Where's the Beach?

No matter how you end up signed up for a race, any race, you're going to find yourself training. You can either follow a strict plan, a loose plan, but you'll be following some sort of plan if you want to cross the line without injuries and especially if you have a goal in mind. Since I've already touched on how I ended up signed up for the Chicago Marathon and an injury, let's jump into the training. During my first marathon training, I had set up a plan for myself that allowed for 2 weeks worth of padding in case I had to cut a long run short or life in general. I did the same this round. I ended up having to use up all the padding to cover my 15 days off because of my injury. While my plan was fairly loose in terms of the miles or exact pace each and every run, I had a general idea of what I was going to do and had really banked on the extra weeks because I knew the hot weather may force me to cut a long run short. Well, for this Type-A gal, not having that pa...

Who's happy it's Friday? Silly question right? I almost went with a more serious tone today. Lisa over at RunWiki did a post yesterday that really spoke to me "The Truth Is." I think it resonated with me so much right now because I have a lot of truths that I'm not confessing. Oh, nothing crazy serious, mostly around my mental state about the upcoming marathon. I thought I'd save that post for next week though and stick with something more light-hearted today. I mean, it is Fun for Friday after all. Marcia does these fun Runfession posts that I always enjoy reading and have borrowed the idea several times. Once again, I'm taking a cue from Marcia and doing my last Runfessions for 2014 . Final Runfessions of 2014 1. I'm not ready to back down on my miles and taper for my marathon next Saturday. I thought I would whole-heartedly embrace taper time, but I have actually enjoyed the training and the miles. 2. I'm afraid that after my maratho...

Half Marathon number 10 is in the books with a shiny new PR! Saturday I ran the CASA Half Marathon . This was the 2nd time running this particular race. It's a smaller race, but for a great cause as it supports the CASA Women's Shelter. It's still a new race, and is continuing to grow, and for good reason. It's truly a flat and fast course. I earned a PR last year at the race actually. Because of my marathon training, I initially wasn't sure if I would go into this as a race or as a training run. The day of, I knew I was racing 100%. It was in the mid- to upper-40s at the start with overcast skies, but very little wind. My plan was to just go with how I was feeling, find a pace and try to sustain it for as long as possible. I know many runners start out slower and increase their pace. I tend to be pretty consistent with my splits throughout. I did a super easy 1 mile run to warm up before heading to the start. I wanted up closer to the front, but not the very ...

Well, I did it!  As I mentioned on Friday , I had my last 20-mile run planned for Saturday. Amy has been helping me get through a large chunk of the miles for my long run, but this weekend she needed to get her miles done pretty early. I almost had a panic attack thinking I was going to be solo for 20 miles. Thankfully, I have found two more running friends over the course of this training. Let's just say that during the last two solo miles I was thinking, "It takes a village." I was also thinking, how many people does it take to help one runner train for a marathon? You know, kind of a joke but I couldn't come up with a punch line, because it's really true. You need far more support than you think you're going to need and it comes from a variety of sources. Saturday morning ended up being another randomly warm day, and super windy. How was I wearing double layers in November yet tank and shorts in December? I knew this could affect my run negatively. I s...

Happy Friday! So, a bit of rambling today. I have to admit that it feels weird not blogging as much or as consistently. I know this means fewer interactions with my blogging friends. That's probably what I'm missing the most with blogging less. And while I don't feel the pull to blog as frequently as I once did, I still want a place to share thoughts, share recipes or workouts and to converge with others over similar life happenings whether it be weight lifting or marathon training or just enjoying the heck out of time with family and friends. I never thought I would run a full marathon. So, of course, I never thought I'd be blogging about my training. Blathering away about long runs, hitting the wall, feeling great or feeling pukey. I never thought I would feel so much gratitude towards someone helping me make it through all of this either. Tomorrow marks my last truly long run - 20 miles (more only if I am feeling up to it). Then I begin my taper period. I'm...

