June recap.

June was packed with lots and lots of activities -- both for the kids and the adults. I found myself turning to a little more cross-training than in recent months, which is probably a good thing. After the hamstring injury I told myself I'd be a lot better about cross-training. And I've been only OK about it. Except in June. June I was good!

My running mileage wasn't very high, though. No matter. I'm running as I feel like it and getting in the cross-training.

June mileage: 57.5

It's fine. I did cross training probably twice a week, all month. I'm happy about that!

And I'm feeling good on my runs. I'm enjoying it. Sometimes, that's all that matters!

Happy July, folks!

April and May.

Well. Here I am, two months after my last post. Where have those two months gone?

They were filled with baseball games, birthday celebrations, and essential oils classes, mostly! It really has been a bit of a whirlwind around here.

I also got in some running and have been progressing fairly nicely.

April miles: 59.3

May miles: 63.9

Compare that to where I started the year -- a measly half-mile at the end of January -- and, hooray! I'm happy for the miles I'm running these days.

I'm also happy for the fun my two boys have been having playing baseball. The regular season has ended for both of them but my little guy had a great time in his first season of t-ball and my big just-turned-8 year old loved every minute of his farm season. His team did well in the playoffs, making it to the championship game, but ultimately losing in a hard-played game. He's now moving on to All-Stars so we have another "season" of baseball ahead of us!

T-ball! 

Getting a hit in the semi-finals.

The 8-year-old requested a baseball stadium cake -- so I got busy and made one :-)

 Have a great week, everyone!

March recap.

And justlikethat my mileage tripled!

In February, I ran that half marathon over the course of the month. In March, I logged a full 36.4 miles. Look at me go! Almost 10 miles a week. A far cry from where I was last fall -- and also a far cry from the big fat zero miles I ran in December and the half mile I ran in January!

So, there's that. And I'm not mad about it.

In fact, I'm thrilled. Because, really, my running is picking up right as the weather is brightening up. And what could be better than that?

I'm ready for April! Ready for more miles! Ready for springtime running!

Almost . . . almost . . . ready to get a race on my schedule. Almost.

Baby steps. Or baby runs, as the case may be!

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

February Half Marathon.

That's right. I ran a half-marathon in February!

Not all at once, mind you. But, over the course of 28 days I ran 13.1 miles.

13.1 miles. In 28 days! Look at me go . . .

Now, 13.1 miles may not be a lot. I know that. It is a lot, however, when compared to the half mile I ran in January and the zero miles I ran in December. Compared to those monthly totals, February was a monster.

And March? Well, I have a good feeling about the month. It is full of promise -- the beginning of spring, the return to substantial mileage. Heck, I might even run a marathon this month!

Just not all at once.

I have a long way to go before that happens again :-)

Have a great week, everyone!

September recap.

September was quite the month with some really solid runs and then, well, then it petered out.

Overall, the month was a win. But I had to scrap a planned 14-miler at the end of the month and take three full days off of running because my wonky hip decided to flare up.

Grrrr . . . 

So, the month ended a bit down, but not completely. After the rest and loading up with my favorite Deep Blue Rub, I bounced right back. I started October with two joyful runs! Pain free!!

Phew.

The month in numbers:

Running (miles): 123.1
Races: 0
Cross-training: some rehab on the hip and a realization that I have not been doing enough pre-hab!

This week, I am NOT going to let my mind obsess about missing my last long run last week.

Instead, I will obsess about the race day weather. Seems appropriate!

Oh . . . yeah! Looking good!! Fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Have a great week, everyone!

August recap.

Training got real in August.

My long runs were longer and my overall mileage climbed higher than it has been in years. I committed to running more in the morning and that's what I did. I had an awesome race/long run in mid-August and ran some strong workouts. I also had just about the crappiest long run ever -- Sunday's 20-miler.

Sure, I got it done. But, man-oh-man if it wasn't hard.

I don't know exactly what it was that caused my problems, all I know is that the run did not work for me. I cramped after eating my energy chews and felt like I was going to throw up for most of the rest of the run. It really kinda sucked.

And it totally messed with my head. You know, in that why-on-earth-am-I-even-thinking-about-running-another-marathon kind of way.

I need a strong rebound run this week to help me get back on track!

While I work on making that happen, here's a look at my month in miles:

Running (miles): 143.1
Races: 1 -- the Clove Run
Cross training: ha!

