Time for another sporadic post...

Been super busy recently... working out like crazy too! Did 6 out of 7 days this week, the one day off exception being when I had a "bad" blood donation experience at the work blood drive this week... seeing blue spots fading to black and everything. Awesome.

Heading to Norfolk tomorrow for work- then Vegas for the weekend.

I can maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake it.

Kiawah Half Marathon- back in the saddle

Well, gentle readers, I am approximately three months out from the Kiawah half marathon and I am feeling calm, confident, and re-energized. I have reflected back on the last couple years... revisited the running highs (first sub-hour 10K!) and lows (Chicago Marathon) and I am ready to pick up and start my new chapter!

I have eased back into running lately, done a lot of cardio blast class (I think it is called that), yoga, biking, etc. My favorite part of running is still the fact that I can just throw my running shoes into my suitcase and run anywhere in the world. It really has been a great way to see the fabulous cities I visit for my traveling career!

So, here I am. Back to where I started...kinda. I am really ready for the fall weather to come through Charleston (after we get past these tropical storms, of course!) and start building mileage for early December!

Happy trails to all...

Tomorrow morning's run?

No, not my boring old neighborhood... Central Park! (oh yeah, I am in New York thru Friday for work)

Next week? Chicago! The running shoes are definitely coming out to play... my fav route is a quick jaunt from my home base, The Palmer House Hilton.

Happy trails to all!

Back at it?

Two miles again this morning. 24:12. Ran with a little bit of walking (run 3, walk 1 and so on...) Not where I would want to be... but it's a start again! Feels pretty good too- maybe all the hundreds of dollars I spent at the podiatrist actually helped my plantar facsdfjsddfjskfdjskkf? And thankfully, the 18 stitches in my side that kept me sidelined are finally healing too.

I am looking forward to running the entire time and adding some more mileage.

Full steam ahead!

Why I did not run tonight...

Tornadoes. Seriously, there are funnel clouds all around my neighborhood. Therefore, running might not be the best idea as we don't have many ditches here in super-flat Charleston.

I will resort to working out inside and I WILL run tomorrow morning. I WILL.

It's a start.

I ran/walked two miles today. Yeaaaah. That is about where I am right now. It took me 26 minutes. I have a waaaay to go.

Way to go, runners!!

A BIG CONGRATS to all of you who just finished marathons and half marathons!!! I love reading your race reports and seeing how much fun you are having out there!! :) Way to go!!

YAY!!

I am just getting back to wimpy 2 and 3 mile run/walks which are not as fun as 20 mile training runs, but will do for now.

Traveling a lot- Chicago, Seattle, now Philadelpia... and OFF TO THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN on Friday!

Yes, kids. It is almost CRUISE TIME!

Greetings from Indy!

This week has taken me to Boston and now Indianapolis. I have decided to stop stressing about the half marathon next weekend and just sit it out. Yes, I lose my $60 registration fee but I really don't care. I actually leave that day to go on a cruise so I am not TOO upset. Of course, part of me is still wavering and thinking I could just walk/run the damn thing and take 6 years to finish. I think I have pretty much made up my mind.

I hit the workout room this afternoon- did 3 miles on the treadmill and 15 minutes on elliptical with some weights afterwards. I think I am gonna just stick with shorter runs and enjoy that before starting to train again. It is clear my heart and foot were not really into jumping back into half marathon training after Chicago. And that is OK!

In my personal life, things could NOT be better. Not really wanting to post anything about that right now... maybe I am scared to jinx it? Ha ha!! I cannot stop smiling!

Hope everyone is doing well... I have been slack on reading blogs recently. I did catch that a bunch of you are doing the PF Changs half in Phoenix in January. Sounds like fun! Doesn't look like it is in the cards for me though... I can't wait to track everyone online!

Phew... 11 days til I leave for the wonderfully fabulous waters of the Caribbean....

Bad bad bad bad blogger Tiff

I know, I have been MIA. Been running a little bit, lots of foot pain, lots of travel.

In Lexington, KY this weekend for my niece's baptism... at airport now heading to Phoenix for about 16 hours, then on to Chicago. Then home. Home sweet home.

Did 3 miles this morning through the good ole' Kentucky hills. Been a tad stressed lately about being ready for the Kiawah Half in only 3 weeks. Have had NASTY foot pain in my left foot- everyone seems to think it is plantars although I have not gone to doctor. Have not been home.

Pfffff!

And if I do not run it, no big deal. I am a tad lackluster about running. Strangely, have felt this way since the Chicago Fun Run.

