Energy Bits Review

A few weeks ago, I responded to a tweet from Energy Bits.  They asked a trivia question about one of their athletes, Jimmy Kirkpatrick the striker for the Canadian Field Hockey team.  I was the lucky one who got the answer right.  I was expecting a free sample of Bits and maybe a logo tee shirt.  Instead, I got a signed jersey from Jimmy (which my 6 year old immediately adopted) and 2 samples of Bits.  Super Awesome!

My signed jersey! 

Zooma Ambassador Again! and Who's Motivating Who?

It's been a while, like 4 months.  First off, let's start with the good stuff, for the 2nd year in a row, I'm a ZOOMA Cape Cod Ambassador!

Isn't she pretty?

Discount code will be available by mid month.  They're trying to get the ambassadors more involved this year.  The first is a Photo A Day contest on Facebook and Instragram.  Check out #ZOOMAPhotoADay.  And keep looking for more ZOOMA related info from me between now and September 27th!

Running Community

I think for some non-runners, the running community is a bit of an anomaly.  I've only been a runner for 2.5 years, but I've already gotten used to talking to someone about races, IT bands, and gear before learning their name.  My mom, who's never run, chatted with a runner (a women in her 50s or 60s) this week in a doctor's waiting room and relayed the story to me.  Here's the "transcript" of that conversation that I got from my mom:

Mom: You're wearing a Boston Marathon jacket, did you run Monday?
Runner: No, it's from <insert year that Mom couldn't remember, 90-something, maybe?>.  I'm surprised you recognized it, not a lot of people around here do [there in western NH]
Mom: My daughter ran the 5K on Monday, I bought her a shirt with the Unicorn logo on it
Runner: Oh, your daughter runs! How long has she been running? How old is she? What distance does she do? Oh, she does halves? Has she ever done a biathlon or triathlon? I do biathlons. Tell her she should try it, she's not too old!

As my mom was telling me this, I started smiling.  Just thinking there was this woman in NH who never met me and was so excited about my running that she was encouraging me through my mom!  Then, my mom added "It was weird".  And I thought I misheard my mom.  But, then I realize the whole conversation was alien to her, while it made perfect sense to me.  We're runners, and two things we love are: running and sharing running. 

You share running by talking about, encouraging others, running with (or against!) others.  It's why we race, get to the finish line, chug some water then start cheering for everyone behind us.  It's why on those U-turn courses along Comm Ave, the middle of the pack seems to be cheering the whole run; cheering going into the U-turn for the Elites at the front and on the way out of the turn those not quite as fast.

Since April 15th, I think we all needed some extra sharing. 

Treadmill vs Slush

It's been a while.  Last time I posted, I committed to running 3 days a week, 3 miles a day at a minimum.  Yeah... confession time... didn't happen this month. I think part of it is the fact I'm working from home on Fridays, so I'm not in Cambridge, where the sidewalks are (relatively) plowed.  It makes it a little harder to do the MWF running routine.  I did manage TWO (2) days a week and 3 miles a day.  And I ran on the Dreaded Treadmill when it was 11 degrees outside.  The 5K program wasn't too boring, and I found that a 2% incline is actually easier for me run on than a 0%.  But my hips were still cranky. And I really don't like the showers at the gym.

I did manage to get back outside today.  It was 38 degrees, windy and slushy! I know New Balance is paying to keep the Charles River Path cleared, but, man, they are NOT getting their money's worth! One person wide path on the downhill side, so its filled with puddles, with slush and packed snow on the rest of it.  But I did manage to get my sloggy 3 miles in, and the Darn Tough socks handled the water nicely, although it would have been nice if I had a pair designed to cover my ankle bones!

But, I did do a few good running like things! One goal is to run at least 1, if not 2 half marathons this year.  Well, I've paid for 2 already!  I'm registered for the Zooma Cape Cod Half in September.  They've got a new program, where if you get a PR or run a new distance, you get some extra bling (check it out here!)  I've registered my half PR, which just so happens to be last year's Zooma!  I'm counting on it being a lucky course (and they're making it better, so it's going to just improve the luck), and I'm aiming to come home with a New Shiny!

