This week has just flown by. But time spent at my parents' house always does. I've been so busy that I realized today that I'd completely forgotten to blog this week. I guess that's a good sign - I've been too busy with real life to write. And thankfully, it's all good busy. So today, you get five random things... Today Jones and I fly home to Virginia. I'm looking forward to being home, but I also always wish I was staying here. It's been awesome spending two weeks with only one child. I haven't gotten to do this since he was 4! We got to check out the International Crane Foundation, the Minnesota Zoo, and the National Eagle Center. He's a good kid and he's starting to explore college options (GAH!) and we both survived him taking econ … [Read more...]
Running on vacation is my favorite!
I guess you can tell from the title where I stand on today's Tuesdays on the Run topic of whether or not t0 run on vacation. I can't think of a vacation in the last 10 years that hasn't had at least one run - and most have more than one and at least one race. In fact, there was a time period not to long ago where even our family vacations revolved around whether I could find a race or not. That has become less of a priority, but I still try to get in a few runs on every vacation. How do I always manage to run on vacation? I pack for as many weather possibilities as I can - I always throw in compression socks and arm sleeves. These added layers can make it possible to run in unexpectedly cold weather, without taking up a lot of … [Read more...]
My Big Scary Goal for 2018
2018 is here and I still feel like much of my life is in flux. While I am not a Type A personality, I do like to have my life somewhat planned and be in control of the things around me. That doesn't seem to be how life is going to work for now, so my big scary goal relates to that. My big scary goal for the year: Take each day as it comes. Roll with the punches and keep on moving forward with a smile on my face. I do, of course, have a loose framework for our year, but I usually like to set SMART goals and I'm going for a much more relaxed plan this year. Running Continue running injury free. That's it. I'm sure I'll run a few half marathons and I still plan to run MCM again this year, but I need to get back to the joy of … [Read more...]
2017 in Pictures
Welcome to my favorite post to write each year! I admit I love the ego walk down memory lane at the end of the year LOL. This *might* by my last post of 2017, but I do have some runfessions. Life has been a little crazy for the last few weeks, so I didn't get a chance to prep any of these posts early. So here's how 2017 played out... January January was a quiet month on the running front. I got a bunch of new gym equipment and turned the kids' playroom into my home gym. Despite taking it easy on the running front, I managed 100 miles and began my quest for 100 miles a month every month in 2017. I also began training for my spring "A" race - the GW Parkway 10 Miler. February February continued with my GW training and my … [Read more...]
The highs and lows of summer 2017
Summer is over. Normally, summer hangs on until it is no longer officially summer, but for some reason this year, summer decided to leave when the kids went to school. We've had perfect running weather nearly every day for the last couple of weeks. I've actually even managed to go out for some runs without taking water in the last few days. I know, crazy for this time of year. I am very thankful, especially considering what much of the rest of the country is going through. Today on Tuesdays on the Run, we are taking a look back at summer and sharing our highs and lows. I was lucky - our summer was mostly highs! High I got to meet Marcia finally! Low I didn't get to meet Susie or Wendy on this trip to Chicago. High I … [Read more...]
Alternative Marathon Training AKA hiking at altitude
Last Wednesday, Beer Geek, the boys, and I all hopped a plane at o'dark thirty from DC to Denver. Upon arrival, we grabbed our rental car and headed 5 hours away to Angel Fire, New Mexico. Our plan was to visit Taos and the Taos Pueblo, as well as various hiking activities. Instead, he and I both came down with a wicked bug that threw a wrench into the first bit of our vacation. Beer Geek and Jones managed to make it to Taos, but I was barely capable of walking from the bedroom to the bathroom that day. Luckily, we were staying with family and they made sure that everyone survived. Thankfully, the bug was short-lived, so by Saturday, we were active again. First order of business: taking the ski lift up and hiking down the mountain in … [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...]
Packing and planning for a multi-race trip
Time always seems to fly so fast. It seems just yesterday we chose the Heartland Series as our couple vacation this year. Yeah, I know we are weird to go traipsing around the country, running races, as our vacation without kids. Whatever. It works for us. Since we are driving this time, packing is a good bit easier. I can take all.the.things. Or most of them anyways. I did still lay out all of my running outfits and will shortly pull out the gallon bags. Because gallon bags are the best way to pack for a trip that involves running (I use it for Ragnar too.) It keeps the outfit together before the run and then corrals the scent post run. I'm a tiny bit nervous about this series. I'm not worried that I can't run all the miles … [Read more...]
Tips for a successful road trip racecation
You all know I love to travel to races. And Beer Geek just loves to travel. Period. We are also fans of driving trips. I grew up driving across America - my dad was in the military and we drove between stations plus did a lot of driving family vacations. In fact, I did not fly for the first time until high school. These days we fly more often, but even when we fly someplace, we tend to do long trips while there. (Our summer vacation involves flying to Denver, but we'll then be driving to Chaco Canyon, Four Corners, Angel Fire, Santa Fe, and Durango.) So you know that a road trip racecation is something I'm going to do. In fact, I've driven as far south as the Florida panhandle and as far west as St. Louis, just for one race. We've also … [Read more...]
Tips for road tripping alone with kids
Our spring break adventure is drawing to a close. We've had a fabulous time checking out some fun stuff in Ohio and Missouri and we have just a couple more fun stops planned for the trip home. I've traveled with the boys alone before, but never for this amount of time and never with this much driving. I'm happy to say that thus far we've had a great time (I've probably just jinxed our drive home.) Want to know how I survived? (Rule number 1 - don't forget the beer!) OK, here are the real tips... Be flexible. I had a list of possible places to stop on the drive, as well as back up hotel options. (Make sure you know your cancellation times.) I was able to push the boys a little farther one day, but barely made it to the first hotel … [Read more...]
Spring Break Road Trip: From DC to???
Saturday morning the boys and I loaded up the family truckster, I mean, Honda Pilot and hit the road. It's spring break and Beer Geek has to work, so the boys and I decided to take a road trip and see the the sights America has to offer. The first day we hit the Good Zoo in Wheeling, WV. The Good Zoo is a small part of the Oglebay Resort which includes a couple of museums, the zoo, a golf course, and gorgeous views. It's surrounded by mansions on huge estates, but for some reason, my GPS took us the back way on barely more two lane roads through the holler. Apparently that was faster??? The boys loved the zoo and the museums and it was a nice break in the driving. It was also prom night, so we were surrounded by tons of kids … [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...]
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