Sometimes you just have to return to your roots. After Wednesday's pretty darn awful run, I was discouraged about my running. I got home from dropping the kids off at school and decided I really needed to hydrate (it was still warm and humid). By the time I finished my nuun, I realized it was raining outside. Now, that would ruin some people's day. Not mine. I was giddy like a school girl on her first date to the movies. I quickly grabbed a pair of Vibrams (yeah, I admit it, that's as barefoot as I'm going to run in my urban neighborhood) and headed out the door. No Garmin, no cell phone, only a watch 'cause I needed to be home by a certain time. I just ran. Slowly. Comfortably. Wherever I wanted. Rain dripped off my … [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...]
Sweat to Street 3 (the more sweat than street edition)
Welcome to Sweat to Street Sunday's! Each week my fabulously fit co-hosts and I will link up with one everyday outfit AND one fitness outfit that we love! Meet Your Hosts! Family and Life in Las Vegas (Emily) Wild Things RUN Free (Charlotte) Running and Cupcakes (Samantha) MCM Mama (Erika) Boobs, Barbells, and Broccoli (Tenecia) ***IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW SWEAT TO STREET ON TWITTER OR PLAN ON TWEETING YOUR POST, PLEASE USE THE HASHTAG #SweatToStreet*** Sweat to Street has been created as a place to link up your favorite outfits of the week as a new Sunday blog feature. The idea is to have some fun and change it up! Each week we encourage you to post one workout outfit and one outfit you wore that isn’t fitness related. Every … [Read more...]
Good things Friday
I was exhausted when I woke up this morning, thanks to a very intense thunderstorm last night that kept me up past midnight. My tummy was less than happy for some reason. The typical Virginia humidity had returned. My legs are still a bit sore/tired. Needless to say, when I met up with my running friends/clients, I was not exactly in the best of moods. But I got out there and tucked myself into the back of the pack and just ran. And I'm sure it will come as no surprise to any of you that I was much happier when I was done and able to focus on the cool stuff that's going on in my life.Some of you already know, but I found out on Wednesday night that I've been chosen as a Fitfluential Ambassador for … [Read more...]
State of my feet
I've now been running in minimalist shoes for about 6 weeks. In that time, almost all my my miles have been run in my Vibram Sprints (one of these days I'll write a review...), with a much smaller number run in my Merrell Pace Gloves and an even smaller number run completely barefoot on the treadmill.Some random observations from my experience:I am still stiffer and more sore after short runs than I used to be when I ran in regular running shoes. I think my ankles and calves are still adapting.Sometimes, when I start running, the stiffness makes good form difficult, but once I loosen up a bit, running with minimal shoes feels great.Once I warm up, I can run more comfortably at a faster pace than when I wore regular shoes, mostly … [Read more...]
Virtual Barefoot/Minimalist (Ultra?) Marathon
aka Minimalist Running Week #4 in ReviewWhen I signed up for Barefoot Neill's Virtual Race, I set a goal of running all 26.2 miles barefoot or in minimalist shoes. His rules were that we needed to complete the mileage over the course of two weeks, with at least 1 K on May 1st. I was pretty sure I could manage that barefoot/minimalist, but then I decided to go "all minimalist all the time" and blew that goal out of the water.Total miles over the two weeks: 37.8 (my first virtual ultra LOL)Barefoot miles: 8.7VFF miles: 26.1Merrell Pace Gloves: 3(See Week #3 for the first half).This week I ran 18.6 miles over the course of five runs.Run #1: 3.1 miles barefoot on the treadmill. No problems at all. My treadmill got panned … [Read more...]
Minimalist Running Week #3 in Review
Perhaps I should have titled this "I haven't hurt myself... yet." Last week was a mishmash of increasing speed and distance. For a little variety, I threw in a bit of completely barefoot running on the treadmill. Yeah, not exactly the definition of smart training.I ended up doing 19.2 miles in 5 runs and several times probably should have stopped just short of where I was. I made it to my goal each time, but there were a couple of times where my feet and ankles were fatigued enough that I should have listened. My goal this week is to pay better attention to what my body is trying to tell me. I actually contemplated a run in shoes yesterday, but ended up eating cheesecake and sitting on my butt … [Read more...]
Happy Easter and Jelly Bean Virtual Race Report
Happy Easter to all my bloggy buddies! We all know I can't resist a virtual race, so when Jess opened the Jelly Bean Virtual Race with a 10k option (my favorite race distance), I jumped on it. What I didn't know when I signed up for the 10k was that I would decide to go all minimalist running. Not knowing if I could even complete the distance certainly put a new spin on things.I had one and only one goal when I set out for this run. I was wearing my Vibram Five Fingers and had never run more than 5 miles in them. So my goal was to finish 6.2 without hurting myself. There would be no speed involved, it was going to be all about form.Short story: I finished in 1:05:20 (possibly my slowest 10k … [Read more...]
TTT: refrigerators, Vibrams, and dreams
1. I've done a ton of research on new refrigerators, only to discover that the best one for the space we have is... the exact same one we bought 9 years ago. Sigh. And the one in the basement is a cheaper (wire shelves, less drawers), 5 year old version of the exact.same.fridge. This would be fine if I actually like the darn thing, but I've hated it for years and was actually a little excited when it died. On the bright side, it's also cheap so I can buy one and not feel any guilt in five years when I throw it out donate it when we remodel the kitchen.2. I ran five really sweaty, kind of fast for me 5 miles in Vibrams yesterday. (OK, the first four were fast, mile 5 sucked). I … [Read more...]
