Elizabeth Clor's Blog, page 19

The Great American Labor Day Tempo Run

Typically, Mondays are my tempo days. I've spent the past several Mondays running at "steady state" which is slightly slower than tempo pace as a way to ease myself back into it. So when there happened to be a local 5K on a Monday, I knew I wanted to use it as my tempo run.

I'm no stranger to this course. It's notorious for its punishing final hill, lack of shade, and always measuring slightly longer on the Garmin than a true 5K distance (3.17 every time!). But because I run this course so oft...

The Best Sports Bra for D-Cup Runners

I'm very passionate about the topic of sports bras. As a size 30-32D, it's difficult to find a supportive, comfortable sports bra.

When I was in high school, my dance team coach informed me that my bouncing boobs were a distraction for the entire performance. "Nobody is watching the dance because they are all looking at your chest bouncing around," she said. "You need to get a more supportive sports bra before our next performance." Needless to say, she wasn't the nicest or most sensitive coac...

Leesburg 20K: The ups and the downs

This morning I ran the Leesburg 20K as a training run. I'm four weeks into my comeback after six weeks of being sidelined due to illness. Last weekend I ran 10.6 miles at a pace of 8:26, so I felt like I could definitely handle the 12.4-mile distance.

The plan was to run this race alongside my friend Allison. She wanted to run the first half (all uphill) at her goal marathon pace, and then speed up on the way back. It's nearly impossible to NOT speed up during the second half of this race unle...

The Comeback Continues

Today's post is brought to you by easy running! I'm at the point in my comeback where I'm itching for speed work and variety in my schedule but my coach is focused on building my mileage base back up before adding that stuff in. I agree that this is the best approach, and it's probably good that I
am craving speed and not getting burnt out (or sick again). Last week, my legs got tired on some of my runs but this week they felt much stronger. I actually had an easier time with the 90 minute lo...

Birthday Bash 5K

I did it! I ran a 5K.

I registered for the Birthday Bash 5K several months ago before getting sick. I got sick on May 31st, didn't run at all for five weeks, and then slowly eased my way back into running through a gradual progression of run-walks.

This week, I was able to run/walk every day with progressively more running and less walking. I did this for about 30-35 minutes each day, and by the end of the week (yesterday) I felt confident in being able to run nonstop for a 5K, and not experien...

Getting There: Recovery from post-viral syndrome

I haven't provided an update on my running (or lack thereof) in a few weeks, so here it is.

I came down with a virus on May 31st, so it's now been 6.5 weeks since the onset of this whole thing. A few days after getting sick, I realized that it could take me a long time to recover, because I had a similar illness in 2012 and 2016. Both occurred in the summertime. Both were the likely result of too much physical exertion in the heat. Being the planner that I am, I made a comeback strategy, which...

From great to good: How I changed my life for the better

About six years ago, while discussing my running goals, I was asked why these goals were so important to me. Couldn't I simply be happy by being "a good person doing good things," he asked.

This question saddened me greatly at the time. It was as if I was being asked to settle.  I interpreted "a good person doing good things" as being ordinary and mediocre. Anyone can be a good person doing good things, but few people could qualify for Boston or win awards for their running accomplishment...

Future Race Planning

When you are sick or injured, do you start planning your comeback races, or do you refrain from any planning until you are able to resume training?

I'm now on day 26 of this mono-like illness and things are finally looking up. The official diagnosis is idiosyncratic post-viral syndrome, which is a fancy way to say that I caught a virus, and it's taking the immune system a while to calm down to normal levels. The result is that I am excessively tired, weak, and dizzy. I have a history of this i...

Seriously Sick Again

If you've been reading my blog over the years, you know that I have a tendency to get mono or a "mono-like" virus that lasts up to three months.

I officially got mono when I was in college, so I think that all the subsequent illnesses have been re-activated mono or a mono-like virus. The problem is-- my immune system has issues. When most people get a viral infection they are able to kick it in about a week. That's not the case with me. According to the doctors, my immune system goes into high...

The Competitor In Me

Lately I've been thinking about how I don't run to compete against others. I want to see progress in my own journey, I want to get faster and stronger, and if I happen to place well, that's just icing on the cake. I like passing people in races, but I'm typically more focused on my own race and pacing strategy. I won a 5K last February and I was disappointed because I didn't perform as well as I had hoped. The win was a nice consolation prize, but it hadn't been my main goal.

But today I reali...