My evolution and identity as a runner

For many years, "runner" was one of my core identities. But that identity has ebbed and flowed over the last 15 years. I got into running in my mid-20s and ran my first half marathon in June of 2006 and then my first marathon in October of 2006. Then I started grad school in the fall of 2006 and oof, I struggled to find time for running in the midst of working full time and grad school/homework/group project meetings (which were the bain of my existence and unnecessary for part-time MBA students IMO - but I digress!). So I really did not run/workout consistently during my grad school years. I found my way back to running in 2009 after graduating with my MBA that spring. 

Then I ran very consistently from 2009 through 2013. I ran marathons in 2010 and 2012, and a handful of other races. Then I was diagnosed with a stress fracture shortly after moving to Charlotte in the spring of 2013. And then I was diagnosed with RA later that summer - but I will always wonder if the stress fracture was a misdiagnosis and it was actually RA causing my foot pain? I'll never know. My RA was so bad at that time that pretty much everything hurt. It hurt to walk and I couldn't fully extend one of my arms due to pain in my elbow. I was supposed to run the Chicago marathon with some blogger friends that October but ended up spectating. I remember spectating and wondering if I would ever run another marathon.

Luckily, my RA became well managed and I was back to running by the spring of 2014 when I moved back to Minneapolis. I re-joined my running club when I moved back to Minneapolis and ran my 4th marathon in 2015. I also did a sprint triathlon in August of 2015. That winter/early spring, I started to have some awful hip pain and eventually had to have surgery on my hip in May of 2016 to fix a labral tear in my hip. I have an anatomical abnormality so all that running plus the abnormality in my hip joint resulted in a tear in my left hip. 

After that surgery, I knew my marathon days were over. I'm susceptible to another tear on the other side so I've decided it's just not worth it to risk another labral tear and surgery. I wasn't cleared to run until late October 2016 - right in time for our cold weather season to hit! I started to run again in the spring of 2017 and was just starting to get back to a good base level of fitness. And then I got pregnant! I thought I would run during my pregnancy, but early in my pregnancy I had a bleeding issue and while running was likely safe, it would result in more bleeding and that was not good for my mental health so I stopped running. And then my RA got horribly bad during pregnancy so running was out of the question. I got so many steroid injections - 10 total I think - that the guy who gave me my injections had to draw a map of my hands so we could keep track of what we'd injected! 

Paul was born in March of 2018 and I had all these visions of being a mom that runs with her baby. But I could not fit running/working out into my schedule once I returned to work. We leave the house around 6:50 and I just did not have it in me to get up at 4:30-5 to workout before work. I know there are moms who can and will do this, but I have different sleep needs - and a chronic illness that gets worse when I am overtired/stressed. Reading this paragraph, I feel like I am making a lot of excuses for myself, but prioritizing sleep over running/working out was the right decision for me. I tried to do at home workouts when I could and we went on many family stroller walks. 

Flash forward to the spring of 2021. We had Will in December and I saw a pelvic floor PT (highly recommend seeing one to all post-partum women!!) and had her help me safely return to running. This is TMI territory, but I never had any leaking issues - probably because I had c-sections (although I did dilate to 9cm with Paul!). But I injured myself in my abdomen from vigorously bouncing fussy baby Will so that is what prompted seeing this PT. She was incredible and helped me slowly and safely return to running and exercise. I lucked out and my neighbor across the street is also a runner (and a FT working mom whose schedule jived with mine). So we started to run together in April of 2021 and trained for an ran a 10 mile race in October of 2021. I was only able to train for that race because of the flexibility of working from home. So that is one huge positive to come out of Covid! 

Flash forward again to the spring of 2022. I had signed up for a 10 mile race in May during the winter, thinking I could maintain my mileage when/if I returned to the office. My office re-opened in March and we were expected to come in 3 days/week. Unsurprisingly, it has turned out that fitting running in has been hard. For awhile I was able to leave work 1 days/week around 3 to run, but it's too hot at that time of day in the summer to run - at least for me. So I'm back to fitting workouts in Friday-Monday. I personally can't run 4 days in a row, so at most, I'm getting 2 days of running in each week, maybe 3 if I am lucky. Leading up to that 10 mile race, I knew I needed to drop down to the 10k option. And then I got Covid the week before the race so I didn't race at all, of course. 

So what comes next? I've decided to run a 10k race over marathon weekend in October. A 10 mile race is just too much for me right now. It was fine last year but I was sick so much with colds and such leading up to the race that it wasn't exactly the most enjoyable race experience and my time was so slow and depressing. I know no one else cared about my time, but it was just kind of depressing to see how slow I was. I tried to have some grace since I was breastfeeding a baby that turned 10 months the day I ran the race, but as a person susceptible to intense self-criticism, I didn't feel super proud of my accomplishment on race day. 

Looking ahead, one change I'm going to make is shifting down to coming into the office 2 days/week. I don't think anyone really cares how often I am coming in and 2 days feels like enough in-office time for me. 

All this said, I still consider myself a runner - but a runner with different goals. Instead of double-digit long runs, I'll run 5-6 miles on a weekend morning. And that is just fine for this stage of life. What I'm most proud of is that I'm showing my impressionable 4-year old that mommy is active and enjoys running. 

Have you lost touch with a core identity at any point of your life? 

A Run Down Memory Lane

Last Thursday, I left work at 3pm so I could fit a workout in. It wasn't exactly a "nice" day but I knew I'd enjoy a run outside way more than a run on the gym "dreadmill." My plan is to try to workout at 3pm one day/week to help me hit my goal of 4 workouts/week. I haven't ran in this area of Minneapolis in a very long time. My last run down there might have even been the morning of my wedding almost 5 years ago when I ran a very similar loop with my sister - on a similarly cold day! 

