2nd on the 3rd

Well, well, well. Another weekend has flown by, and holy moly was it an active one.

(Note to self - never use the phrase holy moly again.)

But before we get into details, can I take a moment and brag about my favorite new creation?

Friday night a few of my coworkers and I had a 'craft night' and painted quotes that we like on boards. I picked the above quote based off of something that caught my eye on Pinterest... although the quote below was a close second.

Both pretty much sum one of my life mottos of 'Live Hard'.

Back to the weekend. Probably my favorite part of the past two days was the 5k that Andrew and I randomly signed up for a few weeks ago. I went into Saturday morning with pretty low expectations - I haven't been running much, certainly haven't been running for speed, and told Andrew that my hope was just to enjoy the race.

Yet when the gun went off I immediately slipped into my competitive mindset, and we were off. I was surprised how semi-easy it was to fall back into a sub-seven minute pace, and we stayed side by side as we ran through Harbor East to the edge of Fells Point, and circled back.

I was happy with the finish. I was surprised today when I found out I was 38th overall and 2nd in my age group? Not too shabby for zero training.

Needless to say, we immediately signed up for another 5k at the beginning of June. Yes.

This morning we tried out a new church, and then headed west to try out some new hiking. The trail was more challenging than some others we've done so far in the area - it was located in Cactoctin Mountain Park. I did a horrible job and only took one picture; better than nothing I suppose.

I write to guys you from the balcony of the beautiful Barnes and Nobles in downtown Baltimore. It's two stories, right on the inner harbor, and a must-visit if you are ever in town. To be honest, being up here on a Sunday evening kind of feels like the calm before the storm of a busy couple weeks. I committed to substitute assistant coaching for a club volleyball team in the area a couple nights per week through the month of May. On top of a busy work week and a long to-do list, it should be a real doozy.

I'm unsure I ever want to use that word again either. Doozy. No. Never again.

Reminder: link up starting this Tuesday for a sweaty May challenge, and find yourself some new workout moves to try out! Grab the button below.

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That's all I've got. Sun's going down and it's getting cold. Until Tuesday my friends -

Cheers

K8

competitor

This week flew by. It was glorious. I kind of feel like on Monday I blinked, and all of a sudden it was Superbowl Weekend. Ushered in by a beautiful sunrise.

So, what is wackjob Kait gonna throw at you for some Friday entertainment? How about a quick story?

A week or two ago, Andrew and I decided that we were going to see Lone Survivor. I showed up at his apartment around 6:15 pm so that we could share split a Trader Joes pizza prior to walking down the street to the theater.

Around 6:45 we finished stuffing our faces eating, and realized we had well over 2 hours to kill before the 9:45 showing. Didn’t time that out too well.

Somehow, as we cleaned up and sat back down at his kitchen table over some wine, we got into a heated ‘What do we really want to do with our lives’ debate. One of those deep conversations that you can only have with a select few people in your life, which gets so intense that you lose track of time for a significant while.

I love Andrew for many reasons, but towards the top of that list is that he will always push me. Always. So he sat there and asked me what my fears were, what was holding me back from studying to get my PT certification, why I am not going after things that I'm so passionate about.

And with tears in my eyes like the emotional wimp that I can sometimes be, it basically came down to fear, and stagnancy.

I’m a big competitor in certain areas of life. I like to excel, I like to run fast, I like to beat people. I like to do things well, not half-assed. Recently I’ve been on a don’t be a (insert p-word here) rant, as anyone who has spent a significant amount of time with me recently could tell you. And so another good question that he threw at me was -

“What’s your plan for 2014? Are you racing? How are you going to compete in life this year, because we both know that you need that.”

I do. I just don’t know what my bodies going to let me do yet. And I sure as hell am not going to pay an absurd race fee to do it ‘for fun.’

A shamrock shuffle at this point would be just that – a shuffle. Some people shuffle, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I prefer to see 6's in front of my 5k pace.

I’m getting antsy. I see race ads popping up everywhere, and I want to sign up. It’s one of the reasons that I sometimes avoid reading other blogs, because I get down on myself about not having some epic 2014 year of races planned.

I’m convinced that sitting on my ass all day is doing more harm than good for my freaking hamstring.

I’m convinced that crossfit would be a great solution for me. Yet I also know that that I still can’t afford it.

