A quick look back....

It was a heatwave yesterday. Like, 52 degrees.

I had some mile repeats to tackle so I dressed accordingly. And AWESOMELY!!!!

 

DEAD. SEXY.

Starting to think about the upcoming races. The Derry 16 miler is in less than 2 weeks. I expect that will be my "long" run for the week and I really enjoy a long run that maxes out at 16, not gonna lie.

Just the thought of 16 being an easy long got me to thinking.

1 year ago I had NEVER EVER run farther than 13.1. And I was mostly fine with that. Marathons were not legitimately on my crazy person radar yet.

And THEN I started thinking that two years ago I had NEVER EVER run farther than 6.2 miles. And I was A-OK with that too! (that might be a fib, as I was more or less in half marathon training.)

But really, the point of this rambling is that 3 years ago I did not run. At all. Not a single step ever.

I feel like I have made progress. (towards insanity, gahd...)

 

One year ago: Getting Ready to PR at an Indoor Half

 

Two years ago: When ALL my training was on a treadmill. The HORROR.

 

It is so strange that I went from being a nice normal lady to someone who sees no problems with running 40 plus miles a week, every week like it is no big deal. And who also sees no issue with the fact that every Friday afternoon/evening of my life is taken up by long runs of doom. Honestly, if anyone had told me 3 years ago that I'd be doing THIS I would have laughed them right out of the room. Oh well. I'm awesome :-) (and seriously, if I can do it so can 99% of you out there!) (well. not if you want to have any semblance of a "normal" life but who wants that?)

 

Round Two of WIN! FAIL! 2011

When being attacked with a large camera some people pose and try to look sultry. This is how I look (awesome. obvi!) This is also how I look when contemplating how I WIN! FAIL! at life.. Henceforth, this photo is going to get us started today with round two.
Let's talk about shoes. I have two pairs of Mizunos (I did indeed have problems with one shoe out of the 4, I attacked it with some kitchen scissors and BOOM that did the trick.) Anyway. I saw these hot red Mizunos and HAD. TO. HAVE. THEM. I mean, LOOK at them!! To make a long story short I hated them more that I have ever hated any other pair of shoes- including Kinvaras (which I abhore) so I sent them back. VERY SAD!!! WIN: shoes were freaking gorgeous. FAIL: They sucked.

These are the Mizunos that I love, love, love. WIN: I have one pair with over 800 miles that is still going strong. FAIL: You can't find this exact model anymore. even if you could I have it in my head to get pink shoes next. (winning!)

5K races. FAIL: PRing. It wasn't going to happen this year and it really pissed me off. My best time was 23:14 and my worst (well, we won't speak of that...) WIN? I bitch slapped myself and got a whole new attitude. Why do something that is your "hobby" and freaking hate it? After that revalation I ran a few fall 5K's and really enjoyed myself. Sometimes you just need to kick yourself in the britches. (one of the reasons that I was HATING 5K's- look at how alone I am in this picture? How is THAT fun? It is NOT because I'm winning. FAIL!!)

Half Marathon Madness. A definate example of Win/Failing.

Half #1: FAILED at completing a full training cycle. WON because I still did it and finished pretty fast (around 1:48 if I remember correctly) FAIL: Becasue at mile 6 I started hurting in my left groin/hip flexor and basically hobbled the second half. WIN: I finished.

Half #2: FAILED at competing a full training cycle AGAIN. WIN: A solid PR (1:45 and change I think...) FAILFAIL: Started to feel sick at mile 6, felt sick for the rest of the race and for hours after. WIN: realized that I just can't eat and run at the same time... FAIL: Was massively burned out post race and pretty much OVER it. Win: Legs felt fine this time.

Half #3: WIN: It was a helluva great time. FAIL!!! Ummmm. How to say this? I "tapered" for 5 months, went into the race with 7 miles being my longest run (in 5 months) snagged a SOLID PW- around 2:05 was my time, I was SICK (with a cold not belly issues, thank heavens!) Oh and FAIL: THE WEATHER! But also WIN- the weather was so bad that it was truly funny. WIN: I really had fun, go figure. That confirms that I am a nut case times 1,000. FAIL: BIG foot injury the next day- probably due to running 13.1 miles on weakass feet?

This picture gives thanks to my favorite post long run recovery beverage, BEER. YUM! WIN!

2011 WIN/FAIL Part One

This (2011) was the year of many great things. Unlike 2010, which I couldn't WAIT to see go I have many fond feelings about 2011.
The odd thing was that in many of my running conquests I felt that I was walking the tedious and fine line between winning at life and accomplishing an epic fail!
Was I worried about this? Hells to the NO.
Did I think it was odd and worth a blog commentary? Well, clearly....
This will be a multi part series but let's get started, shall we?

My Fashion: WIN because I have yet to be run over on the road or raped by nameless strangers in a windowless van. FAIL because unless you're blind you can't help but notice how truly heinous most of my outfits are.

Running with friends. WIN because it's WAY more fun to hang with a bud both before and after a race. FAIL because inevitable somebody is going to wish to go faster or slower, it is easy to loose people in a crowd and that causes mental anguish and frustration.

Overall though, I'd say my foray into the world of running with friends still ends up with a clear WIN because it added a different element to the race experience.

