Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Vermont City Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews!
the week:
Since I’m traveling to Burlington for the Vermont City Marathon, I wanted to focus on that for this Weekly Therapy. The Taper Crazies have grabbed hold!
weekend:
MARATHON WEEKEND!!! I have a couple days in Burlington to explore before the race. It’s been 5 years since my last visit. Besides Citizen Cider, which is already DEFINITELY on my list, what else should I see or do? Any gluten-free recommendations?
seven things at Vermont City Marathon that I’m excited about:
1. OMG, views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.
2. FREE RACE PHOTOS! Thanks, Vermont Department of Tourism.
3. The Sport & Fitness Expo because I’m a sucker for race swag and finding buying local Vermont products.
4. Pre-race PASTA FEED (yes, there’s gluten-free!).
5. I always love to hear the entertainment along the course, but I’m also excited for…
6. A candy stop AND ice pop aid station. ?
7. Crossing that finish line and celebrating another finished marathon!
the week:
I had to give a presentation at work this week and if you know me: I HAD TO GIVE A PRESENTATION. This, coming from someone who had to drop public speaking THREE TIMES in college. Every thing about it scared the crap out of me, but I was given the opportunity and wanted to get past The Thing that I typically reject on account of nerves and fear and other silly personality defects and comfort zones. All that aside, I DID IT.
*THUMBS UP EMOJI*
weekend:
This weekend is the Living History Farm Race — 7-ish miles of dodging mud and farm animals (yep, farm animals!) and other obstacles. Think of it as a Tough Mudder: Iowa Style. The promise is that it will be cold, dirty, and wet. Everything about that sounds terrible, no?
seven things, seven days:
1. I hit the halfway point of the 100 Striders Miles Challenge for November!
2. Work hosted a thanksgiving potluck – and there was an insane amount of food that I couldn’t eat. ?
3. I finally got out to a group run at Fleet Feet in downtown Des Moines — and it was Saucony demo day!
4. Speaking of Saucony, did you see (or buy?) their RunBox?
5. The Container Store is opening this weekend in West Des Moines, and we went to its fancy preview party. It was so nuts – but completely awesome! Check it out and shop this weekend, as a percentage of proceeds benefit local charity Variety.
6. Why our brains respond differently to Classical music. {via Pacific Standard}
7. What a cool research project — and discovery behind one of Cleveland’s historic landmarks.
I took a break from posting, along with my Recovery week(s). Here’s a quickie wrap-up from my last and final week of training for the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon.
Let’s list all the things I did during my Taper Madness:
So. Much. Laundry.
Meal Planning for an entire workweek
Made an extra treat for our workplace “tailgating” food day (these Buffalo Quinoa bites with a yogurt-gorgonzola dip — so good!)
Signed up for more races (haaaaaaaaaaa)
Week 12, though, was all about mentally and physically preparing myself for race day. Everything this week was an easy run, and I started all of my easy runs with 10-minutes of foam rolling. (Friday, was more like 8-ish minutes because I was just impatient to get my run over with… I KNOW, I KNOW.)
MONDAY
Rest Day — and my last call with my coach before the race. Though it was an easy week for running, she still gave me some work to do, to prepare mentally and help visualize my success at the race. One exercise that I really enjoyed was going back through my training spreadsheet and picking out every hard workout and good run. Despite an entire training cycle of high temps and humidity (and bitching and moaning), I had a lot of successes on my list.
TUESDAY
Easy Run + Strides = 2.4 miles
WEDNESDAY
Easy Run (forgot my Strides, whoops!) = 2.0 miles
THURSDAY
Rest
FRIDAY
Easy run + Strides = 2.2 miles
SATURDAY
Rest Day — and Expo!
SUNDAY
Race Day for the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon — read my Race Recap! = 13.3 miles
WEEKLY RUNS: 4
WEEKLY MILES: 19.9 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 217.26 miles
That’s a lot of miles! And that’s exactly why I took an ENTIRE week off of running immediately following the half.
