Today I went for a run in Maryland for 6 easy recovery miles. I slept in and laced up at eight o’clock in hopes of getting my recovery miles done before heading to barre. Hills, humidity and heat is what Maryland should be known for!!! I jammed out to Queen and got moving up and down the rolling hills where I live. It was muggy, but I took it easy and got done with my run with time to clean up before barre. As I ran I listened to Radio Ga Ga twice because a lyric caught my attention.
That was exactly my week in running!!! I get this song is not about running, but it made me laugh and finish my recovery run no longer defeated by my tough long run the previous day. Now, off to barre!! (Time to get back into a barre routine!!!)
Today I went for a run for my last summer long run down at the Jersey shore. It is amazing how quickly summer months fly and just like that we are in August gearing up for back to school shopping. Today I planned a 15-18 mile run. I started at 5am and took to the boardwalk to catch the sun beginning to rise over the ocean.
What a sight!!! The blue, pink and purple hues flooded the horizon to the northeast. When you turned south the untouched sky blurred into the ocean making it difficult to see where the ocean began and the sky ended. I moved to the bay and looped towards the inlet where the swans were still out in the bay, but the sunrise colors reflected off the water in their place.
At this point I was only at mile five and I was beat partly due to humidity and partly because I was just not motivated. I took my gel and pumped myself up to complete five more miles and then I would call it quits. How often do we give up when we lack interest or when we start to feel uncomfortable. My legs felt like lead as I plugged away between a 9:40 – 9:10 pace through Seaside Heights. I made it to the end of the Seaside Boardwalk and paused to take in the foggy haze that had settled on the pier.
I turned around and made my way back on the 35 bike lane to my parents house. I had completed ten miles and stopped at the house ready to throw in the towel. I was greeted by a quiet house where everyone was still asleep, no hot breakfast or coffee was ready, and I could easily devour an entire Bavarian creme crumb cake without a witness. I refilled my water and settled on four more miles. I rationalized I could make it two miles on the flat northbound road, knowing I would miss this next weekend in the swampy, hilly Maryland terrain. I took my gel and was off to finish my run. I made it two miles and instead of turning around I went one more mile and then another. I turned around after four miles and paused to take a quick break. I made it! The next four miles I kept thinking, “never give up” and “earn it.” I made it back happy to see the my family was up, breakfast was cooking and I was greeted by Shawn happy to see me return at an early hour.
Every run you start at zero with nothing except optimism and will. I really became comfortable only training for half marathons in the spring! I’m glad I carry two reminders that are more than just running mantras – they are great reminders that life is tough, but you keep going.
Today I went for a run with Shawn and the heat won in the end. After enjoying breakfast with the family we got a late start thinking the cooler temperatures that blew in after the previous thunderstorms would hold… it did not. We did our regular six mile loop along the bay and up to the boardwalk. The shore has stunning views, a light breeze and absolutely no shade. We enjoyed our last run at the beach before heading back to Maryland. This has been a fun, restful summer and it always seems to amaze me how quickly the time drifts away.
Today I went for a run to go crabbing with the family and then back home again. I laced up and took the long route over to the bay where the kids had left about fifteen minutes earlier with my husband. When I ran up to the pier I was greeted with screams and shouts about the huge crabs they had already caught.
We hung around until almost eight when the crabs stopped biting and I took off to finish the rest of my run. I continued along the bay and up to the boardwalk. As I approached I was greeted by a south wind that, for the first time this summer, was cool! I ran the boardwalk then back home and finished my five mile run on a crabby Wednesday.
Today I went for a run and completed my first real Fartlek run. I’ve been using my NYRR plan from last year and my Team Ultra guide from my group page and decided to give a Fartlek run a try. What is Fartlek? In Swedish it means ‘speed play’ and is a mix of fast and slow running. My group said to do 10 repeats, but I bumped up the reps and did 20 of fast/slow intervals. I laced up and took to the boardwalk and once I returned to the main drag I picked up the pace. To tell ya the truth it was not as bad as I thought it would be. My only complaint is that once I picked up the pace, I was already slowing down for the 30 second recovery. Overall it was a fun new technique to try out and way better than busting my butt during 800 repeats!!! I was able to get put at 6:30am today, but it was pretty toasty. Tomorrow we plan on going crabbing, so I’m not sure if I’ll get my run in early.
Today I went for a run and drilled out 18 miles ‘down the shore.’ Running down the shore has become a fun adventure, trying new routes and new scenery to view. Ever since Super Storm Sandy new, repaved roads, homes, stores, and shoreline have changed the area creating new adventures each run. Today; however, I went for a new/retro run based on my cousins – the Tunney’s. The east bound Tunney Bridge was named after my sister’s Godfather’s Dad – J. Stanley Tunney. He moved to Seaside Heights, began developing the boardwalk and eventually became Mayor. Shawn and I laced up at 5am and took to Bay Blvd. on our way to the mile long bridge.
J. Stanley Tunney Bridge
We crest the bridge just as sunlight began to spill over the horizon and made our way to the end of the bridge – one mile long on the nose. We turned and made our way back up the steady incline and paused as the sun began to rise next to the Ortley Water Tower.
