Boston Marathon: "There's an endless road to re-discover" Part TWO.

I woke up on Monday morning feeling ready to run a damn race. The sun was shining, the hooligans that had kept us up almost all night were finally quiet, and all was well in the world.

Kate put my race braids in, I liberally applied sunscreen, I put on my finest throwaway attire and prepared to run some miles. IT WAS TIME!!!!!!!!

Beast Mode! BWAAAAA!

 From our hotel it was an easy walk, maybe a half mile, to the buses. It was a bit cool but warmer than the previous morning. I was relieved since freezing to death for 3 hours in athletes village is a wicked bummer. I basically hopped on a bus and was on my way to Hopkington!

Since I was not freezing in a horrible way I enjoyed my few hours in the village. Hanging out with 36,000 crazy runners can't be a bad time! I did all my usual things, eating, drinking, applying Body Glide to my whole body, standing in line for an hour to use a porta-pottie, all the fun stuff! (non running friends- applying Body Glide is whole body business if you know what I mean. and we do this in public and do not care.)

Mostly though, I went over a mental rehearsal of my plan.
"Let the excited people go, do not run a 6:47 pace and blow your load, maintain thru the half, try to hit 13.1 around 1:40-1:42, hydrate at every 2nd water stop after mile 4, ease up over the hills, motor to the finish in a 3:25" I had it DOWN.

Even before I headed to my corral I was warm enough to shed all my layers, including gloves which is very rare for me. It was beautiful though, very sunny (I reapplied sunscreen because it was rather intense) with a few tiny puffs of wind but pretty quiet. I also saw Crystal who basically picked me up and shook me all around. I love her!

As usual there was no waiting around at the start, we lined up and off we went! Big, excited crowds of spectators, crowded running conditions, the usual.

And yeah, you can tell it was getting pretty darn hot.

 Unlike last year I really enjoyed the first part of the course. I was running at the exact pace that I intended and it felt easy and maintainable. I was hydrating and eating on schedule and other than noticing that I was sweating- and sweating a LOT things felt really good. YAY! I loved running, I loved the marathon, I loved all the people and the spectators handing out beers! (I passed)
It was, however, a lot warmer than I am used to and my body was working overtime, sweating like a beast trying to cool me down. Calm down body, seriously. Taking this into consideration I started alternating between a little water and a little Gatorade at each stop. I'm careful not to overdo it because I don't want to get sloshy and barf- but a few inches of fluid usualy works like a charm.

I ran thru the half in 1:40:00. Right around this time one of the Oiselle girls caught me and we ran together for a mile or two. She was shooting for a 3:20 so we were both right on pace. We talked about how intense the heat was getting and how it was starting to be a struggle to keep cool or even remotely comfortable. She grabbed a water bottle from a spectators hydration station and we shared that, feeling that it was getting to be a challenge to get enough fluid in at that point. We were maintaining though, so I think at that point we were feeling good about the outcome.

Lots of people. EVERYWHRE. It was great!

I knew my Dad was going to be at mile 18.5 so my focus was to get there, I ran a slightly slower mile 17 because I felt funky, very hot and very very dry... As I ran thru mile 18 I realized why I was bone dry- I had stopped sweating. Crapola.
I stopped for a good couple minutes to talk to my Dad, letting him know that I was getting worried about how hot it was (it was 70- so no, not warm for you southerners, but brutal for me and my damn polar vortex!) He told me to drink, he gave me a chapstik and I was off again.
And continued to feel off..
......and on a side note......
To make things even worse at this point my brain started to sing "Heyyyyyy Brother" and wouldn't let it go. Constant repeat. That song is just awful! What is it trying to be?

This is what Kate thinks. Quality evaluation.

Back in reality, I got fairly close to pace but at mile 22 got really hot and dizzy so I stopped for some salt and gatorade. Heading back out I picked up my pace and my legs completely cramped up, all the way from my calves to my lower back. FULL. ON. CRAMP-AGE.
I was in horrifying pain and couldn't so much as hobble. It would have brought me to tears except I was so damn dry that I was like the Sahara dessert and there were zero tears in there.
I kind of hippity-hopped my way to mile 22.5 when I stopped, borrowed a strangers phone and texted my Mom, asking her to tell Kate and Eric that I was struggling. At this point I was noticing that runners were going down quite frequently and that the EMT's had their hands full, and I did not want them to think I was racked out somewhere too.

