Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Volunteer Recap

This year I have made a commitment to giving back to the running community. I have done some volunteering at smaller local races, but this year I signed up to volunteer in two bigger races. The first was the Rock and Roll Marathon/Half Marathon in DC when I worked the Blue Mile. The second opportunity was this past Sunday at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.

Honestly, I was stressing about this shift for the last two weeks. When I signed up to help, my schedule was completely clear. The closer we got to the event, the more commitments were added to my schedule. This caused me to flip out a little because my schedule is carefully crafted to allow me to cover all the various aspects of my life. I try very hard to juggle the kids events, working my full time and part time job, get my run training in, complete strength training at the gym, perform household chores, and shop for groceries so I don't have to eat out every meal. Just typing that sentence made me tired. :) Going into race week I was panicking because I knew that after the volunteer shift I would be useless and tired. So everything that needed to be done this weekend would have to be done on Friday night or Saturday. But mother nature had other plans. The weather forecast shifted to a cold and potentially snowy weekend. And as Thursday approached, the commitments fell off the calendar. So completing this shift without stress started to become a reality.

On race morning, I was met with at 3:45 AM wake up. I NEVER get up that early! I don't even like to wake up before 4:50 AM on a weekday morning to get a run in before work. Fortunately I had gathered my attire for race morning the night before. So I stumbled around the dark, quiet house and got dressed in allllll the layers for the cold morning ahead. One of my BRFs was meeting me at a local community center so that we could carpool together, departing for DC at roughly 4:30 AM. I have since apologized to her for my less than sunshiny disposition on that early Sunday morning before I had access to caffeine. I am so so grateful that she knows me well enough to know that this is not my normal demeanor. We arrived at the water stop we would be working sometime before 5:30 AM and waited for directions from the leadership who was coordinating our efforts.

Fortunately for me, the supply truck with our needed materials was running late so there was time to partake in a a cup of coffee before work began. Once caffeinated and tasks in front of me, I felt like a different person! There was definitely adequate time to unload the supplies, set up the tables, and then get to pre-filling water cups for the thousands of runners who would run by us at rough mile 7.5. Three of us were assigned to my table (my BRF, a new friend from another MRTT chapter, and me) and we rocked our job. I have NO idea how many cups we filled before we even saw our first runner that morning, so I will just let the picture speak for itself!

Big races like the Cherry Blossom have waved starts that begin with elite runners who are going to compete with one another for prize money. These folks are barely on the course for an hour and do not partake of the water stops (generally speaking). But a really nice perk of working a water stop is that you get an up close view of these amazing athletes as they streak by. You hold out that cup in case they want it, but mainly just stand there in awe of the performance. Case in point, Meb Keflezighi, of NYC Marathon, Boston Marathon, and Olympic fame, ran right by me as he paced a group of runners. After the elites come the rest of the masses. As the waves of runners come through, the number of athletes needing hydration increases. And for the next several hours, we held water cups carefully balanced on the palms of our hands, filled more cups, and tried to sweep away trashed cups from the ground to keep runners from slipping and falling. It is tough work. But, OMG, did I love it. There is something so intensely satisfying about making eye contact with a runner you know needs that sip of water, and being able to help them through that phase of the race. Or to see someone struggling in general, or absolutely killing it, and calling their name out from their bib to give them some personal encouragement. Seeing people's faces light up when they hear their name and see a little pep in their step. The feeling is awesome.

I was more tired after hours of working a water stop than I would have been had I actually run that race, but the exhaustion was definitely worth it. While I do not know if I will return to DC to work another big race (the logistics are particularly rough with the distance and early morning road closures), volunteering at races is definitely going to happen again! If you have the chance, or can make the chance, I highly recommend doing it. The running community is amazing and you see a whole different view of it when you are standing on the sidelines supporting people.

Inspiration on the 9s - My Girl Lana

This go-round, I wanna talk to you about one of my favorite inspirations, my friend Lana. I hope you will enjoy my latest Inspirational Spotlight!

How did I become acquainted with this person:
I met Lana a little over three years ago when she came to work for the same local running store as me. From the minute I met her, I just loved getting to work/hang out with her. Her demeanor just draws you in and makes you feel comfortable.Our running store is locally owned and the employees aren't just coworkers, we are a family. So it doesn't take long for strangers to become friends.

Tell Us More About This Person:
Lana is a military spouse and a mom to two adorable kiddos. She has lived in lots of different places and has done some cool things! She is mature beyond her years and I am always intrigued by how she juggles everything life hands her. On top of being a wife, mom, local running store associate, and personal trainer, Lana is also an ULTRA marathoner! Her journey to the ultra began with the Marine Corp Marathon here locally and then grew from there. And another neat fact about her is that she comes by the ultra marathon bug by genetics as her mom is ALSO an ultra marathoner!

