October Recap

Sitting here watching the NYC live stream on a gorgeous Sunday morning, cheering on elites and friends! One day I'll get there! 

Total run mileage: 110.2! Mission accomplished. 

Highest weekly run mileage: 34.6 -- you know, two halfs in a week will do that to you! Let alone the three halfs in 8 days I did... :)

# Runs: 23

# Rest days: 10. 

# Cross-training workouts: Lots of walking - around Portland, around New York, around Denver... lots of walking and exploring this month. I've been lucky. 

# Races: Lots of races! And lots more in November! 

     - Portland Half Marathon

     - Rock 'n Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon

     - Long Beach Half Marathon

     - Lexus Lace Up 10K

Favorite run: A super fabulous Halloween run yesterday with my run club ladies. Alice, the Queen and of course the Tweedles all checked in for an amazing 10 miler to round out my 110 mile goal - done and done! I love this run club and loved seeing how much people get in the spirit of Halloween, costumes, and all things fun! 

Hardest Run: That back-to-back #BKtoLB madness. See recaps for more, but man! As awesome as I felt in Brooklyn and having a 55-degree race start, going from that to a 100+-degree finish in Long Beach was difficult. I had a great time during the last 5K at Long Beach, but that was no joke! My legs were tired, and I definitely got to the point where it was just about the finish line, not the finish time!

Current need: Honestly? No needs. I'm making my mileage goals, survived the madness that October was (I spent nearly half the month away from home in three different states) and am feeling PUMPED to get through November and December and blast my 1000 mile goal out of the water. I. Got. This.

Current favorite: Spending Halloween with this guy at Disneyland. He got his costume for work on Thursday night (he was a banana), I had no costume, and we really had no idea what we wanted to do. A concert was thrown around, the idea of Disney post-run club and post-football for him, but we really couldn't make up our minds. Disneyland was a most excellent choice. T-minus 12 days until Christmastime at Disneyland (my absolute favorite!). 

Current goal: Now that I hit that 110-month goal, I've got my eyes on 1000 and I know it's actually in reach. I need to hit 113 in both November and December, but hoping that between the four half marathons I have in November, I can blast way past 113 and have an easy December. Time will only tell, but now that I know it's in sight, I'm really excited to get there! 


Month Goals: I made most of my October goals, or at least made good progress towards them, so I am super pumped about that. 

• 110 miles: Done and done! November goal: 115. 
• Start Strength Training: I didn't do anything. Seriously. With this fall running + pacing calendar, I need to get on it. November goal: strength train at least one time per week.
• Cut Back on the Soda: I'm doing okay at this still, but need to be better about sodas when I eat out. I'm upwards of 95 ounces of water a day, but still let myself indulge. That's okay, but would like to cut down a bit more too. November goal: Keep up 95 ounces per day / 1-2 sodas per week.
• Pay Off One Credit Card!: Done! Technically, this card is temporarily paid off, as I got a cash advance on my travel for my upcoming conference in Denver for work, but it still feels good to be collecting 0% interest on it for a few weeks! Still a win. November goal: Pay minimums + pay off half of Denver trip with remaining budget. 

An awesome October. I accomplished one of my year goals of running in two new states this year which was awesome (Oregon and New York make states #8 and 9).  I got to spend my birthday weekend in October with Doug, then fly to New York to visit my sister and run some more, and come back to run Long Beach and see Doug finish his 2nd of 3 races to finish the Beach Cities Challenge! I am excited and roarin' up for the fall and winter racing and pacing season (lots coming up!) and am feeling pretty psyched about it all!

Oregon, done! 

What are your biggest accomplishments from this month? What are you looking forward to next month?

The Ultimate 30th Birthday Blog Giveaway

Anne of Green Gables was pretty much one of my favorite series growing up, and when a friend posted this quotation on Instagram this morning, I was instantly taken back to remembering reading the first book on the plane to Hungary one year as a kid. Sigh. 

It's October, people!

How did that happen?

The cool thing about October is that it starts with my birthday - that's right, today's the day, folks! 

