Category Archives: Running

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 →

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 →

Race Recap: 5k & Marathon Weekend–St. Patrick’s 5k

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A sure sign that spring is here is when weekends start filling up with races. In my case, it just so happened that I had back-to-back races in one weekend. I have had weekends where each weekend I’m racing but never before I had done one event on Saturday immediately followed by an event on Sunday. Though this was not my original intention, I’ll start off by saying that it resulted in two PRs so I’m not complaining! How did this happen and what were the races you wonder? Continue reading →

Guest Post: The Torture Never Stops

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It’s probably obvious from my blog that I happen to love running. But not everyone does. The great thing is that even people who hate running–for whatever reason–still run. And I commend those runners. One of them happens to be my friend Dave who is also a writer and currently in law school. His take on running and how he gets through it is entertaining and something I’m sure many can relate to. I hope you enjoy his perspective! As always, feel free to leave a comment with your own experience or thoughts.–Natalie

I never thought that when I took up running, Frank Zappa would try to kill me.

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On the Other Side of the Cup

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In any race I always make a point of saying ‘thank you’ to the volunteers. Volunteers are critical for making a race successful and for making the runner’s experience positive. They provide everything from security to safety to organization, signage and the all-important water stop. A couple years ago I volunteered for the Zooma Half Marathon in Annapolis and worked the gear check station which was a great orientation to the ‘behind-the-scenes’ component of an event. Now I can say I have been on the other side of the cup having completed my first water stop volunteer experience.

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When Long Becomes Short

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One of the things I love about distance training is the tipping point when all of a sudden what were once long runs become short runs. I tend to spend 2-3 months each winter rebuilding my base and my benchmark is always 6 miles. I always want to get to the point where I can comfortably run 6 miles and then I like to get to the point where I can run 6 miles slightly faster than my easy pace. It takes a long time for 6 miles to become easy, let alone fast. But, every season when I hit the tipping point I will find myself running with a goofy grin on my face. Because once 6 miles becomes the short run, soon 8 and then 10 miles also become short. Continue reading →