Wednesday, April 25, 2018

{almost} Wordless Wednesday

Hi friends! It's the middle of the week which means... Friday is close!

In lieu of missing a few Accountability Mondays, today's post is a little visual representation of what's been happening in my world over the last two weeks.

Wanna eat vanilla icing on your run? Try this limited-edition GU- tastes just like birthday cake icing!
Thanks for the sample, StrideBox

Fastest 5K EVER! Now to just do it in a race. 😏

Seen on my run last week. Grateful to finally see the sun.

That finish line feeling sometimes looks like agony. πŸ˜‚
Trailfest 2018 should have been called Sufferfest 2018. More on that in a future post.

Extra thankful for this guy (and craft beer) these days.


Have a great rest of the week!


Wednesday, April 18, 2018

"Keep Showing Up"

In case you missed one of the most dramatic and inspiring Boston Marathon finishes on Monday, lemme fill you in- Desiree Linden won the women's race becoming the first American Woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years. 33. Freaking. Years!

Source and more details at Runner's World.

What's even more impressive about Des's win is that she's run 14 marathons in the last 11 years, coming in second place in several major races: Boston, Chicago, and the US Olympic Trials. A few years ago she missed winning the Boston Marathon by mere seconds.

But she kept at it. She kept running and training and striving towards her goal of winning one of the World Marathon Majors. No matter how many races she didn't win, she kept trying.

And on Monday she did it! On a cold and rainy day, after slowing down to help out her US teammates, after considering dropping out of the marathon- she won the damn race!

Watching her performance solidified for me why I love the sport of running so much. The grit, tenacity, and perseverance that runners demonstrate, day in and day out, is awe-inspiring.

I think Des herself sums it up best:




Des also did something else this week- she helped confirm some running dreams of mine.

As a back-of-the-pack runner, I will probably never qualify to run the Boston Marathon. I may never break a 5 hour marathon. A sub-30 5k may be out of my reach.

But I'm still going to show up. To every race, to every workout, to every training session.

And I'm abso-freaking-lutely going to run another marathon.

After my Unofficial Goofy Challenge in January, I wasn't sure if I wanted to run another marathon. My last 26.2 mile adventure left me feeling two things equally- "Holy hell, this sucks and everything hurts and I don't want to do this anymore" and "I want to run another one- and run it fast."

I'm 99% sure I'll be registering for the 2019 Walt Disney World Marathon. I like this race, I love Disney World, and I'm confident I can run a fast (for me- sub 5:30) marathon in January 2019.

This summer/fall training cycle, I'm going to show up. Repeatedly. Every damn day. And I am going to run my fifth marathon in 2019.



Training will be hard. It will hurt. Sometimes, it'll downright suck. Some days, I'll question my ability to run long distances. But I'm going to keep showing up.

Putting this out into the universe is scary; what if I can't make good on my goals? What if I get injured, again? What if all the wheels fall off and I can't finish the race I trained for?

Honestly, the answer is so, so simple. Like Des said, "Keep showing up." ❤



What are you going to "keep showing up" for?



Monday, April 9, 2018

Accountability Monday: 4/9/2018

Good morning and welcome to another Monday!

I've secretly always liked the start of a week- a fresh new beginning; another chance to do whatever it is you feel like you need to do. :-) Cheers to the start of a great week!

Training
Wednesday: 3.1 mile run, 10:54 pace
Saturday: 3 mile hike; 2 mile run, 11:49 pace

We spent the weekend in the Pocono Mountains and even though it was frigid- temps in the 30's- it was absolutely beautiful in the forest. Trail running is quickly becoming my favorite spring activity.

If you're in the market for an awesome trail shoe- check out the Altra Timp. Heavenly.

Best Run
Wednesday's run was incredibly windy- 40+ mph gusts! But I managed to have negative splits and felt pretty awesome: 11:11/11:09/10:25. I also took the new Altra Duos out for the second time and I really, really like this shoe. The sole is very stiff but feels super responsive and bouncy- these are definitely a short-distance, road-warrior shoe. Can't wait to see how these do in a race!

