Category Archives: Running

Dating in Miles.

First dates are weird. They’re awkward, sometimes nervy, full of scrutiny and/or naiveté and they never seem to be truly predictive… that is unless we’re referring to my first date with the Mr. … which is totally another story not for the eyes and ears of the blogosphere.

First dates with running shoes – they kind of follow the same steps. Awkward. Looking for faults. Hyper aware. Hyper Sensitive. All the while hoping I’ve found something for the next long-term journey. Yes, I over analyze the getting to know you part of testing out new running shoes. and by the way, I am completely unfaithful to only one pair of shoes at a time. I prefer a rotation.

In truth, it takes me about 50 first ~~dates~~ miles with a pair of running shoes to really know if I love them, can have a one-night-run with them every once in a while, add them to the rotation or if I absolutely cannot run with them.

Here’s a little journey of my first 50 miles with the Saucony Kinvara 4′s.

Standard theMFDre disclaimer here – I was sent a pair of Saucony Kinvara 4′s as part of my relationship with Fitfluential. That said, all opinions are completely unbiased and totally my own.

Pre Date Jitters: Warning: You’ve been Matched. And this date might totally #kickassimus.

Random package arrives on my doorstep…I’m a sucker for presentation and believe first impressions are everything. They look good, they feel good, profile looks good and they weigh mere ounces each. I think I might want to make out with these shoes. {Side note – I’ve run in Kinvaras before – liked them so much they came to Boston with me – so was kind of like a second first date – knew it was not going to be a bad one…but as everyone knows, time away and change is not always for good}….so off we went on 50 first miles.

First Date: Miles 0 – 7 – our first track workout together. Well, they’re certainly bright.

Date #2. Miles 7-13, a six-mile speed sesh through the neighborhood. That date went FAST. Still bright and total lightweights, but perhaps a bit stiff? I’ll give them another run.

Is it too early to take them on a weekender?

Guess not.

Date #3. miles 13-17 – four miles through the oppressive heat of Leg 1 during Ragnar SoCal. It was a brutal run. I had no time to focus on this date – I was in self-preservation mode – trying to get through this leg of the relay.

{image courtesy of Steph}

And the dates continued….

Miles 17-20 - a three and a half mile shakeout run pre-Big Sur. They were my B shoes for the weekend. Second best. The date before the date… you all know you’ve done that before. Right?

pleasesayIwasn’ttheonlygirlthatdoublebookeddates.

Miles 21-25 – an early morning 4 mile -14 legger with the homies. These shoes really know how to work a crowd.

Followed by back to back 12-mile and 10-mile turned kickassumus runs in crazy headwind this past weekend. And a 5-mile date with RP last night.

It was on Sunday’s 10 miler, that my crush with the Saucony Kinvara 4 became real {again}. They weren’t an instant sell. They started out just kind of meh. Sure they were bright and fun – and I love bright and fun. But I wasn’t sure they had much depth to them — perhaps because they’re so incredibly lightweight??? Or is that just the secret to them???

On Sunday’s 10-miler, I realized I never knew they were even there. Despite the force of the headwind, my feet continued to connect with the road and whiz along, super responsively and without hesitation. They glided over the sand-blown beach path without presence, and despite being so lightweight they delivered enough cushion that I never felt the pavement. I realized that I was running faster. better. stronger. And I liked it.

It was on Sunday date, that the Kinvara 4s became a permanent rotation in my “stable” of shoes and that running in highlighter yellow shoes is totally kickassimus.

{MF Dre}

and ps. the Mr.’s been obsessing over these. his review coming this weekend.

Big Sur.

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Running Big Sur last weekend was absolutely insane. It was hands down the most beautiful place I have ever run before. As I reflect on this course all I can think about was how breathtaking, how awe-inspiring, how impressive, and how surreal it was to run this course.

