It's rainy here today and Shoo decided he needed to get up early even though he has no school today, so my day is starting a little rough. Why is it that children have to be blasted out of bed on school days, but bounce out at the crack of dawn on days when you can sleep in? I'm a bit of a bundle of stress lately. I have a bad habit of focusing on the worst possible scenario in situations. I'm wrapped to tight, I feel like I might implode. So, I'm taking it out on my house. It's either sit and eat from the stress or clean until my fingers are pruny. It's a good thing I clean with vinegar and other natural products, or I'd probably have asphyxiated by now. So, here's some randomness from my life: 1. My jaw is still sore from … [Read more...]
#WhatsBeautiful : DNS, DNF, or DFL
Disclaimer: I’m part of the Under Armour campaign through Fitfluential and I got half off on my race entry from North Face. The North Face Half Marathon is coming up on Sunday. To say that I'm nervous about it is an understatement. I haven't run long since the Frederick Half. But, it's ok, there's a four hour time limit. I can make that, right? And then life happened. This week has not played out as planned. I was supposed to get in at least one 6ish mile run and a few shorter. The weather was supposed to continue to be cool and beautiful. Sleep was supposed to be a priority. None of the above is going on. I think I ran 5 miles sometime recently. And I managed 3 on Tuesday, I think. I'm planning for 3 or so on the treadmill … [Read more...]
Prepping for the North Face Challenge + a deal for a reader
The North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon starts at Great Falls. I've been there a lot of times over the years. I've walked around what I believe will be a part of the course. I've hiked it with a child on my back. I've even seen a copperhead there. (gah, why am I running this again???) But I've never actually attempted to run there. And the closest thing I've ever done to a trail race was one of the courses in the Dust Bowl Series. I'm kind of sorta starting to get a bit nervous. Perhaps it's a good thing I've signed up and they haven't put up the course elevation yet. Gulp. So, I turn to you, my faithful readers, to give me your best advice. I know some of you run trails all the time. Will I be … [Read more...]
Live, Breathe, Eat, (No) Sleep Nike
I will never again take a race for granted. Especially a big one that happens in a big city. I've been working behind the scenes on the Nike Women Half Marathon for months now, but this week is Nike week! The number of people working nearly 24/7 and pieces that are being put into place is astronomical. And, yet, everyone seems to know exactly what they are doing and how to get it done. Last night was the first of many late nights and tomorrow will be the beginning of the early mornings. I'm pretty sure that by Sunday afternoon I will be crashing hard! So, if you stop by and think you hear crickets, rest assured I'm busy working to help make the event a wonderful experience for all who are here to run. Welcome to all the Nike … [Read more...]
State #24: Kansas – Half Marathon 3 of 5!
Short story: I finished and I finished faster than the first two!!! Long story: Wednesday we ran in Ulysses, Kansas on a 1.14 mile asphalt path through a golf course. From first arrival in Ulysses to the point where we left town, it was a great experience. The Chamber of Commerce hosted a pasta dinner for us at the Grant County Adobe Museum. The food was great and the museum was really interesting. Even better, one of the other runners brought me some beer from Amarillo! The only negative of the race was the temperature. It was 25 degrees with a feels like of 19 when we got to the course in the morning. I had on almost half the clothes in my suitcase. Seriously. I wore: a winter hat, a short sleeve shirt, arm warmers, a … [Read more...]
State #23: Oklahoma – Half Marathon 2 of 5!
Short story: I finished. Long story: Tuesday was the second day of the Dust Bowl Series. We ran on a concrete path around a small lake in Guymon, OK. The path was exactly one mile in length, so the half marathoners had to run 13 laps, with a small out and back at the end. Thankfully, they set us up with chip timing, so we had help keeping track. When I originally signed up for the Series, I was dreading the one mile loops. As it turned out, there was a lot of awesome to it. Beer Geek had food poisoning, so he took my picture before I left and then I caught a ride to the start with another runner. (I LOVE this part of the running community!) One of the first purchases I made when we got to the Dust Bowl area was a … [Read more...]