But I basically was. I really wanted to get that feeling of "it's ok, you are tough! push thru this, here is your second wind, your legs will work again, you are fine and can still finish strong!"
Unfortunately that never happened.
I was in horrible, horrible pain. And still singing Hey Brother.
Every time I tried to run faster than a feeble jog I got all weird feeling which was scary.
I REALLY wanted to FINISH. Like, really badly.

So I did. I picked up a shuffle as we turned on to Hereford, and was able to continue past my cheering family all the way to the finish.

See how I look close to death? Yeah that was a problem.

And the clock read 3:54:50.... It wasn't my day to win the race.

Bailey drew this for me on Saturday while singing "Hey Brother"

30 minutes over my goal pace. Not even remotely what I trained for. But I finished, thank heavens.
Seeing the masses of people being helped to the med tent passing out and projectile vomiting I continued past, feeling funky but not near death and mostly rather sad. 
Eric found me and I was sad. My family came to celebrate with me and I was sad! And really pale and deathly looking so they pumped me full of gatorade and pretzles after first sending me to the med tent to see if I needed an IV (I wasn't puking, so I did not)

After I felt better I cheered up well and was really happy that we got to have a proper family after-party this year!! It was great fun and made my horrific performance much more tolerable.
My family is fun and they always make me feel better, usually by Mom-ing me to death (which I love) tending to my medical needs and magically procuring gatorade and snacks out of thin air!

Eric is holding me up.

The bottom line is that I was at the damn Boston Marathon and that's a big deal, and something that I'm very lucky to be able to participate in. It was an incredible year to be there which counts for much more than an individual performance. I almost feel guilty posting this very honest commentary on my experience as many other bloggers seem to be going the "everything is perfect even if it sucks" route (haha) But this is reality, it sucks to have a lousy day at the most awesome race ever and I believe an heartfelt recap is just fine.

And this individual looks like S-H-I-T

Being that I am a goal oriented person I am certainly not satisfied with my run but know that this was simply out of my control. It is almost impossible to have a 30 degree temp change and to not be affected by it. I don't see this as an excuse, simply as a fact. I would be lying if I said I wasn't quite disappointed, I am human after all.... The tough thing about a marathon is that you can't head out and seek redemption the following weekend (well, I can't!) so this is going to bug me for a while.
But until then... I'll keep training smart and will keep my chin up. The way I ran the first 13- and maintained to the 22-ish mile mark even though I felt off tells me that I have a sub 3:25 in me, if not a 3:20. I'm ready to have that happen and plan to meet that goal (at least the first one!) by the end of the year.
If marathons were easy everyone would do them.
I will be back at Boston next year and redemption will be mine!!!!!

And until then I'll just ease the pain with some ice cream!

Boston Marathon or "there's an endless road to re-discover!"

 (the title of my blog is inspired by my cousin Bailey... We have a mutual dislike for that "heyyyyyy brother" song and she gave me the idea that it would be on repeat in my brain for 26.2 miles. I refused to believe that horror... Read on to see if she was correct.) It makes for a catchy title if nothing else....

Moving on....
At the end of my final long run a couple weeks ago, as I sweat thru my "spring" running attire I said to Eric (and basically to anyone who would listen) "I think the only thing that might mess up my race is out of my control- and it would be a day over 50 degrees...
Any of you who has been reading my blog over the course of the winter knows I am ridiculously acclimated to 30 degree temps and that the warmest day I managed to run in this spring was about 60 and that was a "very easy" recovery run. *sigh*
In ominous tones: "Uh OHHHHHHHHH..."

This recap is going to have to be two parts- which I apologize for but to cover so many days in 1 installment will just be too much!

Just a quick part one sidenote on my feelings about yesterday's events.
I was so happy to be there this year, the crowds were amazing, the overall mood was uplifting and Boston is by FAR my favorite marathon because of the spectators. And because my amazing family can be there! What happened to me mid race really has to take a back seat to all of this- it was "our" year to reclaim this race and it was absolutely incredible! (more on my actual race later...)

Anyways.... Eric and I headed to Boston on Friday afternoon, planning to hit the expo early and then proceed to my Aunt & Uncle's house on the South shore.

My mom gave us lucky charms a while back and we love them! My dumb dog does too, that's why mine is missing an ear and has a broken leg... Which my Mom used her nurse skills to repair!

The expo was buzzing with activity but much less crowded than over the weekend.
I was able to walk in and get my number in less than 10 minutes despite the fact that I forgot my runners passport (oops). So easy! And everyone is so nice and helpful.

YAY!!!!

