Hi there! I'm still kickin' it.

I sort of stopped blogging for a bit. It's been a bit of an adjustment to continue running at the same frequency, and teach 10-12 group exercise classes a week. I'm a very involved instructor, so I find it hard not to do the workout along with my participants. I want to show them proper form and keep energy high, so many times I don't even notice that I've done 50-75% of the workout myself. Doing that 3-4 hours a day means I'm left really wiped out and many times sore, which isn't so conducive to running!

So I stopped writing because I was a bit embarrassed at how little I've run over the last couple weeks.  I also came down with a bad cold last week, and it was all I could do to even drag myself through teaching, so running was just out of the question!

So the Baystate Marathon is two weeks away. Yikes! We got the chance to go to NYC two weeks ago, and we ran 12 miles over the Queensboro Bridge and through Central Park. It was incredible. And I will admit I came home with a bit of a NYC hangover - that place is just magical. Not that Boston isn't amazing too, but it's so much different than NYC.

Empire. Not a view from running. If you know me, you know this was from a bar.

Last week I only ran once. I know. Not exactly sticking with the plan! I just felt awful. I finally ventured out for a 20 miler on Sunday, but ended up slipping on some wet pavement about halfway into my run. I didn't fall, but I definitely overcompensated and my hip flexors ached and got progressively tighter as I went along. I was in so much agony by mile 17 I had to stop and limp home. :( So it put a damper on this week's running as well.

I somehow signed myself up for a 5K and a half marathon this weekend. I know. I really need to keep an updated calendar! I just did a few casual treadmill runs throughout the week between teaching classes.

The 5K was yesterday. The weather was gorgeous - 65-70 degrees and sunny. I told myself I was not going to race it - I was just going to run for fun. Well, that went out the window as soon as the gun went off! My legs felt fresh for the first time in weeks. The pack cleared quickly and I got into a good stride. Mile 1 - 7:13.  I thought to myself, there's no way I can keep this up! But then Mile 2 ticked off on the Garmin - 7:01. At this point there was a girl who was seeming trying to 'race' me, and I fell for it. She kept surging ahead of me, and then falling back. I got tired of it and just took off, ha! Last mile - 6:56!

I'm not sure I've ever run a sub-7 mile. I finished in 21:48 (7:01 pace, PR by 61 seconds!!!), which was good enough for 2nd in my age group! Although for some reason, even though this race had timing chips, they gave awards by gun time (which I didn't know about before and think it's ridiculous). So I was awarded 3rd, even though I ran 10 seconds faster (chip time) than the woman who got 2nd because she took off 11 seconds before I did. I have never won awards for running, so it was really cool! There were 100 women in my age group, so I felt like all this hard work had paid off.

I considered wearing the medal while I taught class

Reward - a croissant the size of my face

I actually got called into work yesterday to teach Bootcamp, so I ended up doing a lot more physical activity than I'd bargained for that day. This definitely played into my half marathon today. I woke up somewhat sore and knew it wasn't going to be a PR effort day. I barely slept - I tossed and turned and finally fell asleep somewhere around midnight, and was wide awake at 3:45 AM (and starving). I gave in around 4:30 and got up to eat and start caffinating myself.

I signed up for the BAA Half over 6 months ago, and it had really fallen off my radar. I honestly basically forgot about it until a week ago. I went in with no plan whatsoever, and even considered it just a training run for my full in two weeks. I met a friend there, and he and I got into the 8:00 pace corral. Of course, LIKE I ALWAYS DO, I got wrapped up in the heat of the moment and took off WAY too fast. Especially for someone with sore legs.

The weather was amazing. 50-55 degrees and sunny. We took off, and I knew I'd effed up by Mile 1. Garmin beeps - 7:23. Um, no. I maintained sub 8 minute miles through mile 6, which was just dumb. By mile 7 I was miserable and I feel the lactic acid building in my quads. I had a few arguments with myself, but in the end decided to be a reasonable adult and pull it back big time. Miles 8-13 where somewhere between 8:20-8:50. The course was tougher than I anticipated for sure. But overall I thought it was an awesome race.

