Weekly Wrap – February Rewind

February 29, 2016 by 24 Comments

Happy Leap Day! (Is that a thing?)

The days continue to fly by at an alarming rate, and we’re already at the end of another month. So it’s time once again to do a quick wrap-up the month and see what March has in store.

Good things for the month:

  • Really enjoyed Mar’s 14-day Self Care Challenge (you can read more about it here).
  • T25 – Have enjoyed mixing up my workouts, though as I run-fessed, the double workout days are proving to be a bit much
  • Met my goal of increasing my mileage over January
  • More outdoor runs vs. treadmill — Gotta love seeing 50+ degrees in February!
  • Another massage was had – always a good thing!
Things I could do without:
  • The events of this month left me feeling stressed and distracted
On the decks for March:
  • Start training for Boston’s Run to Remember half
  • Returning to yoga classes – at least I’m hoping to try to fit this in. There’s a studio near me that I’ve been wanting to check out.
  • Fingers-crossed the weather continues to cooperate and I’ll not see a treadmill again for a while 🙂

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I’m joining Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap – be sure to stop by and say hi and see how #RnRNOLA turned out for them!

How did February treat you?

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Filed Under: month in review, Weekly Wrap

February Runfessions

February 26, 2016 by 28 Comments

How is it possible that it is time for another round of Runfessions?!

The last Friday of every month Marcia of Marcia’s Healthy Slice invites us all to share our run-, gym-, swim- fessions. Some come cleanse your sweaty soul and join us!

What are you runfessing this month? Link up with @teamarcia and share Share on X

 

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Runfession #1 –– So I returned for another message last week – thank goodness for the gift certificates I got for Christmas! The massage therapist was a little less horrified than last time – I’ve been following her advice to roll using a lacrosse ball.

Runfession #2 — I’ve been slacking on my PT exercises and it was showing in the form of a slightly angry ITB earlier this month. Since I’ve gotten back on track my IT band has quieted down to being just slightly annoyed.

Runfession #3 — The double workout days of running and doing T25 are seriously kicking my tail! I confess over this last week, I’ve skipped the T25 on run days. Please don’t tell Shaun T…

Shaun T

Runfession #4 — I wish I had a race coming up earlier on the calendar. I know the smart thing to do was to ease back into running and build my base, but I must admit some days my motivation to run is a little schizoprentic. I’m feeling the need for a training plan to help hold me accountable.

Runfession #5 — On the other hand, I run fess that I’ll more than make up for the lack of spring racing this fall. I keep stalking race websites and trying to figure out how many I can register for without wearing a groove in my credit card or racing every weekend.

OK – now it’s your turn. What are your runfessions?

I’m also joining Mar, Courtney and Cynthia for their Friday Five link-up. DC-Trifecta-Friday-Five-linkup

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Filed Under: Friday Five, Runfessions

Reminiscing – Favorite Race Medals

February 23, 2016 by 18 Comments

Erika, Marcia and Patty are inviting everyone to share their favorite race medals for this week’s Tuesdays on the Run. It could be a medal you’re just dying to add to your collection or one you already happily earned. It will be fun to see all the different medals people share.

I, for one, do love a good piece of bling…and there are many out there that I have my eye on. But when it comes to picking a favorite, it was no contest…

RTR 2011 medal

Do you have a favorite race medal? Share on X

My favorite medal is this one from Boston’s Run to Remember – it was my first half marathon (you can read the full recap here).

It was such a special day for me from start to finish. I remember soaking in every moment – from the other runners to the volunteers to my family’s amazing support along the course (seriously, they were everywhere!).

So while this medal is not the fanciest bling, it symbolizes a major goal accomplished and a day I’ll never forget!

Do you have a favorite race medal?

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Filed Under: Boston's Run to Remember, Tuesdays on the Run

Thursday Thoughts – #14DaysofSelf Edition

February 18, 2016 by 14 Comments

I recently completed Mar’s #14DaysofSelf Challenge and really enjoyed it. While intuitively we all know we should carve out time for ourselves, how many of us make a conscious choice to do so…especially on a daily basis?

So I thought I’d share suggestions for your own challenge…. (and seriously I do encourage everyone to do their own challenge!)

self care

Scheduled it – I literally put “Self care” on the to do list in my planner every day for the 14 days. I know that may sound crazy, but reviewing my to do list every morning meant that among other priorities, I was reminded to put myself on the list.

