I don’t know about you guys, but it always takes me a little while to plan my races out for the year. There’s cost, other travel plans, work commitments, etc. to factor in. And then when there are a few great races taking place the same weekend, there’s trying to decide which one to go with. It can be tough!
Well, after a few weeks of strategizing, I think I have my 2019 race schedule (mostly) set.
drumroll…
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Hello, friends. Happy New Year!
And happy first full week after the holidays!
What a year 2018 was. Apologies for being MIA the second half of it. It’s been a little crazy around here, but in a good way.
There was a lot of travel in 2018 — for races, for weddings, for family visits, and for just fun.
Hello friends! It’s been a minute. Sorry. Life and laziness got in the way of blogging. You know how it is. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But let’s catch up!
2017
In terms of quantity, it wasn’t my best year — I completed 3 half marathons out of the 6-8 I had planned at the beginning of the year.
But if we’re talking quality, I would consider this my best year yet. I had two PRs, both of which came at a complete surprise, and my average running pace increased by about a minute.
Hello friends! Can’t believe it’s August and Labor Day is peeking around the corner. Summer is flying by!
Let’s rewind back to Memorial Day weekend for a minute though. I owe you guys a race recap for state #19: Massachusetts!
Yes, that was more than two months ago. Sorry for the delay. Things happen. Laziness happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The race was a good one — I did Boston’s Run to Remember. It honors the city’s first responders killed in the line of duty. The weather was beautiful, the race was well-organized, there was amazing course support, annnnd I finished with a PR. Second PR that month!
I highly recommend this race if you’re looking for a good half marathon in the Boston area.
Happy Memorial Day, friends!
I just returned from Boston last night after participating in Boston’s Run to Remember — a half marathon that honors the city’s first responders killed in the line of duty. It was a beautiful race that started in the Seaport District and went through historic downtown Boston. I finished with another PR!
I’ll have a full write-up of the race and my trip up soon.
I hope you all are enjoying the long weekend.
Guys! I’m back from Iceland and Ohio! Both trips were amazing (each in their own way, of course). Will write more about Iceland in another post. For now, I’m going to tell you all about Ohio.
Personally, I think it’s an underrated state. We had a great time there. We visited Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, and Sandusky — all in three days. Pretty crazy. I’m still amazed we were able to pull it off.
There were many highlights of the trip, but the most noteworthy for this blog is… setting a new PR in the Flying Pig (half) and finishing strong!
It was completely unexpected. Unexpected for a couple of reasons: (1) the course is described as hilly and challenging (and it was!), and (2) I got only three hours of sleep the night before!
But somehow, things seemed to have worked out in my favor that day. No complaints here!
It was a great race — definitely in my top 10 favorites!
Hello friends, and hello April!
February and March flew right by, and I am now only one month away from my first race of the year — Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio (May 7).
I kicked off April with 16 miles this past weekend — 8 treadmill miles Saturday morning, 5 treadmill miles Sunday morning, and 3 fast miles at the C&O Canal Sunday evening. I did those 3 miles with a friend, and spent the entire time trying to keep pace with him. Wasn’t easy — I had a gasping for life moment at the end. But I survived! And I think it was good for me. I don’t push myself enough when it comes to speed and definitely need to add more speed workouts into my schedule.
Happy 2017, friends! Hope you guys had a great holiday and wonderful time ringing in the new year.
I’ve spent the last week trying to get back into routine — work, gym, chores, etc. I’m still playing catch-up. This is probably my least favorite time of the year (post-holiday blues, cold east coast weather), so while everyone’s out there making big resolutions to be amazing, I’m just taking it day by day. It’s what works for me. I do set goals for myself, but the main thing I strive for every year is to live a full life and do the best that I can in whatever situation I’m in.
Right now, I’m in a “blah, it’s January” situation, so you know, I’m working my way through it. 🙂
I finally got around to narrowing down the races for my 2017 line-up. I’ve got six on tap — my colleague, Kevin, (aka Coach Kevin) is pushing for me to do eight, so I’ll end the year with 25 states under my belt. Not sure if I can do it, but we’ll see.
This year, I’d like to keep each race destination under $500. I know $500 sounds like a lot, and it seems like it should be doable, right? But when you factor in airfare and hotel (and food and beers and food and more beers), it’s so easy to rack up the bill — personally, I think $500 for states in the midwest and west coast (when you live on the east coast) is a good deal! What do you think? Your thoughts and discount travel tips are welcome. 🙂 SEND MY WAY!
How is nearing the end of December already?! (AND ONLY 2 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS??!) The year has gone by so fast!
But let’s rewind back to October for a minute – my big month of travel. 🙂
I spent a couple of fantastic weeks in Southeast Asia (Cambodia and Thailand), and a day after returning (arrived home on a Thursday), I decided to drive to New York to run a half marathon and cross #17 off my list. I figured, why not? I didn’t have any plans that weekend.
I found a small race in a place called Rome, New York, about 30 miles north of Syracuse. There are plenty of races in New York City throughout the year, and I believe a couple were taking place that weekend, but it was too late to register online for them. And plus, I had never been to any part of New York outside of NYC, and wanted to experience a different part of the state anyway.
So, Rome.
Running the States 