half marathon training

Come Walk (and Run!) for Wishes with Me!

/ Jess / 1 Comment

Last year, I ran the Make A Wish Foundation’s 5K Walk for Wishes and had a great time (despite a little head cold). This year I’m all set to return to Liberty State Park on Saturday, September 26th where I’ll run the race again in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation!

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The race really is a dream for runners of all abilities: the completely flat, super fast course runs entirely along the path at Liberty State Park, with views of the NYC skyline and the Status of Liberty pretty much the entire way. It’s a joint event with the Walk for Wishes kicking off after the race, which is super-inspiring, because once you’re done sweating it out, you get to see all the amazing wish kids and their families supporting each other as they set off on their walk along the waterfront.

So if you’re not doing anything on the 26th, why not come out and race with me? I’m always looking for someone to chat with at the back of the pack – and I may even tack on my long run after the race is over, so I could use some company 😉

Don’t miss out: Register here!

Preparing For Marathon Mania (When You’re Not a Marathon Runner)

/ Jess / 9 Comments

I don’t know about you, but every fall, I find myself getting swept up in marathon madness. It seems like everyone and their mothers are training for and running marathons, while me and my bum knees are sitting over here like “I’m running 13 miles, wheeee!”

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I know, a half marathon is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a huge accomplishment, and I take it 100% seriously. Hell, it’s the longest distance I can [barely] manage, of course it’s awesome! But when you see those troopers out there clocking runs of 15, 18, 20+ miles, sometimes it’s hard not to feel all the (running-related) things.

Take me for example: having tried and failed training for a full marathon a few years back, I have a love/hate relationship with the marathon. As I scroll through my feeds and chat with full-running-friends, I flip flop almost hourly between runner envy (damn I wish my knees and my brain could let me run that far!) and runner schadenfreude (pfft, you won’t catch me running 20+ miles, that’s more than 5 hours!). But I know better than to say “never”, because I said that after my first 5K 4 years ago even though everyone told me I’d get hooked, and look at me now, with a blog about running and everything!

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Anywho, suffice it to say that the fall racing season is always filled with lots of conflicting emotions for me. So this year, I’m doing a few things to curb the marathon mania before it hits me.

First, I’m loading up my calendar with lots of other races to get my fix while not putting my poor joints on overload. As of today, I’ve got shorter distance races on 9/6, 9/13, 9/19, 9/26, and 10/31, a triathlon on 9/20, and a half marathon 10/18, with more in the works in October. So believe me when I say it: I’ll be running plenty.

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(you have NO IDEA how long I’ve been waiting to use this guy in a post. FINALLY!)

Secondly, I’m fully embracing the triathlon for the first time during marathon season. I’m competing in another triathlon on September 20th, which is taking up a lot of my training time but also gives me a new “mania” outlet. It’s a new (to me) sport and I’m fully in love with it! I’m not kidding. I still really love running and it’ll always be my favorite, but getting to switch it up with biking and swimming AND competing in those three things at the same time? It’s awesome.

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Lastly, I’ve set an unofficial goal for the last few months of 2015 to run 14 miles in one go. My motivation is simple: I need to prove to myself that I won’t turn into a pumpkin – or my knees won’t turn into jelly – once I break the magical 13.1 spell. So once I finish my goal race on 10/18 in Atlantic City, I aim to keep up with running long every other weekend just to see what I’m capable of. Who knows, with all the extra cross training thanks to my newfound love of the triathlon, I may surprise myself!

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How do you cope with marathon mania? Do you have envy like me or are you 100% sure you’re only half crazy? And those of you who ARE running those fall marathons: how is your training going? Sound off in the comments!

Catching Up – and a Giveaway Winner!

/ Jess / 7 Comments

Hello and Happy Wednesday guys – how’s everyone doing?? It’s been a hot minute since I last posted, so how about we take a little trip down memory lane and recap the past few weeks!

