiotics, such as supporting gut health and vaginal balance. But the hard part is figuring out *which* probiotic actually has the right strains in the right amounts. Seed probiotics takes care of that for you. I recently got the chance to join up with Seed as an influencer. I'd been considering trying Seed for a while as Mamavation had done a report on the best probiotics and they were one of the few that stood out in her study. While I am fortunate enough to be generally healthy, I was … [Read more...]
November definitely needs more coffee
6 days into November and I'm about ready to mainline coffee. That's a thing, right? OK, probably not, so I'll just make another big cup to get me through the day while I join Coco and Deborah for a little chit chat. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm so glad to finally finish the Marine Corps Marathon Trifecta. Who knew that getting that last 10K in was going to be such a challenge? I actually had a good run once I decided to do it, but it took me FOREVER to motivate. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I randomly jumped on a Ragnar So Cal virtual team. Thankfully, Ragnar has made all of their virtuals free and teams can be random sizes. The only goal is to run 3 times in two days. Apparently I'm addicted … [Read more...]
October Visit to the Runfessional: Exhaustion
It's that time of the month again - time to confess all of our running/fitness sins with Marcia over at Marcia's Healthy Slice. I must runfess that I have been meaning to write more than twice a month for a while now, but I'm finding that I'm definitely suffering from pandemic brain. I only have so much focus in any given day and I'm pretty much done by the time I actually have time to write a post... I must runfess that I ran both a 50K and a marathon this month and still only barely managed to break 100 miles. I was horribly undertrained, so "ran" might be an exaggeration. I will post an actual recap soon, but let's just say I'm happy to be done and hella surprised that I was not sore after either race. I did, however, manage to … [Read more...]
Meeting up for Virtual Coffee
Ok, let's be honest, the meetup may be virtual, but the coffee is absolutely not. I'm pretty sure I would not survive without coffee to start my day. I'm joining Deb and Coco for a virtual meetup - some day I'll get to meet up for real with people again. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I signed up for another virtual challenge. Some of you may remember my 7 half marathons in 7 states in 7 days that I've done in the past with Mainly Marathons. Well, they offered a virtual where you can run up to all 50 states between October and February. I decided to aim for 15 states. Why that number? That's the option that is just over what I have left to run a half marathon in all 50 states. Running them virtually is not the same, but … [Read more...]
September Runfessions: Getting Ready to Run ALL the Miles
September is usually one of my favorite months (October is my #1 favorite), and this year that holds true, sort of. The weather in Virginia has been awesome, but so many other things have been challenging, that it's hard to appreciate the weather. I'm joining up with Marcia for a few runfessions (and maybe a few "lifefessions" as well.) I must runfess that I've been struggling to increase my mileage. Some of it is physical - I've never completely gotten rid of the upper hamstring issue that started last summer. Some of it is mental - even though I have "races" coming up, they are virtual and I can't get myself to care enough to really stick to a training plan. I even downloaded Hal Higdon's "training for geezers" to at least get sort … [Read more...]
Give me ALL the coffee, please!
I can't believe it's September already. In some ways, it feels like it's been years since life was "normal", but in others, it feels like the year is just flying by! I also can't believe I haven't posted since the last time we had coffee. Gone are the days when I posted 5 days a week. I'm hoping to get back into a rhythm of posting once a week, but we'll see if that actually happens. Anyways, I'm raising a coffee cup with Deb and Coco to kick off September. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm super thankful that the run across Tennessee is over and that I decided to do a multi-sport team for the Circumpolar Race Around the World (CRAW). I moved my exercise bike into our living room because the kid now has my workout room … [Read more...]
It’s too hot for coffee…
But I'm drinking it anyways. I don't mind iced coffee, but I much prefer the hot stuff. I definitely need a coffee date though, so I'm combining the monthly coffee date with Deb and Coco and weekly run down this week. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that my hip suddenly decided it was done with all this running. My hips are often cranky, but the severity of this issue came on out of the blue. One day I was running and my hip was having its usually need for post run rolling. The next day I couldn't run with a normal gait. Oh well, I had already decided that I was going to end my run streak soon as a birthday present to myself, so I just ended it a bit early. Two days and a lot of stretching, exercises, and rolling later and I … [Read more...]
July Runfessions: Surviving the Humidity
How on earth are we at the end of another month? I mean, I'm never a fan of Virginia in July, but I can't believe it's already over. It was a busy month, but in a totally different way than normal. I'm joining Marcia for a few runfessions to close out July. I must runfess that I have been in hot pursuit of the 1000 mile pin for the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. While I'm generally not a "virtual race" kind of girl, this one has been hugely motivational for me. I get up every day and cover at least 8 miles. Pretty much every single day. Since I don't run 8 miles a day (pretty much ever right now), I've become a walker. I've always only been a walker if I was going to a destination. Now I wander around my neighborhood for miles … [Read more...]
Tap, Tap, Tap – Is this thing on?
Apparently I was gone for the whole month of June. I'm not even sure what I did or where I went or why I didn't write. I think, like many right now, I'm still trying to find some semblance of "normal" in the current situation. So, I'm going Deb and Coco for a little bit of socially distanced coffee. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that one of the reasons I've been out of touch is that I am constantly running or walking. I'm doing the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee and have decided I'd really like to get the 1000 mile pin, not just the 1000k buckle. So, I have to average a little over 8 miles a day. I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm nuts - I run every morning and then walk the neighborhood at least 2-3 times a day. … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Run from Home Runner
Here we are, a crazy number of days into Virginia's Stay at Home order. Today, the Northern Virginia area began Phase 1, which means more things will be open at reduced capacity and with masks required in establishments. To be honest, it's not really going to change my behavior (we are super careful), including that I will continue to run the majority of my runs right out my front door. But I do have some runfessions, so I'm linking up with my buddy Marcia to share them with you. I runfess that I never really got into Virtual Races. I always had enough real races on the calendar that I didn't need them. I still don't LOVE virtuals, but I've registered for a few. Everything I've registered for has had one thing in common: the money … [Read more...]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 202
- Next Page »