Basically, I realized that I was/am in a weird rut. I don’t have any races to train for, and I basically half-assed my way through life in January. Maybe I need to cut myself some slack, but I don’t think I do. Basically, what I need is for Jillian Michaels to walk into my house, scream at me, possibly backhand me, and then write me an epic workout plan for the entire year.

This post has no point but to be transparent and let you all know where I stand. I have a lot of awesome ideas in my head as to what I want this year to look like, and I think it’s time to hold myself accountable and start acting on them, don’t you agree? And as I sit here, on the eve of February, I’m feeling more motivated than ever.

Hold tight kids, 2014 is about to start FO’ REAL. I leave you with a jam for #Backthatazzup Friday that sums up this post perfectly.

Cheers –

K

Celebrate Running

Happy National Running Day!

I didn't pack on too many miles today, as I ran 7 on trails yesterday, and hope to do the same tomorrow. I’m still sticking to the every other day plan until I feel more confident in my body. I did do some sprint work on the treadmill for a solid 15-20 minutes.

Speaking of my run yesterday, I stumbled upon these guys on the side of the beaten trail. I’m convinced they are strawberries, but my coworker says they aren’t. Until I come to a more conclusive decision, I enjoy making her nervous by telling her I’m going to eat them next time I see them. (I promise I really won’t Mom)

Speaking of berries, did you hear about that recall on the bags of frozen berries sold at Costco? Apparently they are causing outbreaks of Hepatitis A, so that’s no good… here’s the link to the full article if you’re a worried Costco-goer. Which I am, but my main worry stems from how I can collect as many food samples as possible without getting trampled.

Good thing I’ve been sticking to my fresh cherries this week! Yum…

See my special glass of water sitting there? Sparkling water, lemon, lime and a mint leaf. I received the highest honor last night when Andrew told me that it tastes good. This is coming from the guy who drinks so much Gatorade it possibly running through his veins…

Speaking of cherries, and water (gosh I’m good at linking it all together today) I’ve been adding about a tablespoon of tart cherry juice to my water every morning, as I’ve read it’s supposed to help with general inflammation… and is just all-around good for you. Remember my word of the year?? Hint, it rhymes with moactive…

I’ve gotten about a million emails from the Rock ‘n Roll Marathon series letting me know that today only until midnight, for National Running Day, you can save $20 on any race you sign up for. Just a thought, if you’re considering adding to your race schedule. As for me, I’ve been eyeing some shorter distance races to sign up for within the coming summer months. I’m still waiting to sign up for anything, as I want to get moved and settled and get other life things taken care of first.

There are tons of other fun running –related deals/contests out there to celebrate today that I’ve seen being advertised on other blogs – I would just do a little internet surfing, and I’m sure you will stumble upon something cool.

How are you celebrating National Running Day? I’m trying to be extra thankful today for being able to run again. It’s a gift, and easy to forget how quickly it can be taken away.

Cheers!

Ramping Back Up

It's been a bit since we've talked running on here eh? Kind of weird. Have you been worried? Don't be. I think it's because things have been so iffy.

I've been feeling a little less iffy.

This past weekend, I ran 3 miles on both Saturday and Sunday. That's nothing, I know, but for me where I stand right now, it's something. My foot didn't yell, it felt good, and this is on top of being on my feet most of the day on Saturday while bar-crawling through Annapolis.

That's a whole different story.

Saturday morning Andrew and I ran in a local 5k put on through his cousin's school. It was small - small enough that we both finished right under 24 minutes with his younger cousin and each placed first in our age group. Hey I'll take it.

Especially seeing that my breakfast prior to the race consisted of this:

Tots. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Long story short, I feel good about my foot. Finally. For awhile I was back and forth, and super nervous to ramp up the mileage too quickly.

I will stay between 3-4 miles tomorrow and Thursday, and possibly try for 5 miles one day this weekend if things go well.

My goal is to 'comfortably' get back up to my normal 7-8 mile jaunts by June 1. In my mind, marathon training starts in June. 

Until then, I'll continue to stick with all my swimming/yoga/spinning distractions on the side. And of course, so many planks.

Spring = planks outside!

Andrew's out of town this week so I am getting back to neutral in many areas of life, as well as making plans for the month of May. Can you believe that May is on Wednesday? That blows my mind and makes me so happy.

