Category: Random

2012 In Review

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It’s the last day of 2012, so it’s time to look back and reflect all that has happened in the last 12 months. Here’s a look at 2012:

  • I traveled for work, a lot. I was able to visit Vegas, Toronto x 2, Dallas, Wisconsin, and New Orleans
  • I got a promotion!
  • I ran my first out of state half marathon even after getting altitude sickness
  • I ran a birthday race & received the best gift, a PR!
  • I ran some other PR’s…Adult 5k, 5 Mile, Half Marathon, & Marathon!
  • I ran for Diabetes
  • I moved to the country
  • I lost a family pet
  • I ran 5 half marathons, 9 total to date!
  • I ran a marathon, 26.2!
  • I vacationed in Colorado, and confirmed my love for the state
  • I became a Sweat Pink Ambassador
  • I ran 609 miles
  • We joined a gym, time to cross train and lift some weights

It was a wonderful year, so many memories, and so many running accomplishments. I had goals and plans set at the beginning of the year. I was able to accomplish some, but not all. That’s what 2013 is for, right?

2012 Goals

  • Run a PR for the half marathon-Done, three times!
  • Run a full marathon (I’m taking the plunge!!)-Done, can’t wait for my next!
  • Run four half marathons in four new states-Nope, only one
  • Run seven half marathons-Nope, only five
  • Travel!-Yes! Lots of traveling!
  • Volunteer at races-Nope, really need to do this one
  • Try a duathlon-Nope
  • Raise and donate money for the American Diabetes Association-Yes, Cleveland Half was all about running for Diabetes
  • Learn German-Nope, still only a few words
  • Learn to cook…no more pasta diet-Work in progress…

What did you do in 2012? Favorite memories?

Kona Kase Review

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A little overdue, but I was given the opportunity to try out a Kona Kase. Kona Kase is a monthly delivery of endurance samples packaged up nicely in it’s own little box. Inside are a variety of 8-10 different products to try and they change each month. I received mine right before the marathon, and so following the saying ” don’t try anything new on race day” I waited until after so I could fully enjoy the products. I haven’t quite made it through all of the products, but I needed to share my little box of surprises with everyone.

Fancy packaging at your doorstep

Check out these goodies!

What was inside? A variety of products, most of them I hadn’t tried before.

  • Clif Body Builder – Mint
  • FRS Drink Stick x3 – Orange
  • 2nd Surge Gel – Chocolate
  • Gatorade Prime – Berry
  • Vega Drink Stick – Lemon Lime
  • Powerbar – Banana
  • Sharkies – Berry
  • Larabar – Blueberry Muffin

Some I liked, some I didn’t like, and some I have yet to try. Kona Kase is the perfect way to try new products without buying a full case of a product and finding out you don’t like it. I’m nervous buying new pre run snacks unless I know I’m going to like them. There’s nothing worse than being on a long run, away from civilization and realizing your pre run treat doesn’t agree with you. I’m also a creature of habit, so this is a great way to break out of my shell and see if there are other pre/post run snacks that fit me better. And it’s only $15 a month and is delivered straight to your door. What could be better?

I know I won’t always like every product in the box, but that’s ok. I’m going to try it out for a while and see if I find some new running staples. I received November’s box last week and I’m looking forward to trying some of the goodies in there, including Sport Beans! (my fav). So if you want to learn more or want to have your own box of goodies delivered each month, check them out!

*Disclaimer: I was given a sample of the Kona Kase to review. All opinions are mine and mine alone. 

Post Marathon Daze

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It’s been a week and a half since I ran the Columbus Marathon. It feels like it has been so much longer, yet it’s still hard to believe that I actually did it. The race took a lot out of me, a lot more than I had expected and it kept me in a funk through Wednesday night. After a half, I’m usually out of it for a few hours, but three days was something I wasn’t ready for. Hydration and hunger weren’t normal and I was really moody. Sorry to everyone who had to put up with me. Physically I was feeling rough for most of the week. Monday and Tuesday were the worst days, but luckily I’ve been able to bounce back for the most part.

Now that I’ve run one marathon, I get asked, will I do another? Yes! It may have been hard, but it was all worth the feeling of joy crossing that finish line. There really are no words to describe that moment and how amazing it is. I certainly have no plans of doing another one in the spring, but give it a year, and I may be running another 26.2 miles in the fall. I don’t plan on doing a lot, but I wouldn’t mind getting a few under my belt over the next couple of years. It takes a lot of time, hard work, dedication and heart to run a marathon. Timing has to be right, and next time I want to get the full 16 weeks of training under my belt.

