Double 5k, a Long Run, and Costco

This weekend after hanging out and staying up way to late on Friday night I was not about to get up to run a local 5k on Saturday morning....I really should have went since my running club was hosting the event but we were kid-free and sleep was way more important!  So when I finally did get up and drank my coffee I decided to go out for a "run for one" 5k.   I started with a warm up 3.1 miles in 22:34 then I stretched, got a drink and then pushed myself for another 3.1 in 19:57!!!!  I apologize if I scared anyone at Glasgow Park zipping around the track! 

We had another awesome get together with my hubby's softball team and enjoyed a crab feast!  I forgot to take pics since my hands were covered in old bay!!

Sunday I had my first 20+ mile run of my MCM training cycle...I have to be honest I was very nervous about this run!  My friend/coach had told me to keep this on the slower end and to not worry about my time but focus on getting the miles on my legs ( this is a hard thing for me to do )!   I met up with Dawn and Angel and we trotted through Middletown...I ran 2 miles before we started and then ran 13ish miles with the girls.   Then they headed back home and I logged the rest of my miles...Thank God Angel hopped on her bike and rode out to keep me in check for the last 5 miles.   She also brought me some Nuun hydration to drink and made sure I didn't dip down too low!  I ended with 21 miles in 2:54 and am very happy with this!  It also helped that Greg ( Angel's hubby ) made us fresh omelets when we finished!!  I made sure to stretch, foam roll and ice when I got home. 

The rest of the day was spend shopping at Costco... I am in love with this new shirt:

 

 

 

  I love the cut of this shirt/jacket and the fact that it has thumb holes is amazing!!  Plus it was only $16.99!  Can't beat that deal.  My mom also bought me the pink and blue one...YAY!

Then it was back to the grind at work and minimal sleep... at least Monday was a rest day!

Tuesday I had planned to head out for 8 miles but cut it short at 6.5 miles in just under 49 minutes.   My legs were heavy and I do not think I was fully recovered from my long run... So I took my little men to the pool and we enjoy one of our last pool days of the summer!   The pool water was nice and refreshing on my tired legs. 

The "old runner me" would have forced myself to push through and finish the 8 miles but I am very happy with my decision to recover and regroup...Maturing I tell ya!

Anyone else sad their little ones are going back to school?

Happy Running!

Where did the week go...NYC, Beach, and More!

We had such a blast last weekend in New York and the wedding was AMAZING!!!  My hubby and I explored the city,  ate delicious food, enjoyed the sights and beautiful weather before getting ready for the wedding:

 Yup this was a pretty impressive ( or not so impressive ) sight

Followed by this one!

 This sandwich was fabulous and totally hit the spot!  YUMMMMM!

 See I do own "real people" clothes and not just tech gear and compression!

Dancing in these babies = cross training at it's finest!

And my HOT date... We had the best night and are so happy we were able to share in Michael and Lindsay's big day!

Our super awesome friends and by far the best dancers in the place!!

 Being in NY made me really want to do the NYC marathon....so I will be adding that to my list of future races for sure.

Monday I had a 16 mile run planned but had to break it up into 2 separate runs since my little guys were with me.  My first 10 miles I kept the pace on the slower end and had to do it on the Y treadmill ( 10 miles in 1 hour 20 mins with and average pace of 8 min/mile ).  Since my oldest son has started football practice I was able to run my last part of the run outside.... I planned on 6 miles but that turned into 8 miles in just under 56 minutes ( average pace 6:59 min/mile )!  I was very happy with how this turned out and how I felt but I prefer to do all my miles at one time.  This is how you know you had a good FAST run...Bugs plastered to you chest/neck and face like a windshield!!

Tuesday:  Recovery run of  3.2 miles in 23 minutes average pace 7:14 ... plus core and back work. 
 My little guy wanted to go to the track while my oldest son and hubby had football practice so I agreed to do a little speedwork.   Well... my little man pushed me a lot harder then I would have pushed myself!!  He rode his scooter and heckled me the whole time so I had to show him how awesome his mommy is....2.75 miles in 18:58 average pace 6:47...Thank God he had to take a potty break on the final lap because I wanted to puke!

 After football practice we drove down to the beach for a few days of fun in the sun! 

