Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Gone for a Run virtual race, but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own. There are also affiliate links below, which means I might make a commission if you buy something. I love a good virtual race. In fact, for my 40th birthday, I organized my own Mama Goes Masters virtual. So, I was totally into running the All 4 Run. One problem: my shortest run these days is 6 miles and most of my miles are far from race pace. That's ok. The beauty of a virtual race is you can run it when and how you want. Since I wanted to be at least a bit on the speedy side, I ran it as part of my speed work last week. All 4 Run Virtual Race July 4, 2015 39:42 Temp: 75* with 82% … [Read more...]
Gone for a Run: All 4 Run Virtual 4 Mile Race
We all know I can't resist a race. I'm really kind of an addict. I'm not good at pushing myself when I'm doing a training run, so I need a reason to go harder and faster than my usual long run pace. Luckily for me, a virtual race works to push me as well. Add in the fact that my new training plan calls for some pretty significant tempo runs and I'm looking for any excuse to push myself. So, when Gone for a Run reached out to me about their July virtual race, I was all in! Never run a virtual race before? Here's how it works: Sign up, go for a run of the prescribed distance, enjoy your swag! And while you are at it, post about your race on social media so we can all cheer you on! Check out the All 4 Run Virtual Race … [Read more...]
It’s definitely summer here
High heat and lightning. That pretty much sums up my weekend. But, you know me, I can't leave it at that, so I'm linking up with Tara at Running 'n' Reading and Erin at Her Heartland Soul with my weekend update. And we have more of the lovely same weather this week. Ugh, I'm over summer and it's not even officially here yet. Friday night, Shoo had soccer tryouts. Not exactly how I like to spend my Friday evening, but he loves the game, so off we went. Where we encountered thunder and lightning and pouring rain. Tryouts - canceled. … [Read more...]
Skirt Sports 10 on 10!
We all know how much I love Skirt Sports! I wear the Happy Girl skirt at nearly every race I run. So, I'm really excited to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. But, I'm not nearly as excited as they are! To celebrate, they are holding another virtual run. This is their 10 on 10 virtual race - run a 10k or 10 miles on September 13, 14, or 15, 2014 in honor of their 10 year anniversary and get some cute swag! Here are some details Skirt Sports 10 on 10 Virtual Race Who: You and your Skirt Sisters What: 10k or 10 mile Virtual Run Where: In your home town or run with us in Boulder When: September 13, 14 or 15, 2014 How: Simply click here to signup I love that if you live close to them you can meet up at the Skirt … [Read more...]
Five Miles
The first time I ran (almost) 5 miles, I didn't realize I was running that far. It was my first race ever - an 8k - and I'd failed at the math. Who knew that 8k was 4.97? I thought it was just over four and had trained for that. Yesterday I ran 5 miles for the first time since June 2 as part of Laura's "5 and 10" series where you are supposed to run either 5 or 10 miles by the 5th of the month. With 2 marathons and 15+ (can't remember, too lazy to check) half marathons under my belt, you'd think 5 miles would be no big deal. But it was. Slowing my pace down and finishing 5 miles with the knowledge that I still had some gas in the tank was huge for me yesterday. I needed that confidence builder. I won't be ready to run a half … [Read more...]
Breaking the rules
As I mentioned earlier, I joined Team Tough Chik in January. I'm not sure exactly why I joined, other than the shirt was cute and I like their philosophy. As it turns out, it's a group of women from all walks of life. We are all different ages from different parts of the country. We are young and old. Some run, some do triathlons, one woman rock climbs (holy cow!) What I found (and had no idea I'd find) was a wonderfully supportive group of women who are willing to discuss everything from menopause to injuries to fashion while running. One of the TC's came up with the idea of a weekly "Riddle me this?" question for those of us who blog to answer if we feel like it. This week's question: What running rule do you break? Me? I … [Read more...]
Running, Loving, Living Virtual Race Report
Happy Birthday and Happy Blogiversary to Toni at Running, Loving, Living. In honor of both, I ran her 3.5 mile virtual run. It was icy outside and I've been wearing Vibrams lately (pretty sure that's not a good shoe choice for ice...), so I decided to do her race as speed work on the treadmill. The only truly notable part of the run was mile 2 was my fastest mile ever at 7:25 and I did it barefoot!!! I was just a little sweaty! I had a little road rash on my feet at the end. Thanks, Toni, for giving me an excuse to push myself!! I've survived the most stressful parts of this week. Just two more meetings today, the Pinewood Derby tomorrow, and then I can focus on our annual … [Read more...]
Half of the Cupcake Marathon
We all know I love a good virtual race. I particularly love virtual races where you don't have to run all the miles at once. http://cooktraineatrace.com/ Over the last three days I've run the first half of the marathon and on Saturday I'll run the second half at the National Half Marathon. Run #1 - 6.1 miles in 59:55 The weather was beautiful. I wore shorts and a t-shirt. My legs felt great. I ran negative splits. I even had one sub 9 minute mile. If every run felt like this, I'd run every day. Run #2: 4 miles in 41:57 This run was not the day before's run. It was chilly and windy (gotta love VA in the spring - you never know if it's going to be in the 70s or the 30s and some days it hits both). My legs were super … [Read more...]
Fab Four for Reese
I ran my four miles for Reese's Run (there's still time to sign up!) today because I won't run tomorrow or Saturday in preparation for the GW Parkway 10 miler on Sunday. I planned to take it really slow and easy, but apparently I suck at pacing myself. The first mile was 9:05. A little fast, but mostly downhill. About a third of the way through the second mile, I was really regretting it, thinking I'd gone out way too fast. Then I looked down at Garmin. I was running uphill, into the wind, at an 8:50 pace. Oops. No wonder I was dying! I ended up doing the 4 miles in 35:43, including a few stoplights. Not exactly the slow run I planned, but it felt good, nonetheless. The Lululemon shorts totally rocked the run! They were so … [Read more...]
FFFK Virtual Race
In honor of Non-runner Nancy, USJogger organized a Freakishly Flexible 5K to be run on or around Valentines Day. Since Nancy has done so much for us running bloggers, including hosting the very first virtual run I ran in, I decided to participate and let her know how much she's appreciated. I was planning to take it easy, but apparently I fueled myself well last night, so I ran it in 26:39 (8:39, 8:40, 8:31, 0:49) which is not my fastest 5K ever, but is pretty darn close. I then finished up with .9 miles at a 10 minute pace to get in my 4 that I needed to do. All in all it's been a great weekend so far. After a nice dinner out last night, which included a Scotch Ale and a cask-conditioned Brown at Rock Bottom Brewery, we took the boys to … [Read more...]
7 on the 7th times 3
I originally planned for last Sundays 12K to be my "7 on the 7th" and was quite pleased with my 1:03:15 time. Then I ran 12 miles on Tuesday and figured I should count that 7 since it was closer to the 7th, but my time was closer to 1:08. But, oh my goodness, it was GORGEOUS today! I couldn't resist going for a long run and decided to turn my tempo run into a 7 mile run. I ran a warm up mile a little too fast and then did 3.5 miles at an 8:45 pace. Like any good tempo, miles 5 and 6, which were not meant to be at tempo, were my "I think I'm going to puke" miles and were much slower. I got things back together for mile 7 and ended up finishing 7 miles in 1:03:05. Woot! I'm pretty sure that's a personal best for that distance. I'm … [Read more...]
