Three Things Thursday

(or otherwise known as random things no one cares about)

1. I am addicting to buying those subscription boxes that seem to be popping up everywhere. I am definitely an advertiser's dream, otherwise known as a sucker, with these type of things. If you don't know how these boxes work, you pay a monthly fee/purchase a subscription and get a box full of surprise goodies in the mail each month. So basically it's like Christmas! My husband (obviously the Grinch in this situation) thinks they are the biggest waste of money, but you can't reason with a sucker so...

Right now, I'm subscribed to three boxes: Stride Box (geared towards runners), Kona Kase (nutritional products) and yesterday I (shamefully) purchased a one month subscription to Bark Box (goodies for dogs...this is what happens when you don't have kids - you buy shit for your dogs). 

Stride Box: I have an on-going monthly subscription for $15 a month. It's a mix of nutritional items and other cool gadgets for running. Kona Kase: I purchased through a coupon deal in which I got a 3 month subscription for $24, so $8 per month. It's all nutritional products and for the price I definitely get more than I could purchase for $8 in the store. Bark Box: I had a coupon for $10 off and just purchased a one month subscription yesterday. It's a little more pricey than the others, and I knew Dan would be less than thrilled that I am purchasing subscription boxes for the dogs, so I just did a one month subscription (which I haven't gotten yet but am excited!). I will say I have been turned onto some really good products through these boxes, my favorite being Bonk Breakers Energy Bar. SO GOOD.

TRY THESE!

Just a disclaimer: None of these companies are paying or compensating me in any way for these reviews. These are just my opinions. I think they are a good deal, while my husband thinks they are a giant rip off so there ya go...

2. About 2 months ago at a race, I won a free four week session to something called Camp Gladiator. They describe themselves as an "award winning outdoor boot camp." I had heard of them before as it has become pretty popular in the Austin area and beyond. I haven't had much interest because one, they are pretty pricey ($160 for a 4 week session) and two, I've always been a little wary of boot camps because unless it's really going to kick my butt, I'd rather spend my time running. But with the expiration date nearing, I decided to go ahead and sign up for my free 4 week session. It starts on Monday, and I am interested to see what it entails. If nothing else, hopefully it will force me to do some core work that I haven't been doing on my own. And, if it sucks, well, no money lost.

3. I don't talk about swimming much on my blog, but I have been doing a ton of it. I'm in the pool 5 days a week or more and swimming on average of 17,000-20,000 yards a week. Some weeks I am swimming almost as many miles as I am running. The irony of it all is that I am only doing 1 triathlon this summer and the swim is super short - 500m. Yet my shortest swim workout in any given week is 3,000 yards. So the purpose of all of my swimming? None other than I have come to love it. Some days more than running. WHO AM I?? My goal by the end of the summer is to complete a 10k swim in the pool (100 x 100 workout). The downside to all my swimming is that I have semi-permanent goggle marks under my eyes, and I always reek of chlorine (impossible to get rid of of - I've tried).

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend!

A Farewell to the 30-34 Age Group

Yesterday I bid adieu to the 30-34 year old age group with one final race before I hit the big 3-5 this week. I ran yet another 5k, the Deutsch Pfest 5k in Pflugerville, Texas.

It wasn't my best effort, but wasn't my worst either, and I finished first female and 12th overall in 20:05. The course was fairly challenging - lots of rollers - and it was humid and windy. That being said, I simply wasn't feeling it. I felt pretty crappy during my warm-up and contemplated just "running for fun" with my husband ... but in the end my competitive side won, and I raced it. I ran without a watch so I can't tell you how well I executed my mile splits but I passed a few rather than getting passed so there's that. I ended up feeling better once I got going, but just didn't have much "pop" in my legs. 3 speed workouts (Tues/Thurs + Race) is too probably too much for me in my old age, so I need to dial it back if I expect a better performance.

So, one thing about the race that I found completely odd. They ONLY did age group awards. No overall awards at all. I thought that was truly bizarre. And, not to be a whiny complainer, but the awards were dinky medals that just had the race name on them and didn't even indicate whether you placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd. I guess I just expected more from my $25 + $3 on-line registration fee.

Last race as a 34 year old. Damn, I'm getting old.

Post race brunch with friends!

