Tag Archives: running

Resolution Check-In

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And another month down. Wow. This year is just flying.

Time to check in on my New Year’s Resolutions and make sure I’m still on track. Five months in and I’m still running pain free! While I’ve had a few slip-ups here and there, I’ve been pretty good about sticking with my stretching, rolling and icing routines. I’ve also stuck with a couple days of cross training each week instead of running 6 days a week, which has played a role in keeping me healthy this year.

My streak of P90X core workouts came to an end at 127 days. At first I did a good job of still doing it 4-5 times a week, but that has dropped off the last couple weeks, so I’m making core workouts my focus again for the month of June. May’s focus was on strength workouts, which I did a really good job with. My new program from my running coach has me doing these twice a week, but I used to do about 10 minutes of strength stuff and call that a workout. Now I’m doing 30-45 minutes each day and am already noticing a difference. I’m sure this will help make me a stronger runner too.

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The drinking less soda thing disappeared last month and I was back to my soda-a-day routine. I need to do better at this!

Three weeks into my new running program I feel like I’m building a great base to kick off my Marine Corps Marathon training so I can go after my BQ.

I’ve got some work to do, but overall I feel pretty good about my resolutions for this year. How are you doing on your resolutions?

 

Race Recap: Charity for Children 8k

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I’m a week late with my recap, but Sunday the 19th I ran the Charity for Children 8k at Green Lakes when I was back home for the weekend. I knew going into this that I wasn’t in the kind of shape I needed to be yet to actually race this, but I was looking forward to a challenging 5-mile run and that’s exactly what I got!

I’ve become a big fan of smaller races as of late and this fit the bill with just about 500 runners for both the 8k and 5k. Another draw for me for this race was the 10 a.m. start time! I always appreciate a race that doesn’t require me to wake up at the crack of dawn or when it’s still dark out to get to the start line on time. I was also excited to run at Green Lakes. I haven’t run there since I worked there in college years ago, and I was looking forward to taking things off the road since that’s normally the only surface I run on.

The 8k and the 5k started at the same time on a narrow beach path so  I worked my way near the front of the start line to avoid being boxed in. We looped around the beach and into the woods changing from a concrete path to gravel and then dirt as we ran around Green Lake. I kept myself from going out too fast like the previous week’s 5k and hit the first mile marker in 7:15. As I worked my way past Green Lake and around Round Lake the path changed again to mulch.

The different surfaces definitely slowed me down a bit and so did a short, but steep hill on the way to mile three as we came back out onto the beach path past the third mile marker where my Mom was waiting to cheer me on and snap a picture before she headed to the finish line! Miles 2 and 3 came in a bit slower at 7:49 and 8:18.

Passing the 3 mile mark at the Green Lakes 8k!

Passing the 3 mile mark at the Green Lakes 8k!

After coming back onto the beach path we quickly turned and ran up a path, out of the beach parking lot and on paved roads, up through the campgrounds past the frisbee golf course and to the cabin area. The emphasis on that sentence should be on the word up! Mile 4 was pretty much all up hill… a long steep hill! My pace slowed all the way down to 9:29. I don’t normally drink water in races this short, but I was pretty relieved to see a water stop at the top of the hill at the mile 4 marker.

I grabbed a cup as I turned around and started the final mile. We didn’t go straight back the way we came, but I did get to enjoy a downhill to the main road through the park and decided to pick up the pace putting in a 7:04 final mile. I turned back into the beach parking lot and onto the beach path I started on around to the finish line. I crossed the line in 40 minutes flat according to the official results. My watch had me at 39:57 and even though 3 seconds shouldn’t make a difference especially when it’s not even a PR, it still made me a little upset when I saw I hadn’t officially beaten 40.

At the finish after the Charity for Children 8k at Green Lakes

At the finish after the Charity for Children 8k at Green Lakes

Regardless, it was a great race. The packet pick up that morning was incredibly quick, the water stops were staffed with great volunteers and the course was really well marked. I had a great run and would love to go back and do it again next year!

At the finish line with Mom!

At the finish line with Mom!