What Makes this Person Inspirational to Me:
Perhaps my most favorite characteristic of Lana is the fact that she can't see how amazing she is. She is a decade younger than me and I feel like she has life more figured out than I ever will! There is a story she told me once that sticks with me when I find myself making excuses. She told me how she did Insanity workouts after her first child was born to get back in shape. I have tried these workouts and sometimes just watching them makes me exhausted! I can't imagine the dedication it takes to make yourself do these workouts while taking on the new role of motherhood. But that story is characteristic of Lana. She loves weight lifting. And had it now been for her, and talking to her about workouts, I don't think I would have stepped back into a gym and fallen back in love with weight lifting. I have thanked her repeatedly for inspiring me to test myself beyond my running. I wish she could know how much she has given me!

Just Some Extra Stuff:
I finished writing this entry after returning from our farewell party for Lana. Her family has moved on to their next adventure and the ability to run into her is now gone. But the lessons she has taught me and the plans I have for myself that have been inspired by her journey, are in my heart, just like her friendship. I can only wish that everyone who reads this is lucky enough to have a Lana in their life.

6 Weeks til Race Day!

Here we are, 6 weeks until my spring half. I should be more excited or maybe even exhausted. And while I am a little of both, it's just not how I feel like I should be feeling. About 3 weeks ago I wrote about being halfway to race day. And I was honest about being inconsistent. Well, the last 3 weeks have not been much better. I have been trying but my willpower is weak. It was so much easier in the fall when I had a roll that I was trying not to break. So some mental reorganization is happening. This race was always meant to be about the experience. I love Harper's Ferry and the course is through some beautiful terrain/geography. I prepared to train for a faster time goal than my current PR. But, I have always known that was not a possibility with the course elevation, it was just to give me some guidelines for my training. Yes, I know, broken record. And I do feel stronger than I have i\historically when I am under prepared for a race. My brain just can't turn off the bullying. It digs up images of some of my hardest moments in races and puts them on display for me when I am at my most vulnerable. And I know the counter to this is to be more consistent. I am just having trouble fighting the life circumstances. I am trying to learn a lesson in all of this. I think I have learned that I cannot use an aggressive training plan as an outline when I am not planning to train aggressively for a race. I am just too "type A" for that. When I have a checklist in front of me, I just have to check all the boxes, or feel eternally guilty for not doing so. Lesson most definitely learned! So in the remaining weeks, I will try to make sure I get in training runs and try to continue mixing in speed work. And I am going to need to come up with a realistic race plan. Just need to assess where my level of fitness is and how that will translate to this difficult course. It will be here before I know it!

Tech Thrill - Garmin Workout Planning

So my plan to keep writing continues. The third and final monthly recurring post I will be making is called "Tech Thrill". One Thursday a month I will write about something in the technology realm (probably fitness and running related) that I find really neat/cool/fun/exciting/thrilling (you get the point, right?). So I shall just get on to it.

This month I wanna talk about a feature that is part of the Garmin fitness watch realm. For over a year I have been using the "workouts" portion of the Garmin Connect website. This feature allows me to program my workouts and then download them to my Garmin watch. That seems like such a simple statement. But if you have ever done a track workout, you might be able to appreciate how much I love this feature. So let's do a little comparison. Early on in my running journey, a member of my running group posted a series of track workouts she had done with a prior running group of her own. This series included a variety of track distances and repeats. I decided it would be good for me to try to add some speed work to my repertoire and took to using these workouts. They were, as track workouts are, hard. And I had a love/hate relationship with them. I loved how badass I would feel after I finished them. But I hated having to do them. And let me be clear here, running speed workouts is not easy. You push yourself to the limit of your pace and your mental stamina. But that is not that part that I hated. I had a very difficult time learning how to pace during the sprints. I would go out REALLY fast and never really have a good idea of how fast I was going. My watch would tell me but ultimately it was calculating the mile pace so it would be all over the place while I was running the various repeats. And doing math in my head to figure out what is going on while trying to run fast and, you know, breathe wasn't exactly working out. And the part that was really hard for me, was knowing which repeat I was on and how close to being done the workout I was. Its fine when you only have to do 4 or 5 repeats, but when the number of repeats, or the number of laps gets higher and my brain gets more tired, even counting gets a little fuzzy. Enter the Garmin Connect workout feature!

