I Did Something Crazy

So yeah, remember that half marathon that my sister is doing back home?  Apparently the second fastest course in the country?  And the one where I said I wouldn't be ready in time, and it would be too hot and yada yada yada.  Well, I did something crazy on Sunday, which was the last day to register, because um the race is less than 4 weeks away:

BOOM!  Look who's running a half marathon in 26 days - THIS GIRL!

The truth is, I wanted to run this race with my sister when she first mentioned it, but for the reasons listed above, decided not to.  But as the date drew closer I couldn't shrug the urge I felt to run it, regardless of heat or (lack of) training.  I certainly haven't been 'training' but I have been slowly upping my mileage and had that great 10 mi run last weekend.  This weekend I decided to run 11 mi, which unfortunately felt markedly worse than last week's.  My endurance felt ok, but I was hot (I waited way too late to go out Saturday and ended up running at noon - the hottest portion of the day #notwinning) and so it just felt rough and slow.

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I do however feel healthy and just excited!  It's been too long since I've raced a half, since I wasn't able to commit to anything in the first portion of the year.  I have no delusions of a PR but I hope to enjoy it and run the best I can.  And I mean some of life's greatest decisions are those made on impulse, right?!?  Right!  Let's go with it.  I pray Sunday, September 7th is unseasonably cool and without a trace of humidity.

As I write this post, I also want to mention the tragic passing of Robin Williams.  I was cycling at the gym tonight, when the headline flashed across the TV and I couldn't believe it.  He was truly a gifted artist and I think it's terribly sad that sometimes the most creative, artistic people on earth are also the ones that suffer from mental illness because of their sensitive souls.  I think I shared once before that one of my favorite movies is Dead Poet's Society, and it is probably the role I will remember him most for (although I do love me some Mrs Doubtfire too!) so I'll leave you with one of my favorite scenes from the movie.  Williams' certainly left us all with so many of his own original verses.





What was your favorite Robin Williams memory or movie?

Ever sign up for a race on a whim?!

Looking For A Fall Half

First off, I just wanted to say Thank You for all of your kind and encouraging words on my last post.  It took a lot of gumption and a big change of heart for me to stand up for myself, and then recap that entire string of events, and I wanted to put it out there for anyone else who's ever been in the same position.  The thing is, I'm realizing, is that I LET people take advantage of me far too often.  I give people the benefit of the doubt A LOT because I tend to think that most people will do the right thing, but it turns out that's just not the case many times.  No one is going to look out for you, but YOU.  Hard life lesson to suck down right there.  I don't think the world will ever turn this dreamer cold, and I'll probably always be the empathic, believer-in-all-that-is-good person but I realize I also need to make sure my needs are being met before trying to save the world :)

Now on to today's running business...

Source/via Pinterest

I'm currently looking for a fall half and open to suggestions.  When I take another peek at the running goals I set back in January [side note: how is it MID July right now?!], I see I've got some wins and some losses.  I had wanted to run 2 half marathons again this year, but the first couple months of 2014 were so hectic for me schedule-wise that I realized early on a Spring half was just not going to be a possibility.  In addition, I wanted to run some more short distance races this year, including my first 10K, which I did back in April, so Yippee on that one!  I've really enjoyed mixing up my workouts the first half of this year, and not having to train seriously for anything.  While running is always a constant for me, it was nice not having to stick to a strict schedule since 5K's and 10K's didn't really require any training (although I really should start doing some speed work!).  I also loved trying out some new workouts over the past several months like Barre and a new Boot camp.  I am a workout junkie so sign me up for pretty much anything and I'm like a kid in a candy store.

Case in point - This is how varied my workouts were last week:

Sunday - Rest
Monday - 2.5 mi walk (morning); 30 min interval bike workout/2000m rowing/5 min abs (evening)
Tuesday - 5K run
Wednesday -  2.5 mi walk (morning); upper and lower body strength training/5 min abs (evening)
Thursday - 5K run
Friday - 2 mi walk (morning); 1 hour swim/10 min sauna (evening)
Saturday - 1.5 hour hike

Although I am really enjoying running just for running's sake right now, I'm kind of getting the itch to run a longer distance race again.  Sooooooo, I've been prospecting fall halfs.  My sister, who just ran her first half marathon EVER in March, has signed up for her second!  She will be running the VIA Half Marathon back home in PA on Sept 7th.  I considered running this race with her for quite some time, but just felt I wouldn't be prepared for the early Sept race date, plus I honestly think the weather the weekend after Labor Day is just too hot for a half marathon!  I really don't feel like squeezing my 10, 11 and 12 miles runs into the last weeks of August, ie. 95 degree temps and 100% humidity here in Baltimore.  However, I did briefly reconsider again when I saw this race is advertised as the 2nd fastest course in the US?!! WHAT?! I hope my sister PR's like a beast.

