5 Benefits of Planking

April 21, 2017 by 39 Comments

If you’ve been around here for a bit then you know that I’m a fan of planks! In fact, one of my goals for the month of April is 5 minutes of daily planking (and no…not 5 minutes straight – I break the 5 minutes into intervals).

Everyone can benefit from strengthening their core – especially runners! So if you haven’t jumped on the plank bandwagon yet, I thought I’d share with you some of the benefits of planking!

5 benefits of planking

Target many muscles in one exercise: Planks engage every core muscle from transverse abdominus to the rectus abdominus; from the external obliques to the glutes.

Big payoff, small investment: Planks don’t require a lot of time, but can offer a big payoff by strengthening so many key muscles relatively quickly.

Improved posture: By engaging and strengthening all of those muscles, planks will help improve your posture. As your abdominal muscles activate they share the burden with your back muscles of holding you upright. When your abs are stronger, you sit and stand with your vertebrae stacked – so the added benefit is you’re less likely to develop pain in your neck and shoulders from slouching. Who doesn’t want to stand (or run) taller?

Increased flexibility: Planks help to increase or maintain flexibility by expanding and stretching the muscles around the shoulders, collarbone, shoulder blades, and hamstrings.

Better movement: By strengthening your core, planks help your stabilization and train your body to move better as a unit – your muscles work together, which means you move more efficiently overall.

Why runners should add planks to their routine #runchat #fridayfive Share on X

I’m linking up with Rachel from Running on Happy and Lacey & Meranda from Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five link-up!

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Filed Under: Friday Five, planks

RtR Week 6 Wrap-up

April 16, 2017 by 22 Comments

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who weighed in on my training dilemma. It was interesting to hear others’ perspectives.

This past week for me was filled with yoga, PT exercises, daily planking…and yes a little running. Wednesday’s run of 4.25 miles was hard fought and left me almost certain that switching to the half to the 5-miler was the only option. Then came Saturday…

Saturday’s 6.5 miles gave my confidence a nudge in the right direction…while far from pain-free, things got better as the run progressed. I went from almost throwing in the towel at the 2-mile mark after having to walk the end of a short hill to powering up a much bigger hill in mile 4. And though I certainly wasn’t trying to, my Garmin showed each mile was just slightly faster than the last.

It was nice to end the week on a higher note…though I’m still no closer to deciding what to do about the race distance. So was this run the sign of light at the end of the tunnel?

The RC coaches have weighed in and think it might be better to stay in my current comfort zone where I know I can complete the distance and spend the next 6 weeks getting the hip completely where it needs to be. They can tell I’m having a hard time letting go of the idea of the half and are supporting my hemming and hawing for another week 🙂

Linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

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

Wrapping up Week 5 – BTDT

April 9, 2017 by 39 Comments

I’m feeling a bit like a broken record here! Training continues to be a mixed bag as my hip giveth and my hip taketh away. I have been babying this hip/glute thing for a few weeks now and on average I’m lucky if I hit 5 miles on any given run (though I managed 6 on Friday). And, these miles have been, for the most part, s-l-o-w!

I have been trying to be positive and keep telling myself I still have time…but now with Run to Remember just 7 weeks from today, I’m starting to wonder. I was so frustrated after this morning’s run that I wondered aloud to my husband whether I just need to stop running…or at least stop training. Yes..perhaps a bit dramatic… I know that I love running too much to just stop…but right now, it’s hard to love something that is not loving me back. I’ve already been down this road once before this year…where my head and heart are focused on training, but my body just won’t get with the program.

 

So with just 14 miles, plus yoga and some strength work week 5 is a wrap, and I’m honestly not sure where to go from here. Option 1 is to continue to push along and hope for a turnaround; option 2 is to let go of the half marathon and drop to the 5-miler; and, option 3 is… stop training for any race until my body cooperates.

I’m curious…what would you do?

As always, I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

 

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Filed Under: Boston's Run to Remember, half marathon training, injuries, running dilemnas, Uncategorized, Weekly Wrap

RtR Training – What happened to Week 4?!

April 3, 2017 by 21 Comments

Run to Remember Training Update

Good grief last week was a complete blur! Add to the chaos, two kids with the stomach bug and feeling under the weather myself and you have the perfect storm to throw my training into a tailspin! Here are the “highlights.”

Monday — Scheduled rest day – so needed!

