Recap: Medina Half Marathon

It was a chill kind of race.

To give you an idea of it, I didn't even wear my Garmin that day. For me, that is UNHEARD OF.

I had come off the Cleveland Marathon with a time far above what I wanted. I was trying to recover. I was suffering. I got lucky.

I got lucky because I convinced a fellow Mother Runner (Amy) to run with me. She said she wanted a steady 11:00/mile pace, and I knew I could do that. Thank goodness for Amy.

We had a great time running in horrible heat (again), and I actually didn't worry about it because. . . hey. I said I would run an 11:00/mile, and that is what I did.  Thank you, Amy.

Lake Medina. Amy and I pretend that the freaking humidity isn't bothering us.

Finish line. See what a false friend I am? I had to sprint ahead.  Sorry, Peeps. I am just built that way.

 I would like to give a shoutout to the race director, Beth Bugner. I have run this race every year (with the exception of 2016, when I gave up my bib because I had to attend my friend's funeral). Each year truly gets better. I was in doubt that the Medina citizens would be able to handle a half marathon in their neighborhoods because their behavior was questionable and dangerous in the early stages of the race. This year I had no reservations whatsoever about cars or any dangerous situation, and I attribute that to Beth's hard work.  Thank you. The Medina Half Marathon is my goodbye to the school year, and the efforts of the coordinators and volunteers allow me to say goodbye in the best possible way.  I have already purchased my bib for next year, and I encourage you to do the same.  Let's meet at PJ Marley's afterwards for beer and omelets.

As soon as I finished the half marathon, I took off for Salt Lake City for a side gig scoring essays. Salt Lake City is gorgeous, Peeps. I was only able to run up to 5 miles each morning, but gosh.  I can't even describe the mountains as they turned from red to pink to orange.  What a great week.

I ran as far as I could go towards the foothills before 5:30. This is where the road stopped.

Capitol Building at 5:00 AM

For the past two weeks, I have tried to get back to a long trail run, but it has been difficult, Peeps. I am training for the 17.5 mile leg of Burning River, but I just don't have the time. Last week I ran 10 trail miles on Sunday, and this week I ran 13 trail miles. That will have to do because I am leaving for Houston for the National Education Representative Assembly next week. Then I have family vacation (thank God!), and then we have Burning River.  I'll be ready.  I will.

The Stepping Stones at Sand Run. Marta, Rae, Caroline. We had a great run today!

I wish I could be more clever, but I am dealing with a bit of writer angst this week, Peeps. I feel like I should have written on my education blog, and I feel like this post should have happened last week. Deadlines suck.

In any case, embrace the weather! I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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How's that Weather Working out for You?

GAAAAAAA!!!!!!

It has been cold in Ohio, Peeps. Yes, I realize that you didn't need me to tell you that.  I have been confined to the treadmill for days, and it's starting to make me soul-sick.

The treadmill would be SO MUCH BETTER if I ate ice cream like this dude.

I have made a point of getting out on the weekends, and that really helps.  Last weekend I didn't get the opportunity to do back-to-back long runs because I was working in Columbus, so I decided to do a long trail run with the Trail Sisters on Sunday.

Our start at Boston Store: Me, Wendy, Renee, Marta

Stopping to catch my breath (Renee is patiently waiting for me)

As you can see, it was very snowy, very cold, and very steep.  Running in the snow was like running on sand, and at the end of 12 miles, my Garmin registered that I exerted as much effort as I would have on 17 miles!

This weekend, I ran 14 miles on Saturday and 7 miles on Sunday.  All of the miles were incredibly hilly, which is exactly what I need for Forget the PR 50K in Mohican.

This gives you an idea of Saturday's run: I am the tiny speck in orange and white on the left.

Halfway through the run, Wendy, Marta, and I crashed a golf and chili event at Hale Farm.

Wendy and Marta have no shame. I am hiding.

The chili smelled so amazing; it was difficult to leave.

Wendy and I reluctantly leave the Chili Open.

I made sure to nap and fuel after cleaning the house on Saturday, and I got up early to run with the Canal Rats this morning on Sand Run--more hills. Normally the Rats run WAY too fast for me, but they were kind enough to run a leisurely pace. . .which still kicked my butt.  

My runs this week totalled 42 miles, which is pretty darned good considering we had the polar vortex. I also managed to do yoga and strength training. 

At this point, if I don't get into the Forget the PR 50K, I will be in stellar form for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon in May.  Speaking of which, would you like to sign up to join me for any of the races in the series? If so, use my code, SI2019, for a 10% discount on registration for any of the races, including the whole series.  Come on--it will be fun!

