Coffee and My Friday 5

February 7, 2014 by 9 Comments

I’ve got my favorite mug filled so it’s time for another round of my Friday Five.

Don’t think, just go — My joy of returning to the great outdoors was short-lived as snow and icy roads have sent me back to the mill  this week. But I have refused to get hung up about it…don’t think, just go!

Senior Posse — The January fanfare at the gym has subsided so the one benefit of returning to the mill is the ease at which I can find a parking pace in the lot and I get my choice of machines once inside. One interesting trend I have noticed this week is how many seniors have been showing up – and unlike some of their younger counterparts, they’re there to workout, not chat! I love it!

baa5kFamily running — My oldest has picked his next 5K! He’ll be joining me for the B.A.A. 5K on Marathon weekend. J also decided to register so it looks like it’s time for some family training runs 🙂

#FFBurpee Challenge — As I wrap-up the first week of the burpee challenge, I have no problem admitting that this challenge is kicking my butt! I’ve been trying to do some burpees in the morning and then the rest in the evening so it doesn’t feel so daunting. My youngest son’s been joining me for the evening round and you can’t beat his enthusiasm for motivation!

Quiet Weekend Ahead — Aside from the usual chauffeuring  the boys around to meet friends and get to their sports commitments, I’m looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend in the RWA household.  With the amount of racing around that is the norm around here, I’ve learned to really savor these weekends where there’s actually white space on the calendar.

How’s your week been? Any weekend plans?

 

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Filed Under: #FFBurpee, family running, Friday Five

My Best 5K

July 22, 2013 by 14 Comments

Sunday morning I ran my best 5K yet!

And there was no PR or great bling involved. The race itself was full of logistically glitches typical of a new race (mis-measured course, not enough porta potties…you get the idea).

picmonkey_image (5)It was the best 5K because I got to run with my son as he completed his first 5K!

I watched him push himself to go further than he’d ever run before (and in very warm conditions!), watched him experience both the “I can’t believe I’m about to do this!” moments, along with the “what if I can’t finish” moments.

We had a great conversation along the way – none of which I’ll share here…stays between Mom and son. Except that I will say about half way through he started talking about his next race – “it should be in the fall when it’s cooler and I’ll be better trained” – at that moment I knew that despite the heat and walk breaks, he was really enjoying himself!

picmonkey_image (4) I especially loved seeing the look on his face when he knew the finish line was close and watching him sprint to the end! It was a proud mama moment for me from beginning to end – and I can’t wait to do it again 🙂

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Filed Under: #13in2013, family running, firsts, race report

Finish at the 50 10K Recap

July 5, 2013 by 6 Comments

Finish at 50 logo

On Wednesday,  the whole family once again ventured out to Gillette Stadium to take part in the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50. This was our second year doing this event – my oldest participated in the kids’ races and I ran the 10K. J and my youngest son played chief cheerleaders – which quiet honestly may have been the smarter choice!

OK so how to write this recap without it being a complete whine-fest about the heat?! Let me start by saying it was 88 degrees with a dewpoint of 70 – translation the heat and humidity combination was downright oppressive! Combined with the late day start time (6:30 p.m.), this morning runner was way out of my comfort zone!

The Good Stuff

  • The kids races were a lot of fun and my oldest son did great!

    getting a "Congrats!" from Pat the Patriot

    getting a “Congrats!” from Pat the Patriot

  • They changed the location of the 10K starting line so we started in the shade this year
  • The 5K race started an hour before the 10K to help elevate the crowded start
  • Several wonderful residents of Foxborough took pity on us runners and broke out their hoses for some impromptu misting stations – bless them!
  • Enthusiastic volunteers did a great job at the water stops and generally just being really encouraging
  • Challenging course with the first 4.5 miles on a rolling out and back through residential neighborhoods before coming back into the stadium for 1.5 miles of ramps before the final tunnel run to finish at the 50-yard line

The Ugly Stuff

  • It was HOT people – just ugly, soul-sucking hot!
  • ramps-smallRunning those ramps — surprisingly, going up the ramps wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was running down them that proved a lot more challenging, especially when you threw in the hairpin turns at each level. By this point my quads were just screaming to be done!

IMG_2160Post race was like one big tailgate party as runners and their families hang out and wait for the fireworks. We enjoyed a great picnic dinner and the fireworks display did not disappoint!

Overall this is a really well-run family event and a fun way to kick-off our 4th of July celebration! I did say to J shortly after finishing that I just don’t see myself running this again next year – at least not the 10K. J said he may try it and I think I’ll be happy to swap roles as chief cheerleader 🙂

Do you run a 4th of July race?

