Why Did I Ever Take a Break? Why?

After two marathons, a 16.5 mile leg at Burning River, and several half marathons and assorted other races, I decided at the end of my season to take a break. I told myself that if I continued my high mileage, I would burn out both physically and psychologically, so I allowed myself to back off the running and do other things that I enjoy. Starting in November I substituted some of these workouts instead of short runs:

Tae Bo. Oh, Billy Blanks, you make my heart go pitter pat.

Masala Bhangra Dance. This is EXACTLY how I look when I do Indian Folk Dancing. Notice how both my feet magically lift from the ground. Damn, I'm graceful.

I kept my long run at no more than 10 miles, and most of my long runs were on the trails with the Burning River Goddesses.

Here I am with some Goddesses. . .Oops. We aren't running here. We are posing. Let me try that again.

Here I am freezing my TRAIL off (see what I did there?) with some Goddesses.

I think it was a good thing for me to let go a little bit, but now I'm training for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, and shit just started getting real. Today I ran 14 miles--4 miles solo and 10 more with Mandy--and it just about killed me. I remember when 14 miles was my minimum long run, and I breezed through it. Not today.

I'm trying to think about why it felt so hard. Aerobically, I felt great. My legs didn't hurt at all. My feet didn't hurt at all. I just think it's hard to get that mileage in all at once. I tend to bore easily, so even though Mandy is excellent company, I couldn't get in the zone I needed to enjoy the run. That is where the mind games started. Incentive #1 was the banana I ate after my first 4 miles while I waited for Mandy. Incentive #2 was the Mint Chocolate GU I had at Mile 9, but even moreso it was the promise of walking while I fueled. After that point it got a lot more difficult, so I had to give myself more incentives. Incentives #3 and #4 were short walks for the first .10 of Miles 11 and 12.

I got it done, but I feel wrecked. I'm back to those days where I took a two hour nap after the long run (well, I will be there after I finish this post).

Starting over. SMDH.

It's worth it though, Peeps. In three months I'll be running one of the funnest races in my season: The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. Will you join me? Register by clicking here, and use my code, SICLE10, for 10% off whatever races you choose, including the challenge. Train with me! Tell me I'm not alone! Also, tell me that I still look beautiful, even when my face is red and I'm sweating like a pig.

However you feel during your training, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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Relax, Max

I've been trying to cut down my mileage and relax, but I am stuck in this awful cycle of feeling guilty for doing less mileage. I did 11 miles today on the trails, and I feel like I should have done more. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????

Last week I ran ten miles of trails, the first five with Marta, Nicole, and Jen, and then the last five with Jen. This week I ran with Marta, Kate, Renee, Carrie, and Nicole, and I finished the back seven with Nicole. This is great mileage; I feel good. Why do I feel like I'm slacking, then?


I know I need to allow my body time to relax; I'm just not used to relaxing. I'm one of those people who can't do shavasana at the end of the yoga session without wondering how much longer I have to lay there like that.  It's important, though, to counterbalance the time and energy I spend training with some other activities so I don't burn out or injure myself. I plan to chill until January, when I will need to start training again. In the meantime, it's Relax, Max, and have fun.

Today I started a Goddess run from the Boston Store to Brandywine Falls and back.

Kate, Marta, Nicole, Renee, Carrie. This is EXACTLY how I look when I am happy to run with Goddesses.

 As we ran, Marta pointed out to me where I went wrong on my infamous "I'm an adult and I can run by myself just fine" run to Brandywine.  We did a lot of talking and laughing. I love the dynamic on group runs when people pair up to chat for a while and then the pairs mix. It's so cool to talk one on one with everyone there at some time or another.

Burning River Goddesses in front of Brandywine Falls. I'm taking the picture.

We dropped the group off at the Boston Store, and Nicole and I decided to test our senses of direction by running the Buckeye Trail. We missed a turn halfway through and started up again in a different place.  Then we saw him:

It's Sasquatch!  Run for your life!

As we approached, Nicole started laughing and said, "Look at that tree. It looks just like a bear."

I squinted and said, "Yeah, it looks like Sasquatch. . .wait a minute.  It IS Sasquatch!"

We have no idea what he was doing there, but it made my day.

