Running the States

Tag: half marathons

  • 13/50: Arizona – Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon

    13/50: Arizona – Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon

    If you’re attempting to run in all 50 U.S. states and one of your old high school friends invites you to her wedding in Arizona, then naturally you look to see if there are any races taking place the weekend of her wedding.

    Because why not kill two birds with one stone, right?

    And because the prices of plane tickets these days are not cheap.

    So I did a quick search on one of my favorite race websites, Running in the USA, and lucky me — I found a race taking place the day of her wedding — the Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon! Some friends thought I was crazy for running the day of the wedding, but hey, it’s better than running the day after the wedding!

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  • Completed Hatfield-McCoy! I can’t believe it’s June!

    Completed Hatfield-McCoy! I can’t believe it’s June!

    Wow, and just like that we’re more than halfway through June!  The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind — went to Mexico, celebrated my birthday, went to Kentucky/West Virginia for the Hatfield-McCoy race, and in between all of that, there have been many dinners, after-work events, social gatherings with family and friends, and the birth of my cousin’s new baby! I finally have some downtime this weekend and hope to catch up on my race updates and clean up this website a bit.

    First, I have to say:  The Hatfield-McCoy double half marathon has definitely been the most challenging race I’ve done yet.  The heat and elevation kicked my butt (hard) in both states, and there was a point during the second half where I seriously didn’t think I was going to make it. But I did — and thankfully, without any major sickness or injuries. So states numbers 14 (Kentucky) and 15 (West Virginia) are done! Yay!

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 13 + 14 + 15 + 16: Got the 20-miler done, less than 2 weeks until Hatfield-McCoy

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 13 + 14 + 15 + 16: Got the 20-miler done, less than 2 weeks until Hatfield-McCoy

    Run 20 miles?  Check.

    I finally got the long run in a few weeks ago at the C&O Canal towpath. Not going to lie… it was tough.  The first 14 miles went ok, but the last six miles were an absolute struggle.  Six miles had never been so painful or felt so long.

    But it got done.

    LESS THAN 2 WEEKS UNTIL HATFIELD-MCCOY!

    Am I ready?

    Ehhh… not totally.

    But it’s all good.  Come race day, I think I’ll be fine and ready to go. Hopefully.

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 + 9: Working the core, Phoenix Pride Run, Catch-up with DC Happy Feet

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 + 9: Working the core, Phoenix Pride Run, Catch-up with DC Happy Feet

    I spent part of this week recovering and catching up after a long weekend in Phoenix last week. Last Saturday, I ran the Pride Run (half marathon) and crossed state number 13 off my list (Wooo Arizona! — Hope to have a race recap up shortly.). And then afterward, I attended an old high school friend’s wedding (I love celebrating love). It was a good day — it was a good several days, actually. The weather in Phoenix was gorgeous, the race went well, the wedding was perfect, and I gained 5 pounds (i.e., I ate too much, drank too much, and was way merry).

    I’m back home now — back to focusing on training for the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon (and trying to lose those 5 lbs. I gained).

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 2 + 3: ups and downs

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 2 + 3: ups and downs

    Some days, your training just rocks — you’re hitting your mileage goals, your nutrition is on point, you even get in a little cross-training. 🙂  You feel great!

    And then some days, you just suck.

    Week 2 of training was the former.  Week 3 of training was the latter.

    Oh well.  What can you do…

    You win some, you lose some.

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  • Going to Phoenix! Congrats to the marathon qualifiers! Woooo USA!

    Going to Phoenix! Congrats to the marathon qualifiers! Woooo USA!

    An old high school friend called me the other day to invite me to her wedding. The festivities will be in Phoenix, where she and her fiancé live.

    I’m excited! It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, and I’m looking forward to catching up with her and a few other old high school friends that don’t live in the DC area anymore. It’ll also be my first time in Phoenix!

    And since I haven’t done a race in Arizona yet, I figured maybe I’ll run if there are any races taking place in the area that weekend. Well, turns out there is one — the Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon. It’s at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the wedding (April 2).

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  • 2016 (Half Marathon) Race Schedule

    2016 (Half Marathon) Race Schedule

    Here it is. My 2016 race schedule. Well, tentative race schedule.

    I think if you’re trying to run in all 50 states, or is someone that just enjoys participating in races, you’re constantly thinking about which race/where to go/what to run next. I’ve been thinking about my 2016 race schedule since January 2015 (and I already have 2017 and 2018 in the works). I’m a planner. I also love to travel, and in order to make that work with my limited vacation time, I have to plan in advance.

    My parents are going to Cambodia in November, and I’m hoping to join them for a week. Afterward, I’ll probably split and head solo to Thailand for a bit. This trip will eat up at least a couple of weeks, and so I won’t have as much free time for domestic travel this year, which means I won’t be able to cross off as many states as I did in 2015. No worries though, I’ll just make it up in 2017. 😉

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  • Lessons learned from running 8 half marathons and 1 full marathon in a year

    Lessons learned from running 8 half marathons and 1 full marathon in a year

    Happy New Year, guys! I just got back from my first run of the year — a short 3-miler on the treadmill.

    Today’s run was the first in a while. I spent most of December giving my knees a rest (trying to heal the right knee). I think the break worked (along with a lot of foam rolling) — the knee isn’t as sore anymore. Hopefully it stays that way. The injury made me reflect on what I did wrong and things I’ve learned over the year.

    I put in a lot of mileage in 2015 — I started keeping track, but got lazy around October and stopped. So I don’t know exactly how many miles I ran. What I do know: I ran eight half marathons and one full marathon, plus four months of marathon training with 30-40 weekly-mile averages. There are things I definitely could have done better to make the races go smoother and to avoid the minor injuries I experienced. So, following are some lessons learned from the year.

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  • 11/50: Nevada: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon (Strip at Night)

    11/50: Nevada: Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon (Strip at Night)

    Six ladies in their 30s head to Vegas — two with young children at home, one pregnant, three running a half marathon, one running a 10k, and three on east coast time. AND they still managed to viva Las Vegas, baby! Well, sort of.

    The trip to Vegas with the girls a couple of weekends ago was a lot of fun. I packed a lot into our short time there, including two races — a 5k and a half marathon — and a Sin City activity that some of the girls would prefer stay in Vegas…

    What doesn’t stay in Vegas: I crossed state number 11 off my list and got a PR on my half marathon. Pretty excited about that!

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  • Upcoming Races: Strip at Night, Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon

    Upcoming Races: Strip at Night, Rehoboth Beach Half Marathon

    It’s been many many years since I’ve been to Las Vegas. The last time I was there, I was 25 — prime partying age. But unfortunately, I just could not hang. I was visiting a couple of friends. It was August — so hot. The desert heat and time difference made it difficult to keep up with my buddies. I even fell asleep in a strip club. Seriously. When I woke up, I was alone on the couch, while my friends were all taking shots at the bar.

    I’ll be heading back to Sin City this weekend. Maybe I’ll try to redeem myself while I’m there. But what I’m really hoping to do is PR at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon (aka Strip at Night).

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