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Lady Track Shack 2017 — Mother-Daughter 5K

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This weekend I got to share something I love with someone I love. Running….with my favorite girl. I signed up for the Lady Track Shack 5K on a whim — and decided to make it a mother-daughter affair.

I actually didn’t even tell L that we were running it until 2 weeks before. Surprise! I had heard really great things about this race and given everything going on right now — a women’s only race was perfect timing.

A friend picked up our race packets and we met outside the Orlando Science Center around 7:10. The race started at 7:30, so we took a few pictures and then lined up right as the race was starting. Kendra had a stroller so she had to start in the back (my only complaint) – even behind the walkers, so we all decided to start with her. We were some of the last people to cross the start — good thing we were chip timed!

Love these mamas and their kids!

My friend’s daughter was also running so the girls started together. Unfortunately, there was so much bobbing and weaving past the walkers that we lost them somewhere around 1.5 miles. They still finished though — it was their first 5K together!

For the past 2 weeks, L has had run club at school (finally – I can volunteer at something!) and she’s been running almost 2 miles, so I knew she could do this 5K without an issue. I wasn’t, however, expecting her to run the entire time — WHICH SHE DID!

What are they looking at here? I have no idea.

We did stop for water – but for less than a minute and she was back to running again.

Here is a fantastic picture of me running with my eyes closed.

I was most impressed that she didn’t complain about running or ask to stop AT ALL. The past two 5Ks she had run were full of complaints and declarations that she was never going to finish. This time she just kept going and even picked up the pace at the end. The weather certainly helped (it was 42 degrees out) and having a running buddy (Kendra’s daughter) with her helped too.

Speaking of the end – she insisted on holding my hand as we finished. It might have been because it was freezing (for this Massachusetts turned Florida girl!), but I’d like to think it’s because she wanted to finish like a team. I can only hope she feels this same way 5-10 years from now!

Ahhh — so happy!

We finished in 39:11 (chip time). That’s a HUGE PR for her (her last race was 50+ minutes) and to top it off she beat me by a second!

Our crew all finished around the same time and we were very happy to be done.

Awkward Crouching Picture 2017

Pretty — especially for a 5K!

After the race, we all grabbed plants that I’m sure I will kill in record time (#blackthumb) and then caught up with some of my fast and speedy friends who placed in their age groups! L ate 2.5 Krispy Kreme donuts and got attacked by a dinosaur…

We also received amazing shirts from Raw Threads that I never want to take off (I’m NOT wearing it now, but if I were laying around at home I would).

Speaking of age groups… L placed third in hers (of out 13)! I’m so proud of her. Of course, I had NO IDEA that they were giving out age group award for 7-year olds, so we left before the awards were handed out. Derp. She was very sad that she missed all of the attention! I still need to find out if Track Shack will still honor her award. I will have to make a big deal out of it if they do, apparently.

I did tell her that next year, she’s bumping up into a new age group (8-10), so needs to step up her running game if she wants to repeat. She says she’s all in — I guess time will tell!

There ARE Pictures in This Post

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Other than wanting to PR this year, I also want to shake things up before I start marathon training again. I would love to say that means I am going to drop 15lbs and eat cleaner, but who I am kidding?

Instead of pretending I’m going to quit things I enjoy, so I can be a miserable person, I’ve decided to try out new workouts and attempting to add speedwork into my weekly training plans. Yes, speedwork, something I have been vehemently against since I started running. I’m not going to lie, it’s still pretty miserable.

As for workouts, for the past 3 weeks I’ve been attending a few Camp Gladiator workouts during the week. They are hour-long bootcamp style group workouts combining both strength and cardio. Each workout has been varied and all of them have kicked me ass in a good way. I have really loved the experience — and if it didn’t cost $80 a month per person (for unlimited workouts — and there A LOT of workouts offered in my area), I would join in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, our Y membership costs about the same for all 5 of us. It includes kid care and half price on group sports for the kids. If I were child free or single though – this would be an excellent option over going to a gym.

