Happy Black Friday to all of you who celebrate! OK, I know it's not a holiday and you won't catch me in any stores. So far, I haven't even bought anything online. I'm sure I'll breakdown and take advantage of a race discount at some point. After all, I don't actually have any races on the calendar after December 10! Crazy! November has been a bit of a crazy month, so here are my Black Friday Five Runfessions. Wednesday I got a personal email from a charity offering me a bib for the Chicago Marathon. I runfess that I seriously considered it for a short time. It's a group I have supported in the past and the amount was reasonable and, unlike Boston, I'd be happy to run it as a charity runner. But then reality set in and I turned it … [Read more...]
Time for some marathon runfessions
It's the last Friday of the month, so it's time to runfess the sins of October. Since the Marine Corps Marathon is fresh in my mind, all of my runfessions are related to that (or at least to the marathon distance). I runfess that within hours of finishing the marathon, I was considering running another one as a redemption race. I know I can do better than that under different conditions. Luckily, I very quickly realized that "Nah, I'm good" and signed up for Rehoboth Beach as a half marathon. I runfess that at the end of the race, I realized I'd done the whole thing on about half a gu, multiple half cups of Gatorade, and a mini Coke. No wonder I was dragging from about the halfway point. I run most of my half marathons without … [Read more...]
Runfessions of a Marathon Runner
Here we are, two months out from the Marine Corps Marathon. As seems to happen every August, I'm a little bit fixated on my training. Unlike last year, I actually feel like I'm doing a decent job on following my training plan. I'm not 100% on it, but I'm closer than I've ever been. So, I'm joining Marcia for some marathon training runfessions... I runfess that today is my birthday and I don't plan to run 47 miles to commemorate it. I'm not even sure I'll hit 47 miles for the week (although it may be close.) Instead, I'll run my 10 planned miles, spend all my birthday money on new Skirt Sports items, and then head out for dinner and beer with Beer Geek. I runfess that I have fallen in love with the Altra Escalante. They have even … [Read more...]
Runfessions are good for the sole
Or good for the soul. Something like that. How have we reached the end of June already? It seems like just yesterday I was packing for the trip with Beer Geek. Since then both kids have survived finals, Shoo graduated from elementary school, and Jones took a visit to San Diego with his grandmother. Now the boys and I are enjoying a week in Wisconsin. I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by. But it's the last Friday of the month, so that means it is time to head to the Runfessional. Marine Corps Marathon training has begun. Somehow I missed the first week and then I jumped to the 5th week. I should probably actually put the plan on a calendar so I at least know what I'm supposed to be doing. Otherwise I may find myself … [Read more...]
Heading to the Runfessional before I head out of town
I'm not sure I'm actually ready to leave town, but we are heading out today for the Heartland Series. It's been a busy week all around, so I'm leaving a lot of things in a state of not quite done. Oh well, that seems to be my life lately. So, what do I have to runfess to this month? I ran an amazing 10 miler in April and followed that with 20 miles at Ragnar Richmond. My longest run since then was 6.7 miles for Chase the Moon. Somehow all of the long runs I planned just never happened. I had a goal of having ZOOMA Annapolis be my 70th half marathon. It was my 1st and I liked the round number. I blew it by not running the Frederick Half Marathon. Then, once I knew I wasn't hitting my goal, I decided to skip Michigan. So, I'm … [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...]
Black Friday Runfessions
Today is Friday, right? I've been so confused about the day all week because Jones was out of town until Monday night, Shoo did not have his usual soccer practice, and neither boy had school on Wednesday. Somehow it feels like it should be Monday, but I still have three days off. Sweet! Since it's the last Friday of the month, it's time for a little runfession. I'm linking up with Marcia over at Marcia's Healthy Slice and Friday Five 2.0 with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness. I'm trying to meet a goal of 85 miles this month and it's coming down to the wire. I have 26.9 miles to go. Don't think it didn't cross my mind to just run a marathon and get most of it done. Beer Geek won his age group at the local turkey trot … [Read more...]
Runfession is good for the soul
TGIF. This has been a busy week and I'm tired. Thursday was my birthday and it was an ok day (not amazing, but acceptable), until the end of the day. Then I happened to notice that the bubbles from Shoo's bubble bath were coming out of our basement toilet. I'm pretty sure that's not a good sign. I'm hoping that when the plumber shows up it's not a big clog, but I'm mentally prepared for it to be a big deal. Sigh. So, let's get on with some runfessions... I've been using Hansons Marathon Method to train for Marine Corps Marathon. In theory, at least. I haven't hit a full week of training in over a month. And speed work? I don't even know what that is anymore. On Sunday, I finished my goal of 23 half marathons in 23 states in … [Read more...]
5 Runfessions for July
This week has flown by. I sent one kid off to vacation with his grandparents and I've been hanging out (as much as he'll let me) with the older kid. It's hard to believe he starts high school this fall! I've also been attempting to train for the Marine Corps Marathon and simultaneously pull together a Ragnar DC team. Oh, and that little thing I call a job. Add in some nasty hot weather that seems to be melting my brain and I'm super ready for the weekend. Since it's the last Friday of the month, here are my Runfessions. I'm linking up with Marcia as well as the DC Trifecta of Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia. I don't run outside in the summer to feel bada$$. I run outside because I get tired of running in place. I do, however, … [Read more...]
It’s Friday, so it must be runfession time
This week? It can kiss my rear. We've had wacky weather - Tuesday I had an hour each way drive in the pouring rain, Wednesday we had crazy thunderstorms, and Thursday the wind was wild. My battery died in my car at Shoo's soccer practice and the dad types were unable to jump it. Thank goodness for our AAA membership and a really nice guy who used their super jump thingy (I know, I'm so technical) to get it running. I sat in the car in our driveway for an hour with the engine running, hoping the car will start in the morning so I can take it to the dealership. So, my runfessions might have a bit more to do with my frustration than running. Running? I haven't been doing a lot of that. In fact, Thursday's 4.5 mile run was my first run … [Read more...]
5 Snowfessions Friday
Towards the middle of the week, I was so tired of the whole Snowzilla thing, that I went outside and shoveled snow that didn't have to be moved. I figured it was better than sitting inside being mad that my street hadn't been plowed. Speaking of not being plowed, by Tuesday I could have gotten out if I'd really wanted to, even though we had not been plowed. Plenty of big 4wd SUVs had gotten out and we live only our yard's length from a main road. I just didn't have any place I needed to be. On Sunday evening when Beer Geek wanted to walk out for dinner, I realized I hadn't showered since either Thursday night or Friday morning. It's probably not a good sign when you can't remember your last shower. When I went for a run on Wednesday, … [Read more...]