This wind was INTENSE.

Bravo Moment
I tracked, planned, and portioned all my food last week and it paid off- I lost 2.2 pounds!

Quote of the Week
Life, just like weight loss or running, is best experienced with a little patience. It was awesome to be out in the woods this past weekend, soaking up every moment of peace and calm I could from Mother Nature; being among the trees gives me much-needed perspective.



Have a calming, patience-filled week, friends!


Friday, April 6, 2018

Race Recap & Review: Capital 10 Miler

Last weekend, I finally got the chance to run the Capital 10 Miler in Harrisburg, PA. I volunteered for this race in 2015 and it's been on my "race bucket list" for a while.

I hadn't run a 10 mile race in four years; the last time was in 2014 at the Mission 10 Miler. That race brought a 2:06:55 finishing time; a time that I knew I could beat, once I decided to run a 10 mile race again.

Volunteering at packet pick-up in 2015.

For $50, I registered online for the Capital 10 Miler five days before the event. This race benefits the Open Stage of Harrisburg, a neat theater built into the bottom of a parking garage in the city of Harrisburg. The race is advertised as walker-friendly (as walkers could start at 8:15 while runners started at 9) and flat and fast.

On Saturday morning, I arrived to City Island (race start/finish) around 8:05, easily found a place to park, and then walked to the start to pick up my packet. Because of the time I arrived, I also got to cheer on the walkers as they started their race.

Packet pick-up was a breeze. I used the port-a-potties, checked out some merchandise from Run PA, and then headed back to the car to stay warm before the race started. I love smaller races- I didn't have to spend 40 minutes shivering in the cold waiting for a race to begin!

A view of Harrisburg across the Susquehanna River, taken from my vantage point on City Island.

Around 8:45, I left my car and walked the short distance to the starting line. While waiting to begin, I thought about what my goals would be for this race. My "C" goal was just to finish, as always. My "B" goal was to beat 2:05 and thus have a new PR from the 2014 race. And my kinda secret "A" goal was to finish in less than 2 hours. I typically don't put those kind of goals out into the universe; they usually stay in my thoughts, typically sorted as wishful thinking. But for whatever reason, right before the start, I posted to instagram and added my time goals.



Since this race had a relatively small field, about 500 runners, in no time at all, we were all across the starting line and starting our 10 mile journeys!

We began with an almost mile loop around City Island. I wanted to keep the first few miles at or around 12:00 min/mile pace so I started running conservatively. About a quarter of a mile in, I looked behind me and there was only one runner and the medical personnel on bikes- that was it. My plan of starting slow was working!

Proof that my feet do leave the ground when I run! Photo: Bill Bonney Photography

We hit mile one as we crossed the Walnut Street Bridge to the main part of Harrisburg. I looked at my watch- 11:27. Too. Damn. Fast. Even though I felt like I was going slow, I clearly wasn't going slow enough. So I decided to slow down even more to hit my target pace of around 12:00 minutes/mile.

Race route courtesy of my Garmin Forerunner :-)

The next few miles of the race were along the Susquehanna River and on a trail called "the Greenbelt." I was familiar with this part of the race since the Greenbelt is also included in the Harrisburg Half Marathon. My slow-down plan was working- miles 2, 3, and 4 were 11:50, 11:55, 11:39, respectively.

Bridges are my fave. Photo: Bill Bonney Photography

I hit mile 5 in just under an hour- my "A" goal was within reach! I knew if I just kept my paces under 12:00, I would be able to finish this race under 2 hours. From mile 5 on, I kept my mind distracted by calculating what time I'd need to reach the next mile marker to keep it under 12:00 minutes- I was actually shooting for 11:45 min/miles and that made the math more difficult in my head :-)

Part of the Greenbelt- and a train!

Runners passing each other on the sometimes very narrow trail.

What a beautiful day for running!

Around mile 6.5, I saw a group of people standing on the side of the race course- in running clothes and bibs- just casually drinking a beer. I figured they had already finished the race and were out cheering for other runners. But then one yelled to me, "Hey! Want a beer?" Obviously, you already know the answer to that question. :-)

I grabbed a Dogfish Head SeaQuench Ale and kept moving. I mean, I love craft beer, but I also had a PR to chase!