After the Jersey Girl Tri, I was riding high on the post-race endorphins and immediately wanted to put my training to use with another tri, soon. After flip flopping between a few other events like Iron Girl in Sandy Hook, I stumbled across One More Tri in Asbury Park this September.

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This event is pretty much the perfect combination: it’s in Asbury Park, one of my favorite places on earth, it’s a fundraising event for the Special Olympics, which is very near and dear to my heart, and it’s a unified triathlon event, where Special Olympics athletes and members of the community compete side-by-side! That just brings it to a whole other level. I get goosebumps just thinking about it – I used to love volunteering at events like this back in high school and college, but getting to actually participate in these sports with these inspirational folks? What an honor! I can’t wait. Click here to learn more – or make a donation towards my fundraising efforts, if you’re so inclined!

Once I signed up for that, I realized I had to come up with a new training plan that will prepare me both for the tri and the Atlantic City Half Marathon in October! I took to the interwebs and found my favorite 6-week triathlon training plan once again, then layered my usual half marathon training plan on top of it. BOY was that a mess. After some tinkering (and taking into consideration the other shorter races I’ve got planned in September and October), I finally came up with a plan that works. I was SO excited to take it on! I hit the first week hard, nailing every single workout, and I was feeling good in time for my first long run of training.

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It was a little harder than I expected because of the heat and hills I took on, but I was so pumped to keep it up and tackle week 2! Aaaaand then I got sick.

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::sad trombone music::

Last week I was knocked out by a nasty sinus infection and bronchitis that prevented me from breathing or hearing or basically using my head properly for a good 5 days. I finally started feeling human again on Sunday in time for a quick weekend getaway with my friend and her daughters, and now I’m easing back in to training once again with renewed excitement. Kind of. I mean, my lungs are still filled with gunk and it’s like 100 degrees out, but dammit I’ve got races to crush this fall, and I’m not going to let anything get in my way!

Which brings us to today, and another exciting announcement – the winner of my Freekeh Foods Giveaway! Drumroll please…. Congratulations to Jamie Harrings, you’re a winner!

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Check your email for details on how to claim your prize – and thank you to all who entered, too! Have a great day everyone 🙂

TGIF!

/ Jess / Leave a comment

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for all of the post-triathlon love – you guys are the best 🙂 Things are going nice and smooth here – I’m now training for both another triathlon (yes, another one!) and a half marathon, so my calendar is quickly filling up with double workouts and smaller fall races too. There’s so much to look forward to in the coming months and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

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Don’t Forget to Have Fun

/ Jess / 1 Comment

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how hard it is to balance things out without feeling like I’m stuck in an endlessly repeating loop.

giphyKind of like my friend the gray rat there..

In the past when a big race loomed on the horizon, I would get so focused on The Plan (with a capital P) that by week 10 I felt like a zombie. I’d spend most of the last few weeks wishing the monotony was over, plodding through each workout while repeating the faithful mantra “trust your training”.

duhFat lot of good that did me through endless treadmill miles.

I went from being excited to dreading those workouts, and if we’re being honest here, that kind of defeats the purpose of running, right?

So once my big spring races were done back in April, I scaled back my weekly mileage and looked for other ways to get my fitness kicks. And wouldn’t you know it, my running endurance has improved overall a result!

obvs I maintained a lower base mileage per week, kept my long runs to 5-6 miles on the weekend, and found that I looked forward to weekends because I could fit even more fitness-y type fun things in my day! On days when my knees and my heart just didn’t feel like running, I started doing stuff like yoga and walking (who knew?!). I biked more, both down the park on my trusty two wheeler and on my DeskCycle at the office.

IMG_5516Seriously, 18 miles while working? A few times a week? Hello, leg muscles!

As a result, the past few runs and smaller races I’ve done in May and June have been immensely better than my training runs and races in March and April. I go out strong and don’t waver after 10 minutes like I used to. My pace is consistently improving, even if by a few seconds. I feel stronger, more confident, and less anxious about race day in general. I’m also a few lbs lighter, which never hurts! Hell – yesterday I caught myself jogging up the spiral staircase at my office – I’ve never done that in the 2+ years I’ve been here!

hyperApologies to my coworkers for my new found energy.