When registration for this race opened last year, I waited a little too long to pull the trigger and the marathon sold out. Big Sur offers a number of different distance options beyond the marathon – 21 miles, 10.6 miles, 9 miles a Marathon relay and a 5k. The 21 mile race was still open and as any marathon runner knows the last 5 miles can sometimes be a dark place… I figured being able to finish before getting to the last 5 was a win!

The race is a point to point course along Highyway One – that includes much of the world-renowned 17-mile drive. We were bussed to the start and as we were readying for the race, watching the sun come up, a volunteer came out and led us through a 20 minute yoga warm-up. Definitely a first for any race I’ve ever run. I was freezing and nervous – shivering probably from both!! The yoga helped get my blood flowing, steady my breath and relax my mind

At 7am sharp, the race started. I didn’t bring my camera. I didn’t bring a watch. I brought my music, but only turned it on for the 2 mile feat from Little Sur up to Hurricane Point – the craziest/most beautiful/hardest/windiest hill I’ve ever climbed. I wanted to take in this course with my eyes, my ears, my breath and my body. There’s this piece of me that wishes I had my phone to take pictures, but I also know that there is no way the pictures could have captured even an ounce of what I saw.

It was chilly – probably in the low-mid 40*s most of the course – and very foggy. The fog created this beautiful overlay hanging over the cliffs and the ocean - a beauty that a camera could not have properly captured.

The course was non stop hills and aside from the massive hill on the elevation chart which I well anticipated, I am glad that the chart below did not really allow me to visualize the details of the course. The hills were relentless.. relentless in providing me with the biggest grin as I tacked each and every one of them.

I have learned how to run (and appreciate) hills!!

This is by far one of the best races I’ve ever run. On all levels. I felt strong, confident and able. I LOVED the course. 21 miles along California’s most scenic coastline left me inspired, and grateful. I ran strong and without time expectations or goals. Turns out this works well for me. No watch, no time pressure. I ran one of the strongest races I’ve ever raced and came in 6th in my age division among the 21 mile runners. Now that was unexpected!!!

My recap feels choppy and inadequate in writing. I’m struggling to put the words on paper, but so completely fulfilled by the experience. Mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. It was all there. And probably the best vote of confidence I can give this race is that I plan to make sure I sign up early enough to experience the full next year.

And for those of you not interested in a full, I highly encourage the 10.6 mile race (which you can either run or walk) – everyone should experience this course, this view, these moments on foot…I can attest that very little compares.

{MF Dre}

Outfit details: Lululemon Run for Your Money Romper, Asics Arm Sleeves, Asics LS Race Shirt, Moving Comfort Luna Sports Bra, Pro Crompression Trainers, Nuun Visor, Brooks Pure Flow 2.

Anne Carr liked this post

Kickassimus.

The Most Beautiful Place Ever

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I had the most amaxing trip up the coast this weekend. More from my trip to Big Sur coming soon.

{MF Dre}

Heather Ashby, Peter Hopelain liked this post

12 Runners, 200 Miles, 30+ Hours – Ragnar SoCal Leg 3.

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Some of you know I ran Big Sur today…more on that very soon but not until I recap Ragnar So Cal….the final leg

After bringing the van in through the end of Leg 2, we hustled to the next major exchange, parked and crashed. 6 bodies passed out in the seats, across the benches and even on the floor of our.van. We were gifted about 2.5 hours of sleep before a waaaay to early text came from van 2 saying they had one runner left before they would be at the exchange. {Insert expletives here} and all of us were instantly in desperate need of caffeine, bathrooms, breakfast and a quick boost of adrenaline to rally for our final legs. Somehow Steph got us moving, Rachel kept us going and Janice pulled out a strong 9 miles to carry us half way through our legs.

Exchange 27 was by far the most scenic thus far and we hung out by the water and greeted the morning as we waited for Janice to hand off to Lauren.

{one leg to go}

Lauren took off and we went to the next exchange. And waited and waited and waited.

