Friday Five – RACE DAY!!!

Happy May!!  Finally!!!  It’s about to be spring time up in here!

I wonder how many other blog posts will be featuring Mr. Timberlake today.

Because of my work trip, I haven’t done much running this week.  Our nights were too long and days too early.  Plus the sun didn’t rise until close to 7AM down there and that beautiful jogging path was pitch black at 6 AM when I needed to get my workout in.  I did yoga and PT in my room instead.  Yes I could have used the treadmill, but the motivation to leave the room for anything other than running outside wasn’t there.  This girl is treadmilled out.

This morning I ran my first run since Sunday.  I did a short loop in my neighborhood and left my Garmin at home. I just wanted to try this whole “running by feel” thing I keep hearing about.  I had Map My Run all set up so I could at least record the run accurately, but alas, I paused it as I was putting my phone back in my Spi belt.  All I know for sure is that it was somewhere between 2 & 2.5 miles and less than 30 minutes.  I may do this more often for short easy runs.

The timing of this week’s Friday Five is totally on point for me this week.  RACE DAY!  Guess who has a race day this weekend?    This girl!!!
I also found out this week that I won two tickets into the King Crab VIP tent after the race on Sunday!!  It’s catered by Outback Steakhouse.  I plan to eat AAALLL the Bloomin’ Onions when I’m done.

So with Race Day in mind, here are five things I’ve made sure to have ready for Sunday.

Sunscreen – Especially now.  This time of year can be really deceptive.  It’s sunny, yet chilly.  So you somehow end up with a sunburn because it didn’t even cross your mind to put it on since it’s only 50 degrees out.  If you are active, you also need to find one that is sweat resistant and won’t run into your eyes.  Because who likes stinging and burning eyes when you are in mile 10 of your half marathon.  If you have skin issues, you also want something good for your skin.  I’ve always been a fan of Neutrogena sunscreen for my face, so I was pleased to find a “sport” version that won’t wreck my skin.

Body Glide – I haven’t experienced any chafage during this training cycle, but I did last summer, so I’m taking no chances on race day.

Fuel – No matter what your preference, you must have your fuel plan for race day figured out.  I use gels and don’t really have a flavor preference.  Here’s what I have on hand for Sunday.  The fuel plan should also include your breakfast.  More than likely I’ll have half a bagel with peanut butter and a banana and coffee to get my system moving along.

Hydration Belt – Not everyone uses one.  Some people rely on the aid stations, but I like to have my fluids handy, plus it has a nice little pouch to hold my gels, ID, car key, money, etc.  I usually like to fill mine with Nuun and if I want water I’ll hit the water stops.  When looking for a hydration belt I went with a Nathan because I have a few of their other products that I like, plus I like the color.  Priorities right?  I’ve contemplated a vest – maybe this summer.

In addition to these “things” I also need to relax.  I’ve done all the hard work.  I need to trust in my training.  I’m actually feeling pretty good this time around.  I, thankfully, had no major setbacks.  A few less than stellar runs, sure, but overall I couldn’t have asked for a better training cycle.  I’m going to take it easy today and tomorrow so that Sunday will just be plain awesome.

Thanks again to the DC Trifecta for another awesome link up!

Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia

 What’s your Race Day essential?  How do you calm your nerves in the days leading up to a big race?  Anything on tap for you this weekend?

Frederick Half Marathon – Week 11

Happy Monday!  It’s been a few weeks since I’ve gotten my weekly recap up on a Monday.  I hope you all were able to enjoy some spring weather this weekend – it was GORGEOUS here in Baltimore.  Aside from running a HOT Sole of the City 10K on Saturday, I spent Sunday morning at Target watching the crazies stockpile Lilly Pulitzer and later took Charlotte to the zoo.