Run, Walk, or Crawl
It seems like only yesterday I was joking about doing 5 half marathons in 5 days, but it's been 8 months in the making. When Kim and Jess started talking about it on Facebook, I never thought I'd actually do it (and sadly I'm the only one of the three of us doing it). But I made the "mistake" of sharing the idea with Beer Geek, and next thing I knew, it was the plan. Since then, I've run a lot of miles. Not as many as planned thanks to a bit of a detour. But a lot. And tomorrow we leave for the adventure! But the big question is "What are my goals?" All along, I've said that my goal was to finish all five, preferably upright and smiling. At one point when training was going well, my goal was to run all 5 in under 2:30. Now, … [Read more...]
How do you train for THAT?!?
You may remember my crazy post from a few days ago about the five half marathons in five days? You know, this... I realize it's 7 months away, but there's been a lot of discussion about it in our house. I mean, the cost and logistics of getting four people from DC to Amarillo, TX, is a bit daunting. That's without even thinking about the missed school, the missed work, and what the heck the boys will do while I'm running. There's even been some discussion of having my non-runner husband volunteer at the races so that I can get a free race or two. But the piece of planning that has been foremost in my mind is "how do I train my body to cover that kind of mileage over 5 days?" (And maybe a little bit of thinking about what level … [Read more...]
When your inner crazy becomes your outer crazy
Yesterday, Kim from Just Trying is for Little Girls shared this picture on Facebook... 5 (half) marathons. 5 days. 5 different states. And I need all 5 states. My first thought was "You crazy." My next thought was "Hmm..." I threw out the idea to Beer Geek, who is usually my reality check. Instead of bringing my "great" idea to a quick halt, his response was "As long as I get to go too." ('cause these would be all new counties for him. Yes, he tracks what counties he's visited. ) Oh.my. There are a ton of logistics to work out (boys would need to miss a week of school) and I need to start running more than 10 miles a WEEK LOL, but yeah, it sounds like a heck of a lot of pain fun. So, who's in? … [Read more...]
Goalz? I can haz dem?
Source I've been running with very general goals since I injured my achilles back in November. My main "goal" after that was just to get back up and running without reinjuring myself. I accomplished that and then some when I trained for and ran the National Half Marathon this past March. My goal for April was to become a barefoot/minimalist runner. I feel like I've accomplished that. I ran 72.5 miles in April - all of them in VFFs, Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves, or completely barefoot on the treadmill. I've felt my calves, ankles, and feet become stronger (who knew that running barefoot would make it easier to rock the 4 inch heels!) Now it's time to get serious! So, here are my short term and my long term goals for now (will … [Read more...]
It’s “just” 13 miles.
Today Beer Geek and I were discussing the Jack Daniels race that Missy mentioned on my last post. I was telling him about the race and mentioned it was a new race, so there were no reviews and I had no way of knowing how well it would be organized. He rolled his eyes and said "It's just 13 miles. You can deal with it." Umm, ok, then. I apparently live in a warped little world where a 13 mile run is no big deal.* Week 1 of marathon training is in the books. I ran one speed workout, one easy workout, one "marathon pace" run that I think was about a 9:30 pace (Garmin went all bracelet on me), and today I ran my first long run - 10 miles. I chose a really hilly route, mostly to train for the Tennessee half marathon in late March/early April. … [Read more...]
Goals for 2009
I don't have my 2008 goals on the blog, as I didn't start blogging until May, but I wrote some on my livejournal account. I wanted to run a half marathon and a marathon. I don't think I realized at the time what I was getting in to, but I did accomplish both. So for 2009, I want to: 1) Run at least three half marathons, with the eventual goal of a sub-2 hour half. The sub-2 might not happen this year, but it won't be for lack of trying. I've already signed up for the Citizens Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon-2009 in Wilmington, DE. I'll do a local one for the second (not sure which one yet) and then hopefully find one we can travel to in the fall for the third. 2) Run races in at least three new states (but I'm aiming for 5). … [Read more...]
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