True success lies in knowing your weaknesses and playing to your strengths. ~Sophia Amoruso~

I don’t “excel” in summertime weather & I doubt I ever will. I am 150% okay with this. I know my PRs will be made in the wintertime—those being the running days I look forward to most. I have no problem layering up for a 13 degree day; but a 90 degree day just simply pisses me off. Why must it be so hot?! Not to mention, the dreaded humidity that plagues the mid-Atlantic coast from late-May through early-October. Enough complaining though; I have lived in Virginia since I was nearly 2 years old. This weather is nothing new & I am used to it. That said though, it has been an un-seasonably hot & humid summer, in my opinion. I am so very much looking forward to 50 degree days with boots & jeans on, plus a hot latte in hand…… not getting a sunburn during a half marathon on October 2^nd! HA!

Yesterday brought my 2^nd half marathon of 2016. Although I have logged a decent (for me) number of miles this year, with races scattered about, it has been mostly shorter races. Since the Shamrock 1/2 marathon, my longest race was the 10K distance—with the exception of last month’s Ragnar relay. After doing a Fall marathon for the past 2 years, it has been quite strange to have a fairly low mileage Summer. I am sure this has been good for my body…. & my husbands’ sleep schedule (hehe!), but my body is itching for a change. Luckily, training is back in full force! This past week was my first 40+ mileage week since Tokyo training. I really do love running, & my body feels & races best with a generous mileage base. Enough about all that; time to recap yesterday’s adventure!

The last (& only) time I had run this race was the 2^nd annual one, in 2013. That day, the temp & conditions were oppressive. Locals had compared it to the legendary Rock ‘n’ Roll VA Beach weekend temps, which I had coincidently also run a month earlier. My goal that day was to break 2 hours—I ended up failing at my mission, with an official time of 2:03:52. Spoiler alert: I broke 2 hours yesterday, so alas, a personal course record was made!

Leading up to this past weekend, the meteorologists weren’t forecasting very nice running temps. Dew points continue(d) to be in the upper 60s, with humidity percentages over ninety. Not fun, or really appropriate for an October distance race! I had settled on not racing once I saw those unfortunate temps. Waking up race morning with a sore throat & snotty nose/congestion confirmed my plan to take it easy (I had recently slooooowly recovered from a post-Ragnar illness). “Easy” though, would have to be determined based on race day “feel”. Despite all that, it was going to be a GREAT race weekend, since I got to dine the night before with 2 of my running/life faves—Kerry & Kara—as well as see them race morning!

Race morning arrived, with Kara & me heading to Hampton around 6:45am. We met up with Kerry for a mile warm-up, & then to the corrals we went. We started at the back of corral #1, so that we could keep it easy for the first mile & not get trampled by the “fasties”. Shortly after taking off, I was alone. This was the plan—they would all race/have tempo runs, & I would run easy. It was kind of fun to “follow” my running friends & keep them in my sights for the first few miles, since there are a good amount of long straight-aways on this course. Keep it easy, I kept telling myself.

The first couple of miles ticked by too easy, making me think, should I have raced this?? Somewhere in mile 5, Kara reappeared a bit in front of me. Prior to this, I had lost sight of her, as well as Kerry & another friend, Sara. When I saw Kara, I knew this wasn’t a very good sign. You see, Kara has MS, but that never stops her. However, racing when hot can be very hard for people with MS. Similar to a half she did a few weeks earlier; the heat/humidity can cause muscle problems & overheating.

At mile 6, I reached Kara. Out the window went any plans for the remainder of the race. New Goal: Cross the finish line with a dear friend—however & whatever it took to get there. We took walk breaks when needed & I encouraged her constantly—probably to the point of annoyance; but I didn’t care. It was time to not only be her coach {she is training for the Richmond Marathon—send her loads of good luck!!}, but also a companion. I had a few rules though—no crying & no negativity. Tough love! I pushed her to delay walk breaks & she stormed over the last few hills like they were nothing—hilly NoVA training to thank for that! We encouraged runners that we passed, or that halted to a walk around us. A guy even thanked us at the end for helping him to push on & finish! With about a mile to go, we upped the pace; & then, with about two-tenths left, we sprinted. Ultimately, we crossed the finish line at 1:58:23/24 {9:03/mile}. Proud, while drenched in sweat, we shared a moment much like Amy Cragg & Shalane Flanagan at the Olympic Trials—no (wo)man left behind. Period.

I did nothing heroic or that requires thanks; I simply was a friend for someone that needed me. No time on the clock or check in a race box is as valuable as accompanying a person who physically & mentally is suffering. I have had plenty of races where I felt like horse manure & wanted to quit—so I can one million percent relate to the total suck fest that occurs when a race goes sour.

So, the next time you are feeling good at a race, but passing someone who is obviously suffering, offer to run with them, or just give them some encouraging words—I promise, it’ll make both you & them feel better!

Up Next For The Running Blonde: The Inaugural Wards Corner 10K this coming Saturday!

I am not even sure where to start. Seriously. I am sure this post will be long-winded, but also, I am sure I will accidently leave something out. I will only share a handful of photos, but do know, there was so much photographic & video evidence from this fun, fun weekend (Boomerang, anyone?!).

This past weekend was pretty darn amazing & I feel so lucky to have spent it with 11 other fantastic, badass, beastmode mother runners. Sure, there were low points—mostly when the running got tough—but the rest of it made up 10 fold for those crappy moments. The amnesia has already set in for some, with a few members of Mom’s Night Out {our team name, created by the wonderful Whitney} already planning their next Ragnar adventure. It’ll take me a little longer, but knowing my love of this sport & these girls, I will likely happily oblige.

For those who don’t know, a Ragnar is a relay-type event with any number of runners {generally 6-12} completing the distance. For the road type, which is what we completed, it covers 200-ish miles. Ultra teams with six runners will complete the relay with all members in a single van. Teams like ours, with 12 runners, will have two vans with six folks per van. Sometimes though, life happens & you lose a member to injury or work; & in those cases, you are just down a member with the rest of the team picking up the slack. Our team showed up & meant business—with everyone completing their planned distance {some a little more than they intended, thanks to getting lost…. more on that later}! Our mantra was like childbirth, you just HAD to do it & the job would be completed with the passing of the baton, a slap bracelet in our case; much like labor isn’t complete until the child is fully birthed.

I can’t recall how long ago the idea came to fruition, but Stephanie, our team captain was the originator of this grand plan. All of the team members are, or have been in the past, affiliated with the local Fit4Mom franchise—either via Stroller Strides or Body Back. Look this business up if you’re looking to get in shape as a new or experience momma!! The actual running experience amongst the group ranged a bit, but generally speaking, all members of the group were pretty darn fit. Since I had completed the Colonial 200 Relay last year, I naturally fell into the co-captain position. Stephanie would lead the way with Van 1, & I would, with Van 2. For a team with only one member having completing such a race, these girls did AMAZING. Such pros out there—appearing to have done this hundreds of times!

Our adventure began on Thursday morning, with a yummy send-off brunch provided by a local restaurant, Toast. If you are in the Norfolk area, do yourself a favor & go try their kale salad & toast varieties—YUM!! At noon, our 2 rental vans {12-passenger—the ONLY way to do this sort of adventure in style & comfort!!} departed with Cumberland, MD as our destination. Upon arrival to our B&B, we were greeted by our host, Gayle {oh the stories we could tell you about that place!}. After decorating the vans, we headed to the pre-race party to get all of our goodies & watch the safety briefing—doing this the night before prevents you from having to arrive an hour early on race morning. Score! Bedtime came just before 10pm, mostly since van 1 had a 3:30am wake up time.

Our team’s journey began at 5am sharp, on Friday morning. Van 1 set out to complete their first set of legs, with Sandy leading the way through a tough & pitch black 4.9 mile run. Following her was Emily, our cancer-kicking momma. The 3^rd leg, denoted as the toughest one on the course, was ran by our graceful ballerina Allie, who defeated the almost 1,250 feet elevation gain like it was nothing—or so I heard, since I was devouring a yummy B&B breakfast at that time. Next came Whitney, one of the funniest & most resourceful chicks around; followed by Erin, our fearless Fit4Mom Norfolk owner. Last in van 1 was Stephanie—the kindest gal you’ve ever met, but could make a sailor blush with some of her vocabulary!

Just before 11am, van 1 passed the torch to van 2, & we went to work! First up was hippy-loving momma Courtney who crushed her almost 8-mile run. She slapped the bracelet on Kendra’s wrist that proceeded to climb straight up, & then go straight down a mountain—super impressive woman right there! Next up was Ashley who accomplished a down-to-the-wire “kill” at the end of her 4.5 mile leg. Katie, our fresh-from-Hawaii momma {who graciously “laid” us with the beautiful flowers you see in some of the pics}, ran almost 9 miles like the graceful flower that she is! Super Mom #11, Lauren, crushed a quick five miles before passing the slap bracelet to yours truly.

