As I stood on the ledge of the cliff overlooking the ocean blue
full of life’s infinite possibilities,
I turned around and looked at you.
I asked, “Are you going to take the leap
of faith along side me?
Or are you going to just sit there and enjoy the view?”
Even though I feel like I’ve always been a runner, I didn’t become what I would call a “regular” runner until I moved to North Carolina after graduate school. Other than when I was on the track team in grade school, I had always been a mostly independent runner, only rarely running with anyone else.
After I moved to North Carolina and started running consistently, I joined the North Carolina Roadrunners Club, not knowing a single thing about running clubs. From what I remember, I paid my dues and went to the monthly meetings, where there would be a speaker talking about anything from physical therapy options for runners to running form and honestly I don’t remember much else. If there were regular running meetups, I don’t remember them but I know I didn’t go if they did exist. It was a big group full of people who already knew other people there and I never felt like I fit in. After the year was over, I didn’t re-join and didn’t pursue trying to find other running groups.
For a couple of decades, I ran by myself for the vast majority of my runs, including all of those training runs for the half marathons in all 50 states. Sometimes on a run I would fall in step with someone else who just happened to also be running by themself, and we might run together for a few miles, but never did I have what I would call running friends. Sure, I knew other people who ran, but they never invited me to run with them, nor did I invite them to run with me. I would sometimes think, What if they’re much faster than me, or what if I’m faster than them? What if they don’t want to follow my training plan for the day? How does it work if you’re training for different races but running together?
Then, just before the pandemic started, I decided to try out another running club, this time one that met at a brewery. Of course that didn’t happen, at least not in the spring of 2020, as all run clubs ceased momentarily until covid vaccines were available and people felt comfortable running together again. I believe it was around the spring of 2021 when I saw this same run club was going to start meeting again, and I went, unsure of what to expect.
Long story short, the original organizer of the run club has become one of my close friends even though she no longer is in charge and someone else has taken over that role, and many other people from that group have become friends of mine. We’ve had many dinners together, supported someone who was hit by a car riding his bike and badly injured, supported someone else who was diagnosed with breast cancer, hung out at each other’s houses many times, had parties together, traveled to races together, and have become a close knit group.
After my daughter went away to college and I moved (still in the same general area but to a different city), I wanted to join an additional run club. I searched online and found a few options that would work as far as distance from my house and day of the week they met. I’ve been running with that group for about 8 months and while I felt like they were a welcoming group right from the start, I haven’t grown as close to them as I did with the other run club I joined in 2021.
Not all of my recent run club experiences have been positive. I went to one group that met by a local running store and was shocked to find over 100 people there. It was so big that the person in charge had a microphone hooked up to a speaker so everyone could hear her. There were three different distances on different routes to choose from: 3, 4, or 5 miles. I chose the 4 mile route and chatted with one guy a little during the run. Afterwards, I looked around and saw clusters of people chatting but no one seemed overly welcoming, which is what I needed, since I’m a bit of an introvert. After walking around a bit awkwardly for maybe 10 minutes after the run, I just went home.
Even though I vowed to not go back to the enormous running group, a friend of mine from my favorite running group said he had started running there and suggested I “give it another try.” Even though they met on the same night as my second-favorite run club, I ditched them, and gave the giant run club a second try. Nope. It was still giant and I still felt overwhelmed and barely spoke to anyone there. I feel like two tries is enough, and for sure, I won’t be going back to that group. Just to put things in perspective, this giant group had easily over 100 people each time I went, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 125 people there one or both nights I went. By comparison, my favorite run club routinely has around 30 people, and my second-favorite run club routinely has around 25 people.
Just this month, I’ve tried out two more run clubs, on evenings that my favorite and second-favorite runs clubs don’t meet. The first one was a bust. I read on two different places online that they meet at 5:30 on Tuesdays, so just to be safe, I showed up at 5:15, and waited at the designated spot, and waited, and waited. 5:30 came and went. Finally around 5:40, I ran by myself in the area, then went home. No idea why no one else was there but I didn’t go back.
The following week, on that same evening as the no-show run club (Tuesday), I tried out another run club. That group has to have some of the most quirky people I’ve ever met, but quirky in a good way. They were so welcoming right from the second I stepped foot at the meeting spot. After the run, one woman asked me if I was going to meet them at the nearby brewery, and when I said yes, she enthusiastically said, “Yay! I’m glad you’ll be there!” I had only briefly chatted with her before and after the run, so I was a bit surprised by her response, but it was nice to be welcomed into the group. I will definitely be going back to that one.
What have I learned from all of this? So many things. One, not all run clubs are created equal, just like no two things in life are. If you don’t like one run club, give it another chance just to be sure it wasn’t an “off” day, but if you really don’t like it, try a different run club. Keep going until you find one where you find your people. You’ll know when you find them. Oh, and all of that stuff I was worried about running paces and distances really doesn’t matter. You’ll figure it out.
Most important, I’ve learned that it’s 100% worth finding a run club that meshes with you. If you’re lucky, you’ll meet some of the most amazing people in the world through your run club and will wonder what you ever did without them. They’ll become almost like family members. Don’t be like me and just assume because you tried one run club that they’re all like that. Yes, it takes courage to put yourself out there and join a new run club, but in the end, hopefully you’ll be happy you did.