No matter how cold it is, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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Starting My New (Old) Routine

It's back to school time! While parents around the United States are singing the "Hallelujah Chorus," I'm buying a phone jail for my classroom so that I don't have to compete with "Fortnite" in the classroom.

Hey, Teacher: Did you REALLY think I was gonna read that short story?

Part of my back-to-school routine is switching up my regular running times and routes. During the summer, I am able to run whenever I get up in the morning, and my distances can vary between 5 miles and 10 miles, depending on how I feel that day. Now that I'm back to school, I have to get in all my miles before 5:30 AM. This makes my marathon training a little more challenging but still doable. I just have to adjust my wake up time to 4:20 AM. Here is my typical school year running routine:

Monday: yoga and possibly 1-2 miles of walking to warm up. Possible 2.5-3 miles of brisk walking in the evening during kids' Taekwon Do classes.

Tuesday: 4-5 miles on roads. Possible 2.5-3 miles of brisk walking in the evening during kids' Taekwon Do classes.

Wednesday: 4-6 miles on roads (6 if I get out of the house early enough and I do intervals or a tempo run)

Thursday: 4 miles on roads; 5 trail miles with Crooked River Trail Runners in the evening

Friday: Strength training and possibly 1-2 miles of walking to warm up

Saturday: 4-6 miles on Sand Run after housecleaning. If I'm too exhausted, 4-6 miles of alternating running and walking on the treadmill while watching Parks and Rec.

Saturday Evening: Do something to potentially mess up your long run the next morning.

Marta and I get our boogie on at the Silent Disco at PorchRokr Festival

Sunday: Long run leading up to 20 miles.

This Sunday I ran 16 miles on the Towpath with Marta, Pam, Steve, and Kelly. I was worried that I would struggle through this run because it's been about 3 weeks since I've run more than 10 miles, but I really enjoyed it!

Kelly, Me, Pam, Marta

Routines are really important to me because they give me something to hold onto when my schedule gets crazy (and it will). It's reassuring to me to know that I can still be confident when I run that Blue Line for the Akron Marathon because I will be prepared.

How do you deal with your work schedule and your running? Do you have to change it up during the year?

However/whenever you run, I hope you run happy, Peeps!

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Running while Scoring (Nope, not what you think)

Last week I was in Kansas City, Missouri, to work for College Board. College Board is the company that creates and scores the Advanced Placement Tests for high schoolers. Each year they hire thousands of teachers, at both the high school and college level, to score those tests, and after 16 years of teaching Advanced Placement Literature and Composition, I finally was able to get in on this.

Each day I started work at 8 AM, which is a half-hour later than I usually start work, so I figured I could get up at 5 AM to run at least 4 miles each morning. The city was beautiful, which makes for an interesting run up and down Main Street, but the weather was hot and muggy each day, starting in the mid-seventies in the morning and climbing to the mid to high nineties in the afternoon. This made for some slow runs.

My morning view on my run into downtown Kansas City

The run started at my hotel and took me into the River Market District, which is a cool residential and shop area based around an open air market. During my daily runs, I saw several other runners from the surrounding hotels, but very few cars and other people, something I still find very unusual since there is rarely a quiet street in Akron, even at 5 AM.  It felt a bit like the Twilight Zone.

I was remarking on this to a colleague on the bus ride to the convention center, and the bus driver said, "There is a good reason why there are no people out on the streets."

Me: "Really? What is it?"

Bus Driver: "This is a super-shady part of the city. You shouldn't be running here. Please be careful."

What????  Let me say this: I didn't have one person approach me at all while I was running there. The place was well-lit, and it was really nice and clean. If that is the shady part of town, I really want to see where the rich people go.

Because I was scoring essays, I was sitting on my butt for long periods of time. Actually, I alternated between sitting, standing, squatting, and rocking back and forth as I read essays. Then, after each folder of 25 essays, I would get up and walk .25 mile. During official breaks and lunch, I would walk longer. Then I would walk the mile back to the hotel at the end of the day. Each time I walked, I would set my watch so that I could keep track of my mileage. My daily average (without my four miles in the morning) was six miles. So, I had a fifty-plus mile week!

I also walked around the city as much as possible, if I wasn't too tired after work.

This is the performing arts center. 