Plus, thanks to Michelle over at Running With Attitude, and a few coworkers, I've registered for the BAA Distance Medley.  It's a 5K in April, a 10K in June and a Half in October.  You get a medal for each completed race, and a 4th medal for doing all 4.  Plus, I should get at least one kick-ass BAA Unicorn logo shirt.  I'll probably never run Boston (heck, I'll probably never run 26.2!), but I really love the BAA shirts.  And, I've kinda always had a thing for Unicorns...

So, here's to the short month of February: to it being at least 25 degrees at 6 am, to the snow not falling on the sidewalks and to me, getting out of bed early, just one more day a week!

Not a Resolution

Yeah, I know, it's been a while. I haven't really written about running for a good reason. I haven't really been running.  Since the Zooma Cape Cod Half, I put in about 13-15 miles.  Yes, I ran in ONE day the same miles as the 3 months since.  And yes, I'm very embarrassed.  But, part of it is OK too. I took some time off for legit reasons: post race, injured toe, the flu (2 days of 102+ fever! then a good week recovery till I could stand up with coughing).

But there were the less than legit reasons, like "I'm tired today"or, "It's 6 degrees on Jan 2. I'm not going to the gym I haven't gone to since the spring to run on the treadmill. Everyone there will think I'm a New Year's Resolution Person".  Made total sense at 4am.

When I found myself avoiding twitter, because I follow so many runners, I noticed.  When I weighed myself, I really noticed.  I had all but stopped running.  Sure, getting up early on a few Mondays and getting through a slow 30 minutes was keeping me from being totally sedentary, but I wasn't feeling fit or healthy.

I mentioned this before: I'm the type of person who needs goals. I need a race to aim for and train to.  Sept 29th is a bit far off, and I haven't really found anything sooner that fits my family's schedule. So, I made a goal.  Technically, it's 4 goals. I'm not calling it a resolution, because, well, they never make it to February.  So, without further ado:

Nicole's 2013 Running Goals

1. Run at least 3 days a week
2. Go at least 3 miles per run
3. Run at least 1 half marathon (aiming for 2)
4. Run at least 500 miles this year

Ok, I know you're looking at goal 4 and you're very confused.  If I'm running 1-2 halves, that should be easy, heck, I should have passed that during last year.  Nope. Didn't really come close, actually.  I ran Princess in Feb, and Zooma in Sept, plus a bunch of 5Ks (both virtual and "real").  I hit 350 miles. So this year, I figure I can average 10 miles a week, instead of the 7 (yes, I'm using 50 weeks per year. I'm assuming I'm going to miss at least 1 week for vacation, and 1 week buffer).  My minimum won't get me there, but it'll get me 90% of the way (hey, literally!).

I decided this over the weekend. I got up Monday, I ran 3.07 miles in 38:35. I got up this morning and ran it in 37:30.  I'm getting up tomorrow, and I'm running it.  

I'm a little nervous about the days when its below 25 in the morning. At what temperature do I get on the treadmill in the little gym with the icky showers?  The extended forecast is calling for single digits in 2 weeks.  I don't think I own enough clothing to go running in single digits!

Resetting Expectations

Sorry it's been a couple of weeks.  Quick recap since my last post: Ran 8 miles for my long run last week (ok, it was 7.9ish, but I'm going with GPS margin of error) and I ran the fastest non-race 5K I've done in a while (just over 30 minutes).  I was ready for the Rindge NH Le Tour De Common 5K.  Sort of...

Last year, this was my first real 5K after completing Couch to 5K and the Warrior Dash.  I had zero expectations, well, 1 expectation: to not be DFL (yeah Dead F--ing Last).  My boys ran the kid race, and Pete (then 6) ran the first lap with the little kids, but still needed to do a second lap.  He ran by himself, with me pacing him and cheering.  I wandered off to the starting line and a few girls in their 20s started chatting with me.  The eventually confessed they were intimidated by all of the "real runners" and included me in that group.  They had JUST finished C25K and the fact that I "looked like a real runner" after only running for about 6 months calmed them down.  I had challenged my 9 year younger Brother-in-law to the race, winner gets bragging rights.  He had been in the army about 4 or 5 years prior, active duty in Afganistan, and had wanted to get back into shape.  To there was a lot of excitement over the race.




