The GAP Trail Relay – Runnin’ in a Van, Down by the River (for 150 miles)!

Hello and a Happy Monday to you all! I managed to get 5 miles in this morning, which normally isn't all that super duper impressive, but after the weekend I had it's pretty amazing. What did I do this weekend? I'm glad you asked... The GAP Trail Relay... 150 miles from Cumberland, MD all the way to Pittsburgh, PA with a team of 5 people (next time we'll add more since you can have up to 8 people). We had Gwen, Lissa, Brian, Bill and me (Randy)!

Advertisement

Things are Getting Real… T minus 3 days until the GAP Trail Relay!

Hello! I feel like I blinked and it's fall. I'm wearing short sleeves and realizing that perhaps a hoodie would have been the right choice today. Point of that little tidbit of info is that time has FLOWN and here I am, about to embark on a tremendous journey this Friday afternoon. The GAP Relay...

Product Review – Brooks Ghost 14 – Hauntingly Well-Rounded

Blogs... maybe they are an ancient relic of the olden times... but I'm still gonna do my thing here. Today, I have the pleasure of providing my review of Brooks Ghost 14s! I was eager to give these a try, since I hadn't run in Ghosts since Ghost 10s were all the rage.

Product Review – NOW® Sports Effer-Hydrate and NOW® Sports Effer-Energy – Hydration doesn’t take the winter off!

Greetings and salutations! I'm coming to you live from snowy Virginia (we FINALLY got a real snow day!). I just finished up a 50 mile week (woo hoo!) in preparation for the Blue Ridge Marathon and I'm only a little sore and tired. I'll take that as a win. In this cold weather, we often think about the fact that running will be much different than during the swampy times of summer. It's definitely different to some extent. Dressing ourselves becomes quite challenging. One layer too many and we're heading to sweat city. One body part not covered enough and the run becomes miserable. Some things aren't really different at all, though we think it is. Somehow, hydration becomes less of a priority at times. WRONG.

The America Runs Virtual 5k – I’m a sucker for the red, white and blue.

Here we are...August. It's crazy to even read that. 2020 has obviously been a year like no other and most of us are ready to put up the holiday decor and get this one over with. Normally, I'd have run several races by now and I'd be itching to rev things up for fall. I've been in a rut when it comes to my running (which isn't ALL bad). I've wanted to get to work with track and tempo days, but the nice and easy miles are just so nice and easy. With nothing on the calendar, it had been too easy to just stay easy.

I was given the opportunity to sign up for the America Runs 5k and to be honest, the first reason I signed up was for the SWAG. I truly am a sucker for the red, white and blue.

Product Review – Science in Sport Hydro Tablets – This summer I’m HYDRO powered.

In today's news: Summer is nasty. We all know it. It always is.

Here in Virginia, I can choose between minimizing the temperature and sun exposure by running at 5:30am but with 99.99% humidity, or I can wait for the humidity to drop while hitting 95 degrees with a burning hot sun (oh, and it's still humid too). Pick your poison.

I'm what you'd call an efficient sweater. My work juices start flowing sometimes before I even START my run. After a few miles, I'm just about soaked. I sometimes like to run long distances, so hydration is KEY. That goes for before, during and after running. When BibRave gave me the opportunity to test out a hydration related product, I jumped right on it!

2020 Global Running Day – How bout a 24 hour relay?

Running has been an outlet for me for many years now. I can run alone to be with my thoughts. I can run with friends to share in deep discussions or endless joy/laughter. I can run easy to calm myself in stressful times. I can run hard to take out pent up aggression, or to see what I'm made of. Clearly, running is an important part of who I am.

Looking Ahead – 2020 Vision

Happy New Year! NYE was a low key effect at the Birnschein house. Jen, Kayli and I did made it to midnight. We realize that we are getting out of touch by all of the performers and people that we didn't know. Fun...

I'm spending this morning getting my thoughts out here while drinking a strong cup o' Joe. There's a 5k race at 10:30 this morning that I'm not particularly excited about, but we'll get it done. The race directors tried something new with this one that I don't love all that much with the age groups. In an effort to have an equal amount of competitors in each group, the groups are rearranged and out came a 20-41 age group. What??? I'm 41, so I guess I'll have a tough go in trying to place today haha.

Product Review – BUFF® Tech Fleece – There’s one for every occasion

Hello friends! I'm still in the middle of my "do whatever I want" phase of running, where I don't have any major races coming up. I might not ever leave this time haha. This morning I ran 8 miles with some speedy ones in between, just cause.

Although my running isn't ramping up, I feel like my product reviews are! I just had the opportunity to try out another BUFF®. I have quite a history with them that goes back to when I got my very first one as a BibRave Pro. I like their practicality for sure when it comes to cooling/warmth/keeping sweat out of your eyes, or whatever is needed. I also like having SO many options as far as colors and types!

I'll admit that I like to look a certain way when I run. It builds confidence to perform well. There's a reason that Rocky wore those red, white and blue trunks (well technically he wore them because of Apollo Creed, but you get it). BUFFs have really become my thing.

Time to Get Uncomfortable! – Running the Blue Ridge Marathon :)

Hello runners, friends and runner friends! It's been a busy week and I've been posting lots more than usual, or at least it feels that way. Thanks to those of you that keep on reading. My last running related post was about how I'm currently running whatever I want to run. This morning, I ran 5 miles and decided to run 1 hard one in between, just because I felt like it. That is SUCH a good feeling to be able to turn it on or off on a whim instead of running my plan dictated pace or distance.

I'm going to enjoy that feeling for a few more weeks, then it'll be time to get serious again.

My torn achilles recovery was really tough. I wouldn't wish that sort of thing on anyone. Sometimes in hardship, lessons are learned and we grow. Rehab and recovery from that injury made me face many of my weaknesses and improve upon them. I started doing things in the gym that I probably wouldn't have ever tried if not for my physical therapists and trainer. They helped me in ways I can't begin to explain, both mentally and physically. It's partly because of that experience that I made the decision to try something with running that will take me WAY outside of my comfort zone. I'm running Blue Ridge next April!