My first leg was 7.4 miles—which almost was delayed since I went to the exchange bib-less. What am I, an amateur?! Geez. We had our own mini-relay trying to get my bib on before Lauren reached us. Teamwork! The debacle caused me a bit of stress (ha!) & even caused me to forget to start my watch at the handoff. No worries though, I remembered about 0.1 miles into the leg. I had studied the elevation map & knew there would be a steady climb from around mile 4 to 5.25—what I wasn’t expecting was all of the other intense elevation changes prior to that point. Ouch! We are such a flat-land team, & boy oh boy, those hills were INTENSE! Despite a few walk breaks, my time for this leg was just under 62 minutes. I earned a single “kill”, which in Ragnar-language, just means you passed someone along the course.

The next set of legs ran from about 6pm Friday night until 6am Saturday morning—covering just about 75 miles. There were headlamps to guide the way {pretty crappy light source though in some of the very dark forest-type areas}, as well as taillights & reflective vests. While van 2 waited for van 1 to finish their nighttime runs, I rested in a field at a creamery with tons of other runners—this was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. My 2^nd leg was a bit delayed thanks to confusing signs, combined with my fellow blonde van-mate getting lost for about 30 minutes—we love you girl! At 4:45am, I set off for my scariest run ever, where I ran 9.7 miles through the pitch black country of Maryland; it was a nice 64 degrees out. Almost 90 minutes later, I reached the exchange point; “okay, 2 legs down, 1 leg to go”, is what I told myself.

Van 1 took over for their final set of legs, while van 2 headed to a hotel close by for showers & 2 hours of rest.

My final turn to run came at 2pm on Saturday afternoon. It was hot, over 80 degrees, & the sun was blazing. I grabbed my 8oz. mini water bottle & set out to conquer the streets of DC {Ragnar advertised water stops—but only ended up having two stops during this 11.9-mile leg to fill up my small water bottle; I became dehydrated. Naturally.}. What I didn’t realize prior to the relay was just how hard this journey would be. Leading up to the race, I had grandiose ideas that this relay would be a training run & that I could complete it semi-easily. Ha, silly girl! What I had not accounted for was the HILLS. And the distance—running 29 miles in under 24 hours isn’t a regular thing for me. During my first leg, I had about 2 miles of nearly straight downhill. Much like Boston Marathoners, my quads ached & were so tight when the hills came, after having completed those downhill miles. My calves weren’t too happy with me either. I kept with our mantra of this being like childbirth—with the only option being to get to the finish line!

Despite, or in spite of getting lost for a good amount of time, I reached the finish line 2 hours + 26 minutes later. It was probably the slowest 12.45 miles that I have ever run, but I didn’t care. I learned so much more about myself & my perseverance during that time, with the race clock being merely just numbers. Sure I wanted to quit {more than once!}, heck, I had even asked a guy at one of the water stops if he had the same thoughts—to which he replied “heck yeah”; but he too pushed on past his personal limits & completed the mission.

DC Ragnar weekend has left me with so many memories & stories—all thanks to the WONDERFUL team that I was a part of! I can honestly say I have a new respect for the relay distance, ultra runners {since I ran just over 29 miles!!}, & sleep….yeah, that wonderful thing called, sleep. That said, yep, I guess I would absolutely do it again!

For anyone who cares, “Mom’s Night Out” completed the 200+ miles in 35 hours, 27 minutes, 8 seconds—for an average pace of 10:17 per mile. Not too shabby girls!!

Of course, so many people to thank—especially my hubby who took care of our twins & all of the volunteers who helped this race run so smoothly. THANK YOU!!

In closing, I will leave you with 10 Tip for Running a Ragnar Relay {DO IT!!}:

1. Rent a 12-passenger van & pack more than you think you need—this includes lots of food {like solid, meal-type foods} & a few “downtime” outfits for in between legs.
2. Make sure your team-mates, especially your van-mates, are fun & positive people for which you could spend 36 long hours.
3. Check out the leg maps, especially the elevation; but don’t stress too much over the actual directions—the paths were well marked in my opinion.
4. Make sure you carry your phone on the run—I would have been “up a creek without a paddle” if I didn’t have my phone flashlight to light the way on my overnight leg.
5. Try to train on hills if you live in a pancake-flat place like myself; but honestly, there was no preparation that could have prepared us for the hilly Ragnar DC.
6. Don’t worry about time. This adventure is meant to build bonds, enhance friendships, & make memories!!
7. Be organized. As the relay veteran, one of my jobs was to create binders for each van with all of the essentials needed {i.e. predicted & actual timeline charts to track our progress, emergency contact numbers list, copies of the leg maps, etc.}.
8. Befriend other teams. You will be racing a good amount of time by the same people, if they are at your relative pace. Ainsley’s Angels was by far my favorite team—their positivity & kindness radiated! Especially the hilarious momma-bird, an amazing rider-pusher Joe, & the 12-year-old boy who competed on their 6-person Ultra team!
9. Bring candy & take lots of pics. Combining these two actions, while all hopped up on sugar, can be quite fun too! But bring some Vitamin C too—this type of adventure can wreak havoc on your immune system. Unfortunately I speak from experience—I’ve been sick since I got back.
10. Plan your day after Ragnar to be a lazy-lay-around-all-day-and-eat-bad-food-kind-of-day. You can thank me later.

Thanks for reading!

Up Next For The Running Blonde: Heart of Ghent 10K this weekend!

It takes a runner quite a while to realize that not all runs are meant to be fast, and, not all races will end up with PRs on the time clock. Even with this realization & wisdom, it’s hard not to shoot for a PR in every race. We are all human, after all.

The past 2 weekends, I ran a race. Neither with the intention of setting a new PR; and neither ended with that as the ultimate result. Surprisingly, I was/am 150% okay with this. I know I am a winter-time runner & my PRs will be set during that season. All of this awful summer-time weather running is just preparation for fall & winter races!

The last weekend in August brought about my only August race—the ECSC 5K. Up until 12 hours before the race, I wasn’t certain that I’d even run it. Truth be told, I only ran it so that I wouldn’t break my one-race-per-month streak. Seeing a good friend back in action racing after a few months off was the icing on the cake! I had been feeling a bit icky the week prior, so racing it was never in the cards. It would be a hot one, along the VA Beach Boardwalk, so an easy-paced run was totally okay with me.

Race morning came & I met up with my good friend, Kerry. She did part of my warm-up with me (1 mile for her; 3 miles for me), and then we just chatted until race time. Did I mention it was a HOT one…with an 8:15am start time?! The race started & I just ran by feel—“easy does it” was my mentality. I have a real love & appreciation for the races where you DON’T go all out—thanks to how much fun pacing was the inaugural year of the Harbor Lights ½ marathon! When I reached the halfway point at ECSC, the turn-around, I did step it up a bit, to summer tempo pace for the duration of the run. All in all, it was a great morning! I headed home right after the race & carried on “mom-ing”—complete with resumption of swim lessons & running errands with the twins.

Official Results: 25:14 (8:08/mile) – 41/154 overall; 11/77 female; 4/17 in age group

Mile Splits: 8:34, 8:19, 8:08 {final bit 8:04}

Mentally I held back a bit at ECSC, mostly because racing was not the plan; but also because I was “saving myself” for the following weekend.

This past Sunday, I ran in my 5^th Rock ‘n Roll VA Beach race—but unlike the four other years, I only did the 5K this year. All of my prior RnR’s had been the half marathon distance—which frankly, is quite AWFUL {sorry Julie, I know you LOVE this race!}!! I have never broken 2 hours at that race & I am completely okay if I never try to accomplish that feat. I think I am a RnR 5K lifer…… HA!

Prior to the race I had studied the course & looked at the tangents. I had zero aspirations of a PR; but, I did want to put up a good time {I had also studied the results for the 2 years prior, since the 5K was introduced at this race}. And maybe… just maybe, place in my age group—yes, I admit that as one of my race goals! Dream big, right?!

Planning for this race was so laid back. I had zero preparations until just before going to bed on the night prior. I decided on my Running Etc. Ambassador Team singlet, since it has brought me good luck in the past! Shorts, I also debated upon those, but ended up settling on an Oiselle pair. The BRF Julie & I had coordinated logistics of riding together, which I always love, since having a companion helps settle any pre-race jitters! The bonus was a VIP pass that Julie’s hubby gave us—allowing us to have access to clean potties, a prime parking spot, & yummy eats after the race was complete. Thanks John!!

After nearly a mile warm-up, we headed to the corrals. Starting in corral 1 was a bit intimidating, as I knew we’d be around the fasties. No matter how “fast” I get, I am always humbled & remember my early days—my first half marathon, at RnR coincidently enough, where my finishing time was almost 2 hours 30 minutes. Perfect example of how hard work & dedication can pay off!

Following Team Hoyt & the elites, we were off! I knew I had to avoid dodging people, so that I could run a “short” race. I also kept the tangents as a top priority. It’s very interesting to start a race with people who are conserving energy & running smart, whereas your race goal is to “push it” the entire time {the 5K & half marathon start together}. Mile 1 ticked by easily—almost too easy. I didn’t look at my watch once; but maybe I should have! HA! The next mile, not the same ease. As we approached the latter half of the 2^nd mile, the 5K-ers stayed to the left and the half-ers stayed to the right—where the split in the races would happen. By this point, I was ready to be done. My heart had been ticking away in the 180s for over 18 minutes & I was ready to give it some reprieve!