Really quick on the Lilly Pulitzer thing, because I’ve seen articles about how crazy it was across the country.  I had my eye on one dress for me and maybe something for Charlotte.  No big loss if I didn’t get it, so I strolled over to my local Target at about 7:45 and the line was wrapped around the store.  By the time I got in, the section was decimated.  I was a bit bitter there were women with carts full of clothes; trying them on behind another dress rack and there was a crowd gathered by the dressing room waiting for cast offs.  It was really crazy – I’ve really never seen such a thing.  After I passed the women’s section I headed to the toddler section and while it wasn’t wiped out, it had a crowd, so I just started grabbing.  I ended up getting Charlotte two super cute summer dresses.  I didn’t need any of it for me, but I was surprised that people would just snatch up an entire rack of clothes without any regard for those who weren’t first in line.  The worst? On eBay right now, there are over 20,000 items from the Lilly for Target line.  A shift dress that would have been $40 at Target is listed at $100.  All I can do is shake my head and hope that if someone out there wants a Lilly dress that bad, they’ll put their $100 towards a real one.

Now on to something of more substance.  I can’t believe I’m in week 11 of training – the race is in two weeks!  Last week was a fun week of runs and workouts.

Monday – PT Exercises

Tuesday – 3 Progressive Miles on the Treadmill

Wednesday – Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Level 2 in AM, 2.75 miles with my MMRT Group.  Salt posted an awesome pic here.

Thursday – Rest Day

Friday – Rest Day (although it was anything but)

Saturday – Sole of the City 10K – didn’t PR, but hadn’t run in heat like that since last summer.  Will post a recap later this week.  (My Garmin actually read that I ran 6.37 miles)

Yes that pretzel is bigger than my face and I ate the whole thing. #notashamed

 

Total Miles – 12.12

 

So on tap for the week, some easy cross training, some easy runs, and my last “long” run of 5 miles on Saturday.  I can’t believe I’m about to do it again.  I’ve got to start working on my playlist!

And good luck to all of you running Boston today!  There are several bloggers I read out there running – I’m not sure how I’m going to follow along since I’ll be at work, but I’ll be thinking of you!

How was your weekend?  Did you brave Target for Lilly Pulitzer?  Is there anything you would wait in line for (besides a starting line)?

 

 

Frederick Half Marathon Training Week 9

This is going to be a short post.  As I mentioned Friday, I had been sick all week.  So not much in the way of running or any other physical activity had taken place.

This weekend was busy too.  Besides the holiday festivities almost all weekend, I had to pack for another work trip.  I left this morning (Monday) at 7:30, which meant getting to the airport at 5:30, which meant waking up by 4 in order to get ready and on the road.  I didn’t think it would be so bad, but I’m not taking that early of a flight again.

So needless to say, I’m a wee bit tired as I type this.  Thankfully it’s a short post.

Last week’s workouts:

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – Sick

Wednesday – Sick

Thursday – Sick

Friday – 3 Miles!!!  I wrote about this in detail last Friday, but it sure did feel good.

Saturday – Rest

Sunday – 13 Miles – This was not a pretty run.  The first three miles were a struggle.  It didn’t help that I had to pee about a quarter mile in.  I ran back to the porta potty and someone had pooped all over the seat.  Like all over.

C’mon!  Not fair!  I had to go, so I held my breath and squatted.  The next 7 miles weren’t too bad.  I kept telling myself I could stop at 10 or 11 if I wasn’t feeling it.  I was getting ready to pass my car at mile 9.5 and took a short break.  It was at this point that I should have refilled my water bottle before moving on, but I didn’t and that made those last 3.5 miles total crap.  Or at least that’s what I blame it on.  I tried to keep the walking even with the running…I’m not sure I was successful.  BUT – I finished 13 miles!!!!  I saved the extra .1 for race day.

Total Miles – 16

While the week did not go as planned and neither did the run, I did finish 13 and now it’s time to taper.  I made it!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I leave you with this:

Did you get outside and enjoy the weather this past weekend?  How did you celebrate your holidays?

 

Frederick Half Marathon Training – Week 6

Did you see that?  Week 6?  I’m halfway done my training.  I can’t believe I’m halfway there…or another way of looking at it is only 4 long runs left until taper. EEEEK!

So I have a confession – I got a DNS for Rock n Roll DC.  It was a rainy mess, it was only a 5K, and I didn’t pay for the entry.  It wasn’t worth the hour and a half commute to run 3.1 miles in the rain.  I was really excited to experience a Rock n Roll race, but this just wasn’t the year to do it I guess.  Registration for the 2016 half is only $50 right now, but after this winter, I’m not sure I’d want to sign up for a race any earlier than April or May.