New month

New goals

New decade

New age group

Crazy talk. Since I started running nearly four years ago, I've been in the same age group, so while it was inevitable, it certainly hit me this morning that I've got a race on Sunday and my first time in a new age group! Excitement - we'll see how speedy some of these 30-year-olds are! 

But meanwhile, the best thing about this birthday is that for MY birthday, I'm giving out some sweet presents! I've got a ton of super awesome folks that wanted to help me celebrate my birthday by contributing to one of TWO sweet runner-friendly prize packs! I'm way excited about what I get to hand out and cannot WAIT to get these bad boys mailed off to two lucky winners!

Check it out:

- 2 3-pack headbands from Sparkly Soul

- 1 Spartan Race entry for any US location!

- A handful of my favorite Gu flavors

- ProCompression marathon socks

- High Visibility SPIbelt 

- KIND Snacks -- graola bars, swag, you name it!

- ViewSport Women's tank

These are all some of my favorite running-related things in the world and I cannot believe that they are giving me the chance to share the love with you two. The above list will be divided into TWO prize packs for two lucky folks to win! There are TONS of ways to enter (see below) and get yourself in!

While you're waiting though, you can still celebrate my birthday by getting yourself a sweet discount at Sparkly Soul -- because they're awesome like that and want to help me celebrate too! Use code MEGANSPARKLES for 15% off any individual headbands (not packs, sadly) through October 8. You're welcome. :)

Giveaway runs through 11:59 pm PST, October 8, 2015. Two prize packs will be created from the above list, with approximate value equal between the two. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What was the best birthday present you've ever received?

October Recap

Total run mileage: 98.5
Highest weekly run mileage:  27 (for two weeks!)
# Runs: 24
# Rest days: 9

# Cross-training workouts:  Two. Working on this, I swear. 

# Races: Three! Busy weekends! 

     - Long Beach Half
     - Race for the Rescues <-- Molly's second 5K!
     - Rock 'n Roll Los Angeles

Favorite run: This one, hands down (or hands up!). Pacing a friend to a new, rockin' PR was such a blast, and I'm so glad she gave me the chance. Spoiler: she's already asked me to pace her to a sub-2 in February! The pressure! But oh, the excitement! And I cannot wait. 

Most hardcore run: I don't know if 'hardcore' is the word, but looking back and seeing that I was able to make a 2-hour finish at RnR LA after 17 hours on my feet working the expo, plus an hour drive/train ride in each direction for the 48 hours leading up to the race. Though I'm sad about those 20 seconds, given that weekend... I'm pretty stoked with the result! And, really, I had a blast doing it. 

Clearly.

Current song: It's damn catchy. And it's grown on me a lot. And she's just fun. And Meghan is a good name, even if she spells it incorrectly. ;)

Current need: There are dozens of races that are popping up that I am desperately itching to run. But above all, I need to get registered for Surf City so I can complete my Beach Cities Challenge and get that extra super sweet medal. Now accepting donations... 

I also desperately need (okay, want) this new, limited KT Tape. Can you say "pretty" and right up my alley? Because I can! 

Yes please.

Current drink: Despite the rest of the country having what they call "fall" and "autum," the month started in Southern California at 100+ degrees. So yeah, um... ice water? Cold Gatorade? No warm fuzzy-feeling drinks here! It's too damn hot! 

Current favorite: Finally geting this in the mail! The trifecta is complete - and I've got the last of the Ragnar Napa story on Friday! 

Current triumph: Despite not making the 100 miles come to fruition in October, I rocked a 98.5 mile month after two 100 mile months in a row. Better yet, I actually listened to my body when it told me that I need to back off, even if that meant missing out by 1.5 measly miles. I've long said that one of the good things about having had two knee surgeries that I know that when I do feel a pain or a twinge, or that something isn't right, I know I need to back off... on the flip side, if I didn't have surgeries and/or didn't know something was wrong, I'd push and push and push and possibly end up with worse. Blessings in disguise, I suppose! 

Current goal: After finishing out October with just shy of 100 miles and that pesky day of stupid, weird knee pain, I'm determined to spend November not only racking up the miles some more, but focusing on strength. I don't have a gym membership right now, so I'm limiting myself to doing this at home - BUT I know there are tons of things I can do in my own livingn room. If I'm going to successfully get through marathon training and make my goals, I need to ensure that I'm taking care of my whole body and not just beating down on my legs, hips and knees. Here we go! 

