NEO CED Ladies

Last November, after a 3rd year of struggling to race fast again, I happened into an incredible group of ladies. They have taught me a lot and helped me to reach goals I believed were no longer achievable for me. Ryan asked for a picture Blog so here it is Ry! Enjoy!

Jennie- One of the best friends a gal could ask for, she has been a staple over the last 10 years actually and I love seeing her move up in distance from the 800 to 5k and even a half marathon last year. She is FAST, and inspires me to try to find my sprinter side! Maria- She is a speedy little Zip, who has no filter and reminds me to laugh a lot at myself, and to remember that being a Zip is always something I am proud of!

This is after Johnny Cake 5 miler where we went 1 (Jess in the middle), 2 (me on the right), 3 (Nicole on the left) Jess- One TOUGH lady, boasting a 26:16 5 mile PR and still getting faster while being a mom! She has a great perspective, and training with her lately makes me hopeful I can be right up there with her next spring. Nicole- I mean, so much to say here, I have NEVER had a training partner like this. We never race in practice, always look out for one another, and have opposite, but complimentary strengths. These 2 ladies push me when were together, and get me out the door when it's just me and the roads.

"Girl Miles" only missing Heidi and Kaitlin here, up to the left of me is Lizzie- talk about regimented, Lizzie wakes up ready to better herself as an athlete and goes to bed dreaming about it. She was a sprinter in High School and I have no doubt will be an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon in 2016. She has the work ethic, and she is always good for a hilarious story. To the right of me you have Aubrey, "Aubs", "Aubtastic", and the list goes on. Getting faster every time she races, and reminding me that life is extremely funny. She can make nearly anything a joke and do it all without cracking a smile. Fantastic ladies that make me proud to be a member of Cleveland Elite Development.

This is a picture of the 2nd Place team at the USATF National Club Championships 8k. We had a ton of fun and raced very well to get 3 ladies in the top 10!

Just one more Nicole/Becki pic. We love pink (Nicole more so than I). This was before our 2 mile track race in July.

Ry and I enjoying some time not in running clothes! This is a rare occurrence for us!

Running Recap Late July-Early August

Since my last racing/running update I have raced twice, and have had a couple of good training weeks!

On July 21st (which happens to be 2 ladies I love very much birthday's), 7 Cleveland Elite Development ladies raced the Johnny Cake Jog in Painesville. We had a very hot muggy morning for it, but came away with some solid races. Jessica won in 26:41, I was 2nd in 27:48, Nicole was 3rd in 28:10, Lizzie was 9th in 32:12, Laura was 10th in 32:16, Aubs was 11th in 32:22 and Barb was 5th Masters (beaten only by women 12 years younger or more!!) in 35:47. Glenn looked proud after the race and it was fun to get a chance to hangout with all the local speedsters.

Mondays have been light running days following our lifting with Will at Aspire, and he is helping me to work on some pretty big imbalances I have created over the years. We usually have a group of 5-8 people running from Fleet Feet after and it is nice to enjoy some banter with our little group.

Tuesdays at the track are #girlmiles at their finest, and our workouts have been going in the right direction. On July 30th Nicole, Jennie and I laced up for a track 3200. I love 3k-5k. If I were leg speed fast I would never race one step above 5k! We got to the track that evening and did a longer warm up. We did our typical drills and strides and I scared Nicole and Jennie with my goal of running 77's. I felt that was probably as fast as I could handle right now, and they thought that was far too ambitious. But I was pretty set on it. After nearly strangling a kind, yet too talkative man on the start line (really we are being called to the line and you can't stop asking me about "is that a new tattoo?" despite me obviously choosing to ignore you?), we were set and off! 76 through 400 felt comfortable, but I knew too fast would come back to haunt me. So I slowed up a smidge to come through the mile in 5:05 high. I couldn't tell where Jennie and Nicole were, but I knew that if Jennie was within 5 seconds of me over 600 meters there was no way I could hold off her closing speed. So I raced a little scared. I managed 5:10 for the 2nd 1600 and a shiny new PR of 10:16. Jennie was 2nd in 10:3?, and Nicole was 3rd in 10:40. We had 4x1200 with 90 sec rest following at 82's and I let Nicole pull me through those. I was not feeling well. 12 miles later we were eating and giggling at Bricco. It was a fun night!

Wednesdays and Thursdays have been easy runs. A few from Lock 29, including one with Coachers that made my week. I haven't run with him since 2006 the morning after Mt. Sac Relays. It was nice to see him and catch up a bit. During these runs Nicole and I have decided to call Sigmund "Jeffy" and he seems to like his new nickname. Nicknames make me smile.

Fridays are tempo days and Nicole and I had a solid 11 mile tempo, so our longer fitness is improving.

Saturdays have been my long runs because of family/wedding obligations that are not very conducive to running long on Sunday. It has been great to get in 18 instead of 14-15 and I feel a lot stronger when I am used to being on my feet over 2 hours.

Sundays have been pretty light days and a good way to get ready to start our next week!

I feel pretty comfortable, but a bit tired in our half/marathon training cycle. It is a lot of fun really feeling like I am getting ready for a go at the Olympic Trials 'B' standard using the Akron Half in September. I am also excited for a trip the following week to visit Carol, Finan, and Nick while heading out to cheer for Nicole in Minneapolis on October 6th! Then 2 weeks later I get to watch Ryan (who's training is going really well) race his first full in Columbus! Because of the typically cooler weather and all of the races Fall is my favorite time of the year. This Fall is already looking to be a promising one!