The Cold Feat 10k and day 1 of half marathon training today

21. February 2017 · Write a comment · Categories: running · Tags: , , ,

Happy Monday!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I ran the Cold Feat 10k trail run on Saturday and had a great time. 16826059_10212046217612429_5317901885331885100_oIt was more like a hike vs a run as I was still getting over the flu and just didn’t have the energy to move very fast, especially up all the hills. But eventually I made it to the finish line so I accomplished my goal!16649302_10212045563356073_7268340395980016362_n

After hiking these trails in the dark for the last 6 weeks it was fun to get re-acquainted with them during the day! I’m grateful for any time I can spend outdoors in the woods.

All you have to remember is to follow the pink ribbons and the arrows

All you have to remember is to follow the pink ribbons and the arrows

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This is one of the shorter hills!

This is one of the shorter hills!

16831060_10212045565076116_2305164421416021485_nThe weather warmed up into the low 50s by the end of the race which was just lovely. And I’m loving my swag! I’ve never owned a hat with a pom-pom on the top. Isn’t that crazy?16807342_10212045562916062_3733680363259412042_n

Meanwhile Winter is on hiatus for a while. It’s been in the 60s! What?! I hope we get some cold weather and snow again before Spring officially arrives in a month.

I had a really great run today…
IMG_9457I am starting out the week with my official half-marathon training schedule. Ironically after declaring that I wasn’t concerned about my pace or finish times at all for this training cycle, I just had such a zippy and fairly effortless first run. I chose the multi-use path by the beach today because it’s flat and I want to ensure I am kind to my hamstrings so I can make it through all the miles over the next 3 months. IMG_9463

I’m planning on 2 shorter weekday runs each week of 3-5 miles and flat when I can control it. And then I’ll build up my long runs each weekend starting with a 6-8 miler this coming weekend. Plus I’ll keep up with those weekly Wednesday night hikes and I’ll be doing lots of strengthening and stretching of the glutes/hammies/core/hips!!

Well, I’m off to do some glamorous stuff like laundry and paying bills. Catch ya later!

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Finish line vs finish time and flu recovery

18. February 2017 · 4 comments · Categories: running · Tags: , , , ,

Happy Saturday!

Flu Recovery:

I was just starting to feel sick when I wrote my last post on Sunday and the week went downhill FAST!

IMG_9293

Tea is a sickie’s best friend

The last time I had the flu was 2009 and I’m fairly certain I had it again this week. Whatever it was, it left me with a fever that reached 103 at one point and overall the fever lasted for 3 days with full on night sweats, chills, severe fatigue, aches and sore skin! Even the skin on my scalp was sore that washing my hair was painful. I managed to work in spurts when the Tylenol would kick in and then rest when I was caught up and did nothing but lay on the sofa or take Duncan for short walks the rest of the day.

One of the 3 times I ventured outside all week

One of the 3 times I ventured outside all week

Tuesday of course was Valentine’s Day and Mr. SOTSS was already starting to feel crappy too so we spent the evening on the sofa sipping hot tea and watching the Westminster dog show.

The winner!

The winner!

The other winners

The other winners

IMG_9315He was sweet enough to bring me candy and flowers and a beautiful card. I sent him home with hand written instructions for medicine that could help ease his symptoms. Fair exchange, no?

My V-day goods

My V-day goods

His goods

His goods

Wednesday I had to bail on the night hike which was really a bummer but I was in no shape and Thursday I popped over briefly to visit Mr. SOTSS and make sure he was recovering ok. Yesterday I was fairly busy with work and other than that just took Duncan to the park for a hot minute.

my laptop accessory

my laptop accessory

quick ride to park for hot-minute walk

quick ride to park for hot-minute walk

Meanwhile today is the Cold Feat 10K trail run (like in an hour!) and while I’m still going to run it, I’ll have to adjust accordingly. I still have a cough and some chest congestion and the coughing fits have left me with stomach discomfort and extremely interrupted sleep. This leads me to wanting to discuss “finish line” vs “finish time”

Finish Line vs Finish Time

I think it’s so important to have a clear goal in mind of ONLY one of these when running a race. Since the new year began I’ve run 2 trail runs and both races I knew going in were just to get to the finish line. I had not a single care in the world about what the time on the clock was or should have been. And each race I walked away feeling complete and accomplished. This is a new thing for me. I remember feeling like “why bother” if I knew I couldn’t run the race at a pace I thought I should be running. Today’s 10k will be solely for that finish line! I might have to walk/hike some of the course but I’m ok with that because I am choosing “finish line” over “finish time” in an effort to take care of myself.

Hope you have a great weekend! I’ll be back with a recap later this weekend.

How sick is the sickest you’ve ever been?

How do you decide if a race goal will be the “finish line” or a “finish time”? 

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Focus on what you CAN do and the 2015 Cold Feat 10k

22. February 2015 · 8 comments · Categories: injury, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

So, I had a little meltdown in my car yesterday afternoon when I tried to run a couple of miles for the first time in a month and the knee didn’t approve nor did it improve. How could 4 weeks of rest go by without ANY improvement? (apparently I’m really stubborn and not listening to my “Time and Rest heal everything” advice) Other than my day of skiing 3 weeks ago I haven’t done any cardio. Tears were shed…

tears

is it weird that in the midst of crying I needed to document it with a photo?

Don’t feel bad for me. It’s totally not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. It’s my own personal struggle and I’m going to have to dig deep to keep myself sane.

More »

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My 2014 Running Highlights

10. January 2015 · 4 comments · Categories: running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Well, it might have taken me almost 2 weeks, but I’m so excited about this post because I love to reflect back on all the fun stuff! As a matter of fact I just might not even mention a thing about my injuries in this post because we all know they were a far cry from a highlight =)

January 26th, 2014: The Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon

We sure had one very cold and very snowy winter and it was great to have a half marathon to run in the new year while everyone else was home in their PJs watching TV and staying warm. It was 17 degrees that day. I always feel like running in inclement or extreme weather gives you honorary rock star status.

2014 fred lebow half1

Enjoying some frozen Gatorade

My friend Carey was the only other brave peep with me that day and we ran together from start to finish. She’s such a consistently paced runner and I enjoyed letting her keep us nice and steady.

2014 fred lebow half1a

Carey and me braving the cold for 13.1 miles in Central Park

More »

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