Our First Contest – Guess our RNR Times!

Tamara and I are both excited to Rock the Strip at the Rock N Roll ½ Marathon and Marathon this weekend in Vegas.  We are also excited about our first blog contest!

The rules are simple.  Tamara and I will both be running the Rock N Roll ½ Marathon in Las Vegas on Sunday, December 4^th.

You must do all of the following to be eligible:

First – Follow us on Twitter @werrunners OR subscribe to our blog (The subscribe form is on the bottom right of this page).

Second – Leave a blog comment on this post with your prediction for Tamara’s time and your prediction for Jeff’s time – Please include your email address!  Please also let us know if you followed us on Twitter or subscribed to our blog.

We will add our official race chip finish times (provided by RNR) together and add your predictions together – The individual who followed the rules and has a predicted total time closest to the actual total time wins!!

The Deadline for the contest entry is 12:00pm Eastern on Sunday, December 4^th.  One entry per person!  The winner will be announced by Tuesday, December 6^th.

The Prize – A $30 Zappos Gift Card!!

Please note that this contest is not sponsored in anyway by Zappos or The Rock and Roll Marathon Series.  We are just running the race and wanted to have a little fun!

Thanks for Checking out our Blog, Good Luck and Happy Running!

Jeff and Tamara!

No purchase is necessary.

This contest is void in any location where it is prohibited by law.

Jeff’s Post – A Strong Weekend and We “R” Ready to Rock and Roll!

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend.  Tamara and I had a nice few days with family and we were thrilled that we could get in a few runs together.  We didn’t only run – we kicked some running butt!  We didn’t break any land speed records and we are just average runners but we ran hard and we ran fast and it felt so good (I pasted the spits for those running geeks!).  I love the feeling when we are both running side by side in unison fast and strong!  We have our final ½ coming up this weekend and “We “R” Ready to Rock and Roll!  After running two marathons over the last few months I’m excited to be done at mile marker 13 this time and I feel very strong at the moment.  I do feel like I ate a bit more than I should have over the last few days so I will be looking to drop a few pounds by Sunday.  After running 32 miles over the last 3 days I took today off and plan on running a mostly normal week leading up to the ½.

Our Splits on our two runs below – Notice the negative splits – Yeah!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather in Southern Maryland continues to be beautiful and today was no exception.  It was all we could do not to run but we knew that rest was more important.  We spent a relaxing afternoon tagging our Christmas tree and visiting a few of the local scenic areas.

Have a great day and go for a run if you can!!  You will be glad you did!!

Rock Star!

 

A Rest Day!

Tagging our Tree!

Jeff’s Post – Light the Tree!

I managed to sneak in a speedy 10 mile run this afternoon.  I was thrilled with that as I’m certain I’m carrying an extra pound or two around after all of these Thanksgiving meals.  Tonight was the annual Christmas Tree lighting in Leonardtown, MD.  It was a perfect night to light the tree.  Tamara and I have a run planned in the morning.  I’m not sure how far we will go or how fast we will run….I will just let her lead the way!

Christmas Tree Lightting Leonardtown, MD

Tamara’s Post – Thankful for a Great Run!

I was bummed I couldn’t join Jeff on the 10 mile run this morning, but I was determined to get a run in later and was happy he could join me! As he has said, we do run so well together and I love the fact that if I just don’t talk he gets it – he knows either I don’t feel well or I’m super-serious about the run. We had a slight headwind down 3 miles and I knew the run back would be easier – and it was! I didn’t look at my Garmin, but was hoping we were hitting negative splits (we did!). I did know we were running at a pretty good pace when I could hear Jeff breathing a bit harder than normal – and the sound of his shoes hitting the road seemed a bit different…all the things I think about in my mind to try to figure out how fast I am running…I’m sure it would be easier to figure out if I would just look at my Garmin! I did look once we hit my road and was tickled we were running about a 7:30 pace at that point! It was a great 6 mile run and I’m very thankful that Jeff pushed me out there today…and I’m super thankful he is in my life, we make a great team!

