Madison, Wisconsin is one of my absolute favorite places to run, especially in the summer. It’s a small laid back city with a lot of sights to see. It is also a very fitness friendly town with trails of all types and distances available to the runner and the biker. Add in the lovely weather in the summer and you have a great destination for a runner. It's also where Beer Geek and I plan to retire to eventually. It took me a long time to convince him (umm, close to 20 years...), but he's on board with living there from spring through fall and traveling the rest of the year. Sounds like a great retirement plan to me. 6 more years to go... Here are some of my favorite places to run: Mendota Lakeshore Path - This is one of … [Read more...]
Race Day Mistakes: This is What You Should Not Do
Growing up, one of my favorite books was Berenstain Bears "The Bike Lesson". The whole book is about the father making mistakes when teaching them to ride a bike and then telling them that "This is what you should not do. Let this be a lesson to you." Let me be your Bike Lesson. This is what you should not do... Overdress - yes, it often feels chilly waiting at the start line. And no one wants to get the shivers. But wearing too much can quickly lead to overheating if it's actually warm out or getting sweaty and then freezing if it's not. Most suggest dressing like it's 20* warmer than it is. I have to be careful about that as I tend to run cold. SOLUTION: Throwaway clothes. My personal favorite is a zip up hoody, usually … [Read more...]
Starting the month with a whole lotta coffee
I survived! I knew going into this fall that September and October were going to be insane. They did not disappoint! But it's November now and with Shoo's birthday on Halloween, the craziness ends. Time to take a deep breath and get everything under control. Since I actually have time to take a real coffee break, I'm joining Deb and Coco's virtual coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I was more sore after the Marine Corps Marathon than I have been after a race in years. Seriously, the lack of a bathroom on our main level darn near killed me. On the bright side, not only did I refuse to walk up and down the stairs to do anything for my kids, I made Shoo be my legs and sent him to get things for me. Thankfully, by … [Read more...]
Marine Corps Marathon 2018 Race Recap
This past Sunday I finished my 5th Marine Corps Marathon. Going in I knew it was going to be a challenging race. Thanks to my heel, I was undertrained. Not only had I not done much in the way of long runs, I had completely lost my strong base that I've had for the last few years. But I wanted this race and I was pretty sure I could finish if my heel cooperated. I admit I was feeling a little bit bitter about the near perfect weather and the fact that I was not in shape to run a PR. But I was given the opportunity to run to honor a fallen soldier and that pretty much led to an instant attitude change. After that, everything else was just the small stuff. Marine Corps Marathon 2018 October 28, 2018 5:39:15 Temp: 48 at the start, low 60s … [Read more...]
Marine Corps Marathon Runfessions
I'm not sitting here counting down the hours until the Marine Corps Marathon. OK, maybe I am. I haven't been this nervous about actually finishing a marathon since my very first MCM in 2008. And then I was nervous because it was my first, not because I was undertrained. This weekend should be... interesting. I mostly have to make my self stick to my goal of doing it slow. If my ego gets in the way and I push at the start, my race is going to suck. So feel free to send me "stick to the plan" vibes. And maybe a few, "hang in there, heel" vibes. I must runfess that the only reason I want to run this year is to get into Runner's Club. I know life is just going to get crazier for the next few years between ZOOMA and the kids getting … [Read more...]
Race views and ZOOMA challenges
Today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run is "Best things seen at a race". I've seen some pretty amusing things: guys running only in thongs, jogglers, dribblers (literally a guy dribbling a basket ball the whole race), awesome costumes, awful costumes, etc. But, despite running with my phone, I pretty much never take pictures and I have the memory of a gnat, so I leave you with this... Moving right along.. Here are our upcoming topics: 10/23 – Standout Post-Race Food 10/30 – Halloween! 11/6 – Racing Mistakes 11/13 – The Best City I Ever Ran In Is… 11/20 – Black Friday And October 16 at 10am EST, ZOOMA opens its winter challenges. You can join us for the Holiday Challenge - a movement and self care challenge for … [Read more...]