What are your biggest accomplishments from this month? Goals for November?

October Recap

Total run mileage: 81.88 miles     highest monthly mileage ever!
Highest weekly run mileage: 24.91 miles     highest weekly mileage ever! 
# Runs: 18
# Rest days: 12

# Cross-training workouts: 3

# Races: 3

- http://runnermegan.blogspot.com/2012/10/race-report-timothy-roadrunner-5k.html

- Allstate ATL 13.1 Marathon Series

- Athens Half Marathon

Highest monthly mileage ever!

Favorite run: I can’t pick between the two halfs! PRs at both kind of boost that excitement about them… so I’m going with both half marathons! Sneaky, I know. :)

Most hardcore run: Going with the AllstateATL half – those hills were no joke when they came around, but man, I felt reallllly good for 98% of that race and was super proud on how I handled them. Athens was similar, but I felt more ready for it, where as I went into Allstate blind, and then still PRed and both. Happy racing month!

Allstate ATL 13.1 Marathon Series & a new half PR!

 Current reads: Guh, nothing this month. Failing at the book reading goal!

Current obsession: Trying to think and plan all the races I want to do in 2013. Too much that I’m drooling over, not enough cash to make it all happen.

Current drink: Water and Gatorade. More Gatorade this month than normal, but I’m really quite okay with it. Looking forward to cooler mornings so I can start my hot chocolate routine. :)

Current song: Truth be told, I’ve added Gangnam Style to my running playlist. Frankly, I think it’s one of the stupidest songs ever, but it’s got such a great beat it makes it easy to bounce along to. What’s a runner to do? (And here ,you get the UGA version!)

Current wish-list: A little extra cash for some running gear – my last pair of capris finally wore themselves down so much, I’m out of capris! It’s cold enough to start wearing full leggings soon, but I like capris for indoor stuff sometimes too! Womp. I’m headed to TJ Maxx later today, as I surprisingly found quite a few pairs that I loved last week, so I pray they’re still there!

Current need: Apparently, I need to finally suck it up and buy a second pair of shoes for a rotation. See ‘bane of my existence’ below. 

Current triumph: Two half marathon PRs this month – who does that?! Awesome races this month and I can’t wait to beast it again!

Also qualifying for Half Fanatics with a Neptune classification – woot!  Waiting on confirmation from them, but yes… I did it! I will technically qualify with both a and b – a is done (two halfs in 16 days) and b will be done after W&D (three halfs in 90 days). Excitement!

Athens Half - and the new half PR!

 Current bane of my existence: My Brooks have been giving me some nasty blisters the last two weeks – they started at the Athens Half and just keep getting irritated. Note to self, this is why folks have more than one pair of running shoes. If I could only afford another pair like right now. Womp.

Current goal: Keep up the base I’ve got as I head into Month 2 of marathon training. Yep, you read that right – October was technically Month 1, but I’ve masked it with Wine and Dine training – I think my brain works better in smaller increments. I’ve got a great base and feel more in shape than I have at any point in the last year +, so I’m just going to try and run with this (pun intended) as much as possible! More on that as soon as Wine and Dine is over – get excited!

Current indulgence: Dunkin Donuts’ pumpkin donuts. Heaven. They’re my Wednesday morning reward after a good workout (for the next three months, that’s 6-7 miles on a week day. Challenging for me!), so… lots of Dunkin love in my future.

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Current excitement: Austin this weekend! My cousin’s getting married on Saturday, so I fly out tomorrow! I’m spending Thursday down in San Marcos visiting some of my old students and colleagues, then heading up to Austin for dinner & drinks with some other folks. Friday, my uncle and I are heading out for some miles around Town Lake (!), then the wedding fun begins! And thennnn… the next weekend is Wine and Dine! Woot!  

October is over. Holy cow, where has 2012 gone? What are your biggest accomplishments from this month? Goals for November?

PS. Lovely recap format from Katy Beth ... because I like it. :)