My Favorite Marathon!!

Life has seriously been a nonstop marathon for weeks!   On December 6 I ran one of my favorite marathons ever... the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon.  There are so many things I love about this race .. It is in my home state,  the field size is less the 2600 runners for the full and half marathon, the course is beautiful and flat,  I always have a ton of friends who run this event and I can literally walk .25 miles to the start of the race right before the race starts ... also the after party is amazing!!

So this year I was a little burnt out going into the race and had a feeling I was not going to PR and shockingly I was ok with that.  I love this race and have raced either the half or the full since the race started.  Mary Beth Evans is the BEST race director I have ever met and definitely goes above and beyond for the event and the runners!!  Plus, look how cute her sparkly jeans are with her Mizuno sneaks!!! 

Jen, Mary Beth and Me!

I drove down Friday morning with my parents and my brother.  We stopped at Surf Bagel to start the carb loading:

If you haven't tried Surf Bagel you must do so asap!  We hit up the outlets and did a few hours of shopping before heading into town and going to packet pick-up,  I love how efficient and easy packet pick-up is for this event!

I got to see my friend Lori ( she is an awesome trainer and the Y running coach )!

 After I got my bag, shirt and bib I met my parents and brother at Fins Raw Bar for lunch!  We LOVE Fins and Tom the manager there is fantastic!  We checked in at the Alantic Sands Hotel and relaxed for a while.  I laid out all my Oiselle gear and did a little stretching and foam rolling.

 Race morning the temperature was perfect and there was barely any wind so I wrapped up in my Rigby's blanket and walked to the start!

My nerves started to kick in until I met up with my running buddies at the start of the race:

John, Jenn B and Me

Jenn B, Me, Dawn, Angel and Debbie

My Ragnar teammate John was shooting for a 3;23 and I was shooting for under 3:35 ... My A goal was sub 3:25, B goal 3:30 and overall goal was to have fun and enjoy this event!  I took off and felt comfortable the first 4 miles .. I was running side by side with my new bff Yuen from New Jersey!  He was awesome and kept me on track and at a great pace:

John in the zone at mile 10

My buddy Yuen

This guy was the best!!

I felt great and was loving every second of the race!  I saw my hubby at mile 2-3, then at mile 10, 18, 21 and 23.   Miles 19.5 to 24.5 are on the Breakwater Trail ... which I normally love but I started to get the worst calf cramps and I am not sure if it was the trail or hydration that was causing them.  Due to the cramps my pace slowed greatly on this portion and I had to stop and work out the knot in my calf!  

My hubby caught the struggle on film!  I was afraid to look at him because I didn't want to cry!

I told myself "do not let anyone pass you from here to the finish line"  ... I am proud to say I didn't get passed!

I am so proud of so many of my friends for crushing their goals and getting the BQ!!

My hero Wes had an epic race and crossed the finish line strong:

John CRUSHED his goal and crossed the line at 3:22!!!!   This pic is awesome!

And my fellow Oiselle runner Katharine was the overall female winner!! Woohoo Oiselle!

The best feeling in the world is crossing the finish line and having your hubby, parents and friends cheering for you!  I was 12th female and 3rd in my AG!  I also snagged a BQ with 3:30:11.

Best parents in the world!

I do not have a pic with my hubby but he truly is the BEST!  He drove down Friday night and got up early with me to go to the race.  He is my #1 fan and I would be lost out there without him!  After my race he drove back home to pick up our boys and drove back down to the beach again!!

Since our hotel was so close to the after party I ran back took a quick HOT shower and went back to the party and to cheer on the final runners!  A HUGE thank you and shout out to the 16 Mile Brewery Brew Crew!!!  The best reward after a marathon is an iced cold beer!

Boston 2016 here we come!!

And this girl here!!  I saw Jenn B at mile 18 ... she was exactly what I needed at that moment in the race!  Dave was there too and cheering his head off for us!!  I cannot say enough about my running friends and how inspiring each one of them are!

Jenn even snapped this pic of my at mile 18!  I am so cool I run marathons with my eyes closed!

Thank You again to Rigby's Rehoboth for sponsoring me for this event!!  Make sure if you are in town you visit Rigby's and have an amazing meal and beverage!!!

Please come run the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon 2015 ... You will have the best time of your life!!

I also have to give a big shout out to Mizuno for their Wave Rider 18's!!!!  These are by far my favorite sneaks ever!!!!!!!  

Happy Running & Happy Holidays!!!

LOVING this weather...

