New Year’s Goals & Needham New Year’s 5k Race Review

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May you have a happy and healthy 2014, filled with scenic miles, meditative miles, recovery miles, iamsoawesome miles, race miles, and all the good things that result from running.

I started off this year the same way I started off last year, with the Needham New Year’s 5k. To start out running feels like a good luck charm for the coming year. It was a beautiful January day, with bright blue skies, temperatures in the mid twenties, and so many people out and ready to start their year off right. What could be better than that?

Look at all these crazy people starting 2014 off on the right foot. Or left…

The race started at 11 a.m., giving me plenty of time to recover from our New Year’s festivities the night before. Greg and I stayed up until midnight watching movies, eating popcorn, and drinking craft beer. Not my normal pre-race activities, but this isn’t a normal race. I joked on social media before leaving this morning that if your New Year’s Day 5k is a PR, you need to work on your run/life balance.

For me, the point of a New Year’s Day 5k is to show that even if you’re up late having a few drinks the night before, you can still get out and run 3.1 miles the next day. Moreover, you want to… because you can’t think of a better way to start the year. That’s cool.

photo (23) — Yes, that does say 9.5% alcohol by volume in the upper right-hand corner. We call this “PR juice”.

I decided to have my normal New Year’s Eve, and run the race as a symbolic beginning to the year, a pledge to my commitment to running 🙂

Sparkling cider in real glasses for the boys… circa 7:00 p.m. 🙂

That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to race hard, it just meant I had low expectations for the results of that hard work after having a few drinks, staying up past midnight, and still getting up with the kids in the morning.

To my surprise, I ran a great race! I came in at 28:39, my first sub 29 minute 5k and a new PR. I credit my amazing cheering squad. One of my husband’s coworkers even joined him at the end (she ran a FAST race!) and helped him get the stroller from the three mile mark to the finish before I could, so they got to see me three times on the race course! It was hard not to stay motivated 🙂

Some strategies that helped me this race:

Pretend someone in front of you is pulling you up the hill: I would choose someone a ways ahead of me and pretend they were pulling me up the hill, focusing on the center of their back. It helped me stay strong and ignore the fact that my legs and lungs were claiming THEY were the ones doing the work. I tend to speed up at the bottom of hills because I want them over more quickly, so I once I had to choose someone else halfway through the incline. Pick someone a ways ahead.

DSC02735-001 — Staying motivated with .1 to go.

Turn around and choose someone you don’t want to let pass you: This sounds petty, but I put in some major effort just after the mile 3 marker to keep a girl with pigtails from passing me. Towards the finish it can be harder to “not lose” someone in front of you, which might be a less competitive way to use someone else to motivate you, but is more vague. “Not lose” like ten feet behind them, or within eye sight? I lost my blue shirt, orange-hat pacer just after mile 2, but by refusing to be passed by someone at mile 3, I managed to cut some extra seconds off the clock.

Remind yourself that you’ll recover: This is important after an incline, or running into headwinds, or any point when you feel like you won’t recover without stopping. I was cramping a little and completely out of breath and ready to stop at one point in the race, and then we turned out of the wind and the course flattened slightly. By trusting that I would feel better even if I kept going, I didn’t lose time by taking an unnecessary break. At mile 3, I almost walked. Remembering how disappointed I would be if I did, and how good I would feel in just a few minutes, I kept going. I’m glad I did!

And Finally – My New Year’s Running Goals:

1. Average 15 miles a week for the year

2. Run at least two half marathons

3. Do speed workouts at least twice a month

Happy New Year! Run long and prosper 🙂

2013 In Review – A Year of Running!

11 years ago • 2 Comments • My Running, Uncategorized

2013 was a pretty crazy running year for me. It was my first full year as a runner!

I only spent half of 2012 as a runner after starting the Couch to 5k program that July. At this time last year, I had been running for 6 months. My longest race distance was a 5k, my longest run was 4 miles, and the most I had ever run in one week was 9 miles.

In December of this year, my longest race distance is a half marathon, my longest run was 13.3 miles, and the most I have ever run in one week was 23 miles. That’s an enormous change! I wrote on January 1st that “if I have a New Year’s Resolution for 2013, it’s to keep going!” Well, I certainly did. And then some.

