First Run 5K 2014

Finally a recap of my first 5K of the year! Happy Friday!

Once again I couldn't resist starting off the year with a race. mrC and I returned to Lowell, MA to run the First Run 5K on New Year's Day in the bitter cold.

I ran the 10K of this event in 2012 and 2013, but this year I decided the 5K was a better fit since it was a Wednesday and I'm still easing back into my weekly mileage. This year's race was bitter-sweet because my Gpa passed away the day before, so I dedicated the 3.1 miles to him.

It was a really, really cold race. My legs felt great in my Athleta polartec tights, but I had my hands and face bundled up until about half way. The course is easy with just a couple of small inclines and loops around a busy neighborhood. It's a popular race and since the course is not closed, there are places where you get stuck behind clumps of runners. I wasn't worried about my time, so this didn't bother me at all.

This was my first race since the BAA Half that I ran injured. It felt really good to be running again and I was happy to cross the finish in 29:36.

I'm really glad that I went ahead and ran this race. Although it felt wrong at first, running did make me feel better. Afterwards, I had planned to look for friends that I knew were running, but I just wasn't feeling very "peppy" so we headed home.

This was my first race for the #14in2014 challenge that I signed up for with Jill and Jen. You know me, I love challenges!


Did you run on New Year's Day? How was it?

TrainingTruths: Let the January Thaw Begin!

It's never easy to go back to work, is it? I don't know if it was the 1900 mile round trip drive to Cincinnati or the two full weeks of holiday break, but going back to work last week seemed harder than usual. I was also less enthused about doing my workouts because it was freezing, but I managed to do it. The January Thaw that commenced on Sunday morning certainly helped!

Monday - I can do rain and I can do cold, but I can't do cold and rainy so I hit the treadmill for a 3.1 mile run.

Wednesday - I had a meeting after school and after driving home, I just couldn't muster the energy to bundle up for a 15 degree outdoor run. Instead I opted for another 3.1 mile treadmill run. One positive outcome of running inside is that I spend more time stretching.

Saturday - I waited until Friday night to try to reserve a board for SurfSet class (bad idea), got closed out, and tweeted my disappointment. Good thing I did because in the morning two people cancelled and Christine tweeted to let me know that boards were available. I braved the slippery road conditions to get there and it was worth it!

Post by TI Fitness Training.

Sunday - It was long run day and the temperature was a perfect 40 degrees. Only a little black ice (the driveway was the worst) remained from the day before and the sunshine was so refreshing! Not only had I been missing the pavement, but also the Vitamin D. Even though mrC was out of town and my stepdaughter went back to her campus duties, this solo long run was a success.

Did you enjoy the January thaw?

Fitness Calendar Review + {giveaway}

As a member of a fitness blogger review network, I was sent copies of some upcoming 2014 fitness titles to review. I was super excited to see that they were running related and quickly noted that they would make excellent gifts for runners.

Complete Runner's Day-by Day Calendar Log: This is a year long training journal that includes logs for easy tracking and offers tips for all levels of running. 

The journal pages allow you to record daily mileage, race details, and more. Each month you'll find tips to keep you motivated. Even the most electronically driven runner will enjoy looking back at the stats from the previous years' log.

Runner's High 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar: This is your standard desktop tear-off calendar.

The daily pages offer fun facts, motivational tips, and quirky race day moments. This would look great on a runner's desk or kitchen counter.

I'm happy to announce that the publisher has generously offered to let me host a giveaway of these titles! 

The giveaway includes: 
- 1 copy of Complete Runner's Day-by Day Calendar Log 
- 1 copy of  Runner's High 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar

To enter: 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway details:
- Winners must be US residents
- Ends November 16, 2013 at 11:59 PM
- Two names will be selected randomly from the valid entries. First name will win Complete Runner's Day-by Day Calendar Log. Second name will win Runner's High 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar

Training Truths & #GoalGetter2013 October Update

Wow! October really flew by.