Tuesday — 5 mile tempo run

Wednesday — Strength work

Thursday —  Both of my kiddos went down, and I was feeling less than stellar. My poor husband was last man standing and took care of all of us.

Friday — The kids, of course, bounced right back and returned to school, while I, on the other hand, felt like I’d been hit by a truck. So instead of making up the miles, it was 45 minutes of yoga.

Saturday — Sleet/snow/rain combo! Clearly, Mother N has issues! I opted to sleep in and push the run to Sunday. I did get a short strength workout in before heading off to see my son and his team win their hockey championship!

Sunday — The weather schizophrenia continued with bright blue skies and temps in the 50s. I was glad I delayed my run and giddy to be back in running skirt!  I had hoped to get 8 miles in, but my right hip continues to be a little wonky (yes a technical term) so I settled for a hard fought 5. 

So I’ll be nursing the wonky hip for a couple of days and plan to try another run on Wednesday. Luckily I’ve got a massage scheduled for Thursday!

As always, I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

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Filed Under: #REALwomenmove, half marathon training, Weekly Wrap

Coffee Date – No April Foolin’

April 1, 2017 by 25 Comments

Nothing better then a chance to slow down and catch up over a mug of coffee (or tea if you prefer). So I’m joining Coco and Deborah for the monthly Coffee Date. Settle in, grab a comfy chair, and let’s chat a little, shall we?

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’m just not enjoying Mother Nature’s little weather joke! After an unusually “warm” February, March proved to be colder than any month this winter – what’s up with that?!?


If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that believe it or not hockey is still alive in my house! You may remember the last time we got together for coffee I was looking forward to wrapping up the hockey season. Well, who knew that our team would start playing inspired hockey in the playoffs! We finally head to the championship game late this afternoon.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’m so excited to volunteering at the Boston Marathon again! I’ll be returning to the finish line area, which was a blast last year. Can. not. wait!


If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that we’re getting a puppy! After losing our beloved German Shepherd last June, it didn’t take long for our family to decide we wanted to get another dog. We knew we wanted another Shepherd but decided to get a sable this time.

So what would you tell me over coffee?

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Filed Under: Ultimate coffee date

April 2017 Goals

March 31, 2017 by 32 Comments

April 2017 goals

I feel like I was a bit all over the map in March fitness wise, so I’m throwing down some goals for April.

Hit every workout — There’s not a lot of white space on my April calendar so I’m going to need to do whatever it takes to get my workouts in. Early morning, post-work, lunchtime runs, etc. – I’m committing to not missing a workout on my training plan.

Run 100 miles — If I follow through on goal #1, this should be doable.

Continue my plank challenge — While I did plank daily in March, I fell off my goal of 5 minutes/day, so I’m going to shoot for that in April.

Weekly yoga — I mentioned in last week’s wrap-up that I want to commit to a weekly session, so I’m doing it.

Meal plan — I’m great at regularly planning each week’s dinners, but I’ve been totally winging it on breakfast, lunch, and snacks. My choices over the past few weeks haven’t always been the best, as evidenced by the numbers creeping in the wrong direction on my scale, so time to fix that!

Do you set monthly goals? How was your March?

I’m linking up with Rachel from Running on Happy and Lacey & Meranda from Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five link-up!

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Filed Under: Friday Five, goals

RtR Training Week 3

March 26, 2017 by 38 Comments

Run to Remember Training Update

Well as I predicted, this was a week of managing colliding schedules and I knew I was going to have to be flexible in figuring out how to fit my workouts in. It was a bit of a mixed bag, but my plan is to log a weekly training recap to help keep myself accountable. So mixed bag and all, here’s how thing shook out.

Monday — Strength day: hips & abs

Tuesday — Hill repeats. They felt awful while I was doing them, but I was happy to check the Garmin and see I’d hit the target pace range.

Yes, I literally took a seat on the side of the road when these were done!

Wednesday — I was on the road for work for part of the day and then the family to do list was long, so I shuffled my schedule and took a rest day.

Thursday —  Strength workout followed by a much-needed sports massage to keep my cranky hip in line!

Friday — My plan called for a 5 mile run with 3 miles at tempo pace. Honestly, this was more like a 5-mile fartlek as my pacing was wildly inconsistent. Not a pretty run…but they all can’t be, right?

Saturday —  At the urging of my massage therapist, I got in a short yoga session. Need to figure out how to add more yoga to my weekly plan.