And now it is September. The month of back to school. The month of soccer all the time. The month of peak training AND the beginning of my taper. The month before the marathon.

Exciting!!!

Enjoy the rest of the week, everyone!

July recap.

First, thanks for your comments on marathon pace runs. I'm making a few tweaks to my training plan and I'll be incorporating fast finish (marathon pace) long runs into the mix. I feel good about it.

Second, July rocked.

It did. I ran more than I've run in over a year. And I ran strong. I'm so pleased.

Here's the breakdown:

Running (miles):113.8
Races: 0
Cross training: not much

Wow. Over 100 miles for the month! That's great for me. I've been serious about rest and recovery, knowing full-well what happens when I skimp on those, so getting up over 100 miles and feeling so strong is a sign, to me, that my training is going well. Hooray!

I welcome what is to come in August!

Have a great day, everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

June recap.

June was one of those months for me. When I was in the thick of it, I didn't feel like writing about it, because I tend to feel like the more life you give anything bad, the worse it is.

Now that the month is over, I can say that it was a bit of a stressful one, full of both good and bad stress. Like regular life, right?

Anyway, June started great -- Conal turned 7 and that was a happy, happy day. But then, well, yuck. A few days later, a huge casserole pan filled with baked macaroni and cheese fell on my right big toe -- from a high shelf in the refrigerator.

So much pain, bruising, swelling. I thought my fall marathon plans would have to be put on hold. But, a week of total rest from running (and as much keeping off the foot as I could), plus some icing, elevating, and rubbing it with healing essential oils, and my toe is more or less OK. Meaning, I can run on it with not much more pain than I'm used to.

Then my little guy got Lyme disease. Grrrr . . .

Totally threw me for a loop. But, I know that it was caught early so he shouldn't have any lasting problems.

Unfortunately, it happened right in the midst of another medical issue that he had. I won't go into all the details but my poor little guy has been to so many doctor and specialist appointments in the past two months -- but this past Friday he had an exploratory procedure that gave us really good news!

I'm so lucky that he's a happy patient!

Such relief!

June wasn't all gloomy, however. Niall finished his first year of preschool and had a sweet moving up ceremony.

Moving up!

And then we had a rocking trip to Long Beach Island, where I got in some great runs and the whole family relaxed and enjoyed the beach.

My boys at the beach!

Here's what the month looked like, mileage-wise:

Running (miles): 57.6
Races: 0
Cross-training: plenty of crossfit and (here's a new one for me!) bike riding

So that was June. I finished up the month by starting marathon training. It will heat up over the summer and I. Am. Ready.

Have a great week, everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

April miles bring May smiles.

At least that's what I hope.

My mileage was up a bit in April, with several quality long runs. I ran 12 miles by myself at 9:30 pace, 13.2 with friends at 10:20 pace, 10 miles by myself at 9:17 pace, and another 10 miles (7.5 with Bridget and 2.5 by myself) at 9:11 pace.

Solid runs.

Unfortunately, I have not run fast really at all since the Runnin' of the Green race in March. Which probably means that the race I'm popping into tomorrow won't be a PR. And I'm OK with that.

You read that right: I'm popping into a race! I'm running a 10K tomorrow morning and my PR for that distance, set November 2011, is 47:38 (7:40 pace). Man, I used to have some speed!

No matter, I'm not gunning for that time tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'd like to run 8 minute miles, or just under 50 minutes for the full 10K. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, let's look at what happened last month.

April stats:

Running (miles):  87.3
Races: 0
Cross-training (sessions): 12

No, that's not what was on the schedule (I was planning for more miles) but that's OK. I'm still battling an injury and had to scrap a few runs but, overall, I feel good about how I ran last month.

My hope is that my slowly increasing mileage and longer long runs will mean a decent time in my half-marathon at the end of May. Because, yup, May is race month!! Woo-hoo!

I have about a week left of training before I start my taper for the half-marathon. I'd like this last week to be strong, starting with tomorrow's race.

Now, I'm off to enjoy the weekend. Hope yours is a good one!!

 

March recap.

March started out pretty lame. My wonky hip area had been acting up since mid-February and I was fearful that I would have to take an extended break from running. As it was, I took the last week of February off, and only ran four times in the first 10 days of March.

Gradually, my injury has been getting better and I've been able to run more and more. Not without pain and not without worry, but definitely with hope.

And you know what else? Every run this past month was outside. Every. Single. Run. Outside.

What a joy.