When I met Phil back in the fall of 2012, I was living in on the edge of downtown Minneapolis, along the Mississippi River. It is one of my favorite areas of Minneapolis, but an area I did not really know much about until I rented a condo there. I had moved into a condo in the summer of 2011. Prior to that, I was living in a condo that I owned in the suburbs of Minneapolis. And I HATED it. When I bought in 2005, the only place I could afford was the suburbs. Then the market tanked in 2008-2009 and I was stuck out there. Then in February of 2011, I took a trip to Paris for my 40th birthday (which you could read about on my Paris blog that's been dormant since my last trip to Paris in 2013). I stayed in a charming apartment in the Marais area of Paris and came back wishing my life looked more like my vacation life did. So after much thought and some research, I decided to rent out my suburban condo and move into a condo rental in the Mill City area of Minneapolis. 

The condo building where I lived!

I ended up living there from summer 2011 until I was relocated to Charlotte in 2013 for a job (I met Phil in October and found out I had to move in January... it was a tough thing to go through). I spent 1 year in Charlotte and then moved back to Minneapolis in May 2014 and back into this building. In total, I lived in 3 condos in this building - my first faced downtown and my next 2 faced the river, which I much preferred. 

It was an amazing place to live for this period of my life, especially as a runner. I lived at the base of a pedestrian bridge and could run for miles along the river. 

This is the end of the pedestrian bridge - you can see my condo building (brown building) is right by this bridge)

I wonder how many times I crossed this bridge while living in that condo building. At one point, I had a friend that lived in a condo building that was at the base of the other side of the pedestrian bridge so I have memories of walking across to spend time with her. 

The Stone Arch Bridge

When you run across that pedestrian bridge, you see the beautiful St. Anthony Falls. Of course this picture doesn't do it justice! 

St. Anthony Falls

On the other side of the river from where I lived is the church where Phil and I got married. That's the church I've been taking Paul to this spring. It's a good 20 minutes from where we live so not very convenient, but I love the vibe of that parish so have remained a member there. 

I lived in this area of Minneapolis until May of 2016 when I moved into Phil's house in south Minneapolis. Funny story - I moved in on Friday and then had hip surgery to repair a labral tear the following Monday. Boy was that trial by fire to see if we could live together! We got engaged that December so getting a sneak peak of me being completely reliant on him didn't scare him off. ;) But I wouldn't recommend having a a painful surgery that requires using crutches for 3 weeks right after moving in with someone!

So do I miss living in this area of Minneapolis? Honestly, not really. It was great for that stage of my life, but it was really hard to host people at my condo since parking was so difficult. There were some guest parking spots in the parking garage but it was tough to get a spot. It's much easier to host friends living where we do now as there is ample street parking. Plus I still do most of my runs by the water since we live close to a creek and Lake Harriet. And overall, I much prefer living in a house versus sharing walls with someone in a condo building. But I am glad I had the opportunity to live there and will also fondly remember the years I spent living there in the early- to mid-2010s! And I'm happy that I'm back to running so I can run down memory lane on days I work out after work!

Is there an area of your city that brings back memories for you? 

I RAN!!!!

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I had a PT appointment this morning and was expecting the usual routine of lots of different PT exercises that assess my strength and fatigue my hip/core muscles. But after my therapist assessed the strength of various hip muscles, she decided today was the day for me to try running!!!!  It's a very gradual return to running as I walked 4 min @ 3pm/ran 1 min @ 5pm x 4, but I will take what I can get!

I have been feeling pretty down about the length of my recovery so it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!  She gave me some new exercises to add into my routine and cleared me to do the walk/run combo every other day for a week and then if I am feeling ok, I can shift to walk 3 min/run 2 min, and then we will go from there!

It's been nearly 8 months since I last ran, but it sure felt good to run for 4 minutes!

So it's an especially happy Thursday for me!!!!!!

Meals, Books, Miles and Looks of November

Hello, December!    November was another awesome month.  Here's a glimpse of how I spent the month!

Music:

 
Million Years Ago by Adele - For the second month in a row, I'm sharing a song from Adele's new album (which is amazing).  This live performance shows how incredibly talented she is!


Books:

I was thinking that this was a lighter reading month for me but then I went back and counted and realized I read 8 books!!  My favorites were Fates and Furies and Did You Ever Have a Family, both of which were nominated for the National Book Award.


Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates - 3 stars
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff - 4 stars
Rising Strong by Brene Brown - 3 stars
After you by Jojo Moyes - 4 stars
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs - 4 stars
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma - 3 stars
A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan - 4 stars
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg - 5 stars

Miles:

I focused less on running this month so only logged 53 miles which I am OK with as this is the running off-season for me due to our cold weather and short hours of daylight.  My goal for the month was to do 30 workouts in 30 days which I succeeded in accomplishing as in addition to running I went to 12 yoga classes and did 11 strength training sessions for a total of 33 workouts!  I expect the next couple of months to look like November did, especially since I decided to treat myself to a 3-month unlimited membership to Core Power Yoga.  Yes, it is expensive but since I don't pay for a gym membership for the other 9 months of the year, I figure I can justify it!


Looks:

I only have 1 outfit to share this month as I was lazy about taking photos of my outfits.  But the one outfit I am sharing is one I love!  It's the dress I wore to Alli's wedding, which I got 50% off at Banana Republic (as usual).  Excuse the ugly hotel room background in this photo!

And my last look is my new hairdo!  I didn't take much length off but I darkened it for the winter months.

Post-race Reflections

It's been several days since the marathon.  The soreness is starting to slowly subside although it is taking longer than I'd like.  My legs are starting to recover but the pain from my blisters is awful!  My marathon recap was very stat-heavy what with all the splits and such so I thought I would do another post with some of my post-race thoughts.

- Full disclosure - I did get a little teary-eyed on Monday morning when my colleague/good friend asked how I felt about my race but I quickly tried to block out any feelings of disappointment.  It helped when my boss, who has ran several marathons, told me that I should keep in mind that I missed my goal by less than 1% and that running a 4:02 marathon is an amazing accomplishment.  I work with some really awesome people, by the way.

