Shortest Day of the Year Run

Today I went for a run on the shortest day of the year! We did it guys!!!! We hit the shortest day and it is only uphill from here. I can smell summer around the corner.

Well that is a lie, but at least you know the days will only get longer from here on out. I forgot my running lamp and boy did it make me nervous on this run. I have noticed post covid, drivers are less focused and a little more careless with pedestrians. Please stay safe and wear the right gear if you are running at night! I put a new running vest on my Christmas list! I hope I get it!!! Can you believe I only have reflective vests, headlamps and a clip on lamp. I am late to the light up vest party.

“You’re a shining star….”

Today I went for a run fueled by an epic friends playlist! I’m going to be honest, despite new tunes and an early start, this run got tough! However, it would have been over before it started if I had not enlisted my awesome friends and their tunes.

At the beginning of the week I knew I was going to tackle the hilly roads around my home for my 18 mile long run. What better way to start building momentum and motivation for this run than to ask my friends for their favorite songs. One of the my Run 40 Throw Down challenges was to run to new tunes. Now, I could have just randomly picked a spotify list, but the purpose of this challenge was for me to get ideas from my friends and hopefully pull from my friends during my run. Well I’m glad I did!!!

Throughout the week friends shared songs with me – generating a very eclectic list. (I even had “motivational” themed music with famous inspirational quotes included like my favorite Rocky quote!!!) Friday night I sat down and downloaded my lists, loaded it up and was very tempted to try it out on my easy run on Saturday. I held off thinking this soundtrack was special, made for this Sunday long run. So I waited.

Sunday I planned to get out by 6am, but 6:20 was the start. A rain/cold front blew through the night before making the temperature pleasant, but once the sun came up a heatwave was arriving. I was hoping to complete twelve easy paced miles before pushing the last six miles. I started my loop and included a few new roads, looped the park and went by a few familiar stretches I had not traveled for a while. Luckily the morning miles were in covered shade (as if I was Molly Seidel searching for shade in Japan) which made running comfortable. I listened to my tunes. A few I had not heard since college, others were classics that I couldn’t help but want to stop and have a dance party and some were just cruise control songs! Zac Brown came on just as I moved towards a few open fields with goats grazing in the distance. It was odd how perfect the music aligned with my run.

I got back to my car hitting twelve miles ready to take on my uptempo miles. Instead, I realized I needed to hit a bathroom. I had grabbed a lime gel, not checking the expiration date, and it was hitting me. Could it have been something else? I guess, but the chances seem very likely that I need to check expiration dates on gels. I can’t be the only one that neglects that!?

After a quick stop at home I was back out the door and lined up ready for my last six miles. I was hoping to do interval style. Once I picked up the pace I realized the sun was no longer hiding and it was HOT. I paused a few times to catch my breath and I felt my heart racing. Was it the heat, my stomach or just a bad run? Either way I was driving that struggle bus as I pushed through those six miles. And what helped me most – my music. Shining Star by Earth Wind and Fire was just what I needed to keep me moving and get me back on track. I thought about each of my friends that had requested music on my list. I could not let them down and bail on this run. So they “ran” with me in spirit. I distracted myself by thinking about how each were a part of my life. They really came through for me. The tunes kept the beat and my friends gave me a lift.

18 miles done! I battled, but in the end I finished my run with more appreciation for my friends and their music.

Segment Chase

Today I went for a run with crazy wind and a segment chase! Our route started with the normal loop out and back, up and down rolling hills, with wind smacking us in the face on the way out. It was definitely a sigh of relief once we turned around and the wind eased. As we made our way towards our final stretch, we instead took a detour and decided to take on a segment that we had previously discussed.

This segment was a fun one! There was an initial hill (nothing to cry about) and a long steady down towards the finish. So the game plan – as long as we clear the hill, we can lay into the downhill and coast. Soooooo, off we went. The first hill just kept going and just when you thought you hit the crest, you climbed higher. We made it to the down hill portion and it felt like a few seconds later my breath caught up to me. Overall it was a fun stretch and I’m glad we did it. The initial burn made me feel like Fred Flintstone in his car, pedaling super fast, yet not going very far. But once we hit the hill, we embraced the burn and went with it. Talk about a fun Thursday challenge just in time for the weekend!

Ladder Run and Sun

Today I went for a run and completed my first ladder run and a new speed workout off my Run 40 Thrown Down List. Was that a fun run or what!?!?! I am no expert in speedwork and this year to challenge myself in becoming more consistent with speedwork, I chose to expose myself to as my different types of workouts as possible. Enter my running friends and this awesome running community! When I asked what were some of their favorite speed workouts, so many options came flooding in! I compiled my list and here I am starting to make my way through it.

Today I went for a quick ladder run based on something I found on the nike run app. I planned for 200, 400, 800, 400, and 200. Sure I could have added a 1600 maybe repeated it twice and played with the recovery times between, but for my first exposure to this type of workout – I kept it simple. I also had no clue what pace to try for so I guessed.

Overall I think I did an ok job with planning this out! The pace was consisted, but lowered by time I got to the 800s; however, matched the original 400 and 200 as I came back down. It was really a great thing to see on my garmin after my run! So what did I think about this “ladder” run workout – I would totally do this again! I think I have to do some research to see what some others do, how often they repeat, how many steps, recovery time, etc. But at the end of the day I really enjoyed this run and it was a great way to get some speedwork in on a beautiful day!

