As you all probably know, I’ve been strengthening my running friend relationships lately. My fitness friends are so totally awesome – even if some of them are sometimes not the best influence on me. Me: “I’m doing two marathons in May… it’s going to be busy.”Jocelyn: “You should come pace me in the New Jersey Marathon on May 6!”Me: “Hmm… okay.”Jocelyn: “And I’m doing the Country Music Half Marathon on April 28… you should come run the full so that {Read More}
Race Report: Grand Rapids Half Marathon
October 19, 2011 by 11 Comments
This weekend, I went to a wedding. I also ran a half marathon. How did I fit two big events into one short weekend? Easy – it was a running wedding! After a few days of training in Chicago, I flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday afternoon. After a quick stop at the grandmother of the bride’s home, we headed over to the park where the wedding ceremony would take place. While having a running wedding already puts her {Read More}
New Marathon Club!
December 10, 2010 by 4 Comments
Me: Should I run the Roxbury Marathon tomorrow?Me: It’s hilly and it’s going to be SUPER cold – 31 at 9am, 39 at noonJohn: Yes. (wasn’t that easy?)John: What time is the race?Me: 8:30am, and they say add 40 mins to your usual timeJohn: That’s actually pretty nice weather for a marathon. But the hills though…Me: It’s in CT – I’d have to be on a 5:40am train to get thereJohn: Now, the real question… why are you asking me {Read More}
Final Countdown!!!!
June 1, 2010 by 36 Comments
This weekend is my final marathon when I set the world record… eeek!!!! So much to do (including finish these last few race reports, I know). I’ve been getting really stressed out that I haven’t prepped enough and I’m not ready for this final marathon. But then what comes along to brighten my day… Lemondrop, an affiliate of AOL, just posted a really long interview with me!!! With that to bolster my spirits and make me feel all famous and {Read More}
Race Report: New Jersey Marathon
May 7, 2010 by 7 Comments
Despite getting about 10 hours of sleep the night before (hurray for 9am race starts!), I didn’t feel that well-rested when I woke up. I hoped that wouldn’t spell trouble when it came time to pace. We had a very easy drive to the start (hooray for the race website advising us which hotels wouldn’t have traffic on the way to the race, and me ending up in one of those!). Once there, I immediately headed off to find Dave {Read More}
Night Before the Race: New Jersey Marathon
May 3, 2010 by 13 Comments
Friday night, my flight home from Chicago was canceled, and they had rebooked me on Saturday morning to return home. Yikes! Cutting it too close for comfort for me to get to New Jersey on Saturday, plus I didn’t want to stay in Chicago for another night. Fortunately, I persuaded the gate agent to let me try my best to dash through security to catch the 5pm flight (the only one that hadn’t been canceled), and it worked – I {Read More}
Race Report: Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
April 28, 2010 by 11 Comments
So I thought I was all set for a stress-free marathon, until my mom sent me a message with the weather forecast and some details about the course from Marathon Guide (PS – don’t I have the best stage-mom-turned-marathon-coach ever?!). There was tornado warnings for the area all night Friday and in the afternoon on Saturday, as well as thunderstorms predicted for Saturday during the race. Seriously? To add to that, the course was known for its brutal hills. I {Read More}
Race Report: Boston Marathon, Part 2
April 22, 2010 by 23 Comments
Click here if you missed part 1 I had been warned by several people (including experienced marathoner Dane Rauschenberg) to do the first few miles at least 10-15 seconds slower than my goal pace. I was very familiar with the second half of the course, having run it backwards and forwards two years prior the morning of the Boston Beer Marathon, but all I knew about the first half was that it was supposed to be lots of downhill. I {Read More}
Race Report: Boston Marathon, Part 1
April 21, 2010 by 6 Comments
I got to Boston around 6pm on Saturday night, and took the Silver Line bus followed by the Red Line T to meet up with my friend Kristen, with whom I’d be staying. I was so impressed by the airport’s accessibility via public transit: it takes about 1.5 hours to get home from JFK, but it took only about 30 minutes to get from Boston Logan to the restaurant where Kristen and I were meeting for dinner. Kudos, Boston MTA! {Read More}
Virginia is for lovers April 17
March 29, 2010 by 18 Comments
This weekend, I was supposed to run the Virginia Creeper Marathon on Sunday. I don’t know what it is, but Virginia just seems to be a terribly unlucky state for me… I never get there and never make it to the race (Richmond Marathon non-report still to come)! This week, the issue was just that the flights were too full for my standby-traveling self. With 16 people ahead of me on the standby list (for a sold out plane that {Read More}
