I love to sweat!!!

Quote of the Week: I don't stop when I'm tired. I stop when I'm done.


If you are new to reading this blog, you've gotta read from the beginning! Don't worry, there aren't too many posts. But, you have to know how I got into this mess (Read-I blame Marty!)  :)


I haven't written in a bit. Why? Because I've been too busy running! See, first, I went on vacation:

Don't I look relaxed? Let me backtrack a second. On my last blog, Marty and I were doing our first 3 hour run. It was a Friday evening and I had to 'leave on a jetplane' EARLY Saturday morning. I was afraid I would tighten up so much in the air that I wouldn't be able to walk! I was relieved that I felt fine the next day!  Wahoo.  So, we had a phenomenal time out West. 10 days. Hiked through Yosemite, Onion Valley, Tahoe, Mammoth, and climbed Mt. Whitney (highest peak in the contiguous US at 14, 505). Whitney had SO much snow left that four of us took the mountaineering route straight up the mountain! (I'm #2 below.) Best part was glissading down 1700 feet elevation loss! Major adult sledding....this was a new experience for me and so fun!     So.....back to running.....

I thought (hoped) that this ACTIVE vacation at elevation wouldn't harm my race training too much. Alas, I was wrong. I came home with a black toenail from my mountaineering boots and a blister the size of Kalamazoo. I had a 3 hour, 20 minute run with Marty that next week and I was happy these didn't bother me. But, I hadn't run in 2 weeks (minus one attempt to run up in Onion Valley) and I was hurting!!! I had definitely backtracked and felt defeated. The next day was the first time I felt like an old lady walking up and down the stairs. But, there's only one way to beat defeat and I ran my a#$ off last week! And, added in much cross training. Hill repeats. Pilates. Hiking. Kayaking. Kickball, Biking with Paul. Road running. Trail running. Two long runs side by side (encouraged by Julie). Oh, Julie, my running partner is moving to Haiti. Yup, I'm really sad. But, see why I've been to busy to blog?  :)

Let's talk about these two long runs. I am a road runner at heart, so did two road runs last week (a 10 miler and a 13 miler). I was quickly reminded by others (Thanks, Jess!) that this is NOT good for my running injury (I've been asked a lot about this, so will describe it in the next blog or two). My fave 10 mile loop (did it Tuesday) is from my house to Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown and back. I can tell I haven't done a road run in a while as I JUST noticed they built a whole new pier on Race Street. Oh well, it IS beautiful! So, Sunday, I ran 13 miles from my house and around Kelly Drive. It was hot. (Don't worry, Uncle Tom, I brought plenty of water, electrolytes, salt tabs, nutrition - and cab money, just in case!)  The sun wasn't out when I left, but came out midway. I was sweating so much it looked like I had just jumped in the Schuylkill River! But, I do love to sweat. That doesn't mean I wasn't EXTREMELY happy when the rain eventually poured down on me! So, I followed this 13 miler with a 10 miler in Wissy the next day (also getting drenched). There's a loop there I've run for a few years. Except with all the hills, I typically walked part of it. Well, on Monday, I RAN the entire thing. TWICE! (I definitely kept the above quote in my head!). It definitely hurt and the next day, that old lady came back again! But, I will beat the defeat. It was nice to see such improvement and definitely motivates me to keep going.

They say it's important to train a time or two in extreme heat. Check. And in rain. Check.

I bumped into John & Kelly on the river this Saturday. They did this race last year and were nothing but encouraging. That helps too, especially since they've been through it! Last summer was SO hot, they were telling me they got up at 4AM to run. Yikes. Kate, who also ran it last year, has been extremely helpful and has emailed me some suggestions and her positive energy helps too! Thanks, guys!  Marty and I have been extremely lucky. A lot of our long runs so far have been in the 80's. I guess the training Gods are with us (so far!)!

On the docket: Off to go run my weekly hill workout now. Saturday is a 3 hour, 40 minute run. Ouch. Sunday is a rest day and I have a neighborhood DooWop Festival and a BBQ to go to. That'll probably be about all I can handle!

Next blog: Hear about our long run. Oh, and 10 Reasons why Trail Running is Awesome! (am I trying to convince myself?)  :)

Peace, Love, Run!

The good. The bad. The unexpected.

I had my first BAD run. It did make me question what I'm doing here and wondering if the few naysayers out there were right.....Maybe I can't do this. It was a 2 hour 40 minute run and I had likely eaten something that threw me off the day before. I got through 2 hours and 20 minutes and then decided I had enough! This was the day after Father's Day. My dad is actually the one who got me into running. He had always wanted to do the Boston Marathon, but never got in. I'm not sure I ever actually wanted to do a marathon, but here I am...training for an Ultra! If my dad were still with us, I know he'd be proud. So, DAD, this run's for you!!!! I WILL do this!

I forced myself to get up the next day and RUN again. Felt much better. Since then, I've had TWO great HILL workouts, a great run with Marty at French Creek (1 hour 45 minutes)....I tried to keep up with him and felt great doing it! My favorite moment was our 'cool down' where I was huffing and puffing. I had turned off my heart rate monitor, but REALLY wanted to see what it was at, with Marty's idea of a cool down being very different than mine! And, TODAY, we run THREE HOURS.....Yikes!

Dare I mention that HILL workouts are my favorite? Here's a few other things that surprised me:

1. The worst part of training are incidentals like Lincoln Drive being shut down when I'm trying to get to the park to RUN! It's not the running!

2. The thing that hurts the most after long runs is my arm. See my arm rubs on the armpit of my shirt and I'm getting this longstanding mark....people think I'm being beaten. Any ideas, girls?

3. Other running groups leave ON TIME! (Hashers....you've created bad habits in me!) I tried to meet a group in Wissahickon early Saturday morning (need people to run with! volunteers?) and got caught in #1's traffic. Ran solo.  :(

4. I like hill workouts!

5. I like hill workouts!

Here's my newest motivation. I'm not that fast; Marty definitely has me in the dust. But, then you see something like this and it puts it all in perspective!  

So, happy running!

I've also added massage therapy into my training! My friend and therapist, Damian, has GREAT DEALS and he is the ONLY one who can dig deep into my bad back. I went yesterday and feel amazing today. If I'm gonna do this training, might as well do it right and take care of myself! I definitely recommend him and his studio.....and my photography happens to be hanging in his office, so if you go, take a look! And, he happens to have a GROUPON going on right now! But, only 2 days left! Amazing buy. $35 for a 50 minute massage. Just do it!

Here's his website (with more of my photography): Hot Hands Studio
And, I'll make it easy for you: Here's the Groupon Deal!

My fave running buddy, Julz, is injured. Turns out she has a contusion in her knee and a mild fracture from the Warrior Dash. This was not from running, but from jumping in puddles with Matt and landing wrong. Ugh. Poor Julz. 30-Something girl now seeking new trail running buddies. Beuller? Beuller?

Did I mention, a THREE HOUR Run today! Hopefully, my ship won't sink.