Mapping PH

Today I went for a run in freezing cold weather and bitter wind. I didn’t get out yesterday and was a little disappointed in myself. Today, I mapped out a new route determined to check off new roads and remain motivated despite the cold. Luckily Paul was familiar with one of the road and was excited to test his time on a Strava segment. Turns out this new loop has a killer 149ft hill. WHAT!!! It was intense. The steep incline went up, leveled out for about ten feet before another incline hit you in the face. And the worst part of navigating this hill is the sub 20 degree temperature your cutting through while your lungs are burning. Yea, so that is one way to end you week – not stressful or traumatic whatsoever!? But at the end of the day I ran, climbed a hill and lived to tell the tale.

Long Run Fun

Today I went for a run and nailed a half marathon in pretty cold weather. I’m not going to lie – this weather is taking its toll on me! I can do cold, but windy, cold is a different story. I missed out running with the DHS Squad on Saturday and almost missed this run when my alarm sounded at 6am. I rolled over and stayed in bed until 7am only because the temperature read 28 feels like 18. I just didn’t have it in me to get up and moving despite mapping out another new, fun route. So I slept until 7am, drank some coffee, hung out with my daughter and watched the morning news.

My husband had a trail run planned and it was tempting to tag along with him instead of tackling a long run. I mean trail running would be a solid workout too! Instead I kept with my goal, laced up and got out the door. The first loop was familiar as I hung around the area I normally run, but then headed up Bel Air Road to Chapel Hill before turning towards Snyder Lane. I mapped a zig zag between streets, rolling hills and uncharted roads – and by chance passed this awesome mural!

Luckily by 10:30 the sun was shining and warming the route and my hands. There was still a breeze that was biting in the shade, but it only helped to keep me moving along. Overall I crushed some killer hills, beat the cold and had some awesome tunes throughout my run to keep me moving. I was pretty consistent with pacing and left two fast miles to end! Sometimes getting lost in a new run with a new soundtrack is just what you need. And let’s be real, I was rocking my nike vest, some warm tights, my NYC hat and a sweet pair of goodr sunglasses that left me feeling like a rockstar. Sometimes a good outfit gets you out the door too.

This run was needed. I needed a solo run, needed new views and needed to have some good self talk to work through these hills. The saying is true, you never regret a run once it’s done – only a run you choose not to do.

Keep it Fresh Friday!

Today I went for a run and mapped out a route with a few new roads. I’m pretty excited for this challenge and it seems like Friday is usually the day I include a new route. Today we laced up and started across Honeygo and towards our first new “area.” It was a fantastic downhill stretch. However; despite mapping this run, I neglected to check the elevation and climbs while doing so. We had some solid uphill battles, with no sidewalks that were challenging, but doable. I think the best part about this challenge is learning more about where I am, how it is all connected and really being able to check out the cool places where I live. About 14% of my neighborhood roads are done so far and lots to go!

A return to Tempo Runs

Today I went for a run, even though I didn’t want to at ALL!!!! The worst part was, the weather was not even terrible – 50 degrees and sunny!?! I rested the last two days due to crazy windy, chilly weather and this morning seemed repetitive when I looked outside. But I was determined to get back into some speedwork and I needed to do this. And to be honest, if I had not been flipping through Strava and seeing some of my friends doing great things, I might have ditched. Who would have thought that social media would be the motivating factor when your own will let’s you down. And, I’m embarrassed to say, I was really excitied about wearing my new Batman Goodr shades I got as an anniversary gift.

Enough! I took off with my warm up and then 4 x 5 minute intervals. The first one was FAST, but a good fast. The second three were perfect in pacing – WHAT!? I have not run like that in a long time. Maybe my monthly challenge of three strength training days a week is paying off or maybe just taking a break from long runs!?!? All I know is – I felt STRONG as heck and crushed those intervals. BAM! (And to think I wasn’t going to run….)

Harbor 12

Today I went for a run in the Inner Harbor and got in twelve great miles. It seems like forever since I’ve been downtown – at least early December. Today I did my longest consecutive miles since my marathon. I’m not going to lie, I was slow moving towards the end, but nonetheless happy to be out there! I met up with the guys downtown and we immediately got moving. We were on a mission to get to Fells Point around 8am to meet up with two other friends. Perfect timing! We looped around Bond Street Warf and towards the Sandlot where we met up with our tag alongs. It was great! We continued along the harbor towards the downtown area before looping back out towards Key Highway. The sun was up and it warmed things up quickly!!! We chatted about trivia, tv series, netflix and all things funny.

Once we made it to the Domino factory we took a quick photo before heading back on the same route. We dropped off our friends around 9am and made our way back finishing at 9:30am. Perfect timing for me to get back, cleaned up and off to Barre. It was great running with a few new people and back in a familiar route. I was also pretty impressed that I was still able to do my lunges, squats and band work after those miles. We all agreed, these miles were a lot more enjoyable together than solo. This pandemic has been tough and human interaction limited. Although running with face coverings in the city was a challenge, it was worth it to be able to interact with others again. I even got to check off running with someone new from my Run 40 Throw Down list!

Double Digits!

Today I went for a run And finally hit double digit miles again. Well, kinda. It was a double run of five miles in the morning and five in the afternoon. I’ve taken it easy running between 3-29 weekly miles the last four weeks. My goal was rest and keep it under 30 miles. Now that I am a month away from last marathon I’m ready to think about picking up training again. The only problem – I’m not sure what I’m going to train for with most races being pushed to the fall!? I have the Love Run in Philly at the end of March, but I’m skeptical that we’ll occur. I found a few fun marathons in the spring, but none that have given me goosebumps or really left me feeling inspired. I’m not going to push training and run a marathon to check off another race. And to be honest, some of these races would be expensive to get to with no close airports. So the search continues. In the meantime I’ll pick up training for my half and enjoy the shorter distance! I think I’m ready to get back to shorter runs and some play with speedwork!