September is also going to be a busy month for me, as I'll be planting myself in the Deep South later that month to help my other sister out with Baby #3!!!  Wheeeee!  So, I'm setting my sights on October for a fall race.  Although I'd absolutely love to make a trip out of it and go someplace new, I don't really have the funds for a destination race right now.  So, I'm searching for something within driving distance - MD/DC/VA/DE/PA/NJ/NY.  Wow, that's a lot of states.  Hahaha, there's gotta be some good races in there somewhere.  I've been checking out various half marathon calendars and am currently eyeing up the Hershey Half Marathon on October 19th (same weekend as the Runner's World Half & Festival, but I already ran that last year).  Has anyone ever run Hershey?  It seems like this may be a somewhat flat course which of course got my attention. 

I'm also (somewhat reluctantly) considering the Baltimore Half Marathon, which I've somehow avoided all of the past 10 years I've lived in this city because the HILLS...MY GOD, THE HILLS!  But, on the other hand, this just might be something I want to cross off my Baltimore bucket list before I move on...

And last but not least, I'm looking at the Philadelphia Half Marathon on November 23, because I've always wanted to run a race in Philly and have yet to do so.  However, Philadelphia weather at the end of November can be like running through the Arctic tundra.  Man, I am really such a baby about running weather - too hot, too cold.  MAKE UP YOUR MIND, BEAN!

So, there you have it.  Pretty solid plans we're looking at here: a race, probably in October, somewhere along the eastern seaboard.  Nothing like laying a solid foundation.

I would LOVE suggestions from anyone in the Northeast/Mid Atlantic area for a great fall half.  If you are doing one, let me know and maybe we can do one together! And if you've done any of the races I've mentioned above, I'd love your feedback on them to help narrow down my choices.


Running any fall races?  Where/What distance?

Spring Race Decisions

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I've finally decided on a Spring race.  It wasn't part of my original plan and I was back and forth on it for several weeks, but after having lived through my new schedule during the month of January, I was forced to make a tough decision. 

 

I was looking for a Spring Half to do that was relatively close to me (to save on travel costs) but on a course I had never run before.  I came across this brand new race in Philadelphia called the Love Run scheduled for March 30th, and liked the sound of it.  I've never run a race in Philly.  I got to talking with my sister - the one who joined a running group and ran her first 5K this past October - and it turned out her running coach was trying to convince the team to run this race as their first group half marathon! 

 

My sis's first race!

 

 

I thought it would be incredible to run this race with my sister, and be there to support her in completing this awesome milestone. So, I had all intentions of signing up a couple months ago.  But when I returned to Baltimore after the Holidays, my obligations starting piling up...majorly.  I started to get anxiety thinking about how I would fit training into my days, when some days I didn't even get home until late in the evening (exhausted nonetheless).  With the way things are right now, it just didn't seem feasible that I could train for this half marathon that was 8 or 9 weeks away. 

 

So, last week I made the call that I would not be registering for the Love Run.  I talked it over with my sister and she was actually ok with it.  She is planning to go down and stay the weekend in a condo with all the girls on her team, so as it turns out, I wouldn't have had anyone to room with for the weekend anyway, and I probably would not have seen too much of her!  I kind of feel like it may have been hard for her to choose between spending time with her coach and her team that weekend and time with me so I think it's better the way it worked out.  My sister has run with these ladies since last summer and I think it will be really special that they are all doing this together. 

 

I'm still feeling a bit sad/guilty that I won't be there to run with her, but I guess that's means we'll just have to plan for another one in the future.  (You hear that Laura?!  I'm already planning your 2nd half marathon!)  But, I am also feeling relief that I did what was best for me right now, and that I won't have this anxiety hanging over my head and scrambling to try to fit in training with my crazy work hours. 