So what have I been doing since the marathon? I’ve been enjoying time off from running. I knew I wanted to take a complete week off after the marathon, but it beat me up a little more than expected so I pushed it to two weeks of doing nothing but resting. No running, no biking, and a little bit of stretching. My body needed this, I needed it. After running non stop since last Christmas, I was on the verge of a big burnout. Taking these two weeks to recover has helped. I’m really focused on being a better running and improving my training schedules. We’ll be joining the rec center soon and with out a doubt this will help me with the winter training blues!

Perks of recovery? Taking a trip to see this little guy!

He is just too cute

As well as celebrating Halloween!

And of course, planning our vacation to Colorado!

Denver, I love you.

 

How do you spend time post marathon? Are you done racing for the season?

Country Runs

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As much as I’d like to share my marathon experience with everyone, it will have to wait a few days. I’m still taking in every moment from this weekend, including the pain that will most likely be in my legs all week. But I’ve been sitting on this post for a while, and wanted to get it out before the seasons changed and we lose all the beauty of fall. I’ve always loved that I lived so close to Lake Erie, it’s been such a beautiful sight to see the water and the city of Cleveland in the background. When we moved I was totally a little upset that I’d be leaving my beautiful city and my peaceful long runs along the lake.

Luckily I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Once September rolled around the leaves started to change and the beauty of the country roads I was running on really came out. I fell in love with every long run, partially because the routes I was running were so beautiful. The hills may have been a torture, but it was worth it for the pictures. I’m even looking forward to country runs in the winter to see the beautiful snow on everything. I’m starting to embrace my life outside of the big city, and loving these moments in the country.

Enjoy these last few days with leaves on the trees, winter will be here soon!

Lake Medina

The perfect path

16 Weeks

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How do you measure the year? By weeks, months, holidays? I realize I measure it in cycles of 16 weeks. It’s the first week of October, but to me, it’s week 14. This past year I’ve broken down everything by cycles of 16 weeks. I started with Platte River Half, had some time and smaller races  in between and now currently on Columbus Marathon. I’ve crossed cycles with one another and had huge breaks in between. But I always come back to that 16 week plan.

There are so many emotions during these 16 weeks. Excitement, anxiety, frustration, and sadness to name a few. I’m always so excited to start a new cycle, the new hopes of what I can accomplish in such a long and short amount of time. And more often than not there is always anxiety. I’m stressed out of habit, but I worry what if I can hit the miles, or what if at the end, my time isn’t where I want it to be. There is no doubt I get frustrated at least once during a set of 16 weeks, and mostly it’s about being injured and how it will change my training. But right now, I’m feeling a bit sad, sad that training is almost over. Sad that in a single day, a matter of hours, everything about the past 16 weeks will be over.

So how do I overcome the sadness of ending another 16 week cycle? I plan my next one! (or two) Crazy, possibly, but I live on planning, especially planning out my races a year in advance. What have I planned in the  next cycle of 16 you may ask? I’ll be starting off the year with my first out of state half for 2013. With the help of Courtney and Melissa, I was pressured convinced that I’d love running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, even have the chance of closing in on sub 2:00. After I finally gave in, we brought a few other runners in, and now it will be a party in Austin. Joining us in just 15 weeks will be Courtney’s husband Luke, Paula, and Lorena. If anything, it’s going to be a fun trip of running, a little bit of sightseeing and little bit of seeing old and meeting new friends!

 

Let’s Review

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This isn’t your normal weekly review of training. This is more of a review on how things have been going, and what I need to do. I’m combining this week and next week’s training recaps together, so stay tuned for that next week. This past week was a bad week, and not just bad week, but an awful week. I got super sick, and I swear I still have a bit of it that I just can’t kick. A week and a half of not feeling right just isn’t good. Throw in moving and all the stresses that come with that, and you’ve got  yourself a disaster waiting to happen. I was worn down, mentally and physically. And then I hit rock bottom when my 12 year old cat lost his battle with cancer. Believe what you may, but I fully feel that animals are part of the family.

