Author Archives: Natalie

Excuses for My Blogging Hiatus

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It has been almost a solid six months since my last blog post. I believe I once read (or wrote) that a blogger, especially one who blogs as a hobby, need not necessarily apologize for not blogging regularly. However, I am genuinely sorry and I feel terribly guilty for not writing often. I don’t expect that anyone has been waiting with bated breath for my next post but I want you to know that I think about this health and running blog nearly every day. My mind is constantly whirling with posts I want to write. I have 17 drafts of blogs to come. Continue reading →

Lum’s Pond 2011: Sprint Tri Turned Mud Run

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When my alarm went off at 4:30a.m. there was lightning simultaneously flashing through the window with rolling booms of thunder and the sound of a heavy rain pattering down on the roof and gutters outside. On any other Sunday it would have been perfect conditions for snuggling deeper under the covers. Instead, I deliberated for about 30 seconds, “to go, or not to go?” rolled out of bed, and got ready to leave for the 90 minute drive to Delaware for the Lum’s Pond Sprint Triathlon I’d registered for two weeks prior, for fun. Continue reading →

Hot Weather Running

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With the recent and persistent heat waves on the eastern half of North America it seems only natural to not only commiserate about the heat with other runners but also to write about it. I’ve written about running in heat and humidity before and as I thought about this post I went back to read what I wrote the first time to see if anything had changed or if I had missed some important details in the first discussion. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the post from two years ago was still relevant. The only thing that changed is the temperature. Two years ago when I was complaining about running in crazy hot weather it was only high 80s and 90s. This year, as anyone who has been outside in the last few weeks knows, its been high 90s, low 100s with humidity so thick it’s hard to breathe.

Yet, we crazy runners continue to lace up and head out for a run. Or rather a slow, slow shuffle. Continue reading →

Has Anyone Seen My Speed?

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I swear I was fast. At least, for me, in my age group, for my distances. I spent a good chunk of time and effort working on speed and got to a very comfortable place this year where my ‘slow, easy’ run was at 8:40, my 5k pace was near 7 minutes and my other mid-distances paces hovered somewhere between 8:00-8:15/mile. But alas, I seem to have regressed back to a 9 minute pace and just logged a long run averaging 9:15/mile. This rut, if that is what it is, is both frustrating and enlightening.

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Two Hours or Bust: Pacing the Zooma Half Marathon

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Racing locally, in my opinion is one of the best ways to race. You can sleep in your own bed, you know the tricks to getting around traffic and good parking, you likely know the route of the race and there is the general pride that comes with seeing athletes ready to run in your hometown. This year, the Zooma Half Marathon & 10k was scheduled to be in Annapolis on June 5. I love the half marathon distance and I love running in Annapolis. But this would be my third weekend in a row of racing and to be honest, the Zooma registration cost is a little steep for my purse strings so I wasn’t sure if I’d sign up to run. But then, an email came out from the Annapolis Triathlon Club calling for volunteer pacers for the Zooma Half. Sold!

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Sprint for a Cause: Dragonfly Heart Camp Sprint Triathlon Oct. 16

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People race for all kinds of reasons and ones that bubble to the surface are: to compete, to be fit, to challenge themselves, to honor loved ones and to support good causes. Chestertown is a small college town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and it is home to many amazing places, companies, people…and one very special camp. I was introduced to Dragonfly Heart Camp in 2010 by colleagues and fellow triathletes and its mission statement is one that you can’t help but be drawn to and feel compelled to support. I had the opportunity to race in the 2010 sprint triathlon that benefits the camp and this year I raced in the Camp’s 5k fundraiser. Thanks to a series of fortuitous events I have found myself on the race committee for the 2011 event in which I will also compete. What is Dragonfly Heart Camp? And why should you race it? Continue reading →

Anticipate the Hills

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Photo by dvs.

“Anticipate the hill.” Coach Ashley Halsey was behind me in a group ride with the Annapolis Triathlon Club and even though the road was still flat he was reminding me and the other rides to anticipate the hill. And as we approached the incline I heard “Shift…shift…shift.” “Keep up your cadence!” I was pedaling for all my might to maintain a fast cadence up a steep incline and only after we were plateauing and starting to coast the downhill did I really start to understand the purpose of maintaining cadence. And it all starts with anticipating the hill. Continue reading →

Runner’s Feet: The Bad & The Ugly (There is No Good)

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I’ve seen a few posts here and there about the “taboo” topics in running and while I don’t feel compelled to touch on all of them I am finally ready to discuss the topic of runner’s feet. And it’s not so much that I want to ‘discuss’ as it is I want to lament, whine a little and make sure other runners know they’re not alone in this ‘badge’ of distance running. I will admit that I have a strange and sick fascination with what happens to my feet over the course of training but that doesn’t make it any better. The slightly consoling bit is that in researching on this topic I found I was not the only one looking to discover the mystery of runner’s feet, or more specifically, runner’s toes. Continue reading →

One Scary Run: Alone & in the Dark

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Normally Monday is my ‘off’ day. But on this Monday I had made up my mind to do a quick 4-mile tempo run. As is my usual schedule I was up  by 5:30 a.m. rolling right out of bed and into my running gear. I put my shoes on downstairs while the Garmin sits outside the front door loading satellites. It was still chilly, not quite spring running weather and I had on running tights, my favorite cold weather top with reflective piping, hat and gloves. I started jogging like I do every run using the first mile as a warm-up. Continue reading →

Race Recap: 5k & Marathon Weekend–LPRM

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When I found the Lower Potomac River Marathon online the first thing I did was email the race director to make sure there was still room in the field. She wrote me back almost immediately confirming they still had space and I was quickly hitting ‘submit’ on Active.com. This event was featured in the March issue of Runner’s World and in the part where they write ‘why run it’ the answer is “for the simple things.” And they are spot on with that reason. Continue reading →