 Unfortunately we did not have a ton of time but scoped out the official gear (not really my favorite this year), I RAN to the Oiselle booth to get one of the brand new "Boston" shirts (and I literally jumped up and down when I found one in my size!) We were lucky to be there early as they sold out.
Actually, everything sold out. I was waffling on one of the navy track jackets and by Saturday, POOF, they had vanished! Lesson learned.
I took a minute to write on "The wall" while there was still a tiny space that was at my height level.

I had to steal space in an "O" but it worked!

 Saturday was a very early day because Eric was running the BAA 5K.

Pre race cuteness

The weather was brisk (40) and beautiful. PERFECT racing weather!
It was an absolutely huge 5k, 10,000 starters meant that the final person went thru the start as the winners were running in- it was crazy. I had quite a good time spectating and made lots of new friends from all over.
Eric ran strong despite the crowds and walked away with a shiny new PR (I hoped it was the start of a PR kind of weekend!!)

After the race we had some celebratory food and beers, and headed to Fenway for a game.

The beer size difference between "I'm racing" and "I am done racing!"

We had a bit of bad luck with standing room "seats" (another case of waffling, and missing out of decent seats!) so didn't stay for the whole game. The Sox had a solid win- again, making me think that it was certainly destined to be an all around winning kind of weekend. 

Sunday we headed back into the city for a Oiselle meet up and shakeout run.

Lots of birds!!! In our Easter colors!

 A big thanks to the ladies who took the time to organize the run, and the post run coffee party. What a great way to meet the team and to shake off some of the pre race jitters!
The great news from a purely personal standpoint is that my legs felt absolutely fabulous during our shakeout (done in beautiful, but decidedly cool weather by the way) and I felt 100% ready to take on the marathon the next morning. I had a great time getting to know Mary and was SO damn excited to see her late on the course and to see her CRUSH her goal time. She is amazing!

My sister came into the city shortly after our Oiselle bird party and the two of us wandered off to go expo-ing. Kate hasn't ever been to a big race expo so with the plan to limit the walking, off we went! This meant we had to take the T which can be confusing for us but we are wordly, educated woman and we had zero problems.

Teeny tiny beers!

Basically we found that the expo was low on stuff, but we looked at shoes (seriously, Hoka's are just funny looking), drank a 2 ounce beer and headed down the road to eat soft pretzels. Mmmmmm.

The rest of Sunday I spent wisely, resting, putting my legs up the wall, carb loading and drinking lots of water. I felt really good about the race and didn't want to over do it or leave anything to chance.
When we went to bed on Sunday I felt confident and ready for the big day...
(more later!) 

Fast people, famous people, and me...

This past week has been pretty normal on the winter training front.
There have been 2 common themes over the past week or so.
1: I am very, very busy at work. 10-12 hour days have not been unusual
(this makes mid week 2 hour workouts a tad tricky. I'm pretty good at managing my schedule but it has been tight!)
2: Winter still sucks

Sucky stupid winter

Despite these little challenges I had another solid training week. I clearly felt a little bump up in my fitness this week (finally! good gahd it took long enough..) With Boston finally registering on my race radar this is a good thing- now all we need are warmer temps and safe roads an I'll be back in the game. Until then, the basement and I are spending serious quality time.

Eric and I went to Boston yesterday for the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. This was a fun run-nerd road trip an we really had a good time! I was really curious to see the Nike team- since flotrack has more or less been devoted to them and their racing/training I was eager to see them in the flesh.
In an excellent twist of fate we got to see Danielle again (twice in one week!) as she and Sarah were spectating too. I believe we all hold on to hope that breathing the same air as the fast kids will make us fast.
I'm counting on it....

Crappy phone photo's...
Famous people! Alberto Salazar's back! Whoot!

I have been super impressed by the Rupp and Cain phenomenon so I was a bit crushed when Rupp pulled out, clearly hurting in the men's mile race. (Eric and I have been saying in our *expert* tones that he was going to make it or break it.... and we saw him break it...) Mary Cain is really just adorable, she was quite dominant in her race (the 1K) and pretty pumped about her win.
We witnessed a world Record in the 4x800 men's relay- wow it was so exciting!
An we saw a bit of a debacle in the women's 2 mile when Jenny Simpson lost count of her laps an hit the turbo with 2 laps to go.... Needless to say when she realized her mistake it was too darn late and she had to settle for second. As I said to Danielle "You don't see THAT every day..."
Since all the cool kids were out and about I got to say a quick hi to the always super sweet Kate Grace, who I managed not to fangirl all over this time. Kinda. Whatever you guys, she is pretty cool and also a really nice person. So Oiselle meet up success! Unplanned but success!!!

