Oh, hey! It's been about a month since my last update.
I haven't been running as often in the months after my marathon. This always happens, and I always appreciate the break. I'm slightly worried about my upcoming 10K. I wanted to race it, but I don't think that'll happen. My plan is to have fun (I always say this) and enjoy having my dad here for the weekend.
I don't do life updates often, but I think this is a good time to give a quick run-down of my next few moves.
I'm starting a PhD program!
Grad school has always been on my radar. I'd envisioned that I'd move to DC, work for one or two years, and then head off to graduate school. I love my job and wanted to stay on longer than I'd anticipated. Honestly, going that route confirmed that getting a PhD was something that I actually wanted to do. So, this fall, I'll start as a doctoral student. I'm not leaving DC but...
I'm moving!
I'm having ALL of the feels now that I've started to pack up my place. I'm kind of in denial about it and I'm making excuses about things that I don't want to pack because I "need" them between now and the time I move in two weeks. This was where I landed after graduation (holy cow, my fifth year reunion is so soon!) and these four walls have seen almost five years of personal growth. I'm so much more of an adult than I was when I moved in at 22. Still, I'm excited to one of my favorite neighborhoods. It'll be nice to be closer to all of the metro/bus lines that I need to get to work and class. And, I swear, the new place is adorable!
Knowing that I'm going to have a lot less free time starting this fall, I'm starting to give some thought into how I can work racing into my schedule. It'll probably be a while until I run my next marathon, but I'm confident that I'll be able to work in training for early fall half-marathons. Hooray spending summer break to train!
Once I figure out my summer training schedule (there's still time for one more PR until I start school), I promise to blog more often
Showing posts with label excitement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excitement. Show all posts
Friday, May 9, 2014
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Happy Anniversary, Dear Blog! Let's Run Another Marathon!
It’s hard to believe that it was a year ago that I committed to running my first marathon. And, unlike my previous attempts to run 26.2 miles just to prove that I can, I actually went through with it.
I have you- my friends and lovely readers - to thank for helping me cross the finish line.
Writing about my experience and sharing this journey with you has been a motivating force that encouraged me to put on my running shoes and hit the asphalt. Thank you for taking the time to read my tl;dr posts and, for those of who talk to me regularly, listen to me blab on about my training and races. (Honestly, I still don’t know how some of you put up with me. Seriously.) Thank you for all of your page clicks and your comments. Thank you all for your words of encouragement.
Thank you for helping me to get through it all. And, for many of you, that goes beyond running.
It really does mean a lot to me to know that you're in my corner.
I think it’s appropriate that one year after starting this blog and my first journey to 26.2 miles I’m making my final preparations to start training for the four races that I’ll be running this fall. Over the weekend, I finalized my training schedule – all 21 weeks between now and the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th. Knowing that I’m capable of making it across the finish line – even if it did take me five and a half hours the first time – my goal for Philadelphia is to finish (of course) and to shave an hour off of my time. I’ve also joked that it would be amazing if I could shave two hours off my time and Boston Qualify.
(To be honest, I’ve half-joked about this. There’s a part of me that wonders if I’m capable of a BQ. I mean, what else am I going to do this summer? Have a social life?)
When I trained for Baltimore last year, I did zero speed work and focused more on putting in the miles. My goal was to finish. That was it. Strength training was also a rarity. (I some insecurities about using the free weights and strength equipment in my apartment’s fitness center around all of the large men. Happily, I’ve gotten over that and lift heavy objects with the best of them.) Omitting those things from my training last year definitely hurt me in the end, so this year, weekly tempo runs, speed workouts, and strength training sessions will be a huge part of my training.
I also made a mistake not running the second 20-miler that I scheduled. Maybe, just maybe it would have helped me get over that oh-so-special wall in Baltimore. It's completely my fault, though, between the poor planning and sheer ignorance that one should taper before a huge race. This time around – one of the perks of starting so early – I have two 20-milers planned with more than enough time to recover from my shorter races and taper before Philadelphia.
So, what does the race calendar look like?
As it stands, I'm committed to four races. I'm looking forward to all of these and the chance to run with friends and coworkers at each.