Up next: While I do have several races coming up (including two half marathons), I’m not training specifically for any time goals. My Accountability Mondays will look a little different in November, as I attempt a 100-mile Challenge for the month; the rest of my training will be getting me stronger to jump into Marathon training at the beginning of next year.
the week:
I’m finally Iowa official and got my new state driver’s license. I need it in this state to register to vote (we don’t have the 30-day deadline as I experienced in previous states, but we can vote early here), and frankly, seven months was long enough to procrastinate. It’s kinda sad to give up my last tie of being a Pennsylvania resident.
weekend:
RACE WEEKEND!!!! I’ll try my best to relax for the next couple days, as I pull together all of my race day preparations, including getting downtown to enjoy a little bit of the Expo. We have another Iowa game tailgate Saturday morning, so trying to also do fun things to ward off any race day nervousness.
seven things, seven days:
1. I’m running another marathon in 2017! — and registration is now open for the Vermont City Marathon. Save $5 on registration with discount code BibRaveDsct17.
2. Meal Planning worked out REALLY WELL for me this week, and the jar salads that I made for lunch kept me full through the remainder of my work day. Definitely making this a weekly habit!
3. Have you heard of Book of the Month? I got my first book — this is my kind of monthly subscription! [referral link]
4. Container Store is opening in West Des Moines. SOON. (all the exclamation points!!!)
5. FedEx does its deliveries at 8am… And when it’s WINE, it’s both hilarious and WTF. He laughed and told me that my breakfast was ready.
6. I really like this running-focused article on sports psychology at work: Train your brain to run your best {via Runner’s World} Thanks, Coach!
7. Training (and staying strong) for a running SEASON. {via Runner’s World}
I’m so excited that Fall weather has arrived, and I spent my week mapping out what races I wanted to do over the next couple months (including staying up late again last night to register for one that frequently sells out). I also spent a considerable amount of time pinning pumpkin recipes. I’m pretty excited about my schedule — varied distances, trail races, another half marathon, AND a fun “adventure” run.
If you missed my news on twitter, I committed to running the Vermont City Marathon in 2017! Online registration opens up on rOctober 10 — save $5 with discount code BibRaveDsct17.
weekend:
I’m off on a little adventure to Omaha. BYE!
seven things, seven days:
1. Kinda bummed out about the membership fee increase for LifeTime (unsure if it’s a global pricing change). I’m reconsidering the ROI — particularly because I utilize the facility for a lot of special events, which cost me even MORE on top of my monthly charge. Ehhhhh, I hate making these kind of decisions.
2. Small win this week: I wore my hair down for an ENTIRE day of work!
3. Now that I’m officially on the payroll, adjusting to not getting paid every week is HARD.
4. 3 Reasons to own your career in 2017 — love this article, particularly the section on “martyrdom” {via INC}
5. The death of the phone call. Also BYE. {via Slate}
6. I had no idea that The Secret of NIMH was based on a real-life research project — how did I spend the bulk of my childhood and adult life not realizing that the NIMH of the movie was the acronym for National Institute of Mental Health?! {via Atlas Obscura}
7. Practice matters… but it doesn’t make perfect. {via New Yorker}
The second of my back-to-back 10-mile weekends of this training plan included the Capital Pursuit race. This race is held annually, and is the right distance and timing leading up to the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon. No ifs, ands, buts about it: This race felt AWESOME for me. Though it also made the reality of a 2-hour time for this upcoming half seem pretty unrealistic (but so in reach!!!). I won’t focus my thoughts there quite yet.
Race day prep!
Registration and Cost: The Capital Pursuit was super inexpensive for a 10-mile race, AND I saved $5 being a Capital Striders member — $40 in advance, $45 day of race. I registered online through GetMeRegistered.com for a total $38.69 charge (which obviously included some fees). There was also a 5K run as part of the Pursuit.
Expo and Packet Pick-Up: No expo, but packet pick-up was the day before at Fitness Sports in the Swanson Depot in Clive, or you could pick up your bib on race day. Note: No bag check or transportation at this race.
