5 things I’m loving lately and a giveaway!

May 18, 2018 by 46 Comments

Happy Friday!

To kick this Friday off I thought I’d share a few things I’ve been loving lately. (This post contains some affiliate links).

Headsweats headbands – I have always loved Headsweats hats and as ambassador, I have had the chance to try out some other products in their line. One of my new favorites is their Ultra Bands. While I wear it mostly as a headband, the design is pretty versatile and it could be anything from a wristband to a face mask. If you want to check out the Ultra Band or any of the Headsweats products, don’t forget to use code ATTITUDE25 to save 25%.

I just got this one – Isn’t this Purple Haze pattern awesome?

Lotta Breeze Skirt– You all know how much I love my Skirt Sports skirts and my go-to style is the Gym Girl Ultra but I recently tried the Lotta Breeze and I’m hooked. It’s so comfortable with a drawstring at the waist that ensures it doesn’t slip and 5.5″ shorties so there’s no risk of chafing. After my first run, I immediately bought another and now I’m eagerly awaiting new patterns. Use code 218Dixo to save 15% when you place an order.


Dynamic Tape – I have Marcia to thank for this find. Dynamic Tape (Affiliate link!) stays put and provides great support – and the tattoo pattern is kinda fun, don’t ya think?!

Spring Energy Gel –  Before I had to cut back a bit on mileage, I had started testing out different fuel options on my long runs. I received a tube of Spring Energy Gel (Affiliate link!) in a recent StrideBox. I really like that Spring Energy is made with real food – it was easy on my stomach, had no aftertaste, and kept me feeling good through eight miles.

StrideBox – And speaking of StrideBox, if you’ve been around here for a bit or follow me on Instagram then you know that I’m a big fan of StrideBox. It’s such a great mix of runner goodies, and I swear each box has just been getting better and better. And for just $15 per month, it’s a great deal.

So thanks to the awesome folks at StrideBox, I’ve got a box to give away! The giveaway is open to residents in the U.S. only and will run from now until 11:59 p.m. on 5/22. If you don’t want to wait, use code MICHELLE10OFF to save $10 on your first box! This code is good until 5/31 so don’t wait!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m joining Rachel and Lacey & Meranda for the Friday Five link-up!

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Filed Under: #skirtsports, #StrideBox, #TeamHeadsweats, Friday Five, giveaways

Can one be allergic to training?

May 7, 2018 by 34 Comments

So let me cut right to the chase – my piriformis/hamstring issue came roaring back this week, and with just 3 weeks to go until Run to Remember I’m starting to wonder if I’ve developed an allergic reaction to training?! Seriously, just a month ago things were going along swimmingly – I had been diligently doing everything to calm a cranky piriformis, including changing my shoes, and declared that I was raring to go with my training plan.

Now with a tempo run gone wrong and a 10-miler that quickly became a 7 miler, I feel like I clearly spoke too soon and jinxed myself.

Here’s how the week went down:

Monday: Rest day – Spent all day in heels for work presentations. No bueno.

Tuesday: Just too many hours in a car. I rolled like it was my job and called it a day, pushing my run to Wednesday.

Wednesday: 3.25 miles on a gorgeous morning

Thursday: On the plan, 6 miles with 4 at tempo pace. What happened was 5.25 miles with 3 at tempo – and “tempo” is a generous descriptor! I poked the bear with this run – by just 2 miles into it, my piriformis let it be known it was not interested in participating in the run and it was downhill from there. Add in the sudden humidity and temp spike for what would turn out to be a 90-degree day, and I had a front-row seat on the struggle bus. The more I tried to push the more gimpy my stride became so I packed it in early.

Friday: Lots of babying and bargaining with my right side in hopes to get through a double-digit long run on Saturday.

Saturday: Once again by 2 miles into the run I knew I was in trouble. It then became this debate with myself as to whether to keep going or to pack it in – when do you know if you’re doing more harm then good? I was so glad to be sharing this run with my husband J, who kept me positive and also was the more rational of the two of us to get me to stop at 7 when it was clear I was hobbled.

Sunday: Rest day with a small pity party on the side.

While I try to keep it positive and tell myself that 7 miles is still a good run, the truth is I’m worried. Once again I find myself wishing for more days on the calendar as my race date looms (remember I already missed the Black Cat 10 miler back in March because I lost time on the road thanks to the piriformis).

I’m going to plan on a mix of cross-training, easy miles, and the rehab exercises this week and keep my fingers crossed. Wish me luck!

I’m joining Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. If you share a weekly training recap be sure to join them!