On the music front, Mr. Kenny Chesney himself has a new album out tomorrow if you're a country fanatic like me. Just thought you may need something to brighten up your Tuesday!

Cheers to ramping back up!

Boston.

I've been quiet for awhile, I know.

I have a lot to tell you, but my Colorado stories can wait. And the two miles that I just ran can wait.

The past six months have taught me not to take the gift of running for granted, I've said this before. Injury can strike at any time; we are pretty prone to it as human beings, I get that.

But intentional injury? Being attacked, because I am a runner, or supporting other runners? That's something that never even crossed my mind.

I heard about Boston when I got to Denver International Airport on Monday afternoon. A news alert popped up on my phone and it was vague, there weren't many details. I passed through security, got to my gate and saw the TVs.

And I sat down, and I cried. For a long time.

What I was seeing on those TVs was, the right to run, the right to joy, the right to compete in a beautiful, healthy sport that so many millions of people love.... being attacked.

That's my race. That's our race, that's our city. Boston is the world's oldest annual marathon. Those runners are my friends. Those spectators could have been cheering me on last year.

I was there last year. At that very finish line, in Boston Massachusetts.

I can't tell you how hard it's been to pull my thoughts together on this. How myself, as a marathon runner, will choose to respond. Then today, a beautiful 75 degree Maryland day, I went for a run.

And it hit me. Some of those runners injured on Monday will never run again. They may not get to do a lot of things ever again; their lives are forever changed. And three, well three will never get to experience that rush of joy that this precious world gives us, in so many different beautiful forms.

I will tell you this much. I will never line up at a starting line without thinking of those three people whose lives were taken, and 130 injured by such a senseless, cowardly act.

If anything, I'll run harder. I hope you'll do the same.

In the meantime, until I can race again, I will continue to pray for Boston.

PB&J horror story

I love coming up with extreme, random titles to catch your attention. Did it work?

First off, it's Monday. This made me laugh:

dog shaming cracks me up

Also, a change of desk decor was necessary this morning as I'm pretty sure my entire office building as well as the entire city of Baltimore is now officially bleeding purple. So yeah, sure, I'll jump on that bandwagon. I do live here after all.

#ravennation

Let's discuss my small 6 mile race yesterday, eh? My final time was 41:23, a 6:53 pace.  I was the 3rd female to finish and the 9th place finisher overall. Keep in mind this was a pretty small race.

I should probably be pretty happy with that time. It was hilly as HECK, and I was on track to PR if that would have been a 10k course.

But I'm not super pumped about the race itself, and how I felt during it. I felt pretty tired by mile 3. Granted, I had ran a slow 4 miles about a hour beforehand, but I don't think that was it. I think it was the massive PB&J sandwich that I housed during the 45 minutes I had between those 4 miles and the race itself.

this PB will be the death of me.

That sandwich SAT in the side of my ribs miles 3-6. It was quite a treat. No thanks to my favorite peanut butter that I occasionally eat straight out of the jar....

I started off pretty fast, too fast actually. Miles 3-6 I evened out and stayed somewhat consistent  but that was mainly due to me just trying not to die.

My favorite part of the race was probably leading it until mile 5, and then getting passed by two women. That rocked.

Lesson learned. Hills, I hate you, but we will be spending more time together. PBJ's, you will no longer be eaten before races.

Cheers!

Running over 2013

I had two pretty killer runs this weekend.

The first one was Friday after work, and my 8 miler was today. I'm particularly proud of mile 8 when I decided to kick it up and see what I had left in the tank.

8 miles is big progress for me; if you've been reading at all the past couple months you know this. So while I was chugging along this beautiful afternoon, I quickly got lost in deep thought as to what I want to accomplish this year as far as running goes.

this picture is in no way related to what i just said, i just like it.

This spring I won't be doing anything crazy; I made a vow to myself not to sign up for any races longer than 10 miles until I can comfortably run 10-12 miles again. My plan is to stick to the 5/10/15k's until the end of the spring... with a possible half marathon in late spring or early summer.

I will also look to try a (sprint) tri(athlon) at the beginning of the summer... and if I like it maybe I'll do another Olympic-distance one. Who knows.

I better get some better biking gear before then, huh?

Those aren't my main concerns though. Because I realized that I have some personal issues with 26.2 that I need to address.