Chillin' with elite runners like it's NBD.

So a quick training wrap up from here- I finished the week with 33 miles (to last weeks 39) 90 minutes on the bike and about 2:40 of core/yoga. Decent. Every run had something of substance, which I find far more beneficial than tons of junk miles. Long runs are easy, fast runs are fast, progressive tempo runs have... tempo that progresses haha. (well they do) So things are shaping up for some bigger mileage soon!

Coming up soon.... My predictions/expectations for the Hampton Half.
More on the amazing things I eat every day! (hint: I eat like a normal person...)
My continued training.
My biggest peeves!

So get excited.

Mid Winter Classic 10 miler

So if my computer/blogger account had been anything but dysfunctional for the past month you all would know of my struggles in preparing for this race.
Horrible weather, kinda crummy speed work, limited road running time and a general feeling of unpreparedness prompted me to give up the idea of racing and resign myself to the fact that, at best, this could be a run with friends and a bit of speed work.

The day dawned as perfect as anything we have seen in months. Dudes, it was 40 degrees by race time! And, for the first time on MWC history there was no wind- miraculous!

I'm so peeved about my blogging issues as of late. All of my adoring fans are not in the know about my race prep and feelings about how I was going to do! This picture will tell you...

Heh heh. 

So let's talk about how this played out.

Eric and I arrived on time. Yes, be impressed. Danielle knows how rare it is for me to show up on time!

Right away we saw friends and the photos began in earnest! It isn't a race unless we have proof for the internet that we are all there.

OK let's see how I do with names.
Me. My new bestie Michelle. Some sexy beast of a man. Jen, Carrie, Jill. Another girl. Stacey maybe? I suck...

I FINALLY FINALLY met Michelle, my internet buddy of "unimpressed" Christmas photo fame. She pretty much is the best. She arrived in time to see some of my finer moments like falling over chairs, spilling Gatorade all over everything and then post race she caught me taking off the majority of my sweaty clothing in the middle of the cafeteria (well, everyone saw that...) I feel I made a solid first impression.
And why we did not take an "unimpressed" picture together I will never know. Missed opportunity!

I think I saw everyone I know and it was delightful. Danielle was there to crush her PR in the middle of a long run (showoff) and we had a joyful reunion. I miss her and am SO damn happy that she's back in the game this year- and killing it! And yes, Andy was there and he photobombed us per the norm.

Me, Danielle and Creeper McCreeperson!
JK love ya Andy. :-)

Shockingly I did not miss the start, despite my social meanderings. Everyone was feeling frisky and took off absurdly fast. Well, everyone is but me! I held my first 2 miles in the low 8's- which felt pretty relaxed. I ran with Michelle for a bit and we exchanged ladylike stories and told lovely tales about how we enjoy spitting and snotting all over the road, how we have a mutual hatred for non stop sponsored blog posts and how we planned to win the race. (not...) At mile 2 or so we exchanged a telepathic message that it was time to go our own ways and we did. (Eric calls that "me being a jerk!" I call it "we are doing our own thing!")

So I ran a ways and things were fine. I caught Eric and Andy at mile 3 and asked Eric if he wanted me to be his rabbit, to which he replied "I don't care." I took this to be a clear sign that we were doing our own thing, and that he and Andy could wage a twin war just fine without me! So along I moseyed.

Mile 5. The face of a focused, dedicated athlete.
Riiiiiiiiiight..
However it is a picture of someone who has improved her running form, shockingly.

Honestly, and boringly not much happened. I did pick up the pace gradually but was very cautious to not be a dick an blow my legs on a training run. I am a dumb jerk who likes to do that! I did want a few sub 8 miles and as it turns out, a few turned into 8. I never felt too aggressive though and I gave myself several small breaks to evaluate and catch my wheezing gasping breath (kidding. I wasn't pushing that hard, gosh!)

Things did get fun at mile 8. In the distance, all bright and shiny in hot pink and neon green I saw Danielle! And decided to catch her.... I plugged along slowly gaining ground until, with about 100 meters to go I was one step behind her. She did a double take and said something flattering like "Oh shiiiiiit..." which I took to mean she was happy to see me! I knew she was really glad I was there when she suddenly turned on some turbo boosters and ran like the freaking wind to totally out kick me. Hah! It was awesome. So when she is going for a huge BQ this spring I will show up at mile 25 or so to activate the same kind of reaction. The girl is scary fast... (thus far, I can't find pics of our epic finish. but I will.......)