Final time: 1:48:55, 8:19 pace. I'm not upset about it. I do really want that sub 8 pace half, but I know that if I want it, I have to plan for it - and I didn't do that today at all. Half Marathon #10 on the books. It officially ranks as my 3rd best time. It was a drama free race, and overall I think it was best for me to pull back and save my effort for 26.2 in two weeks.

Speaking of that. EEEEK. Two weeks! I am very nervous. VERY nervous. I am publicly admitting (to the 3 of you that read this hot mess) that I think a BQ is out of reach for me. I'm trying to be okay with that. My goal for the next two weeks is to stop doing so many lunges, squats, and jumps with my classes and really take care of my body.

Yes, it did. 

And honestly, after this marathon is over, I need a break from running. I've been consistently training for something since February and I am burned out. I will run casually but I don't plan on anything longer than 10K for a while! We are talking about buying bikes, which could be fun.

Race Recap: Boston Run to Remember Half Marathon

So, I haven't blogged in like a week. I just haven't had anything interesting to report. It was a boring running week since it was race week and the mileage was low. I felt like I ate way too much (there is a reason I don't buy gummy candy, because I will eat it everyday). Anyway, race recap...

We woke up at 4:15 and went through our typical race prep - coffee, oatmeal, dressed, out the door. We had to get on the train at 5:30 to get to the start. Our connection train was late, which put us getting to the start line at 6:45 for a 7:00 start. Yikes! The bathrooms were crammed into a little alley area on the side of the convention center, which created a huge bottleneck of people trying to get in and out. There were no lines, though, which was good - we were able to get back out to the start line and fight our way up to at least the 8:30 pace marker. By this point we're only a couple minutes from gun time. I start up my Garmin, and try to start up my music... but my headphones were dead. I furiously tried everything I could to get them to work to no avail - they were not going to work. I never run without music - I make dedicated playlists that I know will help keep me motivated and help me keep cadence.

The start was pretty crowded but I opted to run on the curb/sidewalk for the first 1.5 miles which helped me go faster, for sure. I was still angry about the music thing but I just let it go and resigned myself to running 13 miles with no music. The crowd finally thinned out around mile 4 and I didn't have to weave to get around people.

I kept checking my Garmin every 3 seconds and I was sort of baffled why a 7:55 pace felt so hard. My original goal was to run anything under a 1:45 - I really wanted an average pace that had a 7 as the first number. I sort of knew around the halfway point that probably wasn't going to happen. I was bored and tired of listening to myself huff and puff. Music definitely would have helped!

I decided around mile 9 to stop looking at my Garmin. I was stressing myself out and it wasn't worth it. My goal at that point became to keep running and finish as strong as I could. I was running right around a 8:00 mi/mile until then - miles 11 and 12 were at a 8:21 and 13 was 8:44. Oh well. It was pretty warm by that point and I didn't really care anymore - I was purposely going out of my way to give little kids high fives. Ha! I needed something to kill the boredom of running for that long.

Official time: 1:46:51, 8:10 avg pace 

This was less than a minute off my PR. Am I little disappointed? Maybe. But honestly, I'm okay with it.

Now to take a couple weeks of easy training! I will start marathon training in less than three weeks!

Somehow we only took one picture yesterday. Race picture fail!

And it was blurry. But at least I wasn't crying.

Long Run Sunday

We had a busy weekend and actually decided to bag Saturday's short run in favor of taking the dog for a long walk. Sometimes running isn't the most important thing on earth! I am happy to report she made it all the way around the reservoir and we didn't even have to carry her home. She was VERY tired though when we got home!

