I CAN’T POST ANYTHING ELSE, I AM TOO EXCITED FOR NOW.

Guys. I did. I mean, both times were for trains, but I did it! The first time was on my morning commute, and I admit I still felt a bit awkward and stiff, but the second time, on my way home, I SPRINTED down those stairs with very little caution. I didn’t even really think about it until halfway down and I felt pret-ty great about that. I think next week is my week! (Notice how I’m still putting it off because I’m a scaredy cat?)

In the meantime I’ll continue to rely on BodyPump to keep me going. I also feel like I’m coming down with a head cold (one has been doing the rounds at the office) so I might take some extra rest days this week too.

In other news, I got this hoodie in the mail yesterday and I really love it. It does run super large, so if you get it, size down by at least one size. But check this hood out. It’s frighteningly cozy, I don’t even mind that kind of resemble that scary guy from Star Wars.

Also it’s fall which means pumpkin flavored everything. I’m not sure if Sam Adams had Pumpkin Batch beer last year, but I just discovered it and it’s my new favorite. I also appreciate the excellent play on words.

Lastly, I better start running again soon because I’ve gotten back into the Oreo binge. They’re just so amazing. I even had a dream about the S’Mores ones last night (they’re impossible to find, so it makes sense they’re only in my dreams).

So my foot has felt pretty good the last several days, maybe even the past week. While some days definitely feel better than others, I’m about 75% sure I could return to running (albeit very slowly) if I wanted to. But honestly—I’m really terrified. I just don’t want to push it too hard too soon and do any more damage. I’m pretty sure that the soreness I feel now on occasion has less to do with the original injury and more to do with how I’ve been walking on it for the last 11 weeks or so, but I still feel very wary. The good news is that S and I are going to a pressure point therapist on Thursday, who has RAVE reviews and I’m just sort of placing all my eggs in that basket and hoping he can cure me for forever. Only time will tell on that one I guess. Has this ever happened to any of you guys though? Coming back from an injury, being extra scared to start running again? Or am I just a coward?

Anyway, here are a few things from this weekend:

The whole weekend was incredibly gorgeous, weather-wise. It felt just like the beginning of fall should. We had the windows and porch door open all weekend. It was glorious. The city we live in is ok looking too.

 

When you’re icing and the dog gets thirsty.

We found this tennis ball on a walk about a week ago. So far he doesn’t get the whole concept of fetch, but he really enjoys chewing on it and showing it off to anyone who will look at it.

Lap dogging it and not caring one bit.

Maybe I  should make this blog about Riley instead? I seem to post more pictures of him than anything else. I promise once I get back to running that will change though.

One of my running friends posted this the other day on Facebook and I can’t believe I forgot to share it with you guys. A few of my favorites:

“So, what’s your PR?”
Translation: “I’m comparing myself to you, and suddenly my confidence in my own ability is somehow related to your best time.”

“The race didn’t go well. But it happens, you know?”
Translation: “No, you don’t know. You will never, ever be able to comprehend how awful it was. I cried. I puked. I walked. I had diarrhea. My body hates me. The sport hates me. The world hates me. I trained for four months for this? WHY ME? WHY?

“I’m just hoping to finish.”
Translation: “I will PR or die.”

“I get irritable if I don’t run.”
Translation: “If I don’t run, I may or may not become homicidal.”

That last one I can really relate to right now. I’m sure anyone I’ve come in contact with over the last 10 weeks can attest to it as well.

Here are a few other fun things for you this Friday:

My mom sent these super soft fox socks to me at work, which basically made my day. For those of you who don’t know, I’m obsessed with foxes.

When I got home last night I had some fun with Riley. Well, fun by my standards. Maybe not his. He kept sticking his nose in my gym shoe bag because I’m sure it smells horrific (amazing to him, of course). So I thought this was the necessary next step.

Then S got home and Riley was much happier.

Also have you guys Peanutized yourself yet? I did one for me and one for S. I think they’re pretty accurate.

That’s all for now. Happy Friday everyone!

Yesterday I had a lot of words for you, today I have a lot of pictures. But first thing’s first: Keep those fingers and toes crossed for me because the Boston Marathon registration is officially closed and over the next week they’ll be sending out their acceptance/rejection emails!  We’re thinking positive thoughts over here.