These are the crazy people I’ve been meeting at 5:45 on MWF.

I’ve also taken a few PiYo classes, which is not something I thought I would write in a million years. I hate yoga (not even gonna sugar coat it) and pilates intimidates me, so the fact that I’ve loved the past few PiYo classes I’ve taken shocks me a little bit. One of the reasons I hate yoga is because I can’t just sit and mediate and focus on my breathing and blah, blah, blah. What I actually LIKE about PiYo is that it’s faced paced. There’s still stretching, posing, and breathing – but I have never once thought, “WHEN IS THIS GOING TO BE OVER.”

As for speedwork. UGH. I hate my friends for making me do it. Ok, that’s not true and it was partially my idea, but I still hate it. For the past two weeks we’ve had speedwork on Tuesdays — and will continue it for the next 5 weeks or so. The man motivator in all of this, is that we all finally figured out how to program our Garmins. It’s exciting times.

The first week was 3 x 1600s (with 90 second rest in between) – after warmup. My “goal” (based on my PR half pace) was something ridiculous like 7:57 miles. Ha. Since I hadn’t even seen a sub-9 mile in a while, I figured I would be happy to hit 8:45. I ended up doing better than that and hit sub 8:30.

Last week was 6 x 400s after a 2-mile warm up. My goal this time was a little nuts (7:15-7:30 per 400), but I did a better job getting closer. I felt like I was going to puke after the 5th 400, so I guess that’s the sign of a good workout.

This Tuesday is more 1600s. Have I mentioned that I hate them ALMOST as much as I hate doing ladders (the worst speedwork workout in the land). I HAVE to do better than 2 weeks ago.

So in summary, I hate speedwork, but I’m making myself do it. Also – I’m a little sore from all of my new hardcore workouts, and I have been waking up before 5am waaaaay too many times a week.

New Year, New Goals, New Blog Post?

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So… I’ve considered shutting this blog down for the past 4-5 months. I, obviously, haven’t posted anything – mostly because I don’t know that I’ve had much to say. Instead, I started to go in and delete posts. In some cases the links were broken or the images weren’t loading, but really – I felt like I didn’t need to share certain parts of my life anymore.

I do want to geek out about running though. I have some big plans for 2017 — some of them already in motion. More on that in a bit.

Where have I been (asked the one person who reads this blog!)? Well, I struggled with another flare up of Plantar Fasciitis (PF) for most of the summer and early fall, which sucked. It happened after I tripped on the sidewalk during a 2-mile run (ugh, how freaking stupid of me!). I ultimately discovered that my injury triggered some insanely tight calf muscles (specifically my soleus) and it was killing my foot. I did everything under the sun to help and in the end the simplest thing in the world — stretching my calves — is what led to my recovery (I wrote a little bit more about that here if you are struggling with similar issues!). I also switched shoes again – and I’m back full circle to wearing ASICS. It’s not even funny how fickle my feet are.

Unfortunately, because the recovery took so long, I really didn’t have a chance to train for any of my fall half marathons (Lighthouse Loop and Space Coast). I did run with my friend Kendra as she PR’d the shit out of her half at Space Coast. It was such an awesome day! Kendra actually introduced me to our running group and I am eternally grateful to her for introducing me to so many fantastic people.

In December, I practically walked a half marathon (still not my Personal Worst though!). It was great bonding time with a few of my friends who were recovering from running the Ragnar Trail Ultra (I have some badass friends) — and it was also really challenging. I almost DNF’d at Mile 3, but my friends wouldn’t let me. Damn them! In the end, I finished my 30th half marathon. And it sucked. Which, yet again, proves to me that no matter how many races and miles I run – it’s never easy.

And that leaves me to 2017.

I AM going to PR in something. I’m hopeful it’s a half marathon, but it could be a 5K, a 10K, or *gulp* a marathon.

I am currently in the middle of training for the BDR Orlando Half (Pssst — you can still use my code CRAZYRUN for $5 any race — for NOLA too) — and I’m hoping to smash my current PR (1:54:something – from BDR Orlando 3 years ago) (ok, so even a 1 second PR would be awesome!).