Using my purse as a pillow

So my husband had work commitments most of the day on Sunday, so we had no choice but to do our long run later in the day. I am NOT a fan of doing long runs in the afternoon/night - I usually have less energy and less drive to run, not to mention the decrease in daylight. We set out to run for ~2 hours around 6pm. It was pretty uneventful; although some runner's knee pain started around mile 9-10, so we took a shortcut on the way back and cut the run about a mile short. Since it's race week, it didn't seem worth it to me to push further and possibly hurt myself.

Run: 13.04 miles

Time: 1:51:00

Avg. Pace: 8:31

I still need to work on pacing - I told myself I was going to take it easy, but again, I just got impatient around  10-11 miles and had a random mile at 7:37, after which my exasperated husband (who was having some foot pain himself) chided me for going so fast. I seem to consistently be pretty slow for the first 5 miles - not really hitting a good stride until miles 5-10. 

There's a good possibility it will be very warm at this weekend's race - low 80's, but the race starts at 7 am so hopefully that will be helpful. Fingers crossed, I really don't want another Nashville-esque disaster.

Mile Total for the Week: 30

Thursday: Back at the Grind

So today I had the joy of having a service appointment with the gas company. Because they obviously value my time SO much, the service window was FIVE HOURS (8am-1pm). I dragged myself out of bed and sat by the door until the guy showed up - at 12:58pm. Seriously??? I am pretty sure they did this just to irritate me, since they were a no-show at my last appointment and I let them know my displeasure in how they handled that situation. I can see some vengeful CS rep putting a note on my appointment saying "make that bitch wait until the last possible MINUTE."

So I finally got out for a run this afternoon - it truly was a glorious day here in Boston - sunny and about 70 degrees. I did sort of a tempo run, but I started too fast, dialed it back a bit, got bored and ran miles 4 and 5 at a 7:45 pace, and then I was almost dead and I still had to run the 2 miles to get back home. Not my brightest move. Dear Self: STOP running every single training run like it's a race. I swear I do this EVERY TIME and I KNOW it's dumb. I never thought I'd have to tell myself to SLOW DOWN but I guess this is now a necessity.

Anway, the stats:

7 miles, 59 minutes, 8:19 avg pace.

Since I screwed up my last week of training (I was far too occupied with eating my grandma's cooking), I think I sort of lost my focus. I was on FIRE the week before I left, but I don't feel that fire right now. Hopefully it's just my tiredness talking, considering I have a race in 10 days.

New Stuff

So I did get a few new things recently. First, my cherries headband - it's a Sweaty Band! I was dubious when I first looked at it, considering the inside is velveteen. But the tooth of the fabric keeps it right in place on my giant head and it's really comfy. I am a firm lover of my HALO headbands, but these could give them a run for it!

One creepy eye, to ensure you nightmares tonight

And I got the Asics Emma singlet. I saw one at the Nashville expo and liked the idea of the super breathable mesh fabric. I ended up finding it on sale on the Lady Foot Locker website (GREAT place to find deals on shoes and clothing, along with free shipping). I ordered a M because I'm a little on the busty side, but I kind of wish I'd have ordered a small. You never know! But it's super airy and I am already loving it on warm runs because I am a super sweaty person.

Look! Ghost boobs!

I'd like another one (in a Small) but I can't find a good sale, so I'll wait. :) 

I also got a new sports bra. I had a black one, but I needed another one, and since the only other option is white, that's what I got. I have owned a LOT of sports bras in my time, but I think this is the best one. Sports bras have come a LONG way in the last 5 years for us girls that have odd sizes. But the problem is usually that they are 1) hideously ugly or 2) they are harder than a Chinese finger trap to get on and off. Seriously, bra manufacturers, do you understand how difficult it is to pull a bra on over your head, and then attempt to hook three hooks behind your back (I'm looking at you, Moving Comfort)? Perhaps I'm special, but I find it to be almost impossible. Add long hair and a bum shoulder to that equation, and I just give up. Enter the Under Armour Endure bra:

Unfortunately the bra did not come with those killer arms

Yes, it zips in the FRONT. What a novel idea! Now I don't need to unhinge my shoulders and turn my head around backwards to put it on! Added bonus: it makes me look like I got a boob job. I sort of want to wear it all the time, just for that reason.