- After that little mini pity party, I have tried to shift my focus to what I accomplished. I'm so grateful that I was able to train for and finish a marathon.  When I was not able to run the Chicago marathon due to my stress fracture and RA diagnosis, I hated how the decision to run that race was taken away from me and I felt like my body betrayed me.  Now the ball is back in my court and I get to decide what activities and races I will tackle.  Having control is a big deal for a control freak like me!

- One of the best things I gained from training for this marathon was gaining a new friendship.  A new girl joined our club and we pretty much did all of our training runs together and got along super well.  I mean, you know it's a true friendship when you can run 3+ hours together multiple weekends in a row and not run out of things to talk about!  Forming friendships and bonds like that is what running is really all about for me.  Sure, we all have our personal goals that we are looking to achieve but the greatest gift of running is the many friendships I've formed and continue to form.

- Training for and running this marathon made my love for Minneapolis grow even more - as if that was even possible!  I was so excited to show John the beautiful running paths of Minneapolis and St. Paul during the marathon. Our marathon is known as the most beautiful urban marathon in the U.S. and it certainly lives up to that distinction!  I feel so lucky to live in a city with such a well developed trail system.

- To be quite honest, training for something like a marathon is a selfish pursuit. It takes many many hours and it seeps into other areas of your life since it impacts things like your sleep schedule and nutrition needs. Phil was a total trooper through the training and never complained. He provided a lot of encouragement, did some of my training runs with me, and put up with complaints about hot runs, exhaustion, and blister, among other things, and he was out there on race day cheering me on.  Knowing I would see him around mile 22 was pretty much the only thing that kept me going during the miles leading up to that.

- So the million dollar question is - "will I run another marathon?"  My answer is that I don't know.  I am not going to say I won't run another marathon but at this point I don't have any intentions to run one in the year to come.  We'll see what the future holds.  In the mean time, I'm looking forward to adding more diversity to my workout regimen.  I've got Groupons for a month at Core Power Yoga and 10 barre classes and after that, I'm thinking about getting a Class Pass membership for the winter. If I choose to not run another marathon, I know there are other fitness-related goals for me to achieve.

2015 Twin Cities Marathon Recap

Greetings and happy Monday!  I'm feeling sore and tired this morning but pleased with how my race went.  I did not make my goal of running a sub-4 marathon, but I am OK with it.  I gave it my all and left everything I had out there on the course.  I ended up running a 4:02:33 which is about a one minute PR so I can not complain.  After my RA diagnosis, I questioned whether I'd ever run again and never dreamed I would run another marathon.  So I am choosing to focus on that accomplishment rather than the time on the clock (although I am also proud of my time). 

Clothes and gear all lined up the night before!  I taped my name to my shirt but it only stayed on for the first 8 miles or so.

All ready to go on race morning!

John, Megan and I at the start!

Now for the race recap.  I lined up at the start with John and my running club buddy Megan.  Our goal was run around a 9 minute mile and hold that pace as long as we could.  Here are my splits:

Mile 1:  9:57
Mile 2:  9:02
Mile 3:  9:04
Mile 4:  8:50
Mile 5:  9:07
Mile 6:  8:55
Mile 7:  9:12
Mile 8:  8:45

** I saw Phil around this point which gave me some extra energy!**

Mile 9:  9:03
Mile 10:  8:42
Mile 11:  8:49
Mile 12:  8:57
Mile 13:  8:58

** Just after mile 13, I saw some of the awesome friends I've made through Phil.  It was so thoughtful of them to come out and cheer me on - and they even made a sign!  That's the first time anyone has ever made a sign for me so I was so touched!!**

Mile 14:  9:17
Mile 15:  8:54
Mile 16:  9:11
Mile 17:  9:09
Mile 18:  9:19
Mile 19:  8:55
Mile 20:  9:15

** at this point we entered a very hilly part of the course.  It's pretty cruel to have to tackle hills at this point of the course which makes Twin Cities a very challenging course.**

Mile 21:  9:16

** I pulled ahead of John around this time and Megan pulled ahead of me.  I tried so hard to keep her in sight but I just couldn't.**

Mile 22:  9:24

** I saw Phil at this point and was really hurting.  I wasn't even able to muster a smile.  :/ **

Mile 23:  9:46

** After that crappy split at mile 23, I dug deep and tried to pick up the pace.**

Mile 24:  9:08

** That faster pace lasted about a mile.  I knew at this point that sub-4 was not a possibility.  I fought the urge to walk and just kept putting one foot in front of the other.  At this point the blister that had developed on my pinky toe during the race popped so the pain from that was pretty intense.**

Mile 25:  9:43
Mile 26:  10:13
Last 0.2 (or 0.4 according to my watch):  9:03 pace

Finished!

I hobbled across the finish line and boy did it hurt.  But I was done and was proud of my performance.  The race weather was perfect, I was cheered on by the 300,000 (!!!) spectators that lined the course, and I was cheered on by a far by a whole lot of friends and family.  My phone was definitely blowing up with congratulatory text messages when I finished which was cool to see. 

Now I get to relax and enjoy some down time.  I've got a lot to look forward to between Julia Child Night and my trips to Miami and Boston.  I've worked so hard over the last 6 months between training for a triathlon and training for this marathon so I am looking forward to giving my body a much-deserved break. 

It's Race Week!

And just like that, it's race week!  I'm amazed at how fast this training cycle went. I think that training for a triathlon and a marathon at the same time for much of the summer made this cycle go by even faster than usual. I'm so thankful that I've stayed healthy and have felt good during most of my runs.  Here's my goals and strategy for the race on Sunday and how you can track me!!  (warning, lengthy post to follow, feel free to scan it or skip it if running isn't your thing!)