Sunday I did run the Kelly’s Shamrock 5K in Baltimore and it was a blast!  Such a fun race, I’ll definitely do that one again. I got another PR too!  I’ll do a proper recap later this week.  I guess that’s to be expected now that I’ve got a full year of running under my belt.  It’s exciting to see how far I’ve come though.  Anyways…

Frederick Factoid #4

This isn’t so much of a Factoid as it is an ad for a fun event in Frederick.  Every year, on a September Saturday, Frederick’s main street, Market Street, is shut down to traffic for the In the Streets Festival.  As kid the idea of this was fun because hey, I was walking in the middle of the street!  Each block is themed, there are local artisans, local restaurants, and live bands all out in the street.  You can go into all the local shops and boutiques and enjoy a nice day out.  What kind of sell would this be if I didn’t mention the Market Street Mile Road Race that is held in the morning?  They have a men’s heat, a women’s heat, a youth heat, and a Family Fun Walk.  Depending on my training schedule this fall, I’m gonna try and do this with Charlotte – all kids get a finisher’s medal.  All in all, this is a great event for everyone and if you ever want to explore Frederick and have a good time…check out the In the Streets Festival.

Now, on to last week’s workouts.  All in all, it was a good week.  The 10K really did a number on my legs and it took a while for them to feel normal again.  Not running outside for over a month will do that to you I guess.

Sunday – 7.2 Miles – Cupids 10K Crush, plus 1 warm up mile

Monday – Body Pump – I made it back!  It had been so long I couldn’t remember what weights I had been using.

Tuesday – Speed Work – Daylight savings caught up to me and I couldn’t wake up.  One missed run isn’t going to kill my schedule.

Wednesday – Yoga – I did a 40 minute video I found online.  It was called Yoga Flow for Runners by a yoga instructor named Cara Gilman.  It was challenging and good.  I’ll probably go back to it whenever I’m out of town and stuck in my hotel room.

Thursday – Tempo Run – I planned to do this as a 4 mile progressive run, and it was awful.  The gym in the hotel was so humid and my legs just didn’t want to run.  Even though I was progressing in speed, I kept stopping and starting.  It was probably the worst run ever.  The only redeeming part of the run is that I did force myself to finish out the last mile with no stopping.  So I had a strong finish…I guess that can kinda make up for the first three miles of ridiculousness.

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 8 Miles – Since I skipped out on the DC 5K, I was able to go back to my scheduled run of 8 miles.  I was on the treadmill of course due to the rain, but it was a great 8 miles.  It went much better than the prior 8 mile treadmill run.  The second half wasn’t as smooth as the first, but I had no trouble getting started back up and had another strong finish.

Total Miles – 12 – (I counted Sunday’s 10K in last weeks miles)

Even though I had a race scheduled for Sunday, I felt I deserved to enjoy a couple of these as I caught up on Downton Abbey.

Supertramp from Flying Dog Brewery. Very good!

I don’t have any planned travel for at least 3 weeks!!!  The past two months have just felt crazy.  Time to get some actual work done (and time to get caught up on my blogs!)

How is your training going?  What is the worst run you’ve ever had?

 

Frederick Half Marathon – Week 5

Surprise!  I ran a race yesterday and PRd.  But if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you might have already known that – because only this morning have I stopped posting about it.  🙂  It was a 10K put on by the Baltimore Road Runners.  I’ll do a full recap later this week, but was stoked to PR by over 5 minutes.

Frederick Factoid #4.

I totally slacked this week on Frederick Factoids.  Can I take a pass and come back with a new factoid next week?

Last week’s training was kinda screwy because of the weather, but I got it done.  I also started to come down with a little cold on Thursday into Friday.  Thankfully, my run Friday went okay and whatever it was had subsided by Saturday.  It had me worried for a split second.

Sunday – PT, core work, yoga

Monday – Body Pump – 30 Day Shred Levels 2 & 3 – Ice Storms from the weekend forcing a late opening at the gym and Brian needed to leave early for work anyway forced my hand.  I miss BP.  (I totally made it today though!)