Oh, and by the way, I recently checked out the NC Roadrunners Club online, and they have a meetup group for twice weekly runs, in addition to other seasonal runs, discounts to races and running-related products, and more. Does this mean I’ll be joining the group again? No, because their runs are on days that I already have other activities. Still, it goes to show that even run groups often change over time and just because they were one way many years ago doesn’t mean they’re still that way.
Do you belong to a run club or do you prefer to run by yourself or with just one or two running buddies? What is your opinion of run clubs where you live? Have you ever thought about starting your own run club because there aren’t any where you live?
Happy running!
Donna
During the summer of 2020, I was supposed to go to southern Portugal for a week followed by a week in southern Spain. Of course we all know what happened then, so this trip was postponed indefinitely. Then after the worst of covid was over and international travel was possible, I decided to break up this trip into two separate ones, with a week in Portugal and sometime later take the week in Spain.
If you follow my blog regularly and have for a while, you may recall I went to Portugal during the spring of 2022. If you missed my posts on Portugal, you can find them here: A Week in the Algarve- Southern Portugal- Outdoor Adventures, Faro, Sagres and Lagos, Portugal, First Impressions of Every Day Life in the Algarve (Southern Portugal) from an American Point of View.
Also, if you read my posts, you may recall while I loved the scenery and food of Portugal, I didn’t get the friendly welcome I had heard about by so many other travelers who have visited Portugal. Perhaps it was my timing since it was still on the tail-end of covid and people were still in the social distancing mindset. Perhaps it was a difference in southern Portugal hospitality vs. that in Lisbon or Porto. Perhaps it was akin to the “travelers go home” mentality I had read about going on in some parts of Spain this summer, and the people who live in southern Portugal are fed up with being overrun by tourists. Who knows?
I decided to go to southern Spain months before I read about all of the protests in Spain aimed at travelers, as mentioned above, but I doubt it would have stopped me from going even if I had read about it in advance. However, I was curious to see how my daughter and I would be treated by locals while we were in Spain and if we would get the same reception as we did in Portugal.
My teenage daughter is fluent in Spanish and has a flawless accent but she also gets nervous when speaking to others, no matter where she is in the world, so I knew I couldn’t necessarily rely on her to speak for the both of us. My Spanish has always been enough to get by in other countries, and I have no problem risking making a fool of myself. In my experience, as long as you make an attempt to speak the language and can get the words mostly right, it’s good enough for them to figure out what I’m trying to say. Also, body language, including pointing to foods and beverages goes a long way.
I was quite pleased when I found that the people in southern Spain were not only friendly, they were quite welcoming. Also, no one assumed I was American, and usually asked in advance if I preferred to speak Spanish, English, or Italian. Overall, I found the people to be genial and the men were noticeably respectful and courteous; in fact, I would say most were chivalrous, but not in a sexist way. It was clear the Spanish people appreciated that my daughter and I were at least attempting to speak Spanish and we didn’t just expect others to speak English and “cater to the Americans.” No one cared that my Spanish wasn’t perfect; no one was judging us. We certainly didn’t get the feeling they didn’t want us there as tourists. That’s not to say that isn’t still going on in other parts of Spain, like Mallorca and other heavily-touristed cities, but we didn’t have that experience in southern Spain.
Beyond the people, I found driving in southern Spain to be easy and mostly low-stress. The Spanish drive on the right side of the road, like in the United States, so I didn’t have the added stress of driving on the left. In southern Spain, there are highways that are well-marked and all of the towns I went to had good roads, albeit some of the neighborhood streets were a bit of a tight squeeze for my rental car, especially where there were parked cars on both sides of the road, with a narrow passage down the middle for cars to drive through.
I only got yelled at once while parking, when an older gentleman thought I was going to block a handicapped spot, only to eventually see I was just turning around (In contrast, I got yelled at multiple times in Portugal when driving and parking there). I didn’t get any parking tickets (unlike in Portugal where I got one parking ticket) and the rental car agency didn’t hassle me or try to charge me for scratches on the car or cause other problems (again, unlike in Portugal where I had to dispute a bogus charge by the rental car agency).
Our resort was a short walk to the beach (about 10-15 minutes, depending on which part of the beach we went to). While the beaches weren’t the best I’ve been to, they were clean and not super-crowded. If you want white powder-soft sand and clear water, you’ll have to go elsewhere. The negatives were that the sand was scalding hot to walk on in bare feet and like many other European beaches, they were rocky, with those small pebbles that are difficult to walk on, although some areas were less rocky than others. The positives, in addition to being clean and not too crowded were there were many little areas with coves that broke the waves so the water was calmer in those areas and the water wasn’t too cold to swim in. All of the beaches I encountered also had free parking at least within a short walk and some had bathrooms and changing areas.
I would say all around, I would give five stars out of five for southern Spain, based on my experiences. The people, food, and scenery were all wonderful, and I would definitely go back. I’ll get into more details in another post, but if you’re thinking of planning a trip to southern Spain, I would say DO IT!
Have you been to southern Spain? If so, where did you go and what was your experience like?
Happy travels,
Donna
I saw this blog post prompt somewhere (I’m sorry to not give the person credit but I don’t remember who it was at this point) and it intrigued me. At first I thought, it seems easy enough to come up with 20 things that make me smile, but I interpreted it to mean you should do all 20 things on a daily basis. Then I realized it means to encounter at least one item from the list of 20 items on a daily basis. Alright then, on to my list. What are 20 things that make me smile?
