Jeff’s Post – A Great weekend for “Werrunners” – Part 1!

Tamara and I are on a little bit of a roll and it feels great!  I always like to start off by bragging for Tamara a little.  I signed up for the Ocean City ½ Marathon months ago.  I really wanted to run a spring marathon but nothing seemed to be working out so the Ocean City ½ was a little present I gave to myself.  Tamara didn’t want to run another ½ during this timeframe but she is always there to support me.  She decided last week that she didn’t just want to be a spectator and would sign up for the 5k….but the 5k was full (neither one of us expected that).  She was more than a bit bummed.  Thankfully the race opened up some charity slots for packet pickup day and she was able to get a slot.  I was so happy and I know she was too – she loves to compete.  I will let her blog about it but lets just say that she took home a big trophy – Amazing!  I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to witness it.

Ok – This is my post and it is all about me so enough about Tamara :).  Quick Background – This is the smallest (approx 1800 ½ marathoners) and first non Rock N Roll ½ Marathon that I have participated in.  This was my first point to point race (loved it!).  Ocean City feels like a second home to me at times.  I went there every summer as a kid, I feel like I know the town very well.  So logistically this race was a breeze and stress free.  We have also become pretty efficient at traveling and running.

Pre Race – Tamara and I both worked a ½ day on Friday and then left for our approximately 4 hour trip to Ocean City.  We arrived at packet pickup and everything was set up well and went really smooth.  On our way out there was a small tent set up with one vendor (a little different than some of the other expos!).  I like pizza the night before I run so we found a local pizza place for dinner.  As I mentioned earlier, I have many great memories of Ocean City and this past summer I contacted some of my cousins, pooled some $$ and bought a bench on the boardwalk in memory of my grandparents.  This was my first trip to Ocean City since the bench was installed and I wanted to see and sit on it.  We found the bench and I took a few moments to put my feet up and gaze at the ocean.  I thought about my grandparents, the many great memories and my upcoming race – a really nice moment it was!  We took some pictures and headed back to the hotel.

Race Morning – The ½ started at 7:00am (love both a Saturday race and an early start).  The race was providing buses from Seacrets to the inlet where the race starts and when I went to bed Friday that is what I was thinking we would do.  But when we woke up Saturday the temps were in the 40’s and we both thought it would be better to drive and stay warm in the car (parking was right beside the start line).  This would have been tough if we were both running the ½ but Tamara’s 5k started at the same spot and we figured she would have enough time to run, drive back to the hotel and then walk a few blocks to the after party to meet me.  The car decision was a great one.  I stayed in the car until around 20 minutes before the race start and that definitely made the experience more comfortable.  I also feel like I’m beginning to nail my race day nutrition routine.  Thin crust cheese pizza works really well for me the night before and I’m eating Oatmeal (same thing I eat every day) closer to the race start time and then I’m eating energy beans 15 minutes before race start.  I made my way to the start line (no corrals to worry about which was nice).  They sang the national anthem and then began the countdown…………….

Stay tuned for my ½  running recap – I’m really happy with my results!

Jeff’s Post – Ready to Run in OC!

Tamara and I are heading out for another running weekend.  This weekend is the Ocean City, MD ½ Marathon.  I love Ocean City and have been going there since I was a kid.  So many great memories and it really feels like a second home.  I’m running the ½, not sure what Tamara is doing yet.  They have a 5k that she wants to run if she can get in (currently it is sold out).  I tried to talk her into the ½ yesterday but she wasn’t going for it.  There is an after party at Seacrets so that should be fun.  The weather continues to be all over the place.  Last weekend I ran 10 miles in shorts and no shirt tomorrow they are calling for lows in the 40’s (not looking forward to that).  I’m hoping the rain and wind will hold off.  This is a pretty fast course so I’m hoping to finally push my ½ time under 1:40.  That is my goal but I won’t beat myself up if I don’t get there because I know I will at some point soon.  My temporary treadmill fix is holding up and I had a good running week – 10 miles on Monday, 6 on Tuesday and 8 on Wednesday.  I decided to take Thursday and Friday off.  I took two days off before Cherry Blossom and that worked really well so I figured I would try it again. 