A couple people have asked me if I'll do a spring marathon, and as badly as I want to... no. I'm sticking to my word of the year - Proactive - and focusing hard on staying healthy this year. That's why this spring will be about regaining my mileage base, and getting strong. Really strong.

And then getting fast.

Because it's awesome to be able to hold paces like my two shorter runs this weekend.. but it now definitely isn't as easy as it was for me pre-IT band crap. I will be extremely surprised if I am able to run 13.1 miles in 89 minutes again by the end of the spring. Regardless, a half marathon PR is not my concern.

Philly Half

My concern is the fall. And this burning desire to beat the sh*t out of a marathon.

What's with the rage Kait? Let's call it passion, shall we? I've run two marathons. Colorado I was a basically a clueless ditz; I downloaded a training program off the internet and crossed my fingers. I flew down the Rocky Mountains and surprised myself with a BQ. Awesome race, my first taste of 26.2

Boston then robbed any chance of a PR that I had when a caribbean heat wave rolled through in mid-April. That's ok.

This fall New York never happened. Let's leave it at that.

So here we are. January 2013. With over 9 months to train, assuming I stay healthy, my #1 running focus this year will be to PR that fall marathon.

Very specifically, a 3:1x PR.

 It's doable. From where I stand at my computer this very second, it is going to be a long road to get back into that kind of shape.

Good thing I love nothing more than a good hard challenge.

Cheers to running over 2013!!

2012 in Review

What a year, eh?

I don't know about you, but I'm normally a big advocate of the use of the number ranking system. And if I were to give this year a number from 1-10, I would give it a solid 6.

It was a good year. Not fabulous or mind-blowing by any means, but it was definitely good. Full of adventures, but also full of adjustments and changes. It was hard, but I learned a ton.

Rewinding to a year ago today, I was living back at home in the Chicago suburbs. This blog hadn't even been born yet, and I was trying to save up all my coin to make the move out to the East Coast to reunite with my beau.

That took a solid two months to accomplish, and on Februrary 13th 2012 (just in time for Valentine's Day) I made the move out to the Baltimore are.

I was blessed, so blessed to find a full-time job in just over a month's time.

Simultaneously I was training for the Boston  Marathon, which snuck up on me in mid-April. Andrew, Bri and my friend Meg traveled up the coast to the land of awesomely thick accents and Red Sox fans to watch me plod 26.2 through the beautiful city of Boston in 80-something degree weather.

It was definitely one of my all-time favorite memories. If you ever get the chance to run Boston, do it.

Summer came along shortly after and taught me the true definition of humidity. Holy. Cow. The summer was packed full of beach trips, bachlorette parties and country music.

August gave us a grand finale to my first Maryland summer with two epic events.

1. A week-long getaway to the Colorado mountains... followed by one of my very best friend's wedding in the best city in the world, Chicago.

2. A beach getaway to Deleware with a group of a few of our closest homies over Labor Day weekend.

Shortly after, Andrew and I traveled up to Philadelphia to both run in the Philly Half Marathon. It was Andrew's first half and he absolutely killed it, while I surprised myself with my fastest half marathon to date. We both had a blast and enjoyed our first authentic Philly Cheesesteak on the ride back to Baltimore.

And then, tragedy struck and my IT band started hating on me, hard.

Running/training came to a screeching hault throughout most of the gorgeous, color-filled fall, and my Physical Therapy office quickly became my second home. In the meantime, I learned to love other forms of physical activity such as spin class, weight lifting and even some raquetball.

I'm still working on the yoga.

Andrew and I journeyed back to Illinois to get in some quality family time over Thanksgiving, and basically... here we are. Christmas Break 2012 was a fabulous refreshment for me, and I loved spending time with my family, and my parent's new puppy Jane.... in case you couldn't tell from my past couple posts.

I'm feeling stronger, my IT band has quieted down, and this past Saturday morning I was able to run about 70 minutes without any pain. That makes me so happy.

A lot of things make me happy.

Like being able to spend New Years out here in gorgeous Colorado with my boyfirend and his family.

I'll wrap up by saying, I have this sneaking suspicion that 2013 is going to be amazing. Like absolutely epic. I've been telling a lot of people that lately.

I'm going to make it epic. With the full understanding that now, just because something is hard, challenging or even sucky doesn't necessary equate to the fact that something is bad or sad.

I choose to make 2013 an awesome year. Without looking back.

I hope you do to.

