Home For the Holidays

Hello hello!

I’m finally home and back to the blog! 🙂 It feels so wonderful to be back for the holidays, with my family and of course, Brady and Keeper!

I think they missed me. 🙂

It’s been a crazy last few days – just to recap, my mom and I went into Boston on Thursday, and walked around Quincy Market a bit, window-shopping and keeping our eyes out for Christmas presents! We obviously had to take a picture of the beautiful tree.

We didn’t end up buying much, but my mom and I did share an oreo cannoli and cappucinos from one of the bakeries in Quincy Market, which was pretty fantastic!

I spent most of Friday and Saturday trying to unpack all the things I’ve accumulated since starting college – not an easy task!

But Sunday, my mom and I got our first run in together since my coming home! We decided to make it a long one, and ended up going just over 7 miles – my longest run in a while!

It was flurrying a little, but we bundled up and it wasn’t so bad. I guess we can’t really let the winter weather stop us, given that we’ll be running our Florida half marathon in less than a month! 🙂 When we got home, we had coconut pancakes (it was a mix from Trader Joe’s) – these were SO. GOOD. I forgot to take a picture because I was so hungry and happy to be eating pancakes. I’m a bad blogger. 😉

This morning, I’ve been doing a little wrapping, and took Brady on a brisk, 3-mile walk. He loves his exercise and was happy as a clam to go.

While we walked, I listened to the last episode of Serial. I learned about this podcast after reading about it on Natalie’s blog, and have been listening to it regularly. I’ve really enjoyed it, but I have to say I was a little disappointed by the ending. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so I’ll just say it left me with some unanswered questions.

I’m looking forward to a relaxing and merry Christmas later this week – I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and enjoy the time with your family and loved ones (including your pets!)!

If you listen to Serial, what did you think of the ending? 

 

 

Why Winter Running Doesn’t Suck

Hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did. 🙂 It was so nice to spend the day relaxing and laughing with family and obviously enjoying a fantastic meal! I think the highlight for me this year was the acorn squash stuffed with graham crackers, brown sugar and cranberries that my aunt made. So good!!!

After eating all the wonderful food on Thursday and then leftovers on Friday, it was time for me to get back to running! My cold is all gone now, and I knew I had to get back out there. So, I bundled up and headed out for a nice little 4-miler in the 20 degree weather. So without further ado…

1. It gives you an excuse to buy more running gear because #Layers

2. You can turn it into a fun game of “Run Around the Ice Puddles” (if you lose, you slip and fall down… This just adds to the excitement.)

Hopefully you look that cute when you fall.

3. It hurts to breathe, but in a fun, ‘Look how awesome this is’-way

4. You look really hard-core because everyone driving by is thinking, “it’s 10 degrees out, WHY ARE THEY RUNNING?!” Honestly, it’s a fair question.

5. You get to enjoy the holiday cookies and treats mostly guilt-free (ok, this actually is a pretty nice advantage.)

6. When running up a snowy hill, you can pretend you’re reaching the summit of Mount Everest because honestly, that’s what it feels like.

7. If you pass a snowman, you can imagine it magically coming to life and chanting your name. If snowmen cheering for you isn’t motivating, I don’t know what is.

8. When you finish your run and go inside, your house will feel like a furnace so you can turn down the heat and save on your bills. Get cold again? JUST GO FOR ANOTHER RUN!

And if all those reasons fail, and you are still hating the cold and wishing for summer, try this playlist that I put together and maybe it’ll help change your frame of mind!

 

Hope this helps. 🙂 Have a great weekend!

Thanksgiving Break

Hello hello!

I know we are still a couple days away, but I just wanted to say…

I’m not going home for the holiday this year, since I will be home for good in about a month, but I’ll still be spending the break with family and I’m looking forward to some delicious food and a little break from the pre-finals grind! My mom wrote up a little post for today, talking about some of the things she is grateful for, and here it is!