Jeff’s Post – Thanksgiving Double!

Today I started what I hope will be a new Thanksgiving tradition.  I started the morning meeting up with a group from our local running club for a “10 before Turkey” run.  This run has been going on for a few years but this was my first year participating.  You basically show up and run what your want – my goal today was 10 miles.  It was a beautiful morning and I ending up pairing up in a group of three.  It was a fun run at a nice relaxing pace and I really enjoyed the company in the group.  It turns out the guy I was running with has run many ultramarathons and over 200 marathons.  It was great to run with him – I felt like I was with running royalty!

I felt really good after the run and couldn’t wait to stop by Starbucks for a coffee and then head back to Tamara’s house.  Tamara wasn’t able to join me on the morning run and I was really hoping that she would be able to run when I got back because I wanted to run with her.  As soon as I got back I asked her if she wanted to run – she said yes and I told her I wanted to go again.  She seemed a little surprised since I had just run 10 miles but I felt so good and it was such a beautiful day I was ready to go again.

Tamara and I run so well together.  We normally don’t discuss pace, we just run.  We were pressed for time and she said she only had time to run 6 miles.  I knew from the second we left her house that she meant business on this run.  I just love that and I love how we push each other’s pace.  We ran a pretty fast 6 miles (8:00 pace).   More impressive was that every mile was a negative split.  We rocked our Thanksgiving Run and I was thrilled with my double run today – 16 miles!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read our blog.  You inspire us and we love sharing our stories.

Ran on the boardwalk this morning!

The view from my run this morning! - Beautiful Solomons Island, MD

Tamara’s Post – Building Confidence…

I wasn’t looking forward to our 13 mile run this morning – I woke up super-tired with a headache and was in a semi-foul mood…which was elevated when I somehow managed to slam my finger in the microwave door while heating up my oatmeal – ugh, it’s still sore! I was thristy, hungry, my stomach was acting up, and still tired when we headed out from Jeff’s house. I began focusing on my music – love my music! I got in a good pace quickly – but had no idea what that pace was – I don’t look at my Garmin unless I have to. It was nice to run a route that I hadn’t run before – I just followed Jeff’s direction as we made our way through the Amish community and than up to our turnaround point – where the wind slapped me in the face. I felt like I was struggling, but kept reminding myself that I was getting stronger. After a hilly detour to get in a few extra miles, we headed back. Less than 2 miles out I was again feeling defeated as the wind almost knocked my hat off as we made our way up a very long hilly incline – I hated looking up – I thought we were never going to get to the crest of the hill. So I tucked in behind Jeff’s tall lean body and hoped he would break the wind – yup, it worked! I got really close to his heels as he made his way up the hill – and no sooner had I found my position out of the wind when he seemed to pick up the pace and take off! Huh!? Guess I should have told him my strategy – afterall, wasn’t it all about me?! I watched him pull farther away from me and there was no hope of catching him to have him break the wind – ok, back to remembering how strong I was getting! I followed behind him, never caught him, until we got to his driveway – I thought for sure we had only run 11 or 12 miles – I was thrilled when I stopped my Garmin at 14 miles in 2:01 – not super fast, but I’ll take it and my confidence will take it too! Enjoyed this run – memories also include a very hilly side road with no shoulders, locals target shooting, quite a bit of road kill, and the outline of our 2 shadows running side by side as we got stronger and stronger! 🙂

Jeff’s Post – Weekend of Milestones – Sub 20 5k and 2000 Miles!

What a great weekend of running.  Seems like years since I ran my last marathon (hard to believe it was only last weekend) – but I recovered well and had a good running week and a weekend of milestones.  On Saturday I ran in my first 5k since June.  Tamara helps organize this event and it benefits the Special Olympics.  This race has a special place in my heart (read post here) and I was looking forward to racing it.  I was really hoping to run my first sub 20 minute 5k.  It is a beautiful fast, flat up and back course located in St. Mary’s City, MD.