This was me, "The Real Runner" and my boys after the 5K last year.
We're dancing with the flash mob. Don't ask...


They call it Le Tour De Commons because within the 5K, there are 2 serious down hills and 2 major uphills (the first is 200ft in under a mile).  It starts off downhill and we were FLYING.  I dropped back after about a half mile, but me, BIL and another woman in my age bracket were jockeying for the lead the whole race.  Run, walk, run, walk. Uphill, downhill, uphill, uphill. The three of us went down the last hill with me in the rear.  She finished, 3 seconds later BIL, 5 seconds later me.  Then we stuck around for the awards.  The woman in front of me got a medal: 3rd place for Women 30-39!  Holy Crap, I came in 4th (out of 7, but still).  I wanted that medal!

Fast forward to this year.  I feel slower, but I can't tell if that's because I'm running longer distances or I'm transferring my slower pace to the shorter distance.  So I do what any good engineer would do, check my training logs.  Both year, my pre-race training runs are within 15 seconds. Third isn't out of my grasp!

Me this year, heading towards the finish line (my boys jumped in right after this photo).
Slower, but better dressed?


We get to the race.  The kids run plays out EXACTLY the same way as last year.  I start looking around and I see a large group of Modnadnock Region Milers shirts.  A running club!  I look for 30-39 year old women, and I see "real runners", women who have been running for decades.  I look for Third Place from last year, she's not around.  I look for walkers, ok, we got 4 of those, and a few old people, and that weird guy from last year who ran in jean shorts.  We start and I'm flying again.  The heat starts to weigh on me. The humidity.  I went out too fast.  Too much walking, but the air's so heavy.  Finally, the finish is in sight!  Pete and Brian jump in and run with me.  I'm too worried about stepping on them to appreciate it.  I'm hot, tired and I can see 33 on the timer.  I finish.  Thought my official time was 33:00, but it was 33:26  Check the standings: 10/10 for age group (67/82 overall).  LAST PLACE.  I was crushed (and dehydrated, but mostly crushed). 

The Start.
Notice all of the runners without shirts and with short shorts up front?
Those are "Real (fast) Runners".  See the orange shirt to the left of the pole?
 That's Hubby. I'm to his right.

The next morning, I planned to get 6 miles in to cobble together a 9 mile weekend.  I felt horrible and eeked out 3 miles, puncutated by a crying jag around mile 2.  Made it home and flipped on the second half of the Olympic Women's Marathon.  I remember a few things: the finish, Kara picking up Shalane after the race (made me cry), and Des stopping due to her injury (I was really rooting for her).

I finally looked up the final results for the Olympic Marathon and found another woman to admire: Juventina Napeleao from Timor-Leste.  She didn't meet the A or B standard, but made it to the Olympics on the Universality Standard (which allows every country to send at least 2 athletes per sport).  She got a personal best in the Olympic Marathon of 3:05. She knew she wasn't going to medal and yet came out and gave it everything and PR'd. That's a Real Runner.
I have 3.5 hours to finish Zooma.  The 5K time predicts a half finish time of 2:33, which I don't think I'll hit (I did 2:34 on a flat course in Feb), but keeps me at my "under 2:45 goal" (maybe I should make that 2:43 to line up with the B standard?). There are going to be a lot of women faster than me. And maybe a few women slower than me.  And if I come in last, I'll still finish. 

And I'm still a "Real Runner".

Back in the Saddle Again...

