See Ya 2017!

I always love to look back on the year on December 31st and highlight some memorable moments that shaped my year.  I ran the race of my life in Miami then battled injuries the rest of the year.  I started adding strength training and Olympic lifting into my weekly routine and I love seeing progress and the opportunity to learn as I go.  I took a chance with someone in the spring that tested my patience, vulnerability and spontaneity and then later in the fall tested my strength and confidence.  I watched a client mourn the loss of her dad after a friend lost her husband suddenly—both of which weighed heavy on my heart and taught me to be present and live in the moment because time is short and life is precious.  I was also lucky to reconnect with a few old friends that reminded me the importance of close friendships and how thankful I am to have each and every one of them in my life whether they are near or far.

In January I ran an epic 20 miler in the snow as my final long run before the Miami Marathon.  I went to Miami healthy and hungry.  I gave it everything I had earning a PR and BQ.

I took some time off in February then enjoyed easing back into running with some fun, snowy runs with the pup.

In March I started training for the Buffalo Half Marathon.  I celebrated my 31st birthday and had an awesome birthday brunch with my parents.  A new tradition.

As a training run, I signed up to run the Newport Rhode Race with my dad in April but I got injured.  It was my dad’s 10th half marathon and I was a DNF.  I started PT with Kathy for an abductor strain—an injury that really debilitated me for quite some time.

In May I started running again and ran the Piggy Trot with friends then made the trip to Buffalo for the Buffalo Half Marathon.  I ran the 5k with my cousin Melissa and ran/walked the second half of the half with her the next day.

My mileage started to build up again in June and in July I started training for a September half marathon in Philly but then got a stress fracture and cancelled my trip.

I attempted to run the Falmouth Road Race in August when my foot wasn’t fully healed.  (Stupid!)

In September I submitted my application for the 2018 Boston Marathon and in October I discovered miles and miles of trails behind my house with Georgie.  I also started Olympic lifting with the goal of feeling strong and ready to take on the hills in Boston.

November started off with a 2nd place finish and a 7-mile PR at Falmouth in the Fall.

  

December has been about getting into a routine and Boston Marathon training started on Christmas Day!

762 total miles in 2017.

2018, let’s go!  I am ready for you!

Race Report: Falmouth in the Fall

On Sunday I ran Falmouth in the Fall for the first time since 2012 and had a blast! 

I also ran a 7 mile PR, placed 2nd and won $50!

If you are not familiar with the race, it is the same 7 mile course as the Falmouth Road Race.  Instead of the middle of August at 9am, Falmouth in the Fall is always the first Sunday in November with a 1pm start time.  Instead of 10,000 runners, the 2017 Falmouth in the Fall results showed 469 finishers.  The race is super laid back—for a $20 entry fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope, the race mails you your bib.  I was also sent a $40 Hanlons gift card as a random raffle winner.  Pretty sweet.

I picked up my dad race morning and we headed to the finish line.  There we met up with some run club friends (Stacey, Kyle, Jason and Jon) then caught the bus to the start line.  One of the highlights of the day was waiting in line for the buses where we got to live stream Shalane Flanagan winning the New York Marathon.  It definitely pumped me up and provided some extra race day motivation.

  

Lately I’ve only been running for fun—not worrying about time or stressing over mileage so I had no idea what to expect when the gun went off.  My goal was to stay relaxed but run “comfortably hard.” I did want to push myself to see where I was at.  I knew I could run 7:15-7:30 pace and on a good day I was hoping to be closer to 7:00 pace. 

Mile 1- 7:06

Mile 2- 6:52

Mile 3- 6:45

I felt really good during the first 3 miles of rolling hills.  By the mile and a half mark, I was cruising alone in 2nd place.  At that point I could see the first female ahead of me—and she stayed about the same distance away from me for the rest of the race.

Mile 4- 6:48

When we came out of the woods and turned onto Surf Drive, OH MY GOD THE WIND.  Total headwind.  It felt like I was putting in way too much effort with very little progress but I tucked in my head and kept pushing forward. 

Mile 5- 6:59

Mile 6- 6:47

Mile 7- 6:39

The rest of the race but I was definitely working.  I’m not quite sure I could have ran any faster so I was happy with my effort.  I did not purposely slow down at any point or talk myself out of racing which I have become so good at in recent years. 

  

7 miles – 48:15

Average pace – 6:54

My dad had a pretty good race even though he wasn’t feeling great.

I love Falmouth in the Fall!