I’ll admit, it wasn’t so easy to come up with 20 things that make me smile. Try it yourself and see what you come up with. I encourage you to share one item with me that makes you smile.
Happy sharing!
Donna
When I read Darlene’s post on a dream running location https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/99004095/posts/5269045215, it inspired me to write my own post on my dream running location. The first place that popped into my head was Hawaii.
Not only did I run a half marathon in Hawaii many years ago, before I had the goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states when I ran the Kona Marathon and Half Marathon, Hawaii-2nd state, I fell in love with running in Hawaii over the years. Yes, it’s hot pretty much always in Hawaii, but the beauty of the islands make the miles tick by and I’m pretty heat tolerant so it doesn’t bother me to run in the heat there.
Since that half marathon I ran in Hawaii on the Big Island, I’ve been fortunate enough to go back a few times. Every time I’ve looked forward to running on the islands, whether it was the Big Island, Maui, Oahu, or Kauai. I’ve also posted many times on running in Hawaii so if you’ve followed my blog for a while it probably won’t surprise you that I chose Hawaii as my dream running location. Here is one of my more relevant posts on running in Hawaii: Running in Kauai and Oahu Hawaii.
However, I’ve also run in some other pretty spectacular places like the Canary Islands: Running in Gran Canaria and Tenerife in the Canary Islands. I also wrote this post on some of my favorite places to run while on vacation https://wordpress.com/post/runningtotravel.wordpress.com/18190 . It was difficult to limit it to just a few in that post, but I mentioned Hawaii; Charleston, South Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and New Zealand. Malta was also one of my favorite places to run but I didn’t write a post specifically about running there.
Then I started thinking about what makes a location a “dream running location” to me. Is it purely scenery? Is it a particular race that I loved or would love to run? Or is it something else entirely, like for instance, I loved visiting Italy but didn’t run there and I’d love to return to Italy so I could run there?
For me, my dream running location, or in this case it seems multiple dream running locations, were chosen purely based on scenery. Well, for the most part. When I ran on the Swamp Rabbit Trail (really a paved greenway) in Greenville, South Carolina, I ran with my daughter, so I have no doubt part of the reason I loved running there was the fact that I ran with her and have good memories of that time. It is scenic but there’s no comparison to places like Hawaii or the Canary Islands.
There are of course other places I ran half marathons that were scenic and I felt lucky to be able to run there that I haven’t even mentioned. Vermont, South Dakota, and Wyoming come to mind but there were others as well. They were all vastly different areas from one another but when I ran in all three of these places, I remember thinking to myself how beautiful the area was and how fortunate I was to be able to run in such amazing places.
So then I started wondering if there’s one place where I haven’t run that I’d love to run in. That’s a tough question for me because I want to see the world. There are dozens of places I’d love to travel to and run in. For example, I’d love to go to the country of Georgia, Croatia, Slovenia, the islands of Madeira, but I also want to go back to Costa Rica, plus more of the Caribbean islands, and the list goes on.
If I could magically transport to just one place in the world it would be the South Island of New Zealand. I went to the North Island several years ago and was blown away by the diversity and beauty of the island. I still remember running there and one run in particular stands out. The indigenous people are called Maori and they have these distinctive meeting houses called Wharenui that are outlined in bright red paint. I remember running past one of those and thinking how awesome of an experience that was to be there. I’d love to go back to this incredible country and explore the South Island and of course run while I was there.
What about you? What would you say is your dream running location? Would you choose a place that you’ve already been to or a place you’d love to visit? Do you have multiple locations like I do?
Happy running!
Donna
As a runner I know, runners love to give advice, whether asked for it or not. However, when someone is actually asking for running advice, it’s a whole different story than when someone just gives their advice, unasked. I hope to at least minimize unsolicited running advice, but I’m sure there have been times when I’ve spouted my opinion on things when the person truly didn’t care. My hope here has always been more to inspire others to follow their own path and if someone is actually looking for advice on something specific, maybe they can find some answers here in my blog.
For example, all of my blog posts on races I’ve run have been (hopefully) presented in a way that weren’t saying, “Hey, I think you should run this race just because I did,” but more along the lines of, “I really loved this race and certain aspects of it, so if you’re interested in running a race in say, Des Moines, Iowa, this is a race I recommend” (and in fact, I did love the race I ran in Des Moines, which you can read about here if you’re interested: IMT Des Moines Half Marathon, Des Moines, Iowa- 49th state).
Over the years I’ve posted on a wide range of running-related activities, from running with your dog How to Run With Your Dog to trail running Why I Love Trail Running and How it Can Make You a Faster Road Runner to product reviews on running-related products Review of Nathan Trail Mix 7 Liter Women’s Race Pack. For the post on running with your dog, I talked to my vet and got some tips from her and I also did some research online. For the trail running post, I presented it more as “here is my experience with trail running and some things I learned along the way.” Finally, for the review of the running vest, I also tried to present it more from my experience with the pack, rather than saying, “this is the running vest you should buy.”