Sorry my blog is not really a source of inspiration today. That is why I read all of yours :)

Chicago Lakefront... brrrr

Well, I reluctantly drug myself out of my warm, fluffy Sheraton Heavenly Bed yesterday morning to run in Chicago! Weather Channel.com reported the temps as 29 degrees when I set out- I put on my cute winter running clothes (much snappier than my summer gear), my new Chicago Marathon (grrr) running gloves, and off I went.

Felt like a crapola popsicle the first mile.

Second mile... feeling good...

By mile 3, I felt awesome! Could have gone for days... ok, maybe a few miles.

In the end, I did about 5 miles and some change.

Felt awesome.

Be back in Chicago in about 10 days...working on some big deals with local cultural orgs. Will return to my fav running route!

Still on the fence to do a 10 mile run here in Charleston on Saturday morning. I need motivation!!!!!!!!!!

Happy trails!

Racing? Or Blackjack?

The Race for the Cure 5K is this Saturday... I am debating running it for fun just to see how super slow I have gotten from marathon training. My time last year was 28:30 but I am betting my time this year will be more like 1:28:30.

Or I could just go up and hit the gambling boat in Myrtle Beach that morning.

Doing great!

I have felt wonderful the last week. Ironically, I have not run at all... mostly because I have not been able to wear any type of shoe besides a flip flop or slide due to my enormous blood blister on the back of my foot... and running barefoot just ain't my thang.

I have traveled about 13,000 miles in the air since my breakup with the Chicago Marathon, drank a lot of bourbon and beer, smoked some cigars, and finally got over it. I decided to rev up my training slowly again with a couple 5Ks, 10Ks, a 10 miler, and half marathon this fall...and run a marathon in February. That is the right decision for me right now... cause I love racing!

And you know what?

I am going running tomorrow morning and I can't wait.

Let the taper begin!

I just flew back home and thanks to the slowest baggage claim crew on the face of the earth... I have time to blog!

I am starting to get really, really excited about Chicago. I felt pretty confident after my first 20 mile run. And by confident, I was fairly convinced I could finish the race without dying. My second 20 miler on Monday solidified my confidence and really got me pumped up. I can't believe it is only 16 days away... where has the time gone?

Oh yeah.

It has been spent waking up at Ass O'Clock to run and beat the heat, turning down social invites to get ready for the long run, and dread... running.

I am ready though. OH YEAH.

And on a fun note- I got a little crazy at a silent auction this week and somehow ended up with a week-long stay at a suite villa in Cabo in June. HOLLLLLLAAA!!!!!

Morning run... on the beach in L.A. (MikeW should be proud!!!)

I woke up super early this morning due to the time change to see an email from my coworker:

"I was thinking about driving a mile to the beach and running there this AM…any interest?"

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH Tiff!!! I remembered we had a car- wooooopppppeeee!!!

We drive a short jaunt to the beach, forked over $7 to park, and had miles upon miles to run on the beachfront..... it was f'in awesome!!!! Beautiful weather, no humidity, gorgeous scenery, hot guys and lifeguards to stare at. We did a quick 5 miles and I feel rejuvenated!

(Take that, you damn treadmill! I avoided you once again, muhahahhahaha!!!)

Another reason to get excited? In N Out Burger for lunch today... hollllllllla!!!! OK, I might need to work out again tonight :)

An easy (hot) 10 this morning!

So, my training plan called for only 10 miles this morning... my last stepback week before next week's 20 miler and then taper.

The worst part of this week? I have to run 20 miles BY MYSELF. My running partners are doing it Saturday morning and I am in a wedding that day so I know I will be boozing it up Thursday night at the bachelorette party, Friday at the rehearsal, and Sat for the festivities.

So... I am running it Thursday morning. Before work.

What?

Yeah.

Sigh.

This week is nuts. I fly to Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon for 2 days, then to DC on Tuesday evening, then back to Charleston Wednesday night.

Get home at 11 PM Wednesday night.

Run 20 miles in the morning.

3 days of debauchery.

And work.

Damn.

Oh yeah... on another interesting note. I have received flowers from guys I have been dating/seeing twice in the last two months. Immediately after I receive the flowers, the "relationship" goes to sh*t. Next time the florist calls me with a delivery, I am giving a false address. Seriously.

Hell yeah- the Gamecocks are actually beating Georgia in the 3rd quarter- I am opening a bottle of wine.

Another reason to celebrate? Michigan SUCKS.

If I was dating the Chicago Marathon... we definitely would have broken up by now!

