Tamara’s Post – Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Prep! #cucb

We arrived in DC this morning and hit the Cherry Blossom 10 miler expo. It was well organized and parking was a breeze! We decided to then eat lunch at the Green Turtle down the street…but I had a better idea and navigated us on a long walk looking for a better restaurant…that was a bust, couldn’t find it and we walked back to the Green Turtle. After lunch we found our hotel in Metro Center…pretty decent area. After we checked in we decided to walk to the race start line. I navigated us about 5 or 6 blocks in the wrong direction first (better today than tomorrow) but we finally found it. We walked for another few hours (yup, crazy we are!). We are going to head out for dinner soon…but first Jeff is strategically preparing for the race! Hmmmm…I probably should be resting up too! When he heard my phone snap this pic he mumbled something about how he would feel fresh at mile 8…I think he’s gonna make sure I don’t pass him this time!

Pre-Race Strategy!

Jeff’s Post – Next Up Cherry Blossom 10 Miler!

Tamara and I are excited about our trip to DC this weekend and looking forward to the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.  We only live about an hour away but we are staying in the city for the night.  It will make our logistics race morning much easier.  Stay tuned for updates and I won’t lie – I’m looking for a little revenge after my beating in the Rock n Roll USA 1/2 Marathon.

Jeff’s Post – Weekend Recap

Tamara and I took it easy (running wise) this weekend.  We are in between races (Rock ‘n Roll last weekend – Cherry Blossom this weekend) and we are both still nursing sore legs so we thought it would be best to take a little break.  We decided we would take Saturday off and go for a run on Sunday.

We have been a bit spoiled with the weather this year and weren’t so excited (especially Tamara) when we woke up and it was cloudy with a light rain and temperatures in the low 50’s.  We wanted to run someplace different and ended up driving a few minutes from the house so we could run down a new road.  Tamara made me laugh multiple times as we were getting ready to get out of the car.  A few comments she made: I’m tired wake me up when you get back, I don’t want to run it is too cold, My legs hurt you just go, I’m retiring from running and a few other things.  I’ve heard these comments before so I knew with a little push I could get her out of the car.

We decided beforehand that we would only go 5 miles and that it would be an easy 5.  We have been pushing it on training runs lately so it was nice to run at a little slower pace.  We ended up talking the whole run (which we don’t normally do) and the 5 miles just flew by.  I forgot my camera but we ended up running down to an old marina and turned around at the end of a long pier. We both commented on how much fun this run was and it turned out to be one of the more enjoyable runs we have had in a long time.

Jeff’s Post – Rock ‘n Roll USA ½ Marathon Recap

I normally don’t like to wait too long to post race recaps but it has just been a busy week and I let Tamara post first and then fell behind!  Tamara did a great job with her review so I will try not to duplicate any of that.  I will say that the Rock ‘n Roll folks did an amazing job with this event.  We are Rock ‘n Roll vets and we pretty much know what to expect but I can’t say enough about how good our experience was – Great job Competitor Group!

I went into this race hoping to PR (isn’t that what we always want to do!).  All the conditions were in my favor to do that but this day was Tamara’s day for the PR and I was just thrilled to finish when I did!  Tamara and I normally run together for the first 6-7 miles in a half and then just slowly drift apart.  We discussed that we might run this one a little different and when we started I was almost immediately in front of Tamara (see pic below from local news if you can find us 🙂 ).

I looked back a couple times and didn’t see her and at that point decided to just run.  I also decided that I was going to try to run this race a little different and really focus on each mile and that worked well for the first few miles but then I started whole “You have how many miles left?” conversation in my head – not good!  I really began to struggle both mentally and physically at around mile 8.  I knew I had a few good miles in the bank but then started to lose it.  At mile 10 I looked down at my Garmin and saw that I was at a 1:17, I knew to PR I needed to be at a 1:15.  I was disappointed but was also happy that I was still on a decent pace given how bad I was feeling.  I also wasn’t expecting so many hills.  I need to pay attention to the elevation charts a little more (I have a tendency to just show up and run the course without looking at it!).  I know how much Tamara hates hills and I remember thinking to myself – I hope Tamara is doing ok on these hills.

Fast Forward to mile 12 – I’m struggling and just want this thing over.  I go around a turn and look to my left and who do I see – Tamara!  She doesn’t say anything but just gives me the ole “c’mon” motion with her arm.  I won’t lie, I was surprised to see her but so proud and happy at the same time.  I tried for a while to keep up with her but she just had more.  I had a vision in my mind of catching her and crossing the finish line, hand in hand, arms in the air but just couldn’t do it and this obviously wasn’t important to her because she was just leaving me in the dust.  This wasn’t one of my best races but I was so happy for Tamara that it didn’t even matter to me that I didn’t reach my goal.  I’ve seen first hand how hard Tamara has worked and this was her day!