Sunday — 6 mile “long” run.

a rainy, gray run

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

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

Weekly Wrap: Catching Up

March 19, 2017 by 25 Comments

Happy Sunday!

I feel like it’s been a while since I joined in on the Weekly Wrap link-up! Thanks as always to Holly & Tricia for hosting the link-up.

So let’s get caught up, shall we? This time last week I was just kicking off 4 whirlwind days in NYC with the family. And I do mean whirlwind! We got in a lot of sightseeing and eating 😉 We even scored half price tickets to the Broadway show, School of Rock, which I highly recommend especially if you have kids – my boys loved it!

It was great family time and a much-needed break for all! The only downside of time away is the chaos that awaits when you return! Thankfully the weekend was close at hand, making re-entry a little easier.

And, since Run to Remember training is officially underway, I did what I could to get some miles in this week as well.

Monday — Cross-training in the form of walking 5+ miles around NYC.

Tuesday — Storm Stella got in the way of my plan to get a run through the city so I headed to the hotel gym, with my mini coach in tow 😉 3 miles done.

Wednesday — More cross-training across the city.

Thursday — The plan called for 1.5-mile intervals, but honestly, my legs were toast and I knew there was just no way speed work of any kind was happening. I opted for 4 easy miles.

Friday — Rest!

Saturday — A trip to the chiro and a 5-mile run.

Sunday — My son’s hockey playoffs dominated the day, but I did make time for the exercises my chiro wants me to do to help keep my hip happy.

This week, work/family schedules will be pretty chaotic, but it’s time to step up the miles for RtR so I’m going to have to get creative to fit it all in!

How was your week?

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

March StrideBox Reveal

March 10, 2017 by 16 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve seen some of the fun things I’ve received from the great folks at StrideBox over the past couple of months. Well, this month I thought I share an up close look at the recent box I received. (You can also read my first review here).

Each month the box of treats comes all wrapped in tissue paper — this month, of course, it’s green in honor of St. Patty’s Day. And the first thing you see is The Stride Guide – a quick guide to all of the goodness inside. And this box did not disappoint! 

So let’s break it down….

On the nutrition front there is:

Nuun Vitamins – these tablets can be used at any time for a daily hydration boost.

Ultima Replenisher – electrolytes and mineral support with no sugar and zero calories.

CarbBoom Gel — caffeinated and made with real fruit purees, and no artificial flavors or sweeteners.

Peanut Butter & Co — a nut butter that combines dark chocolate and peanut butter…need I say more?

Jimmy Bar — peanut butter ice cream?! It’s a miracle I haven’t ripped into this one already!

In addition to the nutrition, StrideBox always offers both personal care items and running gear.

2Toms Blister Shield — a must-have for any runner, as the create an almost frictionless surface and repel moisture to help avoid blisters.

Wrist Wallet — a simple zippered sleeve that slips comfortably over your wrist. It’s perfectly sized to hold a key, money, or possible chews on your run.

I also love that the box included a card with a recipe (Fruity Endurance Gel Blocks) on one side and a workout (Firing Up the Glutes) on the other. 

Pretty awesome mix for just $15/month, right? 

(Disclosure: I was sent this box by StrideBox. All opinions, as always, are my own.)

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Filed Under: #StrideBox, product reviews

Getting back to running

March 5, 2017 by 18 Comments

I’m thrilled to say that I’ve got 3 days of running in this week!

Monday:  Another chiro appointment where I runfessed that I cheated and ran last Saturday. He laughed and wasn’t surprised…yeah we’re going to get along just fine 🙂 After our session, I get the official green light to start running!

Tuesday: 3 easy miles

Wednesday: Strength day — all core and lower body work. And, of course, some planking.

Thursday: The wind gusts reached 45 mph and tree limbs were falling everywhere…hmmm no thanks! Opted for yoga instead.

Friday: Made up for Thursday’s run – another 3 miler

Saturday: 15 degrees plus a brutal wind made these 4 miles feel much longer, but my husband was a good sport and came along to keep me company. It was so cold my phone shut down when I tried to get a post-run pic! Have you ever had that happen?!

I was pretty psyched to have these hand warmers which had come in my February Stride Box. You can reseal them so they’re re-usable for up to 6 hours, which I’ll probably be putting to the test this week since temps aren’t supposed to rise for the next couple of days.

Sunday: Rest day

Ten pain-free miles just makes me smile! The goal this week is simple…to run more!

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

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Filed Under: Weekly Wrap