The basement is moving along.  Tamara and I picked out paint for the gym yesterday a nice bright yellow.  Really can’t wait to get that set up.  Tamara and I are going to have some serious treadmill racing going on in about a month.  Speaking of treadmills, I posted a pic of my broken treadmill on the Nordic Track facebook page and they instantly contacted me, which was nice.  Parts for my treadmill are in the mail and I hope to get that fixed next week.  Tamara will be ordering her new treadmill soon.  I think she is leaning towards a Landice.  It is a really nice treadmill and made in the USA!

Hope you have great run/races this weekend and stay tuned for my Ocean City ½ recap!

Tamara’s Post – Getting Older, Getting Faster!

I’m a bit behind in posting this race review…last Thursday I ran a local 5K race. It is the Earth Day 5K that is held onboard the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River (which is an awesome place to run!) at 11am (yup, in the middle of the workday). I actually won the woman’s race in 2009 and 2010, but was out of town last year. I knew there was a slight chance I could win it again although that was not my complete focus…I was determined to beat my 5K PR of 21:50. It’s a small event with 128 runners, so I toed the start line right next to all the sailors (whom I was pretty sure I could beat the majority of). What a beautiful day – the sun was shining and the breeze was almost non-existent…I was ready to run my butt off on this pancake flat course. A woman (girl really) ran next to me for about ¾ of a mile – she was pushing me to run at my maximum potential (or perhaps beyond). When she easily pulled out in front of me, I knew I wouldn’t catch her again. When I got to mile 1 some guy was calling out splits (hate that because I didn’t want to know) and I heard 6:39. Huh? Are you talking to me? Yikes! No way can I maintain that – but let me try my best! At the turnaround I notice another woman just behind me…and she pulls in front of me at mile 2…no problem, just keep the pace and you’ll PR. I pick off sailor after sailor in their bright yellow shirts that say NAVY on the back. I keep the 2 women in sight as I round the corner and see the beach house where the finish line is located. One more sailor gets in my way (did I mention this was all about me?) and I say loudly “Pick it up!”…he glances over his shoulder and runs faster (good thing because I was about to tell him to get the heck outta my way). I focus on the finish line and sprint. I was grinning ear to ear when I saw the clock…PR!! My time was 21:17!! I was the 12^th finisher out of 128 runners – I’ll take that! I’m excited that as I get older I get more determined, disciplined, and best of all…faster!

Jeff’s Post – Catching Up!

Seems like it has been forever since I last wrote a post.  The frequency will return in a month or so we just have a bunch of things going on at the moment.  I will try to catch you up without writing a book or boring you to death!  Tamara and I continue to have good runs.  We both have a desire to get faster.  I’m looking forward to the spring/summer as we take our workouts to the hills and track to improve our speed and fitness.  The week in review:  Coming off my Hospice 10k I took Sunday off, Ran 10 treadmill miles on Monday, 8 Treadmill Miles on Tuesday, 6 on Wednesday and took Thursday Off.  On Friday Tamara and I worked a 1/2 day and then headed over to Solomons Island, Md (about 2o minutes away) to celebrate the opening of the local Tiki Bar with thousands of our friends.  We decided to play it safe and get a room for the night.

We checked in around 1 and then headed out for a 6 mile run.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great run.  We ran down and checked out the Tiki Bar (it opened at noon) and then ran around the island.  It was another one of those memorable runs.  We took our time and just enjoyed everything that was going on around us.  At the end of our run we stopped at a barbeque place to get something to eat and then headed back to the room to get ready for the afternoon.  We walked around 1 1/2 miles from the hotel to Tiki and got there around 4.  It was just a beautiful afternoon and evening.  We had a great time, enjoyed a few of  Tiki’s famous Kokomo drinks and then spent the evening dancing and singing away to a great band called One Louder.  I wasn’t sure if I would get a run in on Saturday but the weather was great again and my treadmill was folded and covered for the basement remodel.  They were calling for rainy/windy/cold weather on Sunday so I figured I better take advantage of this opportunity.  I won’t lie, I was slowed a bit by a few too many Kokomos the night before but I was thrilled to get in 10 miles.  It was fun to just go out and run under the hot sun and take it easy.  As I mentioned the basement remodel is in full swing.  We are in the middle of drywall and I’ve had my treadmill covered and folded since Wed of last week.  We are moving the gym one room over but for the moment the treadmill is in the old gym (which will become a playroom).  I decided last night that I was going to unfold the treadmill and just run on it Monday morning.  Well as I was lowering the treadmill I heard a snap and noticed the bolt holding the frame to the deck had broken off.  I won’t lie I panicked a bit.  I quickly came upstairs and looked up a parts diagram for the treadmill to see what I was dealing with.  I saw that I could probably fix it enough to get my run in.  After a few trips out to the shed looking for bolts and a few strips of duct tape I was able to get a temporary fix.  My test for the fix was this morning and the fix worked.  I had one of those great treadmill runs.  I’m normally watching two TV’s while I run and I had nothing this morning since everything is unhooked.  I only had my ipod and I was worried that I would have TV withdrawal but it was the exact opposite.  It was just a great run and I ran 10 miles.  It reminded me of the early running days and was really so relaxing.  I swear I think I could have gone another 10 miles but I didn’t have the time.  A few last running notes – Tamara and I just loved watching/listening to the Boston and London Marathons this week.  Boston is a dream of mine and I find all the stories and coverage so inspirational.  I’m confident that Tamara could qualify for Boston tomorrow, I have a ways to go but I dream of the day we will run it together.  Last running note – I have a 1/2 Marathon this weekend in Ocean City.  I will post updates later in the week.  Last last running note – I find out in a few days if I made the lottery for New York………excited…….