Goal:

I usually set A, B, and C goals for a race but this time around I only have one "real" goal which is to finish in less than 4 hours. Sure, I want to have fun and finish with a smile on my face but I'd be lying if I said that my sole focus wasn't coming in under 4 hours, even if that means 3:59:59. I came fairly close in Des Moines when I ran a 4:03:34 so hopefully I can shave ~ 4 minutes off of that time.  I know I am a stronger runner than I was 3 years ago when I ran Des Moines so hopefully all of my hard work pays off on Sunday.

That said, I am trying to prepare myself mentally to not reach my goal.  It will be challenging and I don't want to beat myself up if I don't run a sub-4 hour marathon or if I don't PR.  After my RA diagnosis, I never thought I'd run another marathon so I will also be focusing on appreciating that my body has healed enough to allow me to run this race.

Strategy:

My plan is to line up with the 4 hour pace group but try to run my own race.  I want to stay slightly ahead of them, but not too far ahead as I need to be careful about not going out too fast.  John and my run club buddy will be running with me, too, so we'll be able to cheer each other on and motivate each other.  I'll definitely bring headphones and listen to some Taylor Swift as soon as I need the motivation/distraction which could be earlier in the race.

For fuel, I've changed plans as it was just too hard to carry the number of apple sauce packets that I will need.  I thought about carrying 3 and having Phil hand some to me when he is spectating but I felt it was too risky to rely on him as it can be tough to spot spectators, and vice versa.  So 2 weeks ago, I started training with Huma gels.  They were recommended to me as they are not super sweet, they are chia seed-based, and they are all-natural.  I felt great on the 2 long runs that I had them on so I feel confident about using them on race day.

For a distraction, I'll once again turn my pace bracelet into a prayer bracelet and will dedicate each mile to a different person.  It was fun to look back on my last race recap and read my reflection on my prayer bracelet:

'The prayer bracelet proved to be a great strategy, though.  I prayed for marriages, both new and seasoned, babies, a friend who is trying to have a baby, nephews, a niece, and faux nephews and nieces.  I prayed that single friends would meet their husbands soon.  I spent the final 5 miles praying for an aunt who has cancer, as well as the sister and mom of two friends that are battling cancer, too.  I said Hail Mary's and Our Fathers and thought to myself (and said out loud a couple of times) - this is so hard.  But I made it through, with a bright, shiny PR (and very sore, beat up legs/feet).'

A couple of those prayers have been answered, 2 of which I bolded, which is neat to see.  It's always fun to decide who to pray for during each mile and it really is the best distraction. I know for sure that I will be dedicating the last 3 miles to a friend's mom who is losing a battle with lung cancer; hopefully thinking of my friend, her mom, and her family will give me some perspective during those miles.  

How you can track me:

If you care to follow along from afar, you can sign up to track me.  You can look me up by my name, which most of your know, or by my bib number which is 6320.  The cut off for signing up to track me is Saturday night at 7 pm.  Thanks in advance to those of you who will be cheering me on from afar!  I really appreciate the support and encouragement!

One last note:

The local Black Lives Matter chapter has announced their intention to disrupt the marathon and shut-down the course. Their plan it to stop the race at mile 25 and not allow runners to finish the race.  I hope and pray that this does not happen.  I don't want to get into a debate about this organization in this post because it's too complex for a post about a marathon but I will say that it would be very heart breaking if they succeed in doing this.  So while you are sending me good vibes for my race, if you could also send up a prayer that the protest is a peaceful protest and doesn't prevent me from finishing my race, that would be great.  I've got enough to worry about without having to worry about this!


And now my focus this week will shift to eating well, drinking lots of water, and getting as much sleep as I can so I will be ready to attack my goal with gusto!  Wish me luck and send me lots of good vibes on Sunday!!!

Kamloops Recap

I had the pleasure of visiting Amber in Kamloops over Labor Day weekend.  I don't have words to describe how fun and awesome the weekend was!  It combined all of my favorite things:  being active, being outdoors, spending time with a great friend, drinking delicious wine, and eating yummy food!  I have a lot of pictures to share, so this will be a picture-heavy recap!

On Thursday afternoon, I flew into Kelowna, which is about 2 hours away from Kamloops.  It wasn't ideal to fly into Kelowna but I just couldn't find a flight option that got me into Kamloops at a reasonable price with a reasonable number of stopovers...  so I owed Amber a huge thank you for driving to get me!  We took our time getting back and stopped in Salmon Arm to check out the view and stretch our legs.

The beautiful view in Salmon Arm

Our first selfie at the end of a long day of travel!

When we got to Amber's home, I was greeted by her pets, Webster and Chloe. Webster was particularly interested in me and proceeded to kind of stare me down for the rest of the weekend which was pretty hilarious. 

On Friday morning, we were up early for a sunrise run with Chloe.  Amber usually does this run with some other ladies but they all bailed!  We were already up, though, so we still went and I am so glad we did as the view at sunrise was gorgeous and it such a peaceful way to start the day!

Amber and Chloe on the run

We were rewarded with a beautiful view!

Taking a selfie by the waterfall we ran to.

After breakfast + coffee, we headed up to a ski area called Sun Peaks which is about 45 minutes from Amber.  I marveled over how the landscape changed from the desert to an area with lots of pine trees in just a matter of miles.  We took the chairlift up to mid-mountain and did a 7.5 mile hike which was beautiful!

We were at cloud-level at the peak of the summit!

On Friday night, Eric joined us for a yummy dinner at a local restaurant.  I definitely indulged by having a lettuce-wrapped burger, fries and wine, but we had earned an indulgent meal!

On Saturday morning, we went to a great hot yoga class at Amber's studio.  It was such an awesome class which left me feeling like I got a great workout!  After class, we hit up the farmer's market and then met up with Amber's mom and a friend for a delicious Mexican lunch. 

