Coach Jen B

Today was crazy windy and cold.  Ward left at 7:30 for his run with Wade….which really meant I had about an hour decide inside or outside….how long?  Ugh.  I don't know.  Looking outside there were beautiful blue skies but the trees were swaying like mad.  ugh.  The temperature read 29 and according to Weather.com the real feel was about 19.  Okay, fine.  I'll run outside.  Although the treadmill in a warm gym was rather tempting.   When Ward came home, I asked, as I always do, how it was.  He said windy but fine.  He said he and Wade ran 5 miles.  Then he asked how far I was going to run…and I said 4 ish.  He said 'you know, the more you run, the more you can eat…'.  At that point the goal turned into 'run more than Ward'.   I set out, no Garmin, no app started on my phone.  No idea how fast I was going.  Who really cares?  I know the distance for just about every single mailbox o...

Laura at Mommy Run Fast has an ongoing Virtual Race Series.  The requirements are quite simple - run (at least) 5 miles by the 5th of the month and submit your entry.  There are some great prizes as well.  Since I run almost everyday, I knew this would be the perfect virtual series for me.  However, the Hanson Marathon plan I'm using rarely has any runs that are 5 miles.  Thursday's plan called for 10 miles, 6 @ speed.  I also planned on running another virtual race on Thursday, so I thought I'd put them together and have awesome, virtual race day. My friend Amy has a co-worker, Jeanne, who is fighting against breast cancer.  Amy and her friends organized a virtual race to raise funds to support Jeanne.  I hate cancer more than anything so it took me a half a second to sign up for the race.  The runners even got some awesome shirts, so now I have a kick ass shirt too.   Thursday's 10 miles had to be split into two runs, d...

I love when I can combine my training runs and virtual races and I was able to do just that! Yesterday was my scheduled 10 miler for marathon training - but it was also my friend, Leslie's, Kickin' Asphalt Cupid Virtual 5k .   I fully know that 10 miles is not a 5k, but running more is always better.  Right? If you are ever looking for a race you never need to go far.  Just check out Kickin' Asphalt.  Those girls  have a ton of virtual races lined up.   Then today I was able to run Rachelle's Virtual 5k today for her Grandma's 96th birthday !  I had 6 easy miles on the schedule - again, not a 5k, but a run is a run!   Today, the wind was brutal again and the "real feel" was -5F.  I wasn't about to run outside when I have a treadmill calling my name, so I woke up the husband and made him go to the gym with me.  Part of me felt a bit bad because he had just gotten home at 9pm last night from a brutally windy/cold 16 mi...

Happy 4th of July everyone!  What are your plans for the day?  This morning we'll be running the LL Bean 10K in Freeport.  It's turning into a yearly tradition.  I remember a few years back, thinking "wow, a 10K is such a long distance, I don't know if I can run that far" - but I signed up because I wanted the free shoes.  For a while there, if you were one of the first 400 to register for the race, you got a free pair of New Balance running shoes.  This year, the race organizers changed it to and had a lottery for the shoes if you registered by a certain date.  This year Ward won a pair of shoes in the lottery and I didn't.  Not a big deal because I haven't been a big fan of the make of shoes we've been getting and Ward has.  I spent Saturday working on making sparkle skirts for my girls.  I'm not a great seamstress at all and I hope they don't fall apart during the run.  I used this link from Moms Run this Town as my model...

Happy New Year to everyone! The girls and I started off our year on the right foot with 12 miles for 2012 on the rail trail.  The run started off a bit cold at 28F.  However, the sun was shining and there was zero wind.  Since it rained all day yesterday, the trail was super slick for at least the first half.  On our return run, after our 6 mile snack/water stop, we noticed the ice starting to melt in some place and the sun was warming up.  Today was one of those days I wished my Garmin could tell me the temperature.   It surely had warmed up significantly.  We were guessing at least to 38F.  Believe me.  In Maine, on January 1st, sun + 38F = real treat.  I'll take it as long as I can get it!   our trail this morning - we lived for this harder, crunchier ice - much better traction We also completed 2 of our virtual races today.   First up - Resolution Run   12 miles in 2 hr 4 min Points earned today: ...

Well, that's what I'm calling it anyway.  The original plan (before the 2nd holiday snow storm came to Maine) was for all 8 of us to meet on the rail trail and go out for our 1st Family 5K.  The boys were going to ride their bikes, the girls were going in the joggers and we were just going to run.   BUT, we were smothered with at least 10 inches of snow yesterday and it's not melting anytime soon.  Let's just say that bike riding and joggers are kind of out of the question right now. snow, already?  seriously?  ugh.   SO....change of plans.   We decided we would go out for our runs in two different groups:  1st Ward & Wade went out for their run, while Jill & I had kid duty.  Wade was the definite winner in the guy run as he made a mad dash through the snow to get to the door first. The 1st 5k of the run was dedicated to Daily Vitamin F's Virtual Thanksgiving 5k!  Thank you, Kiley, for putting this race on.  ...