Catching some music (with mandolin!) at the Record Bar

Hanging with my buddy B. Shakes before watching Much Ado about Nothing

 I spent a lot of time on my feet this week, but let me remind you of something that you have definitely read/heard before: Losing weight has to do with what happens in the kitchen, not the gym. This is what I remembered this week. When I started running, I thought it would be the "cure" to my struggle with weight loss. The truth is that no matter how active I am, I will always struggle with my weight. This week I shoved every bit of food into my piehole; whatever was in front of me, I consumed. For God's sake, I ate dessert at lunch! Who does that????

So, I'm coming back with five more pounds than I left with.  Ok, I know how to take care of that.

It's back to the training, too. True to my word, I have taken to the pool as cross-training, and even though it should be too soon to tell, I really think it makes a difference in my running.

Today I ran 8 humid miles in my old stomping grounds, Sand Run Park. I promised myself that if I ran to the very end, I would allow myself to run back on the road so that I could cross the stepping stones.

And I did!

My next step is to figure out how to incorporate strength training into my week instead of just substituting it with swimming and biking. I've got to do some planning.

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your summer runs and 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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Trail Running is Best this Time of Year

Saturday was a gorgeous day.  Shelby and I managed to message each other with the same thought in mind: How about a run?  We both did our errands and met at 1:00 at Sand Run Metropark for some hills.  The original plan was to do Sand Run twice for twelve miles, but after the first six miles, we said HELL no to that and made up our own route for a total of 9.5 miles.

Because we ran semi-long yesterday, Shelby punked out on our planned trail run today, so I decided to run Wetmore Trail by myself for about four miles and then possibly fit in Hampton Hills on the way home.

Wetmore was really. . .well, wet.  I managed to get my shoes and socks soaked AND fall in the first mile.  I said to myself, "You got that out of the way.  Now you can't fall anymore."

Midway through the run, the wind started blowing and the skies darkened considerably.  At that point, I realized that I hadn't told anyone where I would be, and there could be a good chance I'd get struck by lightning and die there on the trail.  It looked like this:

This is EXACTLY how it looked, except there was no weird moon orb hanging in front of me waiting to eat me.  Also, no rain and no lightning.  Other than that, EXACTLY the same.

Luckily for me, the storm didn't hit while I was out there.  The trail was absolutely gorgeous; I run trails in the fall to remind myself how lucky I am to live in Northeast Ohio where I can find a bazillion trails to hike or run within ten miles.

This is ACTUALLY how it looked.  Wetmore Trail.

I finished before the storm.  Whew!

Next week is the Second Sole Made in American Half Marathon.  I haven't decided on a strategy.  Will I race it or run it?  Stay tuned to find out.  Until then, run happy, Peeps!

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Big Miles!

This week was my Spring Break.  My kids were still in school for most of the week, so I got a lot of alone time.  What did this teacher do during her Spring Break?

This is EXACTLY how I look when I take a grad school class during break.

But wait!  That isn't all I did!  I set a personal weekly mileage record with 36 miles!

On Tuesday I did my intervals (12x 400s + 1 minute recovery).  Wednesday was lifting day, and I did lift weights and do ab work, but not as much as I normally do.  This is because I powerwalked a hilly neighborhood with Sheila--6 miles of hills, Baby.  My butt STILL hurts, so you know it was a good workout.

On Thursday I decided to do the tempo run, which I usually do on Friday, but the temperature was in the 60s with the prediction being in the 30s the next day.  Ya gotta get it while it's good, Peeps, so I did.  This time I added another mile to the run, and I DIDN'T PASS OUT OR DIE!  So proud of myself.

Something I believe strongly is that I shouldn't be running every day--that way lies injury--so I took Friday off and cleaned the house.  I'm really glad I did because the recovery time gave me the energy on Saturday to do the Chocolate Bunny Run, sponsored by Vertical Runner Hudson.  Joy and I ran 6.5 miles through Hudson with a taste of trail at Hudson Springs.  It was chilly but overall a good run.

Joy, Shelby, me, and Elizabeth inside Vertical Runner

The whole group just before we took off

Afterward there was CHOCOLATE and a raffle drawing for fabulous prizes at Vertical Runner.  I won a chocolate bunny!

See those Dove bunnies?  I won one of them!  I gave it to my kids, of course.

Today I ran Sand Run TWICE.  That's twelve miles of hills, Peeps.  Shelby and I took our time (except at the end when she smoked me, as she always does), and we enjoyed talking to Jen, who did the first out and back with us.

I'm really satisfied with my running this week because I feel like I played it smart--lots of recovery, lots of stretching.  Tomorrow I will definitely enjoy my yoga session.  

Next week I look forward to testing my training with a 10k, my first race since January.  Will the speedwork pay off?  Stay tuned to find out!