We had talked about going kayaking that afternoon but after all the activity the day before, I really needed a low key day.  So we got some cool refreshments at Starbucks and headed down to the river area where we sat on a park bench and chatted. 

On Saturday night, we got take-out pizza from a great local place that had GF pizza and I got Amber hooked on my favorite show, Parenthood!

On Sunday morning, Amber, Eric and I ran an 18 km trail race.  The race didn't start until 11 am so we had a low key morning at home.  The race was on a beautiful trail system in Kamloops.  The course was so challenging as we had quite a few climbs but we had a great time!

Stopping for a selfie along the way!

Stopping for the photo towards the top of a never-ending climb!  The views were incredible!

I was SO dirty afterwards!  Ignore my disgusting blistered feet/black toe nail. My poor feet!

After the race, we ate a delicious post-race meal of grilled burgers and brats and lots of other snacky things like hummus and veggies.  That's the best post-race meal I've ever seen at a race!  

We headed home after the race, showered, and headed out to a local winery that was about 25 minutes from Kamloops.  I did a wine tasting and then we settled on a nice bottle of white wine.  We shared a charcuterie plate and each had a glass of wine on the patio which had a beautiful view!  The weather was absolutely perfect!  

Cheersing to having another race behind us!

On Sunday evening, we made dinner, watched more Parenthood and went to bed tired and happy!  On Monday, we took our time getting ready and then Amber drove me back to Kelowna for my afternoon flight back home.  I was sad to say goodbye to Amber but grateful that I got to spend 5 full days with her exploring her beautiful area of British Columbia!!  Hopefully we will rendezvous again in 2016 for another running adventure!

How did you spend your long weekend?

Thoughts on this Training Cycle

I'm just under 2 weeks out from my triathlon and about 9 weeks out from my marathon so I thought it'd be a good time for a "check-in" post about how the training is going.  For my other marathons, I did weekly training posts but this time around I decided not to do that.  Truth be told, I don't feel like I'm 100% focused on either race, or not as focused as I was in other training cycles.  That's not to say that I am not working hard, because I am.  I just think that training for 2 different races at the same time has sort of taken away from my ability to really focus on either event. Plus, I've had other distractions like moving and starting a new job.

Maybe some of my lack of obsessiveness over my training plan has to do with the fact that this is my 4th marathon.  That's certainly not a high number of marathons but I'm at the point where I've done enough marathons to know how training works.  Plus being in a running club takes some of the planning out of my control as I trust that the coaches are putting together workouts that will get me to the starting line healthy and ready to run my race.

In an attempt to put some thoughts together on training, here's what's different/interesting about this training cycle:

1.  The long runs got long fast.  Because this has been a busy summer for me, time has gone by especially fast, which means that the long runs got long real fast.  I mean, our first 20 miler is in 2 weeks (but I will have to miss it as that is the weekend of my tri and there's no way I am going to run 20 miles and then do a triathlon the next day).  My body has handled the higher mileage well but it just boggles my mind that I'm already doing 16+ mile long runs!

2.  Different fuel.  The last time I ran a marathon, I totally bonked at the end because I physically could not force myself to eat another gu which meant I did not have any calories for the last 6+ miles - which is NOT good.  So this time around I have been using these single serving applesauce packets.  You know, the ones designed for kids.  They have 60 calories/pack whereas the gu has 100 calories/pack so they are in the same ballpark.  They are a little bit bulkier so it's harder to carry 3+ packets on you, but it's worth the hassle because eating real food > sucking down super sweet gu.

3.  I'm so tired...  I forgot how tiring marathon training is.  Throw in triathlon training on top of that plus a new job, which is going great but is mentally fatiguing as I learn the ropes and that = tired Lisa.  This might not have been the best time for me to also go off Ambien as that's contributing to my exhaustion as well but I thought maybe my exhaustion from training would offset eliminating the sleep aide.  I'm tired during the day and I am also tired during some of my training runs/bike rides.  I'm hoping to see an improvement once I am done triathlon training as I am planning to go from 1 rest day to 2 rest days after the triathlon is behind me.

4.  ... but not ridiculously hungry.  In past marathon training cycles, I had many weeks where I felt like I had an insatiable appetite, but that hasn't really been the case thus far.  I am definitely eating a bit more than I usually would but I don't feel as ravenous after my long runs as I did in past training cycles.  I've been trying to eat something with protein right after my long runs so maybe that is helping!

5.  Swimming will never be my strong sport.  Even though I grew up swimming in lakes and feel comfortable in the water, it's never going to be my strong sport.  I've done quite a few open water swims and while it's getting a little easier, I don't come away from any swims thinking, "dang I killed that!"  My mindset on race day will be to just get through the swim part so I can focus on the sports that I enjoy/feel comfortable doing.

All in all, I'm feeling healthy and on track to do well at both of my upcoming races.  Maybe the distracted way I've been feeling is good as I haven't really had time to obsess over how my training is going.  And sometimes a lack of obsession is a good thing!  I guess we'll find out on my race days...

Are you training for anything this summer? 

Get in Gear Half Recap

On Saturday, I ran the Get in Gear Half Marathon.  When I went to the packet pick-up, I was surprised to learn that it was the 38th annual race - that's got to be one of the longest standing races in the Twin Cities!

Before I delve into the recap, I'll cut to the chase - I managed to PR at this race by over 2 minutes!  My official time was 1:52:14.  I didn't go into this race expecting to 'race it' or PR it and I will definitely admit that it wasn't my smartest race, but you live and learn! Here's a recap!

The night before the race, Phil and I had a quiet night in.  We made roasted broccoli and this pasta recipe but skipped the mushrooms as someone (ahem, Phil) won't eat mushrooms. It was a simple, delicious recipe and one I'd definitely recommend. 