Carter before he was sick

So needless to say, training was rough last week. And it has been the past couple of weeks. I haven’t been hitting my miles, but I have been running pain free. So what do I do? I’m no where near hitting 26 miles at one time, and I can’t push the marathon to next year.

Well, I still have about 7 weeks left. I’ve changed my plan around, and I’m  hoping to do a long run every weekend. Each week adding two miles and hopefully get up to 22 before race day. It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to be rough. But I don’t want to give up on this marathon. I can at least try and see what happens.  I know I won’t do as well as I hoped, but I’m glad my body is better. I didn’t take care of myself back in the spring like I should have, and unfortunately it ended up hurting my training.

I guess I’ll just have to sign up for another marathon to really get the proper training and see what I’m capable of. Any suggestions for a spring 26.2?

Beauty and Inspiration

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Last week I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award from Courtney. I was pretty pumped and surprised that I received this. Even though I’ve been blogging for two years, I felt that I haven’t been strong enough in the blog world until recently. I never considered my blog inspiring, but I guess each post can be inspiring to someone! I felt honored because this girl is a pretty inspiring blogger and person herself. She moved from Texas to Colorado, and has been completely dominating the run scene. She’s currently training for her third marathon, CIM, and has only been running for about two years. How awesome is that.

Then I was nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by Melissa. Melissa’s  blog is one of my most recent ones that I’ve started to read, but I’m finding out that she is pretty awesome. She’s a Jersey girl gone Texan and loves wine and running. She  is also currently getting ready for a marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon in November!


Here are the rules:

  • Display the award logo somewhere on your blog.
  • Link back to the blog of the person who nominated you.
  • State 7 things about yourself.
  • Nominate other bloggers for the award & provide links to their blogs.
  • Notify those bloggers that they have been nominated and of the award’s requirements.

7 Things About Me…..

  • I rarely drink pop, but when I do, I prefer two kinds: Dr.Pepper or Vanilla Coke. If either aren’t available, I’ll pass. I’d rather have a water or anything lemon lime flavored.
  • I can’t swim. I took swimming lessons when I was little, but it was always so cold, I never paid attention. Now I can’t do more than the doggy paddle, and I panic if I’m in water over my head. Not a good thing living along Lake Erie.
  • I’ve never broken a bone. I’ve strained things, had a herniated disc and turned my arch to absolute mush. Somehow I’ve dodged anything from breaking, but I’m still pretty injury prone.
  • I’ve worn the same running shoes my entire running career. As long as I can remember I’ve always run in Asics Gel 1xxx series shoes. I tried others, but nothing is more comfortable than wearing those old reliable laces.
  • I have big plans to travel someday. Not only do I want to travel the US, but I’m hoping to explore more places, and the first two on my list are Australia and Europe. Road trip anyone?
  • Since I graduated college I’ve moved three times, and will be adding a fourth to the list this month. I went from New Concord to Avon to Berea to Westlake. Next  up…Medina.
  • I used to race my car in Autocross. I started on my 16th birthday with my Miata, and then continued with my Mazda3. I even won my class one year, beating a few guys!

And here are the bloggers I think are both inspirational and beautiful….

  • Molly….One of the most inspirational people I know. She makes every run count and never takes it for granted. She certainly encouraged me to run Columbus this year.
  • Heather….Currently training for the Chicago Marathon and has already done two triathlons this summer! She runs hard, but throws in some fun on her blog too.
  • Kimi…One of the first blogs I started reading, this fabulous lady balances running, working, and raising an adorable son in the cutest town, Vermilion.
  • Elayna….A student at OSU currently doing a clinical for her doctorate of physical therapy. She loves all things Cleveland and Columbus. OH….
  • Ellie….Honestly a beautiful soul. She stands for what she believes in, but has fun along the way. She also creates amazing coasters on the side
  • Caitlin….This girl doesn’t let anything stand in her way. Her best posts: her travels to China. Amazing what you can learn from them.