Here’s my year in review:

January: Started the New Year off right with the Needham Running Club’s New Year’s Day 5k Run. I wrote a blog post on my parenting blog titled “It’s Time to Start! (RUNNING!)” that became so popular it inspired me to begin iamrunningthis.com six months later. I loved running, but was only running about twice a week, 3 or 4 miles each time.

photo (2) — Needham New Year’s 5k – Jan 1st, 2013

February: Ran for the first time out of the country! While on vacation in St. Martin, Greg and I went for a run together. It was hot, I was out of shape, and it was a pretty tough two miles. I came back determined to pick up my running so the next time we went on vacation together running would be more fun!

20130225_Grand_Case_Caiazzo_57 — Will on St. Martin, February 2013

March: I set a goal to run 10 miles every week, and kept track of it on a calendar on my bureau. Suddenly I was running 3-4 times a week, 3-4 miles at a time, and I loved what it did for my mood and energy levels.

April: I ran a 5k pushing the double jogging stroller at 10:15 pace. Greg ran the Boston Marathon for the first time. I signed up for my first 10k in June and started training. The night before the Boston Marathon, I talked to Greg about the possibility of training for a half marathon. I was still running 10 – 12 miles a week every week, my longest run was up to 5 miles, and a 10k seemed well within reach. A half marathon seemed like a crazy, but exciting, dream.

IMG_6762c — Greg running the 2013 Boston Marathon.

May: I hit my goal of running at least 10 miles every week. My longest run was now up to 7 miles. I felt ready for my first 10k on June 2nd. I had registered for my first half marathon in September, and not told anyone but Greg.

June: I ran my first 10k, an experience which led to my new running mantra and the name for this blog, “i am running this”. I realized I was writing almost exclusively about running on my parenting blog, and decided to start a separate blog about running. On June 9th, I wrote my first blog post. I told my family I was training for a half marathon, and started extending my long runs.

Running my first 10k made me feel like a beginner rather than a novice runner – you can sense my enthusiasm in this post-race photo 🙂

July: I was in full force training for my first half marathon. My highest weekly mileage was up to 19, and I ran my first 10 mile run. I almost quit my plan to run a half marathon, didn’t quit, and then got too far to quit.

August: I had a beautiful recovery week on Cape Cod with no long runs, but some short, scenic ocean runs at a relaxed pace. My longest run was up to 12 miles. I had my first week of running over 20 miles. I felt ready to run that half marathon with the confidence that I could at least finish. I was featured on www.mile-posts.com as her first “I Run This Blog” interview, where I talk about how running has changed my life and why I love those post-race snack tents.

20130809 - Cape Cod Family 1 of 58 — Will and I, Cape Cod, August 2013

September: I ran my first half marathon! Two weeks later, I did a 10 mile long run, just because I could. It was beautiful. I also ran a 5k with friends in tutus, my first “repeat” race, the 5k I had done at the end of Couch to 5k a year earlier. That’s right: I’m still running, I’m still here… and I’ll be back.

October: I fought burn out as I started training for my second half marathon in November, one I had signed up for because it’s a race Greg has run multiple times and I really wanted to run it too. How fun to participate instead of spectate for the first time! Still, the emotional and physical drain of trying to schedule and complete my long runs, often returning after it got dark, made training tough. I started learning how to use twitter, and fell in love with the #runchat and #vegrunchat communities.

Just before Halloween, I was inspired by @forkstofeet, a new friend on twitter, to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives. I was amazed. I did some more research on the negative impact of eating animal products on our health, environment, and animal welfare. The evidence was incredible; we shouldn’t be eating meat or dairy. I started transitioning our family to a whole foods, plant-based diet.

I have to go HOW FAR?! Seriously? I just DID this! I want a cup of tea and a book and a cookie.

November: I ran my second half marathon, which was the best race of my life. I also ran a 5k in my hometown and came in with a PR despite being sick. My months of running were starting to have a positive impact on my running performance. Could I credit switching to a healthier eating lifestyle, too? I never felt sick after eating anymore, and I could have sworn my energy was increasing. Either way, I felt really good about making the switch.