Tuesday – Speed Work – The plan was to do 5x800s again.  I think I made one a 400 when I wasn’t paying attention.  I need to do a better job keeping track of the speeds I’m using on the treadmill.  I don’t use the same speed every time, so I should probably do a better job of recording it after the workout.  I ended up doing 3.75 miles averaging a 12:10 pace.  I was walking in between some of the intervals.

Wednesday – Yoga – Brian had to get to work early again, so I did yoga at home.  I found a free 20 minute video on demand.  It wasn’t very challenging.  I did some additional core work and did my PT exercises.  I really would like to find a yoga video that isn’t trying to melt me down…just a straightforward yoga video.  Nothing wrong with Jillian, but just want something a little more yoga.

Thursday – Tempo Run – Snow Day!  It was snowing all day so running outside wasn’t going to happen.  I did some shoveling and playing though.  So there was some calorie burn.

Friday – Rest – Tempo – I hit the gym after work so that I could get a few miles in.  I ended up getting 3 miles in.  I did the first easy and picked up the pace for the 2nd & 3rd.  The average pace ended up at 11:54.

Saturday – Long Run – Rest Day – I signed up for the race on Sunday at the last minute, so this became a “rest” day.  I use quotes because we ended up going to the mall and walking around a lot.  And anyday home with Charlotte is not rest – and I mean that in the best possible way.  🙂

Total Miles – 6.75 (13.95 if count the race from yesterday)

The next few weeks have me a bit irrationally concerned.  I should have run 8 this weekend and I only did 7.  Next weekend I have two 5Ks – one Saturday & one Sunday – I should be going for 8-9 miles.   Should I try to run another 3 miles at some point next weekend to get a total of 9 done for the weekend or just let be?  If I don’t, will it be too much to try and run 9 the following weekend?  Kinda makes me regret yesterday’s race because it threw my long run schedule off.  I know I’m being ridiculous – but I like to overthink things and ruminate them into the ground.

Would going for 9 miles in two weeks be too much or should I readjust my long run schedule?  Can you recommend a good yoga video?  How was your weekend?

Frederick Half Marathon Training – Week 4

Hello and Happy Monday!!!

Last week was a cluster.  Monday I went to Cleveland for work and didn’t come home until Thursday.  I don’t mind work travel, but when I’m with co-workers I usually work longer days, get dinner with them and don’t really get “home” to my room until late.  So I haven’t had much time to blog, think about blogging, or even attempt to read all the blogs I follow.  And Cleveland…WOOO! with feels like temps in the negatives, I’m so over this winter.  Aren’t we all though?  When I landed in Baltimore Thursday, it was in the 30s and I was ready to ditch my coat and put on some shorts.

Last week was also a cluster because while I was conducting interviews and trying to hire people to my company, a restructuring was announced that basically eliminated my region.  A few people lost their jobs and several others were orphaned at the time since their managers were now gone.  It was very sudden and unexpected.  Thankfully, because of the nature of my role and the states that I cover, I was pretty much unaffected, other than becoming part of a new region.  My director is still in place but my other manager is only going to be onboard for a few more months to assist with some transition. I work for a publically traded company so these things happen in corporate America, but it’s sad to lose some of my teammates and colleagues.  I hope everyone lands somewhere and that they aren’t unemployed for too long, but still thankful that I am left unscathed.

Let’s talk about something fun, I finally hung up the medal display I got last year for Mother’s Day.  Two of those are actually Charlotte’s medals.  I hung it in the living room by the foyer, so I see it every time I leave the house.  Maybe it will give me power as I head out in the early morning.

Onto a Frederick Factoid (I’m actually running kinda low on these…might have to make them Maryland Factoids)

Frederick Factoid #3

For those of you like craft beer, you may have heard of Flying Dog Brewery.  Well, they are based in Frederick!  They are available in 20 states outside of Maryland, so odds are you might be able to find it.  Last summer, I enjoyed their Dead Rise Summer Ale (made with a hint of Old Bay).  This spring I’m looking forward to trying their Supertramp Tart Cherry Ale.  If you like craft beer, they have quite a variety to try.  You can visit the brewery on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for a tour and even get a 64 oz growler of one of their beers filled to take home (not for free).  I’m thinking that a Brewery Tour might be on my agenda the next time I visit.

