Run for the Dream Williamsburg Half Marathon

Ho-ly crap. How in the hell is it already June? Somebody please slow 2014 down. 

This year, I started off the month of June by doing a half marathon.

Before I begin my recap, I want to thank Flat Out Events for inviting me to come and run. It was much appreciated. 

The half marathon was in Williamsburg, VA. The drive took almost 3 hours and was beautiful.

Our first stop was the expo at the Visitor Center. It was pretty small, but had some cool gear. Plus, we got a shirt AND a pair of Swiftwick ankle socks when we picked up our bib. SCORE.

We stayed in the Governor's Inn. Ehh. I can't really say too much about the hotel. I got it on Priceline for $70 and, well, we got what we paid for. It was a very basic hotel room, not dirty or anything, just not super nice.

The race started at 7 AM. Usually, I'm not too excited for an early start, but since it was over 80 degrees that day, I gladly took it. 

I fueled up with the continental breakfast.

I usually take my oatmeal with goat's or almond milk, but they didn't have any so I just did instant maple brown sugar oatmeal with half a chopped banana and a drizzle of honey. Super sweet and super yummy. 

with a cup of black coffee and a hard boiled egg.

The hotel provided us with a free shuttle to the race start. Logistically, everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. I showed up 20 minutes until the start. Just enough time to use the bathroom and line up.

The race, especially compared to the Marine Corp Half Marathon I did last weekend, was pretty small. It only had 1463 runners. 

The course was really enjoyable! We ran through historic Williamsburg, did a few miles in the woods (Which I didn't know was coming but really enjoyed!) and ended up at the campus of William and Mary.

The course was pretty damn flat until we hit mile 8. Then the hills just kept rolling. Or at least it felt like that. I couldn't find an elevation chart online. 

There were plenty of volunteers and water stops. This is always good! 

The post race bash was a lot of fun, too!

The had bbq sandwiches (I actually found this weird an unappetizing....maybe that's just me though), nature valley granola bars, oranges, and bananas. 

Plus they had Shocktop (and Michelob Ultra) which is a better quality beer than you usually see at races.

We sat out in the sun, listened to music, had a couple of beers, and enjoyed ourselves before heading home.

The only things I wasn't too keen on was:

1) It didn't stop and start at the same location. I can't comment on how the shuttles ran because Joe came to the finish so I didn't ride it back, but typically I don't enjoy being shuttled. 

2) The GUs were handed out at mile 10. Personally, I fueled at mile 4 and 8. I think mile 10 is too little to late. 

3) During the last mile, I rounded a corner and saw the chute with spectators and thought that was it. I started busting out my sprint, just to round another corner and see that I was now in a stadium and still had to do one lap around.....with hundreds of people watching. Boo. I felt wronged. Haha.

All-in-all though, I really enjoyed this race and I'd love to come back and run it!

My time for the race was 1:53:25, which gave me an average pace of 8:39. Although it wasn't a PR, I was really happy with this race. My goal was to run strong and consistent, unlike the Love Rox Half Marathon I did in February where I was ALL over the place, and I accomplished this. Almost every single mile was in the 8:30s, even the hilly ones. I didn't start to feel like I was drained until the very last mile. The only thing I would try to work on was the fact that my last mile was my slowest. That's never how you want to end.

Marine Corp Half Marathon 2014

This race recap is long over due, but I think this is a really good race so  I am going to do one anyways. 

Last Sunday, I made the trip to Fredericksburg, VA and ran in the Marine Corp Half Marathon. 

This race holds a special place in my heart. 

It was the first half marathon I'd ever ran. 

My twin sister and I have ran it together for the past 5 years. Unfortunately, she moved to Charleston, WV this past winter and couldn't be there:-(

This is the race that I broke my foot in two years ago.

This year, I decided not to race. A friend in my office asked me to pace her and help her beat the two hour mark. 

As much as I love racing, taking it easy (for me) and enjoying the experience is pretty great, too.

This race is ALWAYS a good time. The expo is big. The race is organized reallllly well, has plenty of volunteers, and always starts on time. 

You start and finish at the same place, too. I really like this.  Shuttles sucks.