My blog post “Dear Chad Stafko: Ok, We’re Happy To Be Runners, Get Over It” went viral, getting thousands of hits an hour and becoming one of the top google search results for “Chad Stafko”. Slate.fr translated a quotation from my post into French, and I started planning what I would wear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. While I didn’t get onto The Daily Show, it felt pretty amazing that my defense of running (and being happy about it) reached so many people.

DSC01504-002 — Heading into the finish after an amazing second half marathon with my impromptu running partner and coach 🙂

December: I took it easy. With Christmas planning, traveling, Greg away on business, a cold to recover from, etc., I averaged 10 and 12 miles two weeks out of the month, and 3 miles the other two. A year ago, this would have freaked me out. Now, it makes me excited to see what I can do in January with a little extra rest in my legs. I am not in danger of becoming a non-runner. My time off keeps me from burning out, and makes me more excited to get back to my running, my intervals, my long runs, and a fantastic spring and rest of the New Year.

photo (36) — I’m sorry, does that jacket with snowflakes falling on it say “Diva’s HALF MARATHON series?” You must be such an awesome, serious runner.

2013 was pretty impressive… what will 2014 hold? A 30 mile week? 3 Half Marathons? 1 Half Marathon, but faster? Tomorrow I will start out 2014 the way I started 2013, with a local 5k and a post about my New Year’s goals. I’m so excited to be back here… reflecting about a good year of running, and looking forward to what I can do next year.

When I look back at the changes I’ve made this year, I feel a little overwhelmed. How can next year compete? Luckily, it doesn’t have to. My goal is to keep living my best running life, and that may mean sticking to what’s working rather than trying to keep doubling or tripling my progress. I definitely want to improve, but it’s hard to beat going from never having run more than 4 miles to running two half marathons in one year. Whatever I decide to try for in 2014, I know there will be running, and healthy eating, and many more miles to come.

Happy New Year, Happy Running, and just think… where could you be in a year?

New 5K PR! Bad Habit Productions 5k Race Photos & Recap

11 years ago • 18 Comments • My Running

Ran my first repeat race this morning! A year ago, the Bad Habit Productions 5k was my very first road race. I had just completed the Couch to 5k Program and my goal was to run without stopping! I did, in 32:53. A few months later, I pushed hard in a Burn off the Turkey 5k the Saturday after Thanksgiving in my hometown, and set a 5k PR at 29:58.

Today, I wanted to celebrate my first race anniversary in style, with friends, tutus, and a (hopefully) PR! Running with friends in tutus crossed an item off my running bucket list, and plus it was just fun! I love fun. Running SHOULD be fun!

We did it! My new 5k PR is 29:38. Not only did my awesome friends show up and run the race with me in tutus, they both got age category awards (pint glasses, awesome) and we had a great time. The race benefits an improv theater group, so I figured it would be pretty tutu friendly. The race director did the macarena on the course to cheer on runners (and gave raffle prizes to runners who did it back, like my friend Marya!) and it’s got an overall fun feel. It would have felt weird to run it alone in a tutu, but add a couple friends, and it felt festive, celebratory, and really fun!

Age group award!

I pushed hard, but maintained a constant pace for the 3.1 miles. I felt like dying for about a minute afterwards, and then five minutes afterwards I felt like I could probably run 5 more miles. I think long distance running has really messed up my pacing! The urge to stop is strong, but the urge to keep going after a brief break is pretty strong, too. I think that’s progress from how I felt a year ago!

It was a small race and a beautiful course along the Charles River with no road crossings. Very little elevation change – perfect for a PR despite the warmth and humidity! The winner was a 50 year old male with over a TWO MINUTE LEAD. Incredible. Other highlights were seeing a 72 year old woman cross the finish line (she wasn’t even last) and seeing an expecting mother race in a cute shirt that said “running for two” on it.

Big thanks to Greg, for taking awesome photos, for Susie & Marya for running with me in tutus, and for Nana and Grampa Bill for taking care of Will & Andrew at home when the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms and scared spectators away!

Next race… my half marathon.

YIKES.

(Susie? Marya? No?)

