Today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run is Best/Worst Race photos. I am the queen of bad race photos. I apparently run most of my races with my eyes closed and my feet never leaving the ground. But I do have a few pictures that are so bad that they are good and a few that I love. Before I share those though, I have to share a bit about my weekend. Somehow, in my whole "let me just go with the flow" plan for the year, I did not pay close attention when I started saying yes to things. You know what happens when you do that? You end up with two volunteer gigs and a race in the same weekend. Yep. Saturday started off with a 2am alarm. I was quickly out the door to get to the North Face Endurance Challenge by 3:30am. I spent the next 4 … [Read more...]
DC Races, You’re All My Favorites!
When it comes to racing, I'm a lucky girl. I live practically in the Nation's Capital. (And if you were to ask Beer Geek, he'd tell you that where we live used to be part of DC, but they gave it back to Virginia...) But I digress. There are so many awesome DC races and tons just out of the city. In fact, within in an hour's drive (ok, at 6am on a Saturday, not rush hour), there are races of pretty much any type, distance, or atmosphere that I could want. Admittedly, not all of them are awesome (like the one that's hot and hilly every year or the one I refer to as my bad boyfriend because I keep going back even when I don't want to or the one that was such a traffic nightmare that a lot of runners didn't make it to the start line...) All of … [Read more...]
That time I had to runfess to…
How is it nearly the end of February? Or really, how is it only February? Why do I ask that? Because I haven't run in layers in weeks. In fact, yesterday I wore a Happy Girl and a tank top and was too hot. We shall rename 2017 the year without a winter. So, what do I have to runfess to this month? In theory, I'm in training for a 10 mile race at the end of April. In reality, I runfess that I haven't run a double digit run since Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October. I've been running 5-6 days per week and I've actually been doing a fair amount of speed work, but I can't be bothered to run for more than an hour. I can't run the Marine Corps 17.75 this year due to family conflicts. So, I'm getting a code from a friend who … [Read more...]
2017 Discounts You Don’t Want to Miss!
Well, hello, Friday! It's so good to see you again! This has been the weirdest week. We were in the upper 60s/low 70s for two days. Then we dropped to mid 30s yesterday and will likely be the same tomorrow. Then we get 60s again for the weekend. I seriously can't keep up. I've run outside in a skirt and short sleeves and I've run on the treadmill because it was so windy I thought I was going to blow away. Somehow though, I've had a super successful training week. (Well, I need to run my long run today and I have my fingers crossed for less wind. I don't mind cold, but cold and windy sucks.) Anyways, we are heading into spring race season, so I thought I'd share some discounts with you! Here are 5 discounts you know you don't want to … [Read more...]
You want how much??? 5 tips to save on races
Races aren't cheap. These days it seems like even the small local races are starting to up their prices. Don't get me wrong - I know that there are a lot of costs that go into races, even if you are able to get volunteers to handle much of the packet pickup and day of activities. There are costs for permits, cops, food, supplies, t-shirts, and sometimes medals. I get that, but sometimes it feels like the races are trying to make as much as they can off the runners. (Spoiler: they are - either to maximize the amount they are giving to a charity or to make a profit, sometimes a combination of both.) Today's topic on Tuesdays on the Run is "how much are you willing to pay for a race?" We all have our breaking points and sometimes it … [Read more...]
TOTR: Tips for planning a racecation
Have you ever gone on a racecation? I love to racecation. In fact, vacationing without a race very seldom happens around here anymore. While I do love a local race (and 2017 is going to be a bit more local focused), combining travel and racing is my favorite. Today on Tuesdays on the Run, we are discussing whether you are more of a weekend warrior (aka local racer) or running off on a racecation. If you've been around my blog for long, you know I'd be traveling and racing every weekend if I could manage it. So, I'm going to share how I go about planning my trips. Decide what aspect is most important to you. Do you have a specific race in mind? Or are you going on vacation and want a race nearby? Or maybe you are on your 50 … [Read more...]