Now is a good time to mention that this race was run on the day after a hurricane swept up the east coast. Hurricane Hermine tried to create havoc for the Rock ‘n Roll-ers, but in the end, I think know we runners won! In the form of way awesome temps—comparatively speaking {this race is traditionally HOT, HOT, HOT!}. The humidity was still there, but the heat index wasn’t in the 90s or 100s! Wahoo! That said though, there was some serious wind & sand to contend with as your ran North on the Boardwalk. Luckily for the 5K-ers, this was less than a half mile—much longer though for the half marathoners {bummer guys!}.

As I turned onto the Boardwalk, I could see the end in sight! It was hard to determine exactly how far was left, as the typical signage was not put up due to the windy-ness of the day. I kicked it into high gear, well, what “gears” remained, and left it all on that sandy Boardwalk. As I approached the race clock, I could still see “22” as the minutes elapsed. Say what?! Could I squeeze in under 23:00?? I DID! Only my 2^nd time ever officially doing that in a 5K race!! Never in a million years did I think that would be possible at RnR! My goal time was low 23:00s… which I had even considered to be a stretch. And I’ll say it again, HARD WORK PAYS OFF!

Official Results: 22:58 (7:24/mile) – 35/1,520 overall; 6/961 female; 3/109 in age group

Mile Splits: 7:08, 7:22, 7:25 {final bit 7:12}

So much appreciation goes to all of the volunteers & city officials for making this race even possible! It could have easily been cancelled; but instead, it turned out just perfect! Of course, I also thank my wonderful husband for helping to make all of my running shenanigans even possible, by watching my sweet boys!

After the race, it was SO much fun to cheer in all of my running friends who had chosen the 13.1 distance as their race. Kudos to everyone on a job well done!!

Icing on the cake, after placing in my AG at a major race, was hanging out with my girls {especially three of my faves—Julie, Kerry, & Mary, who all rocked their own races}! I am so grateful for the bonds & friendships that running has even made possible. I hope if this blog post does just one thing to someone randomly reading it—is to inspire people to find their village of amazing running friends, really, real life friends. Love them hard. Commit to the experience. Push yourself. Embrace the suck. Love the easy. And folks, stick with it—running really does get easier as the years pass!

Thanks for reading!

Up Next For The Running Blonde: DC Ragnar Relay with 11 other AHHHA-MAZING mommas!! Go follow my team, “Mom’s Night Out”, on our FaceBook page (Click HERE for link)!!

I don’t have any other towns for comparison, since I have called Hampton Roads “home” for nearly my entire life—but I would venture to guess that our local running community is ONE OF THE BEST out there! Sure, I bet others are pretty awesome, but there is just something so awesome about the runners in Hampton Roads.

One tradition that is pretty darn great, in my opinion, are the annual Tuesday night runs, every July, through the Botanical Gardens. Local running club Tidewater Striders is to thank for the Summer Series event! Not only is the running camaraderie great, but the weekly theme adds an element of enthusiasm to the tradition. Like in prior years, this year presented the Countdown Run, the Relay Run, & the Poker Run—all meant to be “fun” runs. The final week each year is an official 5K—named the Memorial Scholarship 5K. As the name denotes, the money raised is put toward scholarships for up & coming runner athletes. What’s better than running in the heat & humidity with your closest 200 friends, knowing it’s for a good local cause?! Not to mention, the local running store Running Etc. provides shoe brand options at each of the first 3 weeks’ runs, so that runners can experiment for a single run in a shoe they might not otherwise try. There are even raffles! Have I sold you yet?? Local runners—put this one on your calendar for next year!

I had originally hoped to attend all 4 weeks this year, but ended up skipping the 1-mile Relay Run. I guess my 2-year-streak of the same exact timed mile will have to stand for yet another year! The true story with each of these runs this year was the intense heat & humidity—VA has been having some RIDICULOUS weather these last few weeks! Ick.

First up this year was the Altra Countdown Run. The organizers of the run intend for this weeks’ distance to be 1, 2, or 4-miles. I planned my week, deciding to make this a 6-miler, with partial distance at tempo pace (2 easy, 2 tempo, 2 easy). I ended up running the first 4 miles easier than planned, chatting with my BRF (“best running friend”) Julie—slightly increasing speed towards the end; & then my final 2 miles being summertime solo tempo-ish miles. Total distance: 6 miles = 51:48 {8:38/mile}.

After skipping week #2, I returned to the Gardens on week three for the Saucony Poker Run—this time with a single stroller + 2 boys + 1 hubby in tow. As a sort of last minute decision, I pushed the single stroller for the run, with Alexander in the seat (my smaller twin, ha!). This was by far one of my favorite times during the Tuesday July run nights!! He & I chatted; then he’d run; we’d stop at the fountains next, & then by the lions; then we’d get the poker cards at each station (he picked which person to get the cards from, based on their shirt, ha!); then he’d jump back in the stroller for more relaxing with momma time. There will come a time, sadly, very soon, when I can no longer push them in the stroller. Although they are growing sooooo fast & are quite heavy (!), I am still happy to push them when I can! In the end, our poker cards were awful—none matching, but I still “won” on this night. As we approached the end, hubby & Andersen were waiting for us & cheered us on, with both boys running to the finish! Total distance: 2.28 miles = 22:50 {10:02/mile}.

The final Tuesday night in July brought the Memorial Scholarship 5K. Scott, my sweet hubby, had so much fun the week prior, that he came out again. Another family affair! Knowing my trio of boys would be watching, I wanted to run fast & make them proud—showing the little ones how much hard work can pay off! My warm-up, partially jogged with my twins, was a moment I will never forget—those are the memories that wash away all the bad ones when I am yelling & can’t see past the next hour of their stupidity! 😉 Mother nature decided to bring the hottest race conditions I have ever experienced—a dew point of 76 with real feel temp of 100+ (if I recall the numbers correctly!). So flippin’ hot. And humid. Sweat just pouring, even standing still. As luck would have it, some clouds & a breeze rolled in just prior to the race start—so despite how hot it was it really could have been much hotter IF the race started an hour earlier! Although I wanted to stop & walk a gazillion times during the race, I powered through & was rewarded with 3^rd place age group & 11^th female overall. I consider this a win for the night—simply because I didn’t stop, or die of heat exhaustion! Official time: 24:13 {7:48/mile}.

As July comes to a close, I am excited to finally enter training mode again! Despite logging miles + strength + yoga—I don’t feel like I have pushed myself much since the Shamrock ½ marathon in March. These phases are important though. The body needs to recover & be rejuvenated during non-training portions of the year. July was another maintenance month & looked like the following:

Total Distance: 125 miles

Days with Mileage Logged: 16

Combo Run + Strength Days: 6

Strength Only Days: 2

Yoga Only Days: 3

Total REST Days: 10

I am ready to put in the work & get faster (pending Mother Nature carries some of this AWFUL weather away….)!

August 1^st is the 16-week mark, in which I begin to train for my goal Fall race—the Harbor Lights ½ marathon. Following that race, I will take a short time off, before beginning marathon training for the 2017 Shamrock Marathon. These next 8 months will bring about a lot of miles, as well as “blood sweat & tears”—but it will be WORTH IT, if/when I reach that big BQ goal!! {Yes, I say IF, because I am realist & I know things don’t always go as planned—unfortunately}

Up Next for The Running Blonde: No idea! Send me your August race options! I need to find some race to keep up with my “one-race-per-month-minimum-streak”. After that though, September-December are full of shorter races to keep my racing legs under me!

Thanks for reading!

I don’t have as much time as I used to, to blog regularly. But I do want to keep up with a few traditions, especially the race recaps & this one—my annual birthday post. You can read my 2014 post here & my 2015 post here! As the years go by, it will get harder & harder; since I will get older & older {more years = more items in the list, HA!!}. But, I’ll try to be creative & keep it interesting. Thanks for reading!!

1. The friendships that develop because of it.
2. The time spent in solitude.
3. The calorie burn.
4. The cuter & cuter running clothes that have emerged.
5. Seeing a side of new places that you might not otherwise be able to see.
6. It allows time to reflect upon thoughts, ideas, & plans for the future.
7. The unmatched camaraderie amongst fellow runners.
8. Achieving goals & aspirations.
9. Feeling the burn of failure—but knowing you can try again.
10. Life lessons, such as motivation, drive, patience, & humility.
11. You can run day or night; you just need a pair of shoes.
12. The toned body that comes with consistent running.
13. Adrenaline rush, after nearly every endeavor.
14. It makes you feel pretty badass.
15. Putting in the ear buds & jamming out to my latest playlist.
16. Cliché, but it’s cheaper than therapy.
17. Travel races (goes hand-in-hand with #5).
18. Anyone can do it; it doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go.
19. Getting that medal swung around your neck at the end of a goal race.
20. Zone-out, stress-relief time.
21. Evening runs, as the sun is setting.
22. Morning runs, as the sun is rising.
23. Waving to fellow regular runners & walkers on your normal route.
24. The fresh air you breathe in, at the start of a run.
25. Your stats that improve as the years pass.
26. Knowing that one day, your children will think your hobby is pretty awesome.
27. Being able to keep up with your energetic kids, without getting winded.
28. You can eat all the food (refer to #3).
29. Knowing your heart is strong & healthy.
30. Running a pace that used to be hard, but is now your everyday easy pace.
31. The overall change that occurs physically, mentally, & emotionally.
32. Toe socks (Injiniji), Speed shorts (Lululemon), Headbands (Sweaty Bands), Tons of brightly colored shoes (Saucony)
33. The more you run, the easier it becomes. The easier it becomes, the faster you get. The faster you get, the more miles you can cover in less time. The less time it takes to log your miles, the more time you have to spend with friends & family!!