What's your favorite running gear? Spill it! And where do you find the best deals? I love a good sale!

Long Run Saturday Success

I am a woman on a mission - a mission to redeem myself after my last race. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (by a bad race). I jumped right back on the wagon this week, clocking in 4 weekdays of running (3 easy runs, 1 speed workout).

Today my plan said I needed to run 14 miles. Ummm, I haven't run longer than 13.1 since October 9, 2009 (the Chicago Marathon). But I felt like I needed to do it prove something to myself. To prove I had it in me to set out to do it and do it right. 

BUT the reasonable side of me was thinking I should be conservative, that long runs are supposed to be 30-90 seconds slower per mile than goal pace. So I held back, running around an 8:30 for the first 9 miles (and being forced to stop for a drawbridge - that's a new one). Side note: tried the Peanut Butter Gu today. It was delish! I mean, I wish it had some caffeine, but you know. :)

And then something just snapped, and I went all Ricky Bobby and said to myself, "I WANNA GO FAST!" and I just took off. My last 4.5-5 miles were at a sub 8:00 pace. 

"I don't know what to do with my hands"

Today's run: 14.8 miles, 2:01:39, 8:13 pace. BOOM. As soon as I hit 14 miles and I was under two hours I yelled out "YES!" and did a little fist pump. And then I realized I was still in public and people probably thought I was crazy. Don't care!

Some days you got it. Some days you don't. But I revel in the fact that today, I did!

So I celebrated with my foam roller, The Stick, a big bottle of lemon tea Nuun... and I signed up for a marathon in October! I haven't run a marathon since October 2009 (see above). I'm super pumped and hope to put in a great training cycle this summer. 

I earned my Cinco de Mayo margarita today!

I'll take this one please, on the rocks, yes to salt

Side note #2: Loving the Garmin! I have only taken in on two runs but it's really helping with pacing (I now realize I am ALL over the place - I'll be working on that). And I've had no issue with figuring out the bezel and no problems with it. I do have to wear a wristband under it to get it to fit my child-sized wrists. 

80's fashion, making a useful comback

I am not in pain. I am not in pain.

So about a week ago, I went to go carry my 30 lb. dog downstairs (she was getting a bath and was less than cooperative) and I felt a little twinge in my right knee, below my kneecap. I got worried about it for about 10 minutes, and then forgot about it after I left for Nashville. I was in so much other pain during that disaster of a race that I didn't even think about my knee. I can honestly say I can't remember it hurting.

But every day I've run this week (3) I've felt stiffness and pain right below my kneecap. I know I should not turn to google for these things, but of course, I did... and when you google "pain below kneecap" the first results are Runner's Knee.

NO NO NO NO NO. I refused to believe this. This is no time for injury! The only other injury I've incurred was an IT band issue near my right knee - they think it was a small tear at my knee attachment. Anyway, F U Runner's Knee, I am refusing to have anything to do with you.

The only treatment for Runner's Knee seems to be the typical - RICE, time off, etc etc. I have been icing every day, taking ibuprofen when I can remember, and I tried to wear a knee brace today but I swear it hurt worse then. I have a patella band somewhere (i.e. I'll probably have to tear apart my house to find it) but I am unsure if that is the correct treatment either.

So have any of you had runner's knee? How did it effect your training? And how did you treat it?

I bit the bullet... and ordered a Garmin.

I ordered the Garmin 405 (water resistant version) last night:

I wanted the green one, but I was considerate and ordered the black one in case my husband wants to borrow it. I told myself I'd think about it a few days. In that time frame I did a lot research, and discovered that the reviews are decidedly mixed on EVERY model of Garmin. I asked some running friends, and quite a few use this model, and like it (I will certainly be locking the bezel on runs). But this one was definitely the most wallet-friendly at $137. So I ordered one that was "Used-Like New" from Amazon, so if for some reason I don't like it or it doesn't work well for me, I can return it no problem. It also comes with a warranty. It looks as if it was just returned and repackaged, no big deal to me. I also have seen there are LOT of Garmin 305's on eBay, so if this one doesn't work, I'll probably go to that option. That one seems to get the best reviews, but that sucker is BIG and I have child-sized wrists (like 5.5" circumference). 

