Tag Archives: running

You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do

If you’ve read this blog more than, say, three days, you know I enjoy my cocktails.

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I also enjoy my sleep.

When I was training for MCM, I finally got into the swing of morning workouts. And I LOVED getting into work already having my workout done.

Then I ran MCM and then Sandy hit. I was out of my apartment for a week and totally got out of the swing of things. Work got busy again, and working out wasn’t a priority.

I spent December starting to get into strength training on my own (fine, with the help of Jess) and running fell by the wayside.

But now, after some time off from running that was needed mentally and physically, I am ready.

I have goals. Starting with the D.C. Half, thanks to Gu, which is providing me with a bib in exchange for blogging about ingesting little foil packets while running. Done.

This is my cookie jar. No joke.

So tonight, I went to a work happy hour. I’ve been sick all week, and I still felt crappy this morning. I didn’t want to skip happy hour with my team, but I didn’t want to skip my run either.

I did something crazy.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/tblanchfield/status/292084281793212417″]

This will never happen again. By the time I got home, it was 8:30. By the time I hopped on the treadmill, it was nearly 9. I busted out 3 miles (half > full training sometimes) and hopped off much happier.

I got a comment recently asking how I work out at night after a long day.

Because you gotta do what you gotta do, especially when goals are involved.

What sort of sacrifices do you make for your goals?

2012 in Running

I’ve seen these Running in 2012 Q&As pop up around the Internets, started by Miss Zippy, and thought it’d be fun to play along.
1. Best Race Experience: Marine Corps Marathon

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I know you’re shocked about this one. While it wasn’t my smartest race ever, and I didn’t meet my sub-4 goal, I’m still really proud of this race. I pushed myself really hard and through a ton of discomfort and even pulled out quite a few sub-9 miles…DURING A MARATHON. I never thought I’d be able to do that.

2. Best Run: 10/7: 22 miler. This was my longest run before MCM, and it was a huge confidence-builder. I was shocked with myself that I ran 22 miles at a 9:28 pace and I felt much more ready for MCM after this.

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3. Best new piece of gear: New Balance 1400s.

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I am fully in love with these shoes from both a looks and a performance standpoint. They’re technically racing flats, and they’re super-light (5.7 ounces) without being so minimialist that they are difficult to get used to. I got them from my awesome client a week before the marathon, and I brought them down to DC for the Army Ten-Miler and was able to rock them right away.
4. Best piece of running advice you received: This came from Ericka during Marine Corps–“It hurts because you’re pushing yourself.” (This is not to be confused with severe pain but rather the extreme discomfort you find yourself in pushing yourself during a marathon.)

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5. Most Inspirational Runner(s): One of them would be that girl Ericka up there who ran 3 marathons within 6 weeks. Another would be my buddy Laura who runs marathons like they ain’t no thang. But I’ve been most inspired by Jocelyn, who went from a 4:25 marathon in May, to a 4:03 marathon in October to a 3:50 marathon in November and who has an infectiously enthusiastic attitude towards running.
6. If you could sum up your year in a couple of words, what would they be? Emotional, intense…but still awesome, despite some dark patches.

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7. Most exciting (running) moment of 2012: Being included in Runner’s World’s roundup of runners to follow on Twitter. The former fat kid in me is still wondering how this happened.
Tell me about your best running moments of 2012! And your running goals for 2013…or life. Link to your 2012 in Running post, if you’ve done one, in les comments.