Nicole ran me back to the Boston Store for a total of 11.25 miles, and she continued on to 15.

Overall, considering we were able to find our way around Peninsula, I'm really pleased with my running adventure today.  I really need to continue this idea of "chill" so that I can learn to love training again.

When is your season to chill? Do you ever shut it down for a while?

Regardless of how much you run, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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Race Recap: Leave No Trace Half Marathon

After running 20 miles of the Blue Line last Saturday, it seemed like a good idea to sign up for a trail half marathon. I figured I could meander on the trails of Camp Manatoc, work some other muscles, and get in some miles at an easy pace.

Camp Manatoc is a Boy Scout camp, and once a year they open their trails for this race. It's a cool opportunity, and the trails are beautiful.

I had lots of friends at this race: both Goddesses and Mother Runners.

Goddesses: Marta made me take this picture 4 times because she thought her finger was too close to her nose.

We got a picture of all of us together:

Mother Runners + Goddesses = A Very Fun Race

It was a bit chilly; the weather app said 56 degrees, but it really felt like 46 degrees. I wore a long-sleeved shirt, and part of the race I was very glad I did, and the other part I was cursing my stupidity. It's sometimes difficult to find a happy medium.

We all started out together, and it was very cramped on the trails. Eventually the herd thinned as the speed demons passed us, and we started to hit our pace.  After a few miles, I felt like speeding up a bit, so I ran ahead to where I found Renee and Carrie at the bathroom stop, and we ran together.

The trails were awesome, and the fuel stops had ginger ale, so you know I was happy.  No GU on the trails for me--pretzels and ginger ale all the way.

At mile 11, I looked at my watch and half-turned to Renee and Carrie to announce, "We are probably going to beat 3 hours!" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I went down.  Boom.  I lay still for about 30 seconds while I decided whether I was hurt and scared or just scared. I decided that I would live, so I got up and started up again. Renee and Carrie were good enough to stay with me even though I had jinxed us.

My left elbow and my knees were feeling pretty banged up, but I didn't want to look at them because there was nothing I could do about that. We raced on and finished in 3:03.

The medal is hard-core; it weighs about a gazillion pounds.

I took a picture of my knees before I got them cleaned up at the aid station because Renee reminded me that trail-runners only have bragging rights if the wounds look bad:

Gross, right?

After the race there was a vendor village with HiHo Brewery inside the Boy Scout mess hall, but my teeth had started to chatter, and I knew that it was housecleaning day anyway, so I left the Goddesses and the Mother Runners to their beer while I returned home to scrub toilets.

I really enjoyed this race: the trails were gorgeous, the weather was perfect for running, I loved seeing so many of my friends.  This is a keeper for sure.

It is now three weeks to Akron Marathon time. I think I'm going to run at least 16 miles next weekend and then go for a proper taper.

Will I see you on the Blue Line? I hope I do. I especially hope that no matter where or how you run, you run happy, Peeps!

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My Training Plan

When I read the posts of other running bloggers, I read about how they train. I almost NEVER share with you how I train. Why? Well, I think it's boring as hell. Sorry.

This is how I imagine people look when they read about my training schedule.

The weird thing is this: I am fascinated by others' training weeks. I think my own is far less than fascinating, so you may have noticed that I generally base my posts on my races, long runs, or something weird that happened to me.

Oh, and also food pictures. I like to post about eating.

Arguably, none of this is more interesting than reading about someone else's weekly training.

My current goal is to keep a 40+ mile week. I have decided that my weekly runs (and walks) must total at least 30 miles, so that everything on the long run is cake.  The challenge is that I must do this safely: no shin splints, pf, or ITB syndrome allowed.

So far, so good. Last week was  48 miles, and I feel that I rested my legs enough that I'm not hurt.

Monday: Yoga and stretching. I had to recover from Sunday's 16 miles.

This is EXACTLY how I look before I stretch and recover from the Sunday run.

This is EXACTLY how I feel after I stretch and recover from the Sunday run. Hey, I am who I am; you can't expect miracles here.

Tuesday: 5 miles on the hills of Sand Run.  I kept a good pace, especially considering my sinuses have been KILLING me.