 This picture is of the Marines walking in the final runner. They were singing and marching with him the entire way. It literally brought some people to tears.

 You can just feel the patriotism around you. The commodore. The passion. 

While there is a KILLER hill at the end (the incline on your treadmill would be set at 12 to mimic that hill) and it's a little busier than I like my races, it's one I'll do every year. 

I Signed Up

Guess what I did?

I signed up for the Marine Corp Half Marathon.  I said that I was going to focus on racing shorter distances for a while, but I just can't say "no:. This race holds a special place in my heart. It was the first half marathon I ever did, I always run it with my twin sister (who actually got me into running. Too bad she'll be in WV this year), I broke my foot in it, it's something I do every year for the past 6 years. Even last year, when I wasn't running too much (stress fractures) I still ran the first few miles and the last couple miles with my twin because it's what we do. 

So when my friend asked if I would pace her, I jumped at the opportunity and I signed up.

In preparation for the race, her and I have been getting into the city WAY too early to get some runs in.

This week we had a particularly fun workout at Nationals Stadium.

Nothing like a few stairs to wake your ass up on a cold morning. Great way to mix things up too! We ran a mile (some of it in 6 inches of snow!), did the stairs 10x as fast as we could, ran another mile, 10x more on the stairs, then finished up. Came out to 3.25 miles, which typically isn't too challenging.....but with some stairs added in, makes for a damn good workout.

I'm excited to help a friend progress in her running. I'm definitely getting something out of it too though. Not like anybody has to twist my arm to run.

Plus, a week full of challenging workouts means a nice, relaxing Friday night.

Hope you had a great weekend!

All Over the Place

I am alllll over the place these days. 

 

Last we spoke I was going to focus on strength training and some speed work.

 

Well, if there is something I haven't told you, it's that I SUCK when it comes to sticking to a plan when it comes to anything but running. Periodization with my weights? Should I? of course. Do I? Never ever.

 

Hell, I don't even end up doing the weight routine I've written down and hour before I go to the gym.

What can I say, I'm spontaneous:-D

 

At least I've been doing strength work though! All of them have been circuit workouts (I'm a huge fan) with mostly higher reps, lighter weights.....These are what keep me engaged.

 

My Nike Training Club App has gotten A LOT of use (It's by far my favorite fitness app!) and I've been doing circuit routines that I teach in my circuit classes.

 

This week though, I realized something. I won't know if I've improved my short distance game because I don't have a point to reference it to. The plan (until I decide to change it haha) was to do a 5K and do another one 6 weeks from then and compare my times.

 

So this weekend, on a whim, I ran a Shamrock 5K! It was fun! Definitely not the most organized race I've done, but a first place medal pretty much makes you forget about that:-D

 

The goal now? To run another the last weekend in April and show that I'm improving!

Hopefully I don't stray......

 

Food:

I always have to end talking about food. I love it too much not to make it an integral part of my blog.

Butternut squash w/tomato sauce and ground beef

**Funny story behind this one actually. I asked my boyfriend to throw my spaghetti squash in the oven while I was out running errands. I came home and started on the meat sauce.....when the timer went off and I opened the door, I realized he doesn't know what a spaghetti squash is. So we had butternut. haha**

Carrot Cake M&Ms. 

Best Seasonal Candy EVER. Seriously. One bag. Two days. Can't buy those again.

Roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, and chicken/steak kabob

Love Rox Half Marathon & A Sweet Treat

 Sunday was the day I've been working towards for the past 3 months. 

The Love Rox 1/2 Marathon in Richmond, VA.

As you can see from the lack of people at the start line, it wasn't a very big race. 

I lined up with the other 500 runners at 10 AM.......anxious to PR. 

and while I did PR...

It definitely wasn't what I was looking for. 

My loose goal was to run around 8:00-8:10 miles. My main goal was to race hard, and race strong. 

and I don't really feel like I did either. 

I made the rookie mistake of going out too fast.....and falling apart on the hills toward the ends. 

