Category / Training

by megrunnergirl

Sisters in Sport | On the Starting Line!

Nearly nine months ago, the running rut that had been dangerously brewing during the final few months of my collegiate career had reached its boiling point. Over ten years of competitive running had taken its toll on me mentally and physically, so I was eager for the fresh start and squeaky clean slate that graduation would bring. I knew I hadn’t fallen out of love with the sport, and I couldn’t wait for the chance to shake off the negative mojo and redefine who I am as a runner.

Come summer, I dove head-first into the uncharted territory of running just for me. I hit the refresh button by shedding structure and embracing spontaneity with my training and tried my hand at a new racing distance…the marathon. Though the build-up was far from perfect, the race itself was absolute perfection. Talk about a tidal wave’s worth of positive energy!

I’ve been riding that wave since that day last October. In (lucky!) 2013, I want to take full advantage of this empowering feeling and run with it!

photo 1-1Enter… the Sisters In Sport bloggers and the Believe I Am training journal, both created by Lauren Fleshman and Ro McGettigan.

One inspiring and compelling discovery I’ve made post-college is the online running community. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been drawn in by a runner’s post or motivated to hit the road myself because of Sunday morning’s inevitable stream of long run-related tweets. I started this blog as a means to join in on the conversation, and you can imagine my surprise (and excitement!) when I was asked to be part of a group of female bloggers dubbed the Sisters in Sport. (Check out the link above to find out what these lovely ladies are all about!) Using Lo and Ro’s Believe I Am training journal as a guide, I want to home in on what truly makes me a happy, healthy runner, and my hope is that some part of my journey will resonate with you, too!

photo 2-1Because this is my inaugural #SistersInSport/@BelieveIAm post, I want to share with you my goals for this year:

  • Keep up this streak of positivity: Whether it be a good or bad run or race, find something that went well and focus on that! (Exhibit A: The super-slow, but incredibly enlightening Walt Disney World Marathon.) 
  • Reintroduce some structure to my training: I want to find a way to love doing workouts again because I flat-out need to get faster. The key? Sticking to a schedule that’ll help me get there. Since college, I’ve rejected any sort of pre-determined plan, so I know I’ll need to up my commitment level and make sure I get in some proper training. (Creating a training plan for April’s Boston Marathon is actually my January goal of the month!)
  • Get fitter from head to toe: That means lots of core (I seriously need to improve my pitiful plank PR), lifting sessions and yoga. I plan to keep track of how often I hit the gym/studio each month to I make sure I actually do it.
  • Break into the 3:1X’s in the marathon: I don’t care if this happens at Boston or Marine Corps this year, but I would be SO stoked to be able to run an entire marathon around 7:30 pace. I know and believe I can do it!
  • Eat healthier in general: This translates into actually cooking more often. I won’t lie, my workplace’s super duper organic environment is starting to rub off on me!    

Between actually writing down these goals down in my journal and having y’all keep me accountable via this blog (the game plan is to write a post per month that’ll recap the previous month and discuss my goals for the upcoming month), I have a feeling I’ll be able to tackle most (if not all) of these goals. I know it won’t be easy, but that’s what keeps things interesting, right? =) Now, let’s get this year-long race underway!

QUOTE OF THE POST: “When you put yourself on the line in a race and expose yourself to the unknown, you learn things about yourself that are very exciting.” – Doris Brown Heritage

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If you’re interested, here are the other super-sweet Sister in Sport bloggers! Check ’em out:

Sarah
Laura
Larissa
Jessica
Jen
Laura
Jocelyn
Jennifer
Nicole
Morgan
Mollie
Jennifer
Sarah
Meggie
Bethany
Lisa
Dorothy
Kaitlin
Jane
Shannyn

Read my other Sisters in Sport posts here. 

by megrunnergirl

Greatest Hits of 2012: This Year’s Highs (and Lows)

Between graduating from college in May, landing my dream job at Runner’s World soon after, and starting my life in the “real world” over 2,000 miles away from home, I’d say 2012 was a pretty darn pivotal year for me personally. Running-wise, I crossed the finish line of my last collegiate race and my first marathon. I got to meet one of my idols, make friends with some of the best bloggers around, and enter the blogging world myself. I ran about 1,500 miles give or take a few. Looking back, this year had SO many highs (and its fair share of lows), all of which helped me grow and develop as a runner. Here’s a look back at my year of running along with what I learned along the way that I hope to apply this year.

After a disappointing senior cross country season, I was determined to turn things around and snag an indoor 3-K PR. Despite having the slowest seed time in the fastest heat at the Patriot League Championships in February, I managed a three-second PR, running 10:22.08. Don’t know why, but I always seemed to find my groove when I raced indoors. Getting over a crappy season to run a solid indoor season was a definite high-point of my senior year.