I decided to order mostly out of frustration. My iPhone GPS app does some great things, and I will still use it for most of my runs, but the accuracy of all the apps leaves a lot to be desired. At the Country Music Half,  my distance was off my almost a quarter mile. I have to wonder if is has to do with having a lot of people in one place trying to use the same cell signals. Neither mine or my husband's data would work at all at the finisher's village. 

Yesterday I set out for a standard run, and about a 1/2 mile from my house, I hear my robot man voice come over my earbuds to tell me I'd just run 1 mile in 3:59. Yeah, um, I wish! And then I'd had enough, and decided that I needed something that provided some consistent accuracy, along with being able to *accurately* tell me my CURRENT pace. I went out WAY too fast in my last race and didn't know until it was too late and the damage was done. I also read a lot of running blogs these days, and it seems that every fast, strong runner out there uses a Garmin. I finally admitted to myself that it was probably an important element to training to get faster. 

So it arrives in 2 days and I am like a kid in a candy store. I LOVE gadgets! I am also looking forward to using it when I visit my parents later this month - they live in a very rural area where there is no cell reception or GPS reception. 

I also want to become less dependent on running with music - I know it's not inherently safe. (Although I gotta admit, Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger" totally helped me run to the finish in Nashville) I need to understand what a certain pace 'feels' like and be able to maintain it. So I really looking forward to this new chapter in my running journey!

Do you guys use a GPS watch, and if so what brand/model? Do you love it? Do you run with music? 

Training Plans

So in my super long running career (umm, like 5 years) I have always used Hal Higdon's training programs. I am really big on training programs for longer races (anything 13.1 and up), mostly because I'm terrified of running those distances without training. (I might be a control freak)

However, I'm starting to think I need to try something different. Specifically, I think I need higher mileage, at least for a half marathon. I think it might be a good idea to have a double digit run every weekend, and maybe even a few runs that are longer than 13 miles. I found this one; it looks promising. Runner's World also has a wide array of programs, but for $24.99 each, they can keep them. There are so many other free resources on the internet, I will just stick with them.

What training plans do you guys use? Do you have any super top secrets to success you'd like to share?

And a picture of my dog in a lobster costume. Just because. Doesn't she look thrilled?

Country Music Half Marathon: The Recap

I should probably have titled this "Country Music Half Marathon: Honky Tonkin' Disaster."

Because that pretty much sums it up: it was a disaster.

I did everything right that I could - the right gear, sleep, hydration, fueling. Got to the start line almost an hour and half early - plenty of time to get ready. The start line was nice - Centennial Park is beautiful. The bathroom lines were horrifically long though.

Wishing it would just start an hour early

So by the time the race started it was already about 70 degrees. I was in Corral 2, which was all pretty fast people. They let us us go about 45 seconds after the first corral (although my chip somehow picked up the sensor 30 seconds early, but whatever). We take off and I felt good. The first 3 miles had a pretty good net downhill. I don't own a Garmin, but I do use a the Runmeter iPhone GPS app, but I had it set to give me my average pace every mile. I was shooting for a sub 1:45 half, so I was trying for like a 7:50 pace.

My earphones come on at mile 1 - 7:03 pace.

Yikes. I thought to myself I needed to dial it back. So I swear it felt like I did. Mile 2: 7:00 pace. WTF?

Mile 3: 7:11 <--- this is now officially my fastest 5K ever. Not exactly what I should be doing in a half marathon. But I felt so good!