Yeah, occasionally, I sing old, bad country (or maybe it's good country and I sing it badly... you choose!). Anyway, the point is that I ran 7 miles this morning. 7 S.L.O.W. miles, but I did it. I'm seriously considering adopting a new speed philosophy: I need to be faster than the cut off time. Both the Princess Half and the Zooma Half had minimum pace requirements of 16 min/mile. I'm running in the mid 11 to low 12's, so that's faster than 16. Which is good! Mainly because if I'm not injured or barfing, I would really prefer to cross the finish line under my own power. That being said, I know I won't settle for aiming at 12ish, so I'm going to aim faster, but be happy with slower This morning, I remembered why I run. I woke up too early, considering I didn't have to go to work. I got out of bed, and flipped on the news (ok, it's 2012, I went on the computer), and saw the headlines about the shooting in Colorado at the midnight show of Batman. I didn't know how to react. I've been to midnight shows of geeky movie premiers (Star Trek in the early 90s, 2 of the 3 LOTR series), and my hubby seriously considered going to Batman. These were "my people" who were targeted, hurt and even killed. I cried a bit, hugged my kids a bit extra, then angrily pulled on my running clothes. I turned on the iPod a bit too loud and went out. At just over a mile, I felt it. That release when you can move past feeling helpless. Where you can be sad but not let it consume you. It's not really running away from life, it's more like running into life.

Color Me Rad "Race" Recap

Lessons from Color Me Rad Boston

1- Baby wipes are excellent at smearing the color around, but not that good at actually removing the color
2- They spray you with liquid color, which will soak through your shorts and create a really odd tied dyed pattern on your underwear
3- Your snot will be multicolored (or at least a weird shade of blue) for a good 24-48 hours
4- Wear a bandana around your nose and mouth (yeah, like a "bad cowboy"). It will limit the amount of horrible tasting stuff you inhale. It will not prevent Colored Snot (see item 3).
[Edited: Item 5-7 don't matter! Once you wash the clothing, all of the color comes out!  The only exception was on my husband's shirt. You can see in the photo where he sweat through his shirt, those areas kept the color. If your kids really want a souvenir, buy a tie dye kit and tie dye the shirts after the race.]
5- Soaking the colored clothing in vinegar, followed by ironing will fix the color, but will also turn what few white parts left on the clothing to an odd blue-green color. Use a spray bottle of vinegar if you want to preserve the pattern as is.
6- Wait until the clothing is completely dry after the vinegar soak and shake off the excess powder before ironing without steam.
7- When you iron the damp clothing or use steam during ironing and transfer the dye-vinegar paste to your iron, take a stack of paper towels and wet them, then iron the wet towels until your iron is clean again.



A very colorful family, post run. They may not look it, but they had fun!

All in all, it was a fun day. The race was short, as it was only 2.5 miles instead of the advertised 5K, which was a bit of a bummer. We had to get the boys up at 5 am, to get to the race at 630 for check in. It worked out well, as we got right into the parking lot and really didn't have a wait at the check in. Instead of waiting for the 830 heat we signed up for, we just jumped into the first wave, which worked out really well. I'm super proud of my boys (ages 5 and 7) for running the 2.5 miles in 37 minutes.

The course was in a mall parking lot, so it was not a very scenic course, but since we were there for the coloring, it really didn't matter all that much. We let the boys set the pace, and it was interesting seeing kids trying to run in a road race. Apparently, they can't run in a straight line yet. There was one near crash, but no one actually got injured, which was wonderful!

A few suggestions for the folks at Color Me Rad:

• If you bill it as a 5K, make it a 5K. Otherwise, just call it the Color Me Rad Run.
• Don't hide the whole "you have to pick up your bib the day before" in an attachment in the reminder email and in the FAQs. Announce it very clearly on the home page, the registration day, etc. And if you're going to have bib pickup the day of, say that as well. I had to find the info for same day pickup in a comment on the Facebook page.
• Don't have people register for a wave, if you then tell everyone to show up 45 minutes (if they got their bib or 90 minutes if they need to get their bib) before the first wave. Then completely ignoring all the waves and have starts every 5ish minutes just adds to the frustration. Just be honest, and tell everyone to get there between 630 and 8 am for check in, last person can cross the start line at 9.
• Tell the volunteers to aim for clothing not faces. The handful of blue dust in my hair and ear really didn't contribute to the cool tied-dyed effect on my shirt.