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Filed Under: injuries, Weekly Wrap

May Coffee Talk

May 5, 2018 by 19 Comments

I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date, so grab a mug and let’s chat!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that after two straight months of starting our little coffee chats complaining about the winter that would not leave, Mother N has done an abrupt 180. We’re now suddenly in the throws of summer with temps hitting 91 degrees! What the heck?! I’m chalking it up to a hot flash and hoping we haven’t just skipped spring altogether this year.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that my Keurig stopped working earlier this week, and I will admit to having a mini-meltdown. Yeah…”no morning coffee” is just not a phrase I’m comfortable with so I’ve been visiting the local Dunkin Donuts daily and will be buying a new coffee maker this weekend!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m bracing myself for what we affectionally refer to in my house as “May Madness” – highlights will include dashing from field to field shuttling the boys to their lax games, along with juggling all the year-end school projects, papers, and events.

And, speaking of school, if we were having coffee, I’d tell you that the reality that my boys will be done with school by the first week of June has smacked me squarely in the face. I’m behind in my summer planning and there are many open weeks with nothing planned. While I don’t need to have every moment for them scheduled, too much idle time can get ugly!

So, now, what would you tell me over coffee?

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Filed Under: Ultimate coffee date

April Wrap-Up and May Goals

April 30, 2018 by 20 Comments

And just like that, another month is coming to a close! So it’s time for a quick wrap-up of how things shook out in April.

Running – There were 60.55 miles on the road and the mill. Following the recommendation of my massage therapist, I shelved my new Mizuno Skys and went back to running in the Saucony Zealots. I also added in the new Kinvara 9s (I use to run in Kinvaras all the time until Saucony messed with the design). So far so good!

Strength Work – Thanks to the Tricep dips, Push-ups, and Jump Squats challenge there was some focus on strength training this month. And, my plank streak continues to roll along (120 days and counting!)

Cross-Training – Just a little time was spent on the Arc Trainer, but my poor yoga mat was often neglected.  Basically, as my schedule grew more hectic during the month, non-running workouts took a backseat.

May Goals

With the Run to Remember Half at the end of the month, there will obviously be a big focus on building mileage. If I complete all of the runs on my training plan, then I should hit around 85 miles.

And, with the increase in mileage, I know I have to keep up the self-care (rolling, massage) and the PT exercises that seem to help keep the piriformis happy and quite.

I also know that I do better if I don’t “just run” so weekly yoga sessions and some time with the kettlebells will also be part of the plan.

Overall the goal for May is consistency!

I’m joining Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap.

And, with Erika, Marcia, and Patty for Tuesdays on the Run.

How was your April? What are you looking forward to in May?

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Filed Under: goals, month in review, training, Tuesdays on the Run, Weekly Wrap

Spring Runfessions

April 27, 2018 by 34 Comments

Happy Friday!

Wowza what a long week it’s been! I’m looking forward to the weekend, but first things first – today is the last Friday of the month and Marcia has opened the runfessional so let’s share, shall we?

I runfess that this year’s weather has really gotten into my head more than usual. I’m not usually such a fair-weather runner, but I am just so done with wearing “all the layers”. Thankfully, Mother N seems to have finally settled down and the past few days have felt like spring!

I runfess I’m more in love with the idea of running than actual running at the moment. My runs have kind of been all over the place lately – I’m either feeling like I’m in a groove or even the easy runs feel ridiculously hard. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. Running has its ebbs and flows, and I’m currently in an ebb.

I runfess that I’ve been having a hard time watching some of the trainer-led workouts going on at my gym lately. While I do not profess to be an expert, if someone’s doing a plank and they look more like a triangle, shouldn’t you correct them? I watched a training session going on next to me the other day and couldn’t believe it. The trainer seemed more concerned with looking at his phone than what his client was doing. Then again, the trainer was also dressed in jeans…so there’s that!

I runfess that while I was fully committed to Rachel’s Tricep Dips, Push-ups & Jump Squat Challenge, my mojo has waned this week as the number of reps reached the 90s – the dips and push-up are leaving me with jelly arms. I’ve been doing them usually in sets of 20 and admit to not always getting back to finish the final sets this week.

I runfess that today is the 8th anniversary of this blog! (You can read my very first post here). When I realized earlier this month that it was coming up, I had grand plans for honoring the occasion, but then promptly forgot about them in the hubbub of daily life. Perhaps I’ll get it together for a belated celebration in May.

Tell me, do you ever see trainers re-inforcing bad form at the gym? Do you celebrate your blog anniversary?

