Committed, and it feels so good..

*For anyone who hasn't signed up for the Zooma Cape Cod Half-Marathon/10K already, I have a promo code to save you some cash! Enter CCAMB12 at checkout, and save $10 off the Half, or $5 off the 10K. There's a price increase this week, so it's the perfect time to register! Excited to see lots of familiar races at the race! You should also start following the Zooma blog for great weekly give-a-ways! *


I'm committed, and it feels good. Registration for the Stone Cat 50-miler happened last Friday, and the buzz was that it would sell out day of. Which in the running community translates to "you better get in the second it opens, so you don't get left behind". Yeah, we're a type A bunch of athletes. Apparently, they had over 650 people trying to get into the race (between the marathon and 50 mile distances, it's a total of 250 slots), which crashed the website. I hit some major technical snags, but was able to secure myself a spot for the 50 miler. Yes, F-I-F-T-Y miles.

This was not a knee-jerk decision - if you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that I've had LOTS of races/distances/events rolling around in my head. At some point last week, I had the proverbial "light bulb" moment.

While the 70.3 this year would be "fun", my heart just simply wouldn't be in the training. And I'm not going to commit to something that I can't put 100% of myself into. Whether right or wrong, I love working out once a day (or the occasional double run Tuesday). I love that I can get lost in my workout for that day, and then when I get home, I can immerse myself in being a mom, or my work, etc. I don't have to think about when I'm going to get in that second workout, or how I'm going to manage it around gymnastics, date-night, a late conference call, or watching the Kardashians.

That's not to say that training for an ultra is easy by any stretch. I have put together a training schedule which has back to back Saturday/Sunday 20+ mile runs. My schedule peaks at 70-75 mile weeks, which will be a new high for me. However, my training schedule also has me training on 5 days a week, with 2 complete rest days. This alone minimizes the impact on the rest of my life, outside of being an athlete.

For me, that's what is important right now. Running and racing makes me deliriously happy, but Caitlyn will only be a 6/7 year old once. There's a finite period of time she is going to want to go skip rocks, ride bikes, or go to the swings with me. It won't be forever that her face lights up at gymnastics as she does her first backbend, and I'm there to see it.

I want to make it clear that I KNOW there are a lot of people out there who are able to train for long distance triathlons, and make it all happen. Not only that, but they absolutely love doing it. I admire that, and I look forward to the day that I can be commited to that type of schedule. In the short term, it's just not in the cards, and I am 100% at peace with that.

Life is so so so good right now. I've been quietly dabbling back into running the last couple of days, and in combination with other fabulous things in life, I feel like I'm whole again.

Happy Training!

ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon!!

I'm down to single digits friends - yes, as in the number of days my shoes get to taste the sweet, sweet pavement again. I get to detach myself from the ole ball and chain (elliptical), and finally head outside, just as it's turning into summer. I get a huge smile on my face every time I think about it.


If you read my last post, you know I've been having trouble pulling the trigger on any races up until this point. That was until this week, when I accepted an offer to be an ambassador for the Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon/10K on September 22nd! Combining an awesome race with a weekend on Cape Cod in the fall? Oh, if I must!

Anyone who knows me understands that I don't get behind anything that I'm not truly passionate about. And if you read this, you'll understand why I am so proud to be an ambassador this event:


run. laugh. celebrate.

Imagine a powerful sea of women on the move–encouraging fellow runners and celebrating personal running triumphs. Picture a post-race party and expo all wrapped up in one memorable “after-party expo” where these strong goal-oriented women come together for well-deserved partying and pampering. This is the Muscle Milk Light ZOOMA Women’s Race Series.

 

Mission: inspire women to live healthy active lives

 

Pampering amenities and exciting entertainment with a “girls’ weekend” atmosphere

Inaugural event held in Annapolis, MD on June 1, 2008 attracted over 1,600 runners

 

ZOOMA welcomes both men and women to participate in all ZOOMA events.

 

2012 events will be held in Austin, TX, Annapolis, MD, Atlanta, GA, Lake Geneva, WI (outside Chicago and Milwaukee) & Cape Cod (Falmouth), MA

 

What? You say you haven't registered yet? I can fix that - go here, registration is open! The race is capped at 1,000 people, so get in now!

 

I'm confident this is will be a spectatular event, and I'm hoping as many people as possible will join me!

 

Happy Training!

13.1s and 50s and 70.3s, oh my!

You know when you haven't eaten enough all day, you sit down at your favorite restaurant, and order half the menu because you're so damn hungry? Then barely halfway through your monster dinner, you literally feel like you're going to explode? It's because your eyes were way bigger than your stomach. That's where I feel like I am right now.

Combine that with having zero clue on how quickly my run fitness will come back, and it makes race planning incredibly difficult. Mentally, I feel like I could climb Everest (okay, slight exaggeration) by July 1st, but I know there's going to be a stark reality that faces me once I start hitting the roads again. That reality is going to say something like "hey.. psstt.. guess what? turns out you CANT actually run a 20 minute 5K after 8 weeks of not running a step..."

I have tossed around a few different ideas, all of which I'm mentioned here at neauseum. I just can't seem to commit myself to any one thing, because everything seems like it would be so damn awesome right now. There are a whole lot of delicious races happening the end of summer into the fall, and I want to do it all.

There's also the big re-injury factor to consider - I don't want to end up sidelined because I was careless into my re-entry to running. I didn't go through this surgery and recovery, only to end up missing out on the last 4 months of the year. It's going to be hard as hell, but I *have* to be smart. Sounds so obvious, but anyone that's been forced to take extended periods of time off knows how hard it can be to behave when you're finally off the leash.

In an ideal world, I would run Yankee Homecoming 10-miler for a "test" of fitness, followed by a half marathon in late August Early/September. I would then throw in a marathon as a training run (October)  for the finale of The Stone Cat 50 Miler on November 3rd. And to add a little more crazy into the mix, I would love to do another 70.3 this fall. I had SUCH a great time at Pumpkinman last September, and it would be fun to knock off that distance again. I have my eye on the REV3 Old Orchard Beach 70.3, which is August 26th.

I feel like all of this time off from running has reminded me just how much I love it. I'm being given the opportunity to have running back in my life, and be more healthy than I have been in years. While I absolutely cannot wait for that first real long run again, I don't want to crush this opportunity because I was too greedy.

I've already picked my mantra for when I'm back on the roads, to remind me of the 8+ weeks that I wasn't able to run.

Happy Training!