Friday Favorites

22. April 2016 · 3 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running, running gear, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

Sometimes I just can’t be creative with my post titles. So, here are some Friday Favorites:

  1. Inspirational: You must read about these 7 inspirational Boston Marathon stories. That Jeff Bauman and his wife…..they are my heroes!
  2. Happy Chicken: I ran 4 miles Wednesday and was so happy about my decision to chicken out of my NJ Marathon goals because I was struggling so much that I most definitely would have been grouchy had I been trying to keep a certain pace. I think I ran too soon after a big meal and after today’s run I also think the seasonal allergies are getting to me.wed-run
  3. Capris: Yep, I ran again yesterday.
    Testing out the Saucony Bullet capris

    Testing out the Saucony Bullet capris

    The sole purpose was to give my new running capris a test. I went ahead with the Saucony Bullet capri recco (Thanks Steph!) and they fit great! They didn’t budge one bit. And I LOVE the side mesh pockets that are big enough to hold my iPhone 6 and fuel. I might be able to lose the spi-belt for races if I wear these. The only issue is that I sweat so much. I’ll have to get a waterproof case for my phone. In the 3 miles I ran with it the camera lens got all wet since it’s the only part of the side of the phone facing my thigh that isn’t protected by the case. But the phone stayed put and I didn’t even feel it. I picked the pattern over solid because I saw a review that said if you sweat a lot it will look like you peed yourself. LOL. I have to say the pattern does a great job of masking that.

    Photo on 4-21-16 at 5.08 PM

    This big iPhone 6 fits in the pocket.

    Photo on 4-21-16 at 5.09 PM

    Ta-dah!

  4. Freshly Groomed: Duncan went to the groomer and upon returning home exhausted he grabbed his corn on the cob toy and proceeded to take it to bed for an afternoon siesta. I love how he picked a color coordinating toy.

    sleeps with yellow things

    sleeps with yellow things

  5. Seeing Duncan’s Pal: Before the groomer we walked at the park and bumped into Chance, the boxer, Duncan’s pal. We haven’t seen Chance in at least 6 months and I think his tongue grew a few inches.

    This is Chance and his ridiculous tongue

    This is Chance and his ridiculous tongue

  6. Talking About Running: I was interviewed for a podcast series this week and it should be out next week. I’ll share all the details as soon as I get them. Stay tuned! Spoiler alert: I admit to wanting to run another 5 half marathons in 5 days in 5 states like I did at the Center of the Nation Series.
  7. Honeysuckles: They’re starting to come out—earlier than usual—but I’m not complaining.IMG_2538
  8. Sunsets: Especially when the create a glowing doodle tail.
    he's glowing

    he’s glowing

    What are your Friday Favorites?

Related posts:

  1. a day in the life and another night with those fireflies
  2. 60 degrees in December
  3. testing out new shoes and a twisted knee in my sleep

17 years and chickening out

19. April 2016 · 3 comments · Categories: running, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Hi there.

First, thanks for the capri suggestions!

Today is April 19th. On this day 17 years ago, a 25-year-old me was holding my 29-year-old husband’s hand as he took his last breath. I still feel my heart skip a beat when I say (or type) that statement. (For those of you who don’t know the story, he was diagnosed with stage 3 Melanoma in 1998 and 10 months later, it took his life).

I'm wearing his favorite sweatshirt today. The photos on the right are from a trip we took to the Grand Canyon in 1997

I’m wearing his favorite sweatshirt today. The photos on the right are from a trip we took to the Grand Canyon in 1997

I had 2 choices in the aftermath—stay frozen with grief or fight my way through it. I definitely had some frozen days but I fought each day for small accomplishments—getting out of the house for a bit, showering, even cooking myself a meal. Never did I think I’d accomplish feats as big as completing a marathon. I won’t forget for one second the tough days, the sadness, the emptiness or the pain I felt for so many years (yes, years!). But I also won’t forget the feeling of pride, completion and happiness as I made strides in getting back to living…..especially culminating in one of my biggest accomplishments of crossing the finish line of my first marathon which might have never happened if I didn’t have that grief to fight through. The best way to honor those we’ve lost is to live a life as full and authentic as we can. I’m grateful for Lisa who peaked my interest in running and encouraged me through those early miles as I found my new identity. And now I’m a “master” and I find myself sharing my story to help and inspire others who might feel that hopelessness.

I ran 4.19 miles last night in his memory. Ironically he hated running. I remember one evening I suggested we go to the park and run because I was trying to lose weight and his friend Stuart who was with us that evening wanted to do the same. Dickey didn’t want any part of it. His stance was unless someone was chasing you there was no reason to run. But he went with us anyway and ended up becoming our drill sergeant keeping us motivated. Running was effortless for him. Figures. He didn’t even want to run and he was good at it.

Run done

Run done

Rest in Peace Mr. Stilwell

Rest in Peace Mr. Stilwell

Normally I like to round up my mileage and I would have stopped at 4.25 but I stayed at 4.19 for April 19th. 🙂 I decided to try for a 9:45 pace in preparation of my goal pace for the NJ Half Marathon in 12 days. The first 2 miles were fairly close at 9:43 and 9:49 but then, as hard as I tried, my next 2 miles were 10:03. Unfortunately this run made me angry and frustrated. I remembered why I hate to make time goals for races. I wanted to kick myself for declaring to the world that I wanted to finish sub 2:10. So I’m officially chickening out. I’m taking the pressure off before it really gets put on. Maybe I’m just being a coward but the last thing I want to do is make the next 2 weeks stressful. I want to enjoy my running days and not beat myself up when I don’t hit those paces.