Happy Hump Day. Since it's already Wednesday, guess it'd be a good time to do a quick weekend recap, that included an accidental 19-mile run and a 3rd Thanksgiving meal. Long Run Saturday morning Amy agreed to run with me for what was a planned 18-mile run. I was going to head out and get in some miles before she arrived then run 10 together, then finish out solo. I got in 5 miles exactly, then we set out on a meandering route around the neighborhood. The temperatures were suddenly back into the 60s with high humidity and even higher winds. Thankfully it was cloudy. The positives were that we were most certainly not freezing and the wind did help dry us off. Amy had said 10 miles, but then decided she could do another mile with me. We made another loop before getting back to my house. Her watch said 11 miles on the dot, mine was behind showing 15.85 miles. For some reason, I got it stuck in my head that I was at mile 15 and needed 3 more - even said that out loud a ...

Today is Wednesday, but also like my Friday with Thanksgiving being tomorrow. Can we collectively vote for 3-day workweeks every week? Since I ended up doing a healthy holiday tips post yesterday, I thought I would do a quick birthday weekend recap today. I could really sum it up as eating, running, eating if you need the abridged version. On Friday (my actual birthday), I had taken off work so that I could sleep in, be lazy, and just enjoy the day. A gift to myself if you will. Jason wanted to take me out for lunch, so we met up for a late lunch after a hair appointment. Later we ended up going out again for dinner at a restaurant just a couple of blocks from our house called  South On Main . I didn't get any pictures of the food, but it was all good. They definitely aren't famous for their vegetarian options, mostly serving meat dishes, but the options they had were quite good. Jason made it a point to let them know it was my birthday and to insist on ordering a dess...

I had wanted to title this post "The Miles Fly By With a Little Help From My Friends" (a la the Beatles), but it was a bit wordy. But, it's a preface as to how my long run went on Saturday. Somehow we ended up skipping fall temperatures and dove straight into winter. Other than frozen frozen fingers, the downside is trying to figure out how to dress for the cold weather all over again. In other words, how to listen to your rational brain and NOT over-dress. Your body it screaming at you, shivering from the cold. It's saying, "wear more clothes." But then you know deep down you're going to warm up, eventually. And if you're like me, you have some long-sleeved tops that are heavier than others, some that block wind, some that don't, so then you have to figure out how to arrange all that. Saturday morning I debated my attire over and over and finally just went with short sleeves under one of my heavier tops (wind blocking). Was I over-dressed....

I know weekends typically go by way too quickly, but this weekend seemed to have gone by faster than usual. Jason was out of town, so it was a girl's weekend all the way around. It started off Friday evening meeting up with Tara from Running n' Reading . We met up at Baja Grill for dinner and lots and lots of chatting! Pretty sure we could have sat there for most of the night just visiting. Tara is super sweet and I was so happy to finally be able to just sit down and visit with her. It felt like we had really known each other and were just catching up. Because I had a 20-mile run planned the next day, I did have to get home and in bed at a very adult (old lady) time. Because of my super responsible behavior, I was up by just after 5 am. Amy was going to meet me at 6:30 to get in 13 miles, so I decided to go ahead and get in a few miles before she got to my house. When I first set out, the temps were around 42 degrees and I had on shorts and long sleeves. I ended up weird...

First of all, how is it already November? Wasn't it just May? Seriously, this year is flying by. This also means my birthday AND my first full marathon are rapidly approaching. Speaking of marathon, let's talk about my training. I know you're all at the edge of your seats right ;-) This weekend was supposed to be 18-20 miles. I have been trying to be pretty flexible with my long runs and playing them by feel, especially now that I'm battling some sort of heel pain/injury. Because of my heel, I honestly wasn't sure how many miles I could get in on Saturday. My running partner in crime was wanting to get 10-12 miles in, so I figured I would try that and go from there. This week's weather was a drastic change from last weekend. We set out to start the run right at 8 am and the wind chill was 28. Last week it was 60 at the start of our half marathon . Crazy temperature swing right? This of course meant it felt even colder just being unprepared and unadjusted. ...