Now on to the workouts!

Sunday – PT, Core Work, & Yoga – Nothing out of the ordinary here

Monday – Body Pump 30 Day Shred Level 2 & 3 – Brian had to get to work early, so I had to do a video at home. I don’t think I had ever seen Level 3 before, it was pretty intense, especially after already doing level 2.

Tuesday – Speed Work Tempo – I was thinking ahead on my schedule and decided to swap out the intervals for Tempo (since I had skipped the tempo last week).  It was tough for some reason, but I got it done.

Wednesday – Yoga – This was at a studio in Cleveland.  This was a Basic Flow class and I was a little intimidated when I first walked in because the class was HUGE and the others there just looked like they shouldn’t be in a basics class.  I found a spot to roll out my mat and I was eavesdropping on some girls talking behind me and realized they weren’t yoga experts, so I felt more at ease.  It was in a big open warehouse space and the teacher walked around the room rather than sitting up front.  She and another assistant also walked around touching and adjusting as necessary.  There were also a lot of heavy breathers.  At first I thought there was a CD or something playing but then realized that it was everyone’s breathing.  The class flowed really well and quickly, I was happy to know most poses and was able to move into them quickly.  I had a brief moment during Warrior pose where I was feeling very powerful.  With the work announcement from Tuesday, when a lot was still unknown, I knew I was going to get through it and be okay.

Thursday – Tempo Rest – I was flying back home this day and figured I would take advantage of not having to get up for ANYTHING!  I slept until 7 and it was glorious.  (I’m typically getting up at 5, so 7AM is late for me)

Friday – Rest Easy 3 Miles – Since I missed a run earlier in the week, I just went in for an easy 3.  It actually felt easy.

Saturday – Long Run 6 Miles – This was on the treadmill and not so bad.  I took a walk break about 45 minutes in to give myself a mental break, and then trudged on along.  The treadmill stopped on me at the hour mark, so then I had to restart.  Overall for some reason this run was easier than last week (2 less miles will do that to you.)

Total Miles – 12.3

Next week is another long run – 8-10.  I may try for 9.  The closer I get to 10 miles though, I get nervous.  During my training last fall, I got injured after my 10 mile run.  Yeah I’ve run a half marathon, but I’ve only run more than 10 miles once.  Plus, I need to get back outside!!  I’m afraid the transition outside is going to be awful.  If I get ahead of myself though, next weekend will probably be on the treadmill (I don’t want a long run to be my first run outside in several weeks).  The weekend after that I have back to back 5Ks.  So maybe in three weeks, when I will probably attempt 10 – it will be warm and I can go outside and have a few more outdoor runs under my belt.

If this winter has taught me anything, if I ever do a marathon, it will be a fall one.  Winter training sucks!

How do you transition outside after being inside for several weeks?  Anyone else have any races this month, big or small?  Anything good happen over the weekend?

Frederick Half Marathon Training – Week 3

I think I can speak for nearly everyone in the country when I say this week was so freakin’ cold.

Sorry to be so crude, but there is no other way to describe the temperatures this past week.  I’m not even sure where this description for tempature ever came from, because it doesn’t make sense in the winter.  Don’t they shrink up in the cold?

Saturday we got snow all day and I got some extra cross training in through a bit of shoveling and playing.

Well lets move on to something else fun, like a Frederick Factoid!

Frederick Factoid #2

If you are a fan of Top Chef, you may remember Bryan Voltaggio from Top Chef Season 6.  Bryan Voltaggio is from Frederick, MD and still lives there.  He was the first Chef to be on both Top Chef and Top Chef Masters (season 5).  He opened his first restaurant, Volt, in Frederick in 2008.  Since then he’s opened a few more restaurants in the Frederick, DC, and Baltimore area.  So if you are a Top Chef fan and in MD, you aren’t too far away from a fantastic meal!