4: 8:06
5: 8:24
6: 8:00
7: 8:13
8: 8:41

OH BUT WAIT. I had studied the race course elevation map before the race, but I swear it was incorrect. I assumed that I would get a long downhill after mile 7 or so and it didn't happen. Relentless hills. By mile 8 it was probably about 80 degrees and I just wilted somewhere around the 15K point. There was little to no shade either. I had to give in and walk.

I grew up in the deep South, and for most of the past decade have lived and run in very warm places - South Carolina, Hawaii, San Diego. I guess living through one New England winter is enough to become totally unaclimated to the heat. Around mile 10 or so was the closest I've ever felt to heat exhaustion - dizzy and disoriented. I managed to run for maybe a half mile at a time before I had to give in and walk. I felt like such a loser. And all I could think of was all that time, energy, and money I'd spent on this race and I just watched all of it drift farther and farther away. I was so angry with myself.

9: 9:42
10: 9:25
11: 10:03
12: 10:17

My final time was 1:54:46 - well, by my watch. The final time listed for the race was over 1:55, but I know it is incorrect because my husband and I took off at the exact same time and his start time is listed to be 30 seconds after mine. The told us to walk right up to the sensor, and we were in the front of the corral, so I think my sensor must have started too soon. Whatever, it doesn't really matter, I guess.

I am just SO ANGRY about this and I can't let it go. This was my 8th half, and officially my second worst half (my first half was about 1:57).

I will say the course was well equipped with plenty of aid stations and the crowds were pretty good. Everyone was really nice - something I forgot I missed. Several times after mile 10, I would feel someone pat me on the back and encourage me to keep going, or ask me if I was okay. I think I was so frustrated because I was mentally prepared to kill that race but I couldn't make my body do it. My final verdict on this race: I won't do it again, not unless they change it to be in like, February.

I am somewhat sore, not too bad, I've definitively been worse. I bought a travel sized foam roller at the expo, which turned out to be awesome (and it fits in my backpack). What's odd is my chest hurts - on the left side, when I inhale. I am slightly concerned I did some damage to myself. I think I will allow myself to rest today and jump back into things tomorrow.

And now I want race revenge like something awful. I have already found another race to do - and thank God this one is here in Boston - I am done with traveling to races for a while. So in 4 weeks, hopefully I will finally get that race I was hoping for. At first I declared I was going to run my own 13.1 this coming weekend but I decided against it. I don't want to hurt myself.

So now I think I am also going to start doing more long runs. I think every weekend needs to have a double digit run. Also, I am thinking of a Garmin (or some other GPS watch). I think I really should know my real-time pace, so I pace myself correctly. While I love my current app, there is no GPS app that can accurately give real-time pace. I hesitate because Garmins are SO pricey. I have already spent a small fortune on all my other gear; I am unsure I want to invest in another.

On a positive note, I just submitted my last grad school assignment ever, so that felt pretty good. Now, I think I will nap!

Oh, running memories

I didn't run more than a lap around a basketball court until I was 23 or so. I did a 5K occasionally (very, very slowly) and always said I 'hated running' and 'wasn't built to run' until I was 26 or so. On a whim, I signed up for the Aloha Run in 2008 - it's a 8 mile run from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. I had never run more than 3 miles, and I was terrified. It took me almost an hour and a half to finish; but I did it. I thought then, if I can run 8 miles, why can't I run 13?

So I signed up for a half marathon in 2008. I also signed up my husband, who had just returned from a deployment and had not trained at all. We finished, but I remember not being able to walk later that day. I think our time was about 1:57.

Perfectly in step, that's how we roll. Also, really bad hair decisions (aka that 2" ponytail here)

So we conquer that one. We later went on to run another half marathon later that year, shaving 5 minutes off our pace. My husband, K, can run much faster than me, but he often chooses to run races with me because he says "it's more fun that way" (yes, he's awesomesauce, and no, you cannot have him, he's mine). 