Next up for me is the Autism Speaks 8k on Sunday. My  first race in the 35-39 age group!

5K Weekend

“There are over 1 billion people in China that have no idea who you are or care about how you run” 
– NCAA / USATF coach Tom Anzack (used to put a poor performance in perspective)

I came across the following quote which instantly put my feelings of late in perspective. I haven't been running as well as I'd like lately (hip pain again - massage today with a new lady. Fingers crossed it helps), and I have been letting it get to me. Last week I took several days off from running, and to be honest, with back to back 5k's looming over me for the weekend, I just wasn't excited about running them and thought several times about backing out.

 Luckily I came across the words above which made me realize, you know what, just go run, do my best and enjoy the gift of running. Who cares how fast I run or how I place. It doesn't matter to anyone but me, and it shouldn't even matter to me. I am constantly having to remind myself not to let running define me.

5k #1: First up was the Petco 5k at Walter E Long Park in Austin. I signed up for this race as part of a Living Social Deal and it ended up being a steal! For $17, we got a nice shirt, chip timed race & bag full of pet goodies. I also took home a free pair of Newtons, new head phones and a coffee cup for first female (note: I was actually 2nd female, but the lady who won was running with a dog and they gave separate awards for those running with a dog vs. those running without).

Yes, I got beat my someone running with their dog (and also the 7 yr old boy behind her). In my defense, she's a professional triathlete. And, if I looked like her, maybe I would run faster (note to self: lay off the pizza)

Anyway, this race was mostly off-road on grass/cedar chips. It's actually the run course of several local triathlons so I have run it several times. However, I have never run it when it's been MUDDY. After a large amount of rain the night before, this was a mud fest. Add in hills and ankle deep puddles, and it made for a challenging race.

Race start. Those without dogs started first, followed by those running with dogs a minute later. I'm in the blue.

Muddy finish

My friend Rain & I

The coolest dog I saw! I wanted to take him home with me! And yes I asked someone if I could take a picture of their dog...

Results: 20:28. I was pretty happy with this time on this course.

5k #2: Next up was the ARC Daisy 5k in Austin. This was a two loop course out at the Austin State Supported Living Center. I woke up SORE from Saturday. I just don't recover like I used too. It's very depressing. I warmed up a solid 30 minutes on Sunday trying to loosen up my legs and again decided to race sans Garmin so I wouldn't get caught up in my splits. The course was hillier than I expected but fair. Saw lots of familiar faces, including a local Georgetown runner, Felix, who I knew would be a good person to pace off of.

Results: 19:57, 2nd female. My goal for this race was to come in under 20 min and I barely squeaked in under 20. I was a little disappointed in my race. The women's race was really tight 6 deep through the first loop and continued to be tight 4 deep for the final half. I was leading through the first loop, but got passed about 2.5 miles in. The girl was won ran a smarter race than I and deserved the win.

I struggle with not starting out too fast in 5k's because they are so short I feel it's really hard to make up time if you start out too conservatively. Two other women (not the overall winner) went out what felt to be really fast out of the gate, so I surged with them. I was able to drop them some by the first loop but really started to struggle on the second loop and could feel myself slowing down. I tried to hang on and stay with the overall female winner, but couldn't hang on. I was really hoping to run closer to 19:35-19:40, but that was all my legs had yesterday. I was able to stay within 5 seconds of Felix so I was happy in that regard and we usually finish pretty close to each other.

 Despite being a little disappointed in my time, things quickly started looking out when we found out Olympic Decathlete TREY HARDY was presenting the awards. I ended up winning a nice $45 gift card but was more excited to have my picture taken with him...haha!

Would have preferred a shower and some make up before a photo op but oh well...

Anyway, I'm glad I raced and, as always, doing so helps to bring some of my running mojo back.

Next up: Pflugerville 5k Phun Run on Sunday. It's my last race before I turn 35 (HOW IS THIS HAPPENING!!) and age up to the next age group. :(

Anyone else race this weekend? Hope it went well!!

Non-Running Weekend

This weekend was a rare one for me: it contained very little running. Or doing much of anything productive, actually. Side note: it's amazing how much more free time I have when I'm not running, swimming or biking long or prepping to do so. I ran a total of 8 miles this weekend. 5 on Saturday and 3 yesterday with my husband.

