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A Summer of Races

Happy Thursday. This is one of those weeks where I am ready for the weekend more than normal. I’ve had a few days at work that leave me feeling like this. I’m sure you all can relate as we all have these days sometimes, right?

I’m lucky to have great company this week as Bo’s parents are here visiting which is so refreshing. It’s so nice to have our family here. It’s such a treat since we live so far away but very welcome!

Instead of talking about work, let’s talk about something far more fun than that – upcoming races! I’ve missed racing so much and definitely realize now just how much I took the NYRR races for granted. Even though they tended to be expensive, having races to enjoy with running buddies scheduled so frequently was really nice!

I definitely do better when I have a goal in place or at least something to keep me focused on training and in completion health. Luckily, over the next few months I have at least one great race each month to keep the training fun alive!  I love that these are all new races and experiences too! I’ve never run in the highly talked about wall of color during a color run or completed a triathlon. Luckily, for four of these races I have great, fun ladies to enjoy each experience. The Color Run will be a huge party with Charlie, Leah and a bunch of the Team Naturally Run ladies while Laura and I will conquer the Mont Blanc 10k together in Chamonix though neither of us know what to expect.

Upcoming Races

June:

June 1st:  The Color Run in London

June 28th: Mont Blanc Marathon 10k

July:

July 24th: Geneva International Triathlon – short distance (500m+20km+5km)

September:

September 28th: Berlin Marathon

October

October 12th: Royal Parks Half Marathon in London

Some of these races, such as The Color Run and Mont Blanc 10k, will be nothing but fun with friends while the triathlon and the marathon are my summer focus races. Between now and the triathlon I am going to focus on biking and swimming while using the runs on my schedule to maintain my half marathon fitness. Once the triathlon is over my focus will return to running for the final 9 weeks of training.

Have you done a Color Run? Did you enjoy it or find the color annoying? Did the color come out of your clothes or were they ruined?

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ashleyd /

I Survived My First Night Trail Run

Tonight I conquered my fears and kicked off my training for the Mt Blanc Marathon 10k Trail Run. I know it sounds crazy to start training in November for a race which doesn’t occur until June but my coach and friend, Renaud, has great aspirations for me and those will not come without hard work. This evening’s trail run was a great diagnostic run, highlighting just how much work we have to do!

At 6pm we both changed from a work clothing into running gear, ready for a challenging run home. Finding a flat within walking distance of Renaud was one of the best ideas ever, by the way. It allows for plenty of time with this adorable little guy as well as proving to be very convenient for running together.

IMG_3731As Renaud strapped his spare headlamp to my head, ensuring it was tight enough, I reminded Renaud that as my coach, he needed to ensure I enjoyed tonight’s experience so I’d want to do it again versus feeling overwhelmed and defeated.  Before we started running he shared tonight’s workout with me:

A short 1/2 mile warm up to the ramp. 3 repeats up the ramp as fast as possible, followed by the rest of our run which would take us to a trail along the river heading back into Geneva until we reach the Lake and city area for a total of 5k.

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Our headlamps lighting the path, Renaud and I headed towards the river by way of sidewalks and smaller side roads. He reminded me that the goal was for me to run the entire time, stay safe, enjoy myself, and focus on breathing.

When we reached the ramp I realized that he wasn’t joking with the hill repeats. This ramp was not only steep but also covered in wet leaves and switched back and forth. I pushed through each repeat and in fact had my best time on the last one as I knew I could leave everything on the ramp as we’d have a recovery section of flat road heading towards the trail.

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I felt a calm when we entered the trail as the only noise was the fast moving river, our breathing and our shoes against the leaves. The trail was about 1.5 miles of rolling hills including one steep hill. The headlamp worked perfectly on its brightest setting and surprisingly I never felt like I was going to trip. Before I knew it we were exiting the trail and the lights of Geneva were suddenly around us. I loved the faces of people who saw our head lamps emerging from the path. They thought we were crazy!

Renaud did a great job with tonight’s plan as 34 minutes later I was exhausted but excited for the training!

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Our plan is to do one trail run per week in addition to a run up the Saleve every so often to serve as a practice for the actual race. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. It’s such a new, fun challenge for me and one that I know will also help me as I try to PR in some upcoming shorter road races!

In case you’re interested in trail running, these are a few articles I read before tonight’s run to help put my mind at ease and get prepared!

Trail Running Tips for Beginners

Trail Running Tips from Runners World

Tips for Trail Running at Night

Have you run on a trail before? If so, any tips to share with others?

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November Goals

Happy Tuesday! November has arrived and with that, the promise that winter is quickly approaching! Check out the view from my desk this morning. Yes, that white line is the first snow which fell in the mountains last night! Soon we will be spending our weekends skiing and enjoying the cold weather but for now, I’m more than happy to enjoy a few more weeks of Autumn in Geneva and London. Afterall, the meteorologists and Farmer’s Almanac all predict another year of colder than normal temperatures and heavy snow for Europe. In advance of Winter and the holiday chaos, I find November to be a great month to reset after marathon training.

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Now that the marathon is over it’s time to redefine my goals. A creature of habit who needs constant motivation, I never like going more than two weeks without an end goal in mind. November is all about strength, both in mind and muscle.

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Mind: This evening Renaud eagerly asked me when we could begin running together. I laughed, not taking him seriously. Then I realized he wasn’t joking. “You have a trail race to win in June afterall Ashley.” I laughed at him knowing damn well that there is no way I’m going to win a trail race in June. In fact, I’ll be lucky if I can run the entire thing considering the elevation change and the fact that it will be my first. But, then as he continued to ask me when we could run and if he can coach me, I realized that my mind was getting in the way. I absolutely loved running the Saleve with Renaud back in February when I was a guest in his home and had no choice.  Why is it that I’ve lived here for four 3.5 months and haven’t been back up those challenging trails? My goal is to run with him at least once a week this month beginning with an after work trail run tomorrow night followed by a jaunt up the Saleve next Saturday. It’s going to be hard but until I get out of my own head I will never get stronger.

Muscle: Since moving to Geneva, strength training has taken a back seat. While I am still climbing stairs and walking a great deal daily, I would like to regain some of the strength I built during my year of personal training and then Barry’s Bootcamp and Uplift classes. I am doing this by getting back into the habit of doing pushups and planks daily in addition to two dedicated strength workouts each week. Today I finally took advantage of the lunch time Body Pump class offered in my office gym. It was fully in French and the weights were in kilograms which resulted in some weight and plate confusion but overall I loved every, sweaty minute! It was also a good wakeup call as I could feel my glutes engaging and left the class quivering all over. Bodypump 87 is definitely a challenging workout filled with lots of squats, lunges, chest presses, and clean and press! 

BodyPump

I’ll update you all each week on this month’s goals through training updates!

What are your goals this month in advance of the chaotic holiday season?

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