Sometimes life is too serious and we need to laugh at ourselves. I saw this topic on A Lady Goes West yesterday and it made me laugh... and think about what I'm an expert in. After all, we all have skills. Some of them we learned, some of them we come by naturally. Some of them are "party tricks", some are actually useful. Many of them are entertaining. [Tweet "Let's have some fun! What are you an expert at doing? I'm an expert at finding hilly races! #runchat #uselessskills"] So here's what I'm an expert in: … [Read more...]
Hills as speedwork
Lately, I've been feeling slower than slow. I've run so many long slow miles to build my endurance that my legs have forgotten how to turnover quickly and my mind freaks out any time my heart rate goes up. A little voice in my head keeps saying "No, slow down! You have a lot more miles to run!" even when I don't actually have a lot more miles to run. Add in the humidity that takes over Virginia in the summer and I'm pretty sure that a granny with a walker could pass me on some of my runs. So, I suggested to Patty and April that we discuss speed work in hopes that I might learn something from you all. No, I'm not kidding. Wonder what kind of speed work I like? Hills. I live in a hilly area, so pretty much every run … [Read more...]
Visiting Skellig Michael
Update: Apparently this won't be off the beaten path for long. Rumor has it that they will be filming part of the Star Wars movie here. Beer Geek tends to like to do things that are a bit off the beaten path. When he heard about Skellig Michael, he let me know that it was one of the top things on his "to do" list in Ireland. Skellig Michael is an island about 8 miles off the coast of Ireland. It was once an active monastery, but now is just ruins. You can only visit Skellig Michael via boat and only 12-13 boats with 12 passengers each are allowed out each day. Because it is completely unprotected from the elements, it is often impossible to visit because boats are not allowed to dock due to waves or climbing is not safe due to … [Read more...]
If all else fails, run hills!
I enjoy running. I don't generally need someone to force me to run. Having to force myself to run is an infrequent problem. (I'll admit, it does happen sometimes. And when it does, I will do something else if I have the option. Other times I'll whine about it but do it anyway.) So, getting out there running isn't the problem. What's the problem? Getting out there for anything longer than 3 miles and anything faster than a granny with a walker. The stress and craziness of the end of the year + various body parts staging a rebellion has resulted in a lack of stamina and a pace not unlike that of a turtle. So, yesterday, I told myself I didn't have to go far and I didn't have to go fast (sounds like my usual slow, boring 3 miler. … [Read more...]
Blue Ridge Half Marathon Race Report
The Blue Ridge Marathon bills itself as "American's Toughest Marathon." I'm here to tell you that the half marathon is no joke either. It was definitely the hardest race course I've ever run on. Short story: I finished in 2:20:48 (my slowest half where I wasn't pacing someone), 13th in my age group and darned proud of my finish. At the end, I felt like I'd run a full marathon, not a half. Long story: I caught a ride down to Roanoke with some runner friends. We stopped at a brewpub for lunch and a couple more for tastings. Thanks to small country roads (and the stops), it took us 6 hours instead of 4, but we finally got there. They dropped me off at my hotel where I immediately met up with T and R. We quickly picked up our … [Read more...]
Searching for balance
Like almost everyone I know, my life is busy and it's a challenge every single day to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. In fact, I don't really search for balance in my life, so much as I try to make sure that every piece of my life gets to be the priority at one point or another.But that's not the balance I'm talking about today. My quest for balance right now has more to do with calories in versus calories out. The combination of getting older, having a few months of less intense exercise, and holiday splurges have plumped me up a little bit. (I'm not even going to get into "happy weight vs. ideal weight vs. what I see in the mirror" 'cause that's a whole 'nother post.) Let's just leave it at my jeans … [Read more...]
Hill training and barefoot running
No, not at the same time, although I did consider running my barefoot mile outside.Yesterday was the boys' last day of camp up in the hilly part of our county. I decided I should take advantage of that. Where we live isn't flat, but these were Serious.Hills. I ran a nice little mile warm up on the small hills and then found a tenth of a mile hill that was so steep I couldn't comfortably run down it. I went down it, attempting not to kill myself and then turned around and jogged back up. Slowly. When I hit the top, I kept going and realized I had a nice little half mile loop that would take me down a less steep hill, up a slight incline and to the bottom of the evil hill. I did the loop three times, … [Read more...]