Last week we were in the midst of a heat wave with temps in the high 90's and high humidity....this week has been GORGEOUS and very Fall-like!  I am in heaven as this is my ideal running weather.  I have still been logging some decent miles the past few weeks and keeping my long run between 12-15 miles so I have a nice base to start MCM training this coming week.  I have decided to reach out to a highly recommended running coach and am excited to chat with him about my goals for this racing season....I will do a post on this after I speak to him about everything!  The past few marathons and training cycles I feel I really truly have not pushed myself and have stayed in my comfort zone...But this year I really want to meet my goals and see what I can do!  So more to come about that!!

Get ready legs and Mizuno!!

This past Sunday I made a last minute decision ( with a little peer pressure from Lori and Sandra ) to run in the 31st YMCA 5 mile race...I started with a 4.5 mile warm up run from my parents place in Fenwick to Bethany then the hubby picked me up and we drove to the race.  It was humid but not awful like it had been.  I really did not have a plan or goal for this race and my Garmin also decided to not work AGAIN!!!!  I think it may be time for a new Garmin...I love the laid back feel and energy of the beach running community.  Everyone is so supportive and friendly down here which really makes running fun!  This race started at Deauville Beach in Rehoboth which had plenty of parking and clean port-a-pots (bonus!)...also with the race entry fee you had beach access all day and could run down and hop in the cool water right after the race!  The race course was great...you start out on Surf Ave. then you run right back through a beautiful neighborhood with plenty of shade before heading back out on to Surf Ave. then you dip back into a neighborhood again, loop around and come back for a straight away down Surf Ave. and finish back at the start....There were 3 water stops on the course and plenty of water and Gatorade at the finish along with pancakes, bagels and fruit!  I finished 4th overall female and 1st in my AG....

LOVE my Oiselle!!

AG award and $75 gift certificate

 I love the trophy and I also won a $75 New Balance GC!!!!!!   This totally made my day!  Seashore Striders are the BEST!

After the race we gathered up the boys and spent the day on the beach...Oh hello there 6 pack!

The ocean water felt amazing on my legs...I am so spoiled by the beach life!

If you are down the beach this weekend checkout a few of the races:

12th Annual Northbeach College Day 5k + Pump N Run

Saturday, July 27  8:00am
https://www.signup2raceusa.com/race_info.aspx?race_id=138
Free Beer after this run..woohoooooo!  Also a free Kiddie K for those ages 7 and under!

Then hang out on the beach or take a nap and then run the:

Shadow Series ~ Firefly 5K & 10K

Saturday, July 27, 2013 - 7:00pm

http://www.seashorestriders.com/content/shadow-series-firefly-5k-10k
How fun to run at night!!!

Then wake up early and do it again!

16th Run For J.J. 5k & 5k walk

Sunday, July 28, 2013 - 7:30am

http://www.seashorestriders.com/content/16th-run-jj-5k-5k-walk

Or if you are up north checkout the 7th Run for Kids Health 5k
Saturday July 27, 2013 - 8:30 am

Anyone racing this weekend? 

I unfortunately am working 5 midnight shifts in a row and will be running on my own...BOOOO!!!

Happy Running!

Wacky Weather and Spirit of the Marathon II

Oh my goodness this weather has been crazy!  Monday we had to "take shelter" at the Y due to a tornado and now today the sky was soooooo dark and gloomy this morning now its sunny and hot!   CRAZY!  On Monday I was able to squeeze in 8 miles just under 60mins before we had to clear out of the gym and take shelter in the gym...this freaked the boys out a lot!  Luckily we did not have any damage from the tornado or storm but it was too close for my liking. 

Tuesday:  I had to work 2 midnight shifts so today was a rest day.. but I did manage to do my PT stuff and core work....I need to really step up my core exercises!  I also finally had the nerve to open this baby and read it:

INSTAGRAMMED @DERUNNINGMOM

As I was reading through this I kept getting overwhelmed with emotions and it really hit me just how close we were to everything!!  65 feet from where Chase was in the hotel with my parents and my friend Debbie on the corner of Boylston and Exeter....Just seeing the pictures and where the bombs went off made me count my blessings again!  I think Runner's World did an amazing job with this issue and I will save it forever.  My BFF sent me a text this same day saying she will never delete this text message she has on her phone:

This means more to me than I can explain!

Wednesday:  Tempo 10...My plan today was to start this run off on the slower end and to have a negative split at the end.   So here are my mile splits:
Mile 1: 8:23
Mile 2: 8:19
Mile 3: 8:06
Mile 4: 8:00
Mile 5: 7:47
Mile 6: 7:35
Mile 7: 7:23
Mile 8: 7:03
Mile 9: 6:53
Mile 10: 6:40

I finished this run feeling like I could have just kept going and going!  LOVE it! 
So to finish off a fantastic day Angel and I went to see Spirit of the Marathon II with a group of MAC runners!  This movie was so inspirational and got me thinking of what my future racing goals are.   I have to laugh because normally in movies there is a ton of popcorn chomping and soda slurping but NOT in a theater filled with marathon runners!!!!  