I do wish I had stuck around longer after the race though – turns out I would have gotten an award! I finished 45th out of 235, was the 8th overall female and 3rd in my age group!

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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Last week started off tough. I was really sore – a couple days of hard running and not keeping up with my stretching and foam rolling had taken its toll. I made up for it with a couple days of serious rolling, stretching and icing and finished the week strong. I’m really enjoying the new training plan I’m on and also liking the group track workouts. We don’t all do the same workout, but it’s nice to have other people in it with you.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: After not fitting in the previous week’s track workout when I was back home in Syracuse, I headed out to Hains Point at lunch and ran 5X1000 meters. I was supposed to try and hit 4:38 for each one. I started out a bit too fast, but got the hang of it as I went on hitting my splits in 4:20, 4:30, 4:38, 4:39 and 4:33. After work I got a 40-minute strength workout including a lot of single-leg squats and pistol squats leaving my legs killing me!!

Tuesday: I took my sore legs out for a slow 5.35 mile run around Hains Point.

Wednesday: Today I got in a 30-minute full body strength workout after taking a client through a personal training session.

Thursday: I metroed out to my old stomping grounds at American University after work for a track workout with the DC Running Coach group. Today wasn’t too difficult of a workout, but I felt really great after it and feel like I’m starting to get the hang of the pacing thing. I was set to do 3X1 mile at a 7:25 pace with a 1-minute break and hit my splits at 7:18, 7:22 and 7:21.

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Friday: Our office closed at 3 for Memorial Day weekend so I decided to get my long run in early and put in 10.35 miles along the Mall and Hains Point. It was a bit chilly after the warm weather earlier in the week and really windy, but I felt surprisingly strong especially for doing a long run the day after a track workout.

Saturday: Rest day – although it turned into quite a busy day with some apartment hunting (more on that later!) and a fun trip to visit some family in Gettysburg!

Sunday: Today was a perfect day for running. It was absolutely gorgeous out. I put in just more than 6 miles along the rolling hills on the Custis Trail.

Syracuse Weekend Fun

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No matter how old you get it always feels good to go home. When you’re from Syracuse it feels even better when it’s not winter! Ian had to drive up to his camp north of Syracuse back-to-back weekends so last weekend I rode along and had him drop me in Syracuse to spend the weekend with my parents.

We left Thursday night after I got out of work and made pretty decent time after a rough start to the drive battling traffic and three accidents along the 8-mile stretch of the GW Parkway to get on our way. My parents have remodeled the “guest room” which my Mom calls the kid’s room. It was my brother’s room for most of the time growing up and then I took it over when he left for college and my room was turned into an office. Now it has the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in. Seriously, I would steal it if I could figure out a way.

I always try to pack everything I can in on weekends home and this one was no different. Friday I met my Mom for lunch and pedicures before heading home to meet up with Dad for our usual Friday night dinner at Mulligans. I’ve been going to Mulligans for as long as I can remember…so long that I actually could never have tried to drink underage in this bar because they knew my birthday and wouldn’t want to upset my parents! It wouldn’t be a Friday night at home without going to Mulligans. After dinner my Dad and I always stay up late watching TV or a movie. We rented Silver Linings Playbook on demand and I loved it. He fell asleep, but I assured him it was a good movie, haha.

Drinks at the bar at new Toby Keith's restaurant in Syracuse

Drinks at the bar at new Toby Keith’s restaurant in Syracuse

Saturday my Mom and I were up early to go to the Y and try out an Aqua Blast class hoping it wouldn’t just be us and a bunch of old ladies. Well, not only was it us and a bunch of old ladies, but the instructor never showed either. We ended up grabbing the water belts and doing some aqua jogging instead. I took a trip down memory lane later on a long run to my old high school and back. I ran around all the athletic fields and couldn’t help but be jealous of the new fence at the softball field – that would’ve made chasing down fly balls so much easier!

I spent some time at my grandparents too. I hadn’t seen them since my Florida trip in January so it was great to visit. I was always very lucky when I lived at home to have them just 5 minutes from our house during the months they were in Syracuse. They very smartly get out of there before the cold and snow hits.

