In 3 days, I'll be lining up at the start line for the 40th running of the Marine Corps Marathon. I'll be joined by approximately 40,000 of my closest friends. I'm feeling surprisingly zen about the whole thing. When I originally decided to run MCM, I had a goal of getting a PR. I trained with the Hansons plan to try to finally break 4:30. And there was a portion of the training cycle where that looked like it might actually be possible. And then there were the dark days. The days were I was coughing constantly and my hip had me grounded from running. For a while there, I wondered if I'd make it to the start line, much less actually get through to the finish line. Now, I'm in a different place entirely. Why? Runner's World … [Read more...]
Final Week of Summer
The countdown has begun - the kids have 1 more week off of school and 2 weeks from today, I'll be lacing up my Altras and stepping up to the start line of the first of 6 half marathons in 6 days. Gah! I think I'm ready. I mean, I need to pack, but I've now run 5 days in a row with my shortest run being a fast (for me) 7 miles and my longest one being a slow 12 miler. This weekend was a good weekend, but not one for many pictures. Friday I took Jones to the zoo in the morning. Shoo doesn't love the zoo, so I took advantage of Beer Geek working from home and left him at home to entertain himself. (Sometimes having older kids ROCKS!) After the zoo, I worked for a bit and then crammed in a 7 mile run before we headed … [Read more...]
Double agent? Ultra? Both or nothing?
Two months from now I'll be done with the Hansons Marathon Training method. Two months from now I'll likely be hobbling around the house after the Marine Corps Marathon. My running plans stop there. I have nothing on the horizon - no half marathons, no trips for a race, no grand scheme to moon up or run a series or find some new level of crazy. So today, I'm joining Amanda at Running with Spoons and thinking out loud about the rest of my fall. I have options. I just don't know which one makes sense. Work on my Double Agent status. As a member of both Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs, I'm already a Double Agent. But like HF and MM, Double Agents have levels. I'm level 7 in HF (Venus) and level 4 in MM (Iridium). I'm at … [Read more...]
Runner’s World Half and Festival discount + coffee!
Ok, big news around here - I've been invited to the Runner's World Half and Festival in October. The Runner's World Half and Festival has been on my to do list for a while now, but fall is a busy time around here and the date never really worked for me. Apparently procrastinating worked and now I not only get to run, I get to be one of the bloggers attending all the events. One other cool thing about this year is that Runner's World added a trail race on Friday. I'm excited to run all four races: 3.8 mile trail, 5k, 10k, and half marathon. (Add those numbers up and what do you get...?) I'm a teensy tiny bit nervous about it being the weekend before Marine Corps Marathon, but I survived two marathons in two days, I think I can manage it, … [Read more...]
Basil parmesan pasta + Hanson’s week #2
Monday again, huh? Even with a 3 day weekend, the weekend wasn't long enough. I'm counting down the days until vacation... Friday was a holiday around here, so Beer Geek had the day off of work. We both got up early and got out workouts in and then Beer Geek suggested we head to a local beer bar mid-afternoon. Time to chat with my husband + good beer? Yes, please! (One of us doesn't understand the concept of summer beers. Oh, yeah, that's me.) … [Read more...]
