September is usually one of my favorite months (October is my #1 favorite), and this year that holds true, sort of. The weather in Virginia has been awesome, but so many other things have been challenging, that it's hard to appreciate the weather. I'm joining up with Marcia for a few runfessions (and maybe a few "lifefessions" as well.) I must runfess that I've been struggling to increase my mileage. Some of it is physical - I've never completely gotten rid of the upper hamstring issue that started last summer. Some of it is mental - even though I have "races" coming up, they are virtual and I can't get myself to care enough to really stick to a training plan. I even downloaded Hal Higdon's "training for geezers" to at least get sort … [Read more...]
Give me ALL the coffee, please!
I can't believe it's September already. In some ways, it feels like it's been years since life was "normal", but in others, it feels like the year is just flying by! I also can't believe I haven't posted since the last time we had coffee. Gone are the days when I posted 5 days a week. I'm hoping to get back into a rhythm of posting once a week, but we'll see if that actually happens. Anyways, I'm raising a coffee cup with Deb and Coco to kick off September. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm super thankful that the run across Tennessee is over and that I decided to do a multi-sport team for the Circumpolar Race Around the World (CRAW). I moved my exercise bike into our living room because the kid now has my workout room … [Read more...]
It’s too hot for coffee…
But I'm drinking it anyways. I don't mind iced coffee, but I much prefer the hot stuff. I definitely need a coffee date though, so I'm combining the monthly coffee date with Deb and Coco and weekly run down this week. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that my hip suddenly decided it was done with all this running. My hips are often cranky, but the severity of this issue came on out of the blue. One day I was running and my hip was having its usually need for post run rolling. The next day I couldn't run with a normal gait. Oh well, I had already decided that I was going to end my run streak soon as a birthday present to myself, so I just ended it a bit early. Two days and a lot of stretching, exercises, and rolling later and I … [Read more...]
July Runfessions: Surviving the Humidity
How on earth are we at the end of another month? I mean, I'm never a fan of Virginia in July, but I can't believe it's already over. It was a busy month, but in a totally different way than normal. I'm joining Marcia for a few runfessions to close out July. I must runfess that I have been in hot pursuit of the 1000 mile pin for the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. While I'm generally not a "virtual race" kind of girl, this one has been hugely motivational for me. I get up every day and cover at least 8 miles. Pretty much every single day. Since I don't run 8 miles a day (pretty much ever right now), I've become a walker. I've always only been a walker if I was going to a destination. Now I wander around my neighborhood for miles … [Read more...]
Tap, Tap, Tap – Is this thing on?
Apparently I was gone for the whole month of June. I'm not even sure what I did or where I went or why I didn't write. I think, like many right now, I'm still trying to find some semblance of "normal" in the current situation. So, I'm going Deb and Coco for a little bit of socially distanced coffee. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that one of the reasons I've been out of touch is that I am constantly running or walking. I'm doing the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee and have decided I'd really like to get the 1000 mile pin, not just the 1000k buckle. So, I have to average a little over 8 miles a day. I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm nuts - I run every morning and then walk the neighborhood at least 2-3 times a day. … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Run from Home Runner
Here we are, a crazy number of days into Virginia's Stay at Home order. Today, the Northern Virginia area began Phase 1, which means more things will be open at reduced capacity and with masks required in establishments. To be honest, it's not really going to change my behavior (we are super careful), including that I will continue to run the majority of my runs right out my front door. But I do have some runfessions, so I'm linking up with my buddy Marcia to share them with you. I runfess that I never really got into Virtual Races. I always had enough real races on the calendar that I didn't need them. I still don't LOVE virtuals, but I've registered for a few. Everything I've registered for has had one thing in common: the money … [Read more...]
Tips for Running a Virtual Race
It's now been 2 months since races started getting canceled. Two months of not getting that motivation that races provide. Two months of missing the social interaction of running with (possibly 1000s) of your best runner friends. Naturally, runners are looking for something to fill that need. At the same time, organizations are trying to bring in income or fulfill the promise they made to provide a race or, unfortunately, take advantage of the situation. Yes, I've heard rumors of fake virtual races out there. So, here are my tips to have a successful virtual run. Choose a legit race. OK, maybe you didn't get a choice because the virtual is the option given to you for a canceled race. But if you are looking for a new race, there are … [Read more...]
The Week I Ran ALL the Miles
If you've been around these parts for a while, you know I thrive on doing crazy things. I've never quite crossed over to an ultra runner or even a consistent marathon runner, but I love to do things like Ultra Ragnar (6 runs instead of 3) and multiple marathons or half marathons in back to back days. So, it should come as no surprise that I jumped on the Yeti 24 hour ultra. What may be a surprise is that I did that on Tuesday and then on the weekend, I jumped on another challenge - 42.5k in 42 hours. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I was not in any way trained up for either one. But when have a I ever let that stop me. For those who don't know, the Yeti involved running 5 miles every four hours for 24 hours, basically 6 runs … [Read more...]
Happy Hour is the new Coffee Date
Here we are starting a new month in a world where coffee dates and Happy Hours are taking place online. ZOOM is the new cool coffee shop and bar. So I guess Deb and Coco's virtual coffee date was just ahead of its time. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I ran every day in the month of April and that I successfully ran the Yeti 24 Hour Challenge. It's the first time since August that I've broken 100 miles for the month. But it was a good running month and a kickoff for my next virtual - The Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. I'll have to up my game to hit 1000k by August 31, but I seem to have plenty of time on my hands. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that ZOOMA has just opened its own Run Club. What's ZOOMA … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Stay at Home Runner
Funny how when I was actually a stay at home mom and runner, I never actually stayed at home. That is so not the case anymore - I've literally run every day for the last 30 days without going farther than 2 miles from my house. So what kind of runfessions might I have with such a small running area. I'm joining Marcia from Marcia's Healthy Slice to share... I must runfess that I never thought that I'd start a run streak when I was under "stay at home" orders, but here I am. It's actually working great for me because it helps with my mental health and it gets me moving every single day. And since I'm running most of my runs super close to home (short runs are on a quarter mile loop...), it's nice to only have to run for 15ish minutes … [Read more...]
Running safely in the days of Covid 19
If you've been around this blog for a while, you know that one of the main reasons I run is to combat depression. It helped me overcome postpartum depression and it has helped me many times in situational depression. If there was ever a time when situational depression would rear its ugly head, isolation due to Covid 19/coronavirus is that time. I am currently on day 19 of a minimum of 15 minutes a day running streak, in an attempt to keep from a downward slide. So, obviously I'm concerned with running without putting myself or others at risk. I live in a highly populated area. It's not quite like living downtown with all the high rises, but there are a lot of people in my area. Gone are the days when I'd go on a 10:30am run and see … [Read more...]
Drinking coffee by myself
This weekend is the coffee date link up with Deb and Coco. Sadly, given the current pandemic, there will be no in person coffee dates. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I hosted a "Corona Relay" this weekend. Every runner had to run 3 legs in 24-36 hours. I managed 13.3 miles (math error, oops) in 24 hours. I had to do the last 3 on my treadmill because it was mid afternoon on a gorgeous day. The number of people walking past my house was ridiculous. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm on day 11 of a run streak. I am happier on days when I run, so now I'm running every day. Today was leg day, so I only got in a mile and I did it on a T intersection near my house. I had to run it 8 times to get a … [Read more...]