Sure, the weather may not have been ideal, but I got in the miles and I didn't have to resort to the treadmill. Hooray! Oh, and, yeah . . . I ran my highest mileage since September. Take that, bum hip and nutso Mother Nature!

And, look. My long runs are getting longer:

12 miles on Saturday!

March stats:

Running (miles): 81.7
Racing: 1 -- The Runnin' of the Green (Island)
Cross-training: lots!

Not bad, right? A race, 80+ miles for the month . . . I'll take it. Now all I need is for this left leg to cooperate once and for all so I can really ramp-up for my half-marathon in May!

Happy April, everyone. Enjoy your week!

 

A week of running.

Finally. A week of good running for this happy runner!

Following the Runnin' of the Green on Saturday, I took Sunday and Monday off to rest my legs. On Tuesday, I was fortunate to get a quick 4.25 mile run in, before my little guy got sick that evening. I am no kind of fan of the stomach bug, that's for sure. But, I am happy that the rest of us avoided getting sick. Phew!

Wednesday was all about taking care of my patient, and he was such a good one, even though he felt lousy.

Smiling through the stomach bug -- but look at those sad eyes!!

Thursday was back to normal and I went to my physical therapy appointment and then for another quick 4.25 mile run. At my appointment, my PT taped my injured area with KT tape so I'm giving that a try. So far, so good!

On Saturday, the boys started swimming lessons -- which they loved -- and I sneaked in a sunny-but-windy run later in the afternoon.

And that brings me to today.

It was cold. It was windy. The route was hilly. We started early.

Yes, this morning I ran 10 enjoyable miles with Bridget and Janis, plus a bonus of 4+ with our friend, Elisa. They were tough miles, but we covered them at a 9:44 pace. Go, us!

Overall, I ran 22.5 miles for the week. That's my highest weekly mileage since the first week of January. January! Sheesh. Yeah, I'm happy to be getting back on track.

My hope now is that I stay on track. I could use a long stretch of good, solid training.

And, with that, I'm off. Have a great week, everyone!

  

February recap.

Yup, that's right. I'm just writing my February recap on March 10th. Slacker, slacker . . .

But, see, that's the way this month has gone. It has been up and down -- just like February. The biggest downer has been that I am still (still!) dealing with my injured left leg. It is my whole hip/butt/upper thigh/hamstring area and it just plain rots. I have been fine for a while but for the past month, it has been flaring up again.

Not cool. Not cool at all.

After all, I have a 4 mile race this Saturday, a half marathon in May and a full marathon in October. I can't have a nagging injury that forces me to not run!

So, I'm dealing with it. Reduced mileage. Rest. Chiropractor. PT. Ice. Rehab exercises. Just about everything.

Fingers crossed that it all works!

As a result of my wonky leg, my February mileage was low. Here's what it looked like:

February stats:

Running (miles): 51.4
Racing: none
Cross-training (sessions): lots!

One of the highlights of the month was our trip to DC for a family wedding. I ran around and took in the sights:

And then got cleaned up for the fun wedding:

 

When we got back from DC, the boys had a full week of from school for winter break and we filled our time with lots of play and getting to see some friends and family we don't normally see. After break, it was back to normal and I was back to the chiropractor and trying to keep my running on track!

Slowly and un-surely, I think that might happen.


And now, back to March! Enjoy your week, everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

 

A look back at 2013.

Here we are two weeks into 2014 and I'm finally sitting down to take a look back at 2013. Fun, fun.

2013 was quite a year for me! Let's start with a brief look at my stats:

Total mileage: 903

Number of races: 7 

There was some good and some bad in 2013. On the bad side, I suffered probably my worst running injury to date. I tore two muscles in my hip and couldn't run for two months. As a result, I had to bag my fall marathon plans and was worried I wouldn't race at all in the fall. But, I was fairly good about my recovery efforts and I came back strong with a 5K PR in September and a half marathon PR in October.

Overall, the whole injury thing taught me a little more about patience and a good bit about listening to my body and importance of cross-training. Which, I am happy to report, I have embraced. 2013 was definitely the year of cross-training and I believe I am stronger because of it. Thanks, injury!

2013 was also the year of my new way of eating. My doctor prescribed a no grain, no sugar diet for me in January. At the same time, I had to go off of dairy -- not by his prescription, but because he put me on two different antibiotics, three times a day and dairy interferes with the absorption. So, no dairy for me.