At least I can take three things from this:

1. I need to do hill work.....like yesterday. When I do get back to a regular running schedule, hill repeats are a must. 

2. I need to learn how to pace my damn myself. (My first 3 miles were off by about a minute. Shitty. )

3. I need to do more strength training. My hips were really starting to feel it the last few miles. 

I've decided to take a couple of weeks off of running (If I can make it.....I'm on Day 3 and I've already found myself thinking about when I'm going to run this weekend) and really focus on strength. 

Today's workout was one I've shared before, but seriously kicks my ass.....along with my quads, hamstrings, etc. 

I warmed up with a brisk walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes, then I did it ONCE. Yes, ONCE. "Repeat 2-3 times"? HA. That wasn't happening. 

(I do really love the tech shirt I got from Sunday's race. Fits really nicely and it's long sleeve, which I always need more of)

Just one more thing to work towards though:-)

I got a little creative with my post-workout snack.

Into the blender went:

3 frozen bananas

1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder

1 TBSP honey

1 Scoop Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein Powder

1/2 a cup of milk (Just enough to get it all moving)

Makes 3 servings. 

I think next time I'll get a chocolate protein powder and add a bit more of that, but it'd be delicious as a "healthier" dessert. 

Lake Ridge Turkey Trot -2013

Today was my first race in a little over a year. (My last one is here).

 

I wasn't overly excited about it, which is why I didn't mention that I had signed up for it. It was a 10K, I'd been told the course was "brutal", I hadn't been training specifically for it, and I wasn't anywhere near the shape I was in for my last one.

 

But I just wanted to race. It's Fall! It's what runners do when the leaves start to change...... We race, carb loading with every pumpkin bread and muffin we can find.

 

The race was Sunday morning at 9 AM, located in Woodbridge, VA (my old stomping grounds!). The temperature for the race was perfect, low 50s. The clouds were out though, and the humidity was at 97%. Yuck.

 

This race kicked my ass. In a serious sort of way. I can't exactly pin point what happened, but I just didn't feel strong, focused, or like doing it in general.

 

The first mistake I made was going out too fast. I didn't have my Nike App turned on, but I knew I was going too fast.

 

Check out the elevation on this bad boy. Any smart runner knows to save their reserves for the last half of the race.

 

 

Around mile 2 I started to get a side stitch. I was cussing myself out with every 4-letter word in the book.....I'm pretty sure I got this from mistake #1.

 

The last, and most fatal mistake I made was that I quit mentally. I told myself I couldn't do it. I wasn't conditioned enough and I let the negative thoughts creep in and keep reminding me that I wasn't.

 

I pulled it together for the last mile, finished fast and strong (my legs had WAY too much umph left in them for somebody who was supposed to be racing) .

 

My chip time was 49:49. (Average pace of 8:01).

 

 

and to my surprise I won 1st place in my division.( Yay for medals!......and being materialistic)

 

My goal for today's race was to hit 8 minute miles. I got awfully damn close to that, but I just don't see this as an accomplishment. I wanted 6 STRONG 8-minute miles. I wanted performance and consistency, and I didn't.

 

My next goal is to run a half marathon in Richmond this February. It may be a long shot, especially based on today's performance, so I'm going to start training early December and see how it goes before I register myself for it and commit.

 

 I didn't, however, have any issues committing to this bag of popcorn as big as a toddler.

 

I saw it at Costco and even though I'd never had it, I love popcorn any way I can get it (except with fake cheddar powder - orange or white- it's a disgusting. The kind of disgusting that makes one gag,)

 

Plus, it's "Biggest Loser Approved" so it's obviously good for me:-)

Jam Packed Weekend

PHEW! What a weekend it was. The boy was in Ocean City for Bike Week so Baby Girl and I hit the road and headed to VA for some quality time with our family.

 

First stop was my moms, where my starving ass was greeted with this awesome plate!

 

 

That egg muffin was amazing!! It was full of mushrooms and Italian sausage. That muffin on the side was a cranberry coffee cake muffin. My mom is a really good cook:-)

 

After a few hours with her, we went and meet up with my twin sister and one of our best friends for her birthday lunch. We headed to Uncle Julios......really mediocre. Good thing I wasn't that hungry since I had just eaten a few hours earlier. I swear, all chain restaurants are pretty crappy.......

