had a great time running the Philadelphia RNR Half Marathon this weekend... it was cool and sunny, the course was pretty, I had a friend to run with, and we got to run up the stairs at the end like Rocky Balboa...
felt pretty great, like all this training is actually paying off. who would have thought?!!
then i made the mistake of looking at the Baltimore Marathon elevation chart, and get this... it starts with a 3 mile climb.... followed by a 3 mile descent... a little bit of flat in the middle, then another hill.
oof!
feeling daunted.
so, i went out to run some hills last night. and this evening.... just 25 days to go.
i'll be ready.
now i just have to get to a serious move on with the fundraising.
**claps hands, throws them in the air and shouts "YES!**
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
a great big thank you
to the anonymous person who so generously donated $100 to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society via my fundraising website this afternoon.... thank you so much.
advances made in research to find a cure for blood cancers has led to advances in treatments for other cancers as well....
your donation will help to save lives.
advances made in research to find a cure for blood cancers has led to advances in treatments for other cancers as well....
your donation will help to save lives.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
oh hey! i'm racing in 4 days... how did that happen?
so... i signed up to run the Rock & Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia with my friend Lisa about 7 months ago.... and promptly forgot all about it.
get this... it's this weekend! good job Competitor Group sent me some e-mails or i would have missed it altogether.
fortunately, i'm scheduled to run 12 miles on Saturday anyway... so, i'll just tack on an extra mile, and some crowd support and some music, a new race t-shirt and a shiny new medal... and call it training. why not?!
my experience of Philly is limited to a quick stop in the airport. looking forward to seeing a little bit of the city from the ground.
and thank goodness the temperatures are expected to drop, because this 95 degrees and humid nonsense is totally getting me down.
the dogs and i went walking with the neighbours this evening, after the sun went down... and it was still 87 degrees. we got a mile in, and a little romp in the back yard before they were banging on the doors to be let back inside for some ice cubes and some AC.
get this... it's this weekend! good job Competitor Group sent me some e-mails or i would have missed it altogether.
fortunately, i'm scheduled to run 12 miles on Saturday anyway... so, i'll just tack on an extra mile, and some crowd support and some music, a new race t-shirt and a shiny new medal... and call it training. why not?!
my experience of Philly is limited to a quick stop in the airport. looking forward to seeing a little bit of the city from the ground.
and thank goodness the temperatures are expected to drop, because this 95 degrees and humid nonsense is totally getting me down.
the dogs and i went walking with the neighbours this evening, after the sun went down... and it was still 87 degrees. we got a mile in, and a little romp in the back yard before they were banging on the doors to be let back inside for some ice cubes and some AC.
Friday, September 6, 2013
29km run tomorrow (sounds even more impressive than 18 miles)
clothes are laid out for the morning...
camelback is filled, snacks are in the pockets...
towel and bag of ice cubes are prepped...
banana bread is baked and cooling.
guess i'm about as ready as i'm going to be for our 18 miler!!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
wrung out...
a weekend away to catch up with old friends can be just what the doctors order... a chance to reconnect and recharge.
as an expat, those special occasional weekends back "home" are essential to my mental health... but they can be pretty hard on my physical health.
there's the too much to eat and drink factor, the not much sleep factor, and the almost missing my flight due to heavy traffic super stress factor... all of which wreck havoc on my wonky immune system.
an excess of stress and fatigue has lead to sores in my nasal passages, sores on my gums, swollen and painful joints, foggy thinking and difficulty concentrating.... and an all encompassing tiredness. i'm scheduled to run 5 miles this evening, but it's just going to have to wait til tomorrow.
on another note... I'd like to send a big thank you to my dentist, Dr Ryan Reeves for his generous donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and helping me reach my fundraising goals.
you can help too, just click here... and make a donation on my website.
as an expat, those special occasional weekends back "home" are essential to my mental health... but they can be pretty hard on my physical health.
there's the too much to eat and drink factor, the not much sleep factor, and the almost missing my flight due to heavy traffic super stress factor... all of which wreck havoc on my wonky immune system.