Wednesday: 10 miles.  I did my "Reverse Blue Line" route, which I just decided to do this year.  It follows the old Blue Line of the Akron Marathon (which goes right by my house). I start from my house, run the 3 miles of Sand Run, and then take on a mile long ascent to the Blue Line on Portage Path. I actually love this route even more now that I'm running it in the opposite direction. It's more difficult, but it makes me feel like a badass. Plus, now I can finish at my house rather than at my car.

You can see that there is an actual Blue Line painted on the route. This is what runners in my 'hood follow when they train.

Thursday: Lifting in the morning; 2.5 mile walk in the evening. I find that I am walking for recovery more than I used to do, and it really feels good. My super-speedy, so-amazing-she-is-frightening friend and fellow-ambassador Pam actually got me started on this. She ran the Canal Corridor 100, and she paced her husband Steve at Burning River for the last 30 miles. She posted a lot of recovery walks, so I decided I must not be lame if I decide to go for a walk.

Did I just basically say that Pam taught me how to walk?

Friday: 5 miles on Sand Run again. I need to take advantage of this park being so close to my house because once school starts (this week--gulp), I won't be running this area in the dark. I'm going to miss Sand Run. Every day it looks different to me.

Saturday: 5.37 miles with the Goddesses at Tree Farm Trail. Normally I don't run on Saturdays (so those of you whom I've refused before, don't get mad!), but this started at 8:30 and it was only 2 loops, so I was able to get back home just as the family was getting their act together.

We chose the tallest person to take the selfie. He was, like, 7 feet tall.

Sunday: This was the biggie: 18 miles on the Towpath.  GAAAAAA!!!! I did 2 miles before starting with the Road Shoes crew, then we ran out to Station Road Bridge and back to Lock 29, and then I finished with 2 more.  I made pretty good time on this, even with allowing myself to walk the first .10 of each mile after 14.

So glad it's over! Now to eat ALL the food!

This is probably my last week of really high mileage; I'm dialing it back before the Blue Line practice run (my 20 miler), and I'm going back to school starting Wednesday. Between my kids' crazy schedules and my own weird schedule, I won't be doing a 10 miler in the middle of the week. Plus, now I must complete all miles before 5:30 AM. I can do this; I did it training for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, and I can do it for the Akron Marathon.

Are you training for the Akron Marathon? Will I see you at the Blue Line Run? How about the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon--did you sign up to run with me?

Whether you're training or not, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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Ode to the Goddesses

 Burning River is a 100-mile race basically in my backyard. It is a big deal. I've volunteered for it the first two years I was aware of it, and I have run the 8-person relay for it in the last two years. Last week's post is about my experience on Leg 5 of the 8-person relay for the Mother Runners.

This week I want to write about my training. I firmly believe that when I commit to a race, I need to be completely prepared for that race. This means that after running the Cleveland Marathon I decided to stay at the 16 mile long run until Burning River so that I didn't lose any fitness along the way. It just seemed silly to start over only to increase again.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I have to start over again with training. Haha! Just kidding. That is Sisyphus. My  shoulders don't look that good.

I also trained for the race by running with the Burning River Goddesses. They are a group that trains together for Burning River, but I have found that they are more than a training group.  Bear with some sentimentality for a minute (Oh--just shut the hell up. I'm never emotional. Just deal with my feelings for once).

Here is a tissue to deal with my issue.

When my regular training partner dropped me like a hot rock (is that even a saying?), the Goddesses picked me up. Jenn and I have run together when I've done trails; we also ran Ragnar together two years in a row. She told me I had to run with the Goddesses, and she promised that they would help me train for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, even though they don't like non-trail routes.

Jenn after our Ragnar Ultra in WV

 I was really feeling low, and they stepped in and pretended that there is nothing wrong with me (even though deep down I feel like there is). They saw me through my 20-miler before the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, and let me tell you, I was SCARED TO DEATH about running that alone. They were supportive and accepting and amazing.

My joke with the Goddesses is that each run is a venture into something vaguely illegal. I've decided that I'm going to train my kids to bail me out of jail if the need arises on a Goddess run. No, I'm not going to elaborate on this.

My runs with the Goddesses have taken place on just about every trail in Merriman Valley and just about every hour of the day or night. We have run on flat surfaces like the Towpath and death-hills like Candy-Ass Mountain.  We have run at 7 am and at midnight. The Goddesses are everywhere at every time.  They are incredible.