So how does it work? You go to the Garmin Connect website and login to your account. Then you access the workouts section from under the Training menu.  From there you can create your workout. I have never written my own workout, I do not have that expertise, but I have certainly programmed in the workout I am following from another source.  When I first started programming them in, I just put in the repeats and distances. It wasn't until I used the Hanson's method that I added in the piece for pace.  The plan calls for very specific pace goals based on goal finish time.  So I was able to put the low and high pace for the repeats into the Garmin workout.  Now comes the part I love.  When it's time to complete the workout, I downloaded the workout to my watch the night before.  Then the morning of, I just navigate to the workout menu on my forerunner, choose the workout for the day, and start.  Beeps and text alerts on the watch let me know when to begin and end segments and if I am moving too fast or slow.  Completing speed work this way took all the anxiety out of it for me. Now I can just be anxious about the fast running part ;). It has improved my consistency in completing the workouts because I am no longer dreading the workout in the same way. And because I am free to just run, my speed on the workouts, and in general, have improved as well.  If you haven't tried this out....do it....soon.  You will not regret it.

What I'm Reading - "You Are a Badass"

In an effort to force myself to read more consistently, I am going to do a regular "what I'm Reading Wednesday" post. It will be one Wednesday a month and not every week because I am not the avid reader I was as a kid/teen. I am hoping that the commitment to a once a month post about a book that I am reading will force me into reading something new every month.

Yes I am taking a minute to pause and reflect on how sad those last few sentences are. I wish I didn't have to force myself to read. I used to read a LOT. But now, in the few quiet moments I get to myself on a weekly basis, reading often isn't enough to keep my awake and I end up dosing off to sleep. The last few weeks have been better sleep quality so I am hoping that, coupled with this commitment, will get me back into a happy relationship with reading.

On to the good stuff. Currently I am finishing a book I have had for a while. The book is called "You are a Badass; How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living and Awesome Life" by Jen Sincero. You can get a copy here. The book came into my reality via a Facebook post from a college friend who was reading it. It's a self help book that is written like you are getting advice from an older sister or best girlfriend. The fundamental premise of the book is to help you 1) identify behaviors in your life that are sabotaging your own happiness and 2) steer you in the direction of behaviors that can help you get what you want out of your life. The book is an easy read and is packed with great anecdotes from the author's own life as well as tons of humor! I find myself laughing as often as I am shaking my head at all the behaviors she identifies that I know I exhibit in my own life! I am trying to keep an open mind as I read this book. I could very easily find a reason for every positive behavior she suggests as to why it won't work for me. But in really trying to embrace the message, I am asking myself to stop and think about why I am putting up a roadblock. And each time it comes down to being afraid to take a leap or that believing in myself is too difficult. Now...this blog is about running and I am coming a long way in believing in myself where my running is concerned. But the self-doubt for the rest of my life probably comes from the same place the running self doubt used to (and still rears its ugly head sometimes). Without giving away too much about the book, because you really should read it for yourself if this peaks your interest, the bottom line comes down to loving and believing in yourself. The author makes great suggestions for how to get there. And I am trying to implement these things in my daily life as well as my running journey. I have no idea where I am headed next (life or running) but I do know that I am going to try to believe in myself more.

Halfway to Harper's Ferry

So here we are...184.3 miles in 9 weeks time (that's averaging 20 miles per week). That number is supposed to be higher but I have been letting life drive this training cycle. It really started a few weeks back when I had a personal set back in life. My spirit was just crushed and I felt the strong pull to just wallow. I knew the day I skipped my first run, that it was a slippery slope. Once you have missed one, it's really easy to skip another one. But wearing comfy clothes and eating comfort food on a cold day in February was just what my heart needed. (Quick Side Note: My cryptic description about my sadness isn't meant to solicit attention, by the way. It's just not worth mentioning as I have moved past it and it's not the star of this show!) So I picked back up with the training schedule following that "sorry for myself" weekend. But I kept being presented with chances to choose life events, schedule conflicts, or sleep over my training runs. And while I prevailed sometimes...there have been plenty where persistence did not win. I have told myself that it's okay that I haven't stayed true to my plans like I did in the fall because I don't really have a time goal.But if I am being honest with myself, skipping training sessions may be supplying me with an excuse when I under-perform in the race. That truth was hard to face. Even harder when I asked myself why I needed an excuse. And then the giant epiphany clobbered me. I am scared. Scared of trying my hardest and failing. There. I said it. I worked so hard last summer/fall. And it was really tough. And while I met my pace goals for every workout, I still went into race day nervous and unsure. Coming in to this cycle, I haven't been as gym or nutrition conscious. So I am up several pounds and down in self-confidence. I have half the training cycle left so I can make some improvements but I feel like I need to cut myself some slack. My plan has always been to run this first half as a tune up and train aggressively for the fall. So that is what I shall do. I may not complete this cycle perfectly but I can still make a more consistent effort and be proud come race day. :)