What would YOU add to this list—what do you LOVE about running??

It has been a busy, busy month for The Running Blonde! It’s hard to believe that 2 years ago, I was searching & searching for a race that fit in my May schedule, so that I didn’t mess up my “at-least-one-race-per-month-streak”. Fast forward to 2016… there were numerous opportunities to run races!! More expansion in the local running community?! Or is it that I’ve gained a little flexibly in my schedule? Who cares, it was a good month!

Aside from racing, I have continued to settle into my new normal of mostly full-time mom life, plus full-time Nurse Practitioner. It isn’t always easy, & there have been many sleep-deprived days (I worked about a third of the nights during the month, with often times only 2 hours of sleep after my extended shifts), but I am lovin’ all of the time that I have been given with my twin duo!

Many anniversaries were celebrated too this month—10 years together with my awesome hubby, seven of which we have been in wedded bliss! Love that man!

As for running this month, as the title alluded to, I ran 3 races. I had toyed with the idea of running a 4^th, but my body & mind chose to play it safe.

First up, was the inaugural Corporate 5K, put on by the big local running company, J&A Racing. They truly know how to put on a good race!! When I originally signed up for this race, I envisioned a much different night {did I mention it was an evening race??}, compared to what actually happened. Being at the local baseball stadium, I had hoped the family could join in for the festivities, especially since it was on Cinco de Mayo! But between the pouring rain & one of the boys having walking pneumonia, it ended up being just a quick, solo adventure. Having worked the night before, with just those 2 hours of sleep, I had ZERO expectations for this race.

I arrived to Harbor Park, home of the Tides, with enough time to pick up my packet & do a quick jog. I warmed up beneath the underpasses/train tracks, to stay dry until race time. I then toed the line, a few rows behind the fasties. Once we got started, I was super impressed with how many people ended up running this rainy race! As is typical with J&A races, there was plenty of police to help keep the Downtown Norfolk streets safe & a water stop greeted us near the halfway point. I ran the first half mile chatting a bit with my friend Heather. Shame I didn’t push harder & keep up with her, it would have been a PR for me! Good job, girl!

This race was all about dodging the puddles & running the tangents! Despite that, my Garmin registered a total distance of 3.2 miles—a common theme with a few people I chatted with after the race. Miles ended up being 7:20, 7:40, 7:43; with the final 0.2 miles at 7:10 average pace. Soooo, clearly pacing was an issue for me on this tired-bod-day. Newsflash, sleeping is important. HA!

Even though I faded, I REALLY enjoyed this race! There was a ton of focus on the corporate teams, which I thought was a really cool concept. There was a wide variety of participants—runners, run/walkers, & walkers. The after party looked great too, even though I couldn’t stay since I wanted to hurry home & tuck the munchkins in bed. Favorite Pro: Running into the stadium to finish. Least Favorite Con: Running on gravel in the 3^rd mile. I’ll definitely be back to this race next year!

Official Results: 24:08 (7:46/mile), 21^st female out of 885 chicks {no real breakdown of AG placements, due to the focus on corporate teams, I presume}

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Up next was the CHKD Run/Walk for the Kids 8K. This is arguably my favorite local race of the year! It will always hold a special place in my heart—since it was my first race & I have been employed by the wonderful hospital for almost 11 years now. I have been uber excited to race this one again, ever since they moved it from “hot as hell June”, to “slightly milder May”! Like the first race of the month, I didn’t have any real expectations since my work & sleep schedule had been so haywire. My only goal…PR! This was a fairly easy to achieve goal I thought, since my 8K PR was from almost 18 months earlier.

Long story short, I PR’d by just under 90 seconds! Miles according to my Garmin clicked away at: 7:18, 7:29, 7:34, 7:31, 7:38. I was extremely proud of this effort & I have the girls from my One City Marathon Relay to thank as well! We all unintentionally spaced out by 10-20 seconds between each of us, so I had visible friends to “chase down” on the long stretches. One of the perks of being the “slowest” (relative term, I know I am not “slow” in the grand scheme of things), I could watch them all from behind & use them as my motivation to keep pushing forward!

Official Results: 37:48 (7:37/mile), 13^th female out of 483 gals {3^rd in my age group}

Such a good race & a great cause, so very close to my heart. We are so, so lucky to have CHKD in the area, for all of our pediatric care needs! In fact, I had to leave the after party for this race early, in order to take the other twin to the CHKD pediatrician for his diagnosis of walking pneumonia. The boys are now both back in good health & have returned to their wild & rambunctious ways!

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The final race of the month was one that I did for the first time last year—Lee’s Friends Run on the Wild Side 5K. The purpose of this organization is to help those with cancer & the families of those who have cancer. When I did this race last year, the wounds were still very fresh from own my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. Naturally I had run in honor of her. This year, she is happy & healthy—currently enjoying remission. So it only made sense for this race to be her 1^st ever 5K (walking of course, if you know my mother)! Only difference from last year to this year was the location. Prior years it was held at the Norfolk Zoo. This year the race became a trail race instead of on the pavement.

Our plan was for me to race the 5K, then jog back on the course & walk with her to the finish line. After that we would enjoy a lovely brunch. I had worked a 24-hour shift on Mother’s Day this year, so this would replace that day that we had lost together.

Sounds like a fantastic plan, right?? It is was, until someone decided to fall. Don’t worry, mother-dearest kept both feet planted! Sadly though, the same can’t be said for The Running Blonde. Fifty seconds into the race & I went down. And hard. One second I was running 7:30 pace, the next second I was flat on the ground. Despite that silly madness, the Garmin recorded trail miles of: 7:58, 8:17, & 7:53. Injuries included a scraped up elbow, knee, & shoulder (not all on the same side of the bod); plus a sprained hand. The next day, soreness was noted to a presumably pulled abdominal muscle & a stiff shoulder muscle. All has healed, mostly, just waiting for the knee scab to resolve & the hand to return to normal size & color. Brunch was postponed, which I hope that rain check is cashed in very soon!

Incident aside, it was a great day! My mother finished the 5K with a smile on her face, despite the down-pouring rain. I picked myself up quickly after the tumble, still finishing in the top 5 for females (3^rd vs. 4^th place… my counting of the chicks after the turnaround vs. the official results). True placement is an insignificant point. My mother is back to full health & that is what is important!

Official Results: 24:26 (7:52/mile), 4^th female out of 44 ladies {1^st in my age group}

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As I mentioned in the beginning, I had consider running a fourth May race—which would have been the Elizabeth River Run 10K. After dealing with a higher than normal HR on training runs during the week before (?acclimating to the incoming heat & humidity), along with just needing a break, I opted to not race this awesome local race. This year, the race honored local legend, Mel Williams, who recently passed away. It would have been so nice to pay tribute to such an influential person in the running community, but I decided it was best to not subject myself to another hard racing effort.

Instead, my 3 favorite local running friends & I set out that morning for an easy & fun, full-‘o-girl-conversation, 10K. I would not be the runner that I am today without these 3 women. I love them dearly & I truly treasure their friendships & our running time together. If you are a new runner, find these people for you(!!)—they will make you stronger, help you feel like a better mom when you swear you’re the crappiest one on the planet, give you tips on successful marriage, push you to race faster, & make you generally happy & want to be a better person. I am so lucky to have this camaraderie in my life. Thank you, Julie, Kerry, & Mary!

With the summer approaching, my running is wide open. Goals of miles + strength + yoga remain constant. I am happy for less regimented days with Andersen & Alexander, plus seeing new sights! Of course, pool/beach days will be numerous & al fresco eating will be a regular occurrence. I will begin training again on August 1^st, initially for the Harbor Lights ½ Marathon; but always with my ultimate goal in sight. In case you missed that goal, you can read about by BQ aspirations here.

Thanks for reading & continuing to support my blog! With so much available on the Internet to read, I am always honored when someone tells me they love my recaps/posts, & that I have motivated them to run!!

Happy Running!

It has been quite some time since I had a blog post that wasn’t a race recap. Honestly, life has proven to be so busy lately, that even showering is sometimes a scheduled task! I remind myself constantly that this is a season & this is exactly how life is supposed to be, when you have two 4-year-olds. I started this blog post over a week ago, then after a few random statements from a few random people, I felt like maybe I should just delete the post all together. Then I remembered that life isn’t always rainbows & butterflies; & anyone who acts in that manner, is simply just as crazy as the rest of us. I did however put myself in check & decided I’d continue with the post, but keep the complaining to a minimum…. or what I consider to be complaining. I am human after all, right?

If I can’t use my blog as a place to release feelings without remorse, where can I?!

While running with two close friends the other day, I remembered just how much I had enjoyed blogging in the past. I recalled how good of a release it is—to write down your thoughts, feelings, & goals. While sharing said thoughts, feelings, & goals to the entire world via the Internet can be scary, I hope it also shows just how real of a person I am.