For all three of the above-mentioned blog posts, I tried to simply present my experience, along with some of my findings when I did research, in the hopes that if someone searches “How do I run with my dog?” or “How do I begin trail running?” or something like that, maybe my blog posts will come up and help them. Not that I’m saying my blog posts will come up high on the list of Google searches, but you never know. More likely, if a person searches for a particular topic of interest in WordPress specifically, my posts may come up.
All of this isn’t to say I’ve never been guilty of giving out unsolicited advice, because like everyone else, I’m sure I have. Even if that wasn’t my intention, if it was interpreted by someone else that way, it was unsolicited advice, whether I like to admit it or not. Just by giving my opinion on a race or a product, that could be viewed as advice, even though I’ve always felt like everyone should follow their own path, whether it’s running or anything else. I like the phrase, “Run your own race.”
What is my point in all of this and why do I even bring this up? It’s not to criticize others for giving unsolicited advice. Truly, I feel like if someone gives me advice that I didn’t ask for, I can simply choose to ignore it or if there’s something in there I may find valuable, I can try it for myself. I realize this isn’t always easy to do, especially when it may seem like we’re inundated with people giving advice everywhere we turn. One of my current pet peeves are the people with Reels saying, “You’ve been doing this wrong. Here’s how you should do it,” and it’s inevitably something totally ridiculous that doesn’t matter how you do it; there is no “right” or “wrong” way, just a range of different ways.
I guess I’m saying if I’ve come across as someone who likes to give out unsolicited running advice, I’m sorry, and that was never my intention. And no, no one made me feel like that. I just recently listened to a podcast that I won’t name here that sparked this idea and how ever-present this idea of people who think everyone else cares what their opinion is. Maybe other people feel differently than I do, and they enjoy unsolicited advice, whether it’s running-related or how to “properly load a dishwasher.” If that’s you, enjoy those Reels and TikTok videos, but that’s just not how I feel. If I want advice on something whether it’s running-related or anything else, I’ll ask, thank you very much.
What about you? Do you like when others give their opinion on topics you didn’t ask for? Are they informative for you or do you just find them annoying?
Happy running!
Donna
Several years ago during a vacation in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, I took a day trip to Savannah, Georgia. It was less than an hour away and an easy drive so we spent all day in Savannah. Still, it wasn’t nearly enough time and I always wanted to go back to spend more time in Savannah.
When I learned I had the opportunity to gain free entry to the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon in April of 2024, I jumped at the chance for a couple of reasons: 1) it would give me a chance to re-do the half marathon I ran in Georgia during my quest to run a half marathon in all 50 states since the one I ran was awful and 2) Savannah is such a beautiful city with so much to see and do, one day wasn’t nearly enough.
Let’s first deal with some logistics. Savannah isn’t the easiest nor cheapest city to get to unless you can drive there from where you live. From the closest cities with major airports, it’s about 3.5 hours from the airport in Atlanta, 2 hours from the airport in Jacksonville, Florida, and 2 hours from the airport in Charleston, South Carolina. There is also the Savannah/Hilton Head airport that’s only about 30 minutes from downtown Savannah, which I’ve never flown into (nor have I flown into the Jacksonville or Charleston airports for that matter), but my guess is flights to the Savannah airport would cost much more than any of the other airports I’ve listed simply because of limited availability, but it wouldn’t hurt to compare if you would be flying here.
I should also note these drive times are not taking into account traffic, which honestly, can be horrendous in Atlanta and Charleston. For example, when I drove back home from Savannah to North Carolina recently, the traffic going toward Charleston added an hour(!) onto my time it took to get from Savannah. When I was driving to Savannah, I could see traffic from Charleston backed up for many miles on the other side of the highway, so I suspect this is regularly the case.
Another related subject, if you’re flying here, you wouldn’t necessarily need a rental car but it depends where you’re staying and what you plan on doing. If you’re staying downtown and plan on spending most of your time there, you could take Uber or Lyft or take the trolley to get around. There are also bicycle rentals all over the city.
If you’ll have either your own car or a rental, I recommend downloading the park Savannah app before you arrive. Parking isn’t great in the downtown area but it’s not as bad as many other places I’ve traveled to. There are spaces with off street parking that have a small fee or free (they’re well-marked) and there are some parking garages. There’s a free trolley known as the dot that has two loops, one called Forsyth and the other called Downtown. https://catchacat.org/getting-around/ride-free-downtown/dot-express-shuttle/#:~:text=Thanks%20to%20funding%20support%20from,%2C%20shops%2C%20restaurants%20and%20hotels. There are also hop on/off trolley tours that start around $30/day plus there are ghost tours you can take through downtown Savannah https://www.trolleytours.com/savannah/tickets
Most people likely want to stay in the historic district, which is great if your budget allows it, but of course you’ll pay extra to stay here. If you don’t plan on renting a car and/or doing many things outside of the historic district, it probably would be worth staying here so you don’t have to pay for parking or ride shares or maybe just minimally. Personally, I stayed in the Midtown district, which for me was about 3 miles from the historic district. Since I had my own car and wanted to be able to drive myself to and from the half marathon and to explore some places outside of the historic district, it made more sense to save money on the hotel and stay here. I only had to pay to park once and that was just a few dollars.
