6 days into November and I'm about ready to mainline coffee. That's a thing, right? OK, probably not, so I'll just make another big cup to get me through the day while I join Coco and Deborah for a little chit chat. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm so glad to finally finish the Marine Corps Marathon Trifecta. Who knew that getting that last 10K in was going to be such a challenge? I actually had a good run once I decided to do it, but it took me FOREVER to motivate. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I randomly jumped on a Ragnar So Cal virtual team. Thankfully, Ragnar has made all of their virtuals free and teams can be random sizes. The only goal is to run 3 times in two days. Apparently I'm addicted … [Read more...]
October Visit to the Runfessional: Exhaustion
It's that time of the month again - time to confess all of our running/fitness sins with Marcia over at Marcia's Healthy Slice. I must runfess that I have been meaning to write more than twice a month for a while now, but I'm finding that I'm definitely suffering from pandemic brain. I only have so much focus in any given day and I'm pretty much done by the time I actually have time to write a post... I must runfess that I ran both a 50K and a marathon this month and still only barely managed to break 100 miles. I was horribly undertrained, so "ran" might be an exaggeration. I will post an actual recap soon, but let's just say I'm happy to be done and hella surprised that I was not sore after either race. I did, however, manage to … [Read more...]
September Runfessions: Getting Ready to Run ALL the Miles
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...]
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...]
Marine Corps Marathon 50K Race Recap
MCM 50KOctober 27, 20197:05:57 Temp: Low 60s to low 80s What I wore: hat, tank top, arm sleeves, a Skirt Sports Cascade skirt, Crazy Compression socks, and Altra Kayenta. There were many moments before and during this race that I considered not crossing the finish line. I had gotten in all of my long runs, but my left glute was unhappy and I'd missed a lot of supporting runs. Added to the fun was the tighter time cutoff for the 50k - my pace had slowed greatly thanks to literally a pain in the butt, so I was pretty sure I could not maintain the required 12:30 minutes/mile. (Spoiler: you don't have to.) When the weather projections kept getting worse, I ordered a pack of ponchos from Amazon, hoping that by being prepared, I … [Read more...]
Confessions of a wannabe ultrarunner
We are two days out from the Marine Corps Marathon and the first MCM 50K. As you might guess, it's the primary thing on my mind. Nevermind that I have one more ZOOMA race to get ready for and my kid still has one more application to get done. All I want to do is think about the 50k, which means these runfessions may be a bit single topic. Thanks to Marcia for the chance to runfess. I must runfess I'm really not excited about the current weather predictions. Rainy AND unseasonably warm? Yeah, I'm not doing cartwheels over here. I did buy a big pack of ponchos on Amazon. I was planning on picking one up from a friend in Crystal City because I hate being cold post race, but if the temps keep going up, I won't have to worry about … [Read more...]
And that’s a wrap! Bring on fall running!
It's hard to believe that tomorrow the kids go back to school (never mind that most other schools are already back in session.) It feels like just yesterday that we were celebrating the end of another school year. But we had a good summer and this is a huge year here - Jones (who was 7 when I started this blog!) is a senior this year and Shoo is in his last year of middle school. Seriously, where did my babies go? We managed to pack a lot into this summer! Jones and I visited 7 colleges, 2 zoos, an aquarium, an ornithology lab, and an aviary. Shoo got to visit Beer Geek's family, got bitten by a salamander, built his own road bike, and has gone on a few double digit mileage bike rides. On the running front, I got to run a … [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...]
Marine Corps Marathon 50K Training
According to various training plans I've been looking at, it's nearing time to get this party started. I've done some crazy things in the past, including 7 half marathons in 7 days and two marathons in the same weekend. I've created training plans in the past to accommodate these antics, so now it's time to take all the plans I've been looking at and put them together in a perfect plan for me. I won't be sharing it here - I've designed one that works for MY body and its strengths and weaknesses - but here are some elements I plan to use to be successful in October Incorporate one or two full marathons as training runs. I've already identified a few options in September and early October. Most of the plans I've looked at … [Read more...]
Registering during Marine Corps Marathon Rush Registration
Running the Marine Corps Marathon is on many people's bucket list. And once you've run it once, it grabs you by the heart strings and you want to run it again. (Even if you claim you don't. Not that I'd know anything about that.) But getting into the race requires a little bit of luck. In recent years, in addition to the other options, MCM has offered a rush registration. This is a 20 minute window to register that will allow up to 7,000 runners to register before the lottery opens. It starts at noon - usually on a day in mid-march. Here's how the process goes: Set an alarm on your phone so you don't forget. Ok, maybe set 2 or 3. Actual number dependent on your level of OCD. Dress in your lucky MCM registering clothes. If … [Read more...]
Finalizing my 2019 race plans
I can't believe it's March and I'm just now figuring out my race plans. Everything hinged on getting into the new Marine Corps Marathon 50k. If I had not, I'd have upended everything to find another race. So, here we go... March 17 - Four Courts Four - I run or volunteer at this race as often as possible (sometimes both.) It starts with a wicked fast downhill, but what goes down must come up, so it ends with a painful uphill. Luckily it also ends with beer. Guinness to be exact. March 24 - Mike to Mike Half Marathon (All American Marathon) - This race goes from downtown Fayetteville to Fort Bragg. I'm pretty excited about this race because a number of Skirt Sports ambassadors will be there. I'm less excited about the fact that … [Read more...]
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