I’ve got a 10K race coming up this Saturday and while I haven’t actually used a Plan with a capital P to prep for this race, I’m 100% fine with that. I’m trusting my training, even though it doesn’t fit into a rigid schedule and add up to a certain amount of miles per week. Sure, I’ll probably feel like dying halfway up those Central Park hills, but I look forward to it! Instead of “trusting my training”, this go-round I’m “embracing the journey” and look forward to smiling through all 6.2 miles.

How about you – have you ever just thrown “The Plan” out the window and gone for it? How did your race turn out? Want to race up the spiral staircase with me? 🙂

Weight Loss & Running Fearless

/ Jess / 7 Comments

When I signed on to be a Skirt Sports Ambassador, I was thrilled – they’re all about encouraging women to move and embrace their bodies, no matter their size, age, or ability. Their message of fearlessness and acceptance is one that I wholeheartedly stand behind. Too often the snark and body-shaming in the periphery of the fitness community will  and spread those negative vibes. And as an Ambassador for their brand, I’m so lucky to be another voice for positive change. Given my own journey through the past 10+ years, I’m especially honored to help spread the message of being yourself and going after your fitness goals without fear.

When I first started running, I took it up as I started losing weight back in 2004, and had to start slowly – I weighed more than 270+ lbs and I couldn’t go more than a quarter mile before quitting.

before1I was uncomfortable in my own skin and frankly, felt trapped. I was just about to turn 21, I was in college and building an awesome new path in life for myself, but I didn’t feel “skinny enough” to do the things that other people around me were doing. Dating, going out to clubs and bars – I didn’t want to put myself out there because I was afraid of what others would think of me. I took every whisper, every look, every dating rejection as a result of my weight and my appearance, so I put up a wall.

Every day I would put on a show of over-confidence to mask the self-loathing going on under the surface, and each night I would retreat back into my own world, lock the door, and dream of the real me. I saw myself a hundred pounds lighter, living my dream life: successfully managing a full professional and personal schedule all with the confidence I knew I had inside.

Finally, a few days before my 21st birthday in July, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a crushing blow; my mother is my whole world. After breaking down in the hallway of our house when she said the words, my immediate reaction (later that day) was to go down to the park to run myself into oblivion. I had never run more than a mile before that day, but I needed to numb the pain and couldn’t think of anything else to do. So I ran. And I didn’t care about what anyone thought of me that day.

When I look back on it, I realize it was a desperate need to do something – anything – to take care of myself. The C-word has a way of putting all of your life choices into perspective, even if it’s not you but your immediate family. I now technically had “a family history” of cancer. And the only weapon I had against that was taking better care of myself. So after burning myself out in the park that day doing I don’t even remember how many miles (I lost count after 5), I started to pay closer attention to my choices: what I ate, how I moved, how I spent my free time. And wouldn’t you know it: by eating sensibly and moving more, I lost between 30-40 lbs in that first 6 months.

There’s a lot more to my fitness story after that – I went on to lose a total of more than 100 lbs in the next 5 years, AND my mother beat cancer and has been officially cancer-free since 2005! – but the point of it is this: you can’t live your life in fear. Fear of becoming sick, fear of losing your loved ones, fear of what others will think of you – none of it helps you, unless it motivates you to do something.

I spent most of my teen and adult life hiding from what I could become, and once I conquered that fear and did something about it, I finally found the courage I needed to change. I became an athlete; a runner; I became the me I always knew I was!

IMG_4183 (2)How about you: what’s holding you back from your dream? What do you plan to do to conquer it? Share in the comments and let’s lift each other up!

Playing Catch Up

/ Jess / 3 Comments

OK, first: I am SO sorry it’s been so long since my last post! We’ve got a big product launch going on at my day job, and my new role is heavily involved in almost every aspect of the marketing launch, so I’ve had to log lots of extra night and weekend hours trying to get things ready in the past two weeks, meaning this blog had to suffer! The good news is that we launch today and I can finally breathe now. And to make up for it, I’ve got a fun, picture-filled post for you today!

