Gourmet Runner

On Thursday night, I ran a small 2-mile race that was just about 30 minutes from home - the Dalton St. Patrick's Day 2-Miler. And, uh...I really don't know how to make a post out of a 2-mile race. I ran hard, and it was over quickly. The end. I guess I'll elaborate, because otherwise there really is no point to this blog, is there? It was a weird race time - 6:30 p.m. I had a pretty regular day of work beforehand, and ate normally but avoided veggies for the day, just in case. Then I pestered my husband and made him get up, go outside and take a series of pictures to prove that I dressed up for a race. He loved it. He really loves when I make him take pictures of me for the Internet. It's his favorite pastime. I got to the race, registered on the spot and met a friend of mine to run the course as a warm-up. I think we ran the two miles at about a 10:30 pace, taking it really easy, but we did throw in a few 10-second strides at a faster pace. The race take...

Life has a funny way of forcing you to slow down, doesn't it? I ran a half-marathon PR in September, a marathon PR in November and then another marathon PR in February. When I write it all out like that, an injury doesn't just seem possible, it seems probable . The last couple of weeks have involved some IT band pain and some slight knee pain, but every day it gets better. The key (anecdotally, I'm no doctor) seems to be the magic of the foam roller. I know not what kind of sorcery is contained in that foam cylinder, but I love it. My cats like to stretch with me :) I was supposed to run a 12-hour race on Saturday, but I knew that doing so would be a terrible idea. Instead, I worked out hungover on a hotel elliptical for 20 minutes. That's the same as running for 12 hours, right? Right. Thankfully, I never had a chance to be sad about the DNS (did not start), because Tim and I ended up having a fantastic weekend. On Friday night, we went to an all-German birt...

There goes my comeback. Pretty sure last week's post was full of unicorn gum drops and happy vibes post-PR, and I may have mentioned a few upcoming races where, obviously, I was going to kick ass and take names. I may have to rethink my strategy. Last week's total running mileage? Six miles. SIX. Not 60. SIX. So, what happened? I came down with a bad case of cocky runner . You ever heard of that? Symptoms include overconfidence, a refusal to abide by the scientific laws of recovery and a distinct lack of stretching and foam-rolling. I got cocky runner BAD, you guys. After my marathon two weeks ago, I did some active recovery - 15 minutes or so of biking or elliptical, took a full rest day and then ran 4 miles on Wednesday. That, my friends, is mistake number one. I felt okay, did some minor cross-training, and then ran 12 miles on Saturday. Mistake number two. I felt fine, but sometimes I forget that the consequences of stupidity are often delayed. It's a classic...