The truth is: I spent much of the month nursing my injuries and woking on strength training, but I also ran another race! As for working toward the remainder of my 2013 goals, it has been good and not-so-good.

I knocked off my first two goals for the year, PR Half marathon and Run in NYC at the New York City Half Marathon in March. It was awesome! I was not expecting to PR, so earning my current best time of 1:57:27 was super exciting. I can't wait to be healthy again and see if I can beat it.

The truth is I would be ok with keeping that PR indefinitely!

Another one of my 2013 goals is to host a fun run. I have put together a couple of group runs in honor of Boston and National Running Day, but I am hoping to organize something bigger and better still to come.

The truth is I would love for this to happen before the end of the year, I just don't know now as I'm still recovering from my injuries.

I added a little mileage to my goal to run 1000 miles and most of that came from pushing through the BAA Half Marathon with the help of my amazing runner husband. After the race, I really went into recovery mode and have been playing it smart as I ease back.

The truth is I really began running again last week. I ran an easy mile on Monday, two miles on the treadmill on Tuesday, and two miles on Saturday. I'm determined to take things slow and get healthy in November. 


My running injury continued to allow me to focus on doing strength exercises consistently and a couple of challenges helped with that. The Under Armour October #SweatADay Challenge hosted by Shauna Harrison and the October #SweatFor5 by ElectraFi showed me new exercises and helped me work on my overall body strength. On Tuesday I also attended Pilates with Elina and really worked on my strength. Recap coming soon!

The truth is my core is the strongest it's been since I was a kid playing high school and college soccer. When I nailed the crow pose (even for only 3 seconds) last week I was so proud of my 42 year old self!




What's your training truth?

BAA Half Marathon & Distance Medley Recap

When I registered for the BAA Distance Medley Series back in January, I had no idea that I would end up on the sidelines (practically) for two months prior to the final race in October.

In April I ran the BAA 5K the day before the Boston Marathon and crossed the finish line on Boylston.

In June, my youngest step-daughter joined me in running the BAA 10K along Commonwealth Ave and into Boston Commons.

After accumulating two DNSs (one in August and another just two weeks ago), I was facing a tough decision about the BAA Half Marathon. My last long run of nine miles was on August 11. Since then I have been battling a hamstring injury. Two months of rest, PT, biking, walking, and only 8 "test" run miles and I still wanted to run the half marathon.

WHY? Why would I even consider doing this? To get that distance medley medal. 

The kicker was that the BAA had a 2 hour 30 minute cut off (supposedly) to get the medal. After chatting with running friends on Twitter, it sounded like we had a 3 hour window to "guarantee" race officials would still be handing out finisher's and medley medals.

After mr.C offered his support to help me get across the finish line in under 3 hours, I decided to give it a try. After all, I had finished two out of the three races, I would get to see some of my running friends, and even if I didn't finish I would know that I did what I could.

So we headed to Boston on Saturday to spend the day in Beantown and enjoy a nice anniversary dinner. After a little shopping, we eased back to the hotel to get ready for race morning. The right outfit can help with positive energy and I choose one of my favorite Oiselle running skirts, a pink Nike tank for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a new Lululemon bra, and my #mezamashii Mizuno Wave Creation 14s.

The BAA Half Marathon was held in Franklin Park south of the city. It was a quick walk to Mass Ave to catch the T to Forest Hills station where we loaded the shuttle bus to the park. Super easy and super organized. As I experienced in the past, the BAA also made it easy to pick up race shirts and drop off gear bags before the race start. There were more than 7,000 participants and their spectators, so finding my running friends wasn't easy, but I finally found Katherine.

