Sandy Runs

February races = DONE. I ran a race every Sunday in February (5K, 5K, 10K, half marathon). The goal of these races was just to get my butt outside and run. Now that my injury isn’t so bad, I’m able to run more, but it’s been tough to motivate myself to do it, after running only on race days for so many months. It’s even harder to get out there in the winter, and this winter has been cold. Scot and I traveled to Columbus OH to visit my friends and family, and to run Last Chance for Boston . Two years ago, this half marathon was my qualifying race for Half Fanatics . This year, I repeated that distance, and Scot ran the full marathon to maintain his streak of one marathon per month since September 2012.  Early marathon starters: Andrea, Scot, Jennifer, Bill, Pascal At the half marathon start: Jeff, Tammy, Me, Jenn Last Chance for Boston doesn’t have an interesting course; it’s one-mile loops through a suburban office park. But it is a well-managed event for the mid-winter ...

Well, I'm one more short, local race into February. Before the month is up, I will have run a race on every Sunday of February. This last one was the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K , billed as "Ye Oldest Race in Alexandria", VA. It was the third Pacers race of the year, and so far I'm a streaker of the 2014 Pacers races (that will change in March).  It was the coldest race of the year, so I was quite bundled up...maybe a little too much; I had to tie my jacket around my waist after half a mile. My extremities were adequately covered, but I've noticed that my body never completely warms up on these really cold days. I have less energy than I think I should. My muscles rebel against the cold temps. And that surprises me, as I trained for my very first marathon (the 2005 Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans) during the winter, and often ran in the cold and with snow on the ground. But these days, I just can't seem to warm up and run efficiently....

Getting a little frustrated with my lack of training.   Yes, I ran another 5K this week, but I didn’t do much else.   Never mind that I was in a minor car accident, which has eaten up some of my time with visiting the doctor, the massage therapist (ended up with a stiff neck), and the body shop, and never mind the continuing Arctic temperatures.   I still need to be making time for more and better training.   I believe I only worked out once besides the race, and that was only to go on a 2.5 mile walk.   So, on to the race… On Sunday Scot and I attended the annual Love the Run You’reWith 5K , the second in the Pacers race series for 2014.   This was my first time running the race.   It has a Valentine’s Day theme, and when you register you have to self-identify as single (“Stupid Cupid”), in a relationship (“Co-Dependent”), or it’s complicated (“Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em).   Each relationship category had a different colored bib, so the single p...

My racing schedule has a two month break in between marathons.   That’s longer than I’ve gone in between 26.2 attempts in quite some time.   So, to make up for it, I’m needing to schedule shorter races and – gulp – I may even need to do a long training run or two.   This past weekend was all about shorter distances and strength training. After working late on Friday night (almost until 8:00 PM), I was too tired to think about working out.   Scot and I had been doing some strength work and calisthenics since the New Year as part of the Endurance Sports Connection ’s ESCape your Weight Challenge.   We mostly did the exercises in the evening.   Instead, I decided to double-up on Saturday and do my exercises both on Saturday morning and on Saturday evening.  This is the exercise challenge for February.  It's MUCH, MUCH easier than January's.   Saturday was a good day.   I slept in a little bit, then did my morning exercise...