I thought about my relationship with the Chicago Marathon and have come to the following conclusions why we have relationship issues at times...

1. Chicago Marathon (CM) is high maintenance. Weekends need to be planned around CM's demand for long runs. CM makes my alarm go off at 4:00 AM with no apology.
2. I wish I could cheat on CM. I wish I could cheat with another race, like a 1 Mile Fun Run.
3. The timing with CM just does not seem right. Summer training is not as fun as I thought it would be.
4. CM does not appreciate the nice things I do for it. It just keeps asking for more.
5. CM makes me hurt. Physically.

As much as I would love to tell CM, "It's not you... it's me..." - I am not gonna! I think I can make this relationship work- at least for 4 more weeks :)

Tiff + CM

Holy crap... I ran 20 miles this morning!

Well, I feel like I cleared a physical and mental hurtle in my Chicago Marathon training. I ran 20 freakin' miles... in the pouring rain. Luckily, I had 3 running partners (one of them is my boss too) who kept the time rolling with funny stories, debates, and the Kevin Bacon game.

Geez it feels good to accomplish this. I have to agree with Jess about how it feels good to reach this point and just soak it all in. It finally is hitting home that I am really running the marathon in 5 weeks and that I CAN do it. I WILL do it.

The alarm going off at 4:00 AM this morning was an unwelcome sound. I could hear the rain pouring outside and could see brief flashes of lightning. The funny thing is... I did not even consider crawling back into bed. I was DOING this run.

I usually do not eat before a run but decided to eat some peanut butter toast and a banana. BLAH! I could taste the peanut butter in my mouth as I constantly burped it up until mile 10.

Yuck.

I met my running partners and we were off... long before the sun even came up. The first couple miles were easy- I do not look at my Garmin as much when I run in the dark. I felt strong through mile 16 when I started to feel like I was falling apart a bit. I lost one of my clip-on bottles on my hydration belt... my legs started to really, really hurt... I felt like I was being tested. I kept trucking along- not talking as much and just concentrating on breathing and getting through it. Before I knew it- mile 20!

Post-run... I am really, really SORE. I also have some chafing issues from running 20 miles in soaking wet clothing, despite the BodyGlide I slathered on. I am tired, a little dehydrated, and just want to chill.

I feel good though... oh I feel good. I just ran 20 miles :)

Sigh.

So, reading the updates out in Blog World has been pretty depressing lately... injuries, folks having to drop out of races due to health issues and serving jail time, etc. OK, maybe not jail time... but still. Injuries are not good.

I am still alive. Not injured. Just unmotivated to blog.

My runs have been lackluster lately. Hot, muggy, waking up at 4:15 AM to beat the heat during the work week. Lots of work, travel, stress, relationship drama, etc etc etc.

BLAH!!!!!!!!!

So... I have not felt like blogging. I am hoping to get a rejuvenated spirit. I am a mere 6 weeks from Chicago and I feel like I am losing momentum... fast.

My first step to getting out of my rut was to post here.

Now I am accountable. I will only run with a smile on my face from now to October 7th.

Deal!

Three cheers for Brownie!

Brownie finished the Leadville 100 Mile Trail Run this weekend in 28:38:39!!

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmnn!! Way to go!!!

Looking back...

I took some time this morning to reflect on the past year. Running has been one of the only constants through thousands of miles of travel all over the globe, hectic work schedules, and other assorted personal and professional challenges.

Tomorrow marks the official registration kickoff for the Kiawah Half Marathon which will inevitably sell out in about 5 days. I signed up last year in an effort to get into shape and take on that seemingly un-doable task of 13.1 miles.... and ended up hooked. I am running it again this year and have challenged about 20 of my coworkers to join me. I even provided them with the Hal Higdon Novice training plan that I had used. Several have agreed to sign on... others are wavering. I am excited to ignite some motivation in my coworkers and I greedily am looking for more running partners, especially when we are on the road traveling together!

My fall race schedule is really focused around the Chicago Marathon. The summer race schedule in good ole' hot Charleston, SC is fairly nonexistent... hence the fact I have not run a race since April. There are a couple 5Ks coming up within the next two months but I think I will hold off. I am participating in a 208 mile relay race through the Blue Ridge Mountains in early September with a group of coworkers- should be awesome! Post-Chicago brings a possible half marathon in November, a 10 miler the next weekend?, and Kiawah Half in December. I am hoping to also sprinkle in a couple 5Ks and 10Ks and decide then how I feel about committing to a big spring race.

Happy trails, indeed!