I stuck with the diet and the antibiotics for three months and then slowly started to let the dietary changes go. Bad idea. The diet was tough, but it had a positive effect on my Lyme symptoms so going off of it was just silly. After a few weeks, I met with the doctor again and he told me I needed to stick with the new way of eating for at least a year, to let my body fully heal.

So, I went for it and eventually adopted a mostly Paleo way of eating, which I'm continuing with for the foreseeable future.

And now, a quick look at the year in pictures:

With my boys and my new niece in February.

With Bridget before the Running of the Green 4 miler in March.

Stroller running!

Strong Running Mamas at the More/Fitness half marathon in NYC in April.

Putting a positive spin on my injury and spectating the Freihofer's Run for Women with Elisa in May.

Back to running! With Bridget and Elisa after the Clove Run 10 miler in August.

The Youth Make a Difference 5K and kids run -- my new 5K PR -- in September.

Smiling my way to a new half marathon PR in October.

What will 2014 bring? Well, we shall see. I'm hoping for lots of fun miles with friends, some great races, maybe a PR or two, and -- this is a big one -- no injuries. I'll do my best to make it all happen, that's for sure!

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers to 2014!

 

November recap.

November was a decent month for me. I ran fairly consistently, although I did have a few glitches in the schedule when my hip injury flared up and when I had to lay low because of some nasty headaches.

I haven't been running all that fast or all that long. Instead, I've kept most of my runs to an easy pace and my distance has topped out at about 6-7 miles. That's right where I want to be now. I'm pleased. At some point, though, I need to get serious again and start thinking about what I want to do in 2014.

Those lyrics give me the racing itch!

Spring marathon? Fall marathon? Neither? Both? And what about those trusty half marathons? And my beloved 5Ks?

I have questions to answer. And time to do it.

Until I do, here's a look at my November:

November stats:

Running (miles): 76.7
Races: none!

Welcome, December! I'm looking forward to more easy miles and maybe, just maybe, a low-key race or two.

Have a great week, everyone!

Grain Brain challenge wrap-up.

 The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain. Opinions expressed are entirely my own!

Four weeks ago, I started the Grain Brain Challenge and now I'm here to let you know how I fared.

But first, let me give you a little reminder of what Dr. David Perlmutter, author of Grain Brain, recommends for optimal brain health:

Good fats from eating olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, fish, grass-fed beef, goat cheese, and fish oils are fundamental for health, while carb-derived calories as one might get from things like bread, pasta, potatoes, below-ground veggies, fruit and fruit juices are things you want to avoid on a brain-healthy diet. -- Dr. David Perlmutter (via Facebook)

I started on the challenge 4 weeks ago, focusing on food, sleep, exercise and supplements, as laid out in the book.

For me, the challenge wasn't all that hard. I've been following a Paleo diet for a while now and the recommendations in Grain Brain are similar. There are differences, of course, but I didn't have to make the same sort of changes as someone who has been eating grains on the reg.

Basically, I stuck to eating lots of vegetables and high-quality protein and good fat.

Avocados! Such good fat.

I also experimented with . . . READ MORE -------> http://happyrunnergiveaways.blogspot.com/2013/11/grain-brain-challenge-wrap-up.html

October recap.

My mileage for October was down, just as I expected. Leading up to the half marathon, I had two taper weeks and then, after the half, I didn't run at all for a whole week. Since I started running again, I've taken it easy and haven't piled on too many miles.

I also had to take another extended rest -- of 4 days -- last week because my hip was troubling me. I have 0% interest in suffering through another injury-induced long layoff so I figured a short but extended rest would be exactly what I needed. And it was. After the 4 days off, my hip felt fine again. Here's how October looked for me.

October stats:

Running (miles): 67.2
Racing: 1 -- the Mohawk Hudson Half Marathon (and a new PR!)

My plan for November and December is to keep my weekly mileage consistent, but easy and down in the 16-20 mile range. I also plan to do a fair bit of cross training. I won't race in November but I hope to run most of the HMRCC Winter Series (free!) races that start up in December.

Happy November, everyone. Thanks for stopping by!

 

September recap.

I'm a week late but, eh, that's just the way things are going around here these days!

September was supposed to be my peak month before the Mohawk-Hudson Half Marathon. I figured my workouts -- long runs, a few strong tempo runs, regular ol' runs -- would push my monthly mileage up to about 120 (from 108 in August). I wanted a big month to prepare me for the race. My running has been going so well since the beginning of August -- with a big month full of strong runs well, maybe, just maybe I could start thinking about a PR.