Training for a race should be fun!

 

 

So, what race DID I decide to do, that is the question.  Well, I stated in my 2014 Goals post that I wanted to run a 10K this year because that is a distance I've never raced before.  And that's exactly what I'm doing!  I signed up for the Sole of the City 10K in Baltimore on April 12th.  This race is run by my favorite local running store (Charm City Run).  You get a sweet Under Armour half-zip for participating, plus the race will benefit a local Baltimore teacher who was injured in the Boston marathon bombings last year.  Also, it won't require as much training on my part and I'm guaranteed a PR since it's my first one!  Just an all around winning combo if you ask me.

 

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I feel both excited and relieved about my decision, and also a bit remiss that right now I don't have a Spring Half to look forward to.

 

Who knows, as I live through my new work life, perhaps I will find more wiggle room and I can always register for a race in late Spring or early Summer.  If not, I love Fall racing season and this will just give me more time to prepare for and find a great Fall half (maybe that will be my destination race?!).  I also plan to continue my 5K streak that started last year by peppering in several of those fun little races in throughout the year. 

 

So that's where things stand right now.  I've still been managing to work out 4-5 times per week, but only running once or twice.  My other workouts are all cross training (biking, weights, HIIT, swimming, yoga, and now barre) that I manage to squeeze in at the gym, or at home; wherever I can find the time! 

 

In the first half of this year, there are several professional and personal things I want to focus on (I will probably share these with you at some point!), and not having a big race to train for will allow me to do those things.  This year is all about doing what feels RIGHT for me, and I keep tuning into those feelings as I make my decisions.  So far, they've felt right so I'm going to just keep tuning in and listening to my heart :) 

 

 

What races are on your schedule this Spring?

 

Have you ever had to cut back on running races because of other life obligations?

 

 



 

 



Training Update (Week 6) and Dr. Scholl's Active Series Insoles Review

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So here we are already in Week 6 of my abbreviated 8 Week training schedule for this little number!

 

 

 

My how the time flies.  And I'm not just talking about the past 6 weeks.  Where, might I ask, did the summer go? And for that matter, the first 9 months of this year?!  I have no idea how I ended up in Fall already, but I'm not too pleased.  I mean the downward spiral of our daily high temps has already started and it only gets worse from here.  Fast forward me to Christmas for 1 day, and then straight to Memorial Day pleeeeeease. 

 

Ok enough rambling.  So going into training for this race I was concerned with how my legs would hold up, namely the periostitis and tendinitis in my lower legs that started to resurface after April's Nike Women's Marathon in DC.  I was therefore also concerned with getting my mileage up in time for this race, since I had started later than I would have ideally wanted.  I'm happy to report that I am feeling pretty good and I was able to get my mileage up pretty quickly.  My running workouts for the past 5 weeks have looked like this:

 

Week 1 - Two short runs of 3 mi each; One 5 mi long run

Week 2 - Two short runs of 3 mi each; One 6 mi long run

Week 3 - Two short runs of 3-4 mi each; One 7 mi long run (at the beach, on vacation I might add!)

Week 4 - Two short runs of 3-4 mi each; One 9 mi long run

Week 5 - Two short runs of 3-4 mi each; One 11 mi long run

Week 6 - Two short runs of 3-4 mi each; Long run TBD this weekend

Week 7 - TBD

Week 8 - TBD

 

On non-running days I continue to cross train with any/all of the following: 

 

At-home circuits/HIIT/WOD (via Pinterest - you can follow my board here)

Interval biking workout (gym)

Weight lifting (gym)

Swimming (gym)

Walking (outside)

Monthly challenge (100 crunches/day for September)

 

I usually take a rest day each week as well. 

 

When I hit that 11 mi run last Friday, I started to feel a lot better about the race.  I have two long runs left before I taper in Week 9 leading up to race date on Oct 20th.  One thing that has really been helping with the long runs lately (though I loathe to admit it) is the cooler temps.  Fall is the season runners across the US rejoice because suddenly we're FASTER!  How does that happen?!  One day you're running in 90 degrees feeling like death, and then a few weeks later it's 65 degrees and you swear you are actually flying.  Either that or you suddenly inherited Usain Bolt's legs. 