Let’s rewind to almost 2 weeks ago, when I hit my peak mileage in preparation for the Asbury Park Half Marathon. My weekly runs were going well, and the spring weather made things even better – I was finally able to run outside after work again!

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These solid weekday runs had me feeling pretty good leading up to my long run of 10 miles that Easter Sunday. I decided to run for the first time with the Jersey Shore Running Club down in Ocean Grove, and I was super stoked! I joined a month ago to connect with local runners and to take advantage of their long boardwalk runs on Sunday mornings, and since Easter was going to be a full day, their start time of 6:45AM worked well. The only catch was the 5AM wakeup call I’d have to make. Ugh.

Of course, Saturday night I was hit with a bad case of insomnia and stress-dreams. Why? I have no idea! But I ended up only getting a solid 3 hours of restless sleep at best, and dragged my ass down the Parkway before the sun came up for the sorriest 10 miles I’ve ever run.

IMG_3977But oh, that sunrise!

While the run itself stunk, everything besides the actual running was beautiful and positive! The JSRC people were the most welcoming, friendly group of runners I’ve met in a long time. I quickly bonded with Hazem, who kept me company for the entire 10 miles! He’s in the bright green, I’m in yellow 🙂

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Bless that man for sticking with me, too – thanks to the total lack of rest the night before, I was achy and exhausted from mile 3. We started off at sunrise going south from Ocean Grove, and after a mile or two of sticking together, little groups broke away from the pack and either dropped back (me & Hazem) or took off (everyone else). Once we were on our own, we chatted about work, life, running – the usual. Through Bradley Beach, Belmar, Spring Lake, and back we went, slogging along and taking turns going silent as you do on long runs.

Seeing as how I’d never even met this guy before, I kept telling him that he didn’t have to wait for me – because I was dogging it. It’s like I was made of lead. And as much as I now like running with others, I truly hate feeling like I’m slowing them down. It makes me feel worse and starts the negative thinking spiral. But even though I told him at every water and bathroom stop to keep going without me, he said no and stayed with me until the last half mile when he picked it up and finished, then even waited for me too! Thanks for the company, friend – you made a miserable run totally bearable!

And I also want to issue a public apology for loudly serenading you with some off-key Taylor Swift when she came on my headphones at around mile 6. The long run mania will make you do some crazy things, and I’m sorry you had to witness me Shaking it Off like that.

IMG_3980Another one of the sweet Asbury Park message shells, spotted perfectly on this Easter Sunday Runday!

Final tally: 10 miles in 2:08, Average Pace 12:50/mile. BLAH. Because I performed so poorly, I took the experience as a learning opportunity, and focused on resting and strength/cross training, which helped boost my confidence and made for some solid mileage on Tuesday and Thursday. I think it was the new Skirt Sports gear I tried out on the treadmill!

IMG_4067What up, Lioness Skirt! Want one of your own? Use code SSJRH20 to get 20% off your order!

Come the weekend, I was ready to run and do other running-related things. Namely, pick up my Asbury Park Half Marathon bib!

IMG_4112sounds like a lucky number, yeah?

I decided to go down to the shore one last time before the race to get my feet acclimated to those boards even more. Last year I explicitly remember cursing my thin socks at mile 8 because that boardwalk is HARD. My legs felt fine in the days after the race, but my poor feet were blistered from the beating. So this training cycle I purposely did most of my long runs on the race course to familiarize myself (and my feet) with the work it was going to take on.

Also, about 80% of my race-day anxiety involves the unfamiliar aspects: how will I get there, where will I park, what does the course look like, etc. By driving myself down to the race course and running it every weekend for the entire month before, all of those unknowns were now simple facts that I don’t feel anxious about anymore. I think I’m going to try to adopt this plan-ahead process for all races going forward!