Duncan is shooting for goals himself. Getting lazier and cuter before the end of the week. #NailedIT!

Lazier by May

Lazier by May

Cuter by May

Cuter by May

Have you lost anyone close? Spouse? Parent? Friend? Would love for you to share a memory about them in the comments

Related posts:

  1. Meh
  2. 60 degrees in December
  3. testing out new shoes and a twisted knee in my sleep

Long runs and long legs

16. April 2016 · 6 comments · Categories: running, running gear, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

I ran 10 miles yesterday afternoon.

FullSizeRender Sometimes it just makes sense to get the long run out of the way on a Friday so the weekend can be uninterrupted. I’m lucky to have the flexibility in my schedule right now. And today while Mr. SOTSS is getting his long run in, I’ll be chilling back at the house with his 10-year old. Teamwork!

I didn’t have it in me to do a long run in the neighborhood again so I took it to the beach and ran along the pretty trails alongside the ocean and through other parts of the national park area.

I love living on a coast.

I love living on a coast.

quiet, secret trails

quiet, secret trails

The weather was gorgeous. Bright blue skies and about 59 degrees. I started out a little too fast for a long run but it caught up with me. I did however bust out my fastest mile in the last mile for the win!splits

And here’s a great shot AND an outtake from my timer-camera pit-stop about midway into the run.

successful timer-camera action (and when do i retire this shirt? I've been wearing it for 3 years now! I get so attached to my marathon finisher's shirts)

successful timer-camera action (and when do i retire this shirt? I’ve been wearing it for 3 years now! I get so attached to my marathon finisher’s shirts)

Unsuccessful timer-camera shot. LOL!

Unsuccessful timer-camera shot. LOL!

And no, unfortunately (or fortunately) I’m not the one with the long legs….Duncan is:IMG_2429

I need your help.

My running capris are getting really worn and I’m going to have to replace them soon. The ones in the pics above are not made anymore. They were the Brooks Essential Capri. Who’s got suggestions for good running capris?

  1. They need to stay up,
  2. not unravel along the seams,
  3. have a zipper pocket in the back,
  4. be closer to compression gear but not that tight and not come too far below my knee.

What’s the weather like by you this weekend? Ever do your long run on a Friday?

Related posts:

  1. Bring on the Rain and a Hamstrain
  2. My goals for the NYC Marathon
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My not so secret NJ Half Marathon goals

15. April 2016 · Write a comment · Categories: fundraising, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,

Hi,

First, with today being the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bomings, and with Monday being this year’s Boston Marathon I thought it would be the perfect time to share this opportunity for you to feel the intense passion my friend Roger has for running and for helping find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

Roger is one of the 5 of us who ran the Mainly Marathons Center of the Nation Series back in 2013.

Roger in Wyoming on his self-declared "Boston Strong" day. We all wore blue to support the Boston victims

Roger in Wyoming on his self-declared “Boston Strong” day. We all wore blue to support the Boston victims

The short version is Roger lost 113 pounds in 9 months to run the Boston Marathon and raise money to help support Team Boomer and the important research being done to conquer Cystic Fibrosis.

Roger’s niece Julia has CF and while Roger was morbidly obese and could barely breathe he realized that his niece was also struggling to breathe. But he had a choice to remedy that. He’s been a force like no other I’ve yet to meet in my life. You must go here to donate if you can. He chooses one marathon a year to be his big fundraising effort and this year it’s Big Sur.

Here’s his amazing video:

Best of Luck to you Roger and I can’t wait to see photos from the race! Big Sur is a sight like no other.

____________

In other big news Duncan got his stitches out yesterday! Yippee!

IMG_2418

And I’ve been eating too many Peanut M&Ms.

There is no such thing as sharing. I don't share my Peanut M&Ms

There is no such thing as sharing. I don’t share my Peanut M&Ms

I was feeling rather sore in 2 spots after the Love Run, my left calf and my right piriformis. So I didn’t run at all on Monday and Tuesday. But Wednesday and yesterday I ran about 4 miles each at an easy pace.

Wednesday easy 4

Wednesday easy 4

Thursday easy 4

Thursday easy 4

My calf still feels a bit achy and i’m actually planning to get in my long run later today, so i’ve been wearing a compression sleeve, and massaging and foam rolling it, and using ice/heat too. After today, I’ll most likely take a few days off completely.

____________

NJ Half Marathon Goals

So now I’ll tell you about my goals for the NJ Half Marathon in 17 days. I was going to keep them a secret but something compelled me to share. First of all, after 3 years running the full at NJM, this will be my first time running the half there.

Setting my marathon PR at the NJ Marathon in 2014

Setting my marathon PR at the NJ Marathon in 2014

The last 2 races (Cherry Blossom 10 miler and Love Run Half Marathon) I’ve kept a 10 min overall pace with plenty of splits between 9:37 and 9:45. And I was completely in control of my breathing the entire time. I’d probably consider these tempo runs. So, I have decided—barring any injury or crappy weather on race day—that I want to push myself and try to keep a 9:45 pace for the entire race and finish sub 2:10. I’ve run about 35 half marathons in my life ranging in time from 2:05 to 2:54 and only 3 of those were sub 2:10 (2:05:03, 2:07:54 and 2:09:18) So if I can keep to a 9:45 pace I can finish in 2:08. I know it’s going to be tough but I want the challenge. And this course is not only flat, but I know every turn like the back of my hand having run the full marathon 3 years plus doing multiple training runs on the course. I’m not going to be devastated if I can’t achieve this goal but I’m excited about trying 🙂

 

What or who inspires you?

Any fun weekend plans?

Will you be watching the Boston Marathon on Monday?

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