 

After lunch I shopped for a couple of hours (Hello gorgeous Ralph Lauren Pumps) before heading to visit my father for a bit, then meet up with my brother and his family.

 

By the time we hit the couch at my sister's it was 10:00 PM and we were exhausted! 12 straight hours of visiting is A LOT of fun, but it's also a lot of work.

 

Sunday morning we were up bright and early in order to get to the Race For Grace on time.

 

My twin ran the 5K and did really well! (I am so proud of how dedicated and motivated she's been with her running recently).

 

 

I'm in the pink, baby girl is in the middle, my twin is in the purple.

 

 

 

Baby girl ran the 1 miler! I was SO proud of how hard she pushed herself. She's even excited to start practicing and wants to do another run in a couple of months:-)

 

While I didn't get to run (my foot just isn't there yet and I couldn't because nobody would have been there to watch my daughter) I did end up winning in the end...

 

 

I won a GoPED from a raffle ticket I bought. A motorized scooter! How cool is that?!? I've never won anything in my life. We had a great time on it tonight. That little thing goes pretty damn fast.

 

By the time I got back to MD, got my Sunday prepping and dinner done, it was getting too late for the run that I wanted to take tonight.

 

Instead I did 2 all-out sprints down the street while my daughter biked next to me, then I grabbed a jump rope and did 25 fast jumps and 10 push ups, 4 times each.

 

Holy crap was I huffing by the end of it. Not the longest workout ever, but sometimes the best are short and sweet and get you out of your comfort zone.

 

We finished the night with one of these bad boys.

 

 

Pistachio cake and cream cheese frosting:-)

An Impromtu Half Marathon and Poor Pre-Race Rituals

Let me preface this post by saying that this is not the way you should race. At all. If you want to be successful at running and racing you don't act like this.

My twin sister, Rebecca, asked me earlier in the week if I would run an 8K with her in Richmond this weekend. At first I was hesitant because I had promised by legs a break this week since I raced hard this past Sunday. However, it's rare that we get to do something like this together so I told her that I would, but we'd make sure that we went nice and easy and simply enjoyed the race.

Friday night I arrived at her house around 9:00 PM. I wasn't particularly sleepy so I decided to enjoy a couple of cold ones a stay up another hour or so. By the time I was getting ready to call it a night my brother came home from work. It's not often that we get to catch up so we had a couple drinks and caught up....then my sister got home.....then the pizza and cards came out....before we knew it the time was 2:30 AM, not too far from our 5 AM departure.

We woke up and got ready as fast as we could. By the time we headed out the door, we were cutting it pretty close. The pizza and beer sat in my stomach like a brick. I made myself eat a small banana, but that was all I wanted. I figured that'd be sufficient fuel for a 5 miler.

We didn't make it to the race on time. Surprise, Surprise. So we decided that we'd just run the half marathon starting 30 minutes after the 8K! (I swear, it seemed like a totally awesome, fun idea at the time). We headed to the start and made it just in time for the gun to go off, no warm-up, no stretching.

 

Seconds before we the race started. We look tired.

Since we decided to just go out and have fun, I opted not to put my iPod on. This is the first time in a race that I've done this. It was really nice actually. I enjoyed people watching, talking to my sister, and listening to other's running around me. I made it sans tunes until Mile 8 when I started to get bored.

Dehydrated from my antics the night before, I anxiously awaited every single water station. I made sure to walk through them, drink slow and drink a lot. This seemed to work well for me, especially since I wasn't hauling any sort of ass that morning, but we all know what issues this could cause.

Around mile 6 of the race my legs started to get heavy. I was cursing myself for only eating a banana pre race and not having any gels on me. A mile or so later, I saw a gel station and ran anxiously toward it. ....not a fan of ANY chocolate gels. My options were limited and I knew I needed a pick up so I opened it up and tried some. I can only describe it as a warm chocolate milkshake sliding down my throat. Seriously not good. I drank some water with it and we continued on our way.