We headed out to Destiny USA for dinner Saturday night – better known as the Carousel Mall to those of us who lived there when it was first built. I couldn’t get over the new addition and how many new stores and restaurants have moved in. Just saying…I might have to make a trip back to check out those go-karts! We ended up at the new Toby Keith restaurant. It was really cool. The bar was ginormous and in the shape of a guitar. I could probably have dealt with one of the hundreds of TVs not being tuned into Nascar, but oh well. The beers were cold, the mac ‘n cheese bites app was amazing and my buffalo chicken sandwich was great as well – so all in all it was a great spot!

After an 8k race at Green Lakes (recap coming tomorrow), Sunday was spent at the house before Ian and I made the trek back to D.C. I attempted some tech support fixes that did not go as well as planned (thankfully I was at least able to restore the Internet before leaving), enjoyed a home cooked meal and wrapped up the ridiculous amount of laundry that I brought home. I will never be too old to take advantage of free laundry…unless I eventually live somewhere that doesn’t require me to go to the basement to do laundry.

It was a great trip home as always. Hope you all had a nice weekend too!

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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I had to do a bit of shuffling with my workouts this week, but felt great and feel like I’m on my way to getting back into racing shape. This was the first week on my new program designed by my running coach and I think it’s going to be a really great program for the next couple months. I ended the week with a fun 8k at the state park back home I worked at during the summers through college.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: 30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by a 35-minute full body strength workout and a 15-minute core workout.

Tuesday: I ran an easy 6.5 miles around Hains Point at lunch averaging just under an 8:30 pace.

Wednesday: 60 minutes on the elliptical followed by a 30-minute full body strength workout

Thursday: Getting to work early, a conference call during lunch and a long drive to Syracuse right after work turned today into an unplanned rest day. I was supposed to hit the track today and ended up moving it to the following Monday, so you’ll see it in next week’s recap!

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: I put in an easy 9.8 miles around my hometown running up to my old high school, around the athletic fields and back home. I enjoyed the run, but forgot how hilly it is there!

Sunday: I ran the Charity for Children 8k at Green Lakes State Park on Sunday. Full recap coming soon, but I loved this race and would really like to “race it” next year in better shape instead of just running it as a workout. I finished in 40 minutes according to the official results and wish I’d hung around for the awards, but didn’t realize till this morning that I would’ve gotten an age grouper award!

At the finish after the Charity for Children 8k at Green Lakes

At the finish after the Charity for Children 8k at Green Lakes

Working With A Coach

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I recently hired a running coach to help me reach my goal of qualifying for Boston this fall at the Marine Corps Marathon. I’d heard good things about DC Running Coach and in a strike of good timing just shortly after I gave up my gym membership at Washington Sports Club, a deal came on Zozi for a 3-month program with Mike of DC Running Coach.

I had an initial talk with Mike about my running background, my current training, upcoming races and my goals. Next up I went to a group track workout and after joining in for a few laps and the dynamic warm up, we worked on my running form. I’m still doing a good job of keeping the mid-foot strike I worked on with my physical therapist, but he identified a couple things – increasing stride length and a more compact arm swing – I can work on to get faster and run more efficiently.

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We had another talk about my goals and what I can realistically accomplish this year, and I’m now in my first week of the three month program he created for me. I’ve been creating my own programs for years and while I think I’ve done a pretty decent job, I have a tough time not second guessing on what the best training runs to include are. There is so much advice out there so it can be tough to know what’s best. It’s nice to have someone just give me a plan that’s tailored directly to me and to help get me where I want to be. There are also weekly group track workouts and I’ll turn in weekly recaps to help hold me accountable. I’m really excited to see how much I can improve working with a running coach and I’m happy to be back in a training program! Now it’s time to put in the work so I can get that BQ this fall!

Have you ever worked with a coach? Do you think it made you better?

Race Recap: National Police Week 5K

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On Saturday my friend Jayne and I ran the National Police Week 5k in D.C. along with another friend of hers. The Police Week 5k honors fallen law enforcement officers by raising awareness to the sacrifices officers make every day. Every runner’s bib has the name of an officer killed on it to remind us all what we were running for.