So what has been going on?? Before we get to the current & future….

Well, the Monument 10K bib & medal has been laying on the edge of my soaker tub, visible to the eye, as a reminder that I needed to write the recap. Almost a month since race day, I undoubtedly can say that the recap will never come to fruition. I have happily tucked that medal away; surmising that the recap just wasn’t meant to be. I am allowing myself a “pass” on things in life that aren’t vital at this point. One day, I will have more time. But for now, the twins, sleeping, & surviving will trump a 1,000 word essay about hitting the pavement. If you care, the race was a blast—thanks to staying with my friend Christian & hanging with him + his friend Ben. My official finishing time was 47:43 {7:41/mile}. Not a PR, but a solid time & a great race that I would certainly do again!

So what else is keeping me busy? The short & sweet answer is the twins. If you don’t care to read about that, continue on to the next paragraph… no hard feelings. Primarily, I have transitioned from a “50% mother” to a “95% mother”. What exactly that means, you may wonder? Basically, in the past, I had help via my amazing husband, about 50% of the time. He is still awesome, in case you care. Thanks to a lost contract, resulting in a lost job, my husband took an awesome new job a few weeks ago. Only caveat, I lost a lot, well most 45% of my regular help since the new position is a strict 9a-5p, which is really like 8a-6p. I continue to work full-time, maintain the house, buy the groceries, take care of appointments, feed 2 growing boys, play robots; etc. I don’t put all of that out there to complain, just simply to explain how I am surviving day-to-day. So if you call, message, text, or email… give me a hot minute to get back to you! I work my 24-hour shifts, & then get 2 hours of sleep before retrieving my wild munchkins from their 3-hour-a-day preschool. An optimist might say, well, at least you have that time! Amen. It can always be worse. Yes, I could always hire a nanny, but I am so protective of my precious cargo & can’t fully trust a stranger, at this point, in my home & with my babies. Call me crazy, but it’s just how I feel. This phase will end come summertime, when my sister rejoins our gang, as the twice a week help. God bless her soul. I am sure I could sleep for 2 days straight by the time that point arrives. Regardless, I am blessed with so much, which I do know, so I continue to look at the positives during this sleep deprivation time & enjoy 45% more robot playing time.

As for running, oh yeah, that is still happening. Without running & my Grande lattes, I am certain I would not be surviving, at least with my sanity intact. God bless Starbucks & their crack-caffeinated-beverages! With the demands at home, my workouts are on a pretty regimented schedule. Each week, I am shooting for 30-35 running miles, one yoga class, one personal training session, & sometimes, if I am lucky, one additional strengthening class at the gym. God bless those women at the YMCA Stay-n-Play! As each summer goes, I just hope to trudge on through the humidity, maintaining endurance & steadily working on speed; all to prepare for my favorite times to run—Fall & Winter!

Speaking of Fall & Winter, that is a nice segway to my future goals part of this post. I have never been secretive in the past about plans & aspirations—so I don’t plan to start now. In short, my Fall goal is a sub-1:40 half marathon {Harbor Lights}. This is about a 2.5 minute PR from my crazy Shamrock half marathon this year—I think it is doable, with the right training. Time will tell though! This goal will give me confidence going into my next ambition.

My big running goal, established the week before Boston this year, is to Boston Qualify {BQ} at the 2017 Shamrock Marathon. This is a big goal, which is a little {A LOT} scary. It will be an 11 minute PR {Tokyo Marathon was 3:41:28}. Deep breaths, I keep telling myself! My BQ time is 3:35. But in order to actually get into the marathon, I will need a few minutes of time cushion. If I want a solid shot at entry into the 2018 Boston Marathon, I want to run a flat 8:00minute/mile pace at Shamrock—to finish in 3 hours 30 minutes. I have friends on board to help me with this giant aspiration, & without them, I am not sure I would be brave enough to tackle it alone. God bless running friends, who have become REAL LIFE friends!

So. I have a hotel booked at the Oceanfront, training plan preparation on paper begun {16-week official start date will be 11/28/16}, vital friends have been informed…….. now, I just need to bite the bullet & register for the race. So intimidating! I am not afraid of the 26.2 anymore—I know I can tackle it. I am now afraid of pushing myself to the limits & failing.

I am a firm believer in karma…. & Internet motivation {hehe!}. I think putting my time goals out there to the world/friends/naysayers, while frightening & opening me up to possible ridicule, will actually be helpful in the long run {pun intended!}. Hopefully, along with great/intense/tough/hardwork training, the two components of karma & Internet motivation will propel me to 3:30 on the finishing clock when I rock the Boardwalk next March!!

I recall making a comment probably close to a year ago, that I had never raced in the rain. Since that point, I’ve been lucky enough {sarcasm!} to have a few opportunities. Okay, I get it; I jinxed myself {& the fellow runners/walkers}. I’ll certainly keep my mouth shut next time. Sorry, HA! After a 22-miler with an approaching hurricane during MCM training & the monsoon that was the Harbor Lights half last Fall, I figured I had “done my time” & that maybe, just maybe, I’d soon be blessed with lovely 13.1 racing weather. Well, that Mother Nature lady, she decided not quite yet. Shamrock 2016 would be one for the books!

I will say though, I do embrace these types of days as it broadens your running portfolio. It really makes you appreciate the awesome runs & perfect weather experiences.

For anyone that was a part of Sunday’s races, please just simply tell them that they are a freakin’ ROCKSTAR. Seriously, text them or message them right now! Some pure grit & determination was needed to concur the 13.1 or 26.2 {dare I say AND… for those crazy few completing the King Neptune challenge!} distance that day. I have been SO impressed with the few race recaps I have been able to read so far. Some racers achieved their time goal & some not so much—but, the common theme I have been so impressed with is that practically everyone gave their all, didn’t give into the mental component of crappy weather, & embraced the experience. That said, the word I heard most on Sunday was, BRUTAL.

However, my mantra for quite some time has been—you can’t change some things, so embrace them!

I didn’t originally plan to run, & especially not race, the Shamrock Half this year. My goal Spring race was, without a doubt, the Tokyo Marathon. When Crawlin’ Crab was postponed last fall & the new date was a day I was working, my only option was to defer my entry to Shamrock. This was kind of a no-brainer. I do completely ADORE Shamrock & the cohesiveness of the running community during this weekend, so I embraced the change. Some people in the local running community have called it our Super Bowl—I kind of agree! I had no expectations going into the race. As the day approached, I did make it known that I would be attempting a PR if the conditions allowed. The idea that I had NOT entertained was possibly racing for a PR in NON-ideal conditions.

Every year, leading up to this particular race there is speculation & conflicting weather reports about what the day will be like. It’s just what happens when you live on the coast, I suspect. This year, my 5^th time running the half, would be no different. When the local buzz leaned toward the predicted rain & wind being a factor, I tried to stay positive & hope for a different sort of day. My hope did nothing for us. We were left with what seemed like a monsoon to race in! Embrace it, I told myself; after all, what’s a little wind & rain?!

Race morning started with a 5:15am alarm. I left the house just before 6am. Parking, if you know the area, isn’t so bad. I chose to park closer to the finish, so that I could quickly leave if I wanted/needed to when the race was over. After a mile warm-up, dropping a dry bag in the trucks, & a port-a-potty stop, I quickly jumped into Corral 1 with less than 10 minutes to spare. Although this was my assigned corral, I sometimes feel like an imposter being in the first corral. There are so many runners WAYYYY faster than me. I suspect those self-conscious feelings will never go away—I will always remember how far I have come & I could never forget the days of 10, 11, 12 minute miles as my norm.

Those minutes waiting in the pouring rain were nothing short of torture. Luckily there was no start delay like a few years ago—just after 7am, the horn sounded & off we went. I was pretty close to the front, less than 10 seconds after the gun—something I wouldn’t normally do in a big race, except on that day I just wanted to get moving! The breakdown of the race went something like this:

Miles 1-3: Keep the pace reeled in, I told myself—running much more by effort vs. pace during the intense headwind as we traveled North toward Shore Drive {I’ve read we had anywhere from 15-18mph sustained, with gusts to 25-35mph!!}. Rain pelted us & it felt like hail & not tiny specks of precipitation. {7:57, 7:58, 7:59}

Mile 4-5: We continued along & enjoyed the only portion of the entire course with minimal to no wind. Rain also subsided during this part—thank goodness!! A mal-positioned 5-mile sign (quarter mile early) messed with my brain for a minute, coinciding with a Garmin lost signal. I pushed on through & enjoyed the Tokyo playlist from my iPhone—still embracing the experience. {7:49, 7:54}

Mile 6-9: Fort Story…..for anyone who has run Shamrock, need I say more?? The wind returned, but this time, it came from the beach, so it hit our left sides & pushed us right on the road. A couple of times, I felt like I could literally be knocked over. The wind was so strong! Once the lighthouse loomed, you knew the exit gate was coming soon! Runners who had stayed in front of me up until this point began to fade. I took the passing of folks as confidence-boosters to my current fitness level. {7:48, 7:46, 7:55, 7:49}

Miles 10-12: Tailwind!! I knew this was coming. It was a reward for the prior 10 miles of pure brutal weather. I secretly hoped for a bit more wind from behind, but was thankful for what I was given! Some people dread, myself included in prior years, the “streets countdown”. Not this year for me—I used them as landmarks for when I could pick up the pace since I would only have “x” left to go. For those that haven’t run at the Virginia Beach oceanfront, the streets count up going North & count down going South. When you head back towards the finish line at Shamrock, you are counting down from the 80s to the 30s (finish line at 31^st Street). I thought a lot about the marathoners during this time. I was grateful, for their sake, that the rain had stopped (marathon start is 8:30am). I was also hoping the tailwind would continue for them for their miles 23-finish. {7:42, 7:37, 7:40}

Miles 12.01-Finish: Shoot, too much still in the tank, push it—I thought to myself. I ran as fast as I could along the Boardwalk with the “FINISH” blow-up banner getting steadily closer. Running too conservative, while helps you avoid bonking, can also make your time on the clock slower than it “should” be. I believe this was the case for me last Sunday. However, you live you learn. I’ll always prefer feeling OK at the finish, rather than being carried away by medics! And, who can argue running conservatively when you still earn a PR in the process!? {7:34, 7:10}

Garmin stats: 1:42:25 {7:48/mile} – distance pretty close to spot on @ 13.13 miles (yes, I finally ran some tangents well!!)