Anyway. I finished and even though I ran a 1:15:56 I was 40 seconds off my PR. It was cool though, I was happy the run went well since nothing I have done lately in training indicated it would be a good day. To be brutally honest with myself, it was a bit of luck, a nice weather day and not much else. I've been developing some stronger legs lately but this particular day was more or less a perfect storm. A nice confidence boost though so I'll take it. Eric says I sandbagged but that isn't true. As I said, my training runs had me predicting a 1:25-1:27 finish. I got lucky. There will be more excellence to come in the future though after I put in some more time and work out there on the brutal terrain of my lovely town...

Eric and Andy ran thru a couple minutes behind us with the rest of the gang to follow along shortly thereafter.
Then the post race shenanigans began! I bumped into a reader who claims to be more middleaged than I am, haha (nice to meet you! I'm always excited that it isn't just Eric and my Dad who read my blog...) I talked a little trash to a super speedy Ironman friend (who then challenged me to a rematch... um I think I'm busy that day...) I gave diet advice to the world at large "Cake and WINE people, that's the way to not get too skinny!" (true story) An that was pretty much THAT. Well, there were more pictures- duh. This was really an excellent day to see friends and document our every move!

I think Michelle, Kristal AND Danielle ALL PR'd.
Sweet baby Jesus, you kids are rockstars. 

So a few weeks until the Hampton Half. I'm desperately hoping for more outdoor days of running and warmer temps. This was a nice boost and confirmation that I'm on the right track but I feel that I have a lot of work ahead of me to get where I want to be. Good motivation, right?

Counting down to 2014 and through my good choices of 2013!

Continuing on with my end of the year wrap up!
I really can't believe it is time to count down the last few days of 2013. Shit, where did it go?

So, I'm going to start with my list of good things that I learned and good choices I made in 2013.
There are 10 of these, and they are not in any particular order. Except number one. That's a winner.


10: BETTER CHOICES:
I have been known to make some pretty foolish choices over the years in my athletics which have sidelined me a few times. I am pretty bright though and pride myself on not making the same mistake twice (because that is the definition of stupidity, and is the definition of wasting your coaches time.)
So what brought about this change? A few things. One- as I said, I learn from my mistakes. Two- I had damn good guidance which brings me to our next good choice......

Yes, I still looked like this on occasion. Good choices are relative!
(also proving that I do NOT, I releat- DO NOT always photograph well!)

9: Hiring Coach Kelsey. A great choice. She made me walk the damn line. No more junk miles (well, fewer. I love junk miles...), no more avoiding cross training, no more obsessing over weekly miles. Total life changer. I think about where I am now vs where I was a year ago and I'm dumbfounded. I'm JUST as fit as I was then (or more fit) with NO nagging, repetitive injuries. Furthermore (and this is a big one) except for a month of so in the height of a training cycle when I know I need to be hitting 50+ weekly miles I don't care how many I'm doing. I can now see the big picture better- and the big picture contains more than constantly doing 50 junk miles a week for months at a time.

8: Backing wayyyyyyyy off on the racing. I didn't have a lot of extra cash to blow this year what with Boston AND NYCM costing me a mint. And in all honesty.... I might do fewer races in 2014....

This little medal cost me hundreds of dollars. F'n worth it. Hmmmm strange priorities.

7: Realizing that I do NOT need to PR at every distance: It is just a nice recipe for constant injury. This is a lesson I actually learned in 2012 but implemented successfully this year with good results. I PR'd at the distance I cared about and trained for!

6: Doing an Ultra. I discovered that I can do it! I discovered that perhaps, 26.2 is more my jam....

See, After a 50K I look close to death. Blerch.

5: FINALLY figuring out how to eat during a marathon. THANK YOU running Gods (picky bars) and a year of trial and error. This one is HUGE.

4: Only having 1 goal for my "A" race. It kept me from doing any negotiation with myself. It was BQ/PR or bust for Smuttynose and it worked like a charm! I think I can pull this off maybe twice a year as it was a pretty significant physical/mental effort!

Angie is holding me upright. That's what happens when your legs fall off at mile 25!

3: Realizing that I can't do an "A" race every month. Duh. What a shock. This is another lesson that I learned in 2012 to be honest. I definitely applied this amazing concept until October when I did all the races and quit running. ....it was bound to happen....