I’m not going to get into some of the best restaurants in Savannah because honestly, it’s hard to go wrong with food here. Similar to Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah is a foodie paradise. If you’ve never tried some of the dishes well-known in the “Deep South,” I suggest you try shrimp and grits, pimento cheese sandwiches, shrimp po’boys, low country boil, and fried green tomatoes. I will warn you, however, in general the restaurants in Savannah, especially in the historic district, are expensive and many places get busy. If you can check menus online in advance, that’s always a good idea, and make reservations if you can.
There are some places that come highly recommended to go to by others and myself, including the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Bonaventure Cemetery, Forsyth Park, River Street, and Jones Street. These are all in the historic district. If you enjoy botanical gardens, there’s the Savannah Botanical Gardens, which is small but free. I found Wormsloe State Historic Site to be a peaceful place to walk around the trails for a couple of hours (be careful with Google Maps because it kept trying to direct me to a place in Kentucky with the name Wormsloe). There is a fee for admission to Wormsloe but I found the $12 fee worth it.
There are some museums also worth checking out: SCAD Museum of Art: Small contemporary art and design museum. Telfair Museums: Three distinct museums offering very different cultural experiences from The Jepson Center with its contemporary art to the historic Telfair Academy with 19th and 20th century American & European art to the Owens–Thomas House & Slave Quarters featuring one of the earliest intact urban slave quarters in the South. Ships Of The Sea Maritime Museum for the maritime enthusiast. If you have a Girl Scout in your family (once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout so not necessarily a child), you should check out the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace Museum. https://www.juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org
Finally, when is a good time to visit Savannah? Well, if you’ve come to visit the beach here on nearby Tybee Island, you’ll likely want to come during the summer but in these parts, the weather is still beach-friendly beginning in late April (although the ocean will be chilly) through about mid-October. I personally like coming to this part of the country, whether we’re talking about Savannah, Charleston, or Hilton Head Island in September the weekend after Labor Day weekend. The crowds will have thinned a bit and prices for accommodations drop a bit but the weather is still nice. That being said, spring is also lovely with the spring flowers in bloom everywhere and the humidity hasn’t cranked up yet.
How long should you stay here? Again, it depends on what you want to do and if you want to spend some time at the beach as well. For most people, a long weekend is enough to hit the highlights but if you plan on spending some leisurely days at Tybee Island as well as going to some of the historical sites, I’d recommend staying a week. You can of course just take a day trip here from Hilton Head Island or Charleston like I first did, but you’ll just barely scratch the surface, especially if you’re coming from Charleston.
Have you been to Savannah or do you want to go someday? If you’ve been, what were some of your favorite places or things to do?
Happy travels!
Donna
If you read my post Dear Half Marathon, I was basically stating that I felt burned out from racing half marathons and was thinking about focusing on shorter distance races for a while. When someone from a local running group I follow posted a free race entry for the 5K distance of the Run the Quay, I took it as my opportunity to test out my theory (hope?) that racing a shorter distance would bring back my love for racing.
Run the Quay is a race in Fuquay-Varina in North Carolina, a small town that’s a suburb of Raleigh, and is about 45 minutes from where I live that’s held every year the beginning of June. This year for the 20th edition of Run the Quay, there were three options for adults plus a kids run: 10K, 5K, or Challenge, which meant you run the 10K first, which starts at 7 am, then stop until everyone is off the course, then at 8:30 am, you run the 5K. For those runners who are faster than others, the break in between the races will of course be longer. I chose to just run the 5K but I had several friends who signed up for the Challenge.
Packet pickup was offered either Friday evening or Saturday morning on race day. Rather than drive 90 minutes just to pick up my bib, I chose to pick it up on Saturday morning, especially since they were offering the service until 8:15. I arrived around 7:45, and was glad to see it was “only” around the low 60’s, with relatively low (for our area) humidity. Most years this race is much hotter and more humid on race morning. I also chose not to get a race shirt but I could have purchased one, plus they were selling previous years’ race shirts for just $5.
Promptly at 8:30, the 5K started, with all 1500 or so of us crammed together like sardines. Even though the announcer said to let the faster runners in the front, there were many people with strollers near the front, along with young children that looked to be around elementary age. I had friends that had already run the 10K, and were doing the Challenge, who had warned me the course was hilly, plus it was heating up fast, with the sun out in full force by then.
Even with the crowded course, I didn’t feel like it held me back, especially after we got through the start/finish chute and could spread out more on the roads. The course wound through quiet neighborhoods and parts were shaded, which helped. I knew this was a mostly out-and-back course, with two separate loops that began and ended at the same spot. Since the first mile started out downhill, that meant we’d have to climb back up that hill on the way back. There were also rolling hills throughout the course; this was far from a flat race.
My first mile was at 8:18 pace but also had 56 feet of elevation drop. Miles two and three were slower at 8:56 and 9:00 pace, and included 11 and 26 feet of elevation gain, respectively. The final 0.12 mile had 18 feet of elevation gain alone, and my pace for that final hill was 9:15, for a final finish time of 27:22, good enough for fifth in my age group.
Since I hadn’t trained for the race distance specifically, I was happy with my final time. More important, it did answer my question if I was burned out from running half marathons specifically or just running races in general. Despite the tough conditions, I enjoyed myself and would definitely run another 5K or even 10K. I was glad I didn’t sign up for the Challenge and have to run a 15K that morning, which told me I’m not ready for longer distance races at this point in my life.