Sorry for the long post – Thank you for taking the time to read and share in our journey – you inspire us!  I have posted a few pics below enjoy!

Tamara’s Post – Run for Hospice Race Report

I have been running this race for years…there is a 5K and a 10K…I always run the 5K, it’s my tradition. It is our biggest local race and I love seeing how much the race grows from year to year. There are hundreds (how many Jeff?) of walkers in the 5K – more walkers than runners – it’s a great cause and the community looks forward to this event. Jeff is one of the organizers and I felt guilty I didn’t help (ok, I’m over it!), but it was wonderful sleeping in and driving 10 minutes to the race just in time for a warm-up jog (yup, it’s good to be me!). I went into the race hoping to break a 22:46 – my PR for this course, but not my 5K PR. I had zero expectations about beating anyone else there – until some guy at the start line was bragging about how he passes people the entire way (ok, guy in the yellow shirt – let’s see how fast you can really run!). I chatted with another woman that I’ve known for years – she’s from outta town and I knew she could run a sub-20:00. The best thing about this race was the “no BS start” (that’s what I call it) – meaning they played the National Anthem and then BANG, the gun goes off. LOVE THAT! No anxiously standing around while the race director rambles and no one listens – just go! The course goes down a long driveway and splits for the 10K to turn (bye, bye 10Kers – wouldn’t wanna be ya!). The road through Leonardtown was under construction and a bit tore up, but it didn’t bother me. I just focused on the 2 women ahead of me (one that I chatted with earlier and the other a good running friend of mine) and ran. At mile 1 I spot my friend – in the yellow shirt – he tries to pick it up (waste of time, buddy!) and I whiz by him while looking straight ahead and focusing on the course (oops, was that a little dust I stirred up?). Just then I get passed by another woman (ok, guess I was a bit overly confident when I passed the yellow shirt dude) – now I’m the 4th woman – maybe I can hold the rest back. We round a building and then run down a pretty steep hill (ugh, I don’t know how fast to run…) as we round a corner and head back up another hill I know I’ve slowed. I note the quaint little coffee shop in town (no wonder I slowed, I’m sightseeing!) and see an “Open” sign in the window (should I stop?!)…I decide to keep running. As I pass mile 2, I’m now back on the loop part of the course and get to see the hundreds (how many again?) of runners and walkers behind me. Every year people holler my name, no one hollers at me – I’m disappointed (this is all about me, isn’t it?!) and decide to just focus (found out after the race that Jeff’s Mom did holler at me – guess I really was focusing!). At mile 2 ½ I’m passed by another woman (really a girl – so that doesn’t count!) and now I’m the 5th woman. Pick it up, pick it up. As I round the corner back to the Leonardtown Governmental Center my friend standing on the side of the course hollers at me (finally, someone recognizes me!). I sprint as fast as I can to the finish – I see the clock, it flipped 22:00 and I finish in 22:15 a decent “course PR”! I’m happy! I find the woman I was chatting with earlier (yup, she won the 5K for women in 19:31) and we head back down to find our 10K friends. I mingle on the course until I spot Jeff – he looked fast and incredibly strong as he sprinted to finish the 10K for a PR. We hang out after the race and enjoy the post-race buffet while socializing with our running friends. I ended up being the 5th woman (yeah, the girl counted) and 2nd in my age group (scored a medal!). My splits were 7:00, 7:22 (darn sightseeing!), and 7:08…I’ll take it…another race successful completed!

