Welcome, April! March was a rough month and I don't mind seeing it in the rear view mirror! Despite all the crazy things (car problems, sick cat, sick kids, snow day), I was happy to hit 100 miles (103 to be exact) for the fourth month in a row. I ran three races in March, but it was questionable if I was going to complete my goal miles due to a camping trip on the last two days of the month. On Thursday, Shoo and I headed out with his class for the 5th grade camping trip. I did this four years ago with Jones, so I knew what to expect. Which is to say, I knew I'd have fun, but that I'd be exhausted when I got home. The weather for the first day was supposed to be in the 50s, but the second day called for 40s and rain. I packed … [Read more...]
Running the last long run: Burke Lake Park
I've mentioned before that my MCM training did not go quite as I planned. My mojo was missing and life was just busier than it's been when I've previously run a marathon. Somehow, I just never managed to make the training a priority. There's really no one to blame but myself for the situation I found myself in this week, but when push came to shove, I got in the last long run. To make this run happen, I had to block my day on the calendar. I declined meetings. My to do list was empty. I knew I had 6 hours from the time I dropped off Shoo until I needed to be back to pick him up. This allowed me to run in a different location than usual. So, off to Burke Lake Park I went. Burke Lake has a 4.5ish mile loop around the lake that many … [Read more...]
Favorite running fuel for long runs
Running fuel is one of the most discussed topics in the various running groups I belong to on Facebook. Everyone has their favorite manufactured running fuel and many have their favorite "normal food" choices. I've used various gels and waffles and sports beans, but my stomach tends to disagree with the amount of sugar in those. So, I've had to experiment with some other choices. Thankfully, I've run a lot of Mainly Marathons races, so I've had the opportunity to eat everything from pickles to pancakes to cups of soup. Confession: if I could figure out how to carry salty vegetables and noodles on my long runs, I totally would. Since that's a little unlikely, here are my favorite normal food running fuel choices: Pretzels and raisins … [Read more...]
RNR DC Half Marathon final long run + weekly wrap
Last week was crazy busy and Friday continued the trend. We dropped off the Pilot at the dealership at crazy early and then I spent the rest of the day at Shoo's school. I run a book swap every February in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, so I spent the entire day helping kids choose books. I love love love this event as some of the kids at our school have no books at home and it also gives me a chance to interact with the kids and the teachers. This was my last year leading the event as Shoo only has one year left of elementary school. I've been doing this since he was 3! How did that happen??? Friday I also received the call that my new treadmill will arrive on Wednesday! I'll tell you more about it when it arrives, but I'm super … [Read more...]
TOTR: Scenes from my run
Where do you run? What do you see? That's today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run (or maybe you wrote about that last week and are talking about your spring race plans. That's cool too.) As you know, I live near Washington DC. This means that some of my runs look like this: Or this: Or very occasionally this: And once, just once, it looked like this: But let's be real here. I generally run fairly close to home. It's easier and doesn't waste time. So here are some pictures from my unplanned 7.3 mile run yesterday (I love when a run feels so good you just keep going and going. I was channeling my inner Forrest Gump!) The one unpaved piece of my route: The dirty snow piles filling one of the … [Read more...]
5 things to love about LONG distance running
It's time for Friday Five again! And even though today is National Donut Day, the lovely ladies in the DC Trifecta (Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney), decided that they'd like to talk about National Running Day. Personally, I'd rather talk about my five favorite donut flavors (chocolate cake donut, chocolate filled donut, chocolate frosted donut, anything else covered in chocolate), but ok, I'll talk about running. Since I'm about to start training again, here are the 5 things I love about training for the half marathon or longer. … [Read more...]
Five for Friday: Closing out January
January was a rough month. The weather was mostly awful, with a few days of beautiful thrown in. My kids had days off and delays and snow days and holidays... I seriously felt like they were with me more than at school this month. It's not that I don't love my children, but I get a lot less done when they are around. Quite happy to be closing the door on this month! January in Five Pictures 1. It snowed. Not a lot at any one time, but often enough to mess with the streets and delay or close schools. I had a very blonde moment when I couldn't figure out how to put my Honda Pilot into 4WD. Turns out it does it on its own... 2. I ran a lot of miles on the treadmill. In fact, this was my highest number of miles on the … [Read more...]
Unplanned 10 miles + Zooma Run to Napa contest
Yesterday was a beautiful day. High 50s and sunny with not a lot of wind. Jones had a dentist appointment and then Beer Geek went out on a 2 hour bike ride. Finally, at around 3, it was my turn. My intention was 4-6 miles of easy running. It wasn't a perfect run. I had issues with my calf tightening and my foot going numb. I had a bit of pain in my right foot. But, somehow, I got in a groove and kept going and going until I realized dusk was approaching and I wasn't dressed appropriately. I picked it up for the last mile and actually ran it at under a 10 minute pace. I felt accomplished and strong when I finished. I didn't intend to sneak up on my long run, but obviously it worked! More importantly, Zooma is running a … [Read more...]
12 Galloway Miles
This is what my yard looked like on Thursday night... I know that doesn't seem like much to my northern friends, but it was enough to shut schools on Friday. It was also enough to keep me from running my long run outside. Why? Because Virginia snow is deceptive. We usually hover just around the freezing mark, which means a lot of black ice and snow covered ice. Add in a complete lack of treatment on many of the neighborhood roads and it equals a really good chance of falling on one's rear. If you are lucky, all you hurt is your pride. I opted for 5 miles of speed work on the treadmill in lieu of a 6 mile easy run. Saturday was cold, windy, and many roads were still treacherous. Trails were also fairly well ice and snow covered. … [Read more...]
What’s your #bestrun lately?
Miss Zippy asked recently about everyone's best run. Frankly, after my five half marathons adventure, I wasn't sure when I was going to have a mediocre run again, much less a best run. Thankfully, it seems my body has recovered (just in time to run another half marathon this coming Sunday.) I'll admit, my last half marathon in New Mexico was perhaps the best run I've had in a long time. It was far from my fastest, but I felt strong and happy for most of the run. It was the first time in a long time I got to experience a runner's high. And then I started my recovery runs. OMG. They were just awful. Slow, painful, legs of lead. Like every runner I know, I began to question if I'd ever get back to normal. Finally, yesterday, I … [Read more...]
Confidence Builder
So, sometimes I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. Five half marathons in 5 days? What the hell was I thinking? I haven't run long since April. I haven't run fast since 2010. What makes me think I can do this? Today I ran 10 miles. They weren't awful. In fact, they had moments of really good. On the whole, they were ok. But you know what makes them awesome? The fact that yesterday I ran 7 miles. And the day before I ran 5.3. And the day before that I ran 5.1. The back to back mileage is building slowly and my body is playing along. That is what made the 10 today awesome. Slow and steady. That's how I'm going to get there and that's how I'll be running the races. HBBC Total HBBC points = 127.5 HBBC Week 3 … [Read more...]
Random thoughts from a 12 mile run
The boys and I are in Wisconsin visiting my parents for spring break. I took advantage of having extra hands to go for a 12 mile run today. I was pretty happy with the run overall as I finished it with a 10:38 average pace (my last mile was even under a 10 minute pace). Some observations: Cold (43 degrees) + Vibrams + 12 miles = really tired feet. From where the sidewalk starts at one end of Main Street all the way to where the sidewalk ends at the other end of town is only 3 miles. This makes for a LOT of wandering through neighborhoods. I always forget how hilly this little midwestern town is. I'm sure Hospital Hill is named because of the old hospital, but given how my heart was pounding at the top, I can see where it … [Read more...]