Well, I didn't exactly have the big month I was planning on. For a variety of reasons, there were a few runs that didn't happen. Although I got in all of the long runs that I was counting on, I didn't get in the harder speedwork, and that accounts for the lower mileage.

I'm not going to worry about it.

I ran a great 5K at the beginning of the month and a kick-butt solo 13.1 mile run at the end (13.1 hilly miles in 1:53!!!).

Here's my month in numbers.

September Stats:

Running (miles): 101.9
Racing: 1, the Youth Make a Difference 5K (new PR!!)

Happy day -- rocking a new 5K PR!!

October mileage will be lower, because I'll talk a (needed) rest after the race. I'd like to think I'll be much smarter about rest this time than I was six months ago when I hardly rested after the More/Fitness half and ended up with a torn-up hip. We'll see!

So, thanks for stopping by -- have a great week!

 

August recap.

I feel like I haven't done a monthly recap in ages, mostly because I haven't had much mileage to report on this summer. August, though, was different.

In August, I ran. For real. My long runs stretched longer and my regular runs became more consistent.

I've been pretty conservative with my return to running and I think it has served me (and my hip!) well. I'm still taking 2-3 rest days every week, icing, and going to my chiropractor once a week. I've also added a few more strengthening exercises to the rehab mix.

So far, so good. Eventually, I'd like to feel fully recovered and I expect that will happen this fall -- I hope so, anyway! In the meantime, here's what August looked like for me.

August stats:

Running (miles):108.5
Racing: 1, the Clove Run 10-mile race

Not bad!

This month I'll continue to build up for the half marathon in October. I'd also like to add some faster miles, especially tempo runs. I ran one while in Long Beach Island this past weekend and was pleased with how it went. I started with two warm up miles at a 10:00 min pace. Then, I ran two miles at tempo pace, which I set at 7:40/mile. I ended up running the first mile right at 7:40 and I think I was so afraid of slowing down that I ended up running the second mile at 7:35. After my two miles at tempo, I cooled down with 1.5 miles around 10:00 min pace.

At the end, I felt really good. So, for my next tempo run I'll stretch the distance of the faster portion to three or four miles.

But first, I have a 5K to run this Saturday, so that will serve as a little bit of speedwork for me this week. I'm hoping for some speedy miles!

Have a great week, everyone!

April recap.

April was a good month for me. Although my mileage was way down from March, it was an expected decline and made sense for my training -- I had a taper week before the half marathon followed by a recovery week after. 

The half marathon was great and my runs since have been increasingly good. I'm sure the turn to warm spring weather has had a little something to do with that! I got out for a really good run with my friend, Karen, last weekend and it was one of those recharging runs. Karen is training for a marathon at the end of May and she had a 20 miler on her schedule for last weekend. I ran almost 10 of those miles with her, over one of the hilly routes we'd run several times last year while training for the NJ marathon. It was such a good run! 

May is pretty wide-open for me. I hope to get out and run with friends as much as possible this month and I also plan to get myself in gear for the Freihofer's 5K the first weekend of June. 

Until then, here's a look at the month that was:

Strong Running Mamas in NYC.

At the half marathon expo with Bridget and Elisa.

Enjoyed a few fun runs in my new kicks!

April stats:

Running (miles): 86
Racing: 1, the More/Fitness half marathon

Happy May Day, everyone! Thanks for stopping by.

March recap.

March was a full month. First day of spring. My longest treadmill run ever. My longest outdoor run of this training cycle. My first race of the season. Lots of sugar-free experimentation.

Overall, a good month.

I feel like my training for the More/Fitness half marathon in two weeks (gulp!) has gone fairly well. I've gotten in plenty of miles, even when the weather and my body haven't completely cooperated. I've been (knock on wood) healthy and injury free. All good things.

The only bad thing in March was that my treadmill started crapping out at fast-ish speeds. I still haven't had anyone look at it so I'm not sure what is the matter and I need to get on that. Fortunately, it works at regular running speeds so I've been able to use it almost as much as I've needed to.

Anyway, here's a look at the month that was.

Warming up for stroller running!

Runnin' of the Green with Bridget.

Snow at the beginning of the month. 

March stats:

Running (miles): 114.2
Racing: 1, the Runnin' of the Green (Island) 4 miles (not a PR, but a strong race)
Cross training: 8


Happy April Fool's Day, everyone. Hope April is a good month for you!