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...]
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...]
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...]