I’ve pasted a few pictures below.  I love the one at the finish line – Tamara is at the bottom of the pic and I’m in the middle with my head down (pretty much says it all)!  I love the memories we made at this race.  Our conversation at the starting line, my arm around Tamara while the National Anthem was playing, running the streets of DC, watching Tamara pass me and finish strong, our conversation after the race recapping how we felt at certain points, standing together watching Michael Wardian win the marathon (amazing btw) and just relaxing at the end with all of our fellow race friends.  I’m thankful I have such a strong running partner and look forward to making many more running memories!

Have a great day and happy running.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff’s Post – Happy Birthday Tamara! – You are Only Getting Better!

When you are a runner and you have birthdays they are typically followed by the question – So are you in a new age group?  Well, I’m not going to ask that question or mention any age groups because Tamara has full power to delete this post.  What I will mention is that Tamara is running better, faster and stronger than I have ever seen.  I can’t wait to see what she has in store for the rest of this year and the years to come.  I’m thankful to have Tamara in my life and so happy to share the love of running with her.  Happy Birthday Tamara!  You are truly an inspiration and I run to you ♥ ♥ ♥!!

Tamara’s Post – Rock ‘n Roll USA 1/2 Marathon Review!

I didn’t feel overly confident going into this race – my training had been really good speed and mileage wise, but for some reason the motivation wasn’t there. I was happy we decided to stay in DC, even though we only live 1 1/2 hours away – we arrived in DC Friday morning and hit the expo.

Parking was a bit hard to find – and I whined having to walk a long way into the expo because I was trying to save my legs (poor me!). The expo itself was in typical RnR fashion – organized, well laid out, and nicely marked! I got my Brooks “Potty like a Rock Star” sticker (which I never used) after spending my usual $150 on race merchandise. We found a little Italian restaurant in Dupont Circle a ways down from our hotel – it was good and I got my pasta fix (easy on the olive oil). I got to bed fairly early but still was not happy when Jeff woke me up at 5am – I could have slept until noon! We ended up taking a hotel shuttle over to the race start (about 5 miles) and avoided the metro. We arrived at the Armory at 6:30am – ugh…too early for me.

Jeff found his corral - a little lonely there at 6:30am!

Having run two other RnR events recently, we knew it was smart to scope out our corrals. We easily found the corrals – I was in 3 and Jeff was in 2 – it was a loooonnnngggg way from the Armory so we decided to head up and check our bag. Inside it was very well organized – bag check was labeled and spread out nicely…and there was plenty of room to stretch. We went back down to the start line around 7:15am – hit the potties and even had time for a warm up run! I was happy to see the sun coming up right before we started – it wasn’t cold out, but I love to run in the sun! Jeff persuaded me move up from corral 3 to 2 – yeah, I know I’m not supposed to do that – but really with corrals that close and no crowds – it was fine and no one cared. We only had to wait a minute or so until corral 1 left before we were off! I was a bit excited, but nothing like I had been for the last two 1/2’s I’d done. I decided to run behind Jeff – but within a few hundred yards he was off and I couldn’t keep up. I thought it was for the better and he seemed to be going out really strong. My legs seemed heavy – my mind still wasn’t into it and I was nervous – of what…I don’t know. Around mile 2.5 I looked at my Garmin (which I typically don’t do) and noticed I was at a 7:11 pace – ugh…too fast! I slowed down and then noticed Jeff way up ahead – I couldn’t push…I needed to slow down. Around mile 3.5 I looked again…7:17 – huh…I thought I slowed down more than that!? None of that mattered – I looked up and soon saw the rolling hills, I thought I was in DC?! I’ve run a few races in DC in the past (Cherry Blossom, Race for the Cure, St. Paddy’s Day), but didn’t remember hills (or I blocked them out!). Tunnels – double ugh – as I ran down into each tunnel I dreaded the run up. My legs felt like bricks. I was hoping to beat my 1:45 PR, but with as crappy as I felt I was sure that was out of the question…but as the miles ticked away I kept doing my “8:00 pace times mileage completed” math in my head and was surprised that I was still under PR. When I noticed I was at an 8:47 pace around mile 5.5, I figured I just blew it – oh well…I can still finish this thing. My Dad was visiting from out of state, he was supposed to be around mile 6ish – somewhere near Dupont Circle – problem was I had no idea where I was, I couldn’t remember what the area even looked like – so I never saw him. I ran on and hoped he hadn’t seen how I was struggling. I couldn’t help but notice the swarm of people ahead of me running up the rolling hills – it made it that much worse as the hills seemed to go on and on and on…and my “potty” mouth took over as I complained to myself how horrible the course was. From mile 6.5 – 7.5 I took my Gu – it took until mile 8ish for it to kick in…I love Gu – love it…love the way it picks me up – Gu, you are the best – I love you! I noticed I was hitting a sub-8:00 pace and my mile calculations were still putting me at a sub-PR…hmmmm….I might be able to do this! Around mile 9, I spotted Jeff up ahead – huh?! I knew he must have not been feeling the greatest if I was catching him. I watched him weave in and out of the crowd. I pulled closer to him and then he pulled farther away – I couldn’t catch him – but I kept him in focus – I wanted to catch him so he could motivate me to the finish (because it’s obviously all about me!). When I got to mile 10 I nearly choked as I saw 1:17 on the clock – that beats my 10 miler PR by 4 minutes! That motivated me and I got closer and closer to Jeff – at one point I could almost touch him – then he pulled away again. It wasn’t until around mile 12 that I finally caught him, I was beat – I could only manage a wave to motion him to run with me. I could tell he was done. We ran together very briefly – then I pulled away. The last mile seemed to level off and then we went down a nice grade – ahhhh…I was so excited we were going to finish down a hill!!! I kept looking at my watch – so thrilled I was going to PR! Just before my Garmin flipped 13, we started up a hill – seemed like a mountain to me…UGH!!! I looked at my Garmin another 100 times until I crossed the finish line…in 1:42:33!!!

