I can’t believe race month is here! Just a few more Training Tuesday posts before it will be time for my official Cleveland Marathon Ambassador wrap up post for half marathon and 8k!

BUT I’m getting ahead of myself. Speaking of being an ambassador, this week, we had a meet up with a few of the other race ambassadors. It was great to get some swag (check out my cool beer mug!), see some of the goodies (the marathon medal is HUGE!) AND  of course, catch up with my other running buddies.

Now, onto this week’s runs.

Sunday: None! B wasn’t home and I didn’t get a chance to get in a run with FW. Which was fine, my body needed to recover from the previous day’s 10 miler.

Monday: 5.85 miles on the treadmill. Had not much sleep thanks to a cranky baby at night, but was happy to be able to get in a run after Sunday’s off day.

Tuesday: 4.5 miles. 9×400. Did the 400s at 7.7 pace and did a warmup and cool down.

Wednesday: 3ish (?) miles. The treadmill shut down around 1.3ish miles, but in not sure exactly how much I had run. Got on a different machine for 1.7 more  and before I knew it, FW was up crying for me. Glad to have gotten in 3ish miles. minute tempo run on the schedule.  Started out super tired,  but ended up running a little longer- 40 minutes,  then cooling down. All done inside, on the treadmill.

Thursday: 5.15 treadmill miles. 4.15 or so running and 1 mile walking.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: 6.29 miles outside!! 2nd Sole, a local running store had set up some training runs for the Cleveland marathon, half and 10k events. While I should have done the half marathon training run (12 miles), Saturday was my sister-in-law’s wedding, so due to timing (and not wanting to be super tired), I did only the 10k. It started out cool and rainy but ended up being decent weather for a few miles. AND it’s always nice to step outside my comfort zone and run with a group!

And that was it for the week – 24ish miles! 

Some questions for you:

• Do you like to run in groups?
• What’s your ideal running weather?

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

BRR! Where did the springlike weather that we were having just a few weeks ago go? Thank goodness I’m still early in my half marathon training and don’t mind the treadmill – because there was no way I was running outside much of this week. Speaking of which, it was a pretty uneventful, average week for me in terms of training.

I rounded out the week with 23.33 miles:

Sunday: 6.33 miles on the treadmill while FW slept. I was hoping to do 5 or 6 and made it to 6! FW woke up while I was running but B kept him entertained. Post-run baby hugs are the best 🙂

Monday: 27 minutes on the elliptical. Had planned to do more, but of course FW woke up I was working out and eat it too

Tuesday: 4 miles. 3.5 miles with.5 cool down on the treadmill.

Wednesday: 5 miles.  30 minute tempo run on the schedule.  Started out super tired,  but ended up running a little longer- 40 minutes,  then cooling down. All done inside, on the treadmill.

Thursday: 4 treadmill miles. 3.5 running and .5 mile cool down.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: 4 indoor miles. It was COLD out. And by cold, I mean 20s and oh yeah, IT’S MARCH! That – and since I was going to be out late Friday night, I decided not to sign up for the state Malachi 5 mile  race. I had 3 pace miles on the schedule and ended up doing 3.31 at 9 minute mile pace and cool down for until I got to 4.

And that was it for the week – 23ish miles! 

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Woohoo – what a great week for running. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep it up, but I met my informal goal of getting in at least 20 miles. Before I get to the mileage- first, the fun stuff.

Congrats to Caryn, who won my giveaway last week! Caryn wins entry to the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. AND congrats to Cari, who won my Instagram giveaway – the book, Running with the Police Escort, by local Cleveland runner and fellow marathon ambassador Jill.

Okay, onto the miles. I rounded out the week with 22.25 miles:

Sunday: 2.5 miles on the treadmill while FW slept. He only slept for 20ish minutes, thus the short run.

Monday: 3.2 miles on the treadmill.

Tuesday: 6 miles on the treadmill. Ran for about 5 and had a .75 mile warmup and .25 mile cool down.

Wednesday: 3.85 miles on the treadmill (sensing a pattern?).