AND I am registered to run the Chicago Marathon in October, again. Truthfully, I’m in a little bit of denial about this race — and I don’t even know if I CARE about PRing, but deep down, I know I can, as long as my foot can stay healthy.

So that’s where I am right now. Big(ish) goals. More (?) blog posts forthcoming. Maybe even some pictures in them (not this one though, I’m too lazy tonight).

And with that…. peace, love, and palm trees my friend(s). Happy (or scary) 2017!

Dusting This Thing Off

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I don’t even know why I stopped blogging, but… I’m back.  Maybe. I want to be.

Race season starts in a month — and I’m not ready. Well, I was. I WAS killing my training this summer — I even managed a few sub-9 minute mile/negative split runs in 100% humidity. And then… I switched shoes (AGAIN, because I am FICKLE) and my Plantar Fasciitis came raging back with a vengeance. It sucks.

I took two weeks off from running completely, and it didn’t do much to help. So I said, “Eff it – I’m running anyway.” My chiropractor finally gave me some hope after some ART on the balls of my feet and my calves (basically, he applied pressure to various spots on my feet and legs — while I cried tears of pain). He is also making me roll my left foot out with a golf ball at home, which is a completely different type of torture. I also switched shoes AGAIN and it has made a world of difference. And now I am an ASICS girl (Gel Cumulus).

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Oh hey, Newport — you are amazing.

Last week, I was traveling for work (see above!) and ran back-to-back days with issue. Then, this Saturday was the first time I did not feel completely defeated after a long run (also the first time I’ve been able to run a 10-miler under a 10 min/mile pace).

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So, I feel like I’m on the mend. But, like I said — it just sucks.

I’m getting excited about racing again though – and hopefully cooler weather — and maybe, probably blogging more. In October I have Lighthouse Loop, November I have Space Coast, and in December Mt. Dora. So much racing!! I can’t wait.

Random Rambling

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Hey, sporadic blogger here! I still have 2 more race recaps to write. Umm, maybe I’ll get to them soon. Before my next race, in October. <–Doable

Part of me wants to give this blog up, but the other part really likes writing and actually misses blogging. So I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a while… ramble on about stuff I’m into these days.

Adidas Energy Boosts

You know I am shoe fickle, but I’ve been running in these shoes for about 6 weeks now and they are SO GREAT. It took me a few runs to adjust to them (probably didn’t help that my first run in them was a 12-miler), but the fit my foot so well and they are extremely breathable. I think my favorite part is that they don’t bother my bunion (my super wide right toe-box), but they are really secure on my foot.

Blueberry 5K

I (surprisingly) haven’t taken an excessive amount of pictures of me wearing them — so here is a picture of me “racing” (used VERY VERY loosely)  in my obnxious Neon Yellow Boosts.

I decided to try these out after my Mizuno Wave Riders (which, I loved) started wearing out at 200 miles. I get that there is wear and tear on shoes — but I’ve been running 100+ mile months and I CANNOT keep replacing my shoes every 2 months. Sorry Mizuno. I’m two months in on the Adidas and there is very little wear and tear. I hope this continues.

Gilmore Girls

We (yes, we) are re-watching Gilmore Girls in anticipation of the reboot (on Netflix, despite owning the entire series on DVD. I guess you could say I’m a fan) — and guess what? It’s JUST a great as it was the first time I watched it. And it holds up.

gilmore-girls-poster

Livie was up sick one night and watched a few episodes. She’s pretty much in love with Lorelei and Rory too and is now constantly asking if we can watch the show. Pretty soon my whole family is going to want to watch it and I can’t blame them.

I’m SUPER excited about the reboot (maybe late November — I’m hearing a date — like the 25th??).

And by the way, I’m totally team Jess.

Hamilton

Hey – have you heard about Hamilton?? Ha.