Ok, now for the good stuff. I got these in the mail yesterday. New speedy shoes! I know I’m jumping the gun a bit since I can’t even run yet, let alone do a speed workout, but they were on sale and they’re neat. Also, as it turns out, I have no brand loyalty when it comes to my running gear, and as someone who works in advertising I find this deeply unsettling.

I was thinking the other day in our condo that we needed a little something green and alive. Since I have a black thumb, this was basically my only option for now.

I also picked us up a little something to celebrate the beginning of fall! P.S. that is S’ first marathon bib in that frame. He ran a 2:49. He doesn’t like to tell people that, but I’ll brag about him all I want.

S surprised me with this little entry way table this weekend and I absolutely love it. It’s silly how something so small makes such a big difference in a room.

To even the score a little bit, I surprised S with these last night. If you haven’t tried them, buy them immediately. They’re AMAZING.

That’s all for now. Keep your fingers crossed that I get good news back from the B.A.A!

I can’t really remember what got me going down this path yesterday, but I started heavily researching adult running camps. And of course, given my obsessive personality, I became very fixated on the idea. They really sound like the perfect vacation for me (once I’m fully healed, of course). They also sound like the perfect Christmas present…hint, hint, Mom.

In my research, I developed the most interest in these three:

Eric Orton’s The Cool Impossible Running Camps: This particular camp is only a couple of days long (versus 5 or so days that some of them are.) It takes place in Jackson Hole, WY— a place that makes me a little nostalgic, because my parents and I spent a day or so there when I was a teenager and I remember really loving it. The schedule includes a 2-3 hour morning run and an afternoon coaching session. Then it sounds as if the rest of the day is pretty open, until everyone gets back together for dinner. Just given the little bit that I’ve read, I think the September option sounds a bit more appealing, just because I’ve been dabbling with the idea of trying an ultra marathon next year.

Jeff Galloway’s Retreat: He has a few location options for his retreats, but the place that appeals to me the most is Lake Tahoe, CA. Mostly because I’ve never been and it looks gorgeous. The camp has a week and a weekend option. It also includes an hour long run every morning, on a variety of terrain. Then from 9-noon there are seminars every day, covering different running topics. Once again the afternoons are free here, before the gang gets back together for dinner.

I really like both of these options, but my biggest concern (aside from finances) is the altitude for both camps. My body has a pretty rough go of it in altitude, and it generally takes me several days to acclimate. Which would definitely be a problem for Orton’s camp, since it’s only a couple of days long, and it would just be a pain for Galloway’s. That’s why I’m also entertaining the idea of this third option.

ZapFitness Running Camp: This camp is located in rural North Carolina, and it’s sponsored by Reebok. They also have elite camp, that elite marathoner, Tina Muir, has talked about on her blog. They also have a couple of different options in terms of duration, and like Galloway’s they also offer seminars and guest speakers—one even includes the Marathon Man himself, Bill Rodgers! Overall, the schedule here seems similar to Galloway’s, with a morning run, seminars, and group dinner. The only downside here is the commute is a bit of a pain with the closest airport being about 2 hours away, which also makes car rental necessary. And while the altitude here might be more on my level, I doubt it will be as pretty as the other options, so I’m finding myself slightly less passionate about this one.

All in all there’s a lot to think about, which is ok because none of these take place until summer/fall of next year. Have you guys ever done a running camp? Would you? Or have you heard of any others that are supposed to be amazing?

Yesterday afternoon, this article was released on Runner’s World. I have to admit, it got my heart racing, and not in a good way. In short, it says the field for the 2016 Boston Marathon will be even more competitive this year, giving the “squeakers” (like me) even less of a shot of getting in. After reading all about this, I had a very difficult time thinking of anything else for the rest of the day (sorry, coworkers). Even as I’m sitting here my mind is reeling, and I’m utterly panicked that all my hard work last winter and spring was in vain.