When Nora and I began our “running journey” in November 2011, our goal was simple; train for and run a half-marathon in the spring. And we did that. But we  never expected  that that modest ambition would get us here.
Last month Nora posted her 100th blog entry, as well as hitting the 100 followers mark!!
So with Thanksgiving only a few days away I wanted to say thank you, to Nora and to all of you!

When we revised our goal and decided to aim to run a half-marathon in every state – and to start this blog, we knew we would be in for some adventures, some hard work, and a lot of fun.

But for me it’s meant something entirely unexpected. Of course, I would have kept running after those two half-marathons in 2011, but without these goals, I know my running would have continued in a much more casual way.

Instead, I’ve challenged myself to run more than I ever expected, to read more (of course books about running), to expand my knowledge of cooking and nutrition, and to revisit the writer in me. Three years ago I would never have dreamed  that I would be contemplating running another marathon as a way to celebrate my next birthday! But that is exactly what I am doing and all these things are gifts that I never expected.

My plan for marathon training. 🙂

So I wanted to say thank you to Nora for expanding our running goal to include every state, and for starting this blog which has been so much fun (and a lot of work!) and which has taught us both so much. (Remember the cricket bars? Yes, you can eat protein bars made with crickets.). And I wanted to say Thank You to all of you, our followers for reading about our adventures and contributing your thoughts and ideas.

So Thank you for everything and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

What are you thankful for this year?

 

Why I Know I Can Run A Marathon

Hey there!

As you probably know, my mom and I are running our first marathon, the Rochester Marathon tomorrow. We are so excited (and definitely nervous too!). If you want to keep up with the adventures and hear about the race in real-time (and can’t wait for a race recap), I will be tweeting and Instagramming like a crazy blogger-type person, so you should definitely follow me to hear how it all goes!

The past few days, my mom and I have been focusing on reasons to be confident going into this race.

My Mom Says:

I’ve been married 29 years and that is worth several 26.2 mile runs.

I spent 10 years writing a historical novel, which requires just as much discipline and commitment as running a marathon. And maybe someday when I spend less time running, I may actually have time to figure out how to get it published! 🙂

I know I can run a marathon because when I fished reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace (all 1,250 pages, mind you!), I thought there should have been a sequel.

And here’s what I think:

I played violin for 12 years and know what it takes to stick with something, even when you’re doubting yourself and it would be easier just to quit.

Every time I finish a half marathon, I’m thinking about signing up for another one.

I ♥ carboloading. Bagels, pasta, sweet potatoes – that’s my jam!

How much harder can it be than a college-level economics course? (Not that much harder I’m guessing ’cause econ was pretty darn hard.).

Wish us luck!

20 Miles

Happy weekend everyone! 🙂

I am very excited to say that two days ago, I ran further than I ever have before.

That’s right! I successfully got through my 20 mile training run! It wasn’t easy, but I did it. The night before, I was feeling the nerves. I tried to prepare myself mentally, downloading a few new songs, laying out my clothes, and even going to bed early. That didn’t end up helping very much, as I tossed and turned for several hours before finally falling asleep, where I proceeded to have nightmares about oversleeping and missing the run. I thought that was only supposed to happen before races!

Finally, my alarm went off, and I was up. I was aiming to start running at 7 am, both to beat the heat and because I had class in the afternoon. I had a cup of coffee and read a couple of race recaps from other running blogs to psych myself up. 🙂

Then, I headed out. My plan was to run the same 5 mile loop 4 times. It’s a strategy my mom and I have used before for long runs, and it really helped me to think of it as simply 4 loops, rather than 20 miles. I also stuck to the Galloway method my mom and I have been using for these longer runs – run a mile, walk a minute. That definitely helped me keep my pace consistent after I had already run 15 miles, and my legs started to fatigue.