Resolutions to come soon, but in the meantime...

Cheers to a brand new year!!

that blogger

This weekend was full of life, and I loved it. For so many different reasons.

First and foremost, this picture continues to crack me up:

Weekends like this stand out to me because we forced it to be epic. Andrew and I both had very little on the agenda, yet refused to let it go down in the books as one of those 'boring' weekends.

Efforts included but were not limited to:

Sipping on some wine called 'Truth' while watching The Dark Knight Returns for the first time. Loved it. The wine too.

Playing racquetball.  I suck am not the best and definitely inferior to Andrew at this particular sport, but he had fun humoring me and playing "let's try to get 10 hits in a row" type of games. Needless to say, my right arm is super sore today.

Two for one holiday lattes at the 'Bucks. Boom.

I poached my first egg! Great success!

New Belgium Snow Day while we both watched our favorite football teams. His (Denver) rocked while mine (Chicago) didn't fair so great. No comment.

AND last but certainly not least, we ran the 4 mile Rudolph Run Relay Race through a nearby park. With neither of us being in tip top shape, we decided a reasonable goal was a sub-30 minute finishing time.

We succeeded with flying colors, coming in around 28:40-something. We were one of the first co-ed relay teams to finish, and were both rocking our red and green race clothes for a little holiday cheer. I was super pumped to pull two consecutive sub-seven minute miles for my leg of the race (the second leg), as I haven't pushed a faster pace since pre-IT band issues. It felt great.

BUT, what felt even cooler was what happened after the race. While sipping on some hot chocolate and waiting for the  awards to be given, a man walk past me and said,

"Hey, are you that blogger?"

I was startled and confused, as I (thought) I didn't know anyone else at the race besides Andrew. The guy proceeded to introduce his daughter to me, who had recognized me from reading my blog! She complimented me, and I of course thanked her for reading.

It was heart-warming to me, mainly because I still consider myself to be kind of a loner out here in Maryland. I don't run into people I know simply because there just aren't a ton of people I know. I didn't grow up out here, my family doesn't live in the area, etc.

I was honored, and if she's reading, well, thanks for reading! Thanks to everyone reading actually!

How was your weekend? Any holiday cheer woven into your activities? Would love to hear about it.

Cheers to a very merry weekend.

Zoo Zoom 8k

I have to admit that I’m a bit extremely excited this week. The fact that today is essentially a Wednesday for me is enough to put a big grin on my face.

Andrew and I are Chicago-bound on for Turkey Day, but I won’t jump the gun quite yet and start gushing about that.

This past weekend was actually full of two of my favorite things; running and food.

Sunday morning Andrew, some of my coworkers and I ran an 8k through the Maryland Zoo. I didn’t have high expectations; in fact I tried to go in having zero expectations. The little voice in my head kept whispering ‘You should just run it as fast as you can and try to win it.”

Ha.

Running as fast as I can now looks incredibly different than it did two months ago. Sad, but expected at this point.

In case you were wondering, an 8k is equivalent to just under 5 miles. I will deem Sunday as an accomplishment solely based off the fact that I haven’t run that far since mid-September. Pain was minimal… it was cold so my left leg as a whole was tight and generally unhappy, but pain itself was pretty absent. Andrew humored me like a good boyfriend should, and stayed with me for the entire race, even as I huffed and puffed up a small mountain hill towards the middle of the course and proceeded to hyperventilate at the top.

Out. Of. Shape.

Our finishing time was 41:56 which is most certainly respectable, an 8:27 pace. I will refuse to become upset about my current running shape, all things considered, and continue to gloat solely on the fact that I can now run further than two miles without my entire left leg shutting down.

My favorite part was undoubtedly the giraffes and lions that we saw towards the end. Andrew had a 5-year old moment and shouted into the giraffe pen until the long-neck creature made direct eye-contact with him.

Second favorite part had to be the birds that were hanging around the recovery area at the end. And the amazingly delicious pumpkin muffins that I may have had three of.

A kookaburra!!! (feel free to start singing the song) 

It took all that I had not to steal him and make him my new best friend. 

The rest of the day consisted of preparing for ‘friendsgiving’ that Andrew’s roommate was hosting. He made and AMAZING turkey, the spread was incredible, and I was one happy girl when we sat down to eat.

Did anyone else race this weekend? What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Cheers to a short week!