Score!

 

 

Jeff’s Post – We ran for Hospice in the #TwitterCharityRun !

Tamara and I had a great racing weekend at a local charity race that I help organize (RunforHospice).  Tamara came in 2nd in her AG in the 5k and I had a 10k PR (didn’t place – the 40-49 age group is tough)!  We also ran with many others in our first annual #twittercharityrun.  Thanks to all of those who ran the #twittercharityrun.  Make sure the enter your results here.  I will have a special post with recaps later in the week.

Jeff’s Post – Running for Hospice!

This Saturday Tamara and I will be running the 17^th Annual Run and Fun Walk for Hospice supporting our local Hospice.  I’m a volunteer organizer for this event and have been involved since the very beginning.  Of note is that I have been involved in this race since the beginning but just found the joy of actually running it a few years ago.  I always had such admiration for all of the runners and now I’m proud to be one of them too!  I volunteer with my brother and a small group of friends and together we have raised over $500K for our local Hospice.  We have a lot of work to do over the next few days but the payoff for me will be when I’m out running the beautiful 10k on a rolling country road.  It won’t be easy but Tamara and I both have outside chances of placing in our age groups so we will be pushing it quite a bit on race day.

This is a great event, we have a great team and I’m proud of our contribution to such an incredible organization.  If you happen to live near Southern Maryland you should come down and run our race – you will be glad you did. For more details you can visit www.runforhospice.org

Don’t forget this is also #TwitterCharityRun weekend.  This is a fun virtual honor system event where you simply go for a run and make a donation to a charity of your choice.  Details can be found here.

Have a great running day!

Tamara’s Post – ACB (After the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler) #cucb

It’s been 1 1/2 weeks since the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC and my knees are still achy! Why does it take me so long to recover from a race? I love this race…love it! It’s been years…(maybe 1999?) since the last time I ran the CB, so I was super excited we got in the lottery. Jeff did a great race recap – so here is my short & sweet version! After getting a 1/2 marathon PR at the DC RnR, I went into the CB race with an expectation of another PR. I needed to run a 1:22 and I remember getting to the 10 mile mark at RnR DC at 1:17 – so I thought I had it in the bag. The CB course is what I would expect in DC (unlike the hilly RnR DC course), it is flat and fast. I ran at a sub-7:30 pace for quite a few miles and was pleased by how I felt (a tiny side stitch appeared a few times – but that wasn’t enough to slow me down). I loved being able to see the weaving and zig zagging of the runners at different portions on the course as you could look to your right or left and see the runners in front and/or behind you. I took it all in. I noticed quite a few signs people were holding – I noticed the cherry blossoms were completely gone. I took in the sights – something I didn’t do at RnR. I slowed a bit running toward Hain’s Point – ugh – it was long and boring and I looked out at the water to take my mind off the unending road ahead of me. The race seemed to fly by – perhaps it was my speed?! I was very happy to see the final little uphill before the finish (and so glad I saw that on the elevation map!). When I crossed the finish line and saw the 1:16 on my Garmin I could have cried with excitement! Wow – a PR by 7 minutes! Jeff was way ahead of me – after my sneaky finish 30 seconds ahead of him at RnR he wasn’t gonna let me beat him again…he was waiting for me at the finish and we both grinned ear to ear with our awesome PRs. I know the achiness in my knees will go away – and as any other runner would understand – the PR was well worth it!

Jeff’s Post – Week Recap!

Wow, tough blogging week for me.  I’ve gone from blogging almost daily to about once a week.  I promise to pick things up.  Getting the basement ready for drywall has been kicking my butt and taking most of my time.  It is almost ready for the professionals and I will be happy to get them started.

Quick Training Recap – Coming off a huge PR at Cherry Blossom I decided to keep the foot on the gas and keep things going.  I had almost 43 miles for the week.  It has been a while since I’ve broken the 40 mile mark for the week so I was happy to see that number going up.

 

 

The week in review:

Monday – 6 Treadmill Miles

Tuesday – 6 Treadmill Miles

Wednesday – Felt like I could run for days and ran 10 miles on the treadmill.