With races the past several weekends and for the next 6 weekends, including back-to-back races next weekend, I needed a weekend to just relax. As much as I love training and racing, sometimes I enjoy not doing so even more. I didn't make any workout plans and made social plans instead.

On Friday night we enjoyed a nice healthy meal ;)
(The BBQ Chicken Pizza was weird, BTW. Next time I'll go with my standby extra cheese, mushrooms, jalapenos and olives)

For lunch on Saturday we decided to go out for another healthy meal at Pluckers (the celery makes it healthy, duh ;)

Saturday afternoon I busted out my best hat for a Kentucky Derby Party. :)

Yesterday, we celebrated Cinco De Mayo with friends

Just the girls

Needless to say it was a fun weekend, and now I am refreshed, relaxed and ready to get back to work!

Vacation: Babies, Family & Running

Unfortunately, I am back from what was a much needed vacation. Coming back to work after several days off sucks big time. But I probably don't have to tell you that.

Anyway, we headed North to split time between Northern Virginia and Maryland to visit family and meet my 2 month year old nephew, Wesley. And, even ran a 10k when we were up there!

Last week was intended to be a recovery week post-marathon, but I ended up running more than planned. I couldn't help it. I LOVE running on vacation. Less urgency, new scenery, and a feeling of renewal. I also averaged 9+ hours of sleep every night, and I noticed a big difference in my runs. I proposed the idea of quitting my job to my husband so I could sleep in every day and just run but someone wasn't thrilled with that idea...

A few pictures from our trip...

It started out on Thursday with meeting my nephew!

I promise this is not a "baby in a bar" situation here. It's a restaurant - pinky swear.

On Saturday, Dan and I ran a 10k in Leesburg, VA.

Reppin' TX!

My #1 Cheerleader got to come to the race. She was our good luck charm!

We both surprised ourselves - I was first female and Dan PR'd! I won a $100 gift card to Potomac River Running and used it to buy Dan and new pair of shoes. Score for both of us!

Dan broke out his Texas shorts and socks for the race :)

The rest of our time was spent hanging out with our family and enjoying time with our nephew!

Wesley looks thrilled to be hanging with us :)

Dan, myself, Wesley and my sister-in-law!

WHAT UP

I'm feeling back to normal post-marathon and am just running what I feel like these days. I'm doing a handful of shorter races this month and next and will start Fall Marathon Training (Baltimore again!) in late July.

Happy Running Everyone!

Another One in the Books

Yesterday I ran my 22nd Marathon - the Army Marathon in Killeen, Texas. I squeaked in just under 3:16 at 3:15:47, good for 2nd place female.

The last time I checked in on this blog, I had skipped a workout, unable to shake fatigue from a heavy week prior. One workout led to several skipped workouts, a low mileage week, which unfortunately didn't fix the issue at hand, and I found myself sitting here early last week with a marathon looming on Sunday, still feeling like I had bricks attached to my legs and with very angry hips.

Admittedly this training cycle (or whatever you call it) has had its ups and downs. I either had really great weeks where everything came together or really crappy weeks where running was bad, I made equally poor nutrition choices, didn't get enough sleep and seemed to lose focus completely. Without following a training plan, I found myself teetering on the very fine line between being trained and over-trained by no fault other than my own.

My biggest concern going into the race was the dreaded leg lock feeling I get sometimes which sends my hips into a tizzy, causing me to drag my left leg. The marathon was a point to point, and with my husband traveling and not being able to make it to the race, the last thing I wanted was to end up on the side of the road somewhere in-between Killeen and Belton.

The first thing I did last week was schedule a (long overdue) massage. I have only had 2 massages in my entire life; the idea of a strange person touching me creeps me out, and I am equally bothered by shelling out large amounts of money to do something I don't feel 100% comfortable with. But, I put on my big girl pants and made an appt and it was well worth it.

Going into this race it was important for me run with joy and not put pressure on myself to hit a time on the clock. I needed to be okay with whatever the day brought and not associate my self worth with a finishing time. Of course I had goals I would like to hit, but I too easily fall into the trap of comparing myself to myself which leads to not enjoying the race.

