Good Fortune

Don’t you just love when something really cool happens on a run?

Sunday I had 13 miles on the schedule, and since Saturday’s insane wind (and fear of closed roads from fallen trees) kept me from getting in a short run with my training partner, I decided to split it up and get the best of both worlds.

A 3.25 mile loop with the hubs, and then 10 on my own.

The “not an injury” is still clinging to life, although it’s definitely improving. So the “warmup” miles were a little slower than I liked. But, any run where you get to chat and laugh with someone is a good run. 🙂 And the hubs is becoming such a great runner – I’m so proud and looking forward to having a joint race calendar this year.

For my 10 miles alone, I opted to run into the center of my town because a) sidewalks b) its flat and c) I wanted to kind of “assess the damage” from the storm.

And about 3 miles in, it got eerie. All the business were closed. None of them had power back yet. Seeing the buildings dark and the parking lots empty was kind of “post apocalyptic” and I wanted to check over my shoulder for zombies. Lol

But I continued on to the spot in the middle of town where the sidewalk ends. And when I turned around and looked down…I saw this!

I’m not a girl to leave a fortune cookie unopened…. so I had to. And look what I found inside!

Of course, “I’ve got a dream” from Tangled instantly popped into my head.

And I spent the next few miles singing “I’ve got a dream, I’ve got a dream…I just want to make it to mile 13.”

And of course I did make it. And somehow, with a few stops to stretch, I managed to run it all. Yay!

Major progress from last week. (Even if we still have some rehab work to do.)

I guessed I picked the right spot to turn around… you never know where you’ll find motivation (and some luck) on a run. 🙂

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Can I get a do-over?

Anyone who lost a week of training to the flu, raise your hand! 🖐🏻🖐🏻🖐🏻

Ungh…I thought I was safe. I dodged the ‘Dopey Flu’ that had plagued Disney and gotten so many of my fellow runners sick.   But one week of crazy immune-system lowering work stress followed by an encounter with a flu/bronchitis sufferer and BAM….  down for the count. 😷

The thing about being wicked sick is that not only can you not work out, but you don’t even care that you can’t work out.

I quarantined myself in the guest room and the far end of the couch, I went through a box of tissues and a half a jar of hand gel, and I traded in marathon training for netflix marathon training.  LOL

It hit on a Tuesday….I did not emerge from the pit of misery until sometime on Saturday.  The moment I stepped out into sunlight I felt like a butterfly emerging from her cocoon.  🦋 It was glorious.

The fog had lifted enough that I was eager to try a short run.  Which was perfect as the hubs was due for one too.  And omg, it was 50 degrees out.  So, impossible to resist.

Just an easy little 5k, alongside my best friend and new favorite training partner, was just what I needed. And shout out to the hubs – he’s a natural.  So i’m glad that running the Disney 5k was enough fun that he’s decided to keep running.  It will be nice having company on some short runs.

Sunday I was feeling WAY more human and decided to run again.  Goal was 6 miles, and running at least 4.5 of it.  I started out slow, hit a groove and just enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine i’d been missing.

And then that runner, coming from the other direction, turned behind me down a cul de sac and I had to go faster to make sure she didn’t catch me.  LOL  And that felt amazing…for about two miles, when I realized it may not have been my smartest idea. Its okay, I slowed down and finished all 6 running.

I just learned one does not simply race a 10k while recovering from the flu.  What one DOES do however, is race hunt.  Not that I needed to find a race, more that its fun to look.  Its race window shopping!   Until you know, you find one that you just have to have.

I’m seriously considering adding the Providence half to my calendar. Its 3 weeks before Vermont City, which is perfect timing for a time trail (like I did last year with the Blackstone half), its a course I know well.  And, it has a 5k that the hubs could run as something to do while waiting for me to finish.  All good reasons.

I would love a do-over on this past week, but that isn’t happening.  Instead i’m going to be grateful that January is technically off-season.

And for now, I gotta kick the rest of this flu before I can kick asphalt.

So…what now?

When you have completed the biggest run challenge you’ve ever done…what’s next?

My friend said to me that Sunday, “You just finished the Dopey Challenge, now what are you going to do?” I’m going to Disney – oh wait. Lol

instead… it’s time for the three R’s. Rest. Recovery. Registration!