Rock & Roll DC - Volunteering on the Blue Mile

When the year began, I promised myself that I would take the time to give back to the running community. I have been the recipient of so much great mojo from running that its the least I can do to pass that along to other runners. So last Saturday I got up in the morning when there was still a leading four on the clock to get downtown to help with the Rock & Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. The group I chose to volunteer with is one I have become familiar with through my running group. One of the members is a local chapter president, but has been involved with the group for as long as I have known her. The organization is called wear blue: run to remember. Check out their website to learn more about them! They are a running group that serves to honor the service and sacrifice of the American military. At several big races locally (and other races nationally), they set up a special mile dedicated to fallen service members. Part of the section has signs set up in tribue to indiviudal service members who lost their lives. The sign features their photo, name, date of death, and their age at the time of death. After runners have completed this section, they next head into a section that is a living memorial. Along the side of the road are volunteers each holding an American flag. That flag has a special tag attached to it honoring a service member as well. I was lucky enough to get to be a part of this tribute that is referred to as the "Blue Mile".

The wear blue staff welcomed volunteers at 6AM but they had long been working before our arrival. They had spent the hours before our arrival setting out the signs along the first part of the course AND setting up an amazing volunteer tent. We were greeted with coffee, donuts, bagels, fruit, and the gratitude of a wonderful and welcoming staff. After socializing and getting to know our fellow volunteers, each of us was given a flag. We then participated in a Circle of Remembrance.

Inspiration on the 9s - My BRF Kristen

Today is the first of what I hope will be a monthly installment where I reflect on someone that inspires me. Even if no one ever reads these, the goal is to help me focus on the people in life that I draw inspiration from, whether they are someone I just look up to from afar or someone I interact with regularly. So without further ado, here's my first Inspirational Spotlight.

How did I become acquainted with this person:
I met Kristen in real life on August 8, 2015. It may seem random that I remember the exact date. To be fair, I had to look it up. :) I was able to find it because I met Kristen at the first group run of a Couch to 5K program that I was leading for our women's running group. It didn't take long for us to become fast friends! Did you ever have one of those people that you just connect with right away? Well that's my Kristen. We just clicked from the very beginning. And the more we talked and hung out, the more we realized how much we have in common and how similar we are. I can talk to her about anything at anytime of day. But I shall move on because I could gush about our friendship for days. :)

Tell Us More About This Person:
Kristen is a relatively new runner (meaning she has been at it for less than 5 years) but her passion for embracing the sport is amazing. She went from training for 5Ks to running her first half marathon in just a few months. I was so very grateful to be a part of that experience. And even more grateful when she allowed me to be her pacer for her first half marathon. Sidebar here for a sec. I have never had another experience quite so emotional and amazing as helping a first time half marathoner get to the finish as I did that day in March 2016!

What Makes this Person Inspirational to Me:
Where do I even begin??? Kristen has a chronic disease that she will deal with for the rest of her life. I do not want to go into details as that is her story and not mine. She is also a cancer survivor. You would never know either of these things unless you have spent a considerable amount of time with her. And even then, you would have to be paying attention. I love love love this about her. There are so many people in this world that would curl up into a ball and let the things that life has thrown their way define them. Not Kristen. She defines who she is by the way that she takes on life. She would probably never see herself this way. :) I am also inspired by how smart she is when it comes to her approach to her running journey. She LISTENS to her body in a way that most of us do not do. She rests when she should and sees a doctor when things aren't working the way they are supposed to. Chatting with her about how she chooses to do these things has made me a smarter runner. And has probably saved me from injuring myself. :) And finally, I am inspired by how much love and care Kristen puts into every relationship she has. From her husband and step children to other runners that she may only see once or twice a month. If you cross paths with Kristen and are wise enough to share something about yourself, she will not only remember it, but she will take the time to nurture you in your own journey, running or otherwise. Having become friends with Kristen has helped me to be a better human. And there is nothing more inspirational than that!

Race Recap - Reston 10 Miler 2018

Yesterday was the Reston 10 Miler, a race I have now run three times in the last four years. Of all three occurrences, this one might be the most memorable. It started with a text the day before from a coworker who asked a group of us if he should pick up our bibs. That makes race day logistics easier, so I agreed. Another friend of ours committed to delivering the bib to me at the start the next morning. I have done this before so it wasn't a big deal and didn't cause me any worry or stress...it probably should have. Next up on the list of reasons this race gets memorability billing is the worry that came along with the receipt of a text from Fairfax County Public Schools. In light of the crazy windy weather we had been experiencing (and the destruction it caused), they had made the choice to close all schools and cancel any events at said schools scheduled for the weekend. The race course starts and ends at a local high school, so now we would have to wait on a decision/Plan B from the race director. Fortunately we received an email from the race director a few hours later to let us know that the race was on and that the only update would be that we would not be able to use the school as a pre-race staging area. So on to race morning we go...