Free Swag: A nice blue long-sleeve tech shirt with the Capital Pursuit logo.
Charity: A portion of the race proceeds assist Iowa Kidstrong, Inc. — promoting healthy, active lifestyles among children. There were about 40 See Us Run students and their running mentors racing the 10-Miler.
Start Line: Plenty of Kybos (that’s Iowan for port-o-potty) and a DJ to entertain the runners at the start. We lined up at the Locust & 15th Street intersection at Western Gateway Park, heading straight into the city.
Weather: Well… it was sunny and mid-50s when I woke up. But 90% humidity. So while it didn’t feel oppressively hot, I was sweating profusely throughout the race (in a tank and shorts in 50 degrees, wtf Iowa). I’m glad that I opted not to wear a hat, to be honest. Official race weather states: 60s and partly cloudy. -_-
Course: I guess the course changed this year (I have no reference, but a couple people said this to me), supposedly skipping one of the hills going towards the capital building. But this year’s route was a nice out-and-back, running into the city, then out into the neighborhoods near Drake University where it was so peaceful. I was impressed by the elevation changes running back into town on Ingersoll — though the skinny lane with regular traffic outside our set of orange cones made me nervous at times.. And then there was that nice “sweet spot” of a downhill at the end of the race. A few weird turns near the end of the course, but I enjoyed sprinting in on that straight-away down Locust towards the finish line.
Fans and Experience: A few fans along the course (though not many), and water/Gatorade stations with volunteers at about every 2 miles. I made a new running friend, naturally, and we ran together and chatted for nearly the entirety of the race — even getting him to sprint with me to the finish.
The boyfriend caught this great movement shot of me sprinting into the finish line — look at them legs!
Finish Line: I love, love, LOVE when the runners’ names are announced at the finish line. And we got medals! There was also a tent set up with a BUNCH of post-race snacks — the usual bananas, but an additional spread of bagels and orange slices and more.
After Party: There was an after party with, supposedly, a bunch of food and free drinks for participants at Exile Brewing… but it didn’t start until 10:30am. I walked down to the brewery and realized this when NOBODY was there. Kind of dumb, considering the start time of the race and anticipated finish times. Eh, great idea in theory, but I didn’t feel like waiting around another half hour.
Bonus: Chocolate milk at the finish line, YAY!
Random Bullshit: A TRAIN. Yep, a set of train tracks runs through downtown Des Moines and right on schedule during the first couple miles of the race. I heard its horn, and saw the light creeping around the corner — and I booked it over that set of tracks. I didn’t look back to see if anyone got caught up, but MAN… that’s not something you plan for AT ALL for race day.
OVERALL The Great: Can’t beat a PR race! That’s two PR races in one month for me!!! The Good: Putting a plan in place and getting in a GOOD training practice for race day. The Bad: A MOVING TRAIN, YOU GUYS! Not ugly for me, but… holy crap. The Ugly: (Men-folk, look away your sensitive eyes on this one) My freaking period started the night before the race (3 days early). It looks like I’ll be on my cycle for the half now, too, and that is NEVER fun to practice. >:-(
Chocolate Milk!
Splits: 9:19 — WHOOOPS, started a bit too fast here! Blame it on the train 😉 (1) / 10:07 (2) / 10:35 (3) / 10:55 (4) / 10:50 (5) / 10:48 (6) / 10:45 (7) / 10:24 (8) / 9:45 (9) / 9:21 (10) — Check out the second half of that race! ?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
1:43:16 (no chip time)
#279 overall
45th in my age group
WHEW, what a week! There was a lot of tough work, but my spirits are super high. There are several small places where I can see opportunities to improve — and totally achievable, at that! — that it’s given me the gumption to keep working at this Big Goal. I even had a PR on my 10-mile race this week, which is always an enjoyable element in fueling motivation.
But here we go: Less than a month to race day!
WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Two easy runs
One speed workout (SPRINTS!)
