I've realized I'm not very good at sharing info on this blog in any sort of story/narrative context. For instance, I'm pretty sure I announced I was having twins during a "5 on a Friday" post.
I am currently training for the Cardiff Half Marathon which is on October 5th. It's my first race since 2017.
A bit of running backstory (a running rundown?)
As a kid, I *hated* running. In middle school we used to have to run a mile which was 3 laps of a local park, but I realized that if I hid behind a bush for a certain amount of time I would instead run just 2 laps and say I had done 3. I did not understand how anyone enjoyed running, ever.
I got into sport & cycling when I moved to Wales in 2011, and for some reason Andy and I signed up for the Cardiff Half in 2013.
I don't think I really trained, I think I just was 28 and able to do all the sports all the time. I finished in 2hr 33 minutes. My legs hurt.
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| Andy and I at the 2013 start line |
When Andy and I moved back to the states (in 2014) I decided to join a run club, because everyone I know who liked running was in a run club. It worked! I started to like running. The club was based at a microbrewery in Portland and I loved running and enjoying a beer after.
I joined a lot of races with the run club, and became a running ambassador for our local Fleet Feet.
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| Beat the Blerch in Washington (2hr 26) |
I met some running BFFs. Juliette was my partner in crime at many of my favourite races - generally Triathlons rather than running
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| Haag Lake Duathlon in Oregon |
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| Bend Beer Chase relay bus |
My favourite half marathon was the Seattle Rock'n'Roll half in 2016. It was my fastest half at 2hr 26min
We moved back to Wales in 2016, before we came back I entered the Bath Half, March 2017.
I did not enjoy the Bath Half. Training in Wales in the winter is way worse than training in Portland. We had a lot of life to sort out, (ie get jobs and find a place to live) and I really missed my Portland running family. I trained for that half by running about once a week, as far as I could run.
I found the race itself a major drag - I didn't know anyone there, I ran slower each mile, and I was at the back end of the race where all the fast people with medical emergencies were getting treated on the sidelines while I plodded my way around.
I've run intermittently since then, but I knew I wanted to do the Cardiff Half again when I was done being pregnant and having babies. Which I am!
I'm using the Peloton Road to Half Marathon collection, which has 4 runs a week and I tend to do 3 of them
I'm mostly enjoying the long runs. I have a dream to someday run longer offroad races. I think if I can harness the relentless energy needed to manage twins / 4 kids under 6 then I should be able to use that same relentless energy to run a lot of miles.
The race is 3 weeks from today. I have 3 goals
1 - Finish without injury
2 - Finish in under 2hr 10 minutes
3 - Finish in under 2 hours
I've used this moment here to look up pace charts, and goal 3 is almost certainly not going to happen since my current fastest mile is around 9 minutes
However, Goal 1 and 2 are still in the running! (LOL)
Anyways, that's probably far too much writing on running for today. I still miss my Portland running community.
I miss running in the sun and training with lots of free time, in a gorgeous part of the world.
But for now, I'm happy I can run. I'm happy I get 2 hours to myself on the weekend to run as far as I can. Someday I hope it's more - but for now - it is more than good enough.
Are you a runner? Have you ever trained for a race? Have you done a half, a 10k, or a whole marathon? Have you ever been in a run club?
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