In 1998, I spent 79 days backpacking the Appalachian Trail, hiking a total of 1,318 miles from mid-Virginia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. My whole goal for that summer was to climb Mt. Katahdin and have my picture taken with the famed sign that proclaimed that spot as the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.…
For those who have committed to a marathon in the early fall, you are now entering what I have jokingly called the dog days of the training cycle. In the coming weeks, you will see your highest mileage weeks, as well as the hottest temperatures outside, and without a doubt, these weeks will be your…
Today on my Facebook memories, a blog I wrote last May 31st come up, talking about how to deal with a bad run. In reading the blog, I was taken back to that run, and man was it a vivid reminder of a really bad run! I struggled and eventually threw in the towel on…
As I close in on my first marathon, I’m reminded in so many ways that I wouldn’t have been able to do this without incredible support from so many others. From encouragement to advice and much more, I’ve been so lucky to have a great community of runners around me, both virtually and in real…
Sunday: 3.1 mi Superheroes Kick Butt virtual 5K. I ran this in a very slow time, partly because it was hotter than Hell (which coincidentally, I live just 6mi from Hell in the Cayman Islands) but also because my legs were a mere 12 hours removed from a fairly fast 13.1 mi long run the…
The clock is ticking, counting down that I only have 42 days until the marathon! The good news is that I feel like I am ready. The bad news is that I want to be more ready, and so I’ll keep training as hard as I can to get me to the start line. Here…
With only 49 days (49! Days!) to go until Marine Corps Marathon, I find myself fading from the training a bit. Of course, I’m blaming it on the heat, as September has thus far been warmer than August, but I think part of it is ‘seeing’ the finish line ahead and knowing that I am…
I am ready for the summer temps to fade. I won’t lie. Running in this heat is no joke. Luckily I learned from my mistakes last summer when I trained for the Baltimore Run Festival Half Marathon, and I in spite of increasing my running efforts this summer, I have been healthier and happier with…
I have a lot of questions about what my training actually looks like (not just the projected training plan that I posted last week), along with the questions of ‘how can you run that much?’ ‘What can you think about while running so many miles?’ and the inevitable ‘How do you feel after all this…
In just 11 weeks, I will be running the longest race of my life. It is something that I have been registered for since February, and yes, I have also been training for it since then. I’ve lost toe nails, suffered blisters, enjoyed fantastic runs, been discouraged, spent quality time with my husband on long…
