Food & Relaxation in the week of TAPER

Tapering is never easy... I definitely look forward to it, but holding myself back from running 5 miles because I want to is SO hard. I ran 10 miles yesterday and the furthest I plan to run this week (/will allow myself to run) is 3.1 miles. This week I have committed to relaxing, eating healthy, and crossing things off of my to-do list that I haven't been able to do since I moved home from California.

I can't believe I've already been home a month!! I miss California sooo much, but hey, I'll go back soon - it's only a matter of time. Since being home, I think I have taken a greater appreciation for things I used to take for granted - like the convenience of a real mall, grocery stores other than Whole Foods, Safeway & Trader Joe's (trust me, they get old after a while!), and hills on my runs. MOM's Organic Market is hands down my favorite grocery store. Seriously, this store got me through college. I would ride my bike or run to the one in College Park and just meander through the aisles, without even buying anything sometimes. It was therapy for me. Now I'm home and it's still like therapy for me :)

As some of you may have heard, I had a pretty nasty fall on my run Thursday--I could barely walk Friday and Saturday and somehow I woke up yesterday with very little pain, allowing me to squeeze in my 10 miler. This week my goals are : figure out what I'm wearing for race day and make one kick ass playlist (even though I probably won't even listen to it as I run).

Today was my last day of work until next week when I get back from the New York Marathon. As soon as I got off work, I came home and COOKED ! It's been way too long - the kitchen has been calling my name. For about two hours, I cooked spaghetti squash, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, chicken, and sweet potatoes! Hopefully this will keep me fueled for race day. I also had a great evening sweat date with myself at Bikram Yoga Columbia  -- I've never cried during yoga, but tonight I definitely did - hey, there's a first for everything!!

Things I'm scared of this weekend:
1. Oversleeping - it happened for the 2011 Army 10-miler, and this year I'm not trying to miss the boat to the start (literally).. I have accepted the fact I will get very little sleep this weekend
2. Being hungry at the start - I won't actually start running until like 10:15 on Sunday morning....maybe I'll stop and get a steak dinner mid-marathon?
3. Sucking. Rule #1: Don't suck

Other than that, nothing. Bring it on world!! xoxo


PS - My goal is to head West again in January -- stay tuned :)

It's time to taper!

In my opinion tapering sucks. When you are training you can't wait until it's time to taper, and then when it actually is time to taper, all you wish you could do is run. Since I had (well, in my opinion) sub-par running experiences last weekend, I decided to make my 13 miler today a chance to make up for it. I laced up my good ole Saucony Guides and took trit trot several times around Centennial Lake.

My main issue last weekend at the Baltimore Running Festival was not the fact that I hadn't been training, it was the fact that you aren't supposed to think about anything when you run, and I was thinking about literally everything there was to think about when I ran. Today it was a struggle to get to mile 5, but once I was there I could have kept running for a full 26.2! Alas, I had to force myself to stop at 13.1. There were two old guys that made the run enjoyable - one was playing a harmonica and the other cheered for me every lap I made.

My goal for the next two weeks is to figure out what I'm wearing on race day, stay healthy, and remember it's TAPER TIME!

Baltimore Half Marathon 2013

Me after my 8th half marathon!
Finished in 2:14

It wasn't pretty, but I did it!! I just completed my 8th half marathon! This was my 4th year in a row doing the Baltimore Half Marathon and I struggled. Should not have had that whole wheat bagel with PB on it before I started!

In light of what happened in Boston back in April, his year there was an obvious increase in security for the Baltimore Running Festival. This was also the first year that Under Armour wasn't the head sponsor -- and I think it was pretty obvious to those of us who have done the run in years past. Maybe CSE decided to spend more of their money on security - who knows. My only real complaints about the race were:

• The starting line was moved and as soon as we made our first right there were cars and even a bus of Relay runners blocking the path of 10,000 half marathoners. 
• There were some water stops without volunteers - or an adequate amount of volunteers. 
• Around Lake Montebello there weren't as many bands as there normally are , which made that part of the race a struggle for some of us. The second half of the race was A+ in my book - the Tiger by Union Memorial and all of the upbeat music made the second part of the run leaps and bounds better than the first!
• Runners were told that the finish line was being moved closer to Camden Yards to eliminate some of the congestion in the Finish Line Festival. I'm not sure if it was because I was 18 minutes slower than my time last year, but the Finish Line Festival was more crowded at the entrance than in years past. There were lots of tables with the medals in areas that would normally be open. At the Finish Line Festival, there was also no composting or recycling. Was UA paying for this? Not sure, but this is something I don't know why they got rid of. Last year they had composting & recycling teams! 