 

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So, I was feeling pretty peachy about the race, until I spoke to someone who ran the RW Half last year and said it was her hardest race to date because of the hills!  And I quote: "It was 9 miles of hills. I cried."  Um, EXCUSE me, what was that?!  Oh boy.  Well, despite hearing that little gem of information, I'm actually trying not to think about it.  I will approach the race like every other half marathon and just get out there and run my best! Sure, it might be slower, but it will be a challenge and I will embrace it.  At some point, I would like a half marathon PR below 2:00:00 (my fastest thus far was 2:01) but I think I will have to choose a flatter course.  I know 2 people who ran the Philly Rock N Roll Half a couple of weeks ago, and they both PR'ed saying the course was fast and flat.  So perhaps that will be on the docket for next year!

 

One other thing I wanted to cover in this post was a review of the insoles I have been trying out for the past 5 weeks.  These guys:



 

 

 

I liked them immediately, but wanted to give them several weeks of wear before I did a write-up on here.  As you know, I've been trying many different things to alleviate my stress injuries that seem to crop back up every now and then, and it was only recently that I thought my insoles might need looking at.  I have historically never bought separate insoles to put in my running shoes.  I simply use the ones that come with the shoe, although I know many people swear by separate or even custom insoles with each new shoe purchase.  There were 2 things that led me to believe perhaps I should give insoles a try.

 

First, I attended a nutrition clinic at Road Runner Sports in Columbia, MD earlier this summer and tried out their Shoe Dog fit service.  I always knew I had high arches but they told me I had extremely high arches (is there a difference?!) that required more support.  As part of their no-obligation Shoe Dog service, they created a pair of custom-molded insoles for me while I shopped around.  I didn't end up buying them because they were $80 but it was good information to know!

 

Secondly, when I was visiting my sister in Atlanta in August, we went on nightly walks (I didn't run during that trip because my legs has just started bothering me and I wanted to give them a few weeks' rest before I dove into training).  She had an old pair of insoles that she used when she did a 3 day/60 mile walk for breast cancer a few years ago.  But even using those old insoles and just walking, I could tell a difference in my legs. 

So upon returning, I decided to research insoles and see if there was something within my budget that might help.  I've heard good things about Superfeet insoles before, but they are also currently beyond my budget.  So after seeing several TV commercials for the Dr. Scholl's Active Series I decided to give them a try.  At $19.95, they were affordable, and I have to say I have really seen a difference in the way my legs feel after using them for the past 5 weeks.  The arch support is much better than the flat insoles that came in my Nike's and there is added cushioning zones in the heel and forefront.  If you are suffering from shin or knee pain, I would definitely recommend giving these insoles a try, if you are not ready to spring for custom insoles yet.   

I do continue to run in my ProCompression socks as well as ice my legs after each run.  I also am trying to imitate the Graston therapy I had in PT last year.  If you are not familiar with this, look it up.  A physical therapist uses plastic or metal instruments to scrape at scar tissue that is lurking beneath the skin's surface.  Sounds medieval and painful, right?  Well, it is!!  But apparently, I have a lot of soft tissue adhesions in my lower legs and they need to be broken up or they will continue to cause pain, so I've taken to massaging them with my hands or my Marathon Stick after each run:

 

 

 

Wow, this post turned out to be a lot longer than I had planned! I didn't mean to bore you with my training thus far, but if you are interested in or have any questions about the products I talked about here please let me know.  They are all things I purchased on my own, use regularly, and have found helpful.  Also, if you are currently suffering from any injuries and PT is in your future, beware the Graston treatment! 

 

 

Your turn!

 

Are you training for any fall races?  How is it going?

 

Do you use insoles in your running shoes, or do you just wear them as is?  Do you know what kind of arches you have??

 

 

 



 



Treadmill or Dreadmill?

True dat.