For the 2% out there who haven’t – it’s a Broadway Show. A Hip-Opera if you want to categorize it. An entire show where people sing, rap, and rap some more about the dude on the $10 bill. There’s a lot of hype and it might not seem like it’s for you… but…. it’s amazing. The hype is legit. I haven’t seen it, but the soundtrack is playing NON-STOP. So much so that my kids sing along (PS – the album is rate Explicit, so I’m winning at parenting). In my defense, I am exposing them to a piece of U.S. History (though not always 100% accurate). Don’t believe me? Check out the lyrics — and the annotations. I’ve learned so much!

Hamilton

I never thought I would say this, but I would LOVE, love, LOVE to see this on Broadway. I’m willing it to happen. I really just need to buy tickets. I could fly up there in a heartbeat.

Lululemon – Run Times Short 

I know, I know. I’m late to the Lululemon game. I actually have one pair (not sure the style) that I’ve had for about 5 years that I love — but nothing else in my wardrobe has been from there. I realized recently that I hate about 75% of my running shorts (and find myself wearing the same 2-3 pairs OVER AND OVER again). I tried on these shorts a little while ago and loved them, but couldn’t bring myself to by shorts for $54 (plus tax) (even though they are currently on sale for $44). So for Mother’s Day this year — I asked for them. For the record — I don’t mind spending that money on shorts for a gift.

Lulu Run Time Short

Always wanted to post a picture of just a quarter portion of my body/half of my legs. 

Livie picked out the pattern (Paradise Camo) so it totally counts.

Now I just need Lulu to make them in more colors/patterns. Not super loving their current options.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

I haven’t really been into reading lately. I don’t know what my deal is. However, this book — I LOVED IT.

Eligible

I really like Curtis Sittenfeld’s books in general (Prep and American Wife are both books I’ve re-read) –and I’m kind of a sucker for anything Pride and Prejudice, so I might be biased. Even if you’ve never read the Jane Austen original (you should), I think you will be find this book totally adorable. It’s a modern re-telling of the P&P with a few twists (Eligible happens to be the name of a VERY popular Reality Television show — a la the Bachelor).  And even though I KNEW how it was going to end (spoiler: no twists there), I was still anticipating how it would all unfold. Needless to say, I read this book in about 2-3 days. You should read it too. Also – I need some book recs. What are ya reading??

Snapchat

So I didn’t really understand Snapchat for the longest time (Paula had to teach me), but it’s SO fun! My kids love the filters and I will do anything these days to get all of them in a picture 🙂

If you’re on Snapchat — find me!

Snapchat michellew626

Trail Running

I went on my first trail run a few weeks ago and I think I’m hooked. I’ve been missing out!! We had way too much fun, got really dirty (my shoes are now black and neon yellow), and saw a HUGE ASS ALLIGATOR (thankfully in the river – not on the trail).

Trail

I almost tripped about 800 times – but didn’t – and only managed to roll my ankle once. So, I consider that a huge win. It was really gorgeous.

I’m going to a different trail this weekend — I can’t wait!!

My babies are getting OLD (and so am I )

L celebrated turning 7 in March

L7

She’s just as sassy as ever. Into dance and soccer, loves reading and school. Sometimes threatens to harm classmates. She got her ears pierced on her birthday.

E, my sweet baby E, turned 3 a few weeks ago

E3

He is still not potty trained (woo-boy we are taking are sweet time), still sleeps in a crib, and he still has a pacifier addiction, so basically we are winning at parenting. He is otherwise very self-sufficient, super verbal, extremely loving and cuddly, and happy-go lucky almost all of the time – so I think we ARE doing something right. Also, his love of Star Wars is fierce.

To top it off, this baby turns 10 in July. TEN!! WTH???

B

This kid is not afraid to state his opinion (repeatedly), loves to draw, a great helper, becoming more responsible, and was chosen to go to Kennedy Space Camp this summer for a week (FREE!). He has grown up a lot this past year and is doing SO much better in school. I can only hope this continues in 5th Grade (O.M.G. HOW?)

And that’s pretty all of the random rambling I think of… for now. What’s up with you? Should we take bets to see how long it takes me to post again?