After the race, there were only bananas, some cut-up oranges, and water being given out at the finish area. Cooling towels were also handed out by volunteers, along with the medals. Some local businesses were also giving out bottled water and random items like candy or pens, etc. with their business logo on them at the finish area, but I didn’t stop by any of them. There was an option to drive or walk the approximately half a mile to the Mason Jar Tavern for a free beer, but honestly, I was spent after the race and just wanted to get home. I took some photos, chatted with some friends who had run the Challenge, and drove home. This was a low-key smallish race, and I enjoyed it. It was just what I needed to restore my faith in racing once again. https://runthequay.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=2975
Since it’s full-on summer here, there aren’t many more races throughout the summer, unless I travel to one, which I don’t plan on doing, so I likely won’t run another race until sometime this fall. That being said, I am signed up for an untimed 5K later in June, which I’m running with my daughter. Other than that, I don’t have any specific races in mind that I’d like to run, but I’m just taking things as they come my way, and if a race pops up that piques my interest, I might sign up.
What about you? Do you have any summer races planned? Have you felt burned out from a specific race distance you’ve run many times and mixed things up with a different distance?
Happy running!
Donna
There’s certainly no shortage of things to do in Palm Springs. I’m going to list some of my favorite things my daughter and I did while we were there, along with some of the things that came recommended by the visitor center, since I realize not everyone may be interested in the same things as I am, plus I always like to give people options.
I’m a huge fan of botanical gardens so of course one of the first things I looked up when I was planning my trip was to see if there was a botanical garden here. Indeed there is, the Moorten Botanical Gardens, which even includes a cactarium. What exactly is a cactarium, you may ask? Well, apparently it’s a word coined by the Moortens, and basically is a collection of cacti and rare plants “seen nowhere else.”
The botanical garden is on the small side, so depending on your interest in plants, you could spend anywhere from 20 minutes here to an hour, roughly. For only $5 admission, however, it’s worth every penny if you enjoy plants. I found the plants to be well-marked and the winding paths relaxing. The gardens are open every day except Wednesdays from 10 am-4 pm. http://www.moortenbotanicalgarden.com
There are several options when it comes to museums, with the Palm Springs Art Museum offering more contemporary art exhibits, and free admission on Thursdays from 5-8 pm (normally tickets are $16 for adults). Associated with the art museum are the Architecture and Design Center, Frey House II and Aluminaire House, for those interested in architecture as a form of art. Admission to the Aluminaire House is included with art museum admission but Frey House II and Architecture and Design Center tours are extra. You can find more information on all of these museums here: https://www.psmuseum.org.
I enjoyed the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, which is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum that does a good job presenting information on the Cahulla Indians. Tickets are a reasonable $10, with many discounts available. https://www.accmuseum.org There is also the Palm Springs Air Museum, close to the airport, which I didn’t visit, since the $23 admission seemed a bit steep to me. If you’re a big airplane fan, this might be worth it to you, however. https://palmspringsairmuseum.org
If you enjoy golfing, there are at least six golf courses in Palm Springs. For horseback riding, there’s Smoke Tree Stables, that offers guided horseback rides through the canyons. For pricing and availability, go here: https://www.smoketreestables.com. If you enjoy gambling, there’s the Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs. For a private guided tour of celebrity homes in the area, you can book through here: https://www.palmspringscelebritytours.com and here: https://thebestofthebesttours.com/Rich-and-Famous-Tour/
The downtown area has many shops and restaurants, many of which would be considered touristy (and most of which are expensive imo), though it’s still worth checking out. It seemed like the drag shows with bottomless drinks and some other restaurants offering brunch were popular spots, particularly PS Drag Brunch, Pinocchio in the Desert, and Oscar’s Downtown Palm Springs. Some of my favorite restaurants in Palms Springs (not necessarily downtown) include Bread and Flours Bakery, Rick’s Restaurant and Bakery, Sherman’s Deli and Bakery (are you sensing a trend here?), Thai Smile, Nature’s Health Food and Cafe, and Rooster and the Pig (Vietnamese restaurant).
Similar to Hollywood, Palm Springs has their own walk of fame for celebrities that spent time in the city (with big gold stars and their names on the sidewalks). There are also giant statues of Marilyn Monroe and Sonny Bono. One of my favorite activities was the Palm Springs VillageFest, offered on Thursday evenings, and it includes food trucks, art displays, and other items for sale similar to a farmer’s market but with more variety. I combined this with a visit to the art museum, and it made for a nice evening in downtown.
One of my absolute favorite things to do, whether I’m traveling or at home is to go hiking, and Palm Springs has so many places to hike, it’s incredible. I’m not sure exactly how many trail heads there are in Palm Springs, but suffice to say, there are many to choose from. Some of the more popular trails include Tahquitz Canyon, North Lykken and South Lykken trails, Museum Trail, Araby Trail, just to name a few. In nearby Thousand Palms is Coachella Valley Preserve/Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve. You can also take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and hike the many trails at the top of the mountain (there is a fee for the tram). Finally, you can drive about an hour to Joshua Tree National Park and hike there. My post on that is here: Joshua Tree National Park.
I think that hits most of the more popular things to do in Palm Springs. If you can’t tell, I absolutely loved this part of California. The city itself is compact and easy to get around and I loved the multitude of trails. I found the people to be friendly and I never felt unsafe, whether I was running by myself, walking with my daughter at night, hiking on the trails, or anything else I did. My other post can be found here Palm Springs, California-First Impressions
Have you been to Palm Springs or do you want to go there? If you’ve been, what were some of your favorite things to do?
