Now that my race season is officially over, I'm settling into the offseason. My focus for the offseason this year is to finally get to the bottom of my hip and hamstring issues and build a solid foundation to move into spring and next year's training cycles. 

These hamstring and hip issues have been a bother since basically the spring. It started with my left hamstring, then that seemed to heal. But immediately after my right hip flexor flared up. By the time I ran the Rehoboth Half, I was dealing with both my right hip flexor soreness, and my left hamstring was back causing problems too. 

I'm fairly convinced these two things are linked, and I'm assuming I changed my form in the summer to address the hamstring issue and that likely caused the hip issue. 

So, the offseason is the time to fix that. Despite that fact that I've been more focused than ever on strength training to conquer muscle imbalances, I think the culprit here is still weak glutes. 

I've scheduled an appointment for next week to get both my hip and hamstring worked on. I'm hoping if I can start by releasing some of the built up tension and soreness, I can move forward with a focused regimen of targeted glute strength and hip mobility work. 

I'm also putting myself on a forced hiatus from running until after that appointment. It's been killing me inside because we've had some unseasonably warm days lately and I've really wanted to run, but I can tell these two weeks off have definitely helped my hip. So walks and strength training only for now. 

After next week's assessment, I hope to be able to focus on building a solid foundation to eventually layer running back in. My first step is finding a mobility plan that I will actually commit to doing on a daily basis. This has always been a struggle for me. I tend to be really good about it for a week and then fall off pretty quickly. 

The second element of my offseason training plan is to dedicate one of my strength training workouts to runner-specific moves that target the glutes and hips. Most of my strength workouts are full body efforts, so those muscles definitely get hit. But it's proven to not be quite enough, so I want to take a more targeted approach. 

And the last thing will just be maintaining a steady base of running -- as soon as my hamstring and hip allow. The best part about winter running is that you don't have to get up before the sun to beat the heat and humidity, so I plan to enjoy lunch time runs and later morning runs on the weekend. 

My hope is that with this focus on rehab and building this strong foundation that when it comes time to pick races for 2022 and start training, I'll be ready to go.

I feel like I didn't read all that much in November, and when I looked back at my GoodReads, I realized it was because I got stuck in two books that were kind of a slog. One had come pretty highly recommended and the other was by a favorite author. So I had two disappointments mixed in with some other fun and fast thrillers, one of my favorite genres. 

Five Stars

Survive the Night by Riley Sager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This audio book kept me great company on my long runs. It takes place mainly in one setting -- on a car ride from a college in New Jersey to a girl's hometown in Ohio. Charlie gets a ride with Josh who she meets through the ride share board at her school. She's leaving town because her roommate was killed. We aren't sure why Josh is leaving town, but he's a questionable character, and Charlie is stuck with him for hours. I definitely didn't see the twist coming right away, and I didn't want my runs to end so I could figure out how things would end.

Four Stars

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I could not put this book down and flew through it in a couple of days (would have been even faster if I didn't lose a day to travel). It's a debut novel by a former CIA analyst, and this book tells the story of a CIA analyst who works on the Russia desk. She hacks into the computer of the handler of a suspected Russian sleeper cell operating in the U.S. and what she finds turns everything she knows completely upside down. Without giving away too many spoilers, the main character needs to figure out who she can trust and how to keep her family safe. Four stars instead of five because there were parts where I didn't think the book was totally believable, but if you love a fun and fast thriller, you should definitely read this book.

Managing Up: How to Move up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss by Mary Abbajay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A colleague recommended this book after we had a series of new leaders start at the beginning of the year. I appreciated the concise advice on approaches for working with all different types of leadership styles.

Three Stars

The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm on a quest to read all of Elin Hilderbrand's books, but sometimes it's hard to find her older ones at the library. So I did this book as an audiobook, and I really enjoyed the soothing tone of the narrator's voice. I also enjoyed the broad strokes of the story that flashes back and forth between present day and the past, but I didn't love some (or many) of the characters. I also thought there was one storyline where I wanted more from the ending, but didn't get it.

L.A. Weather by María Amparo Escandón
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I thought this book started out a little slow, though it did eventually pick up as you got more invested in the family saga. It follows a multigenerational Mexican-American family over the course of the year as each of the family members grapples with strained relationships and major identity shifts around professional and personal goals. For a book titled for the weather, I thought the weather (wildfires specifically) would play a larger role in this book. But other than one story line, I thought the weather actually fell more into the background of the story.

Two Stars

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I usually enjoy Liane Moriarty's books, but this one was a major struggle for me. It took me nearly two whole weeks to read because I found the plot really slow and wasn't really excited to pick it up and actually read it. It started off with a really interesting premise, but it was way too long and I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to stay invested for more than 450 pages.

On Saturday, I ran my last race of the season -- the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Half Marathon. My family spends a week every summer in Rehoboth so I was really excited to race on a familiar, flat course, especially after coming off a good race on a hilly course in DC. 

The logistics for this race could not have been easier. Our hotel was right across the street from packet pick-up and the finish line and just a few blocks walk to the start line. 

We got into town Friday, grabbed my bib and shirt and swung into the Rehoboth Running Company to stock up on some Gus for race morning. Then we hit one of the local Italian places for dinner.

I slept horribly the night before the race, so I didn't really get to take advantage of the fact that I was so close to the start line that I could have slept until literally an hour before the starting gun went off. 

Instead I was up stupid early, ate my peanut butter and toast and got dressed and ready to go. Then I just hung out in my hotel room enjoying the luxury of not having to wait in a porta-potty line.

About 20 minutes before go-time, I left the hotel to walk to the start line. On the walk, I realized I had probably overdressed. I was not nearly as chilly as I expected to be based on the temperature. But oh well, not much I could do about it at that point. 