This week was a week in being flexible with my training schedule.  I had a busy week with some work projects combined with some weather that took me off schedule, but I was still able to squeeze in my workouts.

Sunday – PT, core work, & some yoga.  If you follow me on Instagram or have liked my Facebook page, maybe you caught this gem:

Yes – that is me in crow!  I’m able to actually hold it now, not just bounce into it.  I can’t hold it long, I mean I was able to hold it long enough to get this pic, and that’s about it.  But I’m holding it!

Monday – Body Pump Sleep – I didn’t set my alarm and I overslept.  Worse things have happened.

Tuesday – Intervals Jillian Michael’s Yoga Meltdown – Snow that we got overnight kept me from getting to the gym that morning, so I threw in a video.  Since I knew I’d miss yoga on Wednesday I went with the Meltdown.

Wednesday – Yoga Intervals – I was down in VA for work, so I did my 800s this morning on the hotel treadmill.  For some reason, these were extra hard this morning.  Maybe I didn’t warm up enough, I don’t know, but they just felt difficult.  I was happy to get them over with and happy I finished out the workout.

Thursday – Tempo Easy Run – I didn’t have time to get in my scheduled tempo and since I had just done my intervals the day before, I gave myself a pass and just did 2.5 easy miles.

Friday – Rest

Saturday – Long Run 8 Miles – This was on the treadmill and I was lucky enough to get it done early in the morning so the snow didn’t get in my way.  This was TOUGH!  This was my longest treadmill run ever and I was dreading it.  My plan was to take a break at 4 miles to use the bathroom, take in a Gu, and just get off it for a few minutes.  The first 4 were fine, the second 4 not so much.  I took a few walk breaks, but my mind was totally fighting it.  I ended up running the second half about 20 second faster than the first, but I didn’t like it one bit.  Where are you spring?

Total Miles – 14.5

Thankfully this is a step back week for my long run, so if I’m stuck on the ‘mill next weekend I’ve only got to do 6.  I’ve also got another busy week – I’m traveling to Cleveland so I’ve got to make some adjustments.  I’ve already signed up to drop in for a yoga class at a local studio, so at least I’ve got something interesting to look forward to.

How was your weekend? How were your workouts?  Did you get any snow?

 

TGIFriday Five!

I’ve never been so happy to see a Friday in a long time.  First, it’s so freakin’ cold outside.  I don’t even want to leave my bed.  Second, I’ve had a busy week at work which involved a out of town stay Tuesday night and two very long days on Wednesday and Thursday.  That can only mean a lot of catch up today.  Next week is going to be a lot of the same – except it will be in Cleveland, which is much much colder.  I fly out Monday, long days on Tuesday & Wednesday, and fly home Thursday.

It’s Friday again and that means another link up with the DC Trifecta, Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia.

 Today’s Friday Five is Races to Run in 2015.  I’ve got 9 on my calendar for this year already (I’m an early registerer).  So I’m going to focus on 5 races that will be new to me this year.

1. Rock n Roll DC 5K

I was so excited to win an entry into the Rock n Roll DC race.  I could have actually picked any distance for free.  Marathon?  Nope…not for me.  Half Marathon?  Nope…not enough time to train.  5K?  That sounds juuuusssst right.  I’ve been wanting to do a Rock N Roll race since I started running last year, so I’m excited to get a taste of it next month.  Plus, I even get a medal!

2. Sole of the City 10K

This is the second race of the Charm City Run B3 Challenge.  I wanted to do this last year because the premium was bananas.  Not actually bananas, just really awesome.  But alas, I wasn’t quite there yet.  This year I am totally there!  The course is a nice run through downtown Baltimore, and relatively flat, so I’m hoping for a 10K PR.

 

3.  Frederick Running Festival Half Marathon

I’ve been talking about this one for a while and will continue doing so since it is my main training focus this spring.  It’s my hometown half marathon.  They have a 5K and a kids race the night before the half.  Last year, the 5K was my first timed race and I did the Kids Fun Run with Charlotte.  Frederick has a really cute downtown and I’m really excited to run through the city I grew up in.