Happy travels!
Donna
Dear Half Marathon: I’m writing this blog post to inform you that I’ve been struggling with you lately. Don’t take this the wrong way; it’s not you, it’s me that’s the problem. You’re perfect just the way you are. I’ve always loved that I could still train for you, work full-time, take care of my daughter when she was young, and fit other activities in my life as well. You weren’t as all-consuming as the Marathon was for me. You always felt like a challenge but it was a challenge I could handle.
Recently, however, I’ve found that I’m not happy when I’m running a half marathon, like I used to be. I guess our relationship is over, or we at least need to take a break for a while and see how things go. If it is over, we had a good run, 54 half marathons in all 50 states in 24 years is pretty good.
OK, now for the explanation of why I’ve been feeling this way.
When I found out I would have a free entry to the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon in April of this year, I was so excited. I had been to Savannah before, but only for a day trip from Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and I loved the area, so the race would give me an excuse to go back and spend the entire weekend in Savannah. It would also be my redemption half marathon for the state of Georgia since the other half marathon I ran for the state during my 50 state quest was such a disaster Run the Reagan Half Marathon, Georgia-14th state.
But when race day was rolling around before my race in Savannah, I found that I wasn’t that excited at all for the race. In fact, I kind of dreaded it. I had been having intermittent Achilles pain starting a couple of weeks before the race and I thought the pain would likely pop up after a couple of miles into the race and I’d either have to walk, if possible, or drop out entirely. But if I’m honest, there was more to it than that.
After the race started, I thought I felt some slight Achilles pain but certainly nothing like what I had felt on some of my training runs (although not every time I ran, as I said it was intermittent). If I’m perfectly honest, I actually hoped my Achilles would start hurting in Savannah so I would have an excuse to drop out of the race. I even toyed with the idea of just lying and telling people my Achilles had started hurting so I had to drop out, even if that didn’t happen, but that’s just not the kind of person I am. In hindsight, I think my Achilles were perfectly fine, at least during the race with me wearing a different pair of shoes, and any pain I might have thought I had during the race was just in my head.
Never in my life have I had to do as much positive talk to myself during a race as I had to do during this race just to finish. Well, at least not for any races with ideal conditions and I had no health issues. This race was pancake flat, the weather was perfect for racing, the course was beautiful. There were simply zero reasons why I should have been struggling. I had no aches or pains. This is in contrast to some unbelievably difficult half marathons I’ve had to endure, like the aforementioned Run the Reagan, and the death march that was the Laughlin Half Marathon, Nevada-11th state, the time I was severely anemic and ran the Arbuckles to Ardmore Race for Mercy Half Marathon, Oklahoma-21st state, and more. So why was I struggling so badly during this race in Savannah?
On the car ride home from Savannah, I started thinking about this race and realized not only did I struggle mentally during this race, I also struggled mentally, although not as bad, during the Richmond Half Marathon in Virginia. At the time, I chalked up my struggle during the race to not having a solid base before I started training for the Richmond Half, but I don’t think that was the real reason I struggled in Virginia.
The Richmond Half Marathon was another race with ideal conditions- the weather was great for running, the course was mostly flat and had a fast downhill finish, it’s scenic, I didn’t have any injuries, and I had many friends there with me. Yet, I still found myself kind of dreading the race and wasn’t excited about it. I just wanted to “get it done.”
Looking back at my mile splits and finish time for the race in Richmond compared to the one in Savannah, they were very similar except for the last couple of miles where it’s a steep downhill in Richmond. If anything, the race in Richmond would be considered a bit tougher because there were at least some hills to run up that slowed me down there. Still, my finish time for both races was 1:57, with my race in Richmond a few seconds faster.
I think the true reason I struggled with both the Richmond and Savannah half marathons is because I’m burned out from half marathons. Prior to the half marathon in Richmond, the only other race I ran in 2023 was the The Krispy Kreme Challenge, a 5 mile race where you also scarf down a dozen glazed donuts halfway on the course, or as many as possible, far from a typical half marathon. Looking back even farther, in 2022, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, the Catching Fireflies 5k- My First Night Race!, and Two Firsts in Running For Me- My First Turkey Trot and My First 8k!. The Cherry Blossom 10 miler was amazing, as was the night race. The turkey trot was full of hills but I still enjoyed it. Of course, none of these races were half marathons.
So my last half marathon before the one in Richmond was all the way back in November of 2021, a full two years prior, when I ran the final half marathon of my 50 state quest The Albuquerque Half Marathon, Albuquerque, New Mexico-50th state. I started thinking about all of this and here’s my theory: I think because I push myself so hard internally at races (and most aspects of my life), I put this pressure on myself that frankly is exhausting. It seemed different when I still had my 50 states quest and I never felt like this during any of those races, for the most part anyway, except for the times when I was physically struggling, like during some of the races mentioned above, and when I was anemic or the course was extremely difficult.
Anyone who’s ever run a long-distance race knows it’s largely a mental game. It’s one thing to push yourself mentally for a 5k, and entirely another to push yourself mentally for 13.1 miles. That’s a long way to go if your head really isn’t there. You can easily talk yourself into feeling all kinds of things ranging from disappointment in yourself to sheer distaste for the race (“I’m never going to finish anywhere near the time I wanted to. Why did I even sign up for this? What am I doing here? This race sucks! It’s so hot! I’m so tired! I just want to be done!”).