One day Jenn posted about these super-cool hoodies on the Goddess web page. I wanted a hoodie, but I didn't want to infringe on the group, so I asked if I could buy one even though I wasn't running Burning River with the group. The positive responses were overwhelming; some Goddesses informed me that I was already a Goddess, and I gratefully bought a Goddess hoodie.

The night before the race, I met with the Mother Runners for the pasta dinner. Marta from the BR Goddesses had texted me and said she would be there for a drink after the packet pick up. I found her in the bar, and she was so kind and encouraging. She even gave me a magnet and a body marker (which was the gift for all Goddesses at their dinner). I was touched. It's difficult for me to feel like I belong anywhere, and Marta has definitely made the effort to include me every step of the way. At that point I knew that I wasn't running with a Goddess bib, but I was running with a Goddess spirit, and it gave me strength and confidence.

Marta and I ran the Medina Half Marathon together.

We also drank beer together.

What does it matter how outsiders treat you when you know you are a Goddess?

This is my ode to you, Goddesses.  You are strong and amazing, and the added bonus is that you are kind. Thank you, and here's to many more trails and many more beers.


Reminder: The early prices for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon race series will go away in a few days. Register now!

Who makes you realize that you are a badass?  I hope you have a group like the Goddesses, and more importantly, I hope you make someone else feel that way. As always, I hope you Run Happy, Peeps!

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MishMash Running

I've skipped a few weeks, so I'm going to dump all over you.  Hang on.  That doesn't sound right.  Let me rephrase it:

I've skipped a few weeks, so I'm going to give you a mishmash of my running so far.


Two weeks ago I joined the Burning River Goddesses for a night run, organized by Marta.  We ran 10 miles on the trails at night because at some point we will be running at night for our legs at Burning River. I am leg 5, so in theory I should finish at dusk, but last year the teams I ran with got way off schedule, so I am prepared to start much later.

Marta, Jenn, Dawn, and I are ready--headlamps on!

Full-length shot because we are full-length badasses!

I LOVE running trails at night. I get so jazzed, no matter how tired I was during the day.  There is something exciting about wondering what that noise you heard was: coyote? deer? zombie?  We heard some coyotes twice, and we saw two deer on the trails. I saw three more driving home after midnight.  Yes, it was a very long run.

See how excited I am?

Two days later I ran 15 miles on trails with Jenn and Renee. Jenn and I started at 7 for five miles, and we met Renee for the following 10. It was really relaxing to run with these women. They are so zen, and they don't mind that I am not. Have I ever told you that I have zero-chill?

I spent this week in Lake Cumberland, Kentucky, and it was gorgeous but very hot and humid. The first two days I managed to get up early and run around the marinas a little bit.

Fog coming off lake as the sun rises

Sweat coming off face as the sun rises

I stopped that nonsense by day 3 because it was just too humid, and I was swimming a lot anyway.  I hate swimming, but the lake temperature was perfect, and I know it's good to work my body in different ways than just running.

On Saturday I ran 5 miles of trails with my Mother Runners peeps Kristin and Candice. We will be running Burning River leg 5 (16.2 miles) together.  Kristin and I knew what we were getting into; she is a Burning River pro and we've run together many times. This was the second time I ran with Candice (she doesn't remember the first time or she is very polite, which is good for me either way), and we all did a great job running in a thunderstorm.  Kristin is a doctor.  Candice is a counselor. I am a teacher. None of us is smart enough to get out of the woods during a thunderstorm.  Go figure.

This is before we got soaking wet and muddy.

Today I ran 16 miles all by myself. This is actually a good thing because although I love group running, I'm going to be running the Akron Marathon all by my lonesome, so I have to get used to running long distances alone. I like running alone because I can work through all of my problems (and there are SO MANY of them) without burdening other people.

I'm not going to lie; it wasn't easy today. After mile 11 I allowed myself to walk the first .10 of every mile, but oddly enough my pace was better than it has been in a long time. The average was 10:34, even with the walking.  I'm glad that it didn't slow me down too much because I may need to use this strategy during the hills of the Akron Marathon, and I still intend to PR that baby.  We shall see.