Official stats: 1:42:25 {7:50/mile}

My Thoughts on Shamrock: Runners are an impressive group of people. Seriously! I am in awe at the determination & willpower that I witnessed this past weekend. Everyday people just like me, pushing on through & enjoying the experience despite soaked clothes & wind-blown faces! Although I would prefer an ideal conditions day to race in, hey, being honest(!), running in the wind & rain produces a MUCH sweeter PR. Speaking of PR, the official time resulted in a 3 minute + 17 second PR—pretty lucky since it was a St. Patrick’s Day race {get it, 3:17… March 17^th!? I know, I’m a dork}. When I finished, I couldn’t believe that I had just completed that feat. Not only that, but I finished without ever feeling maxed out on pace or heart rate. Thus the benefit of racing a half marathon after being trained for a full marathon! Endurance is a beautiful thing. I don’t want to boast, especially since I know many friends who did not reach their time goals, but I am DAMN proud of conquering my race, in those intense conditions! I now know I am capable of a sub-1:40. Dream big & work hard, folks!

Speaking of hard working folds, spectators & volunteers just may have impressed me, even more so than the runners. Okay, maybe equally so… it was a tough one out there! As I took water at each water station, I saw smiles for days & no complaining. At the finish line, albeit shaking from being cold, the young lady who handed out bananas continued to smile & congratulate me on my race. After making sure she was okay, I thanked her immensely for her volunteer work. THOSE people are who truly make these races possible. It has sparked an interest in me to find a race to volunteer at. Thanks banana girl!

Where Do I Go From Here: Certainly no more distance races for a while, that’s for sure! Some people can do it year-round, but I don’t want to overdo it. I have been on a good stretch for a few months now, with PRs at nearly every distance & in every race—but I have to be cautious. I don’t want “the other shoe to drop”. My body needs a rest. Not a couch potato type of rest, but a break from the long distance running {i.e. marathons}. After all, I did just run my first 26.2 less than 18 months ago; & I have now completed three—all raced at max/close to max effort. I am a running-lifer, so I need to take care of me for the long-term. That basically will entail lots of miles & lots of shorter races. I have 1+ year old 5K PR to tackle! Not to mention, focusing on a day that has become one of my favorites—Tuesdays with Jack B. at Jim White Fitness for personal training. Not only do I hope to improve my bikini bod (ha!), but I do believe that getting stronger has been a HUGE factor in the recent run {pun intended} of PRs!

As I quit babbling & finish this blog post, I hope that one day my boys, maybe 10 years from now, read this post & are immensely proud of their momma. I do this running & racing thing not only for myself, but to show them how strong you can be & how much progress you can see with hard work & dedication—in ALL aspects of life.

Thanks for reading friends! HAPPY RUNNING!!

Up Next For The Running Blonde: Monument 10K in Richmond, VA – excited for a travel race & weekend away with hubby & friends!!

Last May, when I completed the Colonial Relay, alongside 11 awesome women, I was motivated & excited to do something like that again…… buuuuuut, maybe in the not so near future. While it was quite a fun adventure, it was also quite a long & tiring jaunt. This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to run a similar sort of race, but the cherry on top was sleeping in my own bed after the race! Sort of a modified version of the ultra relay distance—only 26.2 miles this time, divided amongst 4 fantastic mother runners!

Late in 2015, when the team was formed, I claimed the final of 4 legs for the relay—mostly due to it being the shortest, & also, because I wanted to cross the finish line! The team happily obliged & let me have the shortest leg, but mostly because I would be 2 weeks post-Tokyo Marathon & who knew how my recovery would be evolving.

Following Tokyo, I had done nothing, except for walking, for the first 5 days. I think the key to my quick & seamless recovery this time was taking that time off… completely; as well as having an authentic Japanese massage {48 hours after completing the race}. It was ahhhhh-mazing! When I resumed running, I did an easy run on Saturday, & then 2 days later did an easy run with 2 short tempo miles thrown in {paces of 7:20 & 7:10}, just so I could gauge my speed/recovery for the relay that weekend. I was happy that I felt so great. So I decided, all systems were a goooooo & the relay could be raced!

The logistics of the One City Marathon Relay could be considered intimidating—but they don’t have to be! It took our team some time to figure this out {mostly thanks to Kerry!!}, so let me break it down for you. Basically, it is a point-to-point race, from point A to point B in nearly a straight line, going North to South in Newport News, VA. There are 4 possible legs, from which each team can choose to have anywhere from 2 to 4 runners. Concurrently, the full marathon is being run by runners on the same course. The race is kind enough to the full marathon runners to keep a nice separation at the switching spots. Since there are 4 possible legs, there are 3 exchange zones. If you have 4 runners, you stop at each. If you have 2 or 3 runners, your team decides who will double up their legs of the race. The exchange zones are just off of major roads, located at schools—making parking super easy! Not to mention non-porta-potties for bathroom breaks is always a perk! Only problem that arose on race day, was one of the schools was “un-reachable” due to road closures—no problem though, just parked at a church & did a warm-up.

In essence, being the final runner for the team, I was able to drop each gal off {except Julie H., who rode with her hubby} & hang out with them for some time at each of the exchange zones. I had plenty of time to get to the final “tag you’re it” after seeing the 3^rd runner off {even with sitting in 15-20 minutes of traffic!}. I’d highly recommend this method for future teams, as it was nice to be “involved” in the entire relay, as well as logistically; it was just easier & timelier for the team members. While the shuttle system is a really nice option, the times necessary to board the bus to get to your locations is ungodly early & just annoying in my opinion.

The race began at 7am. Our first team member Kerry, one of my dear dear friends, logged an amazingly fast 7.9 miles, finishing the first leg in right at an hour. She is right on track for a great race at the Boston Marathon next month!! Speedy momma! She went on to run another bazillion miles after her leg was complete, as the relay was part of her long run for the weekend—impressive!

Next up was Julie B. I have blogged about Julie before, as she has been my running partner for a few years now—she is just an awesome-sauce person! Her leg was slated to be 6.1 miles, which we guessed she’d run in close to 46 minutes. She finished the leg in well under that, averaging a swift 7:19/mile pace. Fast lady!! The 2^nd leg, we determined, was one of the hillier parts of this marathon course.

Our 3^rd runner, another Julie, set out to run 7.4 miles. Just prior to starting her leg, she sent well wishes to her hubby {& daughter, whom her hubby would be pushing in a stroller for his 2 legs} before starting her portion of the race. Right on track & running fantastically in the rising temps, Julie finished leg #3 averaging 7:30s. So quick—you rock momma!!

At close to 9:45am, my leg, the 4^th & final leg, began. I had done a ¾ mile warm up as I waited for Julie H. to arrive, so I was ready to go! By this point, the temp was well over 60 degrees F & dew point felt sickly high as well. Other local runners complained about this factor as well, for the final miles of the marathon. Much warmer temps than we have been experiencing lately, but, summertime is coming folks! My goal, much like all of my teammates, was to average around 7:30/mile pace. On paper, should be no problem… I had told myself. But then again, I loathe racing in the heat & would rather run in 30 degrees compared to 60 degrees, any day! But all of that didn’t matter in that moment. I had a job to do & I needed to do it quickly—those 3 other ladies had done their job & laid down AWESOME paces at longer distances, so who was I to complain about the rising heat & humidity?! My heart rate definitely reflected the effort & heat—clicking by at an extremely fast average of 185bpm {max that day, 190bpm}. Ouch!

Racing a new course & not really knowing the location or terrain is kind of fun! I just followed the direction arrows, including a bunch of street turns, passing quite a few runners as I went along. The passing, or “chick-ing guys” was a confidence boost for me, but it also had a tradeoff. I felt awful in the moment, since I know exactly what those final miles of the marathon feel like; but I kept telling myself, “They’ll see the ankle band & know I am in the relay”. I even had one guy comment, jokingly; that he thought it was my “escape from jail tag”. Hehe, definitely made me laugh out loud while running! I didn’t want my 4.8 miles of the relay to crush their spirit as they struggled to finish their 26.2. You see, we had this lovely {note the sarcasm} ankle band to switch at each exchange zone. It was NOT the easiest device to get on quickly & probably added a minute or two to our final time. No big deal; because as Julie mentioned quite a few times, “this is for FUN!” – which it certainly was! So note to future teams, calculate for the ankle band switch into your race day planning!

