Where have I been?

Me at  the Baltimore Half Marathon in October 2015

Last time you heard from me, I was lacking my motivation to run. Boy was that true. Over the last couple years, I have struggled with lack of motivation, sidelines from injuries and, a busy lifestyle.

Guess what!!! I am back!

I have decided to put myself first these days. I have been running and training. My last race was in October last year at the Baltimore Half. I ran on a sprained ankle and it was pure hell. I spent the rest of the year taking care of my ankle and getting back on track.

Now, as of February of this year...I am back on track. I am back to running with The Steeplechasers and, with my running best friends. I have signed up for The Coastal Delaware Half in April and plan to crush it! I am hoping to PR. But, lets be real...I haven't run "Fast" since 2012. I will try my hardest that's for sure.

So, what's the future for this blog?

I am hoping to come here weekly to let you know about my weekly training runs, talk about some of the products I am currently using, I'd still like to post race reviews too.

What about you guys? What would you like to see me post about?

I am also starting a 6 week weight loss/fitness contest with some friends as a local gym. Maybe I can discuss some of how that goes as well.

I hope to see some of my old blog readers back!! I've missed everyone!

Thanksgiving Wattle Waddle Fun!!

Thanksgiving morning I woke up bright and early to head out to run a Thanksgiving 5 miler. Some may think I'm crazy for running on Thanksgiving. However, I think otherwise. I have so much to be thankful for this year. Besides my family and friends who I am the most thankful for, I am very thankful I am able to still be running. When I started my journey with running I was struggling with getting to a 5k finish line. Here I was waking up to run a 5 miler for fun on Thanksgiving. I have accomplished a ton this year towards my running goals.

After waking up and getting my gear ready, I headed to pick up one of my BRF's. (Best Runner Friend) We drove to Emmitsburg, MD. where the race was taking place. It was freezing out. Probably one of the coldest day's since last winter. Brrr. I wasn't ready for it. We met up with some of our other BRF's at the race start. It was great to be able to run with everyone again. I absolutely love these ladies.

I had run this race last year so I wasn't really nervous or worried what it would be like. There were only about 100 people there. It was small but a very nice crowd. We knew a lot of the people there because it was one of the 16 races in the Steeplechaser's Grand Prix series. Which a lot of us are apart of.  Once introductions and prayers were said we were off to run. I stayed pretty consistent with my pace and, was near the rear of the pack as I usually am.  Wow, I had no memory of how many hills were on this course. With a mix of the cold and not having ran a run since the OBX I was struggling. Thankfully, I had my BRF with me and we chugged along. We finished at around 1:09. Not a PR for me but... hey I got off the couch that morning and, I was able to eat a piece of pie later and not feel guilty about it!!
One of the most amazing things about this race is even though the majority of the runners are done between 30 mins to 45 mins. Everyone waits until the last runner comes through before starting the awards. As a slower runner myself this is very awesome. I have come in quiet a bit of finishes where no one is around or cheering you in. Every single runner/spectator at the Emmitsburg Wattle Waddle was there cheering all the runners in. Right down to the very last runner. Awesome!!

It was a challenging race for me but, the atmosphere was fun and I loved being there with the rest of the ladies!
The race volunteers were amazing too. They were very motivating. They could have been still asleep in their beds, but they made the trek out to help. That's pretty awesome!
I will most likely be doing this race again next year!

We look cold right?!? Lol.

The course was on the roads around Emmitsburg Community Park and Town.

My BRF and I coming in to the finish!

Virtual Running

Have you ever participated in a virtual run/race? If not you're probably wondering what one is. I'll admit before last year I had no clue what one was. I had seen a couple tweets come up on Twitter about virtual races but didn't pay much attention to them. That is until one of my favorite bloggers Run with Jess posted about one on her blog. A virtual race is a “race” that can be run anywhere you are, no specific starting time or starting place. They occasionally have specific dates, or sometimes the dates will range a week or two to give you time to finish it.  Just pick your favorite course and run.

Last year, Run with Jess posted on her blog that she would be planning a race in her hometown a 5k with cupcakes at the finish. YUM! I wanted to run. However, Jess lived to far away for me to come run with her. She decided to allow others in other states to run with her "virtually". All you had to do was email her your time and you'd be considered a finisher. You could run the race at anytime during the week of her race. I thought it was a great idea. I decided to sign up. She had two options to join. You could join for free and be entered in the raffle or pay a small fee and, receive a race tee. I opted to receive the tee. 

Last year, I went out and ran it alone..came home and devoured my cupcake. It was a great way to get myself motivated to run alone. 

Last weekend, my Run, Mama, Run! running group decided they would all participate in Run with Jess Cupcake Classic 5k. We would all meet up and run it together. Then receive our cupcakes after. What fun!! I loved the idea of doing it with friends this year. However, I am in the process of training for some longer races coming up and, had 9 miles on the schedule for that weekend long run. My running buddies and I decided we'd run 6 and then meet up with the rest of the group and run the 5k. So we would get 9 miles in.

The first 6 miles went really great. I was in the zone. I was in minimal pain due to my PF but, I felt good. After the 6 miles we had to stop to meet the group. We waited about 30 mins. before the 5k started. I have no clue how some people do two a days. The 5k race hurt me like no other. I was in such pain. I think part was due to the cold weather and the stiffness of my muscles. Other was my PF was flaring up big time. One of my running buddies and I kept it slow and steady. We finally finished. Exhausted!! 

One of the ladies in the group had brought cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes, one of the most delicious cupcake shops around where we live. I opted for the red velvet of course. Yumm! It was heavenly!

This year, Run with Jess had a medal option you could purchase. I did not order a tee or medal this year. I'm disappointed I didn't, they were super nice.

Virtual Run's are a great idea if your looking to do something as a group or solo... yet, don't have the time to do it on a certain day. You have the freedom to get it done when you can.