Thursday – Felt good and kept up the pace for 8 miles.

Friday – On Tamara’s advice I took the day off.

Saturday – After spending about four hours at the local Easter Egg Hunt and working on the basement most the day I was able to squeeze in a speedy 6 miles outside.  I wanted to push the pace a bit and ran the first 2 miles at a sub 7 pace.  I slowed towards the end and ended up finishing in 45:59.  All things considered I was happy with the run.

Sunday – Tamara and I were able to get in a leisurely 6 Easter Sunday miles.  It was a beautiful day and a great easy run.

Wishing you a good running week.  We have a quite a few things planned over the next few weeks so stay tuned!

Don’t forget the Twitter Charity Run – It starts this weekend and we would love to have you participated.  Details can be found here!

 

Jeff’s Post – Yeah Cherry Blossom!

I haven’t had a chance to blog much lately because things have just been too busy.  Between the travel, racing, training and work I have just found it difficult to sit down.  We are also in the midst of finishing the basement, which just adds another element.  One thing I can assure you is that we will have one amazing basement gym when we get done.  Two treadmills, two bike trainers, weights, some type of elliptical, multiple flat screens and a sound system that will knock your running shoes off.  I will be sure to share some pictures along the way.  One last blogging note, as I sit here typing this I’m realizing one of the many reasons I enjoy blogging so much.  Blogging allows me to slow down a bit and really remember some incredible moments that Tamara and I have had.  Thank you for letting me share a few stories and thank you for joining us for our journey!

Now for the Cherry Blossom Recap – This was my first Cherry Blossom 10 miler (Tamara is a veteran) and all is I can say is this was a fantastic race.  Sure it helped that Tamara and I had a great running day (we both had 7 minute PR’s) but the event itself was just so organized and Tamara couldn’t stop talking about how “Green” everything was.  Rewind a few hours – I got up at 4:10am on race day.  This is earlier than I needed to but I like to keep my schedule similar to my weekdays. I had my breakfast (oatmeal) and then tried to get princess out of bed – took a while but she finally woke up :).  We got all geared up (with a few extra layers because it was cold) and headed out around 6:00am.  Our hotel was only about 5 blocks from the start/finish which gave up plenty of time to get to bag check and our corral.  We got there early took some pictures and tried to say warm!  We headed to the start line around 7:10 and got to our corral.  I was a little worried we were there so early but the time went by quick.  I took a moment to put my arm around Tamara as the National Anthem played and looked over to the monument.  I really do try to make a memory at our race starts and this was one of those special moments.

We decided before the start that we wouldn’t worry about running together and just run at the pace we felt most comfortable.  The horn sounded and we were off.  One thing I love (and hate) about running is that you really never know exactly how you will feel once you take off. I felt good right away.  I always like to get mile one out of the way.  I felt good with my pace and was able to take in some of the sights.  I struggled mentally at the RnR ½ a few weeks ago so I was really focused on one mile at a time and often compared the distances to my daily treadmill run (I remember at mile 4 thinking – you only have a treadmill run to go).  At around mile 5 we went around a turn and I was hoping to see Tamara on the way back.  To my surprise I saw her.  I remember thinking she was closer than I though she would be.  I didn’t want a repeat of RnR so I knew I would have to push to keep her at bay J.  I continued to feel good and by the 8 mile mark I knew I had this.  Those last two miles were still tough but I knowing that you would have to completely collapse to miss a PR was a good feeling.  It did seem like the last ½ mile took forever (and there was a decent incline at the end) but when I crossed the line and saw my Garmin said 1:13 I was thrilled.  I remember thinking “I just PR’d by 7 minutes”.  I immediately turned around a looked for Tamara and just a few minutes later I see her.  I remember thinking “Tamara just PR’d by 7 minutes”.  We were both smiling and for the first time in a while we both had an incredible runs and could enjoy amazing PR’s.  We went down to the food and grabbed a few muffins (soooo good) and sat on the wall around the moment going over moments during the race.

I really needed a good race and this was such a good confidence booster for me.   For the first time in a long time I felt fast and can’t wait until my next race.  Great job Cherry Blossom – You put on an amazing event and I can’t wait to see you next year!

BTW – I love the RunPix race results provided by the folks at Cherry Blossom

Click here for Jeff’s Results

Click here for Tamara’s Results