Yep. Wrong exchange. This was exchange 29, not 28. We had overshot it and Lauren was waiting 5 hilly miles back for Julie to grab the baton. Once we realized our error, we jumped back in the van, rescued Lauren, and sent Julie hauling.

and she hauled

and I booked it out of that exchange.

exchange 29 photo courtesy of Lauren

I’m not going to lie, that beautiful bridge only paved the way to another brutal hill and the temps were already back in the 80′s. awesome

So I hoofed it. Trying to tap in to some of my mojo from the night before aaaaand it worked. Multiple kills up that hill and an insanely strong last 2 miles – both paced around 7:30 minutes. Whaaat?? Yeah, I don’t know who I was either.

photo courtesy of julie

and Lauren

and with that I wrapped my final leg of Ragnar SoCal.

Van 2 took off for their final legs and we headed down to the Embarcadero in San Diego to dominate some pizza and beers. The perfect recovery for bleary eyed, adrenaline filled, hangry runners and waited for our final runner to bring us all through the finish.

and it felt so good.

Even with a multi-part recap, I’m still struggling to communicate just how fun this was. So much fun that I want to do it again and again and again {oh wait, I am} And I want all my friends to do it too – it is one hell of an experience and I can’t say enough thank you’s to Ragnar for sponsoring me on this journey.

Have you run Ragnar? Which Ragnar would you pick?

Anyone else doing Ragnar Tahoe Trail?

{MF Dre}

12 Runners, 200 Miles, 30+ Hours – Ragnar SoCal Leg 2.

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About 7 hours after we exchanged air leg 6, van 1 was back on duty. We had spent the last few hours ~~showering~~ baby wiping, rehydrating, fueling and stuck in awesome Friday afternoon Southern California traffic as we made our way to exchange 12. Collectively we were about to cover about 40 miles over Legs 12-18.

Between the hours of 6:30p – 6:30a all runners are required to wear headlamps, reflective vests and tail lights….good thing because things get a bit cray at night on the back-lit mountain roads leading out of Orange County and into San Diego.

Steph led us out the gates again and into the night sky.

Followed by Rachel who made 8 miles look easy until a stray dog started chasing her {pic not included}. Then she made hauling it into exchange 14 look easy!

And then Janice took off into the pitch black sky lit only by a feeble headlamp. The van made a quick CVS stop on the way to the next exchange and just as we arrived at the exchange we got a text from Janice.

ROAD KILL?? nope.

She just got a little tough love from the course and needed her elbow bandaged.

!!!Emergency Triage Van to the rescue!!!

Seriously that is how dark it was!! Rachel and Lauren performed a little on-course triage before sending Janice back out onto the path. {note: if Janice would have needed it one of us to take over her leg, one of us would have totally stepped in, but she’s a beast and was hardly going to let a skinned elbow stop her from total kick a** domination}.

She slap-bracelet exchanged with, Speedster, aka Lauren, who took off for a quick 6.7 miles turned 8 miles when she and a group of runners got lost on an unmarked golf course and then doused by the sprinklers. Told you Ragnar at night turns is a little cray…. dogs, spills, sprinklers???

Julie dominated her next leg in sparkles…bet you didn’t know they also double as reflective gear and we exchanged at 17 for my 7.5 mile beast of a leg{Photo courtesy of Lauren}

yep. 2 miles straight uphill. ask me how that felt???

there’s a reason I’ve been running these hills. I started out pretty conservatively but consistent. I was determined to run the entire hill. I turned on pandora via my road noise vest and started getting into a patterned stride. Focused, breathing, determined. And one by one I started passing people on the hill. PASSING PEOPLE. I passed 10 runners on this hill. WHAT??? For those that are not familiar, this is not your typical course….there are not a ton of runners out at one time. You’re pretty spread apart, single file along the road. There can easily be a quarter-mile or more between runners. So yeah, 10 kills on the first hill alone. That decline was so sweet. The air was cool – probably in the 40′s – a whole different run than my first and I was absolutely jamming down this hill and back up to the finish.

