Tag: RADrabbit

2021 Running year in review- what’s on the horizon for 2022?

In 2019 I started running again.  Small distances with the goal to just get moving for 30 minutes a day.  Truth be told, I didn’t even really keep track of my mileage anywhere.  Before I knew it I set my sights on running a half marathon.  Then I started paying more attention to my training schedule.  But honestly that first year I really had no idea how many miles I had run.  Turns out, because I went back and checked it was 578.5.

Here comes 2020 and I set a goal of 1000 miles for the year.  Totally makes sense, right?  I should be able to nearly double my mileage now that I’m a more regular runner with longer races planned.  Bam- welcome Covid in March of 2020.  I doubled down on my running to maintain my sanity.  With the boys home from school from March until August I had a lot more flexibility to when I could run.  Less time pressure meant more miles.  Quickly it became clear that I was going to blow past 1000 and then set a modified goal of 1300.  I finished up 2020 with 1310 miles.

So like any good runner when it came time to set a goal for 2021 I went big and said 1500 miles.  Why, on earth I would think that I could surpass my 2020 miles by nearly 200 I have no idea.  But that’s the goal I set and for the first half of the year I was on target to hit that goal.  Then you know life happened. I started a new job- YAY- but I was balancing working full time and momming and trying to have some fun because it was summer.  I hit a wall so to speak with my running as my dad became sicker.  It just lost its luster for a bit.  A few weeks of not feeling it meant lower mileage weeks.  I never stopped running all together, I just cut back considerably on my miles.  Cutting back on your miles when you set a lofty goal makes you reconsider your goal.  I started wondering why the number of miles was important.  Wasn’t the point to still get moving each day?  Post marathon it would have been really easy to pack it in for the year, but I knew I wanted to finish the year strong.  I did something I never do and I took an entire week off after NYC.  My body was tired both physically and emotionally.  I actually felt up to running by Wednesday following the marathon, but knew that I was just exhausted so I listened to my body and rested.  Then picked up right where I had left off, but with easy miles. 

If I’m being honest I’ve had a mental shift.  Not to say, running isn’t still important to me, but rather than focus on the quantity of the miles I want to go back to focusing on the quality of the miles.  Maybe that means running somewhere new- i.e. the Grand Canyon.  While it was only three miles, they were some of the most amazing miles I have ever run. 

As I’m finishing up 2021, I feel blessed that I ran (knock wood) without injury.  That’s not to say that I didn’t have some hip pain from time to time but nothing like in 2020.  I got back to racing in person and it felt so good!!! First up was the Baltimore 10 Miler. This race was practically in my back yard and I made a last minute decision to run it. It was HARD. It was humid and the course was crazy hilly- but I was back to racing in person so I didn’t care…until the next day when my quads were on fire!! Up next the Frederick Half Marathon. This was my first half in person in over 17 months. And one of the many races that I deferred from 2020 when racing was canceled. I had a solid showing and again was just so happy to be back to “real” races. My favorite of all races, The Charles Street 12 was in the Fall. I had a huge PR in that race and finally felt like myself again. That’s all before the NYC Marathon. For a year, when racing in person didn’t start until the summer, I would say that from a running standpoint 2021 was in fact a success.  Did I hit 1500 miles- heck no.  But I’ve truly realized the number of miles isn’t nearly as important as I had once thought.

So what’s next for 2022?  I’ll float a mileage goal in my head for a bit.  Maybe I’ll go back to the original goal of 1000 miles and see what happens.  But I think I’m going to set a consistency goal, rather than a mileage goal.  I would like to consistently run 4-5 days a week and cross train/strength train at minimum one day a week but more like 2 days a week.  If I can consistently cross train in addition to my running I know I will be in better shape come October and the Chicago Marathon!  I’m also going to build some rest in as well.  I’ve come to realize that rest is important too. Yes, I know this should have been a no brainer, but sometimes I’m a little dense.

As for races- I have about a half dozen in mind and it appears I’ve already registered for 4!! I’m registered for: the Frederick Half Marathon in May, Baltimore 10 Miler in June, the Chicago Marathon in October and the Rocky Run in Philadelphia in November. I’m also looking at a a half marathon in March- 5K in May as well as my favorite 12 Miler in September- Charles Street 12. Looks like 2022 is shaping up to be a full year with lots of opportunity! Cheers to a new year and a blank slate to create a new running journey and vision building off of a successful 2021!!

Frederick Half Marathon Race Recap

Amazing photo my friend took at the finish

After a long hiatus it seems as though we are returning to racing in person! I say this after having two in person races in just over a month. With the ten-mile race last month I made a variety of rookie mistakes. Things I knew better about doing or not doing. I didn’t taper, heck I didn’t even cut back my miles leading up to the race and somehow I expected to have fresh legs. I didn’t hydrate nearly enough before, during or after the race. So this time around I made a conscious effort BEFORE the race to do ALL THE RIGHT THINGS. I legitimately tapered, cutting back my mileage the week to ten days before the race. Ask any runner what one of the hardest things is about racing…it’s the taper. I made sure to hydrate nearly all week and eliminated wine. I wanted to feel my best to have my best race.