Police Week Bib and Race Shirt

Police Week Bib and Race Shirt

I had no expectations or time goal after two weeks of almost no running and just a handful of cross training days. While I was pretty far off my PR, I was pleasantly surprised by how the race went and by how strong I felt. I took advantage of an early packet pick-up option at Pacers on Friday, so I’d be ready to go on race morning. As usual I pinned my race bib on my shirt Friday night and laid my clothes out for the morning.

Despite staying in and being lazy on a Friday night, I still had trouble falling asleep and was so tempted to just turn the alarm off Saturday morning. The gloomy, gray day I saw when I looked out my window only made me want to get back in bed, but I knew I really needed to get out and run today.

I got to the start fairly early and had time to get warmed up and drop my bag off. I met up with Jayne and chatted for a bit before we split up and headed off to the start line. The rain started just before the race, but it was pretty light and actually felt kind of good. The course started off with several quick turns before heading down a slight hill that we’d have to come back up at the end. Then we hit a straightaway that took us down 3rd Street past the Capitol Building before  the one-mile marker and then a turnaround.

Color Guard before the National Anthem

Color Guard before the National Anthem

The course turned back onto 3rd after a the turnaround took us around a block then jutted down Constitution Ave. for a down and back past the 2nd mile marker before heading back up 3rd Street. The second mile felt really long. I almost felt like the marker should have been on the other side of the street when we first passed it rather than when we came back by it after turning around at a cone. My Garmin beeped well before reaching it – not that that is always accurate though. I also proved once again how bad I am at running tangents as I ended up doing an extra tenth of a mile according to the Garmin.

policeweekofficers

My adrenaline was flowing and I felt great at the start. I felt like it was almost too easy and I must’ve been going slow, so I was shocked to see my watch at 6:42 when I hit the first mile marker. Knowing I wasn’t in any kind of shape to be running that pace I tried to pull in the reins for mile 2 running it in about 7:18. It didn’t help though and I slowed way down unable to keep the pace up for mile 3 slowing down to a 8:11 mile. I was able to kick it down the final stretch turning it up a few notches for a 6:25 pace. According to the official results I crossed the line in 23:25 for an average pace of 7:33 putting me in 151st out of more than 1,500!

Adorable pups making it to the finish too!

Adorable pups making it to the finish too!

Jayne also finished strong. She had a playlist and had a goal of finishing before a certain song came on and cruised in just as it was starting! Next up for her is the Marine Corps 10k.

I’ll be back racing again this Sunday back in my hometown for an 8k. Hope your weekend races and runs went well too! Let me know how you did in the comments.

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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I started off this week in a total funk and my one-week recovery after the half marathon turned into more like 2 weeks. A busy week at work and coming down with a cold midweek didn’t help my motivation any, but I finally broke out of things with a good Friday evening workout, a better than expected 5k after 2 weeks off of running and a good Sunday run.

Here’s the day by day breakdown…

Monday: Spin Class

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Track workout with my  new running coach. I did a 2-lap warm-up and dynamic warm-up drills with the group and then worked on my form while others did their workouts for the week. More to come on this later.

Thursday: Unplanned rest day. Today was a great example of why I shouldn’t put workouts off. I had to go into work early and was sure I could get in a lunch run, but ended up working through lunch.

Friday: Elliptical for an hour followed by a strength workout

Saturday: I ran the National Police Week 5k, and while it was a bit off my best performance, it was much better than I expected after a nearly 2-week layover from running. Recap coming tomorrow.

National Police Week 5k

National Police Week 5k

Sunday: I put in a strong 5.03 mile run averaging sub 8-minute miles on a beautiful afternoon through Arlington and D.C.

A Marathon View From the Sidelines

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Last weekend I volunteered with the DC Capital Striders at the Potomac River Run Marathon along the C&O Canal Path. It’s not too often I’m up before 6 a.m. for any reason other than going running, but Sunday I would just be manning the sidelines. I met up with the rest of our group at Lock 7 and helped set up the aid station. The marathoners would go out and back twice along the path so we’d see them all four times along the course. We were stocked with water, Gatorade, bananas and power bars.

