For many years, if you asked me, I would say running was my anti-depressant. And it was (and still is to some extent) a big part of my mental health. But in so many ways, running has changed me AND its role in my life has changed over the years. Since our Tuesdays on the Run topic is "how has running changed me", I'm going to chronicle my relationship with running through my 6 word running memoir. 1. Running off the beer and wine. Yeah, that was my college running. It was all about running on the weekdays so I could drink what I wanted on the weekends. It sort of worked LOL. 2. Running to wear my skinny clothes. Once I was out in the real world, I just wanted to stay in my small suits. I liked the way I looked and I ran purely to … [Read more...]
Running around the clock: is that BHAG enough for you?
Do you have a BHAG? Do you even know what a BHAG is? Today on Tuesdays on the Run, we are talking about goals. But not just any goal: Your Big Hairy Audacious Goal. I've been chasing my 50 states goal for a few years now. And I've made some pretty good progress: 38 states (and DC) done, 12 to go. Unfortunately, the majority of the remaining states are out west. Getting to them takes time and money that are currently being prioritized for other things. (Yes, Australia, I'm talking about you.) But there's another goal that's been running around in my head for a long time now: an Ultra. I'm ready to go beyond the marathon distance (or I was until I got injured.) But I'm not a trail runner and the thought of getting lost in the … [Read more...]
Dear Running: I’d really like to become friends again
Another month gone, another month where my running has been sporadic. Today is the last day of the month and our Tuesdays on the Run tradition for the last day is to rate our month. I'd kind of like to give my month a big fat F. But, honestly, that would be me just being pissed at running. Most of my life has actually been going well. So let's chat... Let's start with the good... Running I ran my 76th half marathon and my 2nd international half marathon on the very first day of the month. It was not a great race for a lot of reasons, but I finished and I could still walk the next day. Definitely an A. I started training for my 5th Marine Corps Marathon. I'm a good bit behind on distance and don't plan to catch up, but I'm … [Read more...]
Here we are, runfessing again
I swear it was just yesterday that I was runfessing about my lack of running in June and here we are in July and I'm still not running much. I must runfess that I have no real excuse not to run a lot of miles - my ankle/heel is probably 90% pain free and even more so when I massage it and foam roll. I've even done some icing lately after the few times I've run this month. I know, who am I? I must also runfess that we are now down to 93 days before the Marine Corps Marathon and the last double digit run I did was the half marathon in New Zealand on July 1. Between work, the weather, my son's econ class... I can't seem to get my runs in. I really need to start training. OK, even more than that, I really need to start caring about … [Read more...]
My “undertrained” MCM training plan
I am currently 14 weeks out from my 5th Marine Corps Marathon. I've done Hal Higdon's training plan twice and attempted Hansons training plan twice. I say attempted because it's a really hard plan and I've never been able to hit all of the mileage at all the right paces. Last year was closer than the previous year and I went into the race feeling strong and ready and planning to gun for a PR. And completely fell apart at mile 16. I know some of that was the ridiculous heat and some was poor fueling choices on my part, but the race felt hard from the first step. And it never improved. The first mistake I made was not admitting it was not my day and slowing down after mile 2 or 3 or 4 or... (Mile 1 might lie, but you'd think I'd listen … [Read more...]
Running on vacation is my favorite!
I guess you can tell from the title where I stand on today's Tuesdays on the Run topic of whether or not t0 run on vacation. I can't think of a vacation in the last 10 years that hasn't had at least one run - and most have more than one and at least one race. In fact, there was a time period not to long ago where even our family vacations revolved around whether I could find a race or not. That has become less of a priority, but I still try to get in a few runs on every vacation. How do I always manage to run on vacation? I pack for as many weather possibilities as I can - I always throw in compression socks and arm sleeves. These added layers can make it possible to run in unexpectedly cold weather, without taking up a lot of … [Read more...]
5 Tips for running in a foreign country
One of my favorite parts of traveling in a foreign country is to go for a run while we are there. It's a great way to combine getting some exercise with doing a bit of sightseeing. But not every location is conducive to a safe run and even those that are, requires some thought before hand. Culture, location, and distance all need to be considered before heading out on a run. Obviously, I'm assuming you already packed appropriate items for running and just need to figure out how and where. When we went to Ireland, I was not able to run much because the roads near where we were had no shoulders and no sidewalks. In New Zealand, I could have run easily in Rotorua and Auckland had a bike/run path right in city centre. In Australia, I was able … [Read more...]
Ragnar Pennsylvania Recap: Ultra Version
This past spring when my close friend (and multiple Ragnar teammate) suggested running Ragnar PA, I was all over it. When she suggested running it as an Ultra team, I was, umm, a little nervous. But I decided I was all in and signed up for a bunch of half marathons as training runs. I had grand plans of high mileage weeks and 6 training runs in 36 hours. But then I wore the wrong pair of shoes for approximately 8 hours of standing. And then I ran several races, despite a nagging soreness. And, boom! I was sidelined at the beginning of May. I've been injured before, but I've always managed to get back running within a week or two. Instead, I barely ran in the month of May. I did manage a pain free 5K at the beginning of June, but my … [Read more...]
Tuesdays on the Run: Celebrating the 4th of July
Today on Tuesdays on the Run, the topic is July 4th. In the US, that's Independence Day and we've been known to celebrate by watching fireworks on the Mall. (We've also been known to celebrate by going to bed at our normal time. Yeah, we are exciting like that.) This year's a little different. I'm sure I'll go for a run like I did today and then we are going whale watching. Not a bad life, really. … [Read more...]
Do you have to run to make a runfession?
Seriously, I feel like I've forgotten what it's like to run 5 or 6 days a week. Now it seems like I'm running 5 or 6 miles a month. Sigh. Runfession #1: I think I ran fewer than 50 miles in June - 30 of those miles were at Ragnar. That's right - more than 75% of my miles were run in one 36 hour period. Runfession #2: I was lucky in that my foot did not hurt when I ran at Ragnar, but I must runfess that I would have run my miles anyways. Thankfully, an amazing friend set me up with a pain preventing protocol (seriously, I've never spent so much time icing, massaging, rubbing essential oils, foam rolling, etc after a run in my life) and I was able to keep the pain to a dull roar when walking and it didn't hurt to run. Runfession … [Read more...]
The highs and lows of June running
It's that time of the month again - the time we dig deep and think about how our month went and then share for Tuesdays on the Run. I have to admit that I had a hard time deciding how I felt about June. It was somewhere between awful and epic! June was an interesting month. My heel and ankle mostly behaved themselves, but for the most part, running was nonexistent. Well, except for Ragnar weekend. I ran fewer than 50 miles all month and 30 of them were at Ragnar PA! I started off the month with an awesome weekend with my fellow Skirt Sports Ambassadors at our retreat. The retreat closed with the Skirt Sports 13er - where I ran the 5K. The highlights of the 5K were no pain while running and I got to run it with one of my … [Read more...]
Tips for preparing for running Ragnar on an ultra team
Last weekend I ran Ragnar PA on an ultra team. Generally speaking, an ultra team has 6 members and one van, as opposed to 12 members and two vans. This means that you are running twice as many miles and have no time as the "inactive van." As you might guess, this makes it an entirely different experience. To be honest, I loved it! I don't think I'll ever go back to a regular team. Before you can even prepare though, your team has to decide if everyone will be doing 6 runs or 3 LONG runs. While I can't say this would be the case for every location, for Pennsylvania (and DC) doing 3 long runs means you could very well be doing a half marathon or longer in the middle of the night and then be doing the same at noon. No thank you! I'd much … [Read more...]
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