Friday Five Miler

It's amazing how much you miss a good run when you have been injured! Two months of sporadic pain, and another month easing back into it, and I can finally say that I am running without pain!

 

I love the view at mile one! 

Same time, but looking to the right!

I ran five miles today, and although they weren't super speedy, they were pain free! A few aches and pains several hours later but nothing some ice after work won't fix. Honestly, I think it was the three trips up and down some stairs that brought on the aches!

I am finally enjoying my runs again, and look forward to marathon training this Spring!

I love the reflection of my phone in the watch face!

I will not be racing this weekend, unless you count the bicycle scavenger hunt I will be doing at our Beach Club on Saturday night! We will be riding all over town, so it will be quite a workout. I will be sure to take lots of pictures and share on Sunday. 

Next weekend is the Atlantic City Marathon but I bumped down to the Half since I couldn't properly train.

I hope everyone that is racing stays healthy and has fun!

Are you racing this weekend?

Wordless Wednesday #WineDineHalf edition

It is four weeks away! Let the final countdown begin! 

It's actually 31 now!

It will be my 14th this year and my 30th in 30 months!

And I will get to watch my daughter perform in Downtown Disney the next day!

Will you be at Wine and Dine in November?

Planning My Next Marathon

I was devastated to have to cancel my Fall Marathon this year due to injury. My friends all rocked it out, and in addition to being so very proud of them all, I was also just a wee bit jealous!

Okay, full on wicked witch green with envy!

I decided to start planning my next marathon, which I will run next October in Delaware. Not only does it look like a lot of fun, it also benefits the Wounded Warrior Fund, so how can I go wrong?

I have made out my training plan already, and will start training in March. Sooooo far away, but it gives me time to plan next year's races, so that I don't miss any long runs!

I purchased the marathon training plan for my failed attempt through Run the Edge, and basically copied it into a new journal. At first, I planned to just white out my training entries, but I got more than halfway through, so that wouldn't have worked!

It looks like RuntheEdge.com is having a sale today, now I am tempted to buy a whole new one! Hmmmmm.....

I really love this plan and I look forward to following It to the end this year!

I also plan to use my lovely lime green Paceband along the way! I chose the one for a 5:30 marathon, although I would totally settle for a 6:00 marathon, and would love to finish sub 5:30. These will be my three goals for race day!

Are you planning any big races for 2015?

Race for the Cure, a DNS

Sunday was the Race for the Cure at Six Flags. It would have been my fifth but I woke up with such horrible stomach pains that I stayed home.

The teenie went with her school friends and did the walk, and she picked up my tee for me.

I don't believe in wearing shirts I haven't earned, so this morning I did my own virtual Race for the Cure. I didn't wear the tutu though, sorry!

It was a perfect day, and I loved every mile!

Best one mile marker ever! I got a surprise there, too:

Score! I had to stop for a selfie as well. I need to learn to lift my chin!

Had to salute my boys for winning last night! 

That first mile was my fastest mile, but it was definitely one of my best runs in awhile. 

Most of my runs have been at least a minute slower per mile! My foot had no pain, and I have noticed it cramps up less, and there hasn't been any pain at the end of the night! I'm trying not to get too excited, but it feels like I am finally on the mend. 

I earned my shirt, too, which makes me happy!

Flat Mama Friday, Komen Edition

Sunday will be my fifth Race for the Cure! I'm so excited! This year I am also on the Pink Honor Roll for last year's fundraising efforts. I didn't fundraised this year because I added the race last minute when I couldn't do the Wineglass Marathon. 

Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon

What a beautiful place to wake up to, the morning of a race! It was perfect weather, and a perfect day!

We were up and about by 6:00, and the race started at 7:30, so we wandered about, eating our breakfast while we waited.

We took a hotel lobby photo before heading outside to wait in the fresh air. I went looking for Dani from Weight Off My Shoulders so we could finally get a pic together! She was an Ambassador, so I knew she would be there in plenty of time for the race. With only about 1000 runners, she wasn't too hard to find!

And then it was time to line up! The 10k runners were starting at 7:30 and we were starting at 7:35. I took a quick pic of the beautiful bling before we headed to the start.

We started off, leaving the hotel parking lot and heading downhill. We were loving that hill until we realized that we would have to run UP it on the way back!

Funny story: we live at the shore, so when we run along the water it is very flat. We sort of thought this would be like that. We were wrong. So very very wrong.

Anyway, the scenery was amazing. We got into our groove, and hoped to close in on that 2:45 goal we had for Philly. The weather was perfect for it but the hills worried us.

The first couple miles, we stopped for some photos....

Seriously, how beautiful is this?

We met a fellow Half Fanatic! Again, gorgeous scenery!

A runner turned her ankle around mile two and had to leave in an ambulance. We wished her well as we passed by, I hope it wasn't too serious!

After mile 4, we turned into a park area, and no longer had to worry about traffic. It was shady and cool, but kind of boring. Well, not all boring...

Yikes! Crazy decor!

I managed to run the whole race so far, and wondered if I could keep it up. I only stopped for a few photos and water stops. I was feeling tired, but so much better than I felt at Philly! I kept doing the math in my head, and knew I would beat my Philly time, but I wasn't sure by how much.

The park was mostly flat, but we left it and wereback in town. A sweet old man told us it would be hilly but beautiful and wished us luck. More hills! 

Before we knew it, we were almost done. I had the most awful chafing from my shorts and I stopped at the base of the last big hill to fix it. I lost Eileen at that point, but I could see her up ahead. It took me a minute or two to get back in the groove, but soon I could hear the announcer calling Eileen's name. I checked my watch and saw that she finished in 2:47, so close to our goal! Hooray!

 

She must have rushed back to the corner, because she was there two minutes later when I ran to the finish!

So close! A three minute PR over Philly and working my way back to where I was pre-injury. So happy!

The bling was amazing but the after party was even better! Mats and foam rollers on the beach, wine, muscle milk, a gift bag with a wrap, salad, and apple, yoga on the beach, live music, and the expo moved outside. It was perfect!

I needed ice, so I went back to the start to get some, and went up to our room to ice my foot and change.

Preventative measures to prevent future injury! Soon it was time to make the long drive home. I want to do this race next year, but stay a little longer! I didn't get to see enough of Cape Cod!

I did score some great pumpkins and a goose neck gourd at a farm stand on my way out though!

Have you ever done a Zooma race?

Wordless Wednesday, Cape Cod