Other than that, I enjoyed the race. Baltimore always has a great Running Festival and I am looking forward to next year!

Funny Running Videos

Here are some funny running videos I have come across. Posting these now since it is officially fall, which is marathon season! Best of luck to everyone with their final weeks of training!
Marathon Thoughts
Marathon Runner's Monday Morning at Work
The 8 Stages of Running A Marathon

Fall Running

This evening I came to the conclusion that I absolutely despise out & back runs; unless they are tempo runs.
As I was running this evening, I realized how blessed I am to be able to have some time on the East Coast this fall. I have been working a lot and don't have my car, but I've been able to enjoy it through my alone time on my runs. I'm looking forward to my long run tomorrow with a friend - hopefully I can kick myself in the butt and do it. I tripped on my run tonight and got banged up pretty bad but hey, I got up and kept going. Can't wait for the Baltimore Half & NYC marathon.
I can't wait to bake - I wish I had someone to bake for! I want to make apple crisp and pumpkin cookies but when you're a 20 something entrepreneur it's hard to find the time to do it!
A new adventure is in store for me later this week - stay tuned!

Location:Hunters Run Dr,Cockeysville,United States

My reaction to WSJ "The Slowest Generation"

I work part time at a running store on the west coast by the name of See Jane Run, and their social media gal passed around this article this morning found in the Wall Street Journal. The article, "The Slowest Generation: Younger Athletes Are Racing With Less Concern About Time" gives an interesting perspective on us millennials and how we feel about running. One of my friends asked how I felt about it and I posted my reaction on Facebook, but here is it for all of you not following me on Facebook:

I agree that it is great to have themed runs like the Color Run, Tough Mudder, Diva Dash, etc etc available to get people out there and exercising, but when it comes to racing things like the half marathon and full marathon have now become a "bucket-list" items when they were once elite athletes only. 

I'm not against these themed runs by any means - I'm thrilled to see family and friends getting out there and running/exercising. I'm also not against folks doing halfs or fulls, or races of any distance for that matter, as "bucket-list" items, I just hope they train wisely and don't wake up one morning and do it without training at all. I am not an elite runner but I do know most folks that are considered elite runners strategically choose which races they will be participating in based on who their competition will be, so they don't really have to worry about running with "novices" - if they do, they chose to run that race!

I am 100% a firm believer that "More 'average' people running = possibility of ranking higher more easily." Something that does perturb me is that "Many new runners come from a mind-set where everyone gets a medal and it's good enough just to finish." This didn't bother me until last year when a bunch of runners were all up in arms that they ran the Baltimore Running Festival 5K and didn't get medals like the rest of the runners in other distances at the Festival did. It was stated plain and clear on the race website that 5K runners would NOT receive medals and to my knowledge it had always been that way in previous BRF races. The BRF crew decided to go out of their way and send all of the 5k participants medals (I'm pretty sure, or they were promising them medals this year) -- this was ridiculous. You signed up for the race knowing you wouldn't get a medal! Your entry fee was significantly cheaper due to this as well!

I do not agree that everyone is becoming lazy. Every race I run I try to make faster than my last; it is up to the runners to set personal goals for themselves, not race organizers. Yes, there are cut off times, but it is ultimately up to the runner how fast they run and what they want to get out of the race - they are paying for it! (Most races are quite pricey these days too!)

20 miler & East Coast

Wow! Just realized how long it has been since I last posted. Since my last post, I flew to and from the East Coast twice in the span of a week. I'm now back on the East Coast for a few weeks to help oversee production for our company.

Two weekends ago I went out and did my 20-mile training run on the NCR Trail. What really helped me was the fact that I broke it up into four 5-mile runs mentally. It took me much longer than I had anticipated but I'm really glad I did it. I wish there were more hills! I have yet to decide if I will do another 20 mile training run... I feel like I might have another one in me, I just don't want to over do it. I was supposed to run 14-16 miles this past weekend, but time got away from me...maybe I'll do that run this week? I'm not too concerned about my training because I've been running consistently for the past year or so, with a few short breaks in there, and I know I can run a full marathon - I've done it twice before!

One of my biggest challenges when I'm training for a half or a full is what I eat! I know after long runs you're supposed to reward yourself, but sometimes I feel like I reward myself a lot (maybe that just means I'm running a lot :)). I usually run 4-5 times a week and eat as healthy as I can; but when you're traveling, it's not as easy to eat healthy, especially when you're working for a startup in bootstrap mode.

I remember sitting in my room out in San Francisco a few weeks ago, getting really home sick and missing the fall - who would have known that I would be back on the East Coast to enjoy the best time of year.