What is in your Spring racing plans, Peeps?  Why don't you join me for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon? I hope you blow away your goals!  Until then. . . 

Run HOPPY, Peeps!  (See what I did there?)

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12 Mile Boost

It's no secret that I am battling a lack of running mojo lately.  I smile, I show up, I do the run, I do the strength training, but I'm just not feeling confident.

Neither one of these seems to work lately.

It's also no secret that some of this lack of confidence probably stems from dealing with my father's death in June, something with which I really haven't come to terms.  (Read my post about it here.)

I suspect that I went through a slump like this at the same time last year, but I haven't read those posts yet because I choose to wallow for a bit.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I choose to wallow for a bit.

Now, there are some very positive things that have happened to me just recently.  First, I came up with a plan for my dreaded tempo run.  I have decided that I am going to run Sand Run Parkway the difficult way (downhill first half, uphill on the way home), and I'm going to better my time each time I run it.  Also, I'm going to focus on an even pace rather than racing the downhill part and suffering the uphill part.  I did this on Thursday, and while my overall time may have been slower, my splits were even, and I felt great.

The second positive thing that happened is that I won't have to deal with two very toxic people who really took up too much of my psychic energy for the past few years.  Those people are gone, and I wish them well.  I will be going back to work this year with a sense of hope that I had been lacking for quite a while.

Yet I am still anxious and worried about the Akron Half Marathon.

Last Wednesday at the track, Mandy invited me to do the long run on Sunday with her--twelve miles--with the condition that we keep it around 10:30 a mile.  Normally this would be no problem for me, but the heat and humidity have really messed with my runs (and my head) lately, and I immediately starting doubting I could keep up for twelve miles.  See, it's this kind of mental crap that I'm talking about; self-doubt sucks.  Anyway, I said I would go with her, and today I did.

What a boost!  Our overall pace was faster than 10:30, with one mile at 9:45, and NEGATIVE SPLITS!!!  I am normally not a negative split runner, but I am really happy with this run.  Not gonna lie, Peeps, I suffered in the last two miles, but who doesn't suffer in the last two miles?  Mandy, that's who, but she's just a damned kid.  This old lady finished a minute behind her, and I'm just happy that my time was so good, especially since we ran in the same heat and humidity that has been bothering me all along.

This is EXACTLY how I look when I run negative splits in a 12-miler.  This is also my first experience with a selfie-stick, which Mandy says is the best 8-buck investment she ever made.

I can do this.  I just need to shut down the stupid head games.

Coming up: the Burn Rubber 10k in Akron.  Until then, run happy, Peeps!

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I Overanalyze Everything

Ever since I wrote last week's post, I've been obsessing about speedwork and more specifically, my attempts at a tempo run.

I've had three different people offer me advice, and I think it all comes down to the same thing: I've got to get my head straight.

We all know that running is mental, and there is no greater proof of that than watching me drive myself and everyone around me crazy by talking about running.  

On Wednesday, I did 3 x 800 at the track (plus a warm up and cool down), and I was able to keep my 800s between 4:00 and 4:20.  I was happy with that.  I think next time at the track I will shoot for 4 x 800, and I will try to decrease my recovery time.

Thursday was a gorgeous day, a day made to go running.  Despite the pretty day, I was feeling upset because my daughter wanted to cut off her beautiful, curly hair.  Now, I know, it's her hair--if this is my biggest problem with her, I'm lucky--hair grows back--yadda yadda yadda.  I know these things. 

Still think I shouldn't be upset?

 As we were making an appointment for the salon for that afternoon, I got a lump in my throat, and I felt tears coming.  This isn't like me at all, so I figured out that my need for a breakdown after my father's death was manifesting AT THAT MOMENT.  The perfect solution would have been to go on a run/cry, especially on a day made for runs, but I didn't do it because I'm an idiot.  Or I'm afraid to let my guard down.  Or because I told the kids we were going hiking.  Whatever.  I didn't do it.

I sucked it up and hiked the Mingo Trail (3+ miles of glorious, primitive trail) in Sand Run Park with the kids.  It was a great experience for all of us as the kids didn't complain ONCE about how far we had to walk.  I did have one interesting exchange with the eight-year-old, though:

8YO:  Will there be donuts at the end?
Me:  No.
8YO:  No.  There will only be water and sadness.

No donuts for you.