Happy that it is over!!!

And for the record, my Garmin read 13.30 miles! I was sooooo darn happy! Jeff was right behind me happy that he was finally done…but not so happy that he didn’t PR (next time, I have confidence!). We posed for a few pictures before heading over to watch the marathon finish. I am still a bit in shock that I ran the pace I did – and I owe a huge thank you to Jeff. It is the fast, tough outside miles that he has pushed me through that have helped me get to this point, it is the motivation he gives me and the inspiration that he is to me. I ran my first 1/2 marathon in 1998 in 2 hours, and now 14 years later I have beat that time by 18 minutes!

This was by far the best RnR event out of the 3 we have done. The organization was outstanding! The only complaint I have is the hills – and my quads are still complaining! Another 1/2 marathon done…now time to focus on the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in two weeks! And…plan for our next RnR 1/2…which will it be?!  Stay tuned!!

Jeff’s Post – Rock n Roll USA Numbers Recap!

Tamara and I will both be doing race reports later in the week but I wanted to throw a few numbers out there first.  As you can see by the results below Tamara rocked this race.  She came in 1000 place out of 16291 runners and 16th place in her division.  I’m happy that I was able to pace her for 12 miles before she passed me :).  Tamara and I typically run together for the first 6 or 7 miles in a 1/2 marathon but I lost her around a mile in and looked back a few times but never saw her.  So when she passed me at mile 12 I was surprised but so happy and proud.  More to come but overall a great race for us and Rock n Roll did a fantastic job with this event!

Jeff’s Post – Tamara Rocks her Run!

So proud of Tamara today.  She passed me at mile 12 and went on to PR by over 3 minutes.  We both finished in 1:42 and she beat me by around 30 seconds.  A great day and a great run for us.  More details later!

Jeff’s Post – Good Morning DC – I’m Up #RnRUSA #RnRDC!

4:10 wake-up call this morning.  We are spending the weekend in DC and I probably could have slept a little later but I’m trying to stick to my normal routine – All about the routine you know!  Princess – I mean Tamara 🙂 is just getting up.  Our next stop Metro (Tamara mapped everything out last night so we should be good!)  It is going to be a beautiful day for a run with the temps starting out in the high 50’s and mid 60’s at our finish.  Good luck to all those running today! – Stay tuned – more updates on the way!

 

 

 

 

Getting Ready to Rock – #RnRUSA DC!

 

Tamara and I are preparing to get our Rock On at the Inaugural Rock n Roll USA ½ Marathon.  We left this morning for the 1 ½ hour drive to DC.  It took us a few circles around the venue to find the parking but once we made it into the expo everything went extremely smooth.  Tamara got her spend on (enough for the VIP Porta Potty Pass – Thanks Brooks!) and we were out in about an hour (we took our time looking around).  This is our first event since Rock n Roll Vegas and we are both excited for tomorrow.  We had a nice relaxing lunch at Le Pain Quotidien in Dupont Circle and are hoping to find an Italian Restaurant close to us for later.  Stay tuned- more to come!!