This was a great week of running. I am feeling better and better all the time. Sage had me start fairly conservatively this week in mileage and intensity, but I had lots of steady miles and a fun 12 mile "uptempo" run on Friday. My 18 miler was strong today and I am looking forward to another solid week of training. I really do love running and am feeling very optimistic and excited about the direction things are going.
With a lot of treadmill miles (hours!) I have been listening to audiobooks on my IPOD. I am at the end of Mockingjay right now (the third book of the Hunger Game series) and have "Running for my Life" by Lopez Lomong next up. After that I don't know what to listen to. Any recommendations?
I spent some time this week researching race options for next year. The plan is to race three marathons. Tallahassee Marathon will be on February 3 (flat, fast, sea level and home of my BFF!) I have pretty much decided on CIM for December, and am trying to choose one more race for late spring/early summer. (May-July). Any recommendations?
I got a fun surprise on Friday. One of the awesome women I am coaching ran her first marathon last weekend and she sent me these beautiful flowers as a thank you (how sweet is that?). You can't see it in this picture, but the flowers are proudly displayed in a Nathan water bottle. I could not find a vase anywhere, and then I figured that a Nathan water bottle was the perfect way to display marathon flowers anyway! :)
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| Thanks J! I love them and I am super proud of you.You did awesome!!! |
"Stepping outside the comfort zone is the price I pay to find out how good I can be. If I planned on backing off every time running got difficult I would hang up my shoes and take up knitting." - Desiree Davila
24 comments:
Can you watch movies? The warrior is my fav motivator. As for books, The Game Of Thrones series is one recommendation.
Beautiful flowers--what a kind affirmation of how you trained her! I agree about the water bottle too.
I'm reading Unbroken right now--harrowing, but inspiring. I don't know how the audiobook would be. It's a long one, though.
Enjoy ramping your training up again.
I am so excited that I found a running blogger who is training this winter. Everyone else in the running blog world just finished their seasons and will be taking the winter "off" (training -wise) it seems. I am running the Austin Marathon Feb 17 and will be out there training through this winter, so I look forward to seeing how your training goes.
The best audiobook I have ever listened to was Bossypants by Tina Fey. I made the mistake of listening on a plane and giggled to myself the entire trip.
What if you run AND knit??? Well, actually, crochet. Never got thee hang of the two needles thing! LOL.
I loooooove the treadmill!
My rec is San Francisco in June - I absolutely loved the race, the course is challenging, but perfectly routed for negative splits, beautiful, great support, etc etc etc. Also, I'll be there :D
Okay, first off- major HAIL to you for doing so much TM running. I would absolutely DIE if I had to do lots of TM runs. Ugh, I am *very* impressed with your discipline with that. I think it would be a deal breaker for me.
I really hope you consider RnR Seattle. Maybe you could get a Brooks comp? I absolutely LOVE that marathon, my favorite summer one. In fact, I might be talked into it, if you needed a travel buddy... (I have a friend that lives about 30 minutes out where we could stay for FREE!) It's late June. :)
I am addicted to my audible.com account. I love listening to audio books on my runs! Some of my favorites are:
Gregor the Overlander also by Suzanne Collins {at first I was worried about this one but I really got into it}
Divergent by Veronica Roth {another dystopian story}
Delirium by Lauren Oliver{another interesting take on the dystopian idea}
Right now I'm listening to Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke {she also wrote Inkheart which is amazing} Dragon Rider is narrated by Brendan Fraser and although he's not an amazing actor he is a fantastic narrator!
The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a great book also.
I'm excited to see what everyone else is "reading" so I can add to my wish list!
Definitely would recommend the Lincoln (Nebraska) marathon, the first Sunday of May. The crowd support is amazing!
I recommend the Tacoma marathon in May. New course, flat, sea level and it's beautiful there. Never too hot or cold, you might get rain but that's not a big deal
Very well organized and great spectators!
I like listening to athletes' books. Some favorites are Chrissy Wellington's, Dean Karnazes', Lance Armstrong's (I know...), "wild" by Cheryl Strayed. So inspiring when you're logging miles and getting tired to hear their amazing stories.
Missoula is THE BEST (well, 2nd best...Disneyland is my absolute fave, but that's half only, I think.) Missoula is in July and is one of Runner's World top 10 races. The volunteers are awesome, course is well monitored...it's just rad.
Coeur d'Alene is very nice, too. I PR'd there, and it's Memorial Day weekend in May.
Seattle is in June, and you'd be more than welcome to crash here...I'm a bit north of the city. I'll be a willing tour guide!
I second the Coeur d 'Alene marathon!
I really have to say, all that treadmill running would do me in...I find it so impressive you can do it! I think you need an east coast race in the spring to round out your map! I'll do some digging on what's going on in that time frame in our neck of the woods!
Books--listen to Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. One of my all-time favorite authors and a fabulous read. I also hear Barbara Kingsolver has a new one coming out that is supposed to be great (love her!)
Well I was going to ask you to send me a picture of the flowers, but was blog checking this morning instead. Now I don't have to! I can't believe I made the blog!
I don't know if it's on audio or not, but right now I'm reading "Devoted" by Dick Hoyt, of Team Hoyt. If nothing else, it's a humbling reminder of true service.
Audio books....what a great idea! I wish I had suggestions for you but a bulk of my TM running includes "watching" what darling daughter picks out. Yesterday's 20-miler included Cinderella, Poncahontas, and Pocahontas II and I have to say, Pocahontas has some good running songs in it!
And as much as I really don't ever want to do another 20 miles on the TM I now know I can when I need to....and that feels really good to me!
I am so impressed with your many treadmill hours. I'd like to get one someday, but I have a hard time running on the ones at the gym. I've only used one a handful of times since moving to TX. That last quote is awesome!
That is a really good idea listening to books. I need to try that myself. I enjoy my music for a period of time, but get bored with the songs on my longer runs. Beautiful flowers!
Lol... As someone who has tried and tried to learn to knit and even hired a knitting coach... I've gotta say that knitting is much more challenging for me than running. I'd give anything to be able to sit and knit all day! ;)
Pretty flowers!
Hope you enjoy Lopez Lomong's book. I read that this summer and really enjoyed it!
What a brilliant idea of listening to books while running! I have never tried before. I generally enjoy music during my longer runs.
Tribulus Terrestris
I cannot listen to books while running (or ever, I just have to read them). But I do like listening to podcasts. It might take some effort to find some good ones, but there are podcasts on pretty much any subject imaginable, including running & fitness, which are the ones I usually listen to.
Some audiobooks I've enjoyed:
The Mysterious Benedict Society (Stewert)
The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)
Framed (Frank Cotrell Boyce)
The Wee Free Men--Terry Pratchett
Love audiobooks!
-Jane Eyre (read by my all-time favorite reader, Joanna David)
-Wild by Cheryl Strayed
- All the King's Men
- There's No Place Like Here, by Cecilia Ahern
- The Husbands & Wives Club
- Garlic & Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
- One Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley
- Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo
I love your blog! So uplifting. :-) My race suggestion is the Newport Marathon in Oregon. It is June 1st. I think it is a beautiful course. It is an out an back and pretty flat. I have run it 3 times. It was my first marathon and my PR marathon. I may be biased since I live in Oregon but I think it is the perfect temperature. (usually- there was one year that was hot.) I think you will enjoy the altitude advantage. Just a thought!
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