 

 

 

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Filed Under: #13in2013, family running, Finish at the 50, just having fun, race report

A run with my son

June 21, 2013 by 6 Comments

Now that we’re officially registered for my son’s first 5K, he’s been eager to start training! Since he tends to be an early riser, we agreed that maybe trying to run before school would be more practical than waiting until after school (when I know running with mom is not going to be nearly as appealing as hanging out with his friends!)

So yesterday was suppose to be our first run….my early-riser was sound asleep when I went into his room and I just didn’t have the heart to wake him. Last night I told him if he wanted to run it was up to him to come and get me — well guess who was standing over me well before 6 this morning!

my new early morning running partner!

my new early morning running partner!

waiting for the Garmin to find a satellite

waiting on the Garmin

The last time we ran together it was a pattern of sprint, stop, heavy breathing, walk then sprint again – ah yes, the concept of pacing is lost on a 10-year-old boy! So I suggested that our main goal was to slow down a little so we could keep going without stopping.

He agreed to try and then asked if he could wear my Garmin 🙂  So he had important lesson number 2 of the morning – you need to be patient while you wait for the Garmin to find a satellite!

Finally we were off! He went out fast again but I realized if I could keep him talking it would force him to slow down a bit. He was doing great and I just loved the look on his face – just smiling and talking. We had only one short walk break before turning for home – a huge improvement over out last outing!

Leaving me in the dust

Leaving me in the dust

While we’d planned a half mile run, in the end we made it just over a mile! He was very psyched and is already planning our next run – great way to start a day!

 

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Filed Under: family running, just having fun, kids

Family running

June 12, 2013 by 7 Comments

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Finally have a race set with my son – it will be his first 5K! Can’t wait!

If you have kids – do you run/race with them?

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Filed Under: #13in2013, family running, kids

Race plans taking shape

January 14, 2013 by 16 Comments

We had a pretty low-key weekend around my house, which went a long way in helping me to get back to feeling like myself again. I did manage a decent 8 miles on Saturday – actually, I felt surprisingly good! It was the kind of run that reassured me that despite not logging in a lot of miles over these last couple of weeks that I haven’t done too much damage to my fitness level, and that I’m not too far off from where I want to be right now.

So fingers crossed that this cold/crud thing is behind me, I took some time this weekend to try to flesh out my race schedule for at least the first half of the year:

February:
Wampanoag Old-fashioned 10 Miler
Frozen 5K/10K (Virtual race to benefit the American Cancer Society sponsored by Josephine over at Plant Based Runner – check out the details HERE)

March:
New Bedford Half Marathon

April:
BAA 5K

May:
Boston’s Run to Remember  (Goal Race!)

June:
BAA 10K

Registration hasn’t opened yet for the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) races – and they are popular so I’ll have to be quick on the keyboard to get in. I will probably add a local 5K in somewhere along the way. My oldest son has announced that he would like to run a 5K with me this spring so I cannot wait to make that happen!

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Filed Under: #13in2013, BAA, Boston's Run to Remember, family running, Old-fashioned 10 Miler, race calendar

Jingle Bell Run Recap

December 24, 2012 by 7 Comments

Last Sunday I wrapped up my 2012 racing season with the always fun Jingle Bell Run! This time I got to run it with my brother — it was his first 5k and I was so psyched to run it with him!

I had run this race last year with J and my friend E and I swear we were practically the only ones not dressed in some form of costume. Well, after telling my brother about the range of outfits from last year, he decided if he was going to to do this he had to get into the spirit of it. During the week leading up to the run, as I heard about his planned race outfit, I knew I’d have to get in on the act. So with the help of my trusty adviser (aka my 7 year-old) and a trip to Target, I put together a respectable showing 🙂

(These pictures don’t really do our outfits justice. You can’t see my light-up bracelets or the sparkle that covered my Santa hat. And, yes that is a giant ball of mistletoe on my brother’s hat – it was a big hit along with his shirt that said “What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe”)

The race itself once again did not disappoint – it was a lively group with some really creative costumes! My brother had said his goal was to just “finish under my own power” and to have fun doing it. We had a good time laughing at the sights, and it was fun to just go out and run without any concern for time.

Medal/Bottle Opener!

All -in-all a great day and best of all my brother’s talking about his next race!