I hopped into the starting corrals near the 2 hour pace group. After the strong race I ran in DC, I wasn't totally sure what to expect. I figured it was likely that I wouldn't do quite as well in this race since it was only three weeks later, but I knew there was definitely a slim chance I could potentially run an even stronger race. 

My plan was to go out and see how I felt and adjust as necessary. 

When the gun went off, I felt meh. But I was hanging with the 2 hour pace group and their current pace didn't feel unreasonable. So I stuck with them as we wove through the neighborhood where my family rents our beach house every year, and I stuck with them as we ran down the boardwalk toward the first 5K.

And right around that point is when the pace group started to pull away from me, and I realized it was not going to be a speedy day for me. So I let them go and I dropped back to a more comfortable 9:40ish pace. I held that for a couple of miles as we ran in and out of Gordon's Pond.

But by mile 6, I was struggling. My headphones had died so I didn't have my music anymore, and I was about to head into a long out and back on a trail, which I knew would not have many spectators for motivation. 

I had also just passed several medics attending to a runner who was on the ground and appeared to be unresponsive. It was unnerving, and I spent a lot of time during the rest of the race thinking about that man and hoping he was OK. 

I passed my husband a little before mile 7. It was nice to see a friendly face right before I hit a much longer and quieter stretch of course. 

I was still holding an OK pace when I hit the trail, but I could feel my energy waining a bit. I gave myself permission to let go of any time expectations and just find a pace that worked. I kept telling myself it's just one foot in front of the other. All I needed to worry about was keeping myself moving forward. 

At the turn around point on the trail there was a decent crowd of spectators and they were playing music and calling out people's names and bib numbers. They had tons of signs to read, and it was a really helpful motivational boost. 

I passed mile 10, telling myself I only had a 5K to go, but that's where the wheels really started to fall off. 

My legs were dead, and I let myself take a short walk break. The change in motion in my legs actually felt really good, and I was able to pick it up again shortly. I took another short walk break sometime after mile 11 while I took my final Gu. 

We got off the trail just before mile 12. I wanted to be able to run the last mile so I gave myself one more walk break until somewhere around 12.1 or maybe 12.2. My GPS wasn't exactly matching the course at that point, so I couldn't quite tell. 

But then I picked it back up and slowly plodded my way to the finish line. This last mile felt like it took forever. Once I passed the park, I didn't think it would be too long to the finish, but it felt like it took ages. Every block we passed, I was like how is this not the turn for the finish? When I finally got to that turn, I was so excited, but I didn't have an ounce of energy left to pick it up. 

So I just kept going at my super slow pace and eventually crossed the finish line while the race announcer called my name. I got my medal and my heat wrap and found myself a place to plop on the ground and stretch. 

My final time was 2:12:21 -- a 10:06 per mile pace. 

Overall, it's not a bad time and I'm super proud of myself for finishing a half marathon just three weeks out from another half marathon. Any day I can start and finish a race in one piece is a good day. 

There are definitely things that in hindsight I'd go back and do differently. I'd probably start slower and never have tried to hang with the 2 hour pace group. I should have let the DC race be my A race and run this one solely for fun with no thoughts on time goals. I also wish I would have dressed in a short sleeve top and capris instead of long sleeves and tights. Even though it was in the 40s at the start, it warmed up quickly and I struggled with how hot I got. Oh, and I wish I had taken a minute to walk and fix my headphones and music situation early on. I really think if I had something in my ears on the trail I wouldn't have struggled so much mentally. 

I would love to do this race again. I definitely think I can improve on my performance, plus it was just an overall well run race by the Seashore Striders. The after-party was great, the race shirts are awesome and the logistics could not have been any easier. Also, you get all your professional race photos for free (they're the ones in this post with the logo at the bottom. The others are ones my husband snapped while being the best cheer squad).

I have no deep parting thoughts to leave you with. I'm proud to have crossed another finish line even though it wasn't my best race.

I spent Thanksgiving this year at my in-laws, and I was excited that my mother-in-law was interested in running the local turkey trot again with me. She and I did the Give 'Em the Bird 5K for the first time back in 2019, and this year, her sister and cousin joined us on race morning. (We failed to get a group picture). 

The four of us got to the race start on a cold, but at least sunny morning. It was in the 20s when we got there, and I was very glad one of the nearby buildings let us wait inside and use their bathrooms in the heat. 

About five minutes before the race start, we headed back outside and lined up. 

My goal for this race was to use it as a solid tempo run. I was about two weeks post-DC half marathon and one week pre-Rehoboth half marathon. So I wanted to push myself but not over do it.  

The course is a big loop that starts on a bike path before veering onto some neighborhood roads that eventually drop you back onto the bike path.

There's one decent size hill around the half way point, but then you get to finish on a pretty gentle downhill for the last mile or so. 

I let myself warm up for the first minute or two and then consciously worked on picking up my pace. 

When I got to the hill, I tried to keep my effort consistent and powered up without too much of an issue. I credit my hilly neighborhood for my ability to better tackle hills in races these days. 

I made what I knew was the last turn onto the bike path and decided it was time to push the pace. Glancing at my watch, I was excited to see I was holding steady well below a nine-minute pace, and I didn't feel like I was exerting too much effort to maintain that. 

I gave a final kick as the finish line came into sight and crossed the line in 27:47, an 8:51 per mile average pace. Turns out that was good enough for 15th overall in my age group. It also happens to be about 30 seconds faster than when I ran this race two years ago. 

I was quite happy with my time, and it was really fun to have a group of family do this race to kick off the Thanksgiving festivities.