Today on Tuesdays on the Run, the topic is "Runners That Inspire You". Join April, Patty, and me and share who inspires you. Here are *5* runners that inspire me for various reasons: 1. My dad. I've talked about him before. He's been my favorite running partner for years and he ran his first half marathon at age 65. He has a mental toughness that I've never been able to achieve. 2. My friend Caroline. She was the pusher who got me into running races. Who knew she was creating a monster??? 3. My friend Deb. She's one of the ladies who runs/walks the Mainly Marathons races. She is always out there with a smile, getting it done and supporting everyone else who is out there. She was the one who inspired me to run two … [Read more...]
TOTR: Fall Race Schedule
Here we are, a good chunk of the way through summer. Some kids are heading back to school (not mine, sigh) You are almost half way through marathon training if you are doing a mid-late October marathon. 20 mile runs are popping up on the calendars. So, of course, Patty, April, and I want to know: What's your fall race schedule??? My schedule feels kind of light, but it's really not: 7 half marathons and 1 marathon. (OK, maybe what's bothering me that I'll only have a total of 10 races at the half or longer distance this year. No 15 in 2015 for me.) Here's my plan: Source: Mainly Marathons Center of the Nation Series: 6 half marathons in 6 states in 6 days at the beginning of September. This is another of the Mainly … [Read more...]
TOTR: 2015 Goals Revisted
How is the year half over already? It's totally flying by this year. Since we are halfway through the year, it seemed appropriate to do a goal checkin for Tuesdays on the Run this week. Join Patty, April, and me and tell us how your goals are going.. … [Read more...]
Marathon #4: Independence Series – New York
Independence Series: New York May 2, 2015 5:11:52 Temp: mid 40s and sunny for start but high 70s by end What I wore: hat, short sleeve shirt, Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, PROCompression socks, and my new Altra One^2 (instead of the planned Intuition) … [Read more...]
Marathon #3: Independence Series – New Jersey
Independence Series: New Jersey May 1, 2015 5:08:53 (or 4:58:59) Temp: mid 40s and sunny for start but high 60s by end What I wore: hat, short sleeve shirt, arm sleeves, Skirt Sports Happy Girl skirt, PROCompression socks, and my new Altra Intuitions … [Read more...]
TOTR: Best Race Ever
The topic for Tuesdays on the Run today is "Best Race Ever." When Patty, April and I came up with the idea, it immediately brought to mind my friend, GBA Girlfriend, who always has the #bestdayever. And why is it the best day ever? Because there is something good in every day. And I feel much the same way about any race I complete. … [Read more...]
52.4 miles and one heck of a weekend
Short story: I did successfully complete 2 full marathons this weekend. Just in case you are wondering, I have no desire to run two in a weekend ever again. … [Read more...]
Ultimate Coffee Date – May!
I can't believe it is May 1 already. Or that I have 3 races to run left this spring and they will all be done in 9 days. Gah! As you are reading this, I'm out running a marathon, but I'm still joining up with my friends Deborah, Coco, and Lynda for a virtual coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that as I'm writing this before I start running, I'm nervous as all get out. It's going to start nice and cool tomorrow, but will quickly warm up to the mid-high 60s. I have had zero time to acclimate to that, so my goal first and foremost tomorrow will be to get in plenty of electrolytes and fuel during the race. Luckily, Mainly Marathons provides one of the best aid stations I've ever seen, complete with freshly made … [Read more...]
Strip marathoning and I chose to do this
My brain is going about a million miles a minute right now. Too bad I can't run that fast LOL. So, I'm hooking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons again for Thinking Out Loud Thursday. 1. As I expected, the weather here has started to warm up. We are looking at starting temps around 50, going up to 70. The big question, of course, is how fast will it go up that high? I'm hoping not until at least noon since the races start at 6am. 2. The beauty of the Mainly Marathons races is that the course is a loop that you do multiple times (14 for marathoners on the courses I'm doing.) This means I can take off layers as necessary and change things up if needed. As Beer Geek said to another spectator at one of the Riverboat races last … [Read more...]
Thinking out loud Thursday: Marathon Musings
I'm joining Amanda from Running with Spoons again for some thinking out loud. Don't you just love that I've started doing a brain dump on you on Thursdays??? As you might imagine, the topic most on my mind right now is my upcoming marathons. I'm not really going taper crazy (although there is this weird pain in my foot...), but I am starting to get nervous. My training plan went really well, so I should be fine, but I have a problem. I'm struggling to not set goals. There. I said it. I know my goal should be to finish upright. A bonus would be finishing with a smile. I should stop right there. I've never run two marathons in the same weekend before. Heck, I've never run two marathons in the same YEAR before. (I know, who goes … [Read more...]
Treating myself with a Katie Mae Quilt
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll remember that last year I decided to run 13 half marathons in 79 days. It wasn't just an arbitrary goal - I wanted to reach Venus level with the Half Fanatics. OK, well maybe that is arbitrary LOL. Of course, that got me 13 for 2015 and that just wasn't going to fly, so I found 2 more half marathons. And then it got all crazy up in here and I ran 2 more. Oops. 17 half marathons in one year. … [Read more...]
Five trips in 2015
I love to travel. I love to run. I love it even more when I can combine the two activities. After all, my header is designed to record my races in different states.(Beer Geek and I are already talking about retiring and buying an RV and traveling the country, collecting counties and hitting up races.) Seems fitting that today's topic for Friday Five with Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia is "5 Trips". It was a pretty open ended topic, so I'm going to tell you about the 5 trips I have left in 2015. If I were to talk about where I want to travel, well, the list would be way longer than five. 1. First up is the trip I've been running my legs off for: I'm heading up to the Mainly Marathons Independence Series to run back to back marathons. Yes, … [Read more...]