Because a runner without goals, is an unhappy runner. So this Dopey girl….is entering

Unicorn Mode!

Yep, it’s time for me to finally complete my set of unicorn medals and add the BAA 5k, 10k, half and medley challenge medals to my set of 3 marathon ones. 🙂 I want #alltheunicorns!

This year is the 5th Anniversary of the the only time I ever DNF’d. Me and a few thousand other runners. It wasn’t our fault. And thinking about it still raises so many emotions (anger, sadness, frustration). Since running the Boston marathon again this year wasn’t an option, this feels right.

I’ll still be able to cross the marathon finish line (during the 5k) marathon weekend, and that will be enough.

That logo above? It’s on the awesome raw threads tank that I ran my training run in this weekend. And it will likely be my race shirt for all 3 races (or at least the 10k – it’s probably gonna be hot in June).

Also, because I needed a marathon to train for too…Vermont City here I come!

Yep, I’m gonna go run with Meb again. 🙂 The last time I ran with him he won the Boston Marathon. I still remember running on the course in 2014 when the cheers of “an American won! Meb!” were passed along from runner to runner.

So I’m hoping this time the victory will be mine. You see, I want a shiny new PR. My old one feels a little dusty and it’s time to replace it.

It’s gonna take a lot of work, but it’s good to have goals. And if I believe in myself enough, and train my butt off, I know I can do it.

We’ve rested, recovered and registered. Now it’s time to get to work. 🙂❤🏃🏻‍♀️

Hello June!

I’ve been waiting for you. Do you mind bringing along some warmer weather? 🌞

Although really, 50’s ARE nice to run in. But I’m reading for shorts and jimmy buffet music and margaritas on the deck in the sun on Saturday afternoons. 😀

June is a serious training month for me this year.  I’m feeling all recovered from Maine Coast and ready to put in the work and have a great Stars & Stripes challenge weekend (half in Bristol, RI  Jul 1st / 10k at Gillette Stadium July 3rd).

So, I figured I’d set some goals for June. 

• Log at least 120 miles 🏃🏻‍♀️
• Speedwork once a week
• Strength train twice a week 🏋🏻
• Go to the zoo and see the new red pandas (no, it won’t help my running, but it’s a goal. Lol) 
• Find a local short race (5k, 10k) for a time trial. 🏅
• Ride my bike at least twice 🚴🏻‍♀️
• Stretch more

Sounds reasonable right?  

Do you have any goals for June? Let’s all have an awesome month. 😁

Hello 2017…what’s next?

When you already get your first marathon of the year done one week in, its both comforting and confusing.

Because, where do you go from there?  Don’t most people start easy with oh, like a New Year’s 5k, set a big goal for Spring and then work up to it?

I mean, when you run a big race that early, then what.  Guess I need to set some goals for the year.

2016 was an AWESOME year.  I ran for the cycle (5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2,  (bonus:ultra), I got a 5K PR (25:20) and a distance PR (44.1 miles). I ran less miles than the year before (1,505) and less races, but had at least as much fun.

So, here I sit with 11 1/2 months in front of me.  What can I accomplish?  What shenanigans should I get into?  Here’s a few things i’ve got in mind.

• Knock another state off my marathon list
• Register for Dopey 2018
• Run a 50-miler
• Run for the cycle again
• Get a marathon PR
• Run more with friends

I’ve already got 2 piece of the cycle complete (5k & marathon in Disney), tho it should have been three.  (Next year I’ll make sure Pudge got his peanut butter sandwich!) so I just need to find a half-marathon and a 10k.

I’m already thinking to do the Level Renner 10k again this summer.  That one was a lot of fun.   And I need to find a nice spring half-marathon that fits my training for my May marathon.  Hmmm…wonder if I can find one the weekend of my Birthday.  (you know you’re a runner when you’d rather run a half than party all night.  LOL)

The first on my list and the last on that list will hopefully be the same race.

Next up for me is the Maine Coast Marathon in May.It looks so fun and scenic and will give me my 5th marathon state.  While i’ve done 11 marathons (wow – how did THAT happen), I tend to run the same ones over and over.  Time to branch out.  🙂

I also am hoping to PR that race.  Its not going to be easy and I know it means that i’m going to spend the next few months doing a LOT of speedwork, and work in general, but its good to have goals.