Interestingly, I thought I would have been scared or nervous running along the side of the road through the mountains in the middle of the night. 1:30a really isn’t a time that I would ever consider running — ever. But this was by far my favorite leg of the race. Maybe because I dominated the hill and totally upped my confidence that I could be a hill runner (and had another 2 kills after the first hill). Maybe because it wasn’t hot. Maybe because it was beautiful running along the mountain and under the stars. Or maybe just because I knew that once I was done I could try to nap it out for a few hours… who knows??

but this smile is all heart. all hill domination. all happy.

I think each of us would likely say, Leg 2 was frickin’ awesome.

Have you ever run in the middle of the night?

{MF Dre}

Shannon Harris liked this post

12 Runners, 200 miles, 30+ Hours — Ragnar SoCal Leg 1

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If anyone ever asks you to join a 12-person, 200 mile relay, do.not.think. Just.say.yes. Seriously a no-holds-barre, 100% committed YES.

Two weeks ago, as the Mr. and I were in the RV driving up to Gods Country for his race, I got an email from some friends at Ragnar asking me if I wanted to join a team of bloggers for Ragnar SoCal. Crazy timing as I had literally just told the Mr. I was craving a little adventure.

Insert immediate YES to the question from Ragnar and I quickly became a Ragnarian, completely naïve, but wholly enthused about whatever it was that I was about to take on.

6 van mates/strangers sharing extremely close quarters for 30+ hours didn’t sound all that bad after all…. Or did it??

So here’s how it worked. Ragnar paired our team of 6 with another team of 6 to create a full team of 12. I guess originally there were 12 of us but last-minute 6 people dropped out… so pairing us with another team of 6 was the perfect solution because despite being a team, the only real interaction you have during the relay is with your 6 van mates anyway.

Steph, Fit Mom In Training

Rachel, Running Rachel

Janice, Fitness Cheerleader

Lauren Sugar Coated Sisters

Julie, Angry Julie

Our start time was 8:30am Friday which meant the van was loaded and we were at the starting line by 7a for check in, gear check (each runner must have a reflective vest, headlamp, and tail light) and safety debrief.

it’s pretty hard to take a man in a full orange body suit seriously as he calls out info, but we tried

A quick handstand at the start and we were off and running at 8:30a with Steph leading us out of the gates and down the beach path in Huntington Beach.

(Photo courtesy of Julie)

We swiftly made it through 6 legs, passing the “slap bracelet” baton, though not without challenge – it was HOT! And our routes had zero shade…something none of us were truly prepped for.

I held the closing role in our van, going out for my first 4 mile leg around noon. – the final leg that brought us through the finish of Van 1, Legs 1-6. You’ve seen my recap in photos of Leg 1. This should have been my easiest leg …

Starting with a decent decline followed by a couple flat miles, seems like it would have been a slam dunk but the sun was blazing and I struggled to keep a decent pace. I felt slightly defeated by the heat and my personal aspirations to kick a** every leg of the race, but I wound up having a little chat with myself along the route and reminded myself I was there to have fun (and it was only 4 miles – not 26.2 miles of brutal heat like Boston last year). I pulled it back a little to not keel over from heat exhaustion (so dramatic I know) — I wanted to make sure I would have the energy to kick it into high gear on my middle of the night second leg and soon to be sleepless third leg.

and guess what?

I stopped wimping out and being a heat index drama queen and totally made it.

(Photo courtesy of Steph)

Running into the first major exchange where Ragnarians from 650+ teams cheered you in and readied their second vans for legs 7-12 was pretty frickin’ cool.

And since this is long enough, Legs 2 & 3 details coming soon.

Do you love or hate running mid-day?

Ever run Ragnar? or a Relay like this?

{MF Dre}

Julie Dance, Heather Rusch Gonzalez liked this post

Leg 1 in Photos: Ragnar SoCal

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{MF Dre}

Packed, Carbed and Ready

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I had a late afternoon meeting in Burbank yesterday afternoon and then jumped back on the road to get to Newport Beach for the start of Ragnar So Cal.