2: Applying to be on the Oiselle Team, and being accepted! After meeting so many Oiselle athletes in NYC this Fall I really feel that I'm running with the right people. They are a serious but FUN group of ladies, and they love, love, LOVE running and racing. I loved talking to some of the elite woman- they are SO fast but were so down to earth and friendly- a real pleasure to converse with. I have enjoyed my time with Oiselle thus far and feel that it is a group of people, and a company that I believe in and can picture myself with for a while.

1: Deciding to marry my super wonderful exclusive dating partner. The best choice ever! My feeling is that if you have the opportunity to marry your best friend you should. I'm petty excited to tie the knot in 2014 and to spend the rest of my days having hot athletic dates with him and looking at his sexy physique. We really do have ALL the fun!



Love!

My favorite things!! And a repcap of what I have been up to lately.

I planned to take one solid week off post NYCM. I started promising this to myself/other people/the running Gods sometime in August and I'm actually doing it. Not only am I doing it but I am extending it to 10 days. Maybe 11. Maybe a damn bakers dozen!
Catching my typical post marathon season cold has contributed to my sedentary lifestyle but I certainly know that I was due (overdue) for a break!
My current plan is to go on a get fat and lazy quick training program and to have a certain amount of cake and wine that I need to consume daily then log in my training peaks. As well as my hours spent sitting (which are few, sadly...)
Ahhhhh, all the spare time gives me phenomenal ideas.

What have I done with all my spare time??
-Well, I have worked a lot which is hardly restful.
-I have kept up with the laundry folding for the first time since May.
-I have had time to catch up on blogs and internet crapola.
-I have been watching The Walking Dead (fun stuff) (late to the party) (and why are ALL the characters so dumb...? why do they even survive one season??)
-I have been sleeping. The post marathon exhaustion and being sick have put me to sleep very early.
-I have been eating mass quantities of veggies- while this hardly seems exciting I rarely dare to eat lots of fiber while running high mileage. So it has been rather delightful.

Veggies.... Mmmmmmmmm!

I have also been reminiscing since I am have almost made it to the 4 year anniversary of my first step of running! Shit, I'm old.

One thing I can attest to is that in the past 4 years I have become (for better or worse) one of those runners who puts legit thought into gear. My clothing has stood the test of time- for the most part my favorites have been favorites for the long haul. I tend to avoid fads, and the "next big thing" and stick with what works and things I feel comfortable recommending to my friends and family.  As far as the "extra" stuff- it has only been the last 6 months or so that I have become more satisfied with my nutrition. Read on for more details on that...

Long gone are the days when I could eat a handful of pretzels, throw on my 5 year old hybrid hiking shoes and purple yoga pants and happily run along.... *sigh, nostalgia*

A side note, I might be the only one who feels this way but I rarely put much stock into other bloggers "gear reviews" mainly because most of it seems to be given to that blogger to review or some kind of sponsored post. (ok, maybe it's just a few of the "big" bloggers who do this weekly/almost daily but I don't hustle to take their advice... mostly because they seem to rave about one brand then "overnight" change loyalties. it confuses me.)
All of the gear I recommend was purchased with my own hard earned cash. Henceforth, all opinions are my own (and therefore are the best opinions you will find on the internets ;-))

Everyone knows my duds consist mainly of Oiselle. This was the case even before I made it onto their team! I have some of their shorts and capris from wayyyyy back when and they have held up for hundreds of miles, tons of washings and general abuse. My favorite fall top is the Flyte long sleeve, it's an awesome running shirt for chilly days and cute enough to wear on a date. Which I do.

My favorite top. And the newest strappy bra, which is absolute perfection!!!!

I wore smartwool socks until this past April when I started having a helluva time with blistering and foot chaffing- ugh so nasty! I still like them for short runs but they are a big, huge NO for anything over 10. My long run socks are now the Balega Hidden's and they are the Bee's knees. 2 marathons and multiple long's and no problems. They are quite incredible.

I run in calf sleeves unless it is 110 degrees out and I'm not thrilled with any of the options (looking for suggestions but am not hopeful!) Zensah's are short enough but too loose. Pro Compressions used to be perfect but now they are running very large (as are their socks- I'm a once happy customer turned unhappy) 2XU's are the perfect amount of squeeze but are a bit too long and really bug the back of my knee after a while (like, 16 or more) CEP is ALMOST perfect but the ankle area is itchy- and I'm like a little kid who has sensory overload, forget it! (in all fairness, I wonder if I just have a flukey pair?) UGH. I have more trouble with my dumb calf sleeves than anything else!!