Its also VERY weird for me to a) only have one registered race right now and b) nothing registered/planned in the next four months.    But, Dopey registration opens in February, so that will fix that.  And I will hopefully find the perfect fast and flat half for corral placement FOR Dopey (and get my Dopey brother to do the same).  See my brother will become Perfectly Dopey next year.  And i’d love for him to be able to start in his fastest corral ever this year.  But that’s on him….  I’ll just run the fastest half I can so i’m not holding us back.

As far as the 50-miler?  Its something i’d like to do, but doesn’t necessarily need to be this year.  Just a bucket list item.  Because my other thought for this year is a rematch with the Adirondack Marathon.  That course really got the best of me in 2015 and I want to try it again now that I really know how challenging the first half hills are and can train accordingly and manage my pace better.  I have unfinished business there.

The final one?  I want to run more with my sole sisters.  Whether its racing or training, i’m lucky to have two amazing mother-runners in my circle and I KNOW I need to log more miles and smiles with them this year.

Also – can I say how odd it is to write a non-Disney blog this week?  Oh well, that will resume in the fall i’m sure! #dopeyorbust

So…. how about all of you?  What’s your BIG Goal for the year?  Another state?  Another distance? Another PR?  I’d love to hear from my readers. Lets all have an amazing year!

 

 

 

Turkey Vision Quest

It’s one month to Thanksgiving, and i’m on a mission.   A quest if you will… one that my sole sister has nicknamed #turkeyvisionquest.

In 30 days, i’m running in my town’s Turkey Trot. 🦃🦃🦃

And I don’t just want to run well…and I don’t just want to PR…I want to WIN. And by winning, I mean place in my age group.

I have an official 5K PR of 26:15.  And I set it in 2009. 😮

What can I say – I wasn’t an ultra runner back then.  Over the years I willingly sacrificed speed for distance.  And I don’t regret it. 🙂

But now, as i’m in my distance off-season (for the next couple weeks) its time to fly. 

In the past two weeks i’ve been hitting the treadmill and running intervals and tempos and anything I can to help get faster.  And i’m getting there.  But I still have a LOT of work to do. 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

I have shaved a minute off my 5k in those two weeks… but am still a ways from my goal…

Turkey Vision Quest is for a 25:00 5k. 😲

And even if i don’t get to show up back home in front of the inlaws with a shiny trophy… 🏆just hitting that time, i’ll feel like I won.🏅

Wish me luck friends!

Because just like Matthew Modine… I will succeed. 

Back to the ‘mill

Treadmill, dreadmill, rat wheel, hamster wheel, satan’s sidewalk…whatever you call it, it’s pretty much in all runners lives. 

Some love it. 😍 Because it sets your pace and you don’t need to worry about dealing with traffic and distractions. You can focus and run. 🙂

Most hate it. 😩 Because it’s indoors and changes your stride and is immensely boring. ☹️

I consider it a necessary evil. 😈 I am so not a fan, but on a day when I must run, and being outside isn’t an option (rain, dark, oppressive heat, etc), it lets me. 

I have been incredibly fortunate to not be on one in so long that I don’t exactly remember the last time I used one. Hmmm… 🤔 (June maybe?)

Until yesterday that is. 

Because it’s getting kinda dark 🌌 in the mornings and pretty soon my runrise 🌄excursions will have to stop. 

And because…I wanna go fast. 🏎 And the treadmill is the easiest place to train for speed. 

Remember how I signed up for a turkey trot? 🦃 Well…I kinda set a lofty goal of a 25 minute finish.  Not impossible (I’ve done it before), but it’s going to take some serious work to get back to my old paces of early 2015. 

So, while I had already gotten out for my morning run, I dusted off the pair of sneakers that have been waiting patiently all summer in my desk drawer, and took them to the gym. 

And. It. Was. Awesome.  

I ran a whole bunch of sprint intervals at goal 5k pace. And while it did make me realize how much work is gonna be involved in the next 8 weeks – I also scored a 27:51 5k time. Which is a great baseline to work from. 

So, the treadmill and I are gonna become frenemies again. Wish me luck!! 

Ps…it is now 99 days to Disney! #letsgetgoofy