This weekend I set out for my longest run to date - 18 miles ... on the 18th no less. That part wasn't planned, but I thought it was fitting once I realized the date. I won't sugar coat the run, it wasn't great. It was definitely not the confidence-boosting run I wanted. I have had far worse though, so there's that I suppose. And, regardless, I finished the run. All 18 miles of it. The truth of the matter is, I pretty much set myself up for failure on this one. I did not want to run the full length of the river trail, so in my head I was already unhappy about running. My aversion to running the full loop was honestly making me dread the run days beforehand. I could picture the route and didn't want to do it. Period. Because we had plans Saturday, I had to get up earlier than I really wanted to get the run done in time. Another peg on my snit level. When I got up I decided that I was going to do a different route, what it was, I wasn't sure, but I was NOT r...

Last week I tested out 2-a-Day runs . I have done plenty of 2-a-Day workouts, but never run twice on the same day before. If I do 2 workouts in a day, they tend to be a run in the morning then weights in the afternoon or perhaps weights and a bike ride. Being injury prone, I never thought running twice in a day would be ideal for me, and it was something I never considered until recently. Last Tuesday I decided to test the waters with a 5 mile run in the morning then 3 miles at lunch with Jason. Running a shorter distance in the morning meant that I could head out a bit later when it felt a little less dark/scary then run an easy run later. And honestly, it went really well. I enjoyed running the shorter distances. Friday I decided to try it again in order to get in my long run for the week. The forecast was calling for severe storms starting in the early hours of Saturday and pretty much throughout the day. I knew I couldn't get in 14-16 before work without starting much earli...

Once upon a time, I was a dancer.  I didn't start ballet at a super young age like many girls. I never touched a ballet barre until I was in the 5th grade actually. From the moment I walked into that ballet studio, I knew that's where I belonged. I never thought of myself as an athlete. Though now looking back, I realize just how athletic dance really is. I started running merely for exercise and on a treadmill. I never wanted to run outside. That'd just be crazy talk. And running more than 5 miles? Oh that's just flat out insane. I did some 5Ks (hated them). I started to run a bit farther, then a bit more. I was always proud and impressed with myself, that I could do more than I imagined. Then ... Half marathon? Sure, I'll get wild and crazy and shoot for the moon. I'll never run a full marathon. Never say never right? Oh, nope, not me, never really means never I said, over and over again. Six years after beginning my journey as a runner, I did what I sw...

Happy Friday! This is one of those weeks when I woke up thinking it was a completely different day, thus  my whole concept of time was skewed. It feels like it's been Friday for three days now. Today I wanted to do a Lessons from Marathon Training post, but not in a completely serious tone mind you. It is Fun for Friday after all. I'm sure I'll have plenty of serious life lessons to share at some point, but I'm trying to not take this training so seriously that I lose sight of why I love to run. I'm not really sure if these are true lesses per se, but definitely some take-aways. Lessons from Marathon Training My friends think I'm even crazier than previously believed. I'm learning to embrace the concept of naps. You appreciate the scenery, which may or may not be a fantastic excuse to take a break. I have no concept of how to pace myself appropriately. Out and backs can kind of suck, but they seem like a good idea at the start. I still h...

I know that Monday's are typically the blogging recap day, but maybe I'm just not ready to reminisce about the weekend that went by way too quickly just yet. Since a lot of my weekend was spent training, I suppose I could just squeak by with a Training Tuesday post though right? I mean, if I'm going of a theme. Saturday I set out for my longest run today date, 16 miles. With marathon training, I know it's a PDR that won't stand for too long. That kind of frightens me, I won't lie. I was a little nervous about the run. My previous PDR was 14.5 miles. I just wasn't certain how my body would hold up. And, while it was a bit cooler, upper 60s, the humidity was certainly making the air feel heavier and the sun was out. In other words, a lot warmer than I would have preferred. I knew that huge portions of the River Trail would be blocked off for the Big Dam Bridge 100 Cycling Tour. What I hadn't counted on was another walk/run that was happening and b...