I got to the start area a little later than I usually like to. But because the school building was closed down for our usual pre-race cowering from the elements, I had opted to sit in my car and keep warm until I had to get to the start. With 10 min to start, I had dragged myself from my car to the start area to meet up with my =PR= family and secure my bib. Sadly, I wasn't able to hook up with them. The "gun" went off and the runners headed out...but still no sign of my friends or my bib. Finally, ten minutes after the race began, the race director (who I know from working for =PR=) caught sight of me milling around the start line aimlessly and asked what was up. I told her that I never found my buddy who had my bib and was hanging out hoping he hadn't made it to the start yet. She had seen him. So, she told me that I could just go and she would note my start time. And then I could catch her at the finish. An immediate sense of relief washed over me. I am a rule follower and a planner, so having no bib (even though I was registered) had me all overwhelmed with panic. No sooner had she said that she would send me off, bib-free, than my gaggle of friends came sprinting up the side to the start. They had been in line for the bathrooms and were going to get a late start as well.

What luck! Late start okayed by the race director AND company! Woo hoo! Finding my =PR= buddies was definitely a mood booster after the rough start, but I knew in the first mile that I was not going to be able to keep pace with them. The spike in adrenaline from not knowing what to do at the race start was already starting to fall off, and my Garmin was letting me know that this pace was faster than I was supposed to be running this race. So I made sure to let my buddies know that I wasn't going to be hanging with them for long. And then, at the 2 mile marker, I pulled up to take in fluid (water/Tailwind) and told them I would see them at the finish. And then another memorable thing happened. Johnathan pulled back and said that he was going to run the rest of the race with me! :) You remember Johnathan right? He's my friend that paced me to a crazy 18 min PR on this same course, same race, 3 years ago. He is a much stronger and faster runner than I am so I immediately had pangs of guilt that running with me would take away from his race experience. So I asked him if he was sure this was what he wanted to do. And, much to my delight, he said yes!! The next 8 miles were rough with all the hills of this course. Somehow I always manage to forget how many hills there are. But getting to spend those miles with my friend and catch up (since we don't really get to see one another since our schedules changed), made it go by fairly quickly. Well at least the first 5 miles did.

The back half of the course was tougher than it probably should have been. I am definitely chalking that up to the really fast first two miles and the adrenaline spike before the start. Ultimately we finished at a pace that was in line with my training plan...and 20 sec slower than my 10 mile PR!!!! I did NOT intend for that to happen! I didn't even intend to be anywhere close! And had I been paying attention and truly remembered my PR time, I might have pushed it a little harder in mile 9, because who can resist bringing home a shiny new PR. :)

Here are my summary points from this race:

• =PR= did a great job delivering a sold race experience even in the face of weather that left debris on the course the day before and having to contend with our pre-race staging area closure.
• Going into a race (even one that is being used as a training run) without a race strategy is a bad idea! It leads to going out too fast and having to make on course adjustments in the later miles.
• Running with a friend is ALWAYS better than running alone!!!

Flashback Friday - Reston 10 Miler 2015

I love it when Timehop or Facebook Memories turns up each day. It's fun to look back on where you have been, especially since it can provide some perspective on your journey. The other day a memory popped up about the first time I ran the Reston 10 Miler. It was 2015 and I was toward the end of my training cycle for the Shamrock Half Marathon. My buddy Johnathan and I had chatted about this race for weeks. He and I worked together at Potomac River Running every Monday night for months. As the time approached for the race, we talked about running it together. He would help pace me for the race. That was the plan. A week before the race I told him that my race strategy was to run intervals (3 min running followed by 1 min walking repeatedly) as Shamrock was a few weeks away and I didn't want to go full out in the 10 miler. Johnathan is not an interval runner (he just starts running and doesn't stop til he's done) but he agreed to my strategy with one small caveat, he said he gets to set the run pace. I laughed, nervously, because he is a much faster runner than I am. Since this is a flashback, I am not going to do a full recap, just the highlights:

• At the time, this was the coldest race temp I have ever had at race start, 25 degrees. The weather forecast for race day was so bad that the race series posted the night before that they reserved the right to redirect the course mid-way, if needed, to a 10K if the weather deteriorated. It snowed at several points during the race and sleeted at the end.

• We started with the race plan, 3:1 intervals and dropped back to 2:1 because I was struggling.
• Johnathan was my personal coach and cheerleader. He kept me going and is the reason I didn't just walk the last 4 miles. He also literally pushed me to the finish line in the last 50 meters.
• I PRed the 10 mile distance by 18 minutes that day. Johnathan told me later that he kept pushing the pace.
• I still refer to this day as "the day Johnathan tried to kill me", but really, its the day he believed in me more than I believed in myself.

