just shy of a fortnight

13 days to not get injured before the big day - no heavy lifting or daredevil stunts for this little piggy.

to market

With 6 weeks to go before Ridge to Bridge, I tackled an 18 mile run yesterday morning. To date, my long runs have been treadmill-bound affairs including hours of bad tv. Not so yesterday.

Now, Saturday mornings are frequently reserved for visits to the Durham Farmer's Market, but my 3 hour run was not going to fit well with that itinerary. I was ok with missing out on the market, and I am pretty sure my husband was kidding when he suggested I just run there from our house, but the idea had been planted. I google-mapped several ways this could be accomplished and the best route turned out to be almost exactly 18 miles.

"Is there a reason NOT to do this?" I asked aloud. Ignoring the obvious answers to this question (each of which he did tick off - running on 55 mph roads, running past the prison, running through the hood, etc.), I planned to make this little endeavor a reality. I left the house at 7:30(ish) all geared up with compression tights, tech shirt, strategically applied Bodyglide, gps watch, ipod, road id, shot bloks, chap stick, water bottle, cell phone, extra band-aid and $2 cash for incidental emergency items. The plan was for husband to go ahead and do the farmer's market rounds at the normal time and watch his phone for a text to meet up and give me a ride home.

Miraculously, it all went as planned. Almost. The only small glitch was that the rail-trail that I had planned to use for the last 2 miles through downtown Durham either is not actually finished or just has really crappy signage. So, a small detour landed me not very close to the market when the GPS watch hit 18.0. No worries. I texted and used the extra walk to stretch my overworked legs. My husband had perfect timing, picking me up just a couple of blocks shy of the market itself to give me a lift home. The iced water bottle and Birkenstocks I had planted in the car before leaving the house turned out to be the best part of the entire plan.

No injuries other than the regular chaffing (gee thanks, Bodyglide), only one live snake to step around, only one driver that intentionally tried to hit me (and missed, haha!) and a very quick 3 hour run checked off on the training schedule - at target marathon pace, to boot!  Next week, it will likely be back to the treadmill for 19, but the market run was a nice interlude indeed.

heat defeat

I am super sick of people (including myself) complaining about the heat, so I will not go into detail about temperatures and humidity. However, I have recently completed several runs in absolute misery and decided that this is no way to live. So, tomorrow we are picking up our new treadmill - yeehaw!  It costs twice as much as our first one, but it does inclines AND declines, syncs with GoogleMaps and - most important - it will be new and devoid of the creaking and awful sounds made by our 9 year old cheapo model. With a longer, wider belt, the hubs should even feel comfortable using it. Reviews to follow.....

poor little piggy

So, I broke this little piggy (the long one next to my big toe with the two black lines on it) this past Sunday morning. My very first thought after expletives: can I run on it? I consulted a recent med school grad friend (actually in radiology, but whatevs) and he said as long as I taped it good and paid attention to it ("If it's colder than your other toes after a run, go directly to the emergency room.") it should be ok.

3 days and 3 3-4 mile runs later, it has not fallen off and I haven't even needed any ibuprofen. Now, this is the 3rd time I have broken a toe, so I am a bit desensitized. But, I have to admit, taping my toes together before a run makes me feel like an athlete in an overly dramatic 80s movie with a montage. Sweet.

many moons

Wow, so it's been a minute since my last post. Still running. Still working and schooling it up. Hubby's still running and conquered his first 10K. I finally convinced him (by way of nagging and a gift card) to buy his second pair of running shoes. We have an 8K this Saturday which should be fun.

Oh, I guess it really has been a while - back in April, we ran in Charlottesville (me the half, hubby the 8K) and cheered our friends on as they completed her second and his first full marathon. Definitely our most social running event to date, I guess since we still don't really know many other runners. We both tend to get lost in our headphones and be antisocial anyway, so it's probably just as well.

I didn't get in for NYC (again) but tomorrow is the sign up for a cool-sounding local-ish race - the Ridge to Bridge marathon in Morganton. I've already started training for this late October race, so if I don't get in, well, I'll just be pissed.

Back to square (13 point) one

4 months after my last 26.2, I am back up to half-marathon distance. I tackled 13.1 this morning on a muddy trail, but in my favorite running weather - 60 degrees, cloudy and intermittently misty. It was a good run, not too much effort, with a decent time of 2:08. With 3 weeks until the Charlottesville half, I am so ready to start tapering. This will be my fourth half and I like the feeling of having fallen into a consistent routine with training and racing. Even the not so fun parts, like ever-present blisters, are comforting in that knowing-what-to-expect way. So, 3 weeks to taper, avoid injury, keep up the routine ....and 3 weeks to do the really hard part - figure out what kind of crazy outfits and signs to bring, and how to best position ourselves on the sidelines, to cheer on our friends who are tackling the full Charlottesville marathon. I'm looking forward to celebrating the Easter as both a finisher and a fan.

Trophy Wife

I guess it's been a while, but since all of my recent running accomplishments have really been in the last two weeks, my hiatus was matched to the lull. So, as to those accomplishments: 1. a new 5K PR and 2. my first running trophy (pictured).

The new PR (an astounding 26:00) was set at the Myrtle Beach Marathon 5K - a night race that hubby and I did with his father and step-mom. It was in celebration of his dad's 60th and, more importantly, it was a flat course. I attribute my PR to not only the terrain and perfect weather, but the red balloons carried by the 8 min. mile pacer. I stayed within eye-shot of those damn ballo0ns until just after mile two, which was enough to balance out my slow 3rd mile. Hubby also set a PR and is now just north of 28 1/2 mins. for 5K.

The trophy - first, and likely only, of my adult life - was for an 8K that we were using as a tune-up race for the one my husband will run Easter weekend. We'll be joining our friends who are running the full marathon in Charlottesville (I'm doing the half). I really had not planned to go all out for this small local race, and even walked parts after the relentless wind demoralized me. But, in the end, it was enough to best the other handful of female runners, so I was first overall with a time of 45:35. Hubby got first in his age group with 48:59, so he got a medal as well. Not too shabby for the longest race he's done.

So, race season has started with quite a bang and now we look forward to Charlottesville. After that, I'm trying to talk us into a 10K at a Yadkin Valley winery in May. We're not ready to register quite yet, but I'm working on it.