Got to Begin Again

In the famous, well maybe not so famous, words of Billy Joel..."I've Got to Begin Again"
I would like to blog, but the thing is, I can't stay consistent enough with running to have consistent things to blog about.  Most people begin again with the new year in January, but me, I'm going to begin again this week during spring break.

After an emotional start to 2014 and an injury to round out the year, my running mojo has been on a year-long break.  So, while I am on spring break I am going to make my running mojo get back to work!  I have hired a running coach, and our starting date is April 1st.  Truth be told, she is a friend and fellow runner.  She is running her first Boston this year and she became a certified running coach last summer.  Although she qualified to run Boston, she is running for the Miles for Miracles team, and by donating to her fundraiser she is giving me 6 months of coaching!  I am officially beginning Wineglass Marathon training in 3 days!

I am nervous and excited.  Excited to have a goal (shiny new marathon PR, getting me closer to that elusive BQ), and nervous because I have severe consistency issues.  I have yet to properly train for a full marathon...I always lose steam, miss workouts, and run the marathon unprepared.  Hopefully with a coach, someone to answer to, I will be able to stay focused and do the work required to get a better time.  I'm gunning for a 4:30 (or better!)

Stay tuned, I'm going to check back in here (hopefully) to keep myself on track.

More to come about....yoga, inspiration, faith and hope

New workout - Pure Barre Fairfax

Back in February, I read a blog from the DC Fit Crasher about a workout she'd tried at Pure Barre Dupont.  Basically, it's a ballet inspired workout that targets arms, hips, abs and all sorts of muscles that seem to be forgotten in other workouts!  I'm hurting in places today that I'm not sure I've ever felt before!

Read DC Fit Crasher's review here:

 http://dcfitcrasher.com/fit-crashing-at-pure-barre-dupont-and-a-giveaway/

I have been checking it out online since I read her review, and decided I would finally sign up the week of spring break, hoping that would give me plenty of opportunities to drive out to a studio.  There are not PB studios in Woodbridge (of course), so I had to decide between Fairfax and Alexandria.  In the end, I went with Fairfax because the Alexandria classes always seem to fill quickly, and I wanted to ensure that I could get a spot when I wanted.  For new clients, you have the option to pay $100 for an unlimited month of classes.  It seemed like a good deal, considering one class is $25, so I went for it.

They tell new clients to arrive 10 minutes early, but after 40 minutes in the car and not being able to find the studio (Ridge Top Road is under construction and the work vehicles were blocking the store front from my view), I actually arrived 5 minutes late to class.  I was mortified, but they were relatively nice about it and let me join in the class.

When I popped in, they were using small hand weights to do some arm work.  I grabbed mine and started to follow along.  There were probably 15 women in there, and some seemed to know the moves perfectly, which makes me think that the classes are all at least relatively similar.  From there, we stretched a little with a resistance band before moving to the barre.  I didn't really understand the movements, but we worked our "seat" with some pulses and leg lifts.  I hope that in time, I will understand the moves and will do it correctly.  I can say, that my legs were shaking like crazy!

We continued using the barre for abs, but from the floor.  Again, not entirely sure what the moves were or what they were targeting, but I tried my hardest.  Once we left the barre and did mat work, I could really feel the burn in my abs/quads.  I have very weak abs and I was struggling to do the exercises, but I made it through!  We ended with some bridge work and stretching.

As of yesterday, I thought I would be doing back today, but I've since decided to take a day off and go tomorrow instead.  When I went for my 5 mile run yesterday afternoon - 5 hours after the PB workout - I really struggled.  I was exhausted and my legs were slow and heavy.  I made it though, but did not come close to hitting my times.  I need to figure out how to run and crosstrain/build strength.

Stay tuned - when I go tomorrow it'll be a different woman teaching the class, and I'm wondering if we will do the same routine we did yesterday or if it'll be different.  My goal is to go 3 times a week until my month is up on May 14th.

Dream BIG - #BOSTONSTRONG

With today being the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, there is only one thing on my mind - my dream of one day qualifying for and running in the Boston Marathon.

I'm reading a website that I happened upon from a Google search called http://www.runyourbq.com/qualifying-for-boston-marathon/ which is about one runner's quest to BQ.  It took him 6 marathons, lots of training, and lots of figuring out how to change his training to make it the most effective.  He ran Boston in 2012.

One of the things he mentions in the opening article is that you must :

"Write down your goal and why you want it so badly, 

and why you can make it happen."

Therefore, here is my goal :

I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon and intend to run it in 2016.

I am going to start training now, knowing that I am a long way from the mile times I need to reach this goal, and choose benchmark races along the way.

I would like to earn my BQ at the 2015 Buffalo Marathon, 

the location of my very first marathon.

I need to cut ONE HOUR AND 23 MINUTES from my current marathon PR.

I have run two marathons so far since I began running (for the third time in my life) in January 2011.  My first marathon was in Buffalo, NY about an hour from where I grew up.

I ran my first marathon in 5:17:40.

For this marathon, my only goal was to finish with a smile on my face, mission accomplished!  I ran with my mom and brother, and we stayed together for the first half before we split apart to run our own pace.  It was tough, I was sore, and finishing was one of the most glorious experiences of my life.