Taking It Easy Ain't Easy

So, I am not currently out doing 7 miles, nor did I just complete 7 miles. I'm not terribly thrilled about this, but considering my hip hurt while I was sleeping (or least attempting to sleep), I'm assuming I'm doing the right thing.

Now, I'm starting to get worried. At what point will I not be able to catch up before the race? Don't worry, I realize I can't just start at 10 miles next week, but I want to complete at least one 10-11 mile run a week or two before the race. We're 10 weeks out from the race now. Assuming I can start at 7 miles next week, I have zero slack to get to 13 miles by Labor Day. I can probably move my last big run to the 9th of September, to give me one more week, but still...

Yeah, this is what I do with the time that I can't run. I obsess over running. I guess that's good, and means I want to get back to it. But it's mentally exhausting.

Let's look at the positive side. I'm resting today so I can do the Color Run 5K with my family tomorrow. It's going to be our first 5K with all 4 of us in it. It's not timed, and the boys are still young (5 and 7), so it will be a slow, but fun, run!

But, it's been a week. I guess that means Monday I need to call a doctor and make sure it's nothing serious. Well, nothing serious enough to impact more than my running, and subsequently, my mental health.

Bad Race: It's not you, it's the course?

71 Days to Race

Last we chatted, I had a blinding migraine. I have a draft post about my post-migraine run (which was a hilly 3 mile run that I managed to run into an oak branch at mile 1.5 and my ponytail exploded cause me to do my Medusa impression), but it seems a bit dated now, and I just summarized the best part anyway. 

I was recovering from the migraine and ready to do my 7 mile run last Sunday, when my hip seized on my Saturday night.  I had been in the car for 3 separate 1.5 hour trips and on the 3rd one, I felt like I needed to pop my hip, but it wouldn't pop.  And it hurt. A lot. 

After a few google, Web MD and running website searches, I self-diagnosed IT band issues.  Of course! So I hobbled to the local running store, which sent me to EMS and I bought a hand held foam roller. (Honestly, the running store didn't carry foam rollers. They had The Stick, but recommended the foam since the pain was in my hip).  Between the roller, copious amounts of Advil and rest, I'm doing pretty good, and able to run the TWO 5Ks I have this week.

Last night was the first one.  Technically, it's a 3.5 miler; it's the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge Boston.  This is also the first race I ever ran.  I ran it 3 years ago (the day Michael Jackson died, funny how you remember things), and it wasn't chip timed, it was self-timed.  Based on my Nike + record, it took me 46 + minutes to run the 3.5 miles.  Now, that is insanely slow (13 min/mile is still technically "running", right?), but this is probably the slowest race ever.  They allow 12,000 people in the race, and it tends to hit capacity.  You cannot run for the first 2 or 3 blocks.  This picture was taken a half a block into the race (yep, after the starting line)

Ok, please believe me this was at the start, in spite of the fact that all you can see are Finisher shirts.  You get them before the race, and, well, people wore them.  I know...

Anyway, I had what I feel was a crappy race.  3.5 miles in 40:49 (11:39 pace).  If you look historically at my 5Ks, my times range from a PR of 28:38 (that was a nice flat course) to 31ish (for my "Anywhere 5K").  So I'm trying to figure out if it's the crowds (look at the picture again!), my injury (I'm achy today, but it doesn't feel painful like it did Saturday-Monday), or I just didn't push myself. 

I'm an engineer, so when I have a problem, I review the data.  I pulled up my micoach results and I've analyzed the pace, my recollection of the crowds, water stops, pinch points in the road, and I've got nothing.  So of course that means I didn't push myself, since the external data isn't showing anything atypical (this is when part of my brain screams "Look at the picture again, it's ATYPICAL!"). 