I have a shirt that bears the words "Embrace Your Pace". Its one of my favorites because my pace has changed so much in my journey as a runner. I look back at this race from 3 years ago as I prepare to run it again this coming weekend. My overall pace that day was hard fought. I was wiped out that afternoon, not just because of the weather, but because I had to dig deep to run that hard. This weekend, the pace from that day 3 years ago, is the low end of my "long run" training pace. That means that its a good pace for me, but its a middle of the road pace for me now. When I looked that up yesterday, I really let it sink in. There aren't many races where I remember as many details as I do about this one, especially three years and many races later. I vividly remember struggling. I remember my legs being sore and my lungs burning. I remember having to dig down and find the mental fortitude to keep going. And I remember being so proud that I survived that experience. How crazy it is to me that three years later that pace is just a part of my regular routine now. I have come so far and don't ever really take the time to appreciate it. I hope Johnathan knows how much I appreciated his company, coaching, and cheerleading that day. It will forever be etched into my brain as a significant part of my journey as a runner. Reflecting and appreciating how far we have come is an important part of our growth as athletes and humans. I hope to do this more often.

For the Love of It 10K

The first race of the Potomac River Running Race Series for 2018 kicked off yesterday with the For the Love of It 10K. This is the third time I have run this race in four years. It was my 10K PR for 3 years, and continues to be after Saturday's race...its just a little faster now ;)

What a morning it was for a race! If it weren't for the carpool I was participating in, I might have just stayed in bed. But knowing that other crazy runner girls were picking me up for race day (and the promise of pop-tarts at the end of the race) got me out the door.

Since the race was on a Saturday morning, I opted for race day packet pickup. =PR= does a wonderful job with this! They really do make it easy to be able to show up and run. This particular race is also held at a local high school. What makes it extremely convenient is that they use the high school cafeteria as a staging/awards area so you get to 1) hang out in warmth while you wait to run in the cold and 2) get to use real bathrooms instead of port-a-potties. After securing our bibs, we hung out in the hallway until they ushered all the runners to the front of the school where the race would start. It really didn't take long to regret the decision to run this race. :) Here we stood, among some 300 runners, in 12 degree temperatures, waiting to run 6.2 miles of hills. This is why people think runners are crazy!!!

I went into this race with no race strategy at all. According to my plan I was supposed to be running this race at an "easy" pace (11-12 mm), but in mile 1 I wasn't paying attention to the pace at all. I just ran alongside my friend, Heather, and chatted. We both admitted to running faster than we might have due to the cold. So cold, in fact, that I couldn't feel my legs until sometime after the 2 mile marker. The pace felt good though there were definitely moments where I wish I could take a walk break or slow it down a bit. But I really wanted to keep running with Heather, and my ego just wouldn't let me admit to needing to slow down or take a break. So I relished the water stops where we would grab a cup and walk until we gulped down the water. Then it was back to business.

Somewhere around mile 4 I looked at my watch after the mile alert popped up. And then I started doing math in my head. I tried to recall what my 10K PR was and couldn't quite remember the details. I was pretty sure that if we kept our current pace, I was going to set a new PR! That was really not in the plans. I remembered when I set the PR for this race the first time...it was not easy and I recall being super wiped out after. But here we were, on pace for a shiny new PR. I let that toss around in my brain for a while and then finally at around 4 1/2 miles as we cruised toward the bottom of another hill, I asked Heather what her 10K PR was. From that moment, I now had a race strategy, keep going and set that PR!!!! About 3/4 mile later I felt a surge of determination. That LAST big hill was in front of us. And since I have run this course (and the 10 mile course which overlaps right here), I knew that right after this hill there is a nice plateau and then a downhill to the finish on the high school track. So I found another gear and powered up the hill! And then heading into the track I saw some familiar faces at the broadcast booth...so I shouted out to the announcer and grinned as I head down the track....300 meters to go! It didn't feel like the longest 300 meters ever but I swear my 400 m repeats during track workouts go by faster than that last part of the race did. But finish the race strong, I did! With a shiny new PR by nearly 2 minutes :) It was even more wonderful to get to share the finish line experience with my friends.

Final Thoughts:

• Poptarts from Ted's Bulletin are fantastic on any day but even better after running 6 very cold miles!
• Caleb's Cookies is a MUST repeat! I loved the heart shaped cookies we enjoyed after the race...and so did my boys (I may have taken some home to them).
• As a former science teacher, I was definitely not overjoyed with the elevation chart that my Garmin provided. It looked SO flat!!!! So...I created one of my own with a much more appropriate scale to show just how much this course is appropriately named as "rolling hills".
  