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I got to Asbury at around 8:30 – the sun was shining, the air was getting warmer by the minute, and I was feeling unstoppable. I set out in the same way I would on race day – back and forth on the boards in Asbury, then straight through the casino building south to Ocean Grove, Bradley Beach, over the Belmar Bridge, and down the boardwalk until I hit about 4 miles, and back for my 7.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day to run: the boards were packed with other runners, bikers, walkers, and generally nice people that were just as thrilled about the weather as I was!

IMG_4125Just breathe it in!

I was determined not to let my previous week’s long run cloud my mood, so I didn’t look at my pace until I turned around – and was so happy to see that I was averaging almost a FULL MINUTE FASTER per mile than last week!

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That’s one happy (and overdressed) runner right there.

I was jamming out to some new tunes (thank you, Kendrick Lamar) and turned into a full-out whack job by the 10K mark, singing along to my music and even run-dancing a bit. I’m sure the locals appreciated that. But who cares?! I crushed those 7 miles in 1:26 at an average pace of 12:04 per mile – holy crap!

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I know better than to expect a SUPER awesome performance like that again this weekend, but who knows? It was definitely the perfect confidence-boosting run I’ve needed this training cycle. I didn’t know what to expect going into the “two-halfs-in-one-month” plan that I basically created on the fly. But 4 days from go time my knees are feeling great, my legs are feeling strong, my confidence is high, and I’m nowhere near as burnt out as I have been before other races. I feel more like a border collie, with tons of energy and excitement about getting to that boardwalk starting line and showing myself how strong I’ve become!

How about you? How has your training been going? Are you loving the spring race season? Tell me everything!

Adventures in Asbury Park

/ Jess / 9 Comments

This week’s long run was 9 miles, and because I’ve grown oh-so-weary of plodding along the same roads for mile after mile, I decided to move my buns in a new location: Asbury Park.

Seeing as how I’ll be racing there in about 18 days, I figured why not? It’s a nice, long, flat stretch of land right on the boardwalk, there’s free parking, clean public restrooms – what more could a runner ask for? Plus, I’d get to cover the final miles of the race in a controlled practice environment. The last time I raced there, I fell apart around mile 10 because the boardwalk seemed to stretched on FOREVER. This way I could prove to myself that I could go even farther if I had to, and make the course on race day seem even shorter!

So I layered up for the 16 degree “real feel” temperature (WTF?!) and headed down to the seaside bright and early, thankful that the sky was so clear. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen, which was a far cry from the last long run I did by the beach! I staked out my free parking, stopped in a restaurant to use their restroom (with their total permission!), stretched out, and headed south on the boardwalk towards Bradley Beach.

IMG_3773These shells were strewn all over the boardwalk, every quarter mile or so. “Smile, God is Watching”, “Have a Blessed Day”… they all had little motivational phrases written on them and made me smile every time I spotted one. This one was my favorite.

It was chilly at first, but I quickly warmed up and realized that I was over-layered (as usual). Plus my tights were a little loose around the waist and kept sliding, causing me to stop every few feet to tug them up. I was starting to get frustrated when I finally slipped into the groove and powered through miles 1 and 2 at an easy 11:30-12 min pace per mile.

I passed where I fell apart on race day last year, near the turnaround point at mile 10-ish, and kept going through Avon and all the way to the bridge that would take me into Belmar. But seeing as how I was scheduled to meet my friend Kevin back near where I parked at my half-way point, where he would join me for the last 4-5 miles of my run (and brunch on the boardwalk afterwards!), I turned and made my way back to our meeting point and hit 4 miles.

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Running buddies are the best!

It was *super* windy going north, and my time slowed considerably here because of it – almost to 13 minute miles! – but I kept going because I had a friend to meet! Once we met up in front of Langosta Lounge, I stopped at my car to take a gel and get some water – it was really WARM once I got going! – and we set off north for a half mile or so.

We skirted Deal Lake and jumped back onto the boards going south once again, cutting through Boardwalk Hall (and stopping for runfies, because duh), and easing into the next 4.5 miles.