Lock 7

Lock 7

Volunteer Group at Lock 7

Volunteer Group at Lock 7 (stole this from the DC Cap Striders FB page)

The race had about 500 runners with a 7 a.m. non-competitive start and an 8 a.m. regular start. After we got things ready to go it wasn’t going to be too long before the first set of runners were coming through since the first time they’d pass us was just about 3.5 miles in. It was an overcast day and temps were in the high 40s at the start with a slight breeze – perfect for runners, but a bit chilly for us. I’m glad I packed some hand warmers that I still had on hand from when I used to teach outdoor boot camps during the winter!

I handled the water cups and doled out encouragement to as many runners going by as I could. I know how much it means to me to have some encouragement along the course, especially one without a lot of crowd support. I also knew a couple runners so it was fun getting to cheer them on as they passed by. Other than one botched water handoff to one of the faster runners during his first trip through our station, I managed not to drop or spill the water cups on anyone! Successful day if you ask me. Although if you ask the guy who I botched the handoff with, he might not agree! There was a somewhat steady stream of people after the 8 a.m. group got going and we had people coming from both sides, but it was never overwhelming. I can’t even imagine working a water stop at one of the mega races. I need to remember to say extra thank yous at the Marine Corps Marathon stops this year!

Runners on the C&O path

Runners on the C&O path

It was fun to be out there and it was really inspiring to see so many people of so many different abilities putting it all out there to finish their marathon. I love this sport!

Aid Station at Lock 7

Aid Station at Lock 7

Congrats to everyone who ran Sunday! Have you ever volunteered for a marathon? How’d it go?

Rough Day Running: Nike Women’s DC Half Marathon Race Recap

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My race day started off with a 4:44 a.m. alarm, and unlike I usually do when early alarms go off, I popped right out of bed. Exhausted from a long week of travel for work I actually went to bed early Saturday night and didn’t feel like I needed the snooze button Sunday morning. All my race gear was laid out, so I was quickly ready to go.

The first sign of a bad day struck when I grabbed my Garmin. The display screen was blank. I had just charged it the night before, but I think it went into it’s protected mode which I’ve had trouble with before. I pulled up the email from Garmin support on how to bring it back to life, but after I did it beeped that the battery was low. NOOOOOO! I had a minor panic attack before Ian calmed me down and assured me this wasn’t the end of the world. I was going to have to wear a regular stopwatch for the race and not have instant feedback on my current pace or beeps with mile splits at all the markers. I haven’t done an outdoor run without my Garmin or before that my Nike Plus wrist band in years. I convinced myself not to worry about it and headed toward the metro.

I was really early, so there was barely a line for the porta potties. I was one of the first people in the 6:30-7:29 pace corral, which turned out to be pretty sparse. I had to go to the bathroom again, but stressed out about whether or not I’d have time so I decided not to go. I think I might drink too much water on race morning sometimes. This was a bad decision and would come back to haunt me as I really couldn’t hold it anymore and had to find a porta potty just past the 10k-mark wasting about 90 seconds.

Other than that little bit of TMI, everything seemed perfect for the start of the race. Temps were in the low 50s, so I wasn’t freezing like at the start of the Cherry Blossom, but it wasn’t going to be too warm to run in either. The Nike trainers kicked things off with some fun active stretches to get everyone warmed up and pumped up, and then to top things off they introduced Shalene Flanagan and Joanie Benoit Samuelson. The two both sporting Boston tees were going to “jog” the race with us.

At the start, ready to go.

At the start, ready to go.

With so few people in my corral and even fewer in the one ahead of us, I was very close to the start line. I didn’t have any issues with overcrowding or weaving in and out of people at the start, which was awesome. I’ve heard some rumblings on social media that this was a bit of an issue for others further back however. We headed out for the first mile that led us through a tunnel with drummers and strobe lights reverberating off the walls pumping up the energy. From there the course was very similar to the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler running along the Mall, out and back over the Memorial Bridge, past the Kennedy Center and through Hains Point.