• Anytime I get to drink hot cocoa and eat cookies and chat with my MRTT friends and my =PR= family at the same time is time well spent.
• Races with friends are just a million times better than solo races!

Declare It Day

Today is Declare It Day. A virtual event initiated and sponsored by an organization called Fellow Flowers. This is an organization with a large virtual community dedicated to supporting and inspiring active women worldwide. This is the first year I decided to participate in their annual "Declare It Day" event. It really just requires you to think about what goals you want to set for the coming year, after the glow of New Year's Resolutions have worn off. :) The goal that I am declaring today is one that I set for myself months ago coming off of the Richmond Half Marathon. And I plan to use the Hanson's method to get there. I have 2 half marathons on the schedule for this year and I will run one of them in under 2 hours. Realistically I already know that it will likely be the 2nd of the two as the Harper's Ferry race is first and is WICKEDLY hilly. But I am going to complete the training and see where it takes me. All I can do is do the work, get comfortable being uncomfortable, and see what happens. Hand in hand with this big scary goal are some smaller sub goals that will help me along. I am planning to continue regular weight training as well as yoga. Additionally I want to try to get a handle on my nutrition. I make a go of it from time to time but I really need to find a way for my diet to change as a matter of habit and life changing commitment (which now makes this sound like a super big goal). Lastly, I plan to keep writing about the journey here. I truly regret not documenting the journey to Richmond so I can look back on it in words rather than Garmin data and FB pics...I will not make that mistake again. Thanks for being along for my journey.

Lifetime Indoor Tri

This year I decided to focus on things that challenge me...maybe even things that scare me. And so here we are. One of my running buddies is a triathlete. During a run this summer, a few of us talked about giving swimming a try for cross training. then a member of our running group posted that she had registered for the Lifetime Indoor Tri. So after a little review of the event site, I was in! It was a great plan as I needed a training focus after the Richmond half in Nov and before Harper's Ferry half training began in January. As a previous post indicated, that training did NOT go according to plan. I did get in some swim and bike time but I was clearly under-trained going into today.

I am so so thankful for my wonderful fierce friend, Caroline. We were assigned the same wave and knowing that she would be there meant a 100% chance that I wouldn't chicken out. :) So I enjoyed a quiet morning at home (BOTH boys slept in) before nervously heading to the club. Lifetime did a great job with organizing, executing, and communicating the event. I knew to arrive early to check in and have time to set up the bike before heading to swim. Every single event staff member I encountered was awesome. The check-in staff made sure I knew where and when to be. And the staff at each phase note only were extra friendly but so so helpful. I would never have gotten that spin bike set up correctly without the awesome staff! They made sure we knew how to work the equipment, how to start and stop, and when to do so! The swim lap counters doubled as cheerleaders and the cycle lead not only DJed but was coaching and encouraging. I pushed harder because he made me dig deep!!

SWIM
I am not a swimmer. Though the cycle coach told me that I had just swam, so in fact, I am a swimmer. :) So I guess the better description is that I am not a strong swimmer. I have no idea what I am doing where technique is concerned. And I was worn out 5 minutes in to the 10 minutes swim period! But I kept at it. Mentally it was challenging to struggle while swimming next to a guy who did a ferocious Michael Phelps impression. We heard after the swim that he may have set the record for swim laps at this location!! So my laps were slow...or at least felt slow compared to the people around me...but I didn't give up.

BIKE

After a 10 minute transition, where we got to change our clothes and get to the cycle studio, it was time for phase 2. My, oh, my do I hate spin bikes. Even though I got it all set to my height, it just doesn't feel like these bikes were made for petite ladies. Or maybe its my sheer lack of experience with them. I did get in several bike workouts but sadly didn't have access to a spin bike, so this was my first experience. I can say that it is one that I do not want to repeat anytime soon. Boy did I struggle. The cycle coach kept trying to get us to increase our effort as the time went on. And as much as I wanted to, my legs felt like they were giving up on me. But I just kept pushing, and maybe pushed harder when he was walking by then I did when he wasn't. ;) I played the mental game for the entire 30 minutes where I broke it into chunks and just tried to survive til the end of the chunk. Finally it was over! I pushed and made it to nearly 9 miles in 30 minutes and was super proud of that!