 

We took lots of breaks for pictures. :-)

That gel worked wonders. I had a burst of energy and wanted to pound the remainder of the race out. We had a good pace...until I felt my stomach get angry at me for last night's greasy, dairy-filled indulgence and the warm chocolate I just put on top of that. I found myself running, searching for relief (sorry if this makes you uncomfortable but I have never met a runner who hasn't had a case of the runner's trots and hell, everybody poops). The pain...oh goodness.

I didn't see any porta pottys, so the first open establishment was it., A damn laundry mat. (Totally random they were open...) The owners were very nice and let me use their restroom.....I could have kissed them. They practicly saved my life. at least my pride.

Now, lighter on my feet (haha!) we were ready to finish the race (what an amazinly awesome down hill finish) and had a great time. This may be the first race that I run and just didn't care what my time was (and honestly had no clue the entire time). My sister and I had a ton of fun. We stopped to stretch, drink water, take pictures, and catch some great sight seeing.

Despite my stomach being in knots the remainer of the day and a toe nail that's decided it no longer wants to be attached I'm glad I did the race. However, next time I'll prepare just a tad bit better.

ANS 7th Annual 5K/10K Run Walk - My Review

 

In order to prepare for my first 10K, competitive one at least, I rested up on Saturday, took a light walk with my daughter and stretched. I got to bed early (got an extra hour of sleep due to daylight savings) and woke up bright and early at 6:30 to get ready.

 

2 cups of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal and I was ready to go!

 

ANS 7th Annual 5K/10K Run Walk

 

Seeing as though this was a very small race (held in Southern MD) I wasn't sure what to expect. I showed up 40 minutes before the 8:30 start time, grabbed my number and went inside to warm up. After a few runs around the gym and some stretching, I hit the bathroom and was ready to go. The gun went off at exactly 8:30.

 

I have to say, I was very disappointed with the course. Firstly, there were no cones. Nothing to block the cars speeding by at 55 miles an hour. We were running on a small shoulder. Not the most comforting feeling. Especially since I was in the front of the pack. No crowds to draw attention for the drivers.....

 

The course was also VERY hilly. I guess I cannot complain about this factor too much, but during my run I was cursing it with a bunch of four letter words.

 

Third, and most importantly, the course was poorly marked. Shortly after I passed the 5 mile marker I got geared up and put a little pep in my step. Then I came to an intersection with no sign! One sign on my left was marked for the 5K, so I choose that one thinking that the races might meet up. Almost half a mile after the turn a man in a truck pulled up beside me to let me know I was going to wrong way. I was super peeved. I bust a quick 180 and as I passed the intersection again I saw the crowd catching up....Only one man passed me due to that potentially fatal mistake.

 

I finished in about 51:40. (The official time hasn't been released).

While I'm irritated that I missed my goal of 50 minutes, I'm excited that I know that I can make it since I ran over 7 miles in 51:40! And I still got 1st place for females!

 

 

My first time with a medal that reads "1st" place. Kaitlyn and I were ecstatic! I had a great time!

 

I'm currenty relaxing on the couch with a Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale watching Sex and the City reruns. Perfect way to celebrate!

Halloween Fun

 

Thursday after work it was time for some Halloween festivities. Every year my family gets together and we carve pumpkins and decorate sugar cookies.

 

 

My sister decided to get all fancy pants on us an got a pumpkin carving kit. My little girl picked the ghost template.

 

We pulled the guts and got down to business.

 

Unfortunately, after we started the pumpkin I walked away to do the dishes and Kaitlyn got a bit carried away with her design. I returned to a pumpkin with a huge circle cut out of it. Poor thing. Looks like we have a huge pumpkin to bake up and we'll have to get her another one.

 

That's why you stick with the standard triangle eyes and mouth.....

 

My brother's children playing in the bathroom. Nice.

 

My sister helped the other kids. This pumpkin also ended up with a big hole and no design.....I think it was a carving failure for the night.

 

 

 

At least the cookies tasted good:-)

 

Friday's workout only called for 3 miles. I knew that I wanted to take it slow because I was pretty damn sore from Thursday's Pyramid Workout. I hopped on the treadmill and all of a sudden the crazy, competitive came out in me. 3 miles in 23:40. Not actually as slow as I should be running.