I told my mom (who's one of my top supporters!) that I'm bummed and she reminded me its a slow, crowded race, and so did a (non-runner) co-worker/friend. Maybe it's just the mood I'm in, but that just sounds like the old "It's not you, it's me" speech.  But, there is some good news, I did beat a few coworkers, including 2 younger women (like 10 years younger!! Wait, that means they're not in my age group. Damn it!) and my director (he's my boss's boss).  So, I think I'll focus on that part :)

Anyway, I need to get past this and get mentally in the mood for a long run tomorrow.  I missed my 7 miler last week with the hip issue, so I need to get about that in before we pick up the boys. But I am doing the less hilly loop instead of the hilly out and back just in case the hip protests.  Then on Sunday, we have the Color Me Rad run with the boys (ages 5 and 7), so that should take us about an hour to go 5K. Wait, can I call that a run? Eh, it's a recovery day!

Listening to Your Body

I admit, I suck at listening to my body.  Technically, I'll listen to whispers and sit out when I could/should keep going, but I'll ignore the yelling.  So I do hear it, I just don't react correctly.  Sometimes, I don't have a choice.

I did  my long run last Thursday, and I totally read the thermometer wrong.  It was a comfy 72 degrees in the house, not outside.  Outside, it was a toasty 78 degrees and a wee bit sunny (it was 1130 am or so).  Luckily, my long run was only 6 miles (hey, I still have 12 weeks!), but I hit the hills since Zooma will be a hilly course.  I charged up the first one, and did pretty good out till mile 3, since it was mostly down hill.  Coming back was painful.  I must have looked like hell, because at the bottom of the steep hill, I was given a bottle of water from a gardener.  I survived, not too sore, and even did 6x30 sec intervals the next day.

Then yesterday came.  I was going to do 6 miles with a buddy.  He was running late, so we set out along the (flat) course along the Charles River at 6:15 or so.  About half way through, the humidity was weighing me down and I told him I was only going to make the 4.5 mile loop we normally do.  Since we were running late, and I suspect his weekend was still clinging to him, he agreed.  We started across the Mass Ave Bridge and a garbage truck passed us.  I was so overwhelmed by the stench, I started gagging and almost threw up over the bridge.  Fortunately, for both me and the poor girls rowing on the Charles, I didn't lose my cookies.  I made it back to the office, and in the middle of coffee, it hit. I had an ocular migraine.  The picture here is pretty accurate for what I was seeing, except mine are off centered to the right.  I took my excedrin, drank my coffee and closed my eyes.  It went away, then the pain started.  Yep, full blown migraine.  I managed to work the full day, pick up the boys, and make dinner, all before falling asleep on the couch at 6pm.  Needless to say, I slept in today and did not do strength as planned. 

The sucky thing is, summer is the worst time for my migraines.  It's the temperature shifts (hot and humid outside to icy cold AC inside) and it just sends my poor brain into chaos.  This is my first summer really running, so it's going to take a while to figure out they whole hydration and heat thing.

I'm a bit disappointed I got slammed by the migraine, but better now then during the race, right?

Half Marathon Training Schedule

So, here we go. I'm going to pre-publish my training schedule and you can hold me accountable.  Or what's more likely, I'll feel horribly guilty if I don't do a workout, even if I only ever get one page view (yep, I got 1 already, whoo-hoo!).  It's June 29th, so everything for the month of June is What I Actually Did!  July through September is What I Plan To Do.  Anything highlighted in yellow is making me nervous. As you can see, it's summer and there's other races, activities and holidays planned.  Summer Days are bonus days off from work :) Sorry about the weird cropping on June.  I'll try to keep you up to date on where I am in the plan and how far a veer from reality.  Maybe I'll post an updated calendar the end of each month. Hey, look, we have an updated June already!

My schedule is based off of Train Like a Mother: Half Marathon - Finish It! plan, with a little bit of http://www.micoach.com/ 2:30 half marathon plan thrown in to account for my "I can't really work out 6 days a week" schedule. TLAM's plan is in their book, or you have a free copy of it if you registered for a Zooma Race.  It's a great book! And I'm not just saying that because I got quoted in it (it's 2 words, but still, I'm published! :) )

Also, if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Sorry about the weird cropping. It's the whole Word to SnagIt to PNG file thingy going on here... Why can I just attach a document?

