marathon

Monday Updates

July 23, 2012 by Kristy 10 Comments

Blogging lately has been sporadic at best. Either I don’t have much to say or don’t have enough time to string it together in a post (which is usually the case these days).

So annoying and so true…so I will just stop right now with the OMG sooo busy!

Booty shorts
Last weekend I bought these:

lululemon groove short

Normally I shun away from anything that may make my thighs look like sausages. I was surprised with how flattering these look and how comfortable they feel. So they are not technically booty shorts (compared to these), but I was a tad self conscious the first time I wore them (I’m already over that). During the summer my shorts are stuck to me anyway because of sweat, so why not wear shorts that stick to you to begin with? Makes more sense to me…

Olympics
OMG sooo excited! The women’s marathon is Sunday, August 5 while the poor men have to wait until the very last day – Sunday, August 12. That sucks.

50K training
This is my last big mileage week before the taper, which will be a 3-week taper this time around…as opposed to my 2-week marathon tapers. I’m feeling really good and my legs are holding up just fine.

Last week’s training…

MON: 7 miles
TUE: 10 miles
WED: 6 miles
THU: 5 miles
FRI: 9 miles (9:27 pace)
SAT: 17 miles (9:32 pace)
SUN: rest

54 miles total with most of my runs Garmin-free. This weekend I’m attempting 26.2 as a training run.

Do you run in booty shorts (i.e., spandex)?

Which Olympic event(s) are you most looking forward to?

Marathon FAQs

April 30, 2012 by Kristy 20 Comments

Ever find yourself cornered at a party or in the office answering a million questions from family/friends/co-workers about marathon training? Like you’re being interrogated, the questions come flying one after another.

I love to talk about running and probably could do so all day long so I normally don’t mind these questions. Most of the time they are coming from non-runners, which makes things interesting.

How far is a marathon? Definitely #1 FAQ. I’m still amazed that people don’t know this. Isn’t this common knowledge?
So how far is the marathon you are going to run next week? Umm, yep…still 26.2 miles. This question annoys me slightly. All marathons are 26.2 miles. And yes, I mean MILES.
Do you run every day? Nope. Then I explain the concept of a rest day.
What do you eat? A very open-ended question. Do you mean pre-run, post-run, all the time? People assume I’m a super healthy eater (ha ha) and I watch what I eat (ha ha ha). Then I explain my love for DQ Blizzards.
So you lose weight training for a marathon? Everyone is looking for a magic weight-loss plan but it ain’t marathoning. I explain that I do lose some weight when my mileage is high (more on this in another post) but generally my weight stays the same because I eat all.day.long.
Are you going to finish the marathon you’re running next week? Umm, yep…that’s the plan.
How long will it take you? This is always funny. I’ve gotten the range of 3 hours to 6 hours. Which always leads to the follow-up question…
Wait, you are going to run the ENTIRE time? In general, yes. I may take a few brief walk breaks.
Running is bad for your knees. I love this one. If I’m sick of answering questions at this point I explain the concept of adaption and their eyes usually glaze over with boredom.

Got anything to add to the list? Which question do you answer the most from family/friends/co-workers?

Thirty-five

February 8, 2012 by Kristy 27 Comments

Today is my 35^th birthday! Go on, you can say it, damn that’s old! It does sound old!

A few tidbits about my birthday…

It always snows! When I was 6 we had a huge blizzard and everyone had to come to my party on sled (a perk of growing up in the city is that sledding to someone’s house was actually feasible). And on my 29^th birthday another blizzard hit but thankfully we were still able to schlep to the bars in the snow.
I was born at 6:28AM. I think there is this silly correlation between time of birth and whether you’re a morning person or a night owl. I’m very much a morning person.
I love celebrating my birthday (and other people’s birthdays too). I hate when people refer to it as just another day…

A few weeks ago I was driving home from work and it hit me that I was turning 35. I don’t feel 35 (but what does 35 feel like anyway?). I feel much younger than that. Sidenote: I don’t have kids. I’ve been told they make you feel older so I’ll take that into consideration. Running consistently for the past 10 years has to be the reason. Chalk that up as reason #742,831 to run!

Other things I’ve noticed or love about my need to run…

I hardly get sick. I used to be plagued with frequent colds and now I get a cold once in a blue moon.
I love how running makes my heart strong (and my resting heart rate low). When I read Matt Long’s book, The Long Run, I distinctly remember reading about how strong his heart was and how that was a huge factor in his survival.
Running keeps me sane and focused. It really is cheaper than therapy.
Running has become as routine as brushing my teeth. I need to do it.

Today I will celebrate turning 35 with a short fun run after work, followed by pizza and beer. I did receive a running-related T-shirt from my brother and sister-in-law. Hmm, the guy on the left sounds a bit like me!

