Every Mile Earned

I ran this race for the first time last year. It was a fast course through the neighborhoods of Binghamton, NY. This year they changed the course.  I liked this one much better.  This race brings people from all over for the bicycle races and the 5k.  Here is a brief description of these very competitive events:   The race attracts over 1,000 participants from local athletes to world-class competitors with crowds of up to 5,000 spectators. The Chris Thater Memorial consists of the Pro, Elite and Novice cycling events, and a 5K Run through the Westside of Binghamton. The Chris Thater Memorial also features  demonstrations and other youth sports and special events. Before I race I look at the times of my AG from the year before.  My goal was to try to run a sub25 minute 5k, however I knew that wouldn't be enough to place in this race.  Last year the top women in my AG were all 23 minutes and under (the woman who placed 1st ran it in 19:...

Ah, the blessed recovery week.  I couldn't wait to have a week of lower mileage, less strength training and sleeping in at least an hour or so.  By the end of the week I was tearing my hair out wanting more challenge!! My 16 mile long run on last Saturday left me feeling pretty defeated. It didn't go at all like I had hoped but at least I finished all the miles. My Musician met me at the end of mile 12 with ice water and took my CamelBak from me. I just wanted to crawl into the car and go home with him but I finished the last 3 miles. Him and Tink started walking down our road to meet me as I was doing my cool down walk up our hill.  I need their smiles to wrap my first cycle of marathon training. My biggest supporters  My week started with a pretty rough workout but it was to prepare me for the goal race I had this weekend. Monday was a track workout of 7x1000m repeats at race pace. While I was doing it, I hated it but after I realized how much confidence...

My big race this fall will be the Philadelphia Marathon in November. The countdown is now in the double digits, 99 days left.  Sounds like a lot but I know how fast November will get here. Between now and then though, I have 6 other races, 2-5k's, a 3.8 trail run, a 10k and 2 half marathons.   My coach calls them "B" races.  There are two races with specific goals but they are still "B" races.  They aren't my goal race of the season. Philly is the big one for me. I'm in week 4 of marathon training. I'm tired.  This week I have been sneaking in some extra sleep, here and there, which is helping. The last couple weeks I've been stressed, not eating right and not getting enough sleep. One of the women in my Sub 30 group posted something about overtraining that made me really evaluate the whole picture. This week I decided to not try to do it all. My house is trashed (my Musician is great at helping out a lot of the time), clean laundry is piled ...

Not sure I'll ever really say that, Just Another 5k.  They terrify me. Especially now. Three weeks ago I ran my fastest 5k ever. Going into Sunday's Kelly LaBare 5k, I kept thinking: What if the last one was a fluke? What if I can't run that fast again? This one messed with me for days. I'm not yet confident in my ability to race. I had two goals going into this race. One was a more realistic one to me, to shave at least 30 seconds off my PR and the other was to go sub 25.   ** edited a mistype. mean sub25 5k, NOT a sub24 5k!!  This is the third time I've run this race. I ran it in 2009, my very first race ever, then I ran it with my husband in 2010.  Some time since I ran it last, they changed the course a bit but it's still in Otsiningo Park. 2010 ~ 2015 This race is part of the Spiedie Fest weekend, with concerts, balloon launches, spiedie cook off and the 5k race.  This year we attended the concert on Friday night, Joan Jett, and Saturday,...