Doing it all again

Days To Race: 88

This past February, almost on my "runiversary", I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  When I started training for it, I really had no clue what I was getting myself into.  I started running (again, but honestly, the first time was more walking quickly than running) in February 2011, did a Warrior Dash in June, a regular 5K in August (and came in 4th for my age group! full disclosure: there were 79 people in the whole race), then I signed up for the Tufts 10K for Women in October.  We decided to go to Disney for February vacation, and the last day of our vacation was the Half.  After much cajoling, I convinced my Hubby to extend our vacation the extra day and I signed up for the race.

I was lucky considering I trained in MA in the winter.  We had a relatively mild winter, plus they plow the path around the Charles.  I made it to 13 miles a few weeks before the race, and was able to finish in 2:34:49 including a potty break (for the full race report check out my other blog here). But, there were a few less than wonderful runs including the 10-12 mile run that I tried turning into a 13 mile run but ended up being an 8 mile run when I called home, in tears, asking for ride from a Dunks 5 miles from home.

So after a spring of drifting around aimlessly in the running world, getting two or three 3 miles run in a week (or 1 run... yeah, it got that bad), and doing another Warrior Dash with less than sufficient strength training, I decided I needed to get back to some serious mileage and I needed a good goal. After the Tufts 10K and the Princess, I've kinda got a liking for the women centric races, at least for the longer distances.  The ZOOMA Half in Cape Cod seemed to fit the bill.  It's the inaugural race at this location, and the start line is right next to Old Silver Beach, which is where we take the boys most weekends in the summer.  My father in law lives about 15 minutes away, so I've got a place to sleep the night before and the boys can actually watch me run/finish (unlike Disney, where they got stuck on a bus...). Plus it's a small race (1000 people, heck the whole race is smaller than my Disney corral!) and instead of a finisher's medal, you get a finisher's necklace, which I'll probably add the charm to my "running charm bracelet". 

So, why the new blog? You would think that I've done this before, so I can do it again.  Yeah, I know that if I work at it, I'll be able to run 13.1 miles (hell, I walked ~13 miles a day for a week, ran 13.1 miles, then walked another 7 or so miles that day). But I still remember Mile 10 and the damn on-ramp; Mile 12 and my premature speed burst that lead to too much walking (note to specators: do NOT say "you're almost there" unless it is less than a half mile to the finish line); getting picked up 5 miles from home; sitting on the side of the road, half way up a hill, in tears when a cop stopped to make sure I was ok (I told him "the hill beat me", he responded "as long as it was just the hill". Lesson learned: chose your words carefully when talking with the police.).  So, I figured if I started writing down everything, there would be enough good stuff to re-read to pull me through the less good stuff.  I'm also going to post my training calendar before I actually run it (ok, run a lot of it, I've already started) so I know that the "Interwebz" is holding me accountable.

So far, I've signed up the for race (Step 1!) and did a speed workout, a "long" run (5 "hilly, humid, near home" miles) and eeked out a pathetic 3 "flat, work" miles and a few strength sessions (yeah, it's after the Warrior dash, but I now have definition on my arms, and I'm keeping it!). 

Not "Just" A Half

Before I get into the meat of this blog, I wanted a little intro on why I chose this name.  Granted, part of it is the lack of names still available :) but since I was writing about training for a Half Marathon, I thought the title should reflect it.

I follow two Bad Ass Mother Runners: Dimity and Sarah over at Another Mother Runner. I love their books, and love the community that has grow up around their books.  I honestly don't remember where I read it first, but Dimity was talking about working the booths at race expos and asking the women which race they're running.  She often got "I'm just doing the half".  She then went on to explain that it's not "just" a half, it is 13.1 miles and you've trained for months to be able to run just 13.1 miles. 

She's right.  And it's not only applicable to race distances, moms tend to qualify everything. We all need to drop the just and be proud of our accomplishments.