Let me stop and admit something for a moment: my approach to racing has changed dramatically over the past 2 years, and not in a good way. I used to toe the line at races without much of a care or expectation in the world. I had no thoughts of age group awards or PR's - I was simply running because I enjoyed it, and it sure beat a late night hanging out at a bar. When I started to get faster, my perspective started to change. I began toeing the line full of (sometimes unrealistic) expectations for myself. Expectation of another PR. Expectation to place in my age group or to finish a certain place overall. In other words, I stopped being grateful. When I met those goals, it was great. But when I didn't, I felt like a failure. I've been working hard to change this attitude. Equating time on a clock with success all of the time does not make running fun for me. And, when it stops being fun, it's time to either get out or change my attitude. So, I decided to change my attitude and find joy in running regardless of success or defeat. I do not want to be a slave to performance - that's a never ending ride I don't want to take.

Exhibit A: This was taken in a 10 mile race the week before I ran my marathon. Does it look like I'm having fun?
No. That's a problem.

Okay, back to the race. My plan was to start off at a pace that I felt comfortable enough being able to maintain throughout. I told myself if I had anything extra left to give at Mile 20, I would pick up the pace then (HA!).

I won't bore you with a mile by mile replay of my race so here are my splits, along with a few comments.

Splits: 7:19, 7:27, 7:22, 7:22, 7:32, 7:20, 7:36, 7:30, 7:36, 7:36, 7:23, 7:20, 7:24, 7:18, 7:11, 7:26, 7:21, 7:46 (Big HILL), 7:18, 7:23, 7:27, 7:29, 7:33, 7:29, 7:33, 7:19, last .33 at 7:00 pace.

• This was a much tougher course than I expected. Fair, but tough. I should have expected hills, I guess, but there were much more of them than I planned for. I consider myself a fairly strong hill runner, but admittedly have been slacking on my hill training for the past few weeks. The other factor that came into play the last 6 miles was the wind. We were running on the highway, into a headwind. And, let's be honest - running into the wind the last 6 miles of a marathon totally sucks. I don't know how hard it was actually blowing but damn it felt like it was blowing at 50 MPH at that point (obviously an exaggeration but you get the point).
  
• Miles 5-10 were definite Oh Shit miles for me. My right hip locked up (usually it's my left one so guess my left leg was glad to share the love) and I started dragging my leg as is visible for the drop in pace. I thought I was in for a long day, but all of a sudden at about Mile 11 it went away, and I felt fine for the rest of the race. It was the weirdest thing, but I'm thankful.
  
• I'm happy with my time. To be honest if you asked me before the race what I would run, I would have said closer to 3:25-3:30. I just wasn't confident in how my body (or mind) was going to hold up. More than being happy with my time, I'm happy that I ran a well executed race and didn't get in over my head. I was tempted to take off at a pace well beyond my reach right now, simply because I've run it before and thought I should be able to run it again. Right? Unfortunately, that's now how it works. By accepting this, I was able to run a pretty evenly split race and not blow up like I have in times past (cough, last weekend, cough cough).

Anyway, running yesterday reminded me how much I love the marathon distance. I look forward to training (properly of course) for my next one in the Fall!

I'm off to Virginia on Thursday to meet my 2 month old nephew, and of course, I am jumping in a local 10k there on Saturday :) Have a great week!

A big congrats to my speedy friend Meredith for taking overall female at yesterday's marathon! She is such an inspiration! Also, a big congrats to Michelle for a huge PR and to Paul for kicking butt in 3:01. Man, I have some fast friends!

Michelle & I post-race. Looks like I gotta go bad. Good thing we are close to porta potty's...

Race start. I'm in there somewhere.

Grief

I was in the middle of writing a post yesterday when I learned of the horrific Boston bombings. That post will stay unpublished as it just seems inappropriate and trivial now after yesterday's events.

The Boston bombings hit me hard. I don't know why it's hit me so much harder than the other tragedies of late, but it has. I am sad, shocked and struggling to have faith in humanity. So much has been said on social media already, and to be honest, I don't have the words right now.

I'd like to share some of my favorite photos from my Boston Marathon experiences. These help me remember the light in the darkness of yesterday.

On Sunday, I will be running my 22nd marathon - and this one will be for you, Boston.