Since Tamara organizes this I was able to pick my own bib number.  I went for 40 (my age).  The 5k I ran in June was on my 40^th birthday and I was hoping to run a sub 20 there but it just didn’t happen.  Fast forward to Saturday.  As soon as I left the starting line I felt good and it really was a nice mental advantage knowing that I only had to run 3.1 miles.  I kept a good fast pace the whole time finishing strong and passing a few fellow runners on the home stretch.  I looked at the clock and saw my time 19:44 – I was thrilled!!  Tamara was working the finish line and I loved knowing that she knew right away that I had achieved this goal.  I won first place in my AG at this race last year with a 23:50.  I knocked almost 4 minutes off my time from last year and won my new age group again!!  A great day, a great cause and a great event!

Tamara and I planned a long run today.  We don’t get to run outside very often and we don’t get to run together as much as we like so it was nice to have this opportunity!  We originally planned to run 13 but ended up running a strong 14 – Yeah!!  It was a bit windy (I hate running in the wind btw) and we detoured off a side road with a few hills so we had a good workout.  There is also nothing better than running along country roads while being passed by Amish buggies.  We have a thriving Amish community in Southern Maryland and we both loved running by the buggies and the Amish church on a peaceful Sunday morning.

Oh – Milestone # 2- I passed the 2000 mile mark on our run today.  Couldn’t think of a better run to pass that on.  I didn’t set out to run “x” number of miles, it just kind of happened but it is something that I’m proud of!

All in all a great weekend!  Have a great running day!!

Jeff’s Post – Faster Friday!

Tomorrow, I’m running my first 5k since June.  It feels like I’ve done more races since then but when I look back there have only been three (a ½ Marathon and 2 Full Marathons).  I’m not a huge fan of the 5k.  I’m competitive so I tend to push myself so hard that I’m basically uncomfortable the whole race.  The 5k tomorrow does have a special place in my heart though.  It was really my first competitive 5k and I won 1^st place in my AG.  It is a smaller race and the competition wasn’t that tough but it did make me feel like I belonged and could compete on some level.  It began my obsession with running.

I’m not sure what kind of time I will get tomorrow.  I want a good showing but I won’t be disappointed if I don’t have a great time.  I’ve been concentrating on distance running for so long that I know I have slowed down a bit.  Today I started what I hope will become a habit “Faster Friday”.  I ran 6 miles on the treadmill with increasing speeds from mile 3 thru 6.  I ran the last mile at a 6:30 pace.  It really felt good to go fast again!

Have a great day and run fast at the end – It feels good!!

 

Tamara’s Post – Coolest Award Yet!

I was surprised to get an award in the mail today…and immediately thought it was for my 5th place age group finish at the Richmond 8k. I was even more surprised when Jeff pointed out it was from the Baltimore Running Festival 5K that I ran last month! Guess I should have read the plaque! I thought I was 4th…turns out I was 3rd! The award is by far the coolest and most unique I have ever won…its a metal crab…the symbol used for the marathon…a Maryland crab. I love it! And yes, I am super proud!!!

Jeff’s Post – Back to Running – Thoughts of Richmond!

I had a good treadmill run this morning – another 6 miles and my second run post marathon.  I still have a slight ache on the bottom of my right foot so I’m trying not to push it but I’m also trying to ramp my mileage up a little.  With back to back tapers it feels like months since I have had a 50 mile week (actually think it has been months).  I will just take it one run at a time and see what I end up with.

I still find myself thinking of my last marathon in Richmond.  I need to find a way to continue to strengthen my body and mind so they will pick up each other when the other one is down instead of commiserating with each other.  Tamara tells me that will come with time.  You have heard me mention many times that Strong Mind + Strong Body = Strong Runner.  I will revise that a bit – Strong Mind + Strong Body, working as a team, towards one goal = Strong Runner!

Have a great day and go for a run if you get a chance  – you will be glad you did!

Almost there!