Angel and her crew came down and we had so much fun...the kids all had the best time playing on the beach, at the bay and at North Side Park!  I was able to squeeze in a nice cool,  crisp 10 mile progression run before the kids even woke up....I did 9 miles in 68:41 then a mile cool down at the end.  The weather was perfect for running but a little cool for a bikini on the beach.
 

I am really going to miss all of our summer fun when these little ones go back to school. 

Friday was a rest day but I crossed trained again in these bad boys:

We had a benefit dinner for the Papiro Family Night For Sight with a bunch of our friends at the Chesapeake Inn.  This is such a great event and supports an amazing cause!  Our friends have two adorable little boys who were born with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA)....this event supports the Foundation for Retinal Research and will help children to be able to see!!!   If you are interested in learning more or donating please click the link!

Hope everyone is having an amazing weekend and last few weeks of summer!

Happy Running!

 

 

Weekly Round-Up and Photo Dump

Ok so there are 2 weeks left until my little men go back to school and I gain some routine and normalcy back!  But this first week of official MCM marathon training has gone pretty well so far! 

I took my first TRX class in over a year and was shocked how strong I felt throughout the whole class!  My buddy Josh is the instructor and he is amazing...He works with a lot of collegiate athletes and I feel he really focuses his class towards that!  I think I need to add this back into my cross training program.

I had a long sloooooow distance run that I really forced myself to keep the first 10 miles at a slower pace...then really push hard the last 4.25 miles!  So I ended that run with 14.25 miles in 1:48 and so change with an average pace of 7:34.  I felt great and really could have kept going but I am really trying to train smart and with a purpose this time around!

I worked a bunch of midnight shifts and had a rest day in there too...

I don't know about you but the weather has been GORGEOUS here in Delaware...So I took full advantage of it on Sunday and went out to the park and ran 5.25 miles in just under 37 minutes...My plan was to go slow and then do some hill repeats but once I started it felt so good I just zoomed around the park twice!  There was a youth football team running hill repeats also so this old lady joined in beside them and did 8 hills repeats with .30 mile recovery run between repeat!  It felt amazing and reaffirmed my love for hills!

One side

 Why do hills not look as big in pictures?



This was definitely a Mezamashii run for sure and I loved every second of it!

 

 

I also had a speed work session this week that felt pretty good... I am still learning to love the speed!

So this is how it went.... started with a nice slow warm up for 10 minutes then I did 5 x 400 meter repeats with 60-90 seconds of recovery between each one and repeated this series 3 times!  At first it felt great and I wanted to push the speed but knowing how many I had to do I decided to wait until the last set to really kick it up...my overall mileage for this run was 10 miles in 71:03. 

 

A new thing I have added to my training is form drills!!!  I had never done any of these drills before and figure they cannot hurt my training.  I met up with a track coach at the Y and he walked me through a series of drills...My goodness I felt uncoordinated!!  Once I got comfortable it was smooth sailing!  I really have to be good and keep up with these for sure.

 

Blah that was a lot to recap...We are heading up to NYC for an amazing wedding this weekend and I am beyond excited for it! Since I have runners toes I had to make an emergency nail salon stop tonight:

Before!

 

The people at the nail salon are true miracle workers!!

 

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend... is anyone racing this weekend?? 

 

Happy Running!



MCM training and New Goals

So I officially started my MCM ( Marine Corps Marathon ) training this week and am very excited for this training cycle.  This week has been a little bit of a challenge coming off of a 5 day stretch of midnight shifts and minimal sleep...but Sunday I had planned for 18 miles...Well,  I had planned to do this run outside but pouring rain forced me inside on the TM and our Y closes at 6pm on the weekend in the summertime ( a big issue of mine ) so I mentally was already defeated.  Physically I felt heavy and slow...I told myself just get to the half way mark and see how I felt.

Mile 1 warm-up pace @ 8:20
Mile 2 8:00
Mile 3 7:47
Mile 4 7:30
Mile 5 7:23
Mile 6 7:23
Mile 7 7:19
Mile 8 7:19
Mile 9 7:30

I just wasn't feeling it and was tense the whole time and knowing I still had one more shift to work wasn't helping things.  So I called it quits and decided to switch up my long run day.

Monday's weather was perfect for running and I had a window of free time so I laced up my Mizuno Wave Riders, swung by Angel's house and set out for a nice Garmin free run! 