The race didn't start until 9 on Saturday so I got to wake up without an alarm on race morning, which is always nice.  I had my usual breakfast of oatmeal with banana and 2 cups of coffee and then headed out the door to take the lightrail to the race.  I'm so glad I could get there via public transportation!

I was kind of over dressed for this race but I don't like using bag drops and I didn't want to be cold waiting for the race to start!

The race course was along the Mississippi River so it was a pretty scenic route.  I would describe the course as rolling hills with 2 decent climbs/descents (which you can see below in the elevation profile).

Here are my splits:

Mile 1 - 8:30
Mile 2 - 8:11 (WAY too fast)
Mile 3 - 8:20
Mile 4 - 8:19
Mile 5 - 8:10 (WAY too fast again, but this mile was mostly downhill)
Mile 6 - 8:20
Mile 7 - 8:19
Mile 8 -  8:25

* This is the point where the pace I ran during the first part of the race started to catch up with me and my pace started to suffer.

Mile 9 - 8:37
Mile 10 - 8:40

* At this point, I knew that I would PR as long as I ran sub-10 minute miles, which I knew I could do.  I played a lot of mental games during the last 3 miles and told myself things like:  You just have to run 5k more!  Only 18 more minutes of discomfort!  Less than 9 minutes of discomfort!

Mile 11 - 8:32
Mile 12 - 8:50 (there was a big climb during this mile)
Mile 13 - 8:53
The rest - 8:40

I was SO happy to be done when I crossed the finish line.  I grabbed my medal and hobbled down to the area where they had the food, which was SO FAR from the finish line which I think is a poor decision for the race set-up...


I am very happy with my time, but I made a couple of big mistakes during this race.  First, I went out way too fast.  I shouldn't have been running 8:20 or faster miles in the beginning!  Second, I didn't eat anything during the race besides one cup of water and gatorade at each water stop.  They did have some gu's at around mile 10 but it was a brand I haven't had before and I didn't want to risk having GI issues in the final part of the course.  I know some people can do halves without any fuel besides water/gatorade, but I was reminded on Saturday that I am not one of those people.  I felt nauseated and had to force myself to eat afterwards, which is a telltale sign of not properly fueling.  Lesson learned - next time I will bring gu's.

I checked the race website for my final results when I got home for my results and was really happy with my stats!

But all in all, I'm very proud of my time and I am excited that I'll be going into marathon training with a great level of fitness!

Hot Dash 10 Mile Race Recap

I ran the inaugural Hot Dash 10 mile race on Saturday morning.  Truth be told, I completely regretted signing up for this race in the weeks leading up to it.  I signed up thinking it would be motivational and would push me to increase my weekend long run distances.  I thought the motivation might result in me becoming a winter runner.

Well, that plan kind of failed.  As usual, January and February were cold.  February was especially cold as we didn't get above freezing for most of the month and there were many subzero mornings.  I'm a hearty Minnesotan, but I'm not THAT hearty.  So my mileage has been very low and I only got in a handful of runs in the 6-8 mile range.

I went into this race with no expectations besides finishing.  I didn't have a pace goal in mind; I decided to just try to hold a pace that felt comfortable.  My previous PR was 1:32:32, which is about a 9:15 average pace.  I went into this thinking there was no way I'd beat that PR.

Luckily the race-day weather was perfect.  It was 37 degrees and sunny so I was able to just wear a light long sleeve and running pants.  

Getting ready to head out the door, feeling awfully nervous about how this race would go.

In my mind I thought it was realistic that I'd run around a 9:20-9:30 minute/mile pace.  Here is how my splits broke out:

Mile 1 -8:24
Mile 2 - 8:26

* After the first couple of miles I was surprised how comfortable the 8:30'ish pace felt.  I figured this race would turn into a tale of me starting too fast but I decided to just stick with the pace I was running since it felt good.

Mile 3 - 8:32
Mile 4 - 8:29
Mile 5 - 8:23

* At the halfway point I thought - "huh, I guess maybe I will PR."

Mile 6 - 8:20
Mile 7 - 8:25
Mile 8 - 8:24
Mile 9 - 8:28
Mile 10 - 8:22
The rest - 1:30 (the course measured 0.17 miles long)

The happy smile of a girl that just surprised herself and PR'd!

My official time was 1:25:37 - so I was 5 seconds shy of shaving 7 minutes off my last PR!  My official average page was 8:34. I love stats, so here are some finishing stats:

- 338th out of 1,029 total runners
- 128th out 576 female runners
- 31st out of 107 F30-35 runners

The only explanation I can come up with for this surprise PR is that I've done a lot of strength training and cross training over the last year.  If you need proof that strength training and cross training matter, my PR is proof of that.  I have done no speed training, hills, tempo runs, etc since last September.  The only explanation for my ability to maintain an 8:35 pace for 10 miles is that the combination of strength training and cardio I have done has made me a far stronger runner than I was when all I did was run!

It's nice to have a strong race under my belt.  Now I can focus on my next race which is a half marathon at the end of April!!  The spring session of my running club started on Saturday so my goal is to run with the group one week night and on Saturday mornings.  This 10-mile race showed me that I am in better shape than I thought I was so I am feeling good about my overall level of fitness!

But all that said, even though I ran a strong race and PR'd  - I'm NEVER signing up for a March race again.  I learned my lesson - nothing will turn me into a person who loves running in bitterly cold Minnesota temps!

Racing Plans

It's winter here and will likely be winter-like for the next 6+ weeks (it doesn't matter if Puxatawny Phil sees his shadow or not, winter is always long here).  Winter is by far my LEAST favorite time of year to run as I am just a cold weather wimp.  Plus I honestly feel like I am more sensitive to the cold than the average person - and Phil will back me up on this.  The blustering winds, icy sidewalks/running paths and cold temps just make it so hard to get out there and run but I have been trying to do my long run outside on the weekends.