> You can always bounce back from a slump, so trust that you will break out of it. Stay positive and don’t get discouraged. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!

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Just before the start of my final collegiate race – that’s me second from the left.

As pumped as I was coming off of my indoor season, my body and my brain decided three months too soon to call it quits for my outdoor steeplechase season. I tried so hard to fight past the slump–no one wants to have a crappy final season…go out with a bang right?–but come each race-day I just couldn’t pull it together. I was still hitting my splits and feeling great in workouts, but my time (frustratingly) hovered around 11:52 all season… nearly 35 seconds slower than my PR from the year before. Ooof. My coach still sent me to the league championships, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to don my Lehigh uniform one last time (left). Even though my last collegiate race was one of my worst, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly blessed for the ability to run every single season of my collegiate career. Four years, 12 seasons, countless races. Still can’t believe it’s over…

> Cherish every race that you get the chance to run, even the bad ones. Relish the moment, accepting each barrier you have to hurdle along the way. You’ll come out stronger at the finish line regardless of your time or place.  

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A box of costumes arrived at the office one morning, so naturally we had to do our lunch run in them. 

Now, on to bigger, better things! The summer brought my first runs in my life that I got to do just for me. In other words, in my 10+ years of competitive running, I’d never done a run that wasn’t a training run or workout prescribed to me by my coach. Ahh it felt insanely incredible. Rather than following a training plan, I did what my boss calls “secondhand training” – whatever my coworkers wanted to run each day, be it a tempo run or easy four miles in a tutu (right), I tagged along. Most days I even went without a watch. I was content with whatever distance we ran and didn’t get bogged down by our pace. Along the way, I began to regain my passion for running, and it was invigorating.

> Lacking structure and embracing spontaneity when training can be one of the most refreshing things you can do. Shed the watch and daily expectations and just run.

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This moment still gives me chills and will stick with me forever!

Then came my first marathon in October. (You can read my full, nitty gritty recap here!) For the first time in a long freakin’ time, I had a race that came together perfectly – I felt strong and smooth, the uncontrollables worked in my favor, and I hit my best-case-senario goal. BEST. FEELING. EVER! Not to mention I qualified and got into the 2013 Boston Marathon a couple days after! Pure euphoria.

> Practicing a positive mindset and cementing a reasonable game plan for months in advance can make executing it come race day a cinch. Shedding the negative energy during training makes it that much easier to knock it out mid-race. 

Despite my coworkers warning me about about post-marathon exhaustion, I was struck by how much the race sucked the life out of me. I felt like I was back to square one again, out of shape and slow as ever for over a month. So not fun. It wasn’t until the day of the would-be New York City Marathon in November that I had a run where I felt like I was myself again. After such a high post-marathon, the recovery period was a yucky low. Now I know what to expect, and I fully intend to let my body fully heal before I try to run again. Mental note for next time!

> Rest is a good thing. Yes, you might lose some fitness, and yes, it sucks missing out on lunch runs with friends. But you’ll make your next build-up that much smoother and keep injuries at bay. Patience young grasshopper. It’ll pay off later.

I desperately needed to get out of the slump, so I decided to commit to the #RWRunStreak, which means running at least one mile a day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. I cherish my off days, so taking this on was a big deal for me. But hey, I needed to get back in shape for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. Not only did I have some of the best runs I’ve had in a while, but it got me back on track, and it was one of the best decisions I made all year. I made it a full 26 days straight, and I couldn’t believe I stuck to it.

> Making a commitment real by telling friends about it on social media or writing it down in your training log can be just the kick in the butt you need to get out the door for a run and stay committed toward reaching a goal. It’s amazing what encouragement you can get from friends.   

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What a year! =) Looking ahead to 2013, I have three marathons on the calendar so far for the spring and, since I’m already a bit top-heavy, I’m only going to run one in the fall. I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but my goal is to get faster and stronger so I can race for time rather than race to finish. I also hope to keep up this blog and start widening my circle of running friends on the web. The online running community is so incredible, and I want to be a part of it! So 2013, bring it on! I’m ready for ya!

What were your running highlights this year?

P.S. This just came up in my Twitter feed. TOTALLY going to try it! Happy New Year’s everyone!

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QUOTE OF THE POST: “When we understand the privilege of what it means to be an athlete, we are in touch with, and rejoice in, our physical, mental, and emotional strengths and our endless possibilities.” – Gloria Averbuch

by megrunnergirl

Committing to the #RWRunStreak – Here Goes Nothing!