We then bit the bullet and signed up for our first full Marathon. It was the Maui Paradise Marathon, and it was the inaugural event. We were totally clueless about races. We assumed that all races were pretty sizable. WRONG. The Maui Paradise Marathon only had about 50 runners total for the full marathon. For most of the race, it felt like a training run; we couldn't see anyone behind us or ahead of us. A few hours before it started, there was a terrible thunderstorm with lightning (very uncommon in Hawaii) and sheets of rain; for the first 10 miles or so, we got pounded with rain that stung the skin. This was pre-LASIK - I even had a contact lens pop out at mile 9 (I managed to catch it and get it back in my eye). The roads were flooded - we had no choice but to run through 6-10 inches of water at some points. All this was really exhausting, and then in the 14-20ish mile point was an out and back on a tiny rural road of mean, short, steep hills. At 18 or so I told K I just wanted to quit. He wouldn't let me, so we walked on and off and finally got to the finish - soaked from head to toe. I really wanted a sub-4 hour marathon, and we missed it: we finished in about 4:20.

Totally soaking wet. My shorts kept falling down because they were so heavy!

We finished. Yes, I am crying.

I burst into tears at the finish line. The girl that handed me my metal was terrified. I think she thought I was hurt. I wasn't hurt (I mean, I was in physical pain) but I think I was just overwhelmed. I'd spend 4 months training and it felt like it was over so fast. And it really didn't go the way I wanted (gross understatement).

So later that year, my husband left again for deployment, and I signed up for the Chicago Marathon. Mostly because I am super stubborn and I really wanted a good marathon experience. A REAL marathon experience with cheering crowds in a big city. A friend of mine met me there and ran it with me. I lived in Hawaii at the time, and since I was a relatively newbie runner I knew nothing about gear. I checked the forcast a few days before and realized it was going to be cold at the start in Chicago - so I packed the only pair of tights I owned and I bought long-sleeve DriFit shirt at the Nike store. Oh, how dumb I was! It was 25 degrees at the start. It was a shock to the system for sure. Biggest mistake? I didn't have gloves. My hands were so swollen at the finish that I couldn't get my rings off for about 3 days.

But it was an AMAZING experience, and we hit our goal - we finished in 3:55:56. Can you tell we were happy? For the last 3 miles we were totally delirious (runners high is real, fo sho) and we kept saying back and forth to each other "we're doing this!" "we are really doing this!" I am sure we sounded insane.

Oh, Christen, if only you had known about winter running gear... you could have prevented THIS:

We look great for having just run 26 miles, but OMG sausage fingers! It was SO painful.

So after that I said to myself, "Alright, successful marathon DONE. Check off life list" and went on with my life without considering to ever do another one. I had a pretty significant IT band injury only a couple months after Chicago and was unable to run more than 2-3 miles for 7 months (with the exception of running the Aloha Run again with that injury - VERY stupid). We moved to SoCal, and ran a half marathon in LA:

We're back bitchez! Finished in like 1:50.

And then, of course, K leaves again. So I threw myself into other things - like going to 6 spin/gravity/bootcamp classes a week. I also was in full-time grad school and working 30 hours a week. I tend to do crazy sh** like this when K leaves - I totally overload myself to stay busy. So last summer, I ran 3 half marathons, which was a blast:

RnR San Diego. J's first half! I talked her into starting to run. I am a very persuasive friend. 

I set a new PR: 1:45:55

K came home! Napa to Sonoma Half. BEST RACE EVER! 1:51-ish. It was my birthday. I consumed copious amount of wine! Also, the medal is a wine stopper. Only useful medal I've ever received!

 AFC Half. I HATED this course. The elevation profile is basically a giant U shape.

And there was no free beer at the finish. BOO. 1:52.

And that leads up to today... we've been running a lot of shorter races - and I've gotten a lot faster. We moved (AGAIN... 4th time in 6 years, yay for military life!) to Boston in the fall and running REALLY got back in my blood. This is the first time in my life I've been able to consistently run sub-8 min miles, so I have got my eyes set on another marathon in the fall where I can hopefully BQ!

