fall marathoning at it's finest

This year has been epic.

Two marathons down with two more to go.

My 9th marathon is scheduled for October 11th, and on October 30, I should be crossing the finish line of my 10th marathon - securing my spot in the 50 States Marathon Club.

Training starts tomorrow.

Along the way, I'm planning on volunteering at a local half marathon to get that warm, ooey, gooey feeling that comes with watching others achieve their goals.

I've had about two months to recover from more then a half a year of training. I was worried that I would be mentally and physically exhausted but my runs lately have gone well and I'm excited about this new phase of training.  

This time around, I've decided to go with a mix of Hal Higdon's Novice II and Intermediate I training plans. I'm going to pick and choose the distances that work well for me and push myself a little harder then I have been.

It's a bit overwhelming to think that I am so close to achieving a goal that I've been working towards for a few years. I've always said once I hit 10 then I would take a break and hit other states when I could. Well, I've already signed up for a race in January (Mississippi) and I'm secretly trying to figure out when I can get a spring Kentucky race on the schedule. I might have a problem.

   previous post: running things in list form

running things in list form

I had every intention on posting before we left for our massively long visit every family member in the Eastern part of the United States trip but then I remembered I had a billion things to do and blogging was very low on the to do list.

I somehow managed to get everyone and everything packed and here we are in NE Ohio, where the weather is BEAUTIFUL. Nothing like that furnace I left behind in Georgia. Running has been fabulous.

Which leads me to a quick list of running related things...

1. #100milesinamonthstreak is still going strong. June was another month where I was all like "ahhh probably not going to happen" but I only need 16 miles over the next 5 days to make it which is easy peasy.

2. Marathon training for the Mainly Marathons Appalachian series and the Greenville Marathon starts next week. I'm running 2 marathons in the same month. Even I can't believe that. Just goes to show you that anything is possible :)

3. One night during #runchat on Twitter, someone mentioned that they used #earthathon as a means of motivation to get up and out the door to go for a run. I had no idea what #earthathon was. So I did what any self respecting smart phone user would do and googled it and this is what I discovered...

 "EARTHATHON is a 25,000-mile running relay.

We tweet our running in miles or km to #earthathon.

Run anywhere.  One team, one planet.

Join Us Today.

Be A Part of Something Big.

Become an “Earthathoner”

Pretty cool huh?

I joined team #uponeaglewings and have already met some amazingly supportive and encouraging people. The relay officially kicks off on July 1st so head over to www.earthathonrelay.com and get signed up! 

4. I am sick to death of EVERY SINGLE song on my running playlist. If you have any new favorites, old favorites, suggestions please let me know. I'm not picky. 

6. The Ohio Metroparks System is the greatest thing EVER. Miles of paved roads that are free from traffic, meandering through woods and backyards. So far on this trip, I have run a very pleasant 12 miles and look forward to logging some more. If you live here and are not utilizing this amazing thing, you should be ashamed of yourself.  

5. Not running related but worth noting is that I made the questionable decision to start reading Moby Dick. There's a whole chapter just about the different types of whales. A whole chapter. I'm determined to read the whole thing. Sometimes, the skills you need as a long distance runner can be applied to other areas of your life. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.  

previous post: Product Review: Jawbone UP Move

Product Review: Jawbone UP MOVE

There's been a little drama. Strictly, a #firstworldproblem but aggravating nonetheless.

My Jawbone UP 24 is dead.

That's the second one in less then a year. 

This time, instead of waiting 6-8 weeks for a 24 that would probably die within a few months, I opted for the Jawbone UP MOVE.

Initially, I was skeptical about the clip but I have found that it stays put and is very convenient to wear during a run. I wear a GPS watch while running, so I had to put my bracelet in a pocket and I was always worried that I was going to lose it.

The MOVE has a few less features then the 24. There's no idle alert, smart alarm, or power nap feature. It does, however, have an LED display that lets you know how close you are to your step goal as well as the time of day. The battery life is reported to be about 6 months and then you replace it with a new battery purchased at any big box store.  

You can also wear the MOVE as a bracelet, which is cool unless you have one hand like I do, which then makes the bracelet pretty useless. I almost started crying to the poor Jawbone customer service lady (it had been a long day) who handled it very gracefully. Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who puts it on for me when I ask.    

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the MOVE. It does everything that I need it do and I am still enamored with the Jawbone App. Though, I will admit that I miss the power nap feature and had actually initiated the idle alert the day the bracelet died, so that's a bummer.

I was debating whether or not to upgrade to the UP2 or UP3 but will probably just stick to the MOVE until it meets its demise. 

previous post: Product Review: Injinji toesocks

Product Review: Injinji Toesocks

Happy National Running Day!

I hope you take the time today to get out there and enjoy a run. Ditch the watch, forgo the music, and just enjoy the sound of your feet hitting the pavement or trail. You won't regret it!

On this day celebrating the wonderfulness that is running, I have a product review for you!

Injinji Toesocks!

To be fair, I didn't actually test these out myself. I bought these for my husband as an early Father's Day present because A. he is awesome and B. his feet are funky.

I tried to get him to try these socks out when he first started running but that was before he learned the golden rule of running: COTTON KILLS and was too cheap to invest in quality running accouterments.

Needless to say, when I saw a coupon in my virtual goody bag from the Pittsburgh Marathon, I knew the time had come.

Since I do the laundry around here I know that he's been wearing them, so I asked him to sum up the socks in a few words...

These socks serve well as compression socks: they fit well and snuggly and don’t slip.  So far, they have have done a great job of wicking away moisture.  I haven’t run in the rain with them yet, but they have kept my feet sweat-free in this humid, Georgia summer.

Perhaps the greatest thing about these socks, however, is their blister control. Recently, I have begun to get blisters between several of my toes.  By separating my toes into separate compartments, wicking away moisture, and preventing my toes from rubbing against each other, these socks have eliminated my toe blisters.  I have wore these socks on four runs of 10-miles or more and haven’t had a single blister.

The only negative thing I can say regarding these socks so far is that they do not provide much padding or cushioning. My feet have been sore after each of my runs with these socks.  To be fair, the pair I have are the “lightweight” version – it is entirely possible that other types provide more in this area.  Also, I have begun to use these socks on my longer runs (10+ miles), so it is only natural that my feet would be sore afterwards.

He's so cute.

Personally, I'm all about socks the keep him blister free so I don't have to cringe when he asks me to rub his feet. 

So, not only will these socks make your significant other WANT to rub your feet but because you took the time to read this review you can get them at a discount too!

Visit Injinji's website and use the code : runningslowly15 for 15% off a pair of your very own Injinji toesocks! 

Let me know what you think!

previous post: on Dean Potter and living life