One long run — coinciding with RACE DAY!
One core + one strength workout
Week in the life of half marathon training!
MONDAY
Rest day, and my biweekly call with my coach. I really needed a confidence boost, after too much negative self-talk. Receiving feedback and mental tips is one of the many amazing reasons to have a coach. She really helps me reign in and release this future-focused, all-or-nothing thinking. My old carry-over mantra from derby — “I can do anything for two minutes!” — has been revised to “I can do this right now.”
TUESDAY
Jump rope x 100 + strength workout (this workout always kicks my butt!)
WEDNESDAY
On the backside of my housing development, there’s a nice stretch of sidewalk to do some speedy sprints (is that redundant?). This week’s workout was HARD! But, fun hard. There were a couple walkers on the opposite side of the street trying to figure out my crazy, which just made me laugh more at myself.
That said, I found myself pooping out 40 seconds into every interval. My warm-up was 10 minutes (9:25 pace), followed by 1:1 sprints/recovery jog (spoiler alert: couldn’t even jog!) x 10. That madness ended with another 10-min cool down run (12:23 pace, whomp).
Zero energy to do my core workout after that, so I bumped it to after my Thursday easy run.
THURSDAY
Treadmill Thursday: 4.20 miles, 45:34
Splits: 10:36 / 10:56 / 11:12 / 10:49
Ended with Wednesday’s core workout. 😉
Treadmill Life (you need a good book!)
FRIDAY
REST Day (and Date Night). We went to members’ preview opening of the Vivian Maier exhibit at the Arts Center, followed by dinner at Eatery A.
SATURDAY
Back on my treadmill (the humidity is back, you guys) for an easy, SLOW 3-miler.
Splits: 12:09 / 11:56 / 11:41
SUNDAY
RACE DAY! And It. Was. AWESOME. Despite the humidity (OMG SERIOUSLY, WHERE IS FALL?!) making a comfortable 55 degrees feel 20 degrees warmer, I felt great for this 10-mile run.
I really focused on my coach’s prescribed “easy 7-mile run” mentality, which seemed to help! And I felt like I had the right amount of energy to increase my pace for the latter part of the race.
You know what was weird about this run? How good I felt on zero fuel. No GU or gluten-free figgies (though I had them both on me); no Gatorade on the course. I even packed a salt tab, too, JUST IN CASE. When I lined up for the start, that’s when I realized that I forgot to eat my pre-race GU. I just shrugged it off, thinking “I have two!” in case things went bad (read: I got SUPER hungry). I had my usual race morning breakfast (egg sandwich, holla!). And I only sipped water at the fuel stops (this race had stations at about every 2 miles). Totally, completely perplexing.
10 miles, 10:16 pace overall.
Anyways, I’ll have a race recap up soon!
WEEKLY RUNS: 4 WEEKLY MILEAGE: 21.2 miles TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 131.76 total miles!
I’ve been completely inspired by podcasts these last few weeks. Today’s title quote comes from Episode 7 of the BibRave Podcast — an incredible interview with Race Director of THE Boston Marathon, Dave McGillivray.
the week:
I’ve felt very harried and scattered all week, despite getting plenty of good sleep and not changing anything in my schedule. My to-do list feels a mile long, and I’m really anxious at getting a lot done this weekend. I don’t know… it’s like nesting or something but without the pregnancy. Maybe because of the changing seasons?
weekend:
Tonight is the members’ preview of the Vivian Maier photography exhibit at the Des Moines Art Center. YOU MUST ATTEND THIS EXHIBIT! It’s open through January 22. We’re also having dinner at Eatery A for the first time. So, I guess we’re having a date night.
seven things, seven days:
1. Today is National Run at Work Day — kinda bummed that I found out about it too late to plan something. I participated last year and had a blast!
2. I’m so proud of LifeTime in taking steps to implement a social media policy, restricting use of photos in locker rooms, saunas, and other private areas — and adding: No member may capture another member’s likeness without their consent. YES.