My miles ticked along as follows:

Mile 1 – 7:20 “slow dooowwwnnn woman; stupid adrenaline!”

Mile 2 – 7:26 “that’s more like it!”

Mile 3 – 7:35 “ugh, this is not fun!”

Mile 4 – 7:34 “YES! I finally reached my LONG-TIME goal of 4 miles in 30 minutes!!”

Final 0.87 to the Finish – 7:33 “will this stretch of road EVER end!?” “Ahhh, there are my girls who will run through the finish line with me!”

Leg #4: 4.87 miles = 36:24 (7:29/mile average pace)

Team “Your Mama Says I’m Faster” Official Time: 3:19:55 (7:37/mile)

Overall (team competition): 10^th of 171 teams

Division (4-person Female Relay): 1^st of 31 

The girls & I are already planning for 2017 & will be excited to run this GREAT race once again! After all, we now have a title to defend! I for one am grateful for a well-supported course with frequent water stops! The race is well-run & all of those people I came into contact with on race day were so kind & helpful, especially with directions. The Newport News Police Dept was awesome at keeping the roads clear of cars, something quite important since a large portion of the course is run on major roads. While I loved being “anchor”, I have already claimed an earlier leg for next time. This warm weather running is better suited for someone else, HA! And because we have completed this years’ race, we now have a better understanding of the logistics of driving from point-to-point & all finishing together. Sad to report, but Julie H. didn’t make it to the finish line in time due to traffic… bummer!

I am excited to see where my running journey takes me as 2016 continues to progress; not to mention the running journey of my 3 teammates. These 3 women are awesome runners & mothers who push me daily, whether they know it or now, to improve myself.

I will be running my 5^th Shamrock ½ Marathon this coming Sunday. And just putting it out there, since social media makes you accountable, as long as it is not pouring rain & unfavorable conditions, I will be shooting for a PR! I might as well continue to bank upon the endurance & speed I developed for Tokyo! After that, I have an April & May race planned, but I really look forward to taking it easy this Summer. I will not be running a Fall marathon, so I am happily planning to log many miles, but none of that crazy heat & humidity Fall marathon training for 2016!

Thanks for reading & MANY THANKS to Julie² & Kerry for such a great, great racing adventure! XOXO

As I sit & reflect upon the 9 days that was Japan for me {or was it 8, or 10…. hard to judge with all of the time changes back & forth to Asia & the United States!}, I am full of a mix of emotions. I was also full of sore muscles—mostly all of that has since recovered; but I am still full of smiles. There will be a separate, more in-depth blog post to recap the trip to Japan in general, because honestly, the race was one of the easier parts of the trip. I know, shocker! For now, I will give my best shot at concisely {not my strong suit….} recapping my 2016 Tokyo Marathon. For readers who plan to run this race in the future, I will include some words of advice, so just look for the TIPs, which will be bold & underlined.

Race morning started with what had become my Japan norm—waking up before my alarm ever went off. Hello, jet lag! By 5:15am, I was scrolling through social media to pass the time until my friend & race companion, Sophia, would awaken. The night before we had loaded our suitcases & prepared out baggage drop bags, so that race morning would be quick & painless. Our pre-race dinner had been of the seafood & pasta variety; at a very nice restaurant in the Grand Hyatt Tokyo {Sophia HIGHLY recommends their Gluten-Free pasta, for all of you with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance}. We eventually headed out of our 1-night hotel room at the Hardy Barracks at 7am. Following a walk, then a metro ride, then more walking, we eventually reached the entrance gates. During a metro potty stop, we met an Austria girl who was super sweet & very helpful—since not only did she live in Tokyo, but she had also run the marathon 2 years prior. Future Tokyo marathoners, here is a TIP: Use the restrooms in the metro area—the port-a-potties inside the entrance gates have ridiculously long lines, that will probably delay you reaching your starting corral & ultimately make you start in the wrong spot. At the entrance gates, Sophia & I would have to part ways—she went with Austria friend & just like that, I was alone. Cue the massive butterflies in the belly!

I made my way through security, then towards the baggage drop trucks. There are a TON of trucks! Mine was number 34! Someway, somehow, while organizing myself at the baggage truck, amongst more than 35,000 runners, I spotted Sophia & we again got to be together. It’s always so reassuring to be with people you know! TIP: If you wish to reconnect with your friends, pick a baggage truck to re-meet up at; once through the entrance gates, all of the runners are re-mingled together. But Sophia & I’s chatting it up was short-lived, since we had to split up again to head to our corrals {she in C, me in E}. I pushed my way, as nicely as possible, through the crowd, the biggest one I have ever seen, heading towards the other runners with an “E” as the start of their bib number. Strangely enough, my Austria friend then spotted me & we too had more time to hang out—probably close to 30 minutes before the gun went off. Seeing a familiar face & talking to someone who spoke English, definitely eased those butterflies until it was go-time!

The energy in the crowd was electric! It was obvious people were elated & in true Japanese fashion, being oh so kind to one another. Selfies were taken. Music played overhead. Announcements were made in both English & Japanese; maybe even some other languages, I am not sure. The sun began to shine & it progressively got warmer. One thing I learned about Japan is that their weather, despite similar temps to southeast Virginia, is much different— the air is quite brisk & much less humid, but their sun seems to shine more intensely. I was dressed in tights & a tank, with throw-away gloves & a sweatshirt. Tights & tank was a perfectly suited outfit for Tokyo weather! I electively tossed my throwaway items a few minutes before the gun—both due to getting warm & as a volunteer over the barrier line walked past with a trash bag for depositing items. TIP: It is advertised & warned in the Runners Handbook to not toss items of clothes or ponchos at the start, which almost deterred me from bringing a throwaway—please do know that there are plenty of opportunities to toss items, so bundle up pre-race & stay warm as long as you can!

Gun time was precisely at 9:10am, starting with a confetti blast. I was pretty shocked that being essentially five corrals back, being in letter “E”, I could pretty clearly see the confetti blast & the starting line! I had “budgeted”, when telling my hubby in the States who would be tracking me that I would start probably 10 minutes after the gun went off. In actuality, it was less than 5 minutes! Unlike races in the States that I have been a part of, there is no “holding back” the next corral & making them wait—runners are permitted to just keep proceeding through the start line. And just like that, the long awaited race from which I had entered the lottery back in August, it was now underway!

Although I had looked at the race course & elevation map a dozen times, I really had no idea of what I should expect. After doing two hilly marathons for my first & second attempts at the 26.2 distance {you can read about my Richmond & MCM recaps here}, I was stoked that this one was described as “flat”. But I 100% realized that “flat” is a very relative term. For someone in the mountains, “gentle rolling hills” is “flat”. Whereas those same “gentle rolling hills” are bigger than any hill my sea level self runs on a daily basis! I am happy to report however; those accounts of “flat” were about 99% correct! This was easily the least demanding course for a marathon that I had ever run.

Since I had reviewed the elevation map, there were 2 key points to remember: 1) downhills during the first 6K or so, and 2) uphills during the last 6K or so. Sounds painful, right? Well, somehow it worked out just fine & didn’t seem to cause too much trouble! The other 30 or so kilometers were truly pretty much flat—although, we did at one point climb a surprise-mid-race-hill that in the moment, I was not so pleased with! TIP: Familiarize yourself with the mile distances that equal each kilometer marker (every 5K, up to 40K); I personally made a chart & studied it, as there are NO mile markers on the course.

So, back to the race. As we passed through the start line, my Austria friend & I said “goodbye”. She was shooting for a 4:15-ish finish time—so our goals simply didn’t mesh to allow us to run some together. Speaking of goal times, I had no secret admitting—both to friends, on my blog, & in social media—that I wanted to finally break 3:40. According to my recent race times, I really should be more in the 3:34-3:36 range, but internationally & in a major race, that seemed like too lofty of a dream. So, I went for the realistic plan & settled on an 8:20 pace—hoping my HR would cooperate with this goal. Considering that there’d likely be a difference between my Garmin & the official distance, this plan seemed do-able & would put me under my goal time.

“Overage” as I call it, is basically when your Garmin GPS watch doesn’t mesh exactly with the official/accurate course distance. This was a true concern in this race, I would soon learn. Before I go on, it is worth mentioning, the course in ANY major marathon IS accurately measured to 26.2 miles or 42.195 kilometers. It is up to YOU as the runner to run those exact tangents. The more runners there are near you & the more turns you have to take, the harder it will be to run exactly this distance. And just so you know, Tokyo is LOADED with multiple twists & turns {it actually keeps it exciting, knowing you get to see the leaders on their reverse route down your road!}. Not to mention, when you are running in a big city like Tokyo with huge buildings on both sides of you—a GPS watch can go a bit cray-cray from time-to-time. The take-away messages in all this, (TIP) plan your race day strategy & complete your training with the understanding in mind that you WILL run more than the standard marathon distance.