September 4 – Rock and Roll Half-Marathon, Virginia Beach
October 9 – Army 10-Miler, Washington DC
October 15 – Baltimore Half-Marathon
November 20 – Philadelphia Marathon
(Yalies, it just hit me that I probably won’t make it to The Game this year. We’ll see though, since I have a knack for making awesomely terrible decisions that backfire very quickly.)
Believe it or not, the first week of training kicks off on Monday. Once I start, I'll be posting more regularly than I have these last few weeks. And you know what that means? More inspiring people, more carb night recipes, more running misadventures, and - if all goes according to plan - more race recaps.
Ladies and gentleman, in the timeless words of Kel Kimble: "Aw, here it goes!"
I have you- my friends and lovely readers - to thank for helping me cross the finish line.
Writing about my experience and sharing this journey with you has been a motivating force that encouraged me to put on my running shoes and hit the asphalt. Thank you for taking the time to read my tl;dr posts and, for those of who talk to me regularly, listen to me blab on about my training and races. (Honestly, I still don’t know how some of you put up with me. Seriously.) Thank you for all of your page clicks and your comments. Thank you all for your words of encouragement.
Thank you for helping me to get through it all. And, for many of you, that goes beyond running.
It really does mean a lot to me to know that you're in my corner.
I think it’s appropriate that one year after starting this blog and my first journey to 26.2 miles I’m making my final preparations to start training for the four races that I’ll be running this fall. Over the weekend, I finalized my training schedule – all 21 weeks between now and the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th. Knowing that I’m capable of making it across the finish line – even if it did take me five and a half hours the first time – my goal for Philadelphia is to finish (of course) and to shave an hour off of my time. I’ve also joked that it would be amazing if I could shave two hours off my time and Boston Qualify.
(To be honest, I’ve half-joked about this. There’s a part of me that wonders if I’m capable of a BQ. I mean, what else am I going to do this summer? Have a social life?)
When I trained for Baltimore last year, I did zero speed work and focused more on putting in the miles. My goal was to finish. That was it. Strength training was also a rarity. (I some insecurities about using the free weights and strength equipment in my apartment’s fitness center around all of the large men. Happily, I’ve gotten over that and lift heavy objects with the best of them.) Omitting those things from my training last year definitely hurt me in the end, so this year, weekly tempo runs, speed workouts, and strength training sessions will be a huge part of my training.
I also made a mistake not running the second 20-miler that I scheduled. Maybe, just maybe it would have helped me get over that oh-so-special wall in Baltimore. It's completely my fault, though, between the poor planning and sheer ignorance that one should taper before a huge race. This time around – one of the perks of starting so early – I have two 20-milers planned with more than enough time to recover from my shorter races and taper before Philadelphia.
So, what does the race calendar look like?
As it stands, I'm committed to four races. I'm looking forward to all of these and the chance to run with friends and coworkers at each.
September 4 – Rock and Roll Half-Marathon, Virginia Beach
October 9 – Army 10-Miler, Washington DC
October 15 – Baltimore Half-Marathon
November 20 – Philadelphia Marathon
(Yalies, it just hit me that I probably won’t make it to The Game this year. We’ll see though, since I have a knack for making awesomely terrible decisions that backfire very quickly.)
Believe it or not, the first week of training kicks off on Monday. Once I start, I'll be posting more regularly than I have these last few weeks. And you know what that means? More inspiring people, more carb night recipes, more running misadventures, and - if all goes according to plan - more race recaps.
Ladies and gentleman, in the timeless words of Kel Kimble: "Aw, here it goes!"
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Less than 36 hours left
I have a little less than 36 hours to go, and I have so many feelings -- excitement, fear, anxiety. I love all of it. My bag is almost packed. I'm ready for this!
Look for a pre-race post tomorrow. Until then, I'll direct you all to this site, which will allow you to track my on-course progress and see the results of the race:
http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=16773
By the way, if anyone wants to be at the finish line ready to play any version of this theme from the Final Fantasy series at the moment I drag myself across the finish line, I would certainly appreciate it.
Seriously.
Look for a pre-race post tomorrow. Until then, I'll direct you all to this site, which will allow you to track my on-course progress and see the results of the race:
http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=16773
By the way, if anyone wants to be at the finish line ready to play any version of this theme from the Final Fantasy series at the moment I drag myself across the finish line, I would certainly appreciate it.
Seriously.
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