View from the bridge looking east. Shawn is coming down the side below.
What a view and a bucket list item to check off my list! We made our way back down the bridge towards Pelican Island where my cousins, Wendy and Joe, still live.
Shawn and I parted ways after six miles and I continued south towards Seaside Heights. I turned on Barnegat Ave and the west on Sherman Ave, passing the church were my cousin’s son was married and towards the new Ferris wheel.
Casino Pier Ferris Wheel
Once on the boardwalk I continued south with little company and the rising sun on the east.
Seaside Heights, NJ was a pretty cool place growing up – before the Jersey Shore Crew turned it into a fist bumping time. My cousin’s family owned several boardwalk stands and visiting them was a kids most exciting part of the night – well besides getting a vanilla/orange swirl soft serve from Kohr’s. Cousin Joe was a friendly, outgoing man who always enjoyed conversation, a good joke and family. As I ran to the end of the boardwalk and looped around I paused to take a a quick photo at the arcade before heading back on the boardwalk and north to Lavallette. All while thinking about great childhood memories, fun toys won and how I was an ace on the watergun target/balloon game. After a quick refill of my water I completed my last eight miles heading north up 35 and looping back – eighteen miles done! The new route was great to run with Shawn, reminisce about fun memories and overall try a new route. The past few weeks I’ve been trying new routes and it has really made this training cycle fun so far!
Today I went for a run in cooler temps and completed a kick butt track workout. My alarm sounded at 5:30am; however, I did not move from my bed until 6:15am. It was a slow morning mainly because I was drained by the run, yoga, SUP and barre class I took yesterday. I checked the weather and weighed the costs and benefits – a classic move when you really want to NOT run. Unfortunately it came down to: it’s Thursday your last chance before the long haul this weekend. I laced up, grabbed my water bottle and took to the road. When I made it to the track there were three other people there enjoying the pleasant, cool morning. I started my first 800, a solid 3:30 as I felt my legs finally waking up even after the already completed two mile warm up. I continued to find a groove around a 7:00 minute pace while jamming out to Queen – Another One Bites the Dust. What!? I nailed 8 x 800 keeping between a 6:44-7:03 pace. I have no clue where that came from, but it felt great! I ran home slowly feeling pretty accomplished and thinking about the saying:
Today I went for a run at 4am to try and beat the sun for my 15 mile run. I set the alarm for 3:30am; however, anxiety of sleeping through my alarm had me wide awake at 2:50am. As I moved through the quiet house pulling my running gear together I took a moment to check the weather, regrettably.
Despite the discouraging outlook, I laced up and walked out the door ready to take on the run – with the most positive attitude possible. I ran north on 35 in the bike lane and was fairly solo despite a few passing cars. Every time a car passed I jumped on the sidewalk to pause, nervous due to a recent accident that occurred with my friend who shattered her leg due to a tragic incident involving a drunk driver at 6:30am when she was running. I thought about turning around and sticking to the boardwalk and looping it thirteen times – no way. The recent news of her accident hit hard because it was such a surreal story that you think just can’t happen to you or someone you know. I continued on in the dim lighting, three miles in, drenched in sweat and already hoping the turn around point was soon. Despite the heat and sweat there was a bay breeze coming from the west, which helped to keep me, not as hot, maybe?
From: Gone For A Run Facebook page
Finally I made it home with ten successful miles under my belt. Ready for a chilled gel and a refill of water. My pace was in a slow decline and motivation was lacking – this was turning out to be an ugly run. I went back out the door with a four mile loop in mind and headed south on 35. The sun was now starting to show and was going to be just above the horizon as I made it up to the boardwalk. At mile 12 I paused at our block and took in the view.
What a view it was. The calm ocean waves gently slapping the sand, a few people walking along the water and calmness. The challenges and struggle I was feeling on this run were not going away, but the calmness of this view came along with me for the rest of the run. An image can change an attitude and spirit in seconds. I finished the boardwalk, looped to the bay and made my way back to the house doing the five mile loop add on instead of four. Done. It was an ugly run, with lots of pauses, hesitation, and self doubt. The conditions were less than ideal and I really wanted to just end the run at ten miles. I’m glad I didn’t miss the sun over the ocean and happy to push through and check my run as “completed – with no excuses.”
Today I went for a run on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the moon and famous American moonwalk. The entire week has been a showcase of documentaries, interviews, artifact restoration and overall celebration of the first man to walk on the moon. I have to say, at times it has been difficult to walk away from the tv because some shows and news clips have been so engaging. Today also marks day five of this horrible heatwave and plans of me running a long run will have to be delayed. So instead, a quick four miles through the heat will have to do and hopefully I have the guts to get it done tomorrow. But in the meantime, I will continue to have way too much fun placing Neil Armstrong in my photos!
Today I went for a run down the shore with Shawn. The heatwave has set in and we decided to escape the heat and head down to the shore. This morning we woke up to a foggy, overcast morning and decided to take advantage of the relief and go for a run. We took to the bay and turned around at the end of the boardwalk completing our favorite shore run together. The big question is how am I going to get a long run in this weekend with the heat?
Today I went for a run... 