The funny thing I also realized during my epiphany is I still enjoy the long training runs. When I was training for the Savannah Women’s Half, I liked going out for those 12-14 miles at the peak of training, so I don’t think it’s the distance per se, so much as it’s the racing half marathons that I’m tired of. When I’m just going on a 14 mile training run, there’s no pressure so I can take walk breaks, take some photos, and just enjoy myself. I wish I was the kind of person who could apply that mentality to races, but that’s just not me. I’m too competitive, not with anyone else, but with myself.
So what I’ve determined is I need a break from half marathons. Maybe not forever but at least for quite some time. I’ve only run a handful of 5k’s, a couple of 10k’s and 10 milers, and maybe one 15k. I’d like to run a 5k or 10k and see how that goes. Who knows? Maybe I’ll decide I never want to run another half marathon again; maybe 54 half marathons is enough for me. Or maybe a half marathon will pop up that draws me in and I’ll run it next year, but likely not this year.
If you run races, have you suffered from burnout and needed to take a break? How did you deal with it?
Happy running!
Donna
I’m a huge fan of national parks and one of the parks that I had wanted to visit for a while was Joshua Tree National Park. When the stars aligned and I got a deal on airfare and lodging to Palm Springs, California during my daughter’s spring break, I knew the time had finally come for me (and my daughter) to visit the park.
Joshua Tree National Park is of course known for their Joshua Trees but also where the Mojave and Colorado Deserts meet, creating a unique ecosystem. Joshua Trees are found in the Mojave Desert throughout parts of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona besides southeastern California. If you’re lucky you may also see Bighorn Sheep, Desert Tortoise, Chuckwalla, Greater Roadrunner, and Gambel’s Quail. If you’re unlucky, you may see a rattlesnake or mountain lion.
One of the first things I did when I got to Palm Springs was go to the visitor center to ask them about visiting the park. They had many helpful pieces of advice, like which entrance to go in (West Entrance Station), to bring enough water and snacks for the day since there’s none in the park, and to fill up with gas in advance because there are also no gas stations in the park.
We were also advised to stay in the northern part of the park since the southern part wouldn’t have anything unique to offer that time of year and “it simply wouldn’t be worth the drive,” in the volunteer’s words. Some “must-see” spots included Keys View and Cholla Cactus Garden. Honestly, there were plenty of trails in the northern part that we easily filled our day there anyway. Perhaps if we had been staying at one of the campgrounds we would have ventured further south. I also read the post on Joshua Tree National Park from the Daring Dayhikes blog, https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/156167110/posts/1381. He stayed there for three days and was able to go more in-depth than I was.
I thought surely there would be a grocery store just before the West Entrance to the park, and there are a handful maybe in Twentynine Palms, but if you’re staying in Palm Springs, you’ll have a much greater selection of groceries in Palm Springs than Twentynine Palms. I overpaid for what I got and couldn’t even find any crackers in the store, it had such a limited selection. Still, it was enough and more importantly, I was able to get plenty of bottled water for the day.
There are picnic tables scattered throughout the park and some grills as well. We ate lunch at Hidden Valley and hiked around there. There’s a cluster of spots worth checking out in the area, including Minerva Hoyt, Cap Rock, Oyster Bar, and Hall of Horrors. There are some bathrooms at some of the more popular areas, but don’t count on them being at all of the trailheads.
When I was there in March, there was no need to purchase a national parks pass online in advance but I would check before your trip, especially during busy months. I had to wait maybe 20 minutes to get into the park, which I didn’t think was that bad. I’ve read online that some people have had to wait a couple of hours at the park entrance because there’s so much traffic. No matter what time of year, or what park I’m going to, I’ve found it’s always better to go early in the morning if possible, to beat the crowds or at least get a head start on them. According to the National Park Service, October through May are the busiest months, but maybe we got lucky since we went there on a Monday morning.
Although there are some parts of the park that are for four-wheel drive and high clearance vehicles only, the vast majority of the park is easily accessible by most vehicles, including sedans. I had a mid-size SUV but saw plenty of cars at the park and never saw any areas where a car would have struggled.
Climbing is available and you can find information online and at park stations. We also saw many cyclists and an option is to bike the 38-mile California Riding and Hiking Trail, which runs east to west and is considered challenging, partly because you have to bring all of your water in with you (or drop it off in advance). Since it’s considered a point-to-point course, you’ll also have to arrange for transportation back to where you originally parked your car, or go with a company that arranges cycling tours in the park.
Although we had talked about going back to the park another day later in the week, since our park pass was good for a week, we didn’t end up going back. It’s about an hour drive to the park from Palm Springs, and that’s just to the entrance, and doesn’t include wait time to get into the park. We decided we had seen plenty in one day and didn’t want to spend another full day to go back. Still, it’s one of the most unique parks and I highly recommend going there and loved my time there. Sometimes, a day is enough, though, especially when there are many other places you want to visit in an area.
Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park and if so, what did you think? Anything I missed here that should have been mentioned? If you haven’t been, would you like to go?
For more info, go to the US National Park Service website: https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm
Happy travels!
Donna
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