A few weeks ago we took a 9 day family vacation road trip to the Northeast and had a great time. We went to Pennsylvania, NYC, Connecticut, West Point and Cooperstown, NY, and finally Niagra Falls. We planned this trip months ago and when I gave my sister the dates of our trip (specifically the days we would be at her house) she went ahead and registered me for a race! The race she picked was the Mystic 10k. It…
Whenever my family gets together for a reunion we have a tradition of finding a local race to run. This has led to some interesting race experiences over the years. We’ve raced in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, and Florida. We really aren’t picky on the course or distance- just some race we can do together. This year’s reunion was in the middle of the summer in Arkansas and we couldn’t convince as many family members to get into the…
The Boston Marathon is more than a race. The entire weekend is a celebration of running with other athletes from around the world. I thought about making this into two separate posts but you really can’t have the race without everything else so here it is in one long recap. (Feel free to skip down to the race portion!) I’ve run this marathon three times now and have had three completely different experiences. In 2013 I was there during the…
Last weekend I was able to run with one of my favorite running partners ever- my sister! We don’t see each other very often because she lives in Connecticut so when we do get together we work in time to run and try to find a local race. Typically we race on our own but since she came less than two weeks after Hogeye and during my racing break it was the perfect time to try something new. She asked…
With the Chicago Marathon just 8 weeks from Sunday, summer training is in full swing. I have had a wide range of workouts- all in the blazing heat. Some have gone well and others not so much. Running and racing in warmer temps is definitely not my favorite but I know it prepares me for a stronger fall racing season so I know I just have to push through and make the best of it like like everyone else. Right…
What is harder than running a sub 3 hour marathon? Trying to do it again. This distance has intimidated the life out of me since crossing the finish line of the 3 Bridges Marathon nearly five months ago. I had built up “the big sub 3” for so long and when it happened I was elated but after I came down from cloud nine something happened. I didn’t know if I could ever do it again. I had executed a…
Several months ago my sister had an idea that when my family got together for a reunion in Pennsylvania this summer we should all run a race while we were there. Yes, we are alike in so many ways… She found a local race for the one weekend we were all there and it was only 12 miles away. The race was the Quiet Valley Rooster 5K and like any other race junkee I did my homework. I looked up…
Monday, April 15th was a day I experienced just about every emotion that is humanly possible. When it began I felt the way I feel most other marathon mornings but this time it was even more special. I was about to run the Boston Marathon and I had been dreaming of running this race for years. The day was full of potential. Sure, I was anxious and nervous but overall I was very excited. Pre-race jitters Let’s do this!…
I’m HOME!!! My husband surprised me at the airport with ALL the kids. I thought he would only have the little two with him but he checked the big two out of school at noon so they could all greet me at the Little Rock airport. I missed them all so much but I must admit that I had an AMAZING long weekend with my sister. It was truly a weekend that I will NEVER forget and I am so…
One of my FAVORITE running partners is someone I have known my entire life. We ran side by side in our very first road race. We ran together in high school cross country and track. Both of us on H.S. track team in 1997. I am one year older but she has always been taller than me! We ran together in our first marathon when we were in college. It’s been about ten years since our last race together but…