Marcia at Marcia's Healthy Slice frequently does Runfession Posts. They are always fun to read, and I often find myself nodding along in agreement. Now that I'm marathon training, I'm finding myself often scared. My thoughts often end up turning to the what-ifs, the self-doubts and sometimes just plain old being scared. I almost saved this for Fun for Friday, but it's sort of a Thursday Thoughts kind of post too. But mostly it's random thoughts that I need to confess. 1. Training plans scare me. Yes, I'm a certified running coach. Yes, I put together plans for other people. Personally? I hate plans because the finality, the perceived strictness of them scares me. Therefore, I'm doing a very lose, very un-written down kind of marathon training plan. 2. Not having a true plan scares me. Don't you just love it when one thing scares you but then not having it scares you too? So not having the plan written down in stone makes me scared that I'...

Has it really been a full week since I last blogged? Yep, I guess it has. Sometimes time just gets away from you a bit, or in reality other things take precedence over blogging. Sometimes those "things" include just logging off each evening, something I highly recommend. Last week was rather busy. I got in all of my training runs, including another day of hill repeats. It can help having good company to keep you motivated, especially when you're doing something rather insane like running up and down a hill for no good reason right? Sometimes running can really pay off too. I decided to take a slightly different route at the start of my run and under a street lamp (that was actually on), I spotted a dollar bill folded up. Score! It also helped make the fact that it was 77 degrees and still dark a little less sad. Saturday morning was going to be a really long day. I was out the door by 7 am (sleeping in) for my long run. The plan was similar to last Satur...

I've not really been talking much about any of my training lately. I don't know that it's all that exciting. I'm training for a marathon so that means I'm running. And running. And fitting in cross-training and weights. I don't even want to tally up the time I'm spending doing these things. Anyone else ever feel like training starts to take over their lives? I'm not even to my true long runs yet. Anyhoo ... This past weekend was a good one overall. Saturday was a bit full, but I made up for that on Sunday with lots of reading time on the patio. Saturday morning was actually finally cool enough so that I could sleep in for a change. It was so nice not having to get up and out the door by 6 am on the weekend. In fact, I didn't head out until 8. My goal was to shoot for 13-14 miles depending on how I felt. The temps were hovering just below 60 degrees and the skies were overcast. I was a happy runner. I may have been a bit too happy though. My inten...

Some of you may recall a brief mention of signing up for my first marathon in December - the 3 Bridges Marathon . Somehow, it seemed like a great idea at the time. Maybe it was the wine talking. And in the future Jason is never allowed to go grab my wallet for me when I'm hastily signing up for a race without fully thinking it through. New rule. I haven't really talked much about my training or my training plan for that matter. Right now I'm not doing too much different than what I typically do with the exception of incorporating in dedicated speed work. My weekly mileage has been hovering between 40-43 miles for quite some time. I try to always keep at least one 10-miler in my weekly running so that when I do sign up for a half (or a full), then ramping up the training isn't that big of a deal. It allows me to focus more on speed since I have the distance for the most part. In other words, 10 miles isn't normally that big of a deal for me. So, my plan was...

I'm a bit behind on a weekend recap, so this will be more like a training lately and things I do other than running kind of post. In other words, random. Random can be good though, right? Ok, good. Glad you're with me. This weekend started off nice and early for me. I knew it was supposed to be really warm again, and humid. Maddie decided to also assist as my early morning alarm clock. Since I was up, I headed on out the door just after 6 am to get in my long run. It started off fairly decent, around 67 degrees with some clouds. The clouds of course ended up clearing off, but thankfully that was near the end of the run. I managed to get in 12 pretty good miles. The last mile and a half was where I was sort of just ready to be done. But, I had some nice views to get me through the miles. I ended up hanging out on my patio reading and recovering for a bit. I mean, keeping your feet propped up on the lounge chair or in the pool counts as recovery right? My sister ended u...