Category: Tuesdays on the Run

2019 Running Plans

Disclaimer:  I received a free entry to the Missoula Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

I am excited to be planning my race calendar for next year.  My knee is much better.  I took a week off from running and ran a few times last week.  It doesn’t hurt to run but do feel some stiffness.  But overall it does feel so much better.

So far here is my list:

Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans, February 10 – I’ve done this race before and have enjoyed it a lot.  However, next year I don’t know if I will make it after all.  My training hasn’t been going great.  I am waiting to hear back from my coach to see if I can still make it or not.

RnR New Orleans 2019-1

Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, March 24 – This is one of my favorite races!  I love the distance and the location.

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Delaware Festival Marathon, April 28 – I am looking forward to running in a new state!  Kim is the one who told me about it.  

Delaware Half Marathon-1

Missoula Half Marathon, June 30 –  Another race in a new state!  This race is flat, fast, and point-to-point.  The course looks so pretty!  Check out the video below.  If you want to sign up, use code BibRave19 to save $5 off your registration fee.

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Elmhurst 4 on the 4th, July 4 – This is another of my favorite races.  I have done this a few times and always look forward to it.

Kiawah Island Half Marathon, December 8 – Another new state!  This will be my last race of the year.

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So that is what I have so far on my list for next year.  Any suggestions for a good race in GA, MI, ID, NM, KS, ND, SD, or WY?

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

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Goodbye November and Hello December!

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November clearly just flew by.  It was a great birthday month.  I had few days off for Thanksgiving break which was wonderful.  However, I did get sick one weekend and spent two days on the sofa.  I felt better on Monday and went to work but still had a cough that lasted about 4 days.  I was constantly tired.  I couldn’t get up early in the morning to run because I was so tired and just wanted to sleep.  So I didn’t run.  It was until a week later that I finally felt better enough to run.  I did 2 miles and it felt tough.

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About 2 weeks ago I started feeling some pain on the right side of my left knee.  I thought it would get better so I kept running.  It didn’t get better.  I went to the chiropractor and he told me I have a meniscus injury and not to run for a week.

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• Ran 54.14 miles.  It was a slow month for me.  Getting sick really took a toll on me.  I thought that this was the lowest month but it isn’t.  The winner is May with 49.44 miles.  As of December 3rd, I am now 84% done of my yearly goal.  There are 28 days left in 2018 and I still need to run 185 miles to achieve my goal.  Yeah, definitely NOT happening.  🙂

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2018 Goal

• Total time running was 11:03:24.

• Despite it being a slow month, I still had some great runs.

• 13 days of running.  In May it was 12 days.

November 2018 Calendar.jpg

• No races for me.  I was supposed to run the RnR Savannah but then last minute couldn’t make it.  I am planning my races for 2019 and have a few in mind such as the Garmin Half Marathon (KS) and the Missoula Half Marathon (MT).

• Final Thoughts:  It was a slow month for me.  It started off good but then got sick which affected me more than I was expecting it to.  Now this injury happened and I am back to resting and no running.

November 2018 Report Card.jpg

So how did November go for you?

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

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So many cities and so little time!

I have been running for over 10 years.  However, it was 6 years ago that I decided to make it a goal to run a half marathon in each state.  By then I had already run in 5 states (two being a marathon and I went back to run a half) so I knew I had a long way to go.

One of the best things I did was purchase a Rock ‘n’ Roll TourPass in 2013.  This pass allowed me to register for as many Rock ‘n’ Roll races as I wanted to in a year.  And that is what I did.  That year I ran 14 Rock ‘n’ Roll races.   While it was exhausting, it was also fun and I made the best of it.

I may be biased but I love running in Chicago.  I love running along the lakefront.  Although for almost a year I have been running by my house.  I live 1.5 miles from Midway Airport and sometimes run loops around it (4 miles each loop).  It is just perfect for me.  I also love running in Chicago because it is flat.  Although that didn’t help when I ran in other hilly cities like Nashville, TN; Little Rock, AR; Tulsa, OKand Jackson, MS.

Besided Chicago, I have enjoyed running races in other cities as well.  They’re listed below in no particular order.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half MarathonWhat’s not to like running down The Strip at night?  It is fun to see The Strip at night without any cars.  The best part of this race was that I got VIP status.  First and last time!

Princeton Half Marathon.   Getting there was a bit of a hassle but I enjoyed running through Princeton University.  Even though there were hills, there were so many trees and the colors were just beautiful.  The campus is lovely and it was fun learning about Albert Einstein.

• Boston’s Run to Remember Half Marathon.  This race was after the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  Security was very tight and I remember feeling a bit nervous but also sad.  The course was mostly flat and the turnaround point was Harvard University.   I also enjoyed running through Beacon Hill and Boston Common.

Glacier Half Marathon.  Running in Alaska was also so much fun!  I ran a half marathon, two 5Ks, and did a running scavenger hunt.  I ran these as part of the The Great Alaskan Running Cruise.  You can read all about my great adventures HERE.

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Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

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Goodbye October and Hello November!