3. That time I went to BibChat and wasn’t wearing pants. ? ? ?
4. Are you recovering properly? {via Appetite for Health}
5. How do you feel about getting older? Well… it’s complicated. {via Pacific Standard}
6. The appeal of Botox — the savior of Resting Bitch Face {via Pacific Standard}
7. Couldn’t miss this article all week — Hint: it’s about SUGAR (Ugh!) {via NYT}
the week:
My buddy Glen Hansard spoke those words {see post title} in Pete Holmes’ podcast You Made it Weird. A beautiful sentiment, no? He’s so dreamy. But seriously, I’ve been ruminating on those words for a week.
Nonetheless, interesting to think about mastery in terms of love — and not just in loving other human beings. Becoming passionate about something comes with the process of mastery, but you don’t necessarily love it any less when it kicks you down or breaks your heart. That continuous growth is what keeps it exciting, fulfilling, challenging, content… what keeps you humble. All the things that keep romantic love alive just the same. No more philosophical thinking from me. Much to anxious this week.
weekend:
Saturday morning is the Fineview Step Challenge — a course that is one part road race, one part trail race and another part obstacle course. Not to mention the many, MANY flights of stairs. I loved doing this one last year. Of course, I’ll be taking it easy and enjoying the view (and the hot chocolate) from the top.
I still need to pull out my Halloween decorations from the basement too.
52 books in 52 weeks:
#34: Wild by Cheryl Strayed — I LOVED this book, and was entertained and engaged throughout. While her personality is mostly annoying (at times, even repulsive), I enjoyed reading about the characters in the story and how those connections impacted her growth. To be honest, I’ve longed to become a hiker since I love the outdoors so much, and this book — while wholly improbable for an over-planner like me — provided a little kick-in-the-ass to start somewhere. Is there a hiking group in Pittsburgh?
seven things, seven days:
1. I started my week IN A POOL. Outdoors. In Western Pennsylvania. Oh, did I mention it’s OCTOBER. I savored every moment.
2. I also started my week with a gnarly drinking-induced sickness. Woof. No more wine pairings with a 7-course dinner.
3. I also took a vacation day this week; though this week still feels long.
4. Got notice as well about having to move my office soon-ish. I figured it was inevitable, and thankfully I still have an office. With a door.
5. Last weekend, to unplug, I deleted my social media apps off my phone. I still haven’t put them back, although since coming home I find myself going to Facebook via the browser from time-to-time. Certainly, much less than usual though. While I feel “unplugged,” I also feel wholly disengaged. I’m texting more, ironically.
6. Have you guys tried FLYJOY bars yet? I AM OBSESSED.
7. IMPACTFUL: The Digital Breakup {via The School of Enough}
My first Cherry Blossom race — and my first time seeing the cherry blossoms at peak bloom season in DC! The last ten weeks of training have brought me to this 10-mile race. Which, if you’ve read any other recaps or followed along this weekend, was shortened because of an unfortunate accident on the course. I am wholly impressed by the race directors and what they were able to accomplish given the timing of the accident and the start of the race.
Doing a Sunday race was WAY better than last month’s Saturday race, where we had to rush into DC on a Friday after work, and someone else had to grab my packet/bib. That said, it was nice to stay an extra day last month and enjoy many mimosas after crossing that finish line. This time, however, it was more in-and-out then sticking around to enjoy the city, but the little we did enjoy was enhanced by some beautiful weather and spring-like surroundings.
Lining up, I was excited to run into some fellow SCRR peeps in my corral and to start the first part of the race with, given that my friends were running late because of the metro (they ended up finishing at a 9:30/pace, so I wouldn’t have run with them for long anyway).
Steel City Road Runners represent! (I’m on the right showing off my neck muscles again.)
Registration and Cost: Entry to this race was on a lottery system (spoiler alert: I got in!) and my registration was about $80; I upgraded to a tech shirt and purchased a medal.