As I went through the first 5K marker, my Garmin reading was 3.23 miles. Okkkkkaaay. Now I can see what I am working with, I thought to myself. By the 10K mark, the difference in the two readings {Garmin vs. official markers} had increased to 0.24 miles. My mind started massively calculating at this point. Might I really run nearly a mile over 26.2, I wondered?! Luckily, the difference began getting smaller & smaller at each 5K point thereafter; & ultimately at the finish, my Garmin read 0.39 miles over the official 26.2 mile mark. I had run the tangents as best as I could from the beginning, but after that first 10K mark, I focused more closely on avoiding ANY unnecessary “deviations” in my running route. One exception in this, was when I passed Sophia, I believe somewhere around mile 7. That girl is a true trooper! She ran & completed the 2016 Tokyo Marathon, in a quite respectable time, despite nagging hip pain & running less than a half marathon distance for her longest training run. She is a true inspiration & example of finishing a goal you set out to do!

Back on the course, I continued to truck along at my 8:20 goal pace. Miles 2-5 had been a bit fast, during the downhill portion of the race, logging 8:02-8:04 pace for those miles. The rest of the time, miles 1-22 were run between 8:11-8:26 pace—mostly 8:18 on average. I crossed the halfway point in just under 1:50. And that is precisely when I knew that 3:40 was just not happening. I was okay with that realization though. Unlike in other races, when the goal time became out of my reach, I did not mentally give up this time. Yay! I still had a Plan B or Plan C to accomplish! Being a RRCA-certified running coach & having read a good deal lately, I knew that it would be unlikely to negative split in the marathon distance, especially considering this courses’ elevation map. I had actually read a recent article that stated “having the 2^nd half of a marathon within 2 minutes of the 1^st half time was a realistic goal & quite good”. This became my new goal—keep the 2^nd half within 2 minutes! Speaking of goals, it’s worth mentioning, my Plan B goal was under 3:45, with my Plan C goal being to simply PR (3:48:28). I had also hoped to be in the top 1,000 women. I would have been devastated to not bring home a PR with all of the hard work & dedication I had put into my Tokyo training. Spoiler Alert: I did PR!

Of course there were moments during those 3+ hours last Sunday when a PR felt out of reach! It’s not all roses & butterflies & if it were, I was clearly not pushing myself hard enough. I definitely had many moments of mental anguish, when the bad angel on one shoulder would tell the good angel on my other shoulder that I should “give up”. Luckily in those moments, it was time to fuel or a water stop would magically appear & help to break up those bad thoughts. I also had moments where I would think “this is pretty easy!”, & then not 5 minutes later, I would think, “holy moly, how am I going to do this for another hour??”. I find those thoughts to be par for the course during a marathon though. The key is, being mentally tough & trusting your training. Whatever way you must, just get to the finish line!

My fuel plan on race day had been just like my “dry run, long run” during training: 4 ProBar Bolt Organic Energy Chews every 4 miles + 1 SaltStick every 60 minutes + water/electrolyte fluid at most every aid station. I stuck to this plan to a “T” & I think it worked(!), well, during the race at least…. post-race complications to be discussed in the next blog post. The only deviation from my plan was when I omitted my mini Belvita bites, which I had been enjoying around mile 16-18; but instead, I added a half banana around mile 20/21. TIP: There are a massive amount of volunteers {who are awesome!!} along the entire route of the race holding plastic garbage bags, allowing you to toss your fueling trash frequently—don’t litter, but also don’t hesitate bringing things with you for fear that you can’t dispose of them; you can!

And then came mile 22—should I say, it arrived with a “bang”?! Literally, in my leg. This was also the 35K mark, which in American terms equals 21.7 miles. At the same time, there was a water/electrolyte fluid stop. As a side note, the Japanese equivalent to Gatorade is called Pocari Sweat…. & I’ll admit, it’s not too shabby tasting! Although, the pure smell of it post-race will probably forever make me vomit…more on that in the next post! Ick. Anywho, at that fluid stop, I came to a brief stop to grab a cup & since I was “slowed down” I proceeded to sip the drink. My legs did not enjoy that—specifically the muscle just above my knee, on the inner aspect. Without warning, the muscle cramped so intensely, I can only compare it to the “Charlie Horses” I would get in the middle of the night when I was pregnant with my twins. Holy crap! My thoughts became: “well, there goes my PR”, “how quickly can I walk 4+ miles”, “it would be devastating to DNF”, “should I stop & stretch”, “maybe I will call Scott—he plays volleyball & has cramped before; he’ll know what I should do!” A minute later, I decided I would walk it out. Stopping to walk only worsened the pain. Alrighty…. I guess I am running! I know I may sound dramatic, but I had never before cramped while running & I had no idea of the usual progression of pain/muscle spasm. Running again definitely helped. So it was decided, I would just run until I physically could not run any longer. I was getting my dang Tokyo Marathon finisher’s towel! What surprised me the most was that eventually the pain improved AND, when I looked at my watch, despite the immense discomfort, my pace never dropped below 9s. In a strange appreciation, I was thankful for the cramp, as it forced me to slow down & I never felt that bonk that I experienced at the Marine Corps Marathon. It also told me that my endurance was there for a better finishing time, especially since my HR dropped a bit when I HAD to slow down. As I had been doing for the duration, I thanked people along the course & waved to every cute kid I saw. Although I was racing, I was trying my best to enjoy the entire experience!

Remember a while ago when I mentioned the course elevation… the cramp also coincided with those final 6K uphills. Luckily, they were just as described by previous finishers—“tough on-ramps, but nothing too bad”. I think the pain of my leg caused me to have amnesia to the elevation changes; & also to my right hip that had been giving me some discomfort for the final 10-ish miles of the race. I specifically remember TWO hills where I told myself “just don’t stop, keep the feet moving forward, as slow as needed!”

Because I had done the Friendship Run the day before, which was essentially a fun international run with a final mile course preview, I knew exactly where this thing would end. As we approached the familiar part of the course, seeing the 40K sign, I knew I had done it. Even if I had to crawl or scoot on my butt, I would reach that finish line—not only in PR fashion, but also well below my 3:45 Plan B goal. Not a 3:40, but after overcoming a leg cramp for more than 4½ miles, I was stoked to be even close to my goal time! And just like that, the finish line loomed. I threw my hands in the air & gladly stomped across that final mat. 3:41:28!!! An exact, TO THE SECOND, 7 minute PR—compared to the MCM 18 weeks earlier. WooHOO!

As quick as I could, I pulled my phone off of my arm, turned off airplane mode, & checked my messages. TIP: use airplane mode during the race to avoid massive data consumption since you are running internationally & to save your battery—if you plan to run with your smart phone. I was in shock from all of the love that I had received mid-race that I burst into tears. I had made myself proud & I felt like my loved ones at home were similarly proud. I have never felt so supported from a running perspective! THANK YOU to all of my friends & family for your support during this Tokyo Marathon journey!! From a race perspective, the crowd support is unparalleled—I have never done a race where there are wall-to-wall people from the start to the finish. Amazing sauce is all I can say about the people of Tokyo & the love of their city & marathon!

Aside from seeing some dear friends, the race was absolutely the highlight of my trip! Maybe even THE highlight {sorry girls, hard to compare apples to oranges!}. Regardless, during the tough parts of the trip, I may have said that I regretted traveling more than 6,000 miles to run a race. However, now that I am home & settled, I am extremely happy to have a check in the box next to my first World Marathon Major. Thank YOU, Tokyo!

Below are a few stats from the race. What I find particularly interesting is how great, in my opinion, that I did overall. What is more impressive—not for me specifically, but of the USA runners—is where my “rankings worsened” for the nationality standings. I didn’t plan on sharing the percentiles, & I don’t do so vainly {anyone who knows me, knows I am a numbers person}, but it gives me great pride in our county’s folks that we generally put up some impressive times! Go USA!

Overall: 5,395 out of 34,665 (<16^th percentile)

Gender: 671 out of 7,569 (<9^th percentile)

Age Group {female only}: 112 out of 1,044 (<11^th percentile)

Nationality Overall {male & female}: 116 out of 563 (<21^st percentile)

Nationality Gender: 33 out of 189 (<20^th percentile)

Nationality Age Group {female only}: 7 out of 26 (<30^th percentile)

The last info to share is my splits. I am proud of how consistent the paces were {despite the cramp!}; & that my race, although not a negative split one, was pretty dang close to evenly split when comparing the first half with the second half! Goal {almost} accomplished of within 2 minutes for the 1^st & 2^nd halves of the race!!

5K – 25:50

10K – 25:42

15K – 26:09

20K – 26:04

25K – 26:08

30K – 26:14

35K – 26:05

40K – 27:33

Final 2.195K to the Finish – 11:43

1^st Half – 1:49:28

2^nd Half – 1:52:00

Garmin Time: 3:41:30 (8:20/mile), for 26.59 miles

Official Time: 3:41:28 (8:27/mile), for 26.2 miles

I am sure I am leaving out key parts or points about this race, but this recap is lonnnnng enough, so I won’t bore you anymore, ha! Thanks for reading!!

Up Next for The Running Blonde: One City Marathon Relay on March 13^th & the Shamrock ½ Marathon on March 20^th!! It’s going to a busy few weeks, but I am so happy to be racing on my HOME turf, with muscles that feel mostly recovered!