Summer Running: Win: Ummmm. FAIL: Because I rarely do it, a 9 mile week is "high" mileage, I hate the humidity, the bugs, the traffic, the sweat; I run gadgetless and trick myself into thinking I'm running a 7 minute mile which is actually a 27 minute mile, it is impossible to stay hydrated if you plan to run longer than 0.3 miles (and the list goes on and on.) Win: Oddly, some of my better 5K times come on those well rested summer legs.

Winter running: WIN: I prefer the frigid temps, I have more time, I get to wear awesome rocking socks, I actually CAN run faster since it is not 99% humid, I scamper off to run races that last 48 hours, It is fully possible to stay hydrated most of the time, arm socks are the fashion statement that we have all been wishing for! FAIL: Well, see all of the above. Plus the fact that if it snows on race day I'm out $50 and that sucks!

Join me tomorrow for episode TWO of Win/Fail and see what I have to say about Half Marathons, 5K races, PR vs PW, shoes and fabulocity in general!

Last Race of 2011!

Wrapping up the year (and 11 in '11- DONE!) at the Brewers Dash in Portland on Sunday.
It was a beautiful freaking day, and the nice sunshine made up for the fact that it was about twenty below... Or 32 above but really, no difference there...

I got to run this little dash with (one of) The Huz's best friends. This was his FIRST 5K and he was nervous enough to seriously consider hitting the vommmmm button. But he did not..


There is no denying that I am scarier than he is. As it turns out I am scarier than almost anyone! It would have been nice to get some pics of the waterfront- which was super pretty- but it was too damn cold and we kinda waited until the last minute to head outside. Our epic coaching squad of The Huz's BFF's Wife and Mom were ready to dash back to the bar before we even lined up to start.. Wimps!


I was rocking some mad sexy socks for this race. Oh Snap is right, suckahs... Actually I'd say my whole outfit scored pretty high on the anti-rape meter. Too bad that the BFF didn't take a page from my bright color book- at the turnaround I lost him- perhaps it was the complete clusterfudge of people but suddenly he was nowhere to be found... We stuck together pretty well, elbow to elbow crowds and all for the first mile (in 9:00) and thru the next .5. I thought he had managed to get in front of me so I sprinted ahead to catch up and found that it was another dude in non-descript clothing. There was no finding him then... So off I went!

Here we are after our big finish! BFF managed a LEGIT PR in 27:55 (awesome!) and I snuck in at 24:47- dudes- I ran the last mile in 7:07. WHAT??!!! Shitttttt.... That's what I'm sayin..

We drank a beer and it was really good. Then we went out and ate sausages and THEY were really good. We wrapped things up by snagging a gellato- it is NEVER too cold for ice cream products!

Then we all went home. THE END!

What next??

I am a woman without a plan. I do not like this... Evidently, my motivation is driven by my competitive nature and without a race on the horizon I'm flipping around like a fish out of water. Directionless... And a touch confused. Let's take care of this problem, shall we? Keeping in mind that my Equestrian competitive season starts on May 14Th, and that (no lie) I am booked every weekend in June this is what I have my eyes on at this time. I'm going to outline a few possibilities and then leave it to you all to decide for me. Or to help at any rate, no pressure people, no pressure!

1: May 7th, Big Lake Half Marathon: Alton, NH
http://www.biglakehalfmarathon.com/biglake/wish-racer.html
So, do I have the tine, energy and attitude to do one more half before Summer hits and I'm reduced to running 8 miles a week? (A WEEK! BLAH!) My original grand plan was to have last weekends Half be the last before moving on to shorter distances for the Spring and Summer months. This Half looks fun- hilly (at least they admit to it... better to know!) and not too terribly far from where I live. So the question is.... Do I go for the distance one more time??

2: May 8th, Portland Sea Dogs 5K: Portland ME
So this is one of those big, jolly local races where there are a bazillion people all dashing thru the narrow streets of Portland. I'd be looking for a PR here which would mean that for the next month I would get to work on speed work shorter distances and all that craptastic stuff. The other option is that I could get a couple friends to run this with me "for fun" Like I do anything "for fun..."

3: May 22nd, Evan's Run 10K, Norwell MA
http://www.evanhenry.org/
Probably wouldn't think twice about this one but the WHOLE family lives down there and I could probably talk some of them into running. Or hanging out... Probably even feeding me! And it has the 10K option- 10K's are really hard to come by from the looks of things. It would be a bit of a haul (3.5 hours) but like I said... The whole Family!

I know for sure that I have the 4 on the 4th (of July, Duh) in my plans as well as the infamous Beach To Beacon in August. So the task at hand is to figure out what to do next. Your opinion is much appreciated!

I AM: Going to be a 10K winner. Or finisher?

Well, I did it.

Signed up for my first 10K, Jan 1st 2011 in Lowell Mass.
(completing my 2010 goal 12 hours late. Damnit!)

Asking the running Gods to kindly send me some good weather, won't be able to get there in a nor'easter. Wicked. Pissah. All fetched up. (insert some cliche saying from up Nawth heyah.)

I'm relying on all of you interwebbers to tell me that I'm going to be fine and will not fail horribly, vom on my shoes, or take 3 hours to finish.

Oh dear. I'm nervous already....