 



I haven't stepped foot on a treadmill in probably 18 months or so ... well, until yesterday.  But I'll get to that in a minute.  Why?  Well I simply prefer to run outside, or so I thought.  Running for me has become a very meditative, communing-with-nature-and-the-universe type of activity, and I just felt I could not do that while performing aforementioned activity on a rubber belt in a loud, distracting environment.  However, I have a pretty abbreviated training schedule to get my mileage up for the Runner's World Half and my longest run thus far (5 miles) outside did not feel good.  We've had a few weeks of near 90 temps and 70-80% humidity as well, which hasn't been helping things.  So yesterday the idea just popped into my head, and I decided to take this week's 6 mile run indoors.  Well folks, it was probably the best decision I have made in WEEKS!  I believe the last time I did any treadmill training was in early 2012 when I was preparing for the St Luke's Half Marathon back home, and that race coincidentally is where I set my half marathon PR! 

 

One of the things that led to my decision to take things indoors yesterday, besides the weather, was the current state of my legs, namely the tendinitis and inflamed shins I seem to continually wage war with.  Because I live in an urban area, my running routes are almost exclusively contained to sidewalks.  Bad news, because concrete is known to be the hardest running surface out there!  In fact, it's even 10 times harder than asphalt. Fail.  Check out this article from Runner's World UK which ranks the Top 10 Running Surfaces. 

 

Since all of my running for the past year and a half has been outdoors, and almost entirely on concrete, I believe this has contributed to some of my stress injuries.  I wish I lived somewhere that offered me the opportunity to run on grass, trails and other more natural surfaces but for the time being I do not.  As I said, one of the things I most enjoy about running is the feeling of being one with nature, and even though I'm outside, its sometimes hard to do that with cars whizzing right by you!

 

Treadmills offer a markedly softer surface that is less jarring to bones, muscles and joints.  In addition, I believe my posture and stride are improved, my steps are smaller and my cadence is faster when I'm treadmill running.  All of these are elements of Chi Running, which I am currently investigating as a resource to pain-free running.

 



So after all that good information, how did my 6 miles on the treadmill feel yesterday?  In a word - AMAZING!  I had completely forgotten how it felt to run on this man-made contraption, but you know what, it felt incredible.  My run was a lot easier (granted, I had the control set to 0.0 incline), smoother, and less painful than my runs have been outside.  And to boot, I didn't even have to wear my compression socks during the run. 

I'll admit, I used to be of the mindset that treadmill running was somehow 'cheating' - that the miles run on the 'mill didn't count as much as the miles outside.  But I've come to really believe it has a place in training.  I mean professional athletes train on the treadmill, so why not little 'ol me?  It has far less impact on my body, allows me to run in any condition, in a controlled environment (hello 0% humidity and a nice 67 degrees!), and still get the same cardio benefits.  It's time I start adding it back in.  I am going to try to do at least one of my weekly runs on the treadmill from now on and see how my body responds.  When I trained for my very first half marathon in 2011, I did a lot of my lower mileage runs on the treadmill and reserved outdoor running for my long runs, and I felt fantastic in that race.  I'm thinking that this could be the rekindling of a wonderful relationship :)



So what say you? 

Treadmill or Dreadmill?

What running surfaces do you normally train on?

Training Begins for the Runners' World Half and EnergyBits Review

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It's safe to say I was chomping at the bit these past few weeks to start running again.  I wanted to rest my legs as soon as I felt a hint of that tendinitis/tibial pain, but it's hard for me to rest altogether.  So although I spent the last 5 weeks swimming, biking, lifting, doing core and HIIT work, and walking, I couldn't wait to be reunited with my one true love - vegan soft serve - no, no, no - RUNNING! 

Last week I officially started up my 8 week training plan for the Runner's World Half Marathon.  After battling some injuries last year, and some new aches (a bit of medial knee pain, which unfortunately is starting to resurface a bit - I believe it is this) during training for the Nike Women's Half in April, I was hoping for some smoother sailing leading up to this race.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I haven't been able to pin down the cause of some of my recurrent injuries so I continue to do my own research and in the meantime attend to them the best I can, while still preparing for the races I have planned.  I heard and read about the difficulty of the RW Half (lots of hills!) so going into this race, I didn't plan for a PR, and at this point realize I will be doing it more for the experience. 