Water and Sadness

On Friday, I decided, to hell with it, I'd run how I felt: no patterns, no plans.  Looking at my splits, I think it's interesting how consistent they are, and how the run is divided in half.  There is a reason for the discrepancy between the two halves: Miles 1-3 were downhill, and Miles 4-6 were uphill.  If consistency of pace is what I'm shooting for, I will take this run as a win.
Mile 1 (half mile warmup): 9:36 
Mile 2: 8:53 
Mile 3: 9:02 
Mile 4: 10:36 
Mile 5: 10:35 
Mile 6: 10:37 
Mile 7: Cooldown: 11:35 
It rained all over me, but I felt great when I was done.

Today I ran with Shelby, and it was HOT and HUMID.  Shelby is training for a marathon, and she needed 14 miles.  I foolishly thought, "Huh. I can do 14 miles," but luckily I only told Shelby that I would run what I could with her. 

This is EXACTLY how I look when I foolishly think, "Huh.  I can do 14 miles in incredible heat and humidity."

I lasted just over 10 miles at a turtle-like pace before I called it quits.  Poor Shelby had to finish up by herself, but she was kind enough to give me a bottle of ice-cold chocolate milk before she left.  I love that woman.

This week I intend to focus on myself.  My near-crying-jag in a hair salon this week tells me that I need to take care of myself.  I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do that, but if I figure it out, you will be the first to know.

Until then, run happy, Peeps!

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Speedwork

Here is the deal:

I have 53 seconds to cut off my Akron Half Marathon PR, and it's time to do the hard stuff.

ARGH!! Those 53 seconds have to go!

You may or may not know that Akron is my big PR race of the year.  It was the reason why I started running in the first place.  I wrote all last summer about my desire to run a sub-2 hour half marathon, and I came SO CLOSE.  This year I will nail that sucker.

Time to get serious, Peeps.

On Wednesday I started up my track workouts.  I wasn't looking forward to this, but I know that a concerted effort at speed work really pays off during the race.  Unfortunately, my coach isn't offering a training program this year, so I have to figure out something that works.  Right now I'm just winging it.  I started with ladder drills: 400, 800, 1200, 800, 400.  I warmed up for about 1.5 miles, gossiping with my peeps, and then I got to work.  

One of my biggest problems is going out too fast in a race, and it shows in my speed work.  I was shooting for an 8:20 pace, but I started at 8:00 or less.  Not good.  I made sure to slow down, and that helped.  I am extremely proud that my last 400 was faster than my first 400, with a pace of 8:08.  

What makes me happiest, though, is that my daughter came with me to the track, and she did her own workout.  For a few years now I have been asking her to run with me, and she has turned me down almost every time.  At one point she told me, "You are going to have to deal with the fact that I will not be your runner.  Work on Ben."  

When I casually asked her if she wanted to come to the track with me, I expected a withering, "No, Mom," but she actually said, "Sure.  That sounds like fun."  And it was.

This is EXACTLY how we look when we are finished with speed work.

Then Friday was my first attempt at a tempo run.  First, I got all pinked up:

On Fridays we wear pink.

Then I set out for my run on Sand Run at 2:00 pm, which was stupid on so many levels.

Mile 1:  Warmup 10:11 Mile 2: 9:03 
Mile 3: 9:11 
Mile 4: 9:57--This is where I fell apart. It was all uphill, though.  
Mile 5: Cooldown 11:18

Lessons learned: 1. Tempo runs need to be on flat paths.  Sand Run is a a three mile path full of hills.  As you can see from my times, Miles 2 and 3 were downhill.  2. Miles 2 and 3 were too fast and they were not steady (Did I mention they were downhill?).  I tried to control my pace, but there were some points that I was running at 8:15 or less.  Not cool.   3. Tempo runs should never be at 2:00 in the afternoon in the summer.  I was so. freaking. hot.

Can I call this a win in speed work since it was extremely hilly?

I did call it a win, and I rewarded my daughter and myself with a trip to Stan Hywet Hall to see the Ohio Shakespeare Festival's production of Much Ado about Nothing.  

This is EXACTLY how I look when I am watching Shakespeare.  My friend Shelly is on the  left.

It was fabulous, Peeps; I highly recommend you see this comedy or Henry V, which starts July 30.

Today I ran three loops of the Boston Run Trail in Peninsula for a total of 9-something miles.  I thought I did pretty well.  I got through the third loop by telling myself I could walk any hill I liked, and I walked most of them.  Don't judge; I didn't walk any of them in the first two loops.

Anyway, this is my new committment to speed work.  I'm going to go to the track every Wednesday, and I'm going to fit in a tempo run each week.  

Akron won't know what hit it when I cross that finish line.

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