Coming out of the tunnel at mile 1

Coming out of the tunnel at mile 1

Right from the start something didn’t feel right. It was hard to breathe even during mile 1 – like that out of shape, out of breath I’m running way too hard feeling. I wasn’t running way too hard though. I ran my first mile right on pace in 7:30 and my second at about 7:27. It felt hard though. Really hard. I desperately tried to stay positive though, and told myself it was good that I wasn’t going out too fast. I didn’t want to let my mind beat me when I’d trained so hard for this race.

My next two miles slowed to about a 7:50 pace even though I felt like I was pushing to keep at my 7:30 goal. Again I told myself to stay positive and that I still had energy in the tank to make up for it. This was not a fun way to run. I wasn’t taking in any of the sites or enjoying the bands and cheer sections along the course that were all really great.

I entered the long, lonely stretch that is Hains Point and told myself this was my spot to make up some time. I’ve been running these roads so much this year and there was actually no major headwind to deal with on Sunday…this never happens at Hains

Point! Instead I got even slower. Nike did a great job of filling this four-mile-stretch with motivational signs that I tried to use for motivation. By mile 9 though, when I realized I’d slipped well below an 8-minute pace and was only slowing more, I almost broke down and cried.

Leading from start to finish...wow!

Leading from start to finish…wow!

Mile 10 brought the first real hill up an on ramp, but it wasn’t even that tough of a hill when you think about the course for the National Half Marathon also here in D.C. At this point I wanted to just run off the course and hide somewhere to stop the struggling. Mile 11 brought us back through the tunnel and into the final stretch down to the Capitol Building and back towards the finish on Pennsylvania Ave. I swear that loop around the front of the Capitol took days. I saw Ian just after the 20k mark and tried to smile as I ran by, but just wanted this race to be over.

Just get me to the finish line!

Just get me to the finish line!

You can see the finish line of this race from a long ways away. The fact that I didn’t have any energy to even kick to the finish made it seem like I was never going to get there! I did finally cross the line though and got high fives from Shalene and Joan Benoit – the highlight of my day. I broke down a little when I saw my friend Lindsay who was handing out water at the finish and told her I felt awful and had a terrible run. Being a runner she just gave me an understanding hug and told me there’d be another chance for a PR.

Only highlight of the race...getting high fives from Shalene Flanagan and Joan Benoit Samuelson at the Finish!

Only highlight of the race…getting high fives from Shalene Flanagan and Joan Benoit Samuelson at the Finish!

I kept moving through the finish area collecting my Tiffany’s necklace from the ROTC guys in tuxedos and then grabbed my super cute finisher’s tee. Well done Nike. I met up with Ian and immediately lost it and started sobbing in his arms. I realize this is a ridiculous reaction to not getting the time I wanted, but I was exhausted emotionally and physically and it just came out. I’d trained so hard for this race and was really disappointed that I’d had such a bad day. It wasn’t just that I was mad about my time on a day and a course that were tailor made for a PR, but that I’d hurt for the whole race and hadn’t enjoyed any of it like I usually do on race day.

ROTC guys getting ready to hand out Tiffany's necklaces to the finishers

ROTC guys getting ready to hand out Tiffany’s necklaces to the finishers. Kudos to Ian for getting them to do the prom style picture!

Finishers Tee and Necklace

Finishers Tee and Necklace

I had a goal of finishing in 1:38 and ended with a time of 1:47:48 putting me in 812 place overall and 236 out of 3,744 in my division. It’s funny how relative running can be. A few years ago I would have been over the moon with that time, but after the training I put in, I know I could have done much better. In the grand scheme of things it’s just a race time. Nobody other than me really cares what time I come in. Even my goal time wasn’t going to win me any awards. I finished another half marathon and that’s something to be proud of.

Also, one of the best things about running is that there’s always another chance. I’m thinking about adding in another half marathon to give it another shot, but am trying to give myself a few days to see how I feel before jumping into a new race. I’m looking at the half in Alexandria on Memorial Day weekend or the Zooma half in Annapolis on June 1. Has anyone done either of these? What are your thoughts? How do you deal with a tough race?