outdoors – Jane Runs Wild

Staying Fit While Traveling

Happy Friday! Hope you’ve had a great week full of Halloween treats. I haven’t checked in since Marine Corps Marathon on October 22^nd, but just wanted to say that it was one of my most memorable races to date for several reasons. Stay tuned for a recap and some takeaways from the day!

In other news, Mark and I are in the middle of planning our next getaway- thinking of heading to South America! I have always been intrigued by that part of the world, as I grew up hearing my mom’s travel adventures from when she explored the region when she was about my age. While away, I’d like to keep up my fitness as much as possible but know how tough it can be while on vacation.

With the desire to just lay back and relax for the duration of your stay combined with the temptation of on-the-go treats, it’s sometimes a challenge to keep up with fitness. Here are some quick tips I have learned over time to keep motivated and focused during your travels.

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How Races Can Benefit Your Training

Good morning and Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend.

On Saturday, I ran the Black Cat Road Race in Salem, MA as a Boston Marathon training run.

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Race Day Countdown and Running Mantras

Hope your week is going well so far! I am getting super excited to RACE on Saturday! There has been so much build-up over the past few months, I am excited to finally get my prize: to run this marathon. Regardless of the race outcome, I know that I will reflect on the entire experience and smile. I am so thankful for my coaches, family, friends, and all of my amazing blog followers for their endless enthusiasm, support, and motivation throughout this winter training cycle. While running is only a hobby of mine, I have learned that goal setting is only half the battle: surrounding yourself with unwaveringly supportive people can significantly bolster your goal reaching capabilities and overall happiness. After this race, it will be my turn to encourage you all!

There are many ways to mentally (and physically) prepare for a race, or any big event. I have previously posted about the benefits of visualization, an exercise which I have been doing a lot of lately. Another powerful method for race preparation is positive thinking about the race and your ability to perform well. Here are other strategies I use to get ready for race day:

Review your training log and reflect on all of the work you’ve put in. On race day, trust your training and fitness, and have no doubts about your race plan. It also helps to reflect on the specific races or good workouts you’ve run during your training, and feel inspired by their results.
Visualize a positive race outcome, whether it be meeting your “A” goal (which I have for Phoenix, but won’t share until I meet it! :)), feeling strong at the finish line, and/or the joy you’ll feel after accomplishing a marathon.
As I mentioned above, remember that running is just a hobby (of mine at least)! While this race is important, keep in mind that there are so many others in the future. Try to relax! It’s important to stay focused on the prize of finally being able to run that race that you’ve been working towards for months!
Mentally prepare for the pain that is to come during the race (especially miles 23-26.2). But also keeping in mind that this pain won’t last forever:

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Outdoor Escape & RACE WEEK!

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend full of adventure, relaxation, and everything in between! Our winter weekend escape started on Friday with a five + hour drive northwest of Boston to the Adirondacks (Tupper Lake, NY to be exact!). For the majority of the country, this might be a typical weekend drive- but for us New Englanders, it felt like we were on an cross-continental expedition. :)

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See-Saw week!

Hi friends! Hope you’ve had a great week so far! Over here in Boston, we have seen some real highs and lows in terms of weather. See-sawing from from sub-zero temperatures last weekend to balmy 40 and 50 degree days and monsoon rains; now we are back to normal winter temperatures in the 30s. These are weather “problems” you can only get in New England! I enjoy mother nature keeping us on our toes.

After taking my runs inside for over a week, it was nice to get outside yesterday morning for my last speed workout on the calendar. I wasn’t in the great outdoors, yet it felt very peaceful being out there on my urban run.

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All About Balance

Happy Thursday! Hope your week has included some fitness and fun – not just work!

I ran both indoors and outdoors this week. I was nervously anticipating running on the treadmill yesterday since I took the treacherous (ok, slight exaggeration) second half of my long run inside last weekend. However, once I got going and fought some boredom, my mindset changed. A nice 2 mile warmup, 3X1200m @10k pace and 2X400m @5k pace , followed by a 2 mile cool down later, I was able to check off another speed workout. Only 4 more speed workouts until race day, which is only a little over 6 weeks away!

All of the layers (and a lot not pictured) for outdoor runs!