Transitions

I have transitions on my mind this week.

This morning I ran what will hopefully be my last real "winter" run. It was a whopping 5 degrees, windy, and starting to snow. That has been all too common this winter. I hardly remember what it is like to run not wearing 5 layers of clothing. I feel like my shoulders are permanently hunched up around my ears from being cold all the time.  But the weather forecast in Tokyo for marathon day is 45 degrees and sunny. I'm planning to wear capris and a t-shirt. I can't wait to feel the air and sun on my skin.. I am hoping this trip will be my transition into spring. When we get back it will be March and hopefully warmer weather will start returning to Maine.

perfect for skiing. Not so perfect for running. 

This trip also marks a transition in my professional life. I am finishing my current job today and starting a new one when I return. On one hand, it will be amazing to leave for a trip with no work hanging over my head and not to return to thousands of accumulated e-mails. On the other hand, it is scary to be returning to something totally unknown. I am a worrier, I struggle with change. But I will do my absolute best to embrace this and see it as a period of freedom.

And that's all for now. I'm off to Japan bright and early tomorrow morning and I have SO much to do. I have no idea if I'll have consistent internet access, or time to blog, while I'm there. So this might be it for awhile. But, I'll be back in March with exciting stories to share!

Priorities

As I was making the shift over to the new blog, I was looking back at my posts for the past few months and noticed that the marathon related content was pretty minimal. Considering that the Tokyo Marathon is now just a week away, you'd think that would be dominating the blog lately.

I think there are 2 reasons why this training cycle and race haven't dominated the blog, or my life, to the same extent marathons have in the past. One, this is my 6th marathon and 5th continent. While marathon training is never easy, and I am still nervous about the race, I am pretty confident that I will at least finish. I've done all this training before. When training for my first marathon every long run was a new personal distance record. OMG I ran 15 miles, OMG I ran 18 miles, OMFG I ran 20 miles! I still feel accomplished after a long run, but I don't have that same sense of absolutely amazement.

Secondly, my life priorities have shifted.



I feel like I have three main areas of my life: work, relationships, and running/fitness. While they all are a part of my life all the time, one of them usually tends to be more dominant. In the past, I let marathon training dominate. But this time, I got engaged, started planning a wedding, and have some great new friends in my life. Plus, there was a lot of work drama and decision making going on. Relationships and work took up a lot of my physical and emotional energy. I did my training, but I didn't obsess over it. And I am okay with that.

How has your perspective on races changed over time?

International Race Series: Travel Logistics

In my series of posts about International Races I aim to share some of the lessons I've learned while trying to run a marathon on all 7 continents.

In the first post of the series, we talked about how to choose a race. Once you've chosen a race, it is time to book your travel!

DIY or a Professional?
The first decision to make is if you are going to book your trip yourself or use a professional, like a travel agent. What you decide may vary from race to race.

When it comes to DIY or using a professional it all comes down to TIME and EXPERIENCE. I travel a lot for work so I am fairly adept at putting together a trip. But, if you are either short of time for planning, or your head starts to spin when you try to navigate airline websites, it might make sense to outsource to a professional.

Only one way into this race!

For me the deciding factor is race entry. There are some races that you can only get into, or have a much better chance of getting in, if you use a specific travel company. For example, the Antarctica Marathon is organized by Marathon Tours. In order to run the race, you must book the trip with them. They were also able to guarantee my entry into the Tokyo marathon if I booked the trip with them.


If you have a very specific race you want to run, and it can be difficult to get into, it may be well worth it to use a travel company to book your trip.

Alone or With a Group?
It is also important to decide if you want to travel by yourself or as part of an organized group. For me, I make this decision based on COMFORT LEVEL, TIME, and EASE OF TRAVEL.

I am an experienced traveler, but there are still places that I prefer to have a guide for some of the trip.  I know absolutely no Japanese and that Tokyo is a huge, busy city. I decided I would be more comfortable having a travel guide and being part of group. In Rome on the other hand, I was good being on my own. I had lived in Italy for a year in college and speak fairly fluent Italian.

You can never see the Trevi fountain too many times

The other reason I used a tour company for Japan is that I don't have a lot of time there. I want to see as much as possible. Their experienced guides arranged an itinerary meant to maximize our time. I won't spend any time getting lost like I might on my own!

There was only 1 way to get to Antarctica

Finally, some countries are easier to navigate than others. Some have great public transportation that is safe and reliable. Or, it is easy and safe to rent a car. But, if it isn't that easy to get around on your own, it is worth it to be tour company that will quickly and easily get you where you need to be!



When to Travel?
Ideally we could all travel to our race destination well in advance of the event in order to adjust to the new environment and still have time to stay after an enjoy the sights. In reality though, most of us can't take a month off for a race!

What I have found works best for me is to arrive 3 days before the race and then stay as long after as possible.

Leaving a buffer of at least 2 days before the race leaves room for potential travel delays. Travel delays are frequent, but they are a lot less stressful if you aren't worried about missing the race. Our flight was cancelled on the way to Chile and we were stuck in Texas for the night. But, we still had a buffer before the race, so all was okay! This also leaves time to adjust somewhat to the new time zone and climate. If there is going to be a significant time change, I start adjusting my sleep schedule in the week before.