Knowing we were going to be going at a slower pace, mr.C and I hung back and waited to start with the final wave. He had figured out that if we ran/walked 14 minute miles, we would make the 3 hour finish. The first three miles went smoothly and I even managed a port-a-potty stop. 10:34, 10:58, 14:44

Miles 4 - 7 went pretty smoothly. We caught up to Michelle and Eileen and thus began a leap-frog game that would continue for the rest of the race. Soon after my quads started feeling the effects of my under-training. Just past 7.5, I had to sit down and stretch. 11:59, 10:27, 11:05, 13:07

Continuing to count down the miles, I made it just beyond mile 9 before visiting the medical tent in the hopes of finding Advil and/or analgesic heat rub like Bengay or Icy Hot. They didn't have either, but they offered ice and a quick massage that got me moving again. 11:52, 11:29, 15:01

The last three miles were the longest and although we walked more, we were both thinking, keep moving and the sooner we'll finish. At this point, my knees had joined the achey party and I just wanted to see the finish line. 11:27, 12:46, 12:27

And then there were none...no more miles to run. Just pass through the finisher's area grabbing water, medals, and food. IT WAS AWESOME!

Crossing the finish line could not have happened without the world's most amazing husband. In an attempt to show him my appreciation, I gave him my BAA Half Marathon medal. He did earn it after all!

I wish I had more pictures from the course, but all I could focus on was moving my legs. Jamaica Pond had gorgeous views and the last miles took us through a small zoo inside Franklin Park. However, nothing compared to the amazing spectator signs lining the course.

It still amazes me that we ran a half marathon after two months of non-running. Our official finish time of 2:42:12 also seems crazy good considering how under-trained we were and the lingering head cold I was still feeling.

What's the craziest thing you've ever done for BLING?

Hula Hustle 10K

Over the years I have learned that running races in the summer heat is not that much fun. This summer Millennium Running changed all that with promises of a post race luau poolside at the Executive Health and Sports Club. There's something very appealing about grass skirts, leis, and a dip in the pool.

So, to celebrate turning another year older, I treated my birthday-boy husband to a 10K at the Hula Hustle 5K/10K. The Hawaiian themed event benefitted New Horizons for New Hampshire.

We arrived at the event about 30 minutes before start time and found that parking was much further away from the festivities than we thought, but we still had plenty of time to pick up our bibs, race shirts, and grass skirts and head back to the car to get ready and drop off the shirts.

As usual I did not look at the course earlier and learned on race day that the 10K was two laps of the 5K. I'm not a big fan of this kind of course, but it allowed me to see my amazing friend Ellen, who was volunteering at the water stop, multiple times!

After weeks of sizzling hot weather, we had a break in the temps, but with the sun shining it was still a hot day for running. The race started at 10AM, which is nice because you can sleep in, but earlier starts in the summer are better. So, even though it was an super fun race, we were ready to cross the finish line and receive our leis.

Photo by Keith Tharp

After the race, we grabbed our swim suits and headed to the pool for the post-race luau at Sizzle's poolside tiki bar. We were able to rinse off and change in the locker rooms of the club even though we aren't members (but boy do I wish we were!). We found some lounge chairs and then grabbed some food: burgers, chips, and watermelon.

This was the best summer race I have ever done. If you are going to try to run in the heat, it's nice to know that you can jump in the swimming pool to cool off afterwards.

Do you like to run races in the summer?

There's still time to enter my Reebok Spartan Race entry giveaway! 

BostonStrongGoffstown

Monday night, my wish to get together a group of runners and DO something to show Boston support from New Hampshire came true. Family, colleagues, students, and running friends (both old and new) showed up to demonstrate that we all stand as one. We are all runners. We are all in this together.

We started the evening with introductions while runners got ready to go and my step daughter and her friend helped hand out blue and yellow ribbons. After a moment of silence, my husband sent us on our way playing the Bostonian favorite Sweet Caroline.

While we were just one of over 100 #BostonStrong<city> events taking place all over the world, the two mile trail run allowed us to feel connected in a very powerful way. One of the best parts of the run was passing a young mother and her daughter who came out to cheer us on and ring their Boston Marathon cowbell. It was such a great moment and emphasized the role of spectators.

To everyone who came out for the #BostonStrongGofftown event, THANK YOU! My goal was for all of us to come together to show our love and support for all those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings, and we did.