And that's my (brief) running history! Now we're off today to Nashville to run yet another half. We were at a hockey game on a Friday night when we got a text from an old friend asking if we wanted to run it. We were a few beers into the night and we said 'OF COURSE!' and signed up from our phones. The moral of this story: don't drink and sign up for races! I am excited to go, but it has cost us a small fortune and generally left a bad taste in my mouth already for RnR races. I think this will be the last one we do. From now on, smaller local races that don't want to take all our $$$.

Looking forward to wearing my cowboy boots and having some warm weather! 

Almost time...

Yesterday: 4 miles, 7:43 avg. pace
Today: 4 miles, 8:19 avg. pace

This is half marathon week, so my mileage is a little low. I ran yesterday at 'race pace' and took today a little easier. I am always kind of at a loss for what to do during race week - I am hesitant to weight train normally, because them I run the risk of being sore on race day (I tend to life heavy and go 'all in' at the gym). So I will stick with doing lunges core work and spend the rest of my time stretching, foam rolling, and using The Stick.

We also stocked up today on Gu. I have a personal preference for the Roctane variety. The more caffeine the better! I basically consider caffeine one of my major food groups. :)

I also tend to eat a little more carbohydrates this week. Nothing crazy, just a few more sweet potatoes and maybe a little rice here and there. I'm not much of a grain person (other than oatmeal) so I just try to eat more this week.

What do you guys tend to do with your workout routine during race week?

What are your race fuel preferences?

And odd question: Does anyone know if I can take an empty water bottle in my carry on? I am a little paranoid about water during races - I like to have my own handbottle so I can drink when I want to drink, and not just at the water stops. But I also do not want to pay $25 to check my bag both ways for the pleasure of having a handbottle. I have seen people go through security with water bottles, but I am still unsure it it's actually okay. And I'd rather not lose a nice water bottle to the TSA! UPDATE: According to many travel forums and this site, it appears I can pack a totally empty, dry water bottle in my carry on. Score!

As of today, the high on race day is 80 degrees. Yikes! At least we're just running the half, and it starts at 8 am. I think the low is like 65 so it's not like it's going to be cool at the start - but at least we'll be done before 10.

Happy Tuesday!

Long Run Saturday

So we ran 12 miles today. When I say we, I mean my lovely husband K and myself. We sort of lolligagged around so by the time we got out to start it was almost 10 am. It was probably in the high 60's by then. Bad decisions, we haz them. But anyway, it had to be done.

1: 8:24
2: 8:23
3: 8:09
4: 8:25
5: 8:33
6: 8:15
7: 8:56

Around mile 4.5, K told me he didn't feel well (he's an excellent runner and normally runs much faster than me, but has been battling a stomach bug all week). So we kept going because we were doing an out and back home (and we had to get back home somehow) but a little into mile 7 he said he could run any longer. We had a dilemma, because we only had one set of keys between us. So we decided I would continue on and take the keys, and he would walk back. I thought I might need to run home and get the car, so I tried to be as speedy as I could (although we right at the biggest hill of the course).

8: 8:27
9: 8:34
10: 7:49

So I made it back home at about 10.5, and called K to see if he needed a ride. He had gotten on the T, so he didn't, but I had the house keys. So I waited around (without sitting down!) and headed out when he got home to finish my last few miles.

11: 8:18
12: 8:28

Overall I felt it went really well. I wasn't running 'all out' because I don't think it's worth it at this point; I'll save that for the race next weekend. I was also had moderately sore legs and arms from overdoing it at yoga yesterday (yes, I am sore from yoga - obviously, I'm doing it wrong). I really want to go under 1:45 for this race; a sub-8 min pace would be awesome. Guess we'll see how goes next weekend!

Note to self - make sure the lid is actually completely screwed on before turning it up to drink. I ended up with water all down the front of my shirt and legs. I'm pretty sure I looked crazy!