Mid-race beer is so refreshing.

I kept trucking along and hit mile 7 feeling great. Since there were only 3 miles left, I knew I could safely pick up the pace and not burn out too soon. I dug deep, starting running faster during my running intervals (my usual 30:30), and kept my focus on the finish line. My splits for miles 5 and 6 were 11:28 and 11:33.

Miles 7 (11:28) and 8 (11:20) were out and back on a bridge and then we turned back down the road towards the Walnut Street Bridge and the finish on City Island.

Knowing I only had two miles to finish, I poured everything I had into my legs and asked them to keep going to mile 10.

Heading back towards the city around mile 8.

As I raced towards the finish line, I took a glance at my watch for mile 9- 10:49. Holy crap! I just ran a 10:49 mile after 8 miles! This was the last bit of confidence boost I needed as I hustled towards the finish line.

I ran the last little bit on the river, turned left onto the Walnut Street Bridge, and then ran onto City Island to the finish line. I stopped my watch right after I crossed the finish- 1:53:56 with a last mile split of 10:10. I couldn't believe it- I had not just made my "A" goal; I'd absolutely crushed it! And ran a 10:10 mile after 9 miles!



I grabbed my medal and a bottle of water and then cried- I had a new 10 mile PR! It's been almost two years since I had any type of PR and this one was so unexpected. And I cut over 12 minutes off my previous 10 mile time.

They had a ton of food out for the runners- bagels, cookies, chips, fruit, etc. I grabbed a banana, took one last look at the Run PA shirts (and maybe bought one for Matthew!), and then headed back to my car.

Such a great race!

Overall, this was well-organized race. Everything about it was low-key and easy and I really enjoyed the course. While it was narrow at some points, I never felt too crowded because the field size was small. Would I do this one again? Absolutely! Flat, fast, cheap, and the potential of spectators with craft beer?! Sounds like a perfect race for me. If you ever find yourself in south central PA in late March, definitely check this one out.

And thank you for all of your comments and encouragement on social media last weekend- thanks for cheering me on!

Thank you! PRs are always better celebrated with friends!

So there you have it- the Capital 10 Miler is a beautiful race and a great place to get a 10 mile PR!



Have you ever run a 10 mile race? What do you think of that distance?

Monday, April 2, 2018

Accountability Monday: 4/2/2018

Good morning and happy spring! It's finally April! 

It almost feels like warmer weather is near!

I don't know about you, but I am ready for spring and new beginnings in the worst way! These past few winter months have been a struggle- I don't know why, but I've been slacking on workouts, eating healthy, tracking my food, etc. My pants don't fit anymore and I'm not super happy with how I look or feel these days. I think I'm up about seven pounds from this time last year but it feels like 20. 

Mood.

BUT! Something super cool happened this weekend- I got a new PR for the 10 mile distance!!!

PRs make me smile :-)

I'll write a full recap of the race later, but wow, what a day! I can't believe I got a new PR by over 12 minutes! There's something about crushing goals that makes you feel unstoppable; suddenly those seven pounds don't feel as heavy :-)

Training
Tuesday: 4 rainy miles on the trail, 11:15 pace
Thursday: 3.1 miles in new Altra Duos, 10:35 pace
Saturday: Capital 10 Miler race, 1:53:56, 11:24 pace

Solid week of running, solid week of fast (for me) paces, not-so-solid week of strength or cross training. 

Did you know the Altra Duos have the power of levitation? ;-)

Best Run
The Capital 10 Miler was phenomenal- I felt so fast and strong, especially the last three miles. Check out those splits- I ran a 10:10 after nine miles!



Bravo Moment
Last week at work was unnecessarily stressful- I chose to run instead of eating my feelings on Thursday evening. That's a win in my book. 

Quote of the Week
This one popped up in my instagram feed from Runner's World; so appropriate given this weekend's race. I can't wait to shatter more mental blocks and grind out some more PRs!



Have a great week, friends!