RUN
Finally it was time to complete the part of the race that I am comfortable with! But my legs felt like jello. As we walked from the cycle studio to the reserved treadmills during our 5 min transition, I was starting to freak out. I had done brick workouts where I went form bike to treadmill but my legs had never felt this fatigued. So mental Olympics started happening again as I told myself it was just for 20 minutes. And I ran a half marathon after enduring the Hanson's training method so I could certainly run for 20 min on a treadmill! It didn't take long at all from the time we cranked up the treadmills for my legs and my brain to figure out what we were doing. And within the first two minutes I knew that all those miles this summer and fall were paying off again. I knew how to run on tired legs. So I made a quick deal with myself: just get in 2 miles. Then I could trade the run I was supposed to do today (4 miles) with Tuesday's upcoming run (2 miles) and not cheat on my current training. So happily I trotted along for 20 minutes; no music, not really close enough to a tv to take in any show, just me, the treadmill, and my love of the run! And low and behold...I hit 2 miles before the time was up. And as I stepped off the treadmill, I got to declare...I am an indoor triathlete!

CONCLUSION
I have already mentioned that I think the organization, execution, and communication for this race were great. But the bottom line for me with any race, regardless of my own personal performance, is: would I do it again? Was the experience worth it enough to make me pull out my credit card and fork over money to make it a repeat? The answer in this case was an overwhelming yes! I may have already plugged into my calendar to look for the registration next fall so I can have a chance to try and beat myself. And I really hope to get to talk Caroline into it too ;) It was awesome to share the experience with her!!!

Never NOT exciting??

While this week is the first week of my training cycle, the Hanson's beginner half program doesn't schedule the first run until Thursday. I skipped my planned treadmill run at 5:30 AM in hopes that the weather might be nice enough after work to get in some outdoor miles. I have spent WAY too much time on the treadmill lately. After some careful review of the hourly forecast, I posted in my running group to see if I could get some running buddies since the thought of running in the dark solo still freaks me out (even though I have done it on a number of occasions). As luck would have it, I was able to get two buddies to meet me at one of our regular locations. It was going to be a bit of a rushed evening since I had to pick up both of my kids from different locations, get home to change, and then go back out to meet the ladies to run. And it went pretty well. I was only running a few minutes behind due to the traffic (which I forgot is super different in the evening than early in the AM). And then...it happened. While sitting at a red light, just two lights away from my destination, a young woman in a mini van rear ended me!!!! Thankfully it was just a tap, though it didn't feel that way at first. We pulled over and inspected for damage. Again, it was just a tap so there was none. I called my running partners to tell them I would be late. They were waiting so patiently for me when I arrived and immediately declared that we didn't have to run. But I insisted. We were GOING to run because I needed to find a way to get this fresh flowing adrenaline under control. I needed to get my brain a dopamine bath so it would forget the play by play of the accident from 19 months ago that it was trying so hard to vividly loop in my consciousness. So they accommodated me and off we went. For a wonderful training run. It was faster than I was supposed to run per my training plan. But it felt easy and happy and calmed my nerves. Now...can the rest of the training cycle not be exciting?

Update Note: I am completely okay. My lower back felt a little tight later in the evening but I spent a little time with a heating pad and the next morning all was fine!

Here we go again...

This week marks the beginning of another Hanson's training cycle. I continue to be proud and amazed at the training and race execution from the last time I completed this plan. My only regret of the last cycle is that I did not document it in blog form (though I did start to). It was SUCH an incredible journey and I wish I had a record of the thoughts and emotions of it all. So I am trying to do so this time! I am not known to be a completionist. That is to say, I may have grand plans that are often carefully scripted but never see the execution they deserve. The second half of 2017, well June to Oct, was a different story. I found a fire in my soul that needed to burn bright. I completed not only the 18 week Hanson's beginner half program but a 12 week weight training body transformation program too! That one I was actually about halfway through when Hanson's kicked in. It is the strongest and most healthy/lean I have felt in YEARS! But after the race, the recovery week was followed by the holidays, and my fire nearly got extinguished. I have tried to rekindle it but feel like I have fallen back into old habits. I h ave started and restarted the weight training program again and again. I had hoped the promise the new year would spark my passions and it did...for almost two weeks. I also started a 30 day yoga journey and made it a solid week before things fell apart. Like many new year resolutioners, I am struggling with maintaining consistency. I am distracted by house projects as we prepare for a spring move. And the really large factor is the cold. I HATE to be cold! And just the thought of putting on workout clothes and being cold sends shivers through me. And instinctively I wrap up in warm clothes and snugly blankets. I know once Hanson's begins I will keep that schedule because I loved the results and am very motivated to see all the green Xs on my training page. But I also want to get back into weight training. The question is...how do I keep going when its cold and dark outside. I love the results but how do I get them to outweigh the excuses? This is an exercise in forgiving myself and asking...what motivates me to stick to the plan even when I really don't want to? And how do I tap into my lil spitfire again? Where did she go? And how do I get her to return???