But instead of dwelling on the less than favorite running conditions outside, I'm trying to do what I can to stay in shape and I'm starting to set my sights on my race plans for the spring, summer and fall! Race registration fees really add up fast so I am very selective about the races I do because I do not give myself a big budget for racing.  I'm excited about the races I selected for this year, though!  Here's what I've got planned for the year:

Hot Dash 10 Mile - I'll kick off my racing with a 10 mile race in my neighborhood on Saturday, March 7th.  This race is being put on by the same organization that puts on the Twin Cities Marathon so I think it will be a great race.  I signed up for this race for two reasons - 1)  I thought it would motivate me to increase my long run distance in January/February so I would have a strong base going into the summer.  2)  The race starts and finishes close to my neighborhood so I can walk to/from the start which is awesome!  Registering for this race in the hopes that it would motivate me to do longer runs earlier in the year sort of back-fired because I am just such a wimp when it comes to cold weather running, so I might be a little under trained for this.  I'll get through it but it certainly won't be a PR.

Get in Gear Half Marathon - I'll run my only half marathon race of the year on April 25th.  The course for this race is awesome as it's along the Mississippi and it follows about 7 miles of the Twin Cities marathon course so it's a good preview for people that plan to run that race.  And - I can take the light rail to the race which means I won't have to fight traffic or deal with the headache of parking which is always a bonus!  I will not be trying to PR at this - I mostly want to have fun and enjoy the beautiful course!

YWCA Women's Triathlon - My friend Courtney inspired me to sign up for this race on August 16th.  It will be my first tri so I am going into it with pretty low expectations for my time (I honestly don't even know what a "good" time would be).  I mostly want to finish with a smile on my face.  I'm a little nervous about training for this on top of training for my fall race (see below - I've got a big summer/fall ahead of me) but I will figure it out.  I figure I can bike to/from run club 2 nights a week to get some extra miles in on the bike and I will do a longer bike ride on Sundays, and I am considering doing a 6 week tri swim course at the Y (on top of open water swims, of course).  I am sure it will all come together and I'll have a great race day!

Twin Cities Marathon - Gulp.  You read that right.  On October 4th, I'll be running my 4th marathon.  When I was diagnosed with RA, I thought I'd never run another marathon.  But last year I did most of the marathon workouts and ran as far as 16 miles without any trouble so after talking it over with my Rheumatologist, I've decided to sign up for the TC marathon!  I did promise my doctor that I would stop training if my joint pain returned so I will be careful and listen to my body.  I don't know if I will run anymore marathons after this one, but I just want one last shot at this distance and when I decide to stop running marathons, I want to be the one making that choice versus having the choice made for me.  John is flying in to run this marathon so I am excited to run it with him and show him my city!  The Twin Cities marathon was the first marathon that I did way back in 2006 so I am excited to race it again.

So there you have it - 4 races that I am excited about!  For the most part, I don't really have goals for any of them, aside from staying healthy and having fun.  Of course I have a back of the mind goal for the marathon but I need to wait and see how my body handles training before I really set my heart on a particular time.

Do you have any racing plans for the year?  If you aren't a runner, are you working towards any fitness goals this year?

San Francisco Trip: Part 2

The second installment of my San Francisco trip will be all about the trail race that we ran in the Berkeley area.  I'll let the pictures mostly do the talking!  

We woke up to beautiful weather on Saturday morning!  I heard the race director say it was the first sunny race they'd had so I guess we got lucky!  The race started in an area that was close to a lake so it was very pretty!

This race was HARD.  Here is a picture of the elevation profile.
 

I enjoyed the race, but dang it was so hard.  I trained hard this summer and could have cranked out a strong road half marathon (and probably PR'd) but I was totally ill prepared for a trail run as I only did 3 trail runs over the course of the summer.  The thing is - I am all about convenience and trail running is not convenient for me as it requires long drives (and I dislike driving).  So as much as I enjoyed the race, I don't know that there is going to be much trail running in my future so long as I live in Minneapolis due to the inconvenience factor.

Since I knew I wasn't trained to push myself out there, I took it easy and put no pressure on myself to finish by a certain amount of time.  We walked all of the hills and stopped to take pictures as neither of us was really focused on time.  We ended up finishing in 3:07, which I was happy with because I thought it might have taken longer since it was so hilly!  I ran every step of the way with Amber, which was awesome.  We chatted during the entire race which made the time go by very fast.  I'm very thankful that she stuck with me for the whole race!

Here are some pictures from the race!

This picture probably doesn't do it justice, but this was one of the steep climbs towards the beginning.

Stopping for a photo on the way up!  It was nice to have no goal because that meant I could stop and take pictures as much as I wanted.  That would never happen in a road race!

We were rewarded with beautiful views at the peak elevation point!

This picture was taken towards the end of one of the really long climbs.  It's hard to see on the computer, but you can vaguely see some white shirts at the bottom of the hill which shows how far we had to climb!

Lauren, Amber and I at the finish.  You can see I am a little beat up because I totally bit it around mile 11.  I guess that makes me a legitimate trail runner!

All in all it was a fun run and it was nice to do a race where I put absolutely no pressure on myself regarding my time.  Not pictured is Kyria, who ran the 35k and Leigh, who was our awesome cheerleader!

Have you ever tried trail running?  If so, what did you think?  I think I would do more trail running if I lived closer to some trails as I do enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of trail running and the lack of focus on pace/splits!

Music, Books, Miles and Looks of September

Happy Monday!  Yikes, life has been busy lately.  I think this is the longest I have gone without blogging in quite awhile but I haven't been able to make time for it lately.  I've had lots of fun things going on lately but I am hoping that life slows down soon as the pace, at times, feels almost manic...   I need to get my act together and write some posts about San Francisco later this week!

Music:

 
Arms by Christina Perry - I love Christina Perry's voice.  I don't know much of her music, but I heard this song when I was shopping for my bike and LOVED it.  I bet she'd be great live.