IMG_3771That sky! That CHIN!

We motored on, chatting about life and the usual stuff – it had been so long since our last workout date! As a girl who used to say I would never run with other people, I have solidly recanted my statements and will publicly state that I love it. Sharing the miles with someone else just makes them go by so much easier. Miles 5-7.5 were filled with chatting, dream-house hunting, and laughing when I pocket-dialed my mom and caused her to panic because, as she put it, “I just heard gasping and snippets of conversation and a man’s voice, I was so worried!” Hehe – sorry mom, that was me and my guy friend trying to have a conversation while running, not imminent danger to your daughter!

Before I knew it, we were already at the 7.5 mile point near the Belmar bridge once again, ready to turn around for the final few miles – but that’s when the miles took their toll. The week before, I got my mileage in as per the plan but skimped on cross and strength training because of 12+ hour work days. Bad idea. Heed my warning, kids: do NOT skimp on cross & strength training. That last mile or so, I felt it badly in my hips and quads, and vowed to hit the squat rack a tiny bit harder this week to make up for it.

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I was amazed though, to see that we were already at 9 miles, and still had about a half mile to go! So I stopped the Garmin, stretched a bit, and we walk/jogged back to our cars for a successful run.

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After some action shots, of course 😉

I grabbed my bag from my car, we drove around for a bit to find a brunch place, and finally decided on the Langosta Lounge right on the water – where I changed out of my sweaty running gear and proceeded to sing to my cinnamon bun.

IMG_3808It was either Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman” or “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift.

Seriously, people – if you ever have the chance to get brunch in Asbury Park, GO to the Langosta Lounge. You will not be disappointed. I had Eggs Marion: poached eggs on top of a bed of asparagus and smothered in a basil cream sauce with a side of shrimp, lobster, and veggie-fried potatoes. I die.

IMG_3811I can almost taste it again…

It was a fantastic way to start my Sunday, and added to my excitement over this upcoming race for sure. I’ve still got a few weeks to go, but I’m already feeling more confident at longer distances than I was this time last year. Even runs of 8 miles used to make me nervous, but I’ve managed to clock those miles without any issues lately, and that’s huge for me.

This training cycle I’ve learned that it’s important to take a step back and appreciate how far I’ve come sometimes. When I stop and look back at where I was a year, or even 6 months ago, I realize that I’m in a much better place both physically and mentally when it comes to running. I’ve found a great balance in my training, I’m having fun, and I look forward to what the future holds. If you ask me, that’s cause for celebration right there!

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An Ode to Vitamin D (aka Spring Running is the Best)

/ Jess / 10 Comments

Now that it’s still light enough after work for me to get some miles in, I’m 100% loving it.

Last night I went for an easy 4 miles after a particularly tough work day. It was a bit chilly, and I am admittedly a big baby when it comes to the cold weather, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sunset was shaping up to be a beauty. So out I went.

The first few miles were my typical post-work weekday training miles: full of huffing and puffing for the first three quarters, with a final mile of bliss. I trudged through the creepy tunnel next to my house and up the hill to Broadway, adding some distance going up and down the side streets as I went. This slightly different route got me to the waterfront park just in time for sunset, and it turned out to be one of those moments that makes you grateful to be alive:

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Seriously though – I don’t know if it was the runner’s high creeping up on me, the extended sunshine, the impending warm weather or what, but it was pure bliss. This week at work has been particularly stressful and I’m not even very well rested either. But it was all forgotten once I got to the gazebo up there and took a minute and breathe in the air, listen to the sea gulls talk to each other, and capture the moment.

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In past training cycles, I found myself getting so caught up in the number of miles that I “had to” run that I ended up losing the joy of running. I just ran to get the miles done and that was it. The faster I got it done the sooner I could go home and relax. Not this time around.

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I’m pausing to take the photos, stopping to listen to the waves, taking that side road to see where it goes, even if it adds mileage or keeps me out a half hour later and pushes dinner back a bit.