Y'all know I'm a Mizuno fan to the core. the Wave 16's have been my go to shoe all season and I have nothing but excellent things to say about them. They are super light, just enough cushion, they don't slip, slide or make my fussy heels hurt and they are so pretty...! I am really enjoying the Sayonara's as well- such a fun shoe for speed work or shorter races. (if you call a Half short) I REALLY REALLY want to try the Prophecy, they sound absolutely amazing... But at just over $200 they are going to have to stay on the wishlist for now. Bottom line though- I've suggested Mizunos to all my up and coming runner friends and they took my advice, for the happiest feet on the planet! I seriously doubt that I will ever run in any other shoe, they have performed admirably for me over the years.
And no, I do not work for Mizuno. Bummer.

A few pairs that I have lying around. Some have been delegated to barn activities!
Missing at least a half dozen pairs, I gave them to the barn "kids" this summer.
Nothing says love like giving a teenager a pair of kicks with 500 miles on 'em!

I use a Garmin. I have a Road ID, as everyone should. Except for that, not too many bells and whistles. I recover in whatever compression I have on hand (as previously discussed, I have a lot), I foam roll with a cheap-o Wal-Mart roller, and that's recovery in a nutshell.

My very fussy belly has caused me much grief over the years. This time last year it occurred to me that I might never be able to find something suitable to eat during a long run, and was going to have to suffer either with extreme GI upset or the horrible bonking that comes at mile 16 of a marathon when you have not been able to get any calories in. I won't go thru the whole boring list, but I had tried freaking everything. (literally. everything.)
I. Was. Desperate.
I was having moderate luck with packets of baby food (the barfing stopped) but my belly still got really crampy, and sloshy with the lack of substance. Not to mention I would have to work at sucking down a huge pouch of that stuff for a meager 50-60 calories. So depressing.
And then, the magic day arrived. I bought a Picky Bar on a whim to eat during a long run. I cut it up into chunks, tossed it in a baggie and snacked on it along the way.
Fucking miracle. Complete perfection. Problem solved.
Andddddddd... I thought it was a fluke! So the next week off I went ton a random 18 miler and same story. I basically fell over and cried happy tears.
So people, do you have a crabby stomach? Or do you just like a delicious (and nutritious! and calorie dense! and chocolatey!) snack, get these. NOW. Sometimes I eat them just for fun because they are so very tasty.
And no, I do not work for Picky Bars either which is too bad really....

I purchase in BULK.

So that, in a nutshell is my gear wrap up from 2013. With the notable addition of picky bars I'd say it is very similar to what I was using/wearing in 2012 (I'm a creature of habit, evidently!)
(now, if I was a real blogger this would have been a "my fav things" giveaway. no such luck! I'm keeping alllll my things for myself!)

Boston '14, horses, long runs, rambling....

I have had a jam packed week.

The big news, and one that I know I was not alone in waiting for is that my squeaker time is good enough for Boston '14!!
I was very excited. I checked my email every hour on the hour starting bright and early and finally had to give up around 1:00. At 1:24 Eric updated the BAA page, saw my name, and literally RAN to the arena where I was riding with the good news! I knew it could be tough getting in this year, my qualifying time from last year would not have made the cut, so I'm pleased, relieved and excited to have another go at my favorite race!

Phew. That's about all I could say.

I had a successful 20 miler the day after Lobsterman which I found encouraging. My long runs over 19 miles have essentially failed for the past few months. Now that I think about it, my last decent 19 plus run was at Boston- jeesh.... This was a pretty good confidence booster for me and I felt good throughout- good enough to throw in a mile at marathon goal pace from 18-19. I like to know that I have legs that late in a run and I did (on that day, anyway!)


I was out of town for last week, at Regional Championships (for the horse end of things!) I had one of my young rider students along for her first time at such a big show and she did very well, placing no worse than 7th in her open classes, winning a big class on a high score, taking 5th overall high score young rider and coming home with a stack of ribbons to be very proud of. She had a rough go in her championship class but part of learning to compete is developing the skills to gracefully handle a less than stellar ride and figuring out what to do better next time.
I was a rather fine example for this skill as my Championship class scored much lower than I felt was appropriate. Disappointing, but in the end it was only 12 minutes of my life and knowing that it was actually a solid effort makes it a bit better! A prime example of the truly subjective nature of the sport, which doesn't take away from my dedication to it but makes me glad that I have I purely objective sport to enjoy as well!
And yes, we took some silly pictures to commemorate the event. We are VERY serious dressage queens...

The awkward faces make no sense.
You can tell it was the end of a long day!