In racing there are things you can control and things that are beyond your control. The Frederick Running Festival was supposed to happen in May. Due to Covid restrictions that were still in place at that time it wasn’t possible for the race to happen then, so it got bumped to July. Maryland in July doesn’t really offer the very best conditions for racing. The heat and humidity have the ability to be debilitating. After the June ten miler, when I was clearly overheated and dehydrated, I knew I couldn’t control the weather but I could control how I made the most of the weather.

I invested in a new hydration vest for starters. It was lighter weight and had flasks in the front of the vest. I found this much more comfortable to wear and more breathable. This also allowed me to carry significantly more water. Further, the ease of the straws almost forced me to drink more along the route. Not going to lie, we got incredibly lucky with the weather. I say that but it was still 70 with 93% humidity at the 6:30 AM start time. So while better than what it could have been it was still a bit toasty. I’d rather run in the 30 degree weather any day of the week!

This was my first half marathon in person race since February of 2020, so 17 months. In that time I’ve been doing a lot of distance running and heck ran my first Marathon. But, let me tell you something- the more races I run, the more pressure I put on myself for a faster or better time. It’s really unrealistic because so much goes into a race time including the course, conditions. Unless you are comparing apples to apples you can’t make a true comparison. I set myself up all week to have a slower race. Heck, I even told my cheering section- hubby and two boys that I was expecting to a slower race and just wanted to finish. Anyone who knows me know that I could have said that over and over again until the cows come home and deep down I’m still competitive with myself and possibly set unreasonable expectations.

Is it possible to race without a flat lay?? Missing from this photo my hydration vest and Huma Gels.

We stayed over in Frederick the night before, which cut down on travel time on race day. Since my oldest son’s friend’s father was also running we all made a weekend of it. It’s been fun to share racing with someone else and the kids and spouses have each other as they wait for us to finish.

Let’s review my previous in person half marathons. My first, was the Baltimore Half in October of 2019. Truly my goal was to finish- but really my goal was for a sub two time. I managed that with time to spare finishing 1:58:18. The weather conditions were ideal, crisp Fall day and the adrenaline of having never run a half marathon before. Up next was the Disney Princess Half Marathon. The weather was unseasonable cool in Florida in February 2020. My kind of weather. There I had a finish of 1:54:34. That time included a very unfortunate need to go to the bathroom which easily added two minutes to my time. So what was I really going to be happy with for this Half Marathon. As much as I said time didn’t matter, it did. I still needed to come in under 2 hours to be satisfied.

I knew that I needed to slow my 8:30 a mile pace down a bit to accommodate for the heat and humidity. But in traditional fashion I took the first 3-4 miles too fast. The course was relatively flat, there was a light rain that would turn into even crazier humidity- think you can see the air kind of humidity and there was the excitement of an in person race. By about mile five however, I was overheated and questioning my sanity. Why exactly did I think running long races was a good idea?? I needed to get out of my head about time and focus on finishing. There is something to be said for knowing that your husband and kids are at the finish line waiting for you. Ask them, they want nothing more than to see me finish and couldn’t care less how long it takes me to run. I am my own worst enemy.

I needed this long run in a bad way. Tapering came at a particularly stressful time. Wednesday before the race, I was offered the job I had applied for a few months back. This was great news and I was super excited. However, it was a quick turn around and I was starting Monday. As in the day after the race and five days after being offered the job. The logistics of making sure the boys were covered and I was going to have the flexibility for drop off and pick up- days off that I needed etcetera were completely stressing me out. So yes, I needed 13.1 miles to run, think and settle myself down.

Running longer races is like riding a roller coaster. So much excitement to start, then usually a questioning of sanity, followed by a I do this for those that can’t, to really three miles to go to I’VE GOT THIS! On this hot day in Frederick I was very grateful for the folks who were handing out bottles of water. While I had plenty to drink I appreciated being able to pour some over my head to cool my internal temperature. As with every race, I dug deep, I channeled my why and I pushed to the end. Interestingly enough the end of the race was on the horse track at the Frederick Fairgrounds. It was literally like running in wet sand to finish-but as is my tradition I called to say I was heading into the back side of the Fairgrounds and that I would see them soon. I finished in 1:56:46. So basically right in the middle of my two previous times. Given the heat and humidity this was definitely a win. And you know what I felt way better after I finished, a good run was truly what I needed.

How do the number shake out? 323/1412 total runners. Not too shabby. 13/91 woman in the 40-44 age range. Overall a very solid run with lots learned along the way. 1) the new hydration vest is a total win, 2) I truly need to keep my pace slower as I prepare to begin training for the NYC Marathon and 3) there’s nothing quite like the runner’s high when you finish a race!

Coming soon- How July was my lowest mileage month and I’m OK with that and Going Back to Work- still making the time to exercise each morning!