If you’d like to run your own race in tutus, ours came from www.toughgirltutus.com and they’re very easy to run in! They even have bib holders on them so you don’t need safety pins. Plus, they look awesome with my sparkly soul black running headband.

Other posts you may enjoy:

Quiz: What’s your ideal race distance? (Mine isn’t what I run!)

i am running this (a first 10k story)

Eliminating Walking Breaks From Your Runs

My new running shoes: Nike Free 3.0

11 years ago • 2 Comments • My Running

The Nike 3.0

It all started on our vacation. Greg was reading Born to Run and kept sharing the best bits with me. Born to Run is about a tribe of barefoot / sandal clad runners in Mexico who eat chia seeds and run insanely long distances. I didn’t read it myself, but the sections that Greg read out loud to me made some pretty compelling arguments for the benefits of barefoot running. I always thought barefoot running was for crazy people. Similar to the crazy people who make arguments like “but that’s how we raised children for thousands of years!” ignoring the fact that there used to be only a 50% chance of making it to your teenage years alive. (I’m pro vaccination, antibiotics, and sunscreen… thanks.)

My mom grew up in the sixties, runs around outside barefoot all summer, and wears those separated webby-toed shoes for boating enthusiasts to the grocery store year round. I think she only wears socks because she can knit them herself and she likes that. She’d be a good candidate for barefoot running. Me? I don’t wear shoes outside in the summer because I’m lazy, not because I’m fundamentally pro barefoot, or anti shoe, or anything else. I’m just flat out lazy. I don’t like having to retrieve my flip flops from near the garage door if I’m going out the front door. (Yet I’ll get up at 5 a.m. and run 12 miles… weird, right?)

My beautiful, happiest when barefoot mother.

Anyway – suffice to say, very compelling arguments were made, including quotations from expert running coaches and podiatrists (that’s a foot doctor, I didn’t know that until I was like 27) and cool anecdotal evidence of how awesome it is, like some guy who ran in the same pair of shoes for years and years and just kept switching which feet he wore them on and never got injured… I don’t know, lots of stuff. Pro barefoot running. Pro chia seeds.

I’m not about to run barefoot down paved roads, but I did notice something strange after I bought my last pair of shoes. I’d been fitted by a specialist at Marathon Sports, and deemed a neutral runner. They got me a pair of very supportive, cushy shoes. I wore them, and ran in them, and it was fine. Then I ended up going to a sporting goods store looking for a pair of shoes to wear just to the gym for strength training (which I never did because I’m lazy). You know, “I don’t want to drop a dumbbell on my feet but I’m not running” sneakers. I picked up a pair of Brooks Pure Cadence. They’re lighter weight with only a 4.0 offset, which is flatter than my original Nike Fly-Knits as they were 5.0 (shoes are ranked by “offset” which is the MM difference between the heal and toe). I wore them once running because I was too lazy to go upstairs and get my old running shoes from near the treadmill. (I am so, so lazy.)

You can see my Brooks Pure Cadence 2’s at the bottom of this shot

I loved them. They were light, I felt faster, I WAS faster (ok not much, but a little, probably because I was enjoying myself ever so slightly more). I felt more connected to the road. I stopped wearing my other shoes, feeling like a ridiculous and foolhardy rebel for running in shoes that hadn’t been professionally recommended to me. (I’ve since realized that as a neutral runner with a low BMI, I have a lot of shoe options and it’s not SUCH a big deal.)

Fast forward. My shoes now have quite a few miles on them and I wasn’t even fitted for them, and I’ve got a bunch of races lined up for fall and could probably use a pair of new shoes.

Greg had me hooked on the idea of the Nike Freefly Knit, the newest, latest, greatest (until later this fall) Nike shoe in their barefoot running inspired line. I went to Marathon Sports and tried a pair. LOVED them. Brought them home. Tried them on to show them to Greg, but five minutes in, my foot started to feel numb. They were WAY too tight. The flyknit technology was squishing my ankle and top of my foot, despite the shoe being my normal running size and the sole fitting perfectly.

love the idea of a shoe that feels like a second skin…
but it was way too tight for me.

