RunninginNHGirl: I am the Worst Blogger Ever!! Plus, Stitch Fix #7 and First 20 Mile Run!

I am not good at updating my blog, nor am I good at taking enough pictures for the blog!! Since it's been at least two weeks since my last blog post, I have a lot to write about AND pictures.

Marathon Training

Fifty more days until the Honolulu Marathon! I'm going into Week 12 of training, which is a cut back week! YAY!!! I'm doing an 18 week plan, with a 3 week taper...so technically, I will only have another 3 weeks of hard mileage and workouts.

Last weekend was my very first 20 miler, my friend Nicole was able to meet up with me for the first 12 (but she ended up doing 14!) We ran in an area that has significantly more hills than what I'm used to, but the company was great, and the weather was perfect!

The first 17 miles went pretty well, I was tired, but nothing too bad. Right around 18 miles however, I really was starting to feel exhausted- I felt like I was all but crawling up the hills and I just wanted to get back to my car. At 19.75 miles, I started walking...and called it a day. I felt silly for not just doing another quarter mile!

This weekend, I was scheduled to do 16 miles. I was excited for the run because I was going to be staying at a hotel in Columbia, Maryland for my friend's wedding. Like a true runner, I researched the area's running routes beforehand. The hotel I stayed at (in picture above), was right on a lake which supposedly had a trail that was 3 miles around. I figured I could do the loop 5 times and then tack on a mile.

I left Maryland from New Hampshire on Friday at 4:45; embarrassingly enough, I have never driven further than Connecticut by myself! I've always either had someone in the car with me...I was a little nervous, especially since I get really nervous on bridges....and knew that I would be driving over a million bridges in New York, Delaware and Maryland.

My GPS estimated that I would arrive at my hotel at 12:25am- that didn't seem too bad....but as I soon realized, that didn't factor in stopping for gas or food. I did stop for dinner in Connecticut, gas in New York and for Starbucks in New Jersey (the homeland :).)

At 12:25am, I was still in Delaware and really exhausted- my legs were also really achy. I finally made it to my hotel at 1:25am, and after quickly unpacking, was in bed by 2am....but Starbucks at 11pm is an obvious poor choice, so I didn't fall asleep until 3am. At 730am, I got up to meet my friends for breakfast. They were staying at a different hotel, so I had a 20 minute drive over to their breakfast place. Before meeting them, I felt really sick- again, lattes are not a good choice so late at night.

I felt a little better at breakfast, I had scrambled eggs and a slice of french toast. By the time I got back to the hotel, I again, was not feeling well, but knew I needed to get 16 miles in.

My trusty Nathan hydration backpack

I was super, super dehydrated and understandably exhausted. My stomach was so upset that I was wondering if I should just skip the beautiful lake run, and stay in the hotel on the treadmill. I've been so good about sticking to my training plan that I felt so much self-inflicted guilt about possibly not being able to make it 16 miles. I decided that I would start by warming up with a loop around the lake, then, if I was feeling okay, I would venture out into the town.
The loop around the lake was gorgeous, but my watch only read 1.5 miles (I wonder if it was supposed to be 3km but 3 miles!) I had to run back to the hotel because I was sick to my stomach, my legs were super achy, and again, really dehydrated. The next few miles were a little better, but I definitely felt super tired and really off. Around 9 miles, I was completely losing steam and getting really frustrated with myself. It's easy to forget that everyone has bad running days, and that it's smart to not try and overexert yourself, especially if you're not feeling well....but, I was being stubborn. Finally, at 11 miles, I was starting to feel clammy and was dizzy- I had to text Angela and let her know what was going on. My phone also died shortly after texting her, so poor Angela left a message making sure that I wasn't passed out on the side of the road. :) I managed to get some soup at Whole Foods (next to the hotel), and called Angela to let her know that I was not passed out. Angela made me feel a lot better, and reminded me that it's just one workout- and everyone has bad days. I took a shower, and fell asleep for an hour and a half...then woke up and had to get dressed for my friend's wedding with 10 minutes to spare! oops!

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and such a fun time!! I managed to get around 6 hours of sleep, and was able to do 3 (albeit, very slow) miles this morning before heading back up for the drive to New Hampshire. I am back now, and really sore, and really tired! But, had a great weekend....and plan on at least 8 hours of sleep tonight (I hope.)

STITCH FIX #7

I received my seventh Stitch Fix order last week, and loved every single piece! My wallet hates when that happens, but I was really excited, especially since last month's was so so.

I wasn't great at taking pictures of this month's shipment, but I kept every single piece.

1. A pair of navy blue skinny jeans- super cute, perfect fit and perfect length

2. A chunky, butterfly-style sweater (black and white)- not sure if I can pull this style off, but it's really warm and will be perfect for the Winter

3. Orangish-red jersey shirt- wore it on my drive to Maryland, and I got compliments from people at the gas station in New York, so I took that as a win. ;)

4. Red knit dress- will be great for work!