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Filed Under: family running, Jingle Bell Run, race report

Thursday Thoughts – Back at it

September 27, 2012 by 4 Comments

1)  While I’m still very excited about Saturday’s PR, it was time to get back to training this week – the “A” race, the Chilly Half Marathon is a little more than 6 weeks away. By Sunday evening, Coach Bennett had sent me the next phase of my training plan – the hill repeats have been replaced by speed work. And, while I love being on the track, I’m scurd (yes, that’s beyond scared) just looking at some of these workouts!

2)  When I looked at my splits from ZOOMA, it’s clear that just a couple of miles kept me from an even bigger PR, despite the course’s never-ending hills. I’m really encouraged by that, but know that I have to do everything I can to strengthen my hip/ITB area so they’re not an issue come November.

3)  My brother just asked me to help him to put together a training plan to first get ready for a 5k and then work up to a 10k! Yea another runner in the family – can’t wait to get started!

 

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Filed Under: 3 things, family running, half marathon training

Playing catch up

May 2, 2012 by 10 Comments
Source: Google Images

I’m starting to get that hamster wheel feeling again where I’m running as fast as I can to stay on top of everything! This is literally the third post I’ve started in the past couple of days…the previous two are lying in Blogger ghetto unfinished…hopefully this one will have a better fate.

So I’ve mentioned before that I’m playing race coordinator for my sons’ school 5k and Fun Runs. Well the big event is Sunday and the running joke among our race committee is whether we’ll be bald by then (from pulling our hair out!) Seriously between the last minute requests, finding enough volunteers, and managing all the little logistical details – this has been an almost all-consuming activity in this final week (trust me I have the laundry pile and empty refrigerator to prove it!). At least it looks like Mother Nature will cooperate!

I was just looking back over my April runs and I’m underwhelmed. I had hoped to hit higher mileage, and while I’m feeling pretty good about my speed work and finally getting some hill work in, my long runs have been lackluster. I’ve been dealing with some quirky foot pain on the top inside of my right foot that has led me to cut two of my long runs short. Thankfully, ice, KT Tape, rest and Monday’s trip to the massage therapist all seem to be helping. A nice thing about my April runs is that I did a handful with my friend E – the runs have been chatting and fun, a nice change of pace for this typically solo runner. And, on Saturday, I helped nudge E to her longest distance to date (7 miles!), while getting 8 1/2 pain-free miles for myself. Yesterday was another 5 1/4 comfortable miles, so I’m encouraged I can crank things up a little in May!

I have to give a huge shout-out to my husband J who ran his first trail race on Sunday and placed 3rd AG, and 22nd overall! The boys and I had a ball cheering him on and I love the fact that he’s already scouring race listings for his next trail run 🙂

The “must get done” list is long today, but I’m determined to get my strength training in. Luckily it’s my weekly TRX Rip Trainer class so I’m less likely to put it off than if I were on my own today. I’ve got 6 miles of negative splits on the plan for tomorrow, so fingers-crossed my foot continues to respond well, then I can look to go back to double digits on Saturday.

How’s your week going?
Did you have the April you hoped for?

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Filed Under: family running, foot pain, playing race director, Schedule vs Training, to do list

Thursday Thoughts plus a Winner

April 12, 2012 by 7 Comments

My brain is a bit mush right now….so if you continue reading, just remember you were warned!

Playing race director has me ready to pull my hair out! Managing the logistics isn’t too bad, but securing donors and sponsors…well let’s just say I’d rather walk over hot coals than ask people for money. I am grateful for the team I have assembled to work with me on this event otherwise I’d be WAY over the ledge by now.

Running with my boys last weekend was so much fun and the best part was they really enjoyed it and have talked about going again. Hopefully we get some a little running in while they’re home on April vacation week next week.

Hills are hard….that’s all.

I was invited by Newton Running to attend one of their Natural Form Running Clinics taking place in Boston as part of the pre-marathon events. They’ve teamed with my favorite local running store Marathon Sports to host these sessions to help runners learn how natural form running can improve speed, efficiency and, hopefully, reduce chances of injury. I’m interested to see how this approach differs from Chi Running – so tomorrow morning I will be up bright and early running along the Charles River and soaking in some knowledge from the Newton experts!

Giveaway Winners!

Thanks to Random.org the two winners of the ProFoot Insoles are:

Christy from The Buhrs and Dai from Lazy Punch

Please email me at runningwithattitude (at) yahoo.com so I can get you hooked up with ProFoot.

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Filed Under: 3 things, ChiRunning, family running, giveaways, Natural Form Running, Newton Running, ProFoot