 

After running I headed to the weight room and decided to focus on my arms and core. I started with a move that I used to do when I was doing P90X. I can't for the life of me remember which video or what it's called but it's awesome. You get a weight (I used 10 lbs) and you kneel on one leg (kind of like you're tying your shoe) and you come up and turn and lift the weight over your head (hold the dumbbell with one hand on each end). Doesn't sound like too much but your core will definitely feel it by the end.

 

I used the same 10 lb weight to do standing bent over rows and triceps. 3 sets of 15 for each move. Lots of stretching between sets. Done and done.

 

PS - Pictures of our mud run got posted. I come from Jewish roots so you're only going to see the proofs....

 

 

My baby totally rocked it.

 

 

I am as cold and as I look.

 

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!! I'm on a bit of a pumpkin craze.....You'll see the results:-)

The Rogue Runner and The Color Run - My Review

Once again, it’s been a week since I’ve posted. That’s because I’m just too busy having fun!

This past week’s workout:
Monday: 3 miles + Strength
Tuesday: 3.6 miles + Yoga class
Wednesday: 10 x 400 @ 5K pace (7 miles total plus warm up and cool down)
Thursday: 5.5 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 7 mile training run + 10K Mud Run
Sunday: 5K Color Run

This put me at about 36 miles of running this week! That is the highest weekly mileage that I’ve had in at least 6 months. Yay!!

For Wednesday’s speed workout I tried something a little different. Instead of just standing/walking and catching my breath between 400s I decided to run a recovery 400 at a much slower pace. This proved to be pretty damn hard compared to what I was doing. I ran the 400s between 1:37 and 1:45 (about a 6:50 mile pace), the recovery laps at about a 9:00 minute per mile pace……wow. Let’s just say the cool down run back to my apartment did not have anything resembling speed.

Rogue Runner: I’ve definitely done my fair share of mud runs. I’ve done the infamous Tough Mudder in GA (13 miles of craziness!), a 5 mile one in VA Beach (which was more like a sand run. Holy crap that is hard), the 5K Warrior Dash in MD and Run Amuck on Quantico Marine Corp Base. I have to say, this one is not on the top of my list. I will give Rogue Runner a tad bit of leeway. This was their first time putting on a mud run, so hopefully they learn from their mistakes.

Here is the course:
 

 

Here's what I suggest they fix:

1. There were very few water stops. About ½ way through people on four wheelers started to come by with cases of bottled water……
2. The lines for obstacles were anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. Serious backup. Standing around for an hour is NOT fun. They should have had smaller waves staggered better.
3. The course was not properly marked. At one point we were told by somebody who finished that we were going the wrong way and had missed a couple miles of obstacles, yet the volunteers were the ones who told us where to go. Not cool.
4. Obstacles were poorly placed. At the end of inclined monkey bars you had to drop about 5 feet to the ground, which was a HUGE flat rock. My boyfriend went down the mud slid on his stomach (really just a tarp with a hose on it) and hit a huge rock! He has a huge abrasion on his oblique along with a lot of bruising and swelling.
5. The after-party was lame. The medals were just sitting in a big pile. Nobody to put them on you. Hell, they weren’t even taken out of the plastic. There was no post-race bagels or bananas, nothing buy greasy BBQ you had to pay way too much for.

 

 

Here is my wonderful boyfriend who rocked it.

 

The Color Run, DC: This run, on the other hand, seemed to be pretty well organized. It was also held in the National Harbor in Maryland which is just gorgeous.

 

 

It was very packed.

 

 

Do you see how far that crowd goes back! I couldn't even see the end.

Packed runs are pretty common, especially in this area, the issue was that a lot of those people were non-runners, which is fine, but they had no running etiquette. If you’re walking, please move to the side. If you have to stop, please move to the side….The only real complaint I had was the color itself. It’s just a dyed cornstarch powder that people threw at you. Resulting in a big POOF of color that you had to close your eyes (especially with my contacts) to run through and try not to take any deep breaths……

 

 

.I don’t know what I was expecting but it was a bit more than that. I’m glad to have done one but won’t be signing up to do it again.

All in all a very fun, active, packed weekend:-)