Let it Ache! We are a husband and wife who train and run a lot of races together. Heather is on a journey to complete her first 100k race while JD pushes towards a 100 miler. Between the both of us, we have dealt with numerous injuries and thought the title was appropriate!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Running with your shirt off = naked?
Yesterday, the family ran the Nearly Naked mile in Reston, VA and had a great time. I paced zman and he ended up getting a 8:27 mile which is about 9 seconds faster than his one on the track. The mile had some decent uphills so probably a little tougher than running on the track. Personally, I was tempted to jump in the sub-6 group but I ran 10 miles the day before and the legs are still coming back after the marathon a few weeks back. Got 15 miles tomorrow at National Battlefied tomorrow and am looking forward to it. Got a little sciatica ache going on but once it warms up, I should be fine. If for some reason, it starts causing problems, will quit at the 10 mile loop mark but I think I should be fine. I will be getting my new shoes in tomorrow - the ASICS GEL-Arctic™ 4 WR Men Yellow will be coming in tomorrow and can't wait!
Nearly Naked Mile: PRs for the Little Runners!
Yesterday our family ran the Nearly Naked Mile in Reston for the first time.
This is a terrific race because the majority of the proceeds go to the Medstar Burn Unit, and the objective of the race is for runners to be comfortable in their own skin just like burn victims struggle to do every day of their lives. The race premium was a pair of flannel boxers with a nearly naked running fireman to match the theme.
We decided to run with the boys and help them achieve personal bests. Z-Man previously had a time of 8:38 for a mile on the track this summer and Nickel was sporting a 9:59 mile best on the track. Nickel was less than enthusiastic about his race to start, but Z-Man was raring to go and said that he was going out hard to get a PR. As the excitement and hype built, both of the boys started to get more excited about running. Once the elite men's heat ran and they got to see Haitian Olympian, Moise Joseph, take down the mile in 4:32 with little effort, they were ready to go.
Nickel pronounced that he was ready to strip and run.
We lined up slightly to the back of the open mile (sub-10 minute times), and it was the moment of truth for me. Was I going to be comfortable in my own skin and take off the tank top or was I going to be afraid and hide my mid-section? I overcame my discomfort and decided to go for it. I was going to rock my mother runner body even though it wasn't completely perfect. So outfitted in sports bra, arm warmers, running skirt, and compression socks, I was ready to go.
The gun sounded, and the boys took off! We were honestly a little shocked that they took off so fast, and we had to hustle through the throng of runners to catch up and find them. They are little so they were easily weaving in and out a making their way up to the faster pace group.
They slowed a little on the first hill. Hill! I thought this was supposed to be an easy mile, but think again. It's Reston where there's always a hill or two or three. The boys kept moving really well and were getting lots of encouragement from the crowd because they were the smallest ones running in this heat. To my surprise, Nickel started gaining on his older brother at one point, but he couldn't quite hang on. The highlight of his race was when we turned the last corner and saw the men's winner standing there cheering runners on. He immediately started clapping and cheering for Nickel which really got him sprinting. As we rounded the bend and saw the finish line, we knew we had PRs for both, but how good would they be. The boys both put in a hard sprint through the finish. Z-Man earned himself 8:27, and Nickel crushed his previous record, dropping an 8:40 on the course. This was an awesome effort by both boys given that this was not an easy mile and certainly not a track race. So proud of both of them for putting in a great effort yesterday!
This is a terrific race because the majority of the proceeds go to the Medstar Burn Unit, and the objective of the race is for runners to be comfortable in their own skin just like burn victims struggle to do every day of their lives. The race premium was a pair of flannel boxers with a nearly naked running fireman to match the theme.
We decided to run with the boys and help them achieve personal bests. Z-Man previously had a time of 8:38 for a mile on the track this summer and Nickel was sporting a 9:59 mile best on the track. Nickel was less than enthusiastic about his race to start, but Z-Man was raring to go and said that he was going out hard to get a PR. As the excitement and hype built, both of the boys started to get more excited about running. Once the elite men's heat ran and they got to see Haitian Olympian, Moise Joseph, take down the mile in 4:32 with little effort, they were ready to go.
Nickel pronounced that he was ready to strip and run.
We lined up slightly to the back of the open mile (sub-10 minute times), and it was the moment of truth for me. Was I going to be comfortable in my own skin and take off the tank top or was I going to be afraid and hide my mid-section? I overcame my discomfort and decided to go for it. I was going to rock my mother runner body even though it wasn't completely perfect. So outfitted in sports bra, arm warmers, running skirt, and compression socks, I was ready to go.
The gun sounded, and the boys took off! We were honestly a little shocked that they took off so fast, and we had to hustle through the throng of runners to catch up and find them. They are little so they were easily weaving in and out a making their way up to the faster pace group.
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| I'm sure the Crossfit trainer hates this photo! The guy was carrying a 75 lb backpack, but it's still funny that Z is passing him at the finish. |
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Just signed up for my first 50K
I just signed up for my first ultra marathon called the Seashore 50k in Tidewater, VA on December 15th, 2012. Going for a nice little 10 mile run at National Battlefield park tomorrow just to get back into the swing of things. Took a week off after the marathon with no running, did a few 5k easy runs this week but would like to get back and need to adjust to the trails more. My goal for this race - finish as it should be with any race but I was hoping to do something around 6 hours or less. God, I hope I am not running for 6 hours but who knows. Last year, the weather there was pretty bad so I really have no idea. Next week, I have a 20 and a 10 on the weekend so lets hope the legs hold together. The achilles has been ok but I have to stay on top of it and make sure I don't let that tendonitis come back like it did in March....on to training...
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