Today was a lifting/core day for me...I am really trying to be good with this cross training and strengthening because when  I start my MCM training cycle I want to be in tip top shape! 

I am working this weekend so no races for me but there is the 23rd Run the Westside Way on Saturday June 15th @ Kelly's Logan House in Wilmington starting at 8:30am and the 26th Paul Schlosser Memorial Sprint Triathlon at St. Andrews School on Sunday June 16th....And if you are down south there are a lot of races to enjoy...10th Annual Georgetown Library 5K Run/Walk & 1 Mile Walk on Friday June 14th @ 7pm, 3rd Irish Eyes 5K Dash (Irish Eyes in Milton, DE) Saturday June 15th @ 8 am,  and 22nd Fathers Day 5k Run (Rehoboth Ale House, Rehoboth, DE) Sunday June 16th @ 7:30 am!

Anyone racing this weekend?

Anyone else see Spirit of the Marathon?

I wanted to send a HUGE CONGRATS to my Chiropractor and the birth of his beautiful TWIN GIRLS!!!  And also another HUGE CONGRATS to Jess @ blondeponytail for the birth of her gorgeous baby girl! 

Happy Running!

Summer Racing...

This past weekend lit my summer racing spark and has made me excited to revamp my fitness routine!  We went to the beach on Friday for the Memorial Day weekend and I decided to sign up for the 20th Annual Masser 5 Miler on Sunday so Friday I did a quick speed session.... I started with a warm up mile @ 8:06 pace then I did 8 x 400 meter repeats for a total of 5.5 miles in 38 minutes.  I have said it a million times that I am not a fan of speed but would rather run for hours and miles on end so to make myself a better all around runner I have made a deal with myself to focus on shorter faster distances this summer! 

On Saturday my hubby was playing softball in Ocean City, MD so I ran from my parents beach place to the softball fields to support his team... My goodness was it windy!  It was about 4 miles from house to fields and it took me about 28 minutes to get there!  Northside Park is a great place for family fitness if you are ever in that area!  It is located on the bay side at 127th street and has a great playground and fitness area that my boys LOVED!  Plus there is a great running trail that has a .25/ .50/.75 loop around the complex! 






Sunday was the Seashore Striders kickoff to their summer racing series at the beach...The 20th Annual Masser 5 miler!   I had a bunch of friends running this race so I decided since I planned on running anyway on my own why not sign up and run with friends!!  I picked up Dawn and we headed to Cape Henelopen in Lewes.  We are use to bigger races and got there wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to early!  Beach racing is much more laid back!  I absolutely loved this race and course!  It was a single loop course with a small part of it on a gravel trail ( I love a trail ) and completely flat!  My Garmin was dead and I forgot my charger so I ran "naked" without my watch and just went off of feel.  I had no expectations or idea how I was going to do....But I was happy with my time and even chatted with a fellow runner about Disney races and marathon training for a mile or so.  That was a pretty good indication that I could push a lot harder! 

Post Race!

2nd in AG

I snagged 2nd in my age group with a time of 34:30 ... I was pleased but felt like I could have ran a lot harder! 

After the race it was time to head back out to the softball fields and cheer on the Titans Softball team!  And then celebrate my mom's birthday!!!  We went to dinner at Fins in Rehoboth and had an amazing dinner and even better brew! 

Real Men Wear Pink!!

Angel and Ginny decided to drive down Monday morning to race the 11th Highway One 5k race and pump and run...So once again I picked up Dawn and we laced up to race again!

 This event is hosted by Races2Run and was awesome!  It started at the Rusty Rudder in Dewey and ran an out and back course.  Since I fueled with some adult beverages the day before and forgot to eat breakfast ( oops ) I really didn't expect much!  It was great to see many of the same faces as Sunday's race back out to run again!  The first mile I just went at a comfortable pace and was still chatty...mile 1.5-ish we turned around an headed back toward the Rudder I passed Angel and she yelled out how many females were ahead of me so then my competitive side kicked in and I started to speed up a bit...I finished the race 4th overall female and 1st in my AG but once again felt like I could have pushed A LOT harder!  3.1 mile sin 21:01...Yup that :01 is killing me!!

Pint Glasses for prizes!

INSTAGRAMMED @DERUNNINGMOM

 So this is my goal for the next 2 months...Push harder on the races and learn how to pace! 

If anyone is from Delaware or is looking to race while here on vacation you must checkout Races2Run or the Seashore Striders websites out for some great races with even better post race parties!  What a great way to start the day then with a workout and a post workout refreshment before hitting the beach?!! 

Hope everyone is staying cool out there today!  HYDRATE!!

Happy Running!