Here we are approaching the first weekend of 2020. The Wednesday start to the year has me all kinds of confused and my kids have been home for two weeks and need to go back. (Not sure that they would agree...) So I'm sitting here with my 2nd cup of coffee, thinking back on 2019 since I'm not quite ready to figure out 2020. Thanks to Deb and Courtenay for hosting! If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that it feels like the new year does not start until this coming Monday. I have several things I'm waiting on that I won't hear until then and a few calls I need to make but the offices aren't open until then... It's like that weird space between Christmas and New Year got extended a few extra days this year. If we were having … [Read more...]
Final Runfession and 2019 in Pictures
This year flew by! I still can't believe we are only days away from a new year and decade. I've been blogging for just over 10 years and this year was nearly the end. I don't know what 2020 will bring for blogging, but I'll do my best to pop in when anything interesting comes up. So, here we go with one last Runfession with Marcia! I runfess that instead of running my favorite half marathon this year, I decided to cheer. A lot of thought went into the decision, but what it really came down to was that my butt still hurt and I had zero interest in walking the last half. Instead, I dressed as a unicorn and cheered on the course. People loved giving me high fives at mile 1 and they were fans of my sign at mile 5! Even better, I got to … [Read more...]
Running late on my runfessions
That seems to be the story of my life lately. I'm desperately trying to catch up on everything that fell through the cracks this fall. In the last week, I've had a mammogram and a skin check (both came out fine), as well as figured out our health insurance for 2020 and sent in all of our FSA receipts. Up next are new tires for one car and an inspection for the other. Oh, and I'm working 3 part time jobs still... But it's time to jump in the runfessional thanks to Marcia. I must runfess that I'm struggling with my injury from the 50K training. I'm still tender where my hamstring attaches (aka my butt is sore). I can run slow miles, but I haven't managed more than 3 miles at a time since the 50K. I'm focusing instead on weight … [Read more...]
Thankful for Running: 10 day photo challenge
Last month I participated in the "10 day running challenge" on Facebook where you posted pictures of running that meant a lot to you, but did not post any context. While I had fun with the challenge (and it's one of the few FB challenges I've ever done), I felt like the pictures would mean so much more with explanation. Since I'm struggling with finding both my running mojo and my blogging mojo, I decided to share the 10 photos and what they meant to me here. Day 1 Eleven years ago I ran my first Marine Corps Marathon. It was the reason I started my blog (my husband got tired of hearing about my training and chose my blog name for me) and a huge turning point in my life as a runner. That first race is still my MCM PR. Day … [Read more...]
Will work for swag: tales from behind the scenes of a race
Two years ago I took a leap of faith and signed on with ZOOMA Women's Race Series. Originally I was managing the ambassador program, but Sarah invited me to travel to the Texas race in March of 2018. It's been a wild and crazy ride since then, but somehow earlier this month, I took the lead in producing our second Texas race of the year. I know! I don't quite know how I got here, but I'm couldn't be happier. As Sarah said to me one night at midnight as we unpacked boxes, "This is so much fun." So true. I have never had so much fun while working so hard in my life. I thought I'd share some of the crazy, unusual, and "oh shit" moments of this past race season. Random statistics Things I stuffed in my running bra: my phone, my … [Read more...]
Marine Corps Marathon 50K Race Recap
MCM 50KOctober 27, 20197:05:57 Temp: Low 60s to low 80s What I wore: hat, tank top, arm sleeves, a Skirt Sports Cascade skirt, Crazy Compression socks, and Altra Kayenta. There were many moments before and during this race that I considered not crossing the finish line. I had gotten in all of my long runs, but my left glute was unhappy and I'd missed a lot of supporting runs. Added to the fun was the tighter time cutoff for the 50k - my pace had slowed greatly thanks to literally a pain in the butt, so I was pretty sure I could not maintain the required 12:30 minutes/mile. (Spoiler: you don't have to.) When the weather projections kept getting worse, I ordered a pack of ponchos from Amazon, hoping that by being prepared, I … [Read more...]