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• How is it already NovemberI like this month not only because it is my birthday month, but because of Thanksgiving and the couple of days we have.  Work is better but still struggling with the million and one extra things I need to do.  There are definitely not enough hours in the day to catch up.  Heck, I don’t think I will ever catch up with my work!  One thing that I started doing is not bring any work home.  Yep, I grade what I can in school and if I don’t finish then I get back to it the next day.  So far it has been working really well and I’ve actually been enjoying my evenings so much more.

• Brooks Launch and Ghost  Last month I wrote about the Ricochet.  I ended up returning them because they felt too stiff.  Very different from the Levitate.  I bought another pair of the Launch at RnR Denver.  Cannot wait to wear them.  I also bought the Ghost 11 NYC Marathon edition.  I’ve run in them a few times for my easy runs and love them.  I ended up buying another pair.  🙂

• Ran 110.31 miles.  Pleased with running over 100 miles.  I did every single run and I am even happier about that.  As of November 6th, I am now 80% done of my yearly goal.  There are 55 days left in 2018 and I still need to run 229.74 miles to achieve my goal.  Now for sure I know that I will not make that goal but I know I will be very close to it.

Total October 2018-Revised

2018 Goal

• Total time running was 22:09:32.

• I had some fun but tough workouts.  There were easy runs but also faster workouts.  I did intervals that were 1 minute and 2 minutes.  Definitely hard but also fun!

• 22 days of running.  I am loving running 5 days a week.  

October 2018 Calendar.jpg

• I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon.  It was my 39th state in my goal to run a half marathon in each state.  You can read my recap HERE.  This race was tough! 

• Final Thoughts:  Pleased with how this month turned out.  I did every single run and on almost all of them did better than expected.  It is such a GREAT feeling .  It hasn’t been easy to wake up very early in the morning to do my runs.  I am actually enjoying them because it is my ME time.  I think about my plans for the day or just simply listen to my music.

October 2018 Report Card.jpg

So how did October go for you?

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

TuesdaysOnTheRun

Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon Recap

Disclaimer:  I received a free entry to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

This past Sunday I ran my 70th half marathon and my 39th in my goal to run a half marathon in each state.  I was supposed to go last year but had to cancel a few weeks prior to race day.  I cannot remember why I didn’t go but let’s continue with my recap for this year.

My flight to Denver left at 8:35am and I arrived after 10:30am.  While waiting at the airport in Chicago, I did some research on transportation to/from the airport and hotel.  SuperShuttle was $30 each way and the Denver Airport Trail was $9 each way.  Once I landed, I quickly walked to the platform and purchased my ticket.  As soon I got inside the train, the doors closed and I was on my way downtown.  

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Once downtown I walked a mile to my hotel.  Luckily it was ready and I left my stuff in the room and went out to get something to eat.  I ate a burger and drank a beer and felt so much better afterwards.  Then I took a Lyft to the expo.  It was OK.  I haven’t run a RnR race in years so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I did buy some shoes and socks.

There was a poster and a shirt being sold at the expo with the finishers names.

I like the color of the shirt that was in the goody bag.  Still not impressed with the rest of the stuff.

Sunday morning I got up at 6am.  The race began at 7 and the start line was about 10 minutes away.  I got ready and drank coffee while eating a Clif Bar.  It was in the low 40s and I had debated on whether to wear shorts or tights.  I went with the shorts and compression socks.  I also wore a Oiselle Wazzie Wool layer underneath my BibRave shirt and never got too hot nor cold.

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RnR Denver-11

I had specific instructions from my coach on the paces for this race.  I wrote it down in a piece of paper and also on my hand.  I was determined to stick to the plan since this race was supposed to be a long workout.  I’ve been doing really good in my training and figured that it would be an “easy” run.  Spoiler alert:  It was HARD!  I didn’t realize that the altitude was going to affect me that much.

RnR Denver-10

The first 2 miles were supposed to be at warm up pace.  I started off faster than I wanted to so I took some walking breaks.  After mile 2, I was supposed to run 4 miles at an 11:50 pace.  I couldn’t do it.  I began to feel very tired and could not pick up the pace.  At one point I accidentally hit the lap button.  I really struggled the rest of the race.  I was basically counting down each mile.  I also felt lightheaded.  

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At one point a spectator told me that I was doing good and that I had 2 miles to go.  I started to cry because I wanted to be done.  I was still feeling tired and struggling.   🙁  I don’t think I’ve ever struggled so much during a half marathon.

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I thought the course was OK.  The weather was perfect for running but it was so sunny and the sun was in my eyes for most of the race.  I was squinting so much and I think that and the altitude are the reasons I got a headache.  It was a bit better when I got to City Park.  It was so pretty there but that got boring after a while.  <<I think I was just in a bad mood.  🙂

RnR Denver-16

For most of the course there were no spectators.  It was quiet.  There was plenty of water and Gatorade at the water stops.  The course was mostly flat with 2 or 3 uphills.  The best part was getting to the finish line because it was downhill.  As soon as I knew I was close, I took off.  I was so happy to be done!

The medal is pretty cool and I am happy to have earned it.

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Another race done and another medal.

  Athlinks Logo-1

Thanks to Athlinks for the reminder that this was my 70th half marathon and that I have now completed 162 races.

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

TuesdaysOnTheRun