an excess of stress and fatigue has lead to sores in my nasal passages, sores on my gums, swollen and painful joints, foggy thinking and difficulty concentrating.... and an all encompassing tiredness. i'm scheduled to run 5 miles this evening, but it's just going to have to wait til tomorrow.
on another note... I'd like to send a big thank you to my dentist, Dr Ryan Reeves for his generous donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and helping me reach my fundraising goals.
you can help too, just click here... and make a donation on my website.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
we be jammin!
so, i've been making a lot of jam lately... it's peach season, how can i resist?!!
however, no matter how many jars of jam i am capable of making, i am only capable of eating so many...
for everyone who makes a donation of $10 or more to my fundraising website , i will send you a jar of homemade jam.
current options are as follows:
however, no matter how many jars of jam i am capable of making, i am only capable of eating so many...
for everyone who makes a donation of $10 or more to my fundraising website , i will send you a jar of homemade jam.
current options are as follows:
- low sugar peach jam
- low sugar peach and ginger jam
- low sugar peach and basil jam
- low sugar peach and geranium jam
- peach and habanero jam
- strawberry and jalapeno jam
- meyer lemon and ginger marmalade
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
it's been a good week for running... and other things.
I am not usually terribly social during the week... not that I'm anti-social, just busy with work and life and dogs... and then there's a few evening runs to squeeze in, so there isn't much time for going out...
Last week was an exception. Thursday night I skipped the run and went to an outdoor concert, drank sangria and stayed out way past my bedtime. Friday night I went out to another concert, danced my butt off, and didn't get home until 1am... and Saturday morning, as usual, I got up at 5:30 to go meet the team for our long run.
This week I was scheduled to run 16 miles. Given that we have teammates that are training for different races, and different distances, not everyone was running that far. In fact, it was only me and one other person... and he runs faster than me on my best days.
So I told myself that I would just get out there and see how it went. I knew I would have company for the first 8 miles. (4 miles west on the W&OD trail, and then back to the start... followed by 4 miles east, and back)... at the midway point, I would evaluate how I was doing and decide whether or not to break up my weekend miles into two shorter runs.
But at the midway point, I was feeling great... In fact, feeling better, stronger, smoother, more comfortable than I had been all season. One of my teammates decided to add a couple extra miles to his run, and kept me company for 2 of my second 8. And then one of my coaches rode his bike out to meet me and kept me company for the final 3. I finished strong and feeling good... really tired and really hungry, but good. Best run of the season!
Last week was an exception. Thursday night I skipped the run and went to an outdoor concert, drank sangria and stayed out way past my bedtime. Friday night I went out to another concert, danced my butt off, and didn't get home until 1am... and Saturday morning, as usual, I got up at 5:30 to go meet the team for our long run.
This week I was scheduled to run 16 miles. Given that we have teammates that are training for different races, and different distances, not everyone was running that far. In fact, it was only me and one other person... and he runs faster than me on my best days.
So I told myself that I would just get out there and see how it went. I knew I would have company for the first 8 miles. (4 miles west on the W&OD trail, and then back to the start... followed by 4 miles east, and back)... at the midway point, I would evaluate how I was doing and decide whether or not to break up my weekend miles into two shorter runs.
But at the midway point, I was feeling great... In fact, feeling better, stronger, smoother, more comfortable than I had been all season. One of my teammates decided to add a couple extra miles to his run, and kept me company for 2 of my second 8. And then one of my coaches rode his bike out to meet me and kept me company for the final 3. I finished strong and feeling good... really tired and really hungry, but good. Best run of the season!
Sunday morning it was raining... and I decided to see if I could coax Remsen out for a run on the trail along 234. We have not been successful in the past. The first time I took him out on the trail he didn't last 5 minutes until the noise of the trucks caused him to absolutely panic. The second time I couldn't get him out of the car. But he's come a long way in the past year, so I decided to give it a try. He did great! Unfazed by the rain, unfazed by the traffic... we went about 3.5 miles in total, and he promptly put himself back to bed when we got home.
This evening we went out again, and ran a little over 4 miles. There was a lot more traffic, and it was hot... and there were cyclists on the trail. But he handled it all like a champ.
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