I’m also joining Rachel and Lacey & Meranda for the Friday Five link-up!

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Filed Under: Friday Five, Runfessions

Run to Remember Training – 5 Weeks to go

April 23, 2018 by 30 Comments

Happy Monday!

I find it kind of hard to believe that it’s just 5 short weeks until Boston’s Run to Remember.

As I start to increase my weekly mileage, I think my biggest challenge this week was just trying to fit in 4 days of running. I haven’t run 4 days in a week since last fall, and it’s clear that I need to do a better job of planning my runs – especially those mid-week runs longer than 5 miles.

Last week also marked the first attempt at “speed work” in a while with 800-meter repeats – now that was a shock to the system! They were challenging and I was really happy to make it through this workout.

It was also nice to have Mother Nature play nice and finally see blue skies by the end of the week!

Sunday’s long run was an eight miler, and I have to say it wasn’t as strong a run as I’d hoped for. I hadn’t been sleeping well all week (actually for the past two weeks) and the cumulative effect caught up with me on this run. My legs just didn’t want to go so this run was a real mental battle. But I did get my eight miles!

Last week was also week 3 of Rachel’s Tricep Dips, Push-ups, and Jump Squats Challenge. And honestly, this challenge and my daily planks were really the only strength training that happened. My schedule was pretty hectic this week so these mini workouts fit in perfectly. Unfortunately, what was missing this week was yoga or any form of cross-training.

For this week, I’ll be doing my best to make sleep a priority and to get back to the yoga mat at least once. I’ve also got a 10-mile long run scheduled, so this will give me a chance to start to figure out my fueling strategy for the half.

In other news…

(In case you’re not following me on Instagram) Don’t forget to take advantage of the great deal going on with Skirt Sports!

The offer is only good through April 24 so get shopping!

How many days a week do you typically run? Are you training for anything right now?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap.

And, with Erika, Marcia, and Patty for Tuesdays on the Run.

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Filed Under: #skirtsports, Boston's Run to Remember, half marathon training, Skirt Sports Ambassador, Tuesdays on the Run, Weekly Wrap

Wrapping up a long week

April 15, 2018 by 41 Comments

Happy Sunday!

Lots of stuff happening on the home front made this a tough week. While I’m going to refrain from getting into details, I will say parenting is hard especially as your kids get older and you can’t always “fix” things. It’s hard to watch your child struggle.

I also had to take a deferral on next weekend’s race. Family schedules and my husband needing to fly out for a business trip earlier than originally expected made a trip to Maine not possible. Thankfully the race offered a deferment so I’ve already got my first race for 2019. (Gotta look at the positives, right?)

So yeah it’s been one of those weeks where running wasn’t just something I wanted to do, it was something I needed – “road therapy” as I like to call it.

Here’s how the week’s workouts went down:

Monday – My usual rest day plus 50 triceps dips for the dips, push-ups, and squats challenge.

Tuesday – 6 miles including 2×2 mile intervals plus 50 push-ups. Good grief this was a challenging run, but I was pleased with how it went.

Wednesday – Did an at home strength workout and mixed in the 50 squats for the challenge. I noticed a little soreness in my shins so I stuck to regular squats instead of the jump squats.

Thursday – After a horrible night of sleep or rather not sleeping, I decided to take a rest day. I did get my 60 tricep dips done and saw my massage therapist.

Friday – I wanted to make up for Thursday’s missed run, so it was 5 miles with 3 at a steady pace, followed by 60 push-ups. The best part was the weather as it finally felt like spring!

Saturday – 60 squats and 6 miles of being tailed by the struggle bus. I could feel the cumulative effects of the week both physically and emotionally making this run feel much longer than it really was. On the flip side, it did give me the chance to sort some things out … road therapy!

And I kept my daily plank streak going on Day 105 as of today!

Today is a much-needed rest day and I’m looking forward to just lounging around the house with my family. Thanks to the forecasted bitter temps and sleet, we have a rare Sunday without lacrosse games. I plan to enjoy the slow pace, watching movies and an epic family game of Risk later.

Tell me something about your week?

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap.

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Filed Under: Weekly Wrap

Easing into half marathon training

April 9, 2018 by 40 Comments

With a couple of weeks of decent…and more importantly, pain-free running under my belt, I’m finally feeling like I can begin to focus on training for the Run to Remember Half.

Run to Remember Training Update

The race is Memorial Day Weekend so that gives me just about 7 weeks to start extending my long runs beyond the 6-miles I’ve been running and to add in some speedwork and tempo runs. And, while I’m two weeks out from the Portland 10 Miler, Run to Remember is my goal race for the Spring. I plan to use Portland as a tune-up to get me to back to double digits since I ended up missing out on Black Cat last month.