Hahaha! This one makes me laugh every time!

I'm getting around to tapering for Smuttynose. I'm feeling good so far, pretty relaxed, I do have expectations for this race (I'd love a PR!) but also plan to run according to how I feel on the day. Given the debacle at GCI I also am planning to run the first half a little under pace. Bonking at mile 15 is NOT part of my grand plan.

Oh! My athlete profile made it up onto the Oiselle page last weekend. Look at ME!!! I'm loving it, funky typo and all (hmmmm instead of  reading "Pump up song" Thunderstruck is amusingly listed as my 13.1 PR?) I should probably point that out to someone but it made me laugh so I'm enjoying the cut-and-paste error for the time being!


 That's it for now. October is going to be a HUGE and busy month so get ready for much excitement around here!

You are not me, but if you WERE!

You are not me, but if you were...

Duh, you'd be awesome.

Every now and then people ask me for suggestions on how to train, eat, recover and maintain a sleek, well groomed physique (ahem.) Since I am clearly an expert on all these things I am happy to help them out with wise words of wisdom and brilliant suggestions which stem from my years of expertise in all things running. And life.

 

Yes I am making fun of myself.

 

However, I do feel fully qualified on how to make myself as awesome as I can be. Pshhhh YES INDEED! Taking that into *serious* consideration I have compiled a list which should really help the rest of the world reach its full and amazing potential (at what, we are not sure.)

Read at your own risk. This is an awesome post.

You are not me, but if you WERE!!!
You would take compression, and matching, seriously!

No lie. During this epic training cycle I relied heavily on compression. I only use it for recovery but from socks to shorts to full on dead sexy pants I rocked it the eff out. And I am 100% convinced that it aided my recovery time significantly. This is actually a very helpful tip. Maybe the only one. I am not committed to any one brand of compression- pro compression has been sucky in the sizing department lately, Zensa's are almost always too big, 2XU is fine but costs ten thousand dollars... You get it. I don't have a favorite.

I also have a very cute dog. Too bad he is not too bright.

You would also.... Recover with BEER!!!

I will never run for team refuel with milk products. I can not imagine swigging down a creamy vat of dairy post race. BARF. After I chug some high quality h2o I grab a beer. Or two, apparently. Never more, because I am blindingly responsible and wish to be a fine role model for the youth of America. Which I am because it is practically un American to run a race and not to drink a beer, eat pizza, bacon and ice cream immediately thereafter.

I am a wonderful healthy eater and you should be TOO!!!!

 

All I can say to this is "YES PLEASE!!!"

Too bad I can NOT eat donuts before running. *sad face*

If you were me, you would buy your actual running food in BULK.

After years of searching for the correct nutrition for running I found it in these amazing little nuggets of happiness. If you have a picky belly get some damn picky bars. They are like magic for your mouth. And your GI tract. The unbelievable bonus is that they are delicious like candy and fabulously easy to eat and calorically dense and they have REAL ingredients. BIG FAN!

(this is another helpful tip which brings us to TWO! Success!!!)

 

 

If you were as much of a beast as I am...

You would learn to change your own tires. It beats waiting for help!!! (I'm not going to share my skills on HOW  to change a tire but it is actually as easy as picking up the manual... And practicing a few times. Even if you don't want to, haha...)

And those tire irons are really good weapons, should your Ninja skills fail you.

(FYI, my Ninja skills never fail me. But it is good to have a back up plan...)

 

If you were as fashion forward as THIS GUY!

You wouldn't always wear running skirts. But when you DO they would be Oiselle bum wraps and they would be awesome.

I am not a running skirt girl AT ALL NOT NEVAH!!! But I make exceptions for this one. It is all kinda functional but most importantly it is cute without being all frills and fluff.



If you need a little nap like I DO....

Apparently you would lie down in the sun and take a cuddle nap with your BFF. What can I say? We were a little tired. She has a super new baby and is Half Marathon training like a BOSS. I'm just lazy. That is all...

If you, UNLIKE ME, had a crazy streak...

You would HIDE your 50K race medal and fabulous extras. Because if you did NOT hide them they might be a constant reminder of how (if you were CRAZY) you might really want to do another 50K someday as legit redemption. Clearly, this is NOT a problem for me as I would never want to do such a crazy thing ever again. Ever. Yeah, that's right!

 

That brings us to the end of my amazing and helpful lecture on how to get better in all aspects of life. I am sure that this will be much appreciated by the entire internet and that everyone will eagerly await my next installment!