Back to Blogging!

I must admit I'm not very good at this "online presence" thing. I often think about how I want to be able to use my social media accounts and this blog to be able to share my love of running and the running community . I secretly aspire to evolve into a "run influencer" that inspires, shares helpful information, and reflects the beauty of running ...but I'm just not as tech savvy as I'd like to be. (Also I'm rather cheap at this point! I have races and gear and travel to save for...purchasing a domain and hosting site is not at the top of the list of budget priorities). But something is better than nothing and maybe if I jump back into this, I can learn and develop as we go along!

So what's been happening in the last year since I posted a blog? Well I completed my first official training program with the Dallas Running Club starting last May and reached many running goals along the way! I had a new 10K PR in September (47:08) and a new marathon PR at the Chicago Marathon, reaching my goal of a sub 4 in 3:55! (This is recapped in a post I just published). Only 3 weeks after Chicago, a couple of running friends and I had managed to get registered for the first ever Strava/NYC Marathon Virtual 26.2. Only 500 spots were available and we were blessed to participate (if you call paying $120 to run another marathon by yourself a blessing). We had to complete a marathon the same weekend as the 2018 NYC Marathon in 6.5 continuous hours or less and upload it to Strava in order to earn a guaranteed entry into the 2019 NYC Marathon! I was more than eager to take this opportunity as it was a dream of mine to run New York for my 40th birthday month. However, I knew the odds of getting in by lottery were slim and I was not keen on the idea of fundraising. For awhile I toyed with the thought of trying to train myself down to a 1:34 half and try to time qualify at a NYRR spring race, but when the Strava virtual marathon opportunity presented itself, it seemed like a much more do-able option. Even if it meant running another 26.2 miles just a few weeks after Chicago. I jumped on it! My "sole-sisters" Kelli and Shadetria also got in on this opportunity so on November 4, we met up at the DRC clubhouse about 4:30am to complete our second marathon in less than a month. We ran the first 13 miles on our own, using a route that would take us to the start line of the DRC Half (also happening that day) by 7:00am. The plan was going well until I missed a turn on the first part of the route and ended up running almost a mile extra trying to get to the start of the DRC Half. I was late to the start and probably about 10 minutes behind. I eventually caught up and passed a few people that were running the half-marathon and then settled into a more comfortable, easy pace. My goal wasn't to set any records that day, just to finish in a reasonable amount of time. Because of my wrong turn, I inadvertently ran my first ultra that day. I finished with 27.93 miles in 4:38...my longest run ever.

After the virtual marathon in early November, the next race to set my sights on was the BMW Dallas weekend, although I only planned on running the half. Because this race is special to me in that it's where I first started running with my cousins as part of the relay a few years back in order to support Scottish Rite Hospital that has provided awesome care for my cousin's daughter since infancy, it's now an annual tradition for me. I ran the half-marathon but didn't run with the intention of pursuing a personal record knowing that I wasn't quite ready for that kind of effort just yet. Instead, I decided I would make the Cowtown my goal-race for a half-marathon PR at the end of February.

However, January turned out to be a very blah month for me. Cold weather, my tough schedule with CG, dark winter evenings all were very de-motivating. I think I only squeezed out 55 miles in January. This, however, is typical for me around this time of year. In fact, it is an improvement over not so many years ago when I took a complete hiatus between October and March. February saw a little improvement with more consistent running and increased mileage. I surprisingly had a 15K PR at the Hot Chocolate Dallas (1:18) which gave me confidence going into Cowtown that maybe I could PR after all even though my training had been sub-par. Two things happened that I think were big contributors to my February improvement: I got injections in my feet that drastically helped my plantar fasciitis issues and I bought a pair of Nike Epic React Flyknit shoes that feel AMAZING and light yet supportive. I felt so good running the Hot Chocolate. I got faster every mile and I felt strong at the end and relatively pain free.

This trend continued into the Cowtown on February 24. Although I had initially registered in hopes of making this a PR race, I wasn't sure if I had done enough training in January and February to make that happen. I showed up just ready to run my best, not really sure what the outcome would be. The weather was a bit chilly at the start but turned out to be a really nice day for running. Just like the Hot Chocolate, I felt pretty strong throughout the race. Starting about mile 9, there were some killer hills and inclines. It felt to me that the hills took a lot of wind out of my sails and that it was taking me awhile to recover after each one, but my splits don't indicate that the hills were slowing me down. In fact, the last 4 miles were some of my fastest miles of the race. In mile 12 I was forcing myself up another incline when I met up with my running buddy from the Mind Over Mileage group, Joseph aka Joey aka Concho. Joey is an extremely strong and fast runner and seeing him gave me the push I needed to finish strong. He passed me but my goal was to keep him in my sights which helped me finish mile 12 at 7:46 pace and mile 13 at 8:00 pace. The final .1 was at 7:19! I did end up with a new PR of 1:48:15, which is over a minute faster than my previous PR of 1:49:25 at the Rock n Roll Dallas last spring. Again, I was in the Nike Epic Reacts and so I think I'm sold on this shoe for racing!

Now it is March and my favorite time of year is at long last approaching. This winter was extremely tough and I've recently made the decision to let go of the early morning CG locations I have been running since October. I started those locations the week after Chicago and the strain on my schedule has been ROUGH. It's really taken such a toll that I had to finally admit to myself and others I couldn't keep it up. Starting mid-March, I will go back to running camp only two evenings a week at the bridge. This will free up a lot more time for my own training, running, social life, and sleep. Not only that but the time will be changing, providing more daylight in the evenings to get more running or workouts in AND of course temps will be warming up which always gets me back in the mood to run and train again. I've got a couple more half-marathons this spring before turning my attention to fall marathon training. Up next is the Rock n Roll San Francisco Half on April 7 and the Irving Half on April 27! I'm looking forward to shaving even more time off that half-marathon record and getting closer and closer to the pace I will need to run to have a hope of qualifying for Boston later in the year (more on that later!).

So now let's see if I can get back on track with blogging as well! The journey continues!!! And WILL be documented! :)