Weekly Roundup 8.14-8.20 & 8.21-8.27

 

2 weeks.  8 miles running!

I rested up the beginning of last week with the anticipation of running the Falmouth Road Race.  My foot was starting to feel better so I took G for a long walk on Friday morning.  My friend was working on a house near my neighborhood so we ventured out to find him and say hi.

Friday night I went to the Falmouth Road Race expo to pick up my number and I was filled with both excitement and emotions of sadness, worrisome and fear.  I wanted to run so bad.

Saturday morning I tested out my foot and ran 1 full pain-free mile.  I iced and rested the remainder of the day.  It wasn’t until Saturday night when I jumped off the couch and ran to the bathroom in my bare feet that I felt any pain.  Oops!  I iced one more time that night and again in the morning and it felt fine.  Thank god.

Sunday was race day!  In case you missed it, here is my full recap: http://www.jenrunsfastblog.com/2017/08/race-report-falmouth-road-race-2017.html

 

My foot felt great after the race until I wore hard, flat sandals to dinner with Lizzie on Monday night.  Double oops!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful.  I got back to spinning a little bit and continued to rest my foot by not running.  We’ll see what next week brings…

Monday 8.14.17

5,539 steps

Tuesday 8.15.17

8.539 steps

Wednesday 8.16.17

7,801 steps

Thursday 8.17.17

Power Water

12,013 steps

Friday 8.18.17

60’ walk with G

10,803 steps

Saturday 8.19.17

1 mile (8:18)

7,482 steps

Sunday 8.20.17

Falmouth Road Race 7 miles (57:35)

Race Report: Falmouth Road Race 2017

24,410 steps

Monday 8.21.17

4,330 steps

Tuesday 8.22.17

Taught spin class

9,727 steps

Wednesday 8.23.17

8,876 steps

Thursday 8.24.17

Taught spin class

Power Water

11,172 steps

Friday 8.25.17

6,052 steps

Saturday 8.26.17

Water Interval

10,655 steps

Sunday 8.27.17

Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

13,402 steps

 

Last week’s mileage: 0 miles

This week’s mileage: 8 miles

Last week’s G mileage: 0 mile

This week’s G mileage: 0 miles

August Totals: 8 miles

2017 Totals: 489 miles

Race Report: Falmouth Road Race 2017

What started as just a summer job in 2003 quickly turned into my life.  Now 15 years later, the Falmouth Road Race is all about reunions with friends that have become family and new race weekend traditions.

Until about 4pm the day before the race, I didn’t think I was going to run this year due to injury and lack of training.  A few texts with friends and I made up my mind.  Long story short… I didn’t want to miss out!

I got up race morning bright and early and headed to Lizzie’s house.  We took the buses to the start with her friend Kelly and found our spot by the water.  There I met up with all my run club friends (Happy 10th Anniversary Jason & Danielle!) and ran into my big sis Kima.

My original plan was to stay with Lizzie—take it easy and have fun—but I made a rookie mistake and had to use the bathroom too close to the start of the race.  My low bib number got me in the elite area (aka a ton of porta potties with no lines) so I made my way to the front.  By the time I got there, I knew I would never make it back to my friends. 

I watched the elite women start, said hi to Chris George, found Eric Wheeler and waited close to the start line in a place that I definitely didn’t belong.

When the gun went off, I started running.  Other than the “test” mile I had run the day before, I hadn’t run in over 3 weeks.  I quickly learned where my fitness was at.  I went through the first two miles in 7:17 and 7:23 then started walk/running the rest of the way to the finish.  When I felt like walking, I walked.  When I felt like running, I ran.  Foot felt great.  Lungs felt awful.  It was also pretty hot—I saw a few runners go down—and my nutrition/hydration hadn’t been great the previous days so I didn’t want to take any chances.

I am always amazed at how awesome the running community is.  I was blown away in Houston by the support other runners showed when I walked the final 7.2 miles of the race and Falmouth was no different.  People I know.  People I didn’t know.  So much cheering and encouragement to “keep going!”

A big surprise on the course was seeing my parents on Robbins Road!  They spotted me before I saw them and I was pretty embarrassed that I was walking at the time!

I crossed the finish line in 57:35 and waited along the side of the road until I saw on the app that Lizzie crossed the finish line.  We got our Yasso bars and met up with Kelly on the ball field.  They both had great races.  Kellen ran his first Falmouth Road Race in 58:18 (😜) and had an awesome experience.  Don’t I always saw that running is contagious?  He was a little late to the start so I didn’t get to meet up with him before the race but we found each other on the ball field.  He’s already talking about next year.  I love it!