Books:

This was a stronger reading month for me, mostly thanks to the long flights I had to and from California.  I read 5 books.  My favorite book by far was The Storied Life of AJ Fikry - I highly recommend it!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - 3 stars (thought I'd like this more than I did)
The Vacationers by Emma Straub - 4 stars
The Church of Tango by Cherie Magnus - 2 stars
Thrive by Arianna Huffington - 4 stars
The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin - 5 stars

Miles:

September was a pretty strong running month for me as I ran 106 miles!  On top of that I biked 86 miles!  I also completed my 6th consecutive month of 30 workouts in 30 days, which means I worked out 183 times in the last 183 days (actually a bit more I think because I think I exceeded my goal a couple of months).  I am taking a break from this for a couple of months because I feel like I need to put less pressure on myself to fit in ALL THE THINGS but it's been a great and very motivating challenge for me.

Looks:

I really had to reach to come up with some looks to post.  It's that transitional time when you are sick of your summer wardrobe but it's not quite cool enough to pull out the fall wardrobe.  Both of these looks are things I've owned for years, but they are good staple looks.

This outfit is pretty boring but the scarf makes it a little more interesting/fashionable.

I've owned these pieces for years but I still get compliments every time I wear this outfit.  I heart the color mustard  And the condiment..

 

Workout Wednesday: A Bucket List Run

I know that it is technically still summer, but like I said in my post on Monday, it's really starting to feel like fall (especially this week as the temps will dip into the 30s at night - what in the what?).  The humidity went away last Friday and the temperature dropped which means I woke up on Saturday morning to a perfect day for running.  My club was meeting in a different spot than usual in an area I wasn't familiar with.  I had gotten kind of lost on some trails the weekend before so when I saw there was a high likelihood that I'd spend much of the run lost or feeling on the verge of being lost, I decided to do my long run alone on a familiar path.

I decided to run around 3 Minneapolis lakes, which are referred to as the "Chain of Lakes."  This just so happened to be on my summer bucket list, so I was able to cross another thing off (side note:  I have not accomplished as much as I thought I would!). 

It was in the upper 50s when I started and I was a little bit cool in my shorts and t-shirt, but I quickly warmed up.  The skies were blue and the lakes were like glass; it was a picture perfect day to run.  Here are some (not-so-great) iPhone photos that I snapped along the way!

Lake of the Isles, which is the lake that is the closest to downtown Minneapolis.

Lake Calhoun, which is probably the most popular Minneapolis lake, but is actually my least favorite of the three.

Lastly, Lake Harriet, which is definitely my favorite of the three lakes!  I love the bandshell and marina area which you can see in the distance in this photo.

I have had some tough runs this summer as the workouts that the run club coaches plan are tough and some of them have been done in pouring rain, heat, and/or ridiculously high humidity.  Those tough runs have made me question if I am in as good of shape as I thought I was, but on Saturday I was reminded how much of a difference cooler temps make as my average pace for my 12 mile run was 8:53/mile, which is almost 40 seconds faster than my usual pace!  The best part is that I was able to maintain that pace without feeling like I was really working hard.

I definitely felt on top of the world when I finished this run.  Being able to run in such a beautiful area is something I really missed last summer.  Minneapolis is such a beautiful place to run as we have miles upon miles of running paths, many of which are alongside water.  It's no wonder that Minneapolis makes the 10 Best Running Cities list!  I've always appreciated the beauty of Minneapolis, but after being away, I appreciate it even more.

Life is not perfect right now (it never is, right?), but I'm thankful that I'm back in a city I love, logging miles upon trails with great views.

Music, Books, Miles and Looks

Oh hey, it's August.  That's crazy. But I don't know anyone who is thinking, 'gosh this year is going slow' so I guess I am not alone in thinking the year is going by fast - maybe too fast.  July was a blur.  I fit a lot in so it's not surprising that it flew by!  

Music:


Photograph by Ed Sheeran - I couldn't find a good live version of this song, so this is the version from the album.  I love a lot of the songs from his new album but this is one of my favorites!


Boyce Avenue covering What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction - I was introduced to this cover artist by a yoga instructor.  He tends to cover pop songs, but slows them down to a different pace. 

Books:

When I went back to look at how many books I read this month, I was actually surprised that I read 3 as it felt like I barely read during the month of July.  My weekends and week nights have been so busy that I just don't make time to read like I did in the past (see how I didn't say I don't have time to read?  I don't like it when people say they don't have time for things).  I miss reading on a more frequent basis but don't see life slowing down anytime soon so the second half of 2014 might just be a slower reading season for me!

Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank - 3 stars
On the Island by Tracy Garvis-Graves - 3 stars
Painting the Moon by Traci Borum - 3 stars

Miles:

You guys!  I had a 100+ mileage month for the first time since September of 2012!!  That is huge for me! I ran about 118 miles last month which is a big increase over last month when I ran about 78 miles!  The reason for the mileage increase is that run club started up again in July so all of my runs are longer than they were when I was logging miles alone.  I also surpassed my goal of doing 31 workouts in 31 days as I did 33 workouts!  I'm on a 4-month streak of meeting my workout-a-day goal!

Looks:

One of my favorite outfits of the month is this head-to-toe Banana Republic outfit.  The pants are cream but have a texture to them which makes them different/fun.  The top is kind of obnoxiously bright but I heart pink so figured I can pull it off.

Outfit #2 is another head-to-toe BR look. When will this company start paying me for all the marketing I do for them??  This shirt actually made last month's post, but I am including it again this month as I paired it with a new pencil skirt that I got for 1/2 off.  I love that I pretty much get everything 40-50% off at Banana.

Lastly, my stitch fix top made my list of favorite looks.  And what do you know, I'm wearing it with another slightly different khaki skirt (which is from Banana!).  My closet is so diverse, I know.