This is EXACTLY how I look after running 16 miles in 90% humidity.

What are you training for? How are you handling the humidity?

Even in this hot weather, make sure you Run Happy, Peeps!

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Running While Away

I just got back from Boston a few days ago. I am super-tired. I spent a week there participating in the National Education Association Resident Assembly.  If you're curious about what I did in Boston, feel free to follow my adventures here.

This is a picture of me, Bradley, and Katie, the 3 Medina delegates.

I've been to Boston with my family before, so I knew where to run (Boston Common); plus, our hotel was about half a mile from there. The only problem was that I had to be at the Ohio Caucus every morning at 7:00, and we never finished our day before 10:00 PM. That meant a 4:30 wakeup if  I wanted to run or lift weights.  Well, that is what I do during the school year, so I sucked it up and set my alarm for dark o'clock crazy every day. Most days I made it.

The first thing I had to do was get a picture at the finish line for the Boston Marathon, of course. You may remember that the last time I posted from Boston, my picture showed me stepping on the finish line. I have since learned that this is a no-no, so I had to take another picture to reverse the bad mojo.

No stepping on the line!

Then I ran loops in the Park and Boston Common.

I JUST NOW noticed that my Cleveland head band is upside down. What the hell is the matter with me?

Each day that I ran outside I managed to do at least 4ish miles, and one day I did 5ish miles, but there was no long run this week. I just didn't have the time. I did add at least 20-some miles of walking this week because we walked everywhere, but I didn't officially record it.

There were two days that I ran 2 miles on the treadmill and then lifted in the fitness room, and that was a luxury because my weights are crap, and so far I have been too cheap to buy what I really need.

I am especially proud of myself for running after three hours of sleep on the evening of July 4. The alarm system went off in our room, and a recorded announcement told us to prepare to evacuate. Katie and I walked down to the lobby from the 22nd floor; that was fun. 

This is EXACTLY how we look after walking down 22 flights of stairs at 3:44 AM. I'm not wearing a bra here, by the way, so that was interesting.

When we got the all-clear, everybody jammed up the elevators, so I walked back UP to the 22nd floor. By the time I got up there, it was time to get up to run, so I just changed into my running clothes and ran back DOWN the stairs to go to Boston Common. Damn, I'm dedicated.

When I got back from Boston, I needed to get back to group runs, so I responded to two running posts with the Burning River Goddesses. On Saturday we ran loops at Hampton Hills for a total of about 6 miles.

Look how matchy I am with my BondiBand headband! I am wearing  matching compression socks, too! #stylista

On Sunday we ran from the Boston Store to Pine Lane and back for a total of about 8 miles, and then Renee and I put in two more miles on the Towpath.

I'm wearing my Orange Mud HydraQuiver here. It has grown on me. No, really, it has GROWN ON ME. Can someone help me take it off?

I intended to eat a banana and do 5 more Towpath miles after Renee left me, but it was so hot and humid, and I felt so tired from my trip, that I called it a day after 10 miles.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I call it a day after 10 miles.

Overall, I think I did the best I could under the circumstances of travel and heat.  I started this week right by doing over an hour of yoga--really good poses that I knew I needed to do--and I jumped into 5 miles today.  I'm going to get back into those 45 mile weeks again, and now I'm going to try to focus more on trails because Burning River is coming up!

What is the focus of your training? Whatever it is, I hope you Run Happy, Peeps!

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Another Race? What?

So, on a whim I signed up for the Green Jewel Relay. The price was right, and I thought this would be a good motivator to keep up my mileage instead of starting from scratch to train for the Akron Marathon. I put out a call to every running group I know, and eventually a sucker nice runner volunteered to join up with me for a total of 50k. Beth, race director for the Medina Half Marathon, will be running the first 15 + miles, and I will be running the next 16 miles. I've never done this race, and I have no clue how it works, but I'm not going to sweat it, Peeps. I'm going to show up at the relay point and hope that I find a way back to my car when I finish. This, by the way, is not a smart strategy, but I have never claimed to be smart. I am putting this out into the Universe: I need to 1. survive the Green Jewel Relay and 2. find a ride back to my car. If you see me, Peeps, I would appreciate some help.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I'm pathetic and needy.

