Every Damn Hot Mile

Although long weekend runs are what everyone envisions when thinking about training for a marathon, mid-week runs are something I have always struggled with. Waking up at 5:30 AM on a Saturday for a run by the ocean is a lot easier, at least for me than getting in 3 miles twice a week after working all day and doing your normal routine. That being said, the mid-weeks runs, especially in these early weeks are probably more important as this is where I will be building my cardio and just getting my body used to running again. Running is a use it or  lose it sport and since I haven't run consistently in a few years, I am back to square one with building my endurance. In addition to working on cardio, mid-week runs is a place to work on interval training to help with speed. As I mentioned, historically I have struggled with these mid-weeks but since I am, you know, running a marathon in a few months,  I needed to find a way to get these in. World of Beer has a ru...

With everything you do in life, you need a WHY! WHY do you get up everyday and go to work? WHY do you diet? WHY do you go to bed early or stay out a little to late? My WHY has a few layers to it... First and foremost, running gives me a stronger connection with my mom. My mom Barbara passed away 11 years ago from cancer. When I started running 6 years ago it was through an organization named Team in Training (TNT). TNT is the endurance training program through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and although my mom had a different form of cancer, LLS researches treatments that can help all cancers. 2 of my 3 previous marathons have been with TNT and that was usually all the motivation I needed. My first season with TNT our training shirts had a saying on the back, "if you think training for a marathon is tough, try chemotherapy". That always put things into perspective to me. No matter how hot, or tired, or achy I felt, I was still able to get up and run and that is...

NYC Marathon training has begun... So let me start from the beginning. I started running 6 years ago but haven't run much in the last 3 years. The past 12 months have been transformational for me. I was in a funk for about a year and have since started a new job, lost a bunch of weight and found my happiness again. And for some crazy reason when I get happy, I feel running. I know, that sounds crazy but being part of a running community, you realize how crazy we are sometimes and what we consider "normal" is not a "normal normal". A few months ago,  I entered the lottery for the NYC Marathon for the 4th year in a row and for the 4th year in a row I didn't get in.  Even though I was pretty disappointed, instead of years past where I said, "maybe next year", since I am in this new happy place, I said, "this is the year!". This is the year I am going to check my dream race off of my bucket list.  If I can't run through the lottery, m...