I really wanted to get in a double digit run especially after my not so stellar 18 mile attempt....Angel offered to drive me out some water so I took her up on the offer at mile 7-8...I finished with 10 miles and the last 2 felt great!  TMI alert:   When your pee is the amount of a teaspoon and tea colored ( brown ) you need to DRINK more water!  Oops!!  This is a total rookie mistake and I know better but live and learn right?!  Thank God for Angel! 

Monday also kicked off MOT football season and tryouts!  So proud of Chase and I cannot wait to see how he grows and develops this football season...I am totally a football mom for sure!

I had planned to take Tuesday as a recovery day but decided to do the stair machine for some stress relief and interval training...My gosh I sweat like a man when I am on this machine!!!  I also made sure to do my PT exercises and core work.... We spent the day at the pool with some of our favorite people:

Summer fun!!

Today I had an great meeting with an amazing running coach who I have so much respect for!   This made me even more determined and excited to train for MCM.  I have always been the type of runner who has just went out and ran....I sometimes set goals but they are goals that are really truly not challenging for me.  I want to step out of my comfort zone and really push myself this time and see what I can do...With his help I am sure I can do this...Hopefully! 

I tend to be my biggest critic and enemy...It is now time to change that!!

My workout today was a quick 9 miles

Mile 1 8:20
Mile 2 8:06
Mile 3 7:41
Mile 5 7:35
Mile 6 7:30
Mile 7 7:23
Mile 8 7:19
Mile 9 7:19

This run felt fluent and way better then my past 2 runs!  Yay!!  Some core work and major stretching afterward.

Anyone else running MCM? 

Anyone ever work with a running coach?

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!

I'M BACK

I decided to sign off for a few weeks and really focus on my boys, spending quality family time, and enjoying our vacation at the beach before buckling down and starting MCM training!  So we have a lot to catch up on and I plan on doing that this week....But for now I just wanted to drop a quick HELLO and Happy Running!

Add caption

I am excited to catch and discuss future training with you all!

Happy Running!

Delaware Mud Run Jr. Recap

The Delaware Mud Run Jr. is an amazing event for kids ages 6-13...it is located at Frightland in Middletown, DE and 100% of the proceeds go to benefit the Leukemia Research Foundation of Delaware.  It cost $25 before May 31 then increase to $30 thereafter.  The course is a 1.5 mile loop and has multiple age appropriate obstacles to go through.  My boys LOVED this event and asked immediately after they finished if they can do it again next year.  This was my oldest sons third year doing the race and my little guys first time! 

Pre- Mud Pit

There were close to 2200 kids participating in the run and they had different waves you could sign up for.  We chose the 6pm time slot since it was a Wednesday night and we knew it would be a late night.  The gates opened at 4 pm for parking and pre-race fun. 

Well....Parking was a disaster and there was one man in particular who was EXTREMELY rude and inconsiderate.  I could not get over how rude a person could be especially at an event for children and everyone participating in the event was there to support an amazing cause!!!!!   Because the parking situation was such a mess I know there was at least one accident that occurred and also caused an awful back up of traffic on the highway.  It was very unsafe and people were parking on the shoulder of Rt. 13 and walking to the start of the race.  Thankfully,  the owner was super kind and apologized for the volunteers rude behavior!!  I think in the future they need to hire police to direct traffic and manage parking WAY better!! 

We made it to the start with plenty of time to hangout with friends, do the Gangnam Style and Harlem Shake.  Then we walked over to the start and waited for the kids to start:

Once they started we were able to walk to one of the mud pits they would be going in and hung out there until we saw them.  It is so excited to see our little one's accomplish such an awesome thing!  My hubby was at the finishline to see them all dive into the last big mud pit! 

This was the first year they gave out medals and the kids absolutely loved them and were so proud!

The only other issue was meeting up with the kids at the finish....they had roped off the finish area and you were not able to get across to the kids.  They corrected this issue immediately and luckily my oldest finished with his friends and was with one of the other moms. 

Post Mud Pits

We will definitely do this again next year and hope to have a big group participate and raise a lot of money for the Leukemia Research Foundation.  Hopefully in 2014 they will figure out a better parking system and maybe move the race to a weekend. 

We hope to see ya at the Mud Run next year!


Happy Running!