Dear Runner

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Dear 14 year old me,

You’ve just discovered this new hobby thanks to a friend and lack of hand eye coordination on the basketball court, and believe it or not this will be fun. But there are some things you should know…

  • Running isn’t just something you’ll just do in middle school, you’ll continue into high school, college and even when you’re an adult. This is going to become a way of life, not just an extracurricular activity.
  • In those same years you’re going to have 5 different coaches. You’ll learn something new from each, but only one will stand out and be there for you after you’ve graduated. Let her know how much it means to you.
  • You can’t turn all your friends into runners, trust me. They’ll support you, think you’re crazy and try once in a while to run, but they just don’t love it like you do.
  • The friends you do make from running will become some of your closest friends, they share the passion you have for this sport and understand how exciting it can be.
  • Running a 5k in sub 23 doesn’t seem fast in high school, but eventually you’ll be begging to run this quick again. You may not have been the fastest, but you were determined and you never gave up. Your best time will be your final 5k in college.
  • In college you’ll be daring and try new things, like buns. You may look silly and your butt will barely fit into these. You’ll be the only one on the team who likes to wear them but that’s ok. Plus they make you look fast.
  • You’ll find your greatest motivation from quotes and pages of Runner’s World that you tape to the back of your bedroom door. You’ll eventually tear them down, but some of the quotes will get you through the hardest parts of your races.
  • You’ll have the same pre race routine throughout all your years of running. Make sure you stock up on chocolate chip granola bars, lemon lime Powerade, and pasta. Lots of pasta.
  • You’ll run your first “long distance” race in Indiana, in the middle of December, in a foot of snow. It’s 10.8 miles, and part of a 50k relay. Surprisingly you’ll enjoy it enough to come back the following year. Keep this is mind when you complain about running Cleveland winters, you can handle the snow.
  • At some point, you’ll decide you want to try a half marathon. It will be tough, cold and miserable at some points, but the moment you cross that line you’ll be hungry for more. And you will run more.
  • After your first half marathon, you’ll quickly fall in love with this distance. It will become your favorite race, each one a learning experience. You’ll run them back to back and join a club called Half Fanatics with other crazy half marathoners. You’ll even travel to other states to run, including Colorado where you will put altitude training in it’s place.
  • You’ll have some of your best alone moments when you’re running. Sometimes you’ll think about everything under the sun, other times you’ll have an absolute clear mind. You’ll have moments when you can’t run any further or think you’re doing a horrible job. These moments will make you a stronger runner, because you are your biggest critic.
  • And just when you think you’ve figured out running, you make the decision to sign up for a marathon. This is the moment when you realize that you are indeed crazy. It will push you to your limits. But you’ll learn a lot about yourself, about the runner that you are and they runner you’re becoming. This is when you’ll realize that every run is important, not only in training, but in life.

So when you’ve had a bad run, or you don’t feel like lacing up those shoes, remember that you’re going to do well. You may not be the fastest, you may not have the best running form, but you are a runner. You will always be a runner.

Favorite Things: Runner’s Edition

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Lately I’ve been totally crushing on a few things for my runs. There’s nothing I love more than finding a new favorite running product, so I thought I’d share them. Here are just a few of my favorite things lately…

  • Point6  Socks. My feet sweat, a lot. With the heat and humidity, my feet were begging for something more comfortable on my runs. I checked around and discovered these little gems. They’re supportive, comfortable and don’t give me blisters. I wore them out on Saturday’s long run, and came home with happy feet. They also have socks for other sports, perfect for cross training.

  • FlipBelt    by Level Terrain. I picked this up at the Platte River expo and was so glad I did. This belt is perfect. It fits around my waist, doesn’t move around and all of your things are stored in the pockets so nothing falls out. It’s most useful on my long runs when I carry more. It has plenty of room for storage and no clips to rub on my hips.

  • Sport Beans   These are great for quick energy. One of my goals was to try new things, so I’ve been looking into other ways I can stay energized on my runs. A co-worker loved using these while he biked, so I figured I’d give them a shot. They taste great and I can feel them kick in within a few minutes. My favorite flavor…Lemon Lime of course!

What are a few of your favorite running things?

A Beautiful Occassion

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Over the weekend, I had the honor of being a part of one of my best friend’s wedding. We’ve known each other since kindergarten (almost 20 years!) It was a wonderful time, and the weather couldn’t have been better. We started the day at Revelations for mimosas and girl time, then headed to St. Mary’s in Avon. The ceremony was beautiful, and tears were kept to a minimum. We headed to Edgewater Park for pictures afterward, and had the perfect view of Cleveland. The reception was held at Wagner’s where we danced the night away. I wish you the very best Marissa and Dave, happy honeymoon!

Mr. & Mrs.

Best of friends