 

4.  Charles Street 12

This is affectionately called the Chuck 12 and this year will be it’s 3rd year.  It’s the 3rd race in the B3 Challenge and at the end I collect both my Chuck12 Medal and a B3 Medal.  It starts north of the city in Towson and the race course takes you down Charles Street all the way down to the harbor.  While there are a few hills in the beginning, the elevation drops for the majority of the course as you head downtown.  It will be an interesting and beautiful course to run.

5.  The Christmas Story Run

I haven’t registered for this yet, but if I can make it work this year, I will.  This race takes place in early December in Cleveland (the only strike against it!)  It’s a 5K & 10K race that starts in Public Square, runs to the Christmas Story House and Museum and back (if you do the 10K) the 5Kers get a shuttle back to Public Square.  People apparently dress up like pink bunnies, Red Ryder, the robbers from Ralphie’s dream, wear coonskin hats like Scott Farkus.  All runners get a fun medal too.  They have a virtual option, so I may try to get a group together and do it here in MD.

 

So those are my five.  I’m looking forward to all of them and God willing, they will all be awesome races with great recaps to share.  I’m looking forward to a warmer weekend and a little bit of snow to play in tomorrow.  Stay warm out there friends!

 

So what are your five?  Are you looking forward to any one race this year?  Are you doing any race just for fun?

Frederick Half Marathon Training – Week 2

Another week down and another week closer to my next half.  There was some exciting news on the race front this week too.  The Frederick Half is part of the King Crab Challenge that I signed up for last fall.  It includes the Frederick Half in May, the Baltimore 10-Miler in June, and the Baltimore Half in October.  It was a great discount to sign up for all three last fall and for completing the 3 races, I get an extra premium – last year it was a backpack.  They just announced this years prize:

This picture isn’t the greatest, but it’s a medal rack for all 4 medals I’ll earn from completing the King Crab!  The hooks are crab claws!  My mind wants it to be October already so I can hang this up NOW.  The other awesome thing about this?  Typically, you don’t get a medal for completing the Bmore 10-Miler – but this year, if you signed up for the King Crab Challenge – you do!  So that’s a medal for Frederick, the 10-Miler, Baltimore, and the Maryland Double medal for doing both Frederick & Baltimore halves.  I hate to admit it, but I love bling – and this is just all kinds of blingy.

Okay okay, back to Frederick.  I grew up in Frederick, so doing the half marathon there was a no-brainer.  It’s a smallish town, and back when I lived there, even smaller – they didn’t even have a Target until I was away at college. Can you imagine???  I was so deprived!  I didn’t have a bad time growing up there but I couldn’t wait to get out when I started college.

Each week, I’d like to share a little factoid or tidbit about Frederick, so you can learn a little bit about the city I call my hometown.

 

Frederick Factoid #1

Francis Scott Key, who wrote the Star Spangled Banner, is buried in Frederick in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.  Frederick’s main shopping mall is named after him, as is the minor league baseball team, the Frederick Keys.  Nothing says “American Hero” like having a mall named after you and a baseball mascot called the Keyote (like coyote).

Aaaawoooo!

Now, on to my workouts:

Monday – Body Pump – legs were still sore from Sunday, but class went okay.

Tuesday – Speed Work – There was freezing rain overnight so when I went outside and saw the sidewalks I was a little cautious, then when I saw the thick layer of ice on my windshield I said forget it.  My legs were STILL sore from Sunday’s run and I decided I would go after work.  When I got on the treadmill that afternoon, my legs felt like lead.  Speed work wasn’t going to happen.  So I decided to stay on for an easy 30 minutes, which then became finish out the 2.5.  So I did.  It was hard, but I’m glad I got in something.

Wednesday – Yoga – I held crow again!  Still only for a few seconds, I spoke to the teacher after class and got a few pointers.  So I’m hoping I’ll nail it soon.

Thursday – Tempo Run – This was a tough one to get started, but felt okay once I did.  I started with the 5 minute easy warm up like last week, did 30 minutes at tempo pace, then a 5 minute cooldown.

Friday – REST!

Saturday – 6 Miles – Treadmill – The first three miles were good. I stopped for a potty break and it was hard to get restarted. I finished the end of it strong though.  I started the Serial podcast and that helped pass the time.