What time of day were you born? Is my correlation correct?

What changes about yourself have you noticed since you started running?

Five for Friday: Race Edition

January 20, 2012 by Kristy 15 Comments

I guess January is officially here because they are calling for a wintry mix on Saturday. I’m freaking out because I have a 17-miler to get done. If I have to slap on YakTrax and slow down, I won’t be happy, but so be it. I can’t get annoyed over things out of my control.

Anyway….today’s Five for Friday (I act like I do this every week…I don’t) is 4 races that I would love to do and 1 race I’ll never do, in no particular order.

1. JFK 50-Miler: Ultras are where I’m headed after I scratch the Boston itch. So long speed work, hello super long runs! I would love to do this race some day, especially after reading Kara’s recap last year.

2. Big Sur Marathon: I wouldn’t want to race this marathon but run it for fun, take pictures, and enjoy the scenery. And yes, I wish I was doing Boston to Big Sur!

3. A marathon in San Francisco: Nike Women’s or the San Francisco Marathon, it really doesn’t matter. I just want to run in the city that I love so much.

4. Another World Marathon Major: I’ve done NYC and will soon be done Boston, but I’d love to run Chicago or London.

5. A marathon I will never run: Disney Marathon. I’m kinda anti-Disney. I have no desire to run near or in the “most magical place on earth”.

Any races you would like to do? Any ones you have no desire to run?

Breaking The Curse

January 17, 2012 by Kristy 19 Comments

I have a Spring marathon curse. I’m blogging about it to prove, in black and white, how ridiculous it sounds and how I have managed to make myself believe it. I have it engrained in my head that every Spring marathon I run, I suck/bonk/give up/etc. Yep, the Spring marathon curse.

Prior to 2010, I only ran Fall marathons. My first Spring marathon was May 2010 (the Pocono Marathon). It sucked. The following Fall, I ran Steamtown. It was awesome. Next Spring, I ran the NJ Marathon. Although I did PR by 6 minutes, I considered it a sucky effort. Then in September, at the Lehigh Valley Marathon, I BQ’d. See the pattern here? Bad -> good -> bad -> good…which means my next marathon will be bad because it’s in the Spring. Someone please slap me.

So why are my Spring marathons bad? I managed to convince myself that I run slower in the winter, because I’m never fully warmed up. Therefore my training suffers and I have a bad race day. This is just ridiculous. Yes, training over the winter is challenging and can be difficult but it can also be effective…just as effective as summer training.

The only problem, besides the fact that I’m crazy, is this Spring marathon is Boston. It could not possibly suck. I’ve waited 10 years to run this race. How can I allow myself to get sucked into thinking I will suck/bonk/give up/etc. at Boston?

I’m already comparing my long runs and speed work to my last training cycle, overanalyzing to look for drastic improvement. This can only end bad…especially for someone like me, when training “clicks” or all comes together later on.

I’m ~~done~~ working on the warped thinking. I’m done comparing my current runs to runs this past summer. What’s the point of working my ass off for 15 weeks if I’m going to let a silly, made-up curse take me down on race day? Instead, I will believe in what worked for me last September – hard work and determination.

Do you have a particular distance or race that you feel is cursed?

Summer or winter training – which do you prefer? Summer all the way for me. Oh, I’ll complain about the humidity but I love me a long, sweaty run!

Big Marathon Weekend

October 7, 2011 by Kristy 8 Comments

10/7/11
10 miles / 1:30 / 9:00 avg pace

Brr, it was cold this morning but I loved it! Despite being someone who is always cold, I think the best running weather is about 47-50 degrees. Very technical, I know. Perfect for shorts, a long-sleeve tech T, and gloves.

I had a great run this morning. Me and the right hamstring have made amends. I decided to run on the trail for a change of scenery. For some reason, they keep laying down more and more rocks on the trail. Aren’t trails supposed to be left alone? Isn’t that the appeal of running on them? This trail seems more man-made…and I kept rolling my ankle on those damn rocks. I will make a terrible ultra runner.

Matt and I are headed to Brigantine this weekend for some R&R. It’s supposed to be a beautiful, warm weekend. Perfect for the shore! Since dogs are allowed on the beach after October 1, Hawk is heading to the beach for the first time!

I’ll be stalking (er, tracking) like a crazy lady on Sunday with Chicago, Portland, and Steamtown all taking place on the same day. I wish everyone good weather and a great race if you are running!

A few shout-outs…

Chicago: go Larry…think and believe sub-4:00!
Portland: go Claire go! You will, you can, do this!
Steamtown: Candace, enjoy your first marathon! Celia, 3:34:59, go get it!