To wrap up an awesome race day, I attended the post-race VIP party.  It’s always a fun time with my road race #oldiesbutgoodies family… and Abdi.

Congratulations to all finishers!  See you all next year!

[Related posts: I signed up for the Falmouth Road Race!, Race Report: Falmouth Road Race 2015 & Throwback Thursday Falmouth Road Race Edition]

Weekly Roundup 7.3-7.9

Week 2 of 12

Happy Birthday America!  Oh my gosh, I love the 4th of July.

The past few weeks I’ve been leading the Monday night group runs at Cape Cod Rehab but with the terrible holiday traffic on the 3rd, I decided not to go back for it and I asked Erin led the run.  (Thanks Erin!)  Instead I met up with Kellen after work for a run around my neighborhood.  He signed up for the Falmouth Road Race so it’s time for him to get training!  After our run we went down to Oregon Beach and soaked up the last bit of sun for the day, ate a ton of his homemade salsa and tried the Hell or High Watermelon Beer that Melissa made me buy when I was home in Buffalo.  Loved it!

Tuesday was the 4th—aka a bonus mid-week day off!  I picked up some fresh apple cider donuts from Cape Cod Coffee and went to Craig’s house for a morning of paddle boarding at his pond.   

 

After that I picked up G and we were off to my parents house for an afternoon by the pool.  I made it out for 5 miles in the heat when we got home.  That night my neighbors were lighting off fireworks for HOURS so it was HOURS of trying to calm G down.  I felt so bad for her.  It was a long night for both of us.

I was pretty tired at work on Wednesday and was not feeling the run.  I brought G out for about a mile to get me going but I could only get through 2 miles on my own. 

Friday morning was probably the highlight of the week even though my week even though my whole week was pretty great.  I met up with my friend Michelle for 6 miles in Falmouth.  Why was it so great?  Michelle was one of my best friends from when I was 11 years old until I was about 13 or 14 when we swam together at the Cape Cod Swim Club.  As the awkward nerdy girl with glasses and braces, I always wondered why Michelle the cute bubbly blonde would want to hang out with me.  We started to grow apart but saw each other often as we competed against each other all 3-seasons (cross country, indoor track & outdoor track)—I was from Falmouth, she ran for Plymouth South.  We really grew apart after high school (she moved to CA) but reconnected a few years ago through social media. 

Side note: Michelle is so fun to follow on Instagram (@miss_chelle)—her pictures are awesome and her words are motivating.  She ran her first marathon in June and I can’t wait to see what she’s going to do next!

Our run took us for 6 miles along the water through Falmouth Heights.  We talked and laughed the whole way and of course stopped for many photo ops.  You would never have known that we hadn’t actually seen each other in 13 years.

Saturday was another “just get through it” kind of run.  I was tired and allergies were making me blah but I did it.  I got through it.  And I was happy that my weekly mileage totaled 22 miles, 11 of which I had company for.

Other highlights:

·      I went to Sandy Neck on Wednesday night for the first of hopefully many beach fires of the summer!

·      Friday night I took my mom to a concert at Fenway Park.  We saw Chris Lane, Nelly, Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgie Line.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  Nelly made me feel like I was 18 again (“18 with an attitude, 19 feeling snotty acting real rude…”) and he played ALL the hits.  The Backstreet Boys were also a blast from the past.  They were my first concert ever when I was 11 years old in 1997.  Backstreet’s back, alright!

Upcoming events:

·      6 weeks until the Falmouth Road Race!

·      10 weeks until Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia!

Monday 7.3.17

3.30 miles with Kellen (28:48)

16,322  steps

Tuesday 7.4.17

Happy 4th of July!

5 miles (39:17)

10 push ups

13,297 steps

Wednesday 7.5.17

0.70 miles with G (6:50)

2 miles (15:58)

14,583 steps

Thursday 7.6.17

Taught spin class

Power Water

13,579 steps

Friday 7.7.17

6 miles with Michelle (52:20)

21,085 steps

Saturday 7.8.17

0.90 miles with G (8:49)

4 miles (29:59)

2x10 push ups

10 inverted push ups

13,415 steps

Sunday 7.9.17

Taught spin class

Burdenko H2O

10 push ups

14,868 steps

GeorgieGSD: 4th of July Party Pooper

This week’s mileage: 22 miles

This week’s G mileage: 2 miles

July Totals: 27 miles

2017 Totals: 425 miles