As I pile on the miles and fall into a more regular running/training routine, I find that I’m more psyched up to run and less inclined to be lazy. On the contrary, it’s like a positive feedback loop, where the more I run, the more I want to run. It really is true what they say about running: you get out of it what you put into it!

What about you: Have you been feeling a pep in your step because of all this extra daylight we’re getting? When was the last time you stopped during a run to take a nice picture or really soak in the moment? What did you find when you did? Share!

Training Hard or Hardly Training?

/ Jess / 11 Comments

With the United NYC Half a week in the rearview mirror, I’ve turned my attention (and my training) to the Asbury Park Runapalooza Half Marathon in less than 4 weeks. My original plan was NOT to run two half marathons within a month of each other, but here I am. So after attacking the hills of Central Park and still managing to get within 3:13 of my best half marathon time, I’m super psyched to return to the boardwalk of Asbury Park, the scene of my first post-ACL surgery half marathon last spring where I managed to beat my previous time by just a few minutes, and prove to myself that I truly am a runner!

After last Sunday’s race I knew I had to take it easy – those hills were no joke – but I also knew that there would be no lazing around and falling back into the “I raced last week, I deserve a third dessert!” trap I sometimes fall into after a race. So I gave myself a total of 3 days off, with nothing but stretching, foam rolling, and wine.

But by Thursday, the combination of not running and the increasingly nice weather (hello, 45 degrees and sunny at 6pm!) had me pacing the floors like a border collie. So after work I laced up and hit the pavement without looking at my watch the whole time – this was a purely “ease back into running” run, and man did it feel good!!

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It didn’t hurt that I wore one of my favorite cold weather tops – and found it a little loose, too! I felt sleek, strong, and capable the entire run. It was one of those runs where the only thing stopping you is the creeping darkness (and the fact that dinner was at home waiting!): the cool air energized me, the sunset was so pretty, and running for fun just felt so great.

After taking it easy once again on Friday & Saturday, I created a revised 4-week plan to get me safely to the Runapalooza finish line, and was relieved to find that I only had 6 miles on tap for the following day. So Sunday I woke bright and early for a cold, windy, brisk 6 miler around town while the rest of my neighbors prepared for the local St. Patrick’s Day parade!

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While it was cold and windy as hell, especially by the waterfront, it was still a beautiful morning – and another confidence-boosting run to boot! Perhaps it was my awesome first run back, or maybe it has something to do with all the delicious vitamin D I’m finally getting by moving my runs off the treadmill and onto the pavement once again… whatever it is, I’m loving it!

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I kept a nice pace for the first 4 miles until the wind picked up after I headed in the opposite direction, but I still managed to stay around 12 minutes per mile, with hills and wind battling me too!

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And to make matters even better, I capped off my Sunday morning with one of my absolute favorite things to do once the spring comes around:

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A post-run pedicure!

Granted, the poor nail salon guy had to skip the one funky toenail that’s hanging on for dear life and was confused when I stopped him from scraping off my callouses (I am NOT about to feel the pain of running on un-calloused feet as I build them up all over again!) – but he got a good laugh when I started practically purring as he massaged each little toe and squeezed the ever-loving crap out of my calves! It’s been almost a year since my last professional pedicure, and it showed. But I hereby promise my little piggies: I will not be waiting that long again for my next one!

After my pedi, I poured myself into a big comfy chair at home, watched about 5 episodes of House of Cards, and capped off my first week post-half-marathon and first long run into training cycle #2 with a few glasses of wine curled up on the couch with my husband and cat.

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And that’s all, folks!

All in all, I’m pleased with myself this spring. I’ve managed to find a healthy balance of training and relaxing, I’m feeling stronger than almost any previous training cycle, each run leaves me feeling more confident than the last, and I’ve still got another great race to look forward to in a few weeks! Some days I feel the strain of hard training, but for the most part, it’s the other way around: I feel like I’m hardly training!

How about you? Are you training hard or hardly training? Is your schedule wearing you down yet or have you found a proper balance? When was your last pedicure? Let me hear it in the comments!