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...]
I think I need a coffee IV
How on earth is it August? July FLEW by this year. I'd say I'm not even sure what I did, but really I spent it running, visiting colleges, and trying to keep up with my 3 jobs. Oy. I've drunk an unreasonable amount of coffee to make that happen. So today I'm joining Deb and Coco for a coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that my training for the 50K is going surprisingly well. (Ask me again tomorrow after my long run.) I've upped my overall mileage and I ran a half marathon at my goal pace last weekend and, except for an awful mile 12, it went well. I'm currently 24 days into a run streak and yesterday I ran twice. And my body seems to be holding up well. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I managed to … [Read more...]
Runfessions of running all the miles
I can't believe we are nearing the end of July. I feel like all I've been doing is running, drinking beer, and taking my kids places. Jones and I are currently on another college trip - this time to Ohio. In four days we are hitting four colleges, 2 zoos, an aquarium, and an aviary. I'm tired already. So let's get to the runfessing with Marcia... I must runfess that I've hit that point in summer training when I am just DONE. The heat combined with the miles is just not my cup of tea. That's not to say I'm not doing it, but it's certainly been more of a mental challenge. I am proud of myself for hitting the trail at 4am with a friend for my last long run. Four.A.M. If you've been reading for a while, you know I don't ever choose to … [Read more...]
Farewell to the Fox: the end of an era
Many many years ago, we met a young brewer and I fell in love with his beers. OK, one beer in particular - his Wee Heavy. The brewer, Bill Madden, moved around a few times to other breweries and Beer Geek and I followed him wherever he went. I don't know if he knew he had a fan girl, but I was totally that girl. And then about 10 years ago, we had the chance to be involved when he opened his own brewpub. Over the last 9 years, I have spent many many hours at Mad Fox and with the amazing friends that we have made through there. I got to brew Wee Heavy once... I celebrated my 40th birthday there... We celebrated our 20th anniversary there... We spent more weekend days than I can count at festivals … [Read more...]
Let’s have coffee in Ithaca!
Welcome to crabby season over here at MCM Mama. Y'all know I hate the heat of Virginia summers, so I always go north as often as possible (or run off to Australia and New Zealand where it's winter.) This weekend we visited Ithaca, NY and I was greatly disappointed by how warm it was. But there's a lot going on over here, so I'm joining Deb and Coco for a coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that we are in Ithaca to visit Cornell University. When you have a kid who loves bugs and birds, it's kind of the place to go. (I've told you about our hissing cockroaches, right?) But man, it's crazy competitive and far from cheap. But who wouldn't love to go to a school with a waterfall in the middle of campus? If we were … [Read more...]
Tips for a successful long run in the summer
Every spring, my FOMO overrides my common sense and I end up signing up for the Marine Corps Marathon. It's kind of like having babies - you conveniently forget the bad parts and only remember that cute squishy baby you ended up with. This year, FOMO REALLY got the best of me and I ended up signing up for the Marine Corps 50K. Know what that means? It means I'm already up to 16 mile long runs. (For those playing along at home, I usually use Hansons Marathon Method, which means 16 miles is my longest marathon training run. Yeah.) So, for the first time in years, I'm running some really long runs during the hottest months of the year. Yes, we are talking 80+ degrees with matching humidity. Running when the air feels like you are breathing … [Read more...]
I Hate Summer Training: June Runfessions
Temperature wise, we are in full on summer. This week has been in the high 80s/low 90s all week, sometimes with matching humidity.`Welcome to Virginia in the summer! But mentally, we are barely there. School just ended last week. This week Jones has been in a full time training for the work he'll be doing this summer. Shoo has been lazing, but also just joined his summer activity. While I'm excited for both of them to be doing the cool programs that they are doing, the schedules will be erratic, so I'll be juggling a lot this summer. Which leads me to Marcia's runfessional... I must runfess that I hate having a training plan in the summer. Our schedule during the school season is pretty consistent, but we are all over the board … [Read more...]
Struggling with my body in my 40s
Notice that I did not say body image. One of the beautiful things about getting older is that I'm generally quite comfortable with my appearance and don't really give a f$%^ what others think. What I'm struggling with are some of the changes that are going on in my body. Some I didn't expect this early, some I never expected at all. Who turned the heat up??? I haven't started getting hot flashes during the day yet, but some nights I wake up way overheated. And it's not a "flash". It can take me quite a while to cool down. I don't mind it too much in the winter when any extra warmth is a good thing, but I'm pretty sure I'd freeze my family out if I put the thermostat where I'd like it this … [Read more...]
Lawyers Have Heart Race Report
Lawyers Have Heart 10kJune 8, 2019 Temp: High 60s to low 70sWhat I wore:hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Lotta Breeze Skirt, and Altra One 2.5 When I was offered a free entry to this race in exchange for a blog post, I jumped on the chance. I had never run it before and I'm trying to run all the races in the area. I'm a huge fan of the American Heart Association (I actually ran a "stop smoking" campaign for them in high school), so I'm happy to promote them. Plus, I'm training for the Marine Corps Marathon 50K and running to the race, running the race, and running home would be a great long training run. This race is often crazy hot and humid, but we were super lucky with relatively mild weather. I hadn't had time to get downtown … [Read more...]
5 Reasons to Run ZOOMA Bermuda
Have you heard the news? ZOOMA is going to Bermuda! Mark your calendar for President's Day weekend 2020. Here are the top 5 reasons you should join us... It's a ZOOMA race. All ZOOMA races are women focused weekends. ZOOMA hosts a race (and often challenges with extra races and medals) surrounded by an awesome finish line party and events like yoga. Bermuda will have all that ZOOMA races normally offer and more! And I can guarantee that the medal(s) will be awesome!The weather! The average temp in Bermuda in February is in the 70s. I don't know about where you live, but in February, Virginia is miserable. It's cold and grey and just plain unpleasant. Someplace sunny and warm? Sign me up!Beaches and Forts and Lighthouses. (And … [Read more...]
Coffee and Runfessions for the Month of May
This blog is coming to you from the Denver Airport at 4:30am. I just spent an amazing weekend with the best tribe a girl could ask for. The annual Skirt Sports retreat is an amazing and energizing event, made even better by the fact that I get to spend time with some of my closest friends who live in different parts of the country. I will recap the event later, but for now, just know that my cup is full. Speaking of full cups, I'm joining Deb and Coco for a virtual cup (in addition to the copious amount of coffee I need to survive today after my 2:30am wakeup.) I may also be including a few runfessions ala Marcia. If we were having coffee, I’d tell that I swear that May and June are the longest, most stressful months of the year and … [Read more...]
Half Marathon #80: National Women’s Half Marathon
National Women's Half MarathonMay 5, 20192:26:57 Temp: low 60s and rainyWhat I wore:hat, tank top, a Skirt Sports Lotta Breeze Skirt, compression socks, and Altra One 2.5 I ran this race last year and enjoyed it, so when I got the chance to get the race for ~$40 for 2019, I jumped on it. But we've had a crazy rainy spring (like it's rained almost every weekend) and huge downpours were in the forecast. The race starts and ends in a not very convenient place, so I was less than thrilled with the forecast. I don't mind running in the rain, but I hate standing around in it and walking home in it. However, thanks to the rain preventing Beer Geek from going out on a bike ride, I was able to convince him to give me and a couple of … [Read more...]
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