On my second of the 4 loops, I took advantage of one of my walking breaks to take a picture of this incredible sky.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. It just felt like a good omen. 🙂 I guess it must have been, because I kept running my loops, and my foot cooperated wonderfully! I’m not going to say it didn’t hurt at all to run this far though. By the end, my right hip felt pretty terrible, but I think that’s because I was running on the edge of a canted road for long stretches, so my legs were landing at uneven heights. At least I know in the marathon I won’t have to worry about this, as the roads will be closed and we’ll be able to run smack-dab in the middle!

I’m beyond ecstatic that I was able to run this distance, especially given how off-track my training got because of my EHL strain. Now, it’s time for some medium tapering runs (my long run this coming week will be a tiny 8 miles! Woo!), and then the big day. Wish me luck!

When Enough isn’t Enough

Other half of the Duo here today! 🙂

Why isn’t a good thing ever enough?

Chatting with a friend before a race recently, I realized something about runners. We’re  almost never satisfied. For example my friend was nervous that she would not PR this race and she felt that this was a sign that, despite all her training, she wasn’t improving.  I pointed out that conditions vary year to year, including your health, frame of mind, and especially the weather.

Even with great training, a bad night’s sleep might make the difference between a PR one year and a slower race the next.  I tried to stress that as 50+ runner, it was nice that we were running at all:  a few seconds more shouldn’t make us feel bad.

But it does. Because we compare ourselves to other runners, and when our own performances don’t seem to measure up, we diminish our accomplishments, and, we are less happy.

As for me, I ran the race and though I had no idea whether it was a PR, I was pretty pleased with my time. Until that evening, when I looked at the age group results and learned that I hadn’t placed in the top 20-30% of women my age, which is where I typically end up.  And suddenly, I felt decidedly less pleased with my own performance. And that made me sad. After smugly preaching to my friend I realized I was just as prone to comparisons and dissatisfaction as anyone else.  But then I realized I was still pretty happy, or at least – that I was happy enough.

I still find myself doing this sometimes, even after our most recent 10 mile race. But it’s something I’m working on, and that’s all you can do really at the end of the day – forget about the times that others ran (or that you have ran in the past!) and find a happiness with how you performed in the present.

Do you find yourself doing this too? How do you fight back the urge to compare your performance to others?

My Non-Resolutions

Hello again! 

As 2014 has just begun, I thought I would dedicate a post to my goals for the New Year. I know it is a notorious time of year for those “New Years Resolutions”, which is why I want to think of these as Non-New Years Resolutions. I had set some goals for myself when I went back to school in the fall, and with the start of the spring semester rapidly approaching, I figured now would be a good time to look back at what I did well, what I can improve on, and the new goals I hope to achieve in 2014. So these aren’t necessarily NEW YEARS resolutions, they’re kind of just resolutions in general.

1. Stick to my running plan to get in shape for my half marathon in March. During the fall, I did pretty good maintaining my running. In early September, I ran a PR in the Big Tree Half Marathon, which was incredibly gratifying and exciting (check out my recap for that race here). After that, I had a little bit of post-race blues, but I ran a couple of 5K’s, and I did pretty well waking up early twice a week to get in 5-mile runs in the mornings before class. When I got sick and went into finals, I kind of fell off the bandwagon, and didn’t really get back into the swing of running until coming home for winter break. So, some changes I’d like to make going into the spring:

• Follow my half-marathon training plan from Runners’ World
• Incorporate more hills into my running (even though I hate hills with a passion)
• Mix up my workouts to keep them from getting boring or too easy
• Expect some obstacles, but be prepared to work through them! 

2.Do more cross-training. I have read so many articles extolling the virtues of cross-training for runners, and while I’ve done some cross-training in the past, I’m not good about sticking with it. I have some pilates tapes, and this semester, I’m going to aim to do those workouts three times a week, on the days when I’m not running. Pilates is all about working your core, and the videos are pretty intense! I’m always sweating when I finish the workouts.

3. This is more of a long-term goal, but here it is – I want to run a FULL MARATHON in 2014. I’m thinking of registering for the Rochester Marathon, which is in September.This would give me the full summer to train, which wouldn’t be easy in the hot temps, but it would be doable I think. We’ll just have to wait and see!