Thursday: 2.5 miles on the treadmill. Legs felt pretty heavy so I ended up hitting up the elliptical after the short run.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: 4.2 miles OUTSIDE. That’s right – OUTSIDE!

B, FW and I went to the park to run because it was 60 degrees and it was GREAT.  It felt so great to run outside and AND B pushed the stroller through all the uphills so that helped 🙂 FW didn’t put up a fuss until the last .5 miles or so. You can see he’s not happy in the above picture B took.

And that was it for the week – almost 23 miles! 

It’s supposed to get cold again this week, so we’ll see if I am able to get outdoors at all. I’m so glad I was able to enjoy the warmer January weather this past weekend! It makes all the difference.

I haven’t started officially training for the Cleveland half yet, but I probably should soon. The longest run I’ve done post-pregnancy has been 6 or 7 miles so I still have a ways to go!

 Cheers to a great week of training and running!
Disclosure: As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I receive complimentary race entry AND a free race entry to give away! I also get a cool t-shirt (should be here soon!) and invited to some special events. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

It’s GIVEAWAY time!

I’m excited to share that as a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I get to give away a race entry! You could receive one complimentary race code for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon 10K, Half-Marathon or Full Marathon events that will be the weekend of May 20! (If you want to just head to the giveaway, scroll to the bottom of this post – I won’t judge)

I admit that I’ve been slacking in the racing/training area. Why? I am blaming it on the baby.

my running buddy/excuse

Getting little sleep at night and only 3-4 hours of uninterrupted sleep (sometimes less…sometimes more?) at a time and often less than 7 hours of sleep total at night has played its toll. And my free time is much more limited. Between work, existing after-work activities (work events, book club, board meetings and events, my lovely ladies craft beer society), and life – running is not always a priority.

representing CLE on a stroller run in Columbus!

I’m not going to lie – I still run multiple times a week. But I’ve been enjoying NOT training for anything and just enjoying my sleepy runs when I get them in! Anyway – that’s why I’ve decided that I’M GOING TO RUN THE HALF MARATHON. And you should join me! If you’re planning on getting in shape or being more active in 2017, here’s your chance – you can win entry to any one of the Cleveland Marathon races! 

What’s so great about the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon – and why register?

The history: The Cleveland Marathon is one of the 50 oldest marathons in the country – while I’m sure the course (and scenery) has changed throughout the years, it’s great to run in a race that you know has so much history. And this year is its 40th anniversary!!

The course! I’ve only run the half and the 10k, but in my opinion, it’s a good view. Cleveland is a city of many neighborhoods and running the race (half, full and 10K) allows you to get a glimpse at some of these. The course is relatively flat and offers a variety of scenes. I also personally love races where I can be in an urban environment, so I’m biased and love that this offers that. (Disclaimer: the only part of the race I don’t like is the end. The dreaded shoreway. It’s hot (or freezing – like last year!) and long and boring and hilly!)

on one of the said “hills” – the Lorain Carnegie bridge!

The fans! Just as our neighborhoods are diverse, so are the spectators – but they’re cheering you on, excited to see you, holding signs, water, snacks and even beer for the runners. Even last year when it was SLEETING there ended up still being some people out to cheer us on. 

The challenge series! Last year I was pregnant so I did the 5k/10k series. It’s fun to do a two-day event and also get a special medal. I’m leaning toward the 8k/half marathon this year! The 5k and 8k run at Edgewater Park on the near west side of downtown so you can get in some beach AND downtown views!

Here’s how to enter to win the GIVEAWAY – these are all worthy of separate entries so – please leave a separate comment for each way you choose to participate!

1. Leave a comment on this post. You can explain why you want to run the race OR if you’ve run before, your favorite part of the race. OR just tell me your favorite running mantra. What keeps you going?
2. Follow @koskim (me!) on Twitter and leave comment telling me you did.
3. Follow @koskim (me!) on Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.
4. Follow @clevemarathon on Twitter or Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.

The giveaway will run through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday January 20. I’ll connect with a winner on January 21.

Disclosure: As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I receive complimentary race entry AND a free race entry to give to you! I also get a cool t-shirt (should be here soon!) and invited to some special events. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!