I had to bring them back. I tried on the men’s in case they were wider. Nope. I tried on a larger size. Nope. I was devastated. Until an awesome sales associate at Marathon Sports suggested that I try the Nike Free 3.0. Same sole technology, even less cushioning, their “most minimal barefoot feel” according to Nike.com. Still has a snug fit, but is more forgiving than the flyknit. Ummm, perfect. Thank you. Not sure why I didn’t think of it, except that I had it in my head that the flyknit was newer and better and awesomer. (The freeflyknit was also more expensive, I walked out of Marathon sports with a t-shirt, hat, and some Gu packets and still had a 37 cent credit back to my account from exchanging my shoes!)

My new Nike Free 3.0s

The first pair of Nike Free 3.0 I tried on creased in the toebox when I ran, but sizing down a half size from 9 to 8.5 (my street shoe size is 8) worked perfectly. Roomy in the toe still, but snug enough to feel like a second skin.

I’m going to ease into them carefully, but I’ve got a real good feeling about this.

Goodbye, old running shoes. You’re not even in the rotation anymore!

Note: This isn’t a review, so much as an anecdote about my own shoe buying experience. I don’t receive any sponsorships or free gear from anyone* (except my husband, he buys me lots of awesome running stuff) and my hope for you is not that you will buy the same shoes as me, but that you will also find the best shoes for you 🙂

*anyone looking to offer me free gear please contact me 😉

10 Mile Run in Maine!

11 years ago • 10 Comments • My Running

Slow and steady finishes the race!

My race is only three weeks away! I’m tapering down my long runs, and my last 11 mile run will be next week. I can’t believe race day is approaching – there was a time when I was transitioning from seven to eight mile long runs at the end of June when I thought for sure I wouldn’t make it.

Three weeks away and I’m on schedule, with four double digit mile runs completed and only one more between me and the start line!

Maine – the way life should be.

The boys and I are up in Maine visiting both sets of grandparents, and they were transitioning to being in a new (although familiar) place, which meant I was up five times in the night with them getting drinks of water and settling them down. I was too tired to go for my 10 mile run at 5:30 a.m. when I usually go, so I slept in and didn’t leave until 7:20.

It was hot and sunny, especially towards the end, and I was cursing my circumstances at mile 7 when I realized what great preparation this was. My half marathon starts at 7:30 in the morning, in Virginia (which has temperatures in September similar to Maine in August). I’ll most likely toss and turn the night before the race, between traveling and pre-race jitters. So a sleepless night, 7:20 start, and a sunny course are pretty perfect.

It’s so weird how neighborhoods with a “hill”
in their name are usually at the top of hills….

When my sister-in-law found out I was planning to run 10 miles, she suggested I run from my parents house to their house and back. Too much fun to resist! As an added bonus, this crossed an item off my bucket list when I ran by my in-laws house!

This is my “can’t believe I ran all the way here!” face.

Unfortunately, I can’t stop at my brother’s house halfway through the race to say hi and refill my water bottles, but I guess that’s what water stations on the course are for!

It was a slower run than normal, but I was fine with that. It was hilly, it was hot, I was tired, I was planning to donate blood later that day, there were lots of reasons to just take it easy, add the miles to my legs, and know that every step forward was helping prep me for race day.

View from my run.

Around mile three I started to cramp. This may have been the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie I ate ten minutes before I left. Who knows. Cramps are like crying babies… it could be dehydration, fatigue, stress, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, not slowing down for that hill… who knows. And you’re faltering along, wishing it’d just tell you what its problem is so you could fix it or prevent it for next time, and NO you’re not going to stop, and you’re not going to hold it ten hours so it can sleep, darn it. We need a compromise here.

By mile 4, the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie had made its peace with my right side and I had moved from a snail’s pace to a turtle’s pace and was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. My in-laws, who didn’t know I was going to be out running, actually spotted me (not in time to beep) and called me an hour later to tell me. I was still running.

Another run done. September 14th, here I come!

Greg: “It’s a little hilly, but not bad, really gradual…”
Yeah. Ok. Thanks, mr. voice of reason.

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Some strategies that helped me this race:

Happy New Year! Run long and prosper 🙂