I basically came up with most of this post on Tuesday night when I woke up around 12am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. Does anyone else have their most profound thoughts in the middle of the night? Like I seem to come up with a million things I should do at work, and also think about the most random things that I never think about during the day. Let’s just say I was a little tired on Wednesday:)
How I Would Sign up for Races If I Had A Million Dollars
So one of the things I was thinking about was how frustrating it is that you could have a perfect training cycle and then just not feel 100% on race day. I can usually tell pretty quickly if its going to be a good race day or not. So the solution I came up with was just to sign up for all the races within a month. Maybe even two per weekend. The you just run the race whenever you feel like you are the most ready. You could even just start running one of the races and if its not going well you could drop out and do the next one. OR race organizers should have some sort of system where they all work together and let you sign up for one race but then give you flexibility on when you run it. The logistics of that would never work, but it sounds like a good plan!
New Running Shoes Get Me Really Excited
I have talked before about how I love my Pureflow 2s and I was really nervous to try the 3s. Plus they are still full price but I haven’t been able to find the 2s in my size anymore. I knew at some point I would have to transition to the 3s. So Rob got me a pair for my birthday and I couldn’t wait to try them out! I decided to try them on a shorter/easy run day so I decided to would wear them for Wednesday’s 5 miler. I was really excited for Wednesdays run simply because of getting to wear new shoes. However, now I have 5 pairs of shoes in my rotation which may be a little excessive…
It’s Baltimore Running Festival Week!
The BRF brings back so many good memories for me. I am really excited for the race this weekend but I also keep going back and forth about what I want to get out of it. Should I just use it as a training run and have fun? Should I try to run it at marathon goal pace? Should I run it hard and try to PR? I guess I will decide how I feel that day but these are the questions that keep me up at night. Also picturing the hills and having flashbacks of last year’s marathon.
Crossing My Fingers For Good Weather
I’ve started stalking the weather for Saturday’s race and after the gross humidity this week I was a little worried. But it is looking good and I just hope it doesn’t change! The start is kind of late (8:45) but actually an hour earlier than it was scheduled because there was a chance that the Orioles would be playing if they went to game 5 (and the finish is right between the two stadiums). The marathon starts at 7 and the half starts at 8:45 and they merge around mile 16 of the full course, and everyone finishes together.
What Should We Do For Our Two Year Anniversary?
It’s coming up on November 10th and we would like to do something but also don’t want to spend a lot of money. Last year we went wine tasting and it was perfect. We had a car drive us out to the wineries about 50 minutes away so we wouldn’t have to drive. We also got really lucky with the weather last year, and I can’t imagine it would be as fun if it was raining or freezing cold. Any suggestions?
Thanks Amanda!
Do you have any ideas about how to make race days more flexible?
What is your favorite temperature for racing?
What a good plan!!! I nearly
Registered for another full marathon the weekend after mine so that I could have a “backup” marathon if race day didn’t go well for me. Then I realized I need that pressure to force me to be my best! (At least that’s what I’m telling myself!)
I really like the wine tasting idea, I think that’s adorable and seems really fun! We have been to a meadery before too and that was a blast!
You won’t need a backup marathon, you will do great! You could always come run Philly next month if you feel like doing another fall marathon:)
When the new models of my favorite running shoes come out, I freak that they will have be so changed that I won’t like them. It seems though that the new Adidas Energy Boost 2.0 made only minor changes and when I tried them, I realized they may work for me. So stressful though lol.
It really is stressful. I could see how some upgrades can be good, but I think they really just mess things up for runners:)
I love that wine tasting idea! So cute. That will be hard to top 🙂
My favorite temp for racing is cold, as you know! I will literally quit running if we have a hot humid day Nov 23 🙂 I worry about the idea of the “one race day” too because it’s a whole lot of training for one day! I worry about getting sick, weather, stubbing my toe the night before, you know, normal things! The toe thing is real though. My son fell right on my left foot the other day and I realized how I need to be careful about not getting injured in some ridiculous way and ruining the race that way. Also the idea that we spend so much money on races puts the pressure on for the day to be perfect!
I get SO nervous about random injuries and getting sick as my race approaches! I remember last year I had the most random injury the week before a 5k- the shower door fell on my foot!! I was actually able to run the 5k but I didn’t run at all the week before, but if it was a marathon or a goal race I would have been freaking out! I think I will need to live in a bubble during the month of November.
