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. 😁

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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

Run more, race less

That my friends, is my 2016 running goals in a nutshell. 

I want to give less money to race directors. And run more miles than 2015. 

Maybe it’s my age, maybe I’ve finally just realized that I’m comfortable in my abilities. Maybe I’ve just decided that I really prefer long-distance running and I don’t need to run 5k or 10k anymore – unless of course it’s with friends and for a great reason. Maybe I just have too many unworn race tees. 

Even the half marathon is losing its appeal.  

I prefer the marathon. I like going slower and enjoying the ride instead of running hard and focusing more on the racing than the scenery. 

It doesn’t mean my half days are over, just that I’m not gonna book six of them this year. Lol 

2016 – the year I got picky. 🙂

So far I only have two items booked. The Goofy Challenge (in oh 5 days) and the Shires of Vermont marathon (in May). 

Nothing in between. For now. 

There are also two things I would like to achieve in 2016. 

I would like to run another ultra (or two?). And I would like to run a marathon without any walk breaks. 

I’ve come close. The most I walked in my marathon PR was about 3 minutes. But it’s still walking. 

I’ve gotten better at my pacing and  I think I can do it this year. Perhaps in May.  

I guess I just want to get better at the marathon. 🙂

So let’s recap 2015 really quick…because it kicked asphalt. 

I had set the following goals and ambitions…

  
I did good with my goals. I finished two marathons, one in 4:23. But I only did four halfs. I had a 5th booked but didn’t have it in me that day. And I finished one in 2:00:09. So I made the sub 2:02!

For ambitions? Got my 7:30 mile. And even a 7:14 half mile. 

And while the duathlon never materialized, the ultra did. 

And it will always be one of the best days of my life. 🙂 it was the day I woke up and said “today there is no can’t” 

I also logged 1,642.8 miles. 

So that’s it folks. No time goals this year. No specific number of races. Just quality over quantity. Cuz isn’t that how life should be?

Happy New Year my friends. And happy running!

Last call for miles…

Well, it’s December. 

Guess this is my last chance to hit any goals for the year. I suppose I should go see what I wrote in January. Lol

I like December. I don’t love it – it’s too cold out. But I like it. 

For the most part, people are friendlier. And the world looks so pretty all sparkly and shiny. 

There’s just something about running by a house with reindeer in the lawn and multicolored lights strewn across the shrubs that puts a smile on your face. 

This is going to be my highest mileage month of the year.  Goofy training is getting serious and I have some crazy long runs to do. So I’m glad the miles will be extra scenic. 

In fact this Sunday will be a 20-miler.  What scares me is that 20 no longer scares me. Lol

Guess I’ve finally done enough of them that it’s becoming routine.  Never easier physically, just mentally. 

Which is nice. 🙂

I’ve also been lucky weather-wise this training cycle. Relatively mild. And no snow, yet. Yet. Lol

Honestly? I’ve been lucky all year. 

So, for the next 30 days I will just get in all the miles I can, safely. And end the year in style. 

As I said to my sole sister yesterday – this month is “run ALL the miles, eat ALL the Christmas cookies” 🙂

So good luck to all of us this month. 

Let’s jingle, sparkle and shine! 

Race, Recover, Repeat

As runners we tend to be either in training for a race or recovering from one. Or both! 

I am usually both. 

I like to keep a busy schedule. So the amount of time I leave myself for recovery is minimal. 

But I try to space things far enough apart that I can take a recovery week and then rebuild from base. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I can’t just keep a high level of mileage. My poor body (celiac – anemic – osteopenia) just can’t handle it.

So, I reset to base level. Which means 10-12 mile long runs and rebuilding from there.  

This week was recovery. I actually (and yes I know it’s hard to believe) did not run until Friday. That’s a whole four days without a run. 

Monday was a nice easy short walk to keep the legs loose. Tuesday gentle biking, Wednesday a 5 mile walk, and Thursday  rest.  So by Friday I was itching to run. My plan, knowing I would take the weekend off, was 6-8 miles.  I ended up doing 8. Because it was a spectacular morning. And while my legs would have preferred the 6, my brain needed the 8. 

And the weekend of full rest did wonders. Because I went out Monday morning and ran 5 miles of negative splits ending in a .05 mile kick at a 6:30 pace. Lol

Recovery is now officially over.  Let the training begin. 

My next “major” race is my Ultra. On July 25th. 

The stepping stones leading up to it are a memorial day weekend 5k with my sole sister Karen. A half marathon June 7th.  The Corporate Challenge mid-June (3.5 miles) and the finish at the 50 10k July 3rd. 

Also between now and then is a family wedding and a vacation. So flexibility of schedule will be required. 

And once again I will again be working towards both speed and distance. A balance. Short and zippy – long and slow. And I mean slow. As in if I am going to do a 31-39 mile race I need to learn to go slow and stay there. 🙂

My sole sister Lori asked me during the Providence marathon what my goal is for my June half. (Because yes even during a race we discuss what’s on the horizon). I replied I have no idea.  It’s just an accountability race. A way to make sure that I don’t slack in the recovery world too long and am honest about rebuilding.  Sub 2:10 will be fine. Sub 2:05 would be fun. But – since I already got my 2:00 to use for Disney seeding, it’s a no pressure race. And those are fun. 🙂 

So…. I’ve raced. I’ve recovered. Time to repeat!

Happy Tuesday and Happy Running!!