Total Miles – 11.86

So I’m looking forward to Week 3.  I have some work things going on this week along with crazy weather, I’m hoping to be able to get all my runs in.  Next weekend, I’m scheduled for 8.  I’m hoping and praying for decent weather so I can do it outside.  Six on the treadmill was a mental struggle – I don’t want to have to experience 8.

I know others have done more, but how do you get through the longer runs on the treadmill?  When you are at the gym, do you take in fuel while running your long runs?  If you aren’t currently living in your hometown, have you ever gone back to run it?

Frederick Half Marathon Training – Week 1

Happy Monday!!

Week 1 is in the books and I’m happy with how it went.  So far so good!  It’s not much different from what I had been doing, so relatively easy.  Earlier this week, I was reviewing the course map and elevation chart for the Frederick Half and noticed it was fairly flat.  Here is the elevation chart, the total elevation gain is 293 feet.

Frederick Half Elevation Chart

 

While it’s not completely flat, it’s not this:

Baltimore Half Marathon Elevation Chart

The second chart is the Baltimore Half, with an elevation gain of 635 feet.  I’ve already done Baltimore, so I’m feeling pretty confident about how Frederick is going to go.  Since I have so many hills in my neighborhood and in some of the areas I like to run, Frederick will be a piece of cake!  (famous last words)

Here is how Week 1 went:

Monday – Body Pump Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred – Level 2 & 1 – Due to Brian’s schedule, I wasn’t able to go to Body Pump, so I stayed home and did a video instead.  I pulled out an oldie but a goodie, the 30 Day Shred and did Level 2, followed by Level 1.  I was only in it for the strength, so when I  moved on to Level 1, I fast forwarded through the cardio circuits.

Tuesday – Speed Day – My plan was for a 10 minute warm-up, followed by 5x800s (1/2 miles) with 400m (1/4 miles) cooldown jogs inbetween.  Since it was polar vortexing outside, I was on the treadmill.  My warm up was at about 12:30 (4.8 mph).  I started my first interval at about 11:19, but I thought I could do more, so I bumped the speed up to 11:06.  It felt tougher, but doable.  So I continued on through my intervals at that speed up until the 5th one.  I decided to do the last one a smidge faster and went up to 10:54 for the last interval.  It was hard, but I was able to keep it.  The 10 in front scares me, but part of me thinks I could probably do a few more at that speed.  I’m going to try and do that pace next week.

Wednesday – Yoga – We did a lot of hip openers and balance poses in this class.  I attempted crow again, only to fall back down.  I did however almost get into a half lotus toe balance – just couldn’t take my hands off the floor.

Thursday – Tempo Run – I kept with my formula from last week with a 5 minute warm up, 25 minutes at tempo, 5 minute cooldown.

Friday – REST!

Saturday –  REST – I was scheduled to do my long run but the weather was going to be warmer Sunday, so I put the run off until Sunday. I didn’t rest though, I did PT exercises, core work, and a little yoga. I actually got into crow and held it for a few seconds. I was so excited, I had Brian grab my phone, so he could get a picture, but I couldn’t get in it again.

Sunday – Long Run – 5 Miles – I finally got outside again! I think my last outdoor run was a month ago. I was at my Mom’s this weekend and ran through her neighborhood that had ALL the hills. This run was a bit of a struggle because the beautiful Miss C. kept me up until 11 and then had the nerve to wake me up at 7. So I was struggling from an energy standpoint and then the hills. They weren’t all that bad, but some were pretty steep. I had to run a few twice to get my mileage. It’s a good place to run if you need the hills.

I’m smiling because I just ran down that hill. I’ll spare you the picture of me running up the next hill.

 

I ended the day with a much needed pedicure and a glorious leg and foot massage.  My legs are still killing me today though.  I need to get some compression sleeves or socks that fit.

Total Mileage Week 1 – 11.48

Oh and if you haven’t noticed – I now have a Facebook page for Sweaty Mess Mama!  Please take a minute to like me on Facebook and interact with me over there too.

How was your week?  How do you typically feel after your first run outside (after being cooped up on the treadmill?)  Where can I buy compression socks for monster calves?