As a part of “Operation: Get My Butt In Gear”/start training for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January (I might not be “racing” it per se, but I need to at least get through the darn thing), I’ve decided to commit to the #RWRunStreak. This means I have to run at least one mile every single day until January 1. I think my longest “streak” capped off at around 10 days, so running for 35 days straight sounds downright crazy. I’ve considered trying a streak before, but I cherish my off days for the mental and physical downtime too much (and I like getting to stay clean all day!). I like my off days so much so that I got into the habit of taking a few too many of them post Steamtown. The race sucked the life out of me more than I anticipated–I felt like I was out of shape for an entire month–and although I needed the rest, I got into a slump. If I’m ever in a bad running mood, it’s when I’m out of shape. Not fun. After running once (once! gah!) while I was at home for Thanksgiving, I realized I needed a serious kick in the butt.

Enter… the #RWRunStreak. I hope that by making my commitment public via this blog and Twitter, I’m going to stick to it! (I even wrote it in pen in my training log–I just started my fourth consecutive book!–and I can’t back out on that!) I’m also going to start strengthening my core so that come Boston, I’ll be primed for a PR. I’ll be updating this post throughout the streak every week or so with my progress, so check back often!

Update on December 2 (Day 7): Before I say anything else…it’s absolutely amazing what a little kick in the butt can do! I was able to string together seven incredible runs – between a stunning eight-mile trail trek up a (small) mountain and an epic solo 15-miler today, I feel like I can really say I’m out of my slump. =) Let me put it this way, my 15-miler felt easier than my six-mile run I did over Thanksgiving break. Seriously. I ran a couple loops on my old Lehigh XC “stomping grounds,” which was refreshing in and of itself, AND I hit a few 7:30s-7:40s mid-run. Mental note for next time I’m in a rut – get back on my favorite roads, blast some music, and go. Shaking things up is a good thing every once in a while!

photoUpdate on December 10 (Day 15): Whoa – I can’t believe it’s been FIFTEEN days so far! I think that’s my all-time longest run streak! (Talk about Monday Motivation!) The highlight of this week of streaking was running in NYC all weekend. I ran in the NYRR Jingle Bell Jog with a few Lehigh cross country alums. And yes, we ran with bells on our shoes – it was definitely a neat way to get in the Christmas spirit! I also completed my first real run in Central Park on Sunday, logging about 13 miles total. I ran one big, six-mile loop and a couple laps around the reservoir. I ran alone and without music, and I loved it. I spent half the time chasing down other runners, which turned my run into a mini fartlek, and I enjoyed pretending I was a New Yorker for the morning as I wove through the park with hundreds of other runners. Yeah, I seriously need to do that again sometime.

Update on December 16 (Day 21): Yesterday I ran 20 miles (20 miles on Day 20! – heck yes!) on my own, just me, my music, and the roads. After doing all but one long run with coworkers in my training build-up for Steamtown, it’s been an eye-opening experience knocking out those runs solo in my abbreviated build-up for Disney next month. I tweeted post-run about how I realized that the hardest part about getting out for those runs (especially alone) really is the hardest part. Once I got into my rhythm a few miles in, I was golden, especially when “Sail” came on! =) For newbie marathoners, I would definitely recommend finding a buddy to get you through those long runs. But I have to admit that once I finished that run yesterday, I’ve never felt stronger or more confident in myself and my running. There is something truly empowering about voluntarily going out for a nearly three-hour run. Try it–it’s worth it.

Today I rewarded myself with an easy, one-mile recovery run, some core, and this post-run yoga session from my girl OmGal:

Keepin’ the #RWRunStreak alive! Over halfway to the finish line!

** Final update on December 26: So…due to a holiday travel debacle that left me suitcase-less (and running gear-less) in Chicago for a full day, my #RWRunStreak came to an unexpected conclusion on December 22. =( I made it a full 26 days–which is ages longer than my longest streak on record–so to be honest, I’m thrilled! The streak got me back on track for Disney (which is just a couple weeks away now!) and I strung together a few surprisingly solid long runs that left me confident in my fitness level. Even though I’m a bit bummed I didn’t make it all the way to January 1, all in all it served its purpose. I took four days off (learn why “none” miles every once in a while can be a good thing here) and had my first run at home today. It wasn’t pretty–the higher elevation kicks my butt–BUT I got to break in my shiny new pink Garmin Forerunner 10, which is freakin’ awesome! It  works exactly how I hoped it would – it’s super easy to navigate, and it tells me only what I want to know (i.e. pace, time, and distance) sans bells and whistles. I have a feeling we’re going to log many, many happy miles together!

Anywho, kudos to those streakers still streakin’! It’s certainly not easy yanking on those kicks when it’s dark, drizzly, and cold outside. But fighting past those moments of weakness to come out on the other side mentally and physically stronger is worth the extra loads of laundry (I almost broke my washer mid-streak!) and lost sleep. Committing to the streak was one of the best decisions I’ve made all year, and I think it’s a training tool I’ll pull out of my back pocket the next time I need a shot of motivation. I’ll close this post with a motivational poster that I thought complimented the streak that read, “Summer body earned in winter.” True that.

QUOTE OF THE POST: “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Unknown