Running Away from Adulting

Okay! So I'm going to be starting this Monday Motivation. We can't expect ourselves to feel go-getter-ish all the time; we all experience mental slumps at some point. And sometimes, we let ourselves to just sit in the slump we're in. But if you're like me, you may feel like you can't escape the hole and are begging for something to kick you in the butt and back to your optimistic self.  Well here's your weekly kick!... well, slight nudge. So I signed up for my spring marathon, and I am beyond scared. The thought of developing another stress reaction or fracture lingers. What if I can't hardly walk again after a 20 mile run? What if I suck at keeping prescribed paces during my track runs? Why the heck am I even thinking that I should run 26.2 miles for fun? Should I even try again?  Its like I'm giving up before I'm even starting... Giving up is easy. But what happens if I don't give up?  Why do we give up? One reason is be...

Phew, this was a week! So I ran the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon last Saturday ... in my new Superfeet Black Insoles. Then on Sunday, I ran 3 recovery miles... in my new Superfeet Black Insoles. Then... Monday: 5 Mile Tempo Run I caught some rainy miles while my car was getting tires put on. On the schedule: 1M Easy Pace, 1M Tempo Pace, 1M 5K Pace, 1M Tempo Pace, 1M Easy Pace  I was feeling a little sore in my IT band, so I moreso tried to feel the run and not push the pace too hard if my body was telling me no. I picked up speed as needed, but didn't hit my "5K Pace". It was rainy and I was exhausted, so whatever, I didn't get it. But I felt accomplished in knowing that I was able to at least move my body faster than I had started out at.  and guess what, I ran in my new Superfeet Black Insoles... MY IT BAND IS STIFF AND I'M ACHING So lesson learned: don't run a half marathon, 3 mile run, and 5 mile run in a row w...

Okay, so I signed up for this race just this past week. I was debating if I should run this as part of my EQT 10 Miler training, but not many training plans have distances longer than the goal as part of the weeks building up. But I knew a bunch of great friends of mine were planning on running it, and everyone raved at how fun it was. So here I am, a Tuesday before a Saturday race, signing up for a classic Pittsburgh fall race. I wasn't going to race it - just have fun. Since I wasn't racing it, I didn't really prepare. I didn't eat a bunch of carbs prior, slept horribly, did not hydrate enough, and even ate a Fiber One bar on my way to the race. Talk about long run poops... --- It was a beautiful morning for a fall race! Cool, sunny, and with such pretty landscape to enjoy. The race was downhill and on a trail. I'll be honest, I didn't feel like it was as downhill as my Garmin showed - maybe because of the crushed limestone versus asphal...

Coming back from injury made me both hungry and scared to race again. I didn't even sign up until the weekend before, but I had so many friends running it and thought to myself that I could at least run it as part of my 4 mile recovery run. Plus, the medals and shirts from this year were FREAKING AWESOME looking. The morning of the race was weirdly warm for October in Pittsburgh. I don't know how some of ya'll were able to run with long sleeves during that heat! Maybe I just overheat too quickly, and I hate being hot! I was getting dressed and listen to "suggested songs" from my current Half Marathon Playlist on Spotify. I found some really cool songs! They were my first few in queue for this race. I gotta say, a good song can really get your legs pumping! Fact: distractions can minimize the perception of pain, because as you'll find out, by the end of this race, I was hurting! SPEAKING OF THE RACE... I saw my good friend, who go...

So it's been a while. I'm working 54 hours a week at the RTF and continuing marathon training. I was also mentally down for a bit, and didn't have it in me to write. But now I'm back and ready to keep this blog rolling! This past weekend, my friend Steff  and I took on the Presque Isle Half Marathon. I used this as a training run, and she wanted to check this Half off of her bucket list. She happily let me stay in her guest room the night before, and we headed out at 3:30am to make the 2 hour drive to Erie. The weather conditions were perfect for a 6:45am start time. It was mid-60s at the start, and in the mid-70s for the finish. Parking was easy, and we even got to the bathrooms before the HUGE line. I have to say, I was pretty disappointed in the lack of bathrooms at the start line. They did however, have restrooms throughout the race - though I didn't need them. This was a training run for me; my schedule was set for 16 miles. My plan was to...