And while my fate is still up in the air, I’m deciding now to take control. It’s true that there’s literally nothing I can do to help my chances now. I just have to wait until Wednesday’s verdict, when registration closes its doors. But you know what? Even if I don’t get in, that’s ok. Don’t get me wrong, I will be sad, and I will most definitely shed some tears. I will likely be frustrated and curse the B.A.A. for being unfair and myself for not being faster. But it will be ok. Because there are other marathons—marathons that I haven’t even run yet. So, in the short term, to keep my mind busy and my heart calm I’m going to focus on those other options out there. Here are some of the more appealing ones:

• Eugene Marathon (Oregon, May 1, 2016)
• Mayor’s Marathon (Alaska, June 18, 2016)
• Sugarloaf Marathon (Maine, May 15, 2016)
• Vermont City Marathon (Vermont, May 29, 2016)
• Yuengling Shamrock Marathon (Virginia Beach, March 20, 2016)

See? Look how optimistic I’m being! Surely the readers who know me must be confused as to whose blog they’re reading by now. But I’m trying to turn over a new leaf here, guys.

Hopefully all of this research I just did was a complete and total waste of my time. But even if it wasn’t, at least I got some of it out of the way now. And no matter what, you better bet your butts that I will be faster than ever next year and will meet my qualifying standards by leaps and bounds for 2017, because I’m certainly not going to tolerate this kind of anxiety next year.

Is anyone else out there sharing my struggles?

Today is the day! I finally get to register for the Boston Marathon as a qualified runner! I am anxiously counting down the hours/minutes/seconds until 1o a.m. I truly never thought I’d get the opportunity to do this, so it’s pretty exciting (and extremely nerve racking).

Anyway, to distract myself, here are a few random things from this past weekend. As I mentioned on Friday, S left bright and early for Reach the Beach so I had the digs to myself until Saturday night. Friday I had the girls over for wine and cheese. We’ve really mastered the cheese plate.

Riley made a lot of friends, despite his completely lack of understanding when it comes to personal space.

I think it tuckered him out a lot because I woke up to this face on Saturday morning. He also slept in until 7:30 which is unheard of, but I appreciated it a lot.

Saturday we just laid low and waited for S to get home, which ended up being pretty late. Then we both fell asleep on the couch by 10 or so. On Sunday I had to work, but when I came home this beautiful meal was cooking. It made the entire condo building smell amazing. Turns out my roommate is a pretty good cook.

That’s it for my weekend! I’ll keep you guys posted on my registration for the Boston Marathon. Fingers crossed! Happy Monday everyone.

About a year ago today I was in a van full of almost-strangers on my way up to New Hampshire. We were about to run across the entire state for a relay race known as Reach the Beach. S had asked me to fill in a spot on his long-standing team a few months prior, and being curious and wanting to spend time with him, I had said yes. Now, in the moment, I felt very shy and very nervous. I was petrified of letting the team down, even though everyone had said about 760 times that it wasn’t about speed. I didn’t care, it was for me.

See, I had been training for a marathon that summer and things hadn’t been going well. I was being extremely hard on myself and quite frankly, a Debbie downer. I expected to see results without putting the work in (mainly the speed work) and I was experiencing a long bout of insecurity. So of course I expected Reach the Beach to be a humiliating experience.

What it turned out to be was exactly the opposite. I feel like a lot of runners have that one race where they completely blow themselves out of the water, and go above and beyond their own expectations. Usually it’s a typical road race, but for me, it was this one. My first leg was just after sunset, maybe 7:30ish or so at night. It was just shy of 5 miles, and it was in rural New Hampshire (is there any other part?). There weren’t many other runners around, but I was determined to pass as many as I can (a game S likes to call ‘Road Kill.) I’m not sure how many I actually ended up passing, but I do know it was the fastest I had run, maybe ever. I average 7:46 for those 4.77 miles, a pace that was completely new to me at the time. I was ecstatic by the end of it and so was S. Neither of us had expected me to do that well. While my following legs got a little bit slower, I was tremendously proud of my performance. I had realized my potential and was getting high off of the possibilities.

After that weekend I approached running in an entirely different way. I committed to a speed workout every single week, and listened to my body better than I ever had before. What it resulted in was a year full of PRs, and significant ones too. I shaved over 20 minutes off of my marathon time, and almost 15 minutes off of my half marathon time. Most importantly, I was kinder to myself, by a lot. I stopped comparing myself to others, and started to actually be proud of myself and what I was capable of. It was a much-needed change.

This morning, a year later, I sent S off while I’m side-lined with this injury. But instead of being sad and bitter I’m just trying to cherish the memory and appreciate how far I’ve come in a single year.