Five races I’d love to run in 2017
I confess: I spend a lot of time dreaming of traveling and racing. I love both, but we are in a decidedly not flexible time in our lives. Between the school schedules of a teen and a tween, travel soccer, orchestra, and Beer Geek's job, it seems like there is never enough time or money to do all the races I want to do. While I'm certainly not wishing my time with my kids away, I do look forward to the day when Beer Geek is retired and we can be more spontaneous about traveling. And when that day comes, here are the races I want to run... Chicago Marathon - I have zero interest in any of the other huge marathons, but I admit that I got some serious FOMO when I started hearing from all of my local and blog friends that they got in. I … [Read more...]
50 States Half Marathon Planning
Confession: I haven't run a half marathon since August. In fact, the only race I've run is Marine Corps Marathon. And I only have one more race on my calendar for 2016 - the 5 mile Chocolate Run. I am absolutely OK with how 2016 is wrapping up. In fact, I've actively chosen not to do a local half marathon or any of the other holiday races. But it's time to get the planning started for 2017. I have 17 states left. No, I'm not going to announce that I'm going to knock out all 17 in 2017. Although, how cool would that be? Instead, I'm going to focus on knocking out that chunk in the midwest and the southern east coast. That will just leave me with the western third of the United States, Hawaii, and Alaska AKA all the expensive races for … [Read more...]
Race Memorabilia: Keepsake or Clutter?
This past weekend, I ran the Wausau Half Marathon on Saturday, drove 3 hours to Minnesota, ran the Woodbury Country Mile Half Marathon on Sunday and then drove 3.5 hours to my aunt and uncle's house for a family party. It was an exhausting, but fun weekend. I got to meet two other Skirt Sports ambassadors and hang out with a college friend. I also came away with two tech shirts, two medals, two race bibs, and a variety of other swag. As a serial racer, that's a lot of stuff to add to my collection. Spoiler: the shirts aren't even going home with me. Appropriately, today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run is: What do you do with race memorabilia? Do you save everything or dispose of a lot? Do you have it organized or in a pile? I am quite … [Read more...]
That’s so crazy!
Have you ever been running along at a race, minding your own business, and then seen something that made you do a double take! That's our topic today on Tuesdays on the Run: Bizarre things seen on the run or at races. Here are some of the random things I've seen (sorry for very few pictures. I never had my phone out when I race...) A joggler, aka running juggler. There's a local one who beats me regularly at races. A runner dribbling a basketball while he was running. A dude in a thong and running shoes at Ragnar. Random full body costumes - bananas, gorillas, superheroes, men dressed in drag... But the best, out of the ordinary, thing I ever saw during a race? And people wonder why I want to run the Marine Corps … [Read more...]
In Pursuit of the Perfect Racing Weather
I run a lot of races. (Umm, understatement?) One of the awesome things about running a lot of races is that at least the occasional race has absolutely perfect running weather. The not so awesome thing about running a lot of races is that more than a few do NOT have the perfect running weather. I've run in a torrential downpour... I've run a race so cold and windy that I wore all.the.layers and still didn't warm up... I've run in awful heat... And I've run races where the weather did not do what was predicted... But those perfect temperature races? None of them were a specific temp. My comfort zone has a wide range. Two things are key for me: the temp needs to be below 70* (I'd rather run when it's below … [Read more...]
One ‘n’ Done? Or Serial Racer?
So many races, so little time and money. If I could, I'd race all.the.time. Oh wait, I kind of do... I'm also really really tired - ran New Hampshire today and then drove all over Vermont with visits to Harpoon Brewing, Rock Art Brewing, and Ben and Jerry's. Today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run is whether you only do a race once or if you go back to the same ones over and over again. Personally, I have kind of a split personality. I have a small number of races that I like to race each year: ZOOMA, Frederick Half Marathon, 17.75K, and Marine Corps Marathon. There are also a few that I tend to run somewhat regularly if they align with my schedule: RNR DC, Army 10 Miler, Historic Half. Other than those few though, I try to run all … [Read more...]