If you give a runner $1000, she’s gonna buy…
an entry into her first ultra. And if she enters into an ultra, she's gonna need to buy a new GPS watch. And if she buys a new GPS watch, she's going to want a race to try it out. And if she's going to run a race, she's going to need a new skirt to run in. And if she gets a new skirt to run in, she'll definitely need some new shoes. And if she gets some new shoes, she'll have to get some socks to match. And that's how a runner spends $1000 in a hot minute... How would you spend $1000 on running if you had a financial windfall? … [Read more...]
ZOOMA Cape Cod in pictures
This past weekend was incredible! It always amazes me that working so hard can be so fun! I got into Providence on Thursday afternoon and met the rest of the ZOOMA crew for the drive to Falmouth. We headed to the Sea Crest where we met to course director for a drive around the course. I was in the way back of the van, so no pictures were taken, but the course was absolutely gorgeous. Then we headed back to the Sea Crest for dinner and a relatively early bedtime. Friday I popped out of bed before my alarm and headed for a short run along the coast. I was lucky because I managed to get out and back before the rains came. Next up was hours of prepping for and then attending the ZOOMA expo. I got to meet a lot of the … [Read more...]
Race Weekend Runfessions
I'm writing this from the hotel room at the Sea Crest in Falmouth. Which is to say, my views are currently amazing! This weekend is ZOOMA Cape Cod and this is likely my last quiet moment before the wild ride begins. No matter how much planning you do, there are always surprises. The trick is to handle those surprises in a way that does not negatively impact a race. But it's nearing Friday and it's runfession week, so here are a few things that are going on in my life. I runfess that when I woke up the morning after the Clarendon Day Double that I was pretty sure I was going to defer Marine Corps Marathon. Everything hurt! But the deferral window had closed (or I was too stupid to figure out how to do it), so that was no longer … [Read more...]
Clarendon Day Double Race Recap
Clarendon Day Double September 22, 2018 1:49:29 Temp: 60s and humid What I wore: visor, tank top, a Skirt Sports Lotta Breeze skirt, and Altra Ones. September has been a challenging month so far. I managed one decent run - 12 miles with the last 6 in the pouring rain back in early September. Then the combination of limping post run + ZOOMA Great Lakes meant a couple of weeks off from running. I biked and ellipticalled and lifted weights, but I didn't run from September 9-21. And I still had pain when I woke up. Going into this weekend's races, I knew I had to do them or write off the Marine Corps Marathon completely. Transfer period was over, deferrals had closed. If I couldn't manage this run, there was very little hope of … [Read more...]
How to put the ZING back in your relationship
Sometimes the excitement starts to wane. I mean we all get bored sometimes and start wondering if there's something better out there. But we all want to keep things exciting and today on Tuesdays on the Run, I'm going to tell you how. Read and learn. Cheat. Well, let's just start off with the big guns then. But seriously, if you are tired of running, do something else for a while. Take a class, join a gym, pull your old bike out of the garage. Nothing makes running more appealing than a little time away. Buy a new toy or a special outfit. I mean sometimes you gotta freshen things up. What better than something to make the activity a bit more fun - like a new Garmin. Or how about a new foam roller to liven things up? It's a … [Read more...]
5 Fun Fall Fitness Activities in the DC Area
OK, I admit I tried to come up with an "F" word for activities, but this week has been about a million years long and I'm tired. Why is it that four day weeks always seem so much longer than a regular week? Is it because we are trying to get 5 days of work into 4 days? Hmm... Anyways, I keep hearing about lots and lots of cool stuff to do this fall in the DC area. It makes me want to do all.the.things, but I'm horribly overbooked already. So, you should go do them for me... Mad Fox Brewing's Bend and Brew - Join them on September 24 for their first ever yoga and beer pairing. Bring your own yoga mat and enjoy yoga and 4 sample sizes of beer. Stick around afterwords for happy hour priced beer. I'm hoping to make it to this, but … [Read more...]
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