4. And finally, I’m going to try to update this blog on a more regular basis! There’s going to be more guest posts from the other half of this running duo (AKA my mom), since we’re going to be doing the bulk of our training for this half independently, so we will use the blog to check in and see how we’re each doing.

So those are the goals for 2014! Some are a little loftier than others, but hey, (pardon the cliché), you have to shoot for the moon to land among the stars! My mom and I went for our first “official” training run yesterday of 6 miles. We are committed and excited, and so ready to cross another state off the list!

Happy with our first training run for the Shamrock Half Marathon!

2014, here we come! What goals do you have for the new year?

Keep Calm and TriathlON!

Hey there,

Keep Calm and TriathlON- what I’ve been trying to do today! At this point, I’m excited and ready to go.  And maybe just a tad nervous… 

I tried not to do anything too strenuous today, but I did want to keep my legs active to avoid feeling flat tomorrow. So, I went for a leisurely 10 mile bike ride around 9 am. It was gorgeous out- there was a nice breeze, and plenty of bikers/joggers/walkers were out enjoying the sun as well. It was a pretty nice change after the past rainy days.

When I got back, I tested the wetsuit on a short swim again. I wanted to practice getting OUT of the suit as quickly as possible. Not the easiest thing in the world, let me tell ya! 

After that, I just took it easy today, reading and cooking. I made a delicious pre-race fueling meal of pasta carbonara. I made some substitutions to make it a bit lighter (skim milk instead of heavy cream, etc…) This was what my mom and I ate before our first half-marathon ever, and it seemed to work well for us then! Hopefully, it’ll do the job tomorrow.

Pre-Triathlon Dinner!

As I was cooking, I made a list of all the supplies I’ll need for tomorrow to calm my anxieties about forgetting stuff. It’s hard to do a triathlon without a bike or running sneakers. 

Wish me luck! I’ll be posting about how it goes (if I’m not too tired! And assuming, I survive the swim!)

Long Run Madness

My mom and I are a few short weeks away from the Shipyard Old Port Half-Marathon! We are getting really excited, but this also means the mileage is cranking up. Usually we aim to do our long runs on saturday or sunday but this weekend, we are running the Lowell is Boston Strong 5k on sunday, so we wanted to get our long run in a bit earlier so that our legs would be somewhat fresh.

Our plan called for a 10-miler this week, which I was already pretty nervous about. I’ve run that distance before, but it’s never exactly comfortable… So, the smart thing would have been to wake up early and get this run in while the temps were still somewhat cooler. That would’ve been the smart thing to do, but alas, that is not what we did.

Instead, we woke up late, had a leisurely breakfast and went to pick strawberries. I do love strawberries, so I can’t really complain about that. 

My mom with our pickings!

Our bad planning got worse though. My mom and I decided to share a small ice cream. We were thinking that maybe the carbs and sugar in the ice cream would power us through the ten miles we still had to conquer. Basically, we just wanted to eat ice cream.

By the time we got home and finally hit the road, we were running during the hottest part of the day with ice cream heavy in our bellies. Less than ideal conditions…

From the beginning, the run was a challenge. My stomach clearly did not get the message that the ice cream was supposed to “power” me. The sun was brutal and by the time we reached 5 miles, my mom and I were pretty darn tired. We ate some gels – peanut butter for me, chocolate for my mom, and hoped for the best.

As we continued on our way, I began dreaming about cooling off- we were running on trails in close proximity to a little pond and beach. I convinced my mom that we should take a little swimming intermission- so that’s what we did!

Continuing on after dunking our legs in the wonderful cool water was rough. Not to mention, the cool water made my legs tighten up like vices when we started to run again! Ugh, the whole run was a struggle.

We finally called it quits after 9.2 miles- so not quite the full 10, but almost. We then treated ourselves to strawberry recovery smoothies! I think it’s safe to say we’ll plan a little smarter for next week’s long run.

Cooling off!