I don't like to get there too soon before the race, because I want to save the bulk of my tourist time for after the race. Before the race I am too worried about spending too much time on feet, eating something strange that will make me sick, staying up to late, etc. After the race I can really cut loose and enjoy the trip.

post race Pisco Sours in Chile

Other Assorted Advice

Keep tracking airfare and hotel prices even after you've booked. If they drop significantly, you can get a refund to the new lower rate!

Apply for your Passport waaaay before you think you'll need it!

Make 2 copies of your passport, leave one at home with a family member or friend and bring the other with you, but keep it separate from your actual passport!

If using a travel company do some research to make sure they are reputable and have high satisfaction rates.

A blog make-over!

I woke up today feeling inspired to totally re-do my blog. I wanted a new look and a new name. First of all, in just a few short months I will no longer be a twenty-something. So I needed a new name. And while I was re-naming it, why not also give it a new look? Don't forget to update your bookmarks, Bloglovin subscriptions. etc to the new url!

Twenty-Six for a Twenty-Something is now Mainely Running @ mainelyrun.blogspot.com

Tokyo Training: The END!

It's taper time! Some runners hate tapering. I, however, am a fan. I love knowing that all my training is in the bank and that I can let my body rest and recover so I am race ready.

The last 4 weeks of my training were certainly not by the books. Due to weather, illness, and a generally busy life, I had to play around with the timing of my long runs and I missed some runs in the way. Despite that, I still feel pretty good about my training. I did every single one of my long runs and felt strong on all of them.

a solid month of training

Level 21
4 runs. I actually did my longest run for this week the Thursday of the week before. The forecast for the weekend was dismal and I had a full schedule.
Longest Run: 12.61 miles

Level 22
4 runs for a total of 30.03 miles
Longest Run: 18.91 miles

Level 23
3 runs for 21.36 miles
Longest Run:  7.2 miles

Level 24
3 runs for 32.44 miles
Longest Run: 20.3 miles

Overall, I really liked the Level Up Training Plan. Although I didn't follow it to the letter, I did 90% of what was in the plan. I really liked the gradual progression, the mix of runs, the built in rest weeks, and the satisfaction of crossing off my runs and jumping up a level. The proof though, as they say, is in the pudding. So we will see how well it prepared me for a marathon.

I'm done fighting winter

I am a Maine girl and I usually love winter, but this year I have either been fighting it or fleeing from it. I either tried to run outside and spent the whole run angry at the terrible road conditions or went to the gym and suffered on the treadmill. I think this was because I was trying a new marathon training plan. I felt like I needed to get every single run in.

But now that I am in taper mode, I am trying to get out of this mindset and embrace winter instead. Why keep forcing myself through runs that I don't enjoy when I could be doing a winter activity I do enjoy?

I was going stir-crazy by the time I was done with work yesterday. I was just SO tired of being in my house. So I decided to try my snowshoes. I got them a couple years ago thinking I'd use them all the time- most of the trails near me are too snowy for running and too uneven for skiing. The first time I tried them they didn't stay on my feet, and I got so frustrated I threw them in the basement. But yesterday I dug them out and success!

I went for a 40 ish minute tramp around Hinkley park right across from my house. It was so beautiful and peaceful and I worked up a good sweat!

Inspired, as I started thinking about my workout for this morning, I decided to go for a cross country ski instead of a run. I headed to the Eastern Trail in Scarborough. It was an absolutely beautiful morning. The sun was shining, making the snow sparkle. The marsh was all frozen and because of the cold, there was cool sea smoke rising off the water,

When I first arrived I was excited because I saw tracks. Someone else had already been there and done all the hard work of breaking trail! Unfortunately, those tracks only lasted about 20 feet and then I had to break trail.

 I was not moving very quickly, but I was sure getting a work-out. Pushing 10 inches of snow out of the way gets the lungs and the legs burning!

Once I turned around and headed back I got to use my own tracks and the skiing got much easier! I felt like I was actually gliding a little instead of just slogging forward. I only went about 3.5 miles in an hour, so I certainly wasn't flying. I probably would have gotten a better workout doing a speed session on the treadmill, but I was so much happier out on the trails. 

Have you been enjoying the winter weather?

Three Things..... Wednesday?

Okay, so I know it is supposed to be Three Things Wednesday. But I feel like I owe you guys a post, and I just can't come up with a coherent post about a single topic today. So here is what is happening in my world.

1. I leave for Japan two weeks from today! I signed up for this trip more than 9 months ago, so my initial excitement faded a long time ago. It always seemed so far in the future and then it was overshadowed by the whole getting engaged and planning a wedding thing. But now I am just starting to get super excited again. I went and checked out a couple travel books from the library. I can't wait to eat my body weight in sushi.

2. It is snowing here today. A lot. And it is supposed to snow again Sunday. I don't care though! I have all my marathon training long runs done and now it's time to relax and taper. Plus, it means the skiing should be awesome this weekend.

3. I have the taper munchies. Seriously. I.can.not.stop.eating. There is something about tapering that just makes me want to stuff my face. Last night we had some cake after dinner. Then I went out to do errands and I stopped at Orange Leaf and got an absolutely enormous fro-yo. Someone stop me!!

I made this dark chocolate caramel sea salt cake for my BFF's birthday. And ate most of it myself.