Confessions of a wannabe ultrarunner
We are two days out from the Marine Corps Marathon and the first MCM 50K. As you might guess, it's the primary thing on my mind. Nevermind that I have one more ZOOMA race to get ready for and my kid still has one more application to get done. All I want to do is think about the 50k, which means these runfessions may be a bit single topic. Thanks to Marcia for the chance to runfess. I must runfess I'm really not excited about the current weather predictions. Rainy AND unseasonably warm? Yeah, I'm not doing cartwheels over here. I did buy a big pack of ponchos on Amazon. I was planning on picking one up from a friend in Crystal City because I hate being cold post race, but if the temps keep going up, I won't have to worry about … [Read more...]
Marathon #9: Freedom’s Run
Freedom's Run MarathonOctober 5, 20195:49:54 Temp: mid-40s to mid 60sWhat I wore:hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Cascade Skirt, compression socks, and Altra Kayenta I ran this race as a training run for the Marine Corps Marathon 50k. I was warned ahead of time that the second half was crazy hilly, but I wasn't worried because I had zero time goals. Spoiler: I should have been worried. I decided to "sleep" in my own bed the night before, so I got up super early and made the drive out to Harpers Ferry. I got there in record time and picked up my bib and shirt. I then hung out in my car - right next to the start line! I literally put my "throw away" sweatshirt back in my car as the gun went off. The first part of the course … [Read more...]
Coping with a running injury and training setback
Two weeks ago, I ran a pretty decent 20 mile run. It was the first time in YEARS that I'd run that far in training. I beat my pace goal, I felt good the whole time, and I managed to actually eat something on the run. Thank goodness for rice krispy treats! I wasn't even sore afterwards. I even ran a speedy (for me) 6 mile run as part of a relay race two days later. And then things started to fall apart. I've had some tenderness where my glute and hamstring meet off and on all summer. It never really hurt - felt more like DOMS actually. But it hit at random times, including when I wasn't even working out. As a typical runner, I ignored this whisper and went about my training plan. Last week, I cut every run short, not … [Read more...]
Coffee Talk: all the running
As I sit here with my coffee, it's only 74* out. I know that is still warm, but it's way better than it's been for most of the summer. Of course, I'll be much happier when the temp starts with a 5 or a 6, but I'll take a teeny tiny cool down. Since it's the first weekend of the month, it's time for coffee! If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that yesterday's 20 mile run was a huge confidence booster. The Marine Corps Marathon 50K has a required 12:30 pace per mile and lately my runs have been barely that, even when I'm only running a few miles. But yesterday I decide to do Galloway running because it was most important to just get the miles done. Not only did I finish, I averaged a 12:06 pace. Since you really only have to … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a frustrated runner
How is it the end of August? Wasn't the beginning of the summer just yesterday? Back in June I thought that this summer would be a laid back, time to get things done, plenty of time to run summer. Somehow it wasn't, which has definitely lead to some runfessions for August. I'm heading into the runfessional with Marcia right now. I must runfess that I planned to do a lot of running before and after my Minnesota Ragnar. That's my usual training method and I know it works for me. Instead, I managed to scratch my eye the weekend before, which meant no contacts. In my world, that means little to no running. So, I took three days off before Ragnar and then ran one 3 mile run without being able to actually see where I was going. Not … [Read more...]
Ragnar Minnesota Recap: Team FOMO
At the beginning of the year, I took a look at the Ragnar calendar and realized I only had one race that really fit my calendar and budget: Ragnar Minnesota. Everything else was going to be difficult to squeeze in or involved expensive flights. So, I started reaching out to old teammates, close friends, and a few bloggers to try to create an Ultra team, like we had in Pennsylvania. Long story short - FAIL. One teammate got injured and needed surgery, another had a vacation schedule change, another had other commitments, blah blah blah. After a while, I gave up and decided I'd just run the Madison Mini again. But then I happened to see a post on the MRTT Ragnar group that a team was looking for runners. I spent 10 minutes reaching … [Read more...]
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