Today I ran 8 miles with the Goddesses. Everything kind of derailed for me on this run. I had meticulously packed my bag anticipating running 8 miles on the trails with the Goddesses and then finishing about 6-8 more miles on the Towpath. That just didn't work. There was some rain and some thunder and lots of conversation, so when we finished I had run out of time. I had to go home and garden, Peeps, which is THE WORST.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I'm avoiding gardening.

I saw Pam (fellow Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Ambassador) and her husband Steve on their long run completing a 100-mile week. I was really tempted to ask them if I could run with them, but they sensed the desperate-ness and told me that I was technically in taper for the Green Jewel, since I had run a marathon two weeks prior and a half marathon the previous week. It was nice of them to phrase it that way. Anyway, I called it a day.

Now that school is out, I'd like to share my new strategy:

1. Track all my food AGAIN. Always. If I can lose 10 pounds, I can be back to my racing weight.
2. Increase my weekly mileage instead of starting from scratch when training for the Akron Marathon. Of course, I trained for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon during the school year, so I had limited time, but now my goal is to increase my during-the-week mileage (without injuring myself). My theory is that I need much higher mileage to better my time from the Cleveland Marathon.

As I continue to write this summer, I'll show you how I am increasing my mileage safely.

What are you training for? Running any trails lately? Check back next week to see if I got stranded during the Green Jewel.  Until then, run happy, Peeps!

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Race Recap: Medina Half Marathon

The Medina Half Marathon is a tradition for me. I am a teacher at Medina High School, and this race takes place the Saturday after school lets out every year. It is my way of saying goodbye to the school year and to Medina for a brief vacation. It is my way of letting go of the stress and the tears and the sleeplessness of grading and worrying and juggling schedules.

This is part of Medina Square. The course begins and ends here.

Each year I sign up for next year's race at the expo because it is only $38, which is an amazing price for a half marathon with an awesome medal. So, when I signed up for the race for this year, I didn't realize at the time that I would decide to run the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, since I have been running the half for a few years. This meant that I would run 26.2 one week and then 13.1 six days later.

I was committed to both races, so I figured I could walk as much of the Medina race as I needed to if I was still suffering from the marathon.  It turns out that I felt fine after the marathon, so I decided to run the half. Notice that I didn't say that I decided to RACE the half. I think that might have caused an injury, and I didn't want to do anything stupid. Well, more stupid than usual.

As a bonus, Marta from the Burning River Goddesses messaged me and asked if I wanted to run the race with her; she was also still recovering from the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.  Su-weet!

We decided to just run how we felt. . . and we felt pretty good! We decided about halfway through that we could probably shoot for a 2:10 finish.

The course has changed each year, and this year brought fewer hills, which surprised me greatly. I had warned Marta that we would be feeling the hills, and then I kept wondering when we would find them!  One other change from previous years: the race course was much safer in the residential neighborhoods this year. I think that our Medina friends have finally realized that the race is here to stay, and they have learned to live with it. In previous years, I have seen cars weaving among runners, and it was super-dangerous. This year when there were drivers, they listened to the course directors. Kudos to the Race Director for working on this problem.

As we came to the end of the race, I heard my friends shouting my name (thanks, Ailene!), so I found the energy to kick it in gear and sprint. Marta and I finished in 2:10:01.  I'll take it!

It looks painful, right?

 Now for the worst photo finish EVER:

Hahahahaha! So dramatic.

After I walked off the feeling of wanting to throw up, Marta and I took some happy pictures by the Gazebo (which is a Medina-thing):

Then we went to the best after-party EVER: Pizza and beer and a great band sponsored by Stand up for Downs. I drank some Fat Tire (no crappy Michelob Ultra here) and ate some pizza and basked in the sunshine with Marta:

Before we were faking it. Now that we have beer, we are truly happy.

And check out the awesome medal:

There are little sparkles embedded in the medal.

All in all, I give the Medina Half Marathon a big stamp of approval. This race gets better every year. The race directors listen to our feedback and work really hard to make any necessary improvements for the next year, and honestly, there is a lot of bang for your buck. I will continue to make this half my traditional hello to summer.

How do you say hello to summer?  Whatever your tradition, whether it involves racing or not, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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