To say I am excited for this race is a complete understatement!  First, it is taking place near Rodale headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania which also happens to be MY hometown!  I can't wait to run the streets where I literally grew up.  Runner's World also has an incredible lineup for the expo, which will include speaking engagements with the race director of the Boston Marathon and Olympic athletes.  Not to mention all the high profile athletes who will be running the race as well.  As if all this wasn't enough, I've seen the lineup of bloggers who will be attending, and I think I'm excited about this the most.  To actually have the chance to meet some bloggers that I have been following for months/years IN REAL LIFE is going to be like meeting legit celebrities! Hahaha  You can find the full list of bloggers who will be attending here.

So here's what my first week of training looked like last week:

Sunday - Out of town/Returned late night from ATL; 75 pushups
Monday - Rest; 80 pushups (I spent most of this day cleaning since I was out of town - that counts as a workout right?!)
Tuesday - 3 mi run
Wednesday - At-home HIIT workout; 80 pushups
Thursday - 3 mi run; 85 pushups
Friday - At-home HIIT workout; 85 pushups
Saturday - 5 mi run
Sunday - Lap swimming for 1 hour; 90 pushups

At the same time last week, I was testing out a sample of EnergyBits I had received while I was gone.  You've probably seen the buzz about this company and product on social media lately.  I connected with the company on Twitter and they were nice enough to send me some samples to try out:

What intrigued me about EnergyBits was that they are actually little bits of green food (spirulina algae) and not supplements.  I had read about spirulina in the past and had always thought about supplementing with it as it is considered a 'superfood', but just never did.  I take a daily multivitamin and a few other supplements, which admittedly are manufactured in a lab.  I like that spirulina is a food that naturally contains these nutrients because I know it's ideally better to get nutrition from food than from supplements.

A few other points about EnergyBits:

- made of organically grown, non GMO algae
- contain no caffeine, sugar, soy or gluten
- 1 calorie per tablet
- are naturally composed of 64% protein plus over 40 other vitamins and minerals

So, how did my first week back go?  Well Tuesday's run felt GOOD - really good.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder right? I just kept thinking "Oh, how I've missed you" throughout the entire run! This was also the first day I tried the EnergyBits.  It's recommended you swallow 30 tablets prior to a workout.  I was conservative and started with 15... and I chewed them. Oh yes, I had to go there.  Um, I would not recommend chewing.  The literature from the company says algae is an "acquired taste" and they recommend you swallow the tablets, but I thought oh they can't be talking to me.  They tasted like a mixture between grass and fish food (not that I have ever tried either).  So, if you get your own sample, I recommend following the enclosed instructions :)

I don't know if my great first run was due to my own elation or to the EnergyBits but everything came together for me.  My legs also felt pretty good (minus the knee issue).  I am also trying out a new pair of insoles in my shoes and I want to give them a few more tries before I review them, but after three test runs, I can feel a difference in my lower legs, so here's to hoping!

Saturday was my first long run back - 5 miles - so I doubled the dosage of Bits and took the recommended 30.  I struggled toward the end of this run.  Up until mile 4 I felt good, but the last mile was hot, heavy and just bleh.  I checked my MapMyRun workout log and the last time I ran 5 miles was in June so that's probably why. 

Tonight, I used the last of my sample Bits (I had 14 left) and ran a naked 5k and felt GREAT!  Something about running 'au naturel' if you will, without music or GPS, lets me reconnect with my body better and reminds me why I love running. 

Since EnergyBits are mostly protein, I didn't get the sudden rush of energy that I do when I take a swig of Gatorade, gels, or other carbs during a run, but in terms of nutrition, I don't think their vitamin, antioxidant and mineral profile can be beat.  I think in the long term, they would be a great dietary addition and would probably eliminate the need for other forms of man-made supplements.

Week 1 down, 7 to go.  This training schedule is admittedly a bit more abbreviated than I would like but I'm just hoping to stay somewhat conservative and keep any lingering issues at bay.  I've been icing the sore spot on the inside of my knee nightly so I'm hoping that calms down as well.  I trained for and ran Nike with this issue (and an elastic knee sleeve) and did ok, so we'll see what happens.


Questions for you tonight:

Are you training for any Fall races?

Anyone doing the Runner's World Half and want to meet up?!!

Have you tried EnergyBits?  If you are interested, you can connect with them on Facebook or Twitter and request a free sample.


*Disclosure:  I was given a free sample of EnergyBits, but I was not compensated in any way.  The opinions expressed here are entirely my own :)