That December, I signed up for my second marathon.  I ran the VA Beach Shamrock Marathon on March 17, 2013.

I ran my second marathon in 4:57:08.

Truth be told, I barely trained for this marathon.  I lost my grandfather in January and needed to take a few trips home to NY, which  meant no long runs.  I made excuses and missed training runs, I even thought about pulling out of the race.  The only reason I ran was because we had a hotel reservation and wanted to get out of town.  I would feel like a failure if we went, but I didn't run, so I ran.  It was tough, there were some uphill parts that were killer!  The last mile felt like torture and I thought it would never end, but I had a new goal:  to finish in UNDER 5 hours, which I did!

It has now been over a year since I ran 26.2 and I don't plan to run another until the Walt Disney Marathon Weekend, where I will run the Goofy Challenge - it's the 10 year anniversary and has been a goal of mine since I ran my first half marathon in Disney in 2012.  My interim goal has been to get faster at shorter races.  I have nailed down new PRs in every distance but the half - I'm still hanging on to a 2012 PR!  I have 2 half marathons this spring and one (maybe more?) this fall.  I'm not set to PR any time soon.

My problem is lack of consistency.

I know this.  I hate it.  I haven't been able to change it.

I've joined a running "class" which was really helpful in the fall, but hasn't been as motivating throughout the winter.  I've also taken a few breaks from running for medical/personal reasons.  Really, these are just excuses and I'm tired of making excuses.  One of the reasons I've started this blog is for accountability!  If I tell the world-wide-web that I need to go out for a long run, I will have to keep that promise.  If I say I am going to BQ, I will have to do everything I can to make this dream a reality!

Remember to love the run!

In closing, I want to remember the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon.  I must always remember to be grateful that I can run, knowing that those who lost their lives and those who were seriously injured would love the opportunity to go on a 12 mile training run.  I run for me, and I run for those who no longer can.  

And when I'm out there - I LOVE THE RUN!!!!

My pup & cherry blossoms

Here she is after our run, posing by some cherry blossom trees🌸

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler 214

The Washington Monument and a budding cherry blossom tree from the bathrooms.  Not peak week, but still beautiful!

The morning of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, we arrived early, around 6:30 giving us plenty of time to find a good parking place, walk down to the starting line, use the restrooms, and meet up with our running group!  It was really cold though, much colder than I had hoped it would be.  I had bought a really cute new pair of shorts, but as you can see in the photo below, I ended up wearing my winter Brooks Utopia running pants and jacket.  I actually kept the jacket on for the first 2 miles before I had finally warmed up enough to take it off.  Once the sun was up, it was quite warm, but I was still glad that I wore pants and had brought sleeves for after!

I had big plans for a PR, as this is my absolute favorite 10 mile race, and my third time running it.  I PR'd last year by almost 5 minutes and was hoping for another good performance.  Unfortunately, I realized early that this wasn't a possibility.  My running buddy left me in the dust just before mile 2 because I was unable to keep her pace.  I slowed to about a 10:30 / mile at that point, and consistently held that through until the end.  In a way I am happy with that, because I felt like quitting at mile 6 and again at mile 8.  I was SO ready to be done at mile 8!!!!  Thankfully though, I found a second wind and kept pushing through, keeping pace and not slowing to a walk.

Here I am on the left with my husband and my mom with our medals!

I finish this year's race in 1:44:59 - which is amazing because at mile 2 when I realized I could not PR, my "plan B" goal became to finish in 1:45:00!  Isn't that crazy?!  My running buddy, Dale, was waiting for me at the finish line, congratulating me on my finish.  She finished a few seconds over 1:40:00, which was my goal time.  I was sad that I couldn't keep up, but once I met up with my husband, who had run the 5K and the rest of our running group from PR Burke finished, we were all smiles!

PR Burke!  Breathe, Believe, Achieve!

Here we all are in front of the Washington Monument with our medals, we'd all finished the 10 mile race with smiles on our faces!  Another great race in the books, albeit my disappointment in my own performance.  Here's to the beginning of the spring racing season and a renewed commitment to my running and training.  My next race is in just two short weeks!

New to blogging!

I have been inspired by so many other runner/bloggers that I felt compelled to start my own page and share my own experiences with the blogging world.

I've been running since January 2011 and have since run countless 5Ks, a handful of 10Ks, 5 10-milers, 5 half-marathons, and 2 marathons.  I am still slow, and more than a little chubby!  My #1 goal right now is consistency, and I'm hoping that blogging will help with that.

I've just started my spring break "staycation" and I hope to not only get my new blog up and running, but also to lock down some new fitness routines.  First and foremost - RUNNING!  I've fallen off the wagon a bit since March began - can I blame the horrid winter that wouldn't end?  I'm running the Nike Women's Half in DC in 2 weeks, and I definitely am not as prepared as I had hoped to be.  Which reminds me...I need to get in a 12 mile long run today!!!!  I should have headed out early this am, but decided to relish in the first day of vacation, sleep in, and be a bit of a bum!  Now it looks like I'll be running an evening long run around my boring neighborhood - and around, and around, and around - to get the miles in.  Maybe my pooch, Roxy will join me for a loop.

I will report back later on how it went, and also add a race recap of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler that I ran last Sunday!

I know I don't have any readers yet, but here's to a new blogging adventure!
See you soon!