So with training underway, here’s a quick recap of how last week went.

Monday – Rest day, but I signed on for Rachel’s newest challenge, Tricep Dips, Push-ups & Jump Squats so it was 30 tricep dips and my usual plank to kick off the week.

Tuesday – A crazy work day had me swapping my Tuesday and Wednesday workouts, so I did strength training, including the challenge’s 30 push-ups. It’s been a while since I’ve done push-ups and clearly have some work to do here!

Wednesday – 6 miles followed by 30 jump squats.

Clearly, I have not mastered the mid-air selfie 🙂

Thursday – I was on the road for work all day, and too much time in the car had me feeling like a pretzel. So I just spent a lot of time stretching and did get my 40 tricep dips done.

Friday – Another freak snow storm and colliding family schedules left me to push my run to Saturday, but I did get the 40 push-ups done along with my daily plank.

Saturday – While I futzed around most of the morning cause I just didn’t feel like running, once I got out on the road the run felt great. 40 more jump squats completed the first week of the challenge.

Sunday – Another 6 miles – This run was hard because I so misread the weather and was underdressed for the cold wind.

Wrapping up another week and easing back into half marathon training! #runchat #runtoremember Share on X

This week should be much quieter on the work front so the goal will be 3 runs, plus at least two strength workouts. I didn’t break out my yoga mat at all last week, so I’d also like to get some yoga in too.

I’m linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap; and with Erika, Marcia, and Patty for Tuesdays on the Run.

How was your week? Are you training for a spring race?

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Filed Under: Boston's Run to Remember, half marathon training, Weekly Wrap

It’s time for April coffee

April 7, 2018 by 13 Comments

As we ease into a new month, this is the perfect time to settle in and catch up over coffee. I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date, so grab a mug of your fave hot beverage and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that it’s deja vu all over again. Just like March’s coffee date I cannot believe that I’m still dealing with snow. We got hit with a freak storm yesterday that made visibility on the roads tough and more is expected on Tuesday. I can’t whine about this winter anymore so I’ll just move on…

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that once the weather does settle down I cannot wait to get out in my garden and get planting. I have two gardens around my house (one sun and one shade) and they are both in need of some redesign – removing old plants that are past their blooming prime and relocating others that have gotten too big. I’ve been pouring over garden catalogs and sketching out some new layouts, and I’m itching to get started!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’ve just finished reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (Affiliate link) and my curiosity is peaked. Elrod’s premise is that by intentionally managing your routine during the first hour of the day you can set the stage for success across many areas of your life. He provides guides on how to do this and elements he recommends be part of your routine. I’m going to try his 30 day challenge, and have wrangled my husband into joining me.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that lacrosse season officially kicks off in my house this weekend as both boys have their first games! With both boys playing across 3 teams, we’ve got a lot of games on the calendar over the next couple of months. This is always a crazy hectic time of year for us, but I love that this is a sport our whole family enjoys!

What would you tell me over coffee? 

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Filed Under: gardening, general musings, Lacrosse, Ultimate coffee date

March Wrap-Up

April 2, 2018 by 27 Comments

Happy Monday!

I was going to say “Happy Spring” but as I type this I’m watching snow fall again. Seriously?!? Hard to believe that I ran yesterday in a long sleeve top and skirt and at times felt too warm. After dealing with 3 nor’easters during the month of March I have given up trying to predict what Mother N will do next!

So with the new month laid out before me, it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the month that was March.

Running – I fell short of my 70-mile goal thanks to the aforementioned weather and to one very irritable piriformis. This pain in the butt (literally) cost me some time on the road and led to a DNS for the Black Cat 10. On the upside, thanks to babying the heck out of said muscle and doing my PT exercises like it was my job, I finished the month feeling much stronger and running pain-free!

Strength Work – In addition to all of the PT work, my plank streak continued (Day 91!), and I managed one strength session weekly.

Cross-Training – With less running, I spent some quality time on the Arc Trainer and the bike. I also managed a weekly yoga session following a program with Daily Om.

All-in-all, not a bad month. My April goals are pretty straightforward – add more mileage while keeping the piriformis happy and make it to the starting line of the Portland 10 Miler. And hopefully, in the process, the spring weather will finally come and stick around for a while.

I’m joining Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap.

How was your March? Has Spring made an appearance where you are?

 

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Filed Under: month in review, Weekly Wrap