Expo and Packet Pick-Up: Orderly, for sure, and a beautiful space in the National Buildings Museum, but nothing about the expo itself provoked me to stay around and hang out (or buy anything). I mean, how many times do I have to see the same lotion lady and stim machines? To be honest, I really was interested in new shoes, but the expo wasn’t screaming out any brands. Also, it was kind of annoying to pick up bibs and t-shirts in different places (and on different floors). Even the sign that read “Pick up all shirts here” wasn’t even where I picked up my upgraded shirt (it was at the end of the row of tables).
Oh, and because the swag bag was virtual, I didn’t have any safety pins. Nobody reminded me about the safety pins. This should be programmed in the volunteers heads when handing over those bibs. But I did find one of the coolest Walgreens I’ve ever seen (in a search for said safety pins).
Bag check: Didn’t use. My hotel was about a mile from the start line, so I walked with all the gear I needed. Speaking of which…
Weather: B.E.A-UTIFUL. All that spring and none of the allergies either! The start line was a little chilly, but I had a thin pair of gloves which were easily stuffed in my pants when I warmed up.
Course: Because of the earlier mentioned incident, the first four miles were re-routed, making the course run short. I really was looking forward to that path around the basin too. Oh well, next year Lottery Gods. Those back miles down-around Hains Point though… WOOF. If it weren’t pretty and bloomy, it would be incredibly boring. Also, it was crowded.
Fans and Experience: I laughed and smiled and high-fived throughout the course — these race fans were PROS. I chuckled at many of the signs; there were several about brunch, which TORTURE ARTISTS. My favorite though was one that read “You’ve done dumber things when you were drunk.” #truth
I found myself pausing or pulling out my earbuds at various points of the course to take everything in. The miles kind of blend in together, but I think it was Mile 3 where there was a DJ; there was also an amazing drum band near the end of the course. I always get a thrill when runners start screaming in tunnels and underpasses.
Random Bullshit: My Songza shit the bed before I even hit the 5K mark and I had to restart the app… which told me at the most convenient time that I wasn’t logged in. It was at that point I realized that I also hadn’t synced my songs from the cloud to my phone since upgrading my device. So I was that lady trying to remember my password and log into my account WHILE I WAS RUNNING. Nailed it.
Finish Line: WHERE IS THE WATER?! WHERE ARE THE BANANAS? OH GOD HELP ME.
This may sound hyperbolic but a horrifying reality after you’ve run for an hour-and-forty minutes. That finish line chute took forever. And why the hell do you put photo booths before the water stations?!
AND WHERE THE HELL ARE THE BANANAS?! (I never did find them.)
Medals and Swag: “I’m not winning any money, so you best believe I paid for the medal.” Truer words were never spoken. Fun fact, at the Cherry Blossom race, they don’t put medals on you at the finish line — you have to pick them up at another location. Which would have been helpful had I remembered THREE BLOCKS EARLIER. (Yes, I had to walk back when I saw someone else wearing one.) I am wholly incapable of any thought but food after running. Why was this so complicated?! Did I mention crowded?
Worth it.
Bonus: FUN RACE DAY PICTURES!
Notable 30-somethings: Heck yeah, 32-year-old Serena Burla placed 1st in the U.S. Women’s Division; there were several 30-something women in the top 25 in the Open Division. So inspiring! Fist bump.
Found my friends after the race — that one on the left just ran her 10th Cherry Blossom (along with her mom!) and now has legacy status.
After party: that would be a three pigs omelet at City Tap House, and then a four hour-drive back home to Pittsburgh.
Overall: I really loved this race, and I really hoped to run faster. But I felt SO GOOD while doing it and had some kind of peaceful journey over those miles.
I mean, that picture says it all, doesn’t it?
Immediately after I finished, however, my left knee felt like it locked up (yes, the same knee that was giving me trouble last month). And on the same side, my foot was SCREAMING. I was hobbling back to the hotel (and, ack! had to wear flip-flops to brunch because of my swollen feet). I have no idea what is happening on my left side, but an emergency massage was in order this week.