I’ve never run a race before, but I can’t even imagine how bad I’d be freaking out over that one day that I spent so long training for… especially when you can do everything right and there’s still so much that’s out of your control. Gah! It stresses me out even thinking about it, so I have no idea how you runners deal. And if it’s something huge like a marathon… ermagherd 😯
Yea it is a whole lot of pressure! But I guess its just a part of the process and you have to get used to it. Makes me wish I was one of those runners who could run marathons all the time and never get injured:)
I”m glad that at least one of your thoughts is non-running-related haha. For your anniversary, you all could do a wine pairing class or something? Or a cooking with wine class? I”m trying to keep the wine theme going, for the sake of the blog if nothing else, lol.
I love that you kept the wine thing going and thanks for pointing out that 4/5 of my thoughts were running related…and I guess the other was wine related and then pretty much sums up my blog. I will definitely look into those classes, those are great ideas!
I often have some of my most profound thoughts in the middle of the night. Problem is, many times i fall back to sleep and forget all of those wonderful thoughts I formulated! Have a great day!
I think I only remembered this time because I realized I should use some of these ideas for my thinking out loud post! Otherwise I usually forget too:)
I love how you think of running when you can’t sleep! When I’m awake in the middle of the night I think of running and definitely school as well. I’d sign up for all the races just because they’re so fun. Plus then I’d never have to buy another tshirt in my life!
I really hope the weather cooperates with you this weekend!
The t-shirt part is such a good point! The problem I have is most of my race t-shirts are short sleeve, but I am usually running either in a tank top or layers, so I usually have to buy other shirts too. But definitely a perk of signing up for lots of races:)
I would love to sign up for many more races as well if money wasn’t a factor. I hate when you find a new pair of shoes that you love then uou can’t find them any more bc they stopped making them or moves up to a different style. I want to get new shoes soon. My birthday is coming up next mth. Hope to get a pair then.
I think that running shoes make a great birthday gift!
My absolute best marathon training cycle was for Marine Corps 2012. I had my fastest 20 miler ever (3:05) and plenty of solid runs that made me feel fantastic for race day. Three days before the race I got a stupid cold and absolutely BONKED on race day. I was so frustrated I actually took months off from running (so stupid!). I think that’s the most frustrating thing about marathons because I’m not at the point where I can just pick up another one a few weeks later.
Of course I say this all now knowing that I need to find another fall marathon because I skipped Steamtown to go to the ALCS. Yeah, life won on that one!
I’m so sorry to hear about that race experience! But it happens and I think that is one of the most frustrating things about the process! The good news is that it doesn’t happen all the time so chances are your next one will go great! Did you consider running the Baltimore marathon after missing steamtown? Or there is always Philly next month:)
5 Pairs of sneakers in the rotation! Wow!
You could try cooking an extravagant meal together, get some nice wines to pair of with courses…
Happy anniversary!
Thank you! I would love to cook an extravagant meal but our kitchen is soo small and makes it pretty difficult. Maybe we will do that next year when we have a bigger kitchen!
Hah! I LOVE the idea of having flexibility on a race date and being able to drop out if you know the day just isn’t going your way. Obviously this would be impossible for RDs to manage, but it would be a runner’s dream come true! I’m trying to come up with my own little way to make it happen. I know I want to PR in the half marathon distance this winter so I’ve basically signed up for one half marathon per month between now and March. I’m hoping I’ll have a strong PR day one of those days!
Wow that is so awesome! You will definitely make significant improvements in your 1/2 marathon time making that type of commitment!
that weather looks perfect for raceday! happy almost 2 year anniversary! my recommendation would be a weekend trip to charlottesville – it’s driving distance and BEAUTIFUL. great food and hiking, etc. plus lots of wineries as a throw back to your first anniversary 🙂
That sounds like a great idea! I have never been there and it sounds like a place we would love! Not sure if we can pull it together fast enough but I am definitely going to keep it in mind as a place we should visit soon!
A cool, fall day is perfect for racing! Anywhere in the 50s 🙂
Agreed! I can even do high 40s if its a little bit sunny. The hardest part for me is standing around waiting for the race to start when it’s chilly out!
If you ever get that race system going, let me know. I am in! I know exactly how you feel about the shoes! I just got the mizuno waverider 17s for the first time, since the 18s just came out. I rushed outside to run in them, even though it started pouring. Worth it! Fingers crossed for some good running weather for your race!
Shoes can be sooo tricky! I just like to find a few pairs I like so I have some back ups! Maybe one day I’ll branch out to something besides Brooks…ha- not likely!
Oh man I feel ya! I hope you end up running a fun run at the race this weekend and it is GLORIOUS! I really hate when you know from the start that it’s just not going to be a good running day. I’d say go for it though – you seem to have fond memories and the weather looks pretty nice 🙂 Hope you are having a better Friday and getting some SLEEP!!!
Thank you!! I also hope that I can just have fun! I think I will have to see how I feel once the race starts. I’m just glad that I don’t have too much pressure on myself since its not a goal race.