Mixed it up — While not necessary, I made a point to try to do something different for myself every day during the challenge. Some days were planned in advance, but other times it was just in response to the day.

Big money/time not required — When I mention this challenge to a friend, her response was “How are you going to fit in daily spa treatments?” It was interesting to me that in her mind, self care = big, time consuming (and expensive) activity. While I certainly wouldn’t turn down a daily massage, the truth is neither the time nor monetary commitment had to be big for it to be meaningful.

Feed the mind, body and soul — While I’m the first one to advocate for getting your sweat on, this challenge was also a great reminder to feed your needs on many levels.

Lessons learned from #14daysofself challenge Share on X

Getting still and asking myself what I needed each day was a great way to find some balance and peace in what has been a very hectic couple of weeks.

Did you participate in Mar’s Challenge? How do you practice self care?

Joining Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday Thinking-Out-Loud2 and

with Jill for Fitness, Health & Happiness  Fitness Health Happiness badge

 

 

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Filed Under: #14DaysofSelf, Thursday Thoughts

Weekly Wrap – Return of the Polar Vortex

February 15, 2016 by 18 Comments

A huge thank you to everyone who checked in with kind words last week – much appreciated.

I was grateful for my workouts last week – while not always pretty they were a good distraction!

Monday:   Another snow day for the kids and more shoveling for me
Tuesday:   3 mile run
Wednesday:   T25 Speed 1.0
Thursday:   3 mile run plus T25 Cardio
Friday:   T25 Lower Focus — holy squats and lunges Batman!
Saturday:  4.25 mile run
Sunday:   Opted for yoga over T25 Stretch

Polar-vortex-2016

Thanks to the return of the Polar Vortex, the temps around here have plummeted. With the windchill, it reached negative double digits this weekend, so aside from trips to the gym, I just enjoyed some much needed down time with the family. Saturday was all about video games, movies, reading – and of course I watched the Olympic Trials! While I was disappointed for Kara, I loved watching the teamwork of Shalane & Amy. And, watching Meb run always makes me smile! Valentine’s Day is always low-keyed here – we celebrated with our traditional sushi dinner, and of course a little chocolate! chocolates

It’s school vacation week here for my youngest son, so I’m definitely going to have to be flexible with when I get to workout this week. In fact, I’m going to take advantage of my husband being off from work today and head to the gym now….

How was your week? Are you dealing with the polar vortex?

rp_WeeklyWrap-1-300x300.jpgLinking up once again with Holly of HoHo Runs and Tricia of MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap – be sure to stop by and say hi and check out the other weekly recaps.

 

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Filed Under: weather, Weekly Wrap

Heavy-hearted

February 11, 2016 by 9 Comments

USA, California, Los Angeles skyline, sunset

I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not to post about this here….

Our town has been hit by not one but two tragedies…two people, a 6-year old kindergartner, and a husband and father of 3 were killed in separate freak accidents when tree branches fell on them due to the weight of the recent snow. To say that people here are shocked and devastated would be an understatement…. it’s just been too much to wrap your head around.

I didn’t know the little girl or her family, but my heart breaks for them. I did know the man…I had been lucky enough to get to know him in the past couple of years working together on our town’s youth lacrosse program. He was truly one of the good ones….I have no words.

These events are cruel reminders that there truly are no guarantees. It is also a reminder to live life with joy and passion, pursuing those things that make our hearts soar. It is a reminder to not let fear stand in your way…to not put off goals and dreams. It is a reminder to tell those most important in your life just how much they mean to you.

Thanks for letting me share….

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Weekly wrap – Running, T25 and Shoveling

February 8, 2016 by 18 Comments

I swear I blink and these days are flying by! The first week of February is already in the books – so how did it go?

Monday:   Started the T25 10 week program with T25 Cardio

Tuesday:   3 mile run plus T25 Speed 1.0

Wednesday:   T25 Total Body Circuit

Thursday:   Woke up feeling horrible so I skipped my run, but still managed to do T25 Ab Intervals

Friday:   Lots of shoveling — A local weatherman explained that shoveling this rain soaked snow was like lifting 20 lbs with each toss – seriously!?! Yeah that explains why an hour of shoveling left me feeling like toast!

Saturday:   3 mile run

Sunday:   4 more miles, plus T25 Stretch

All-in-all a pretty good week! I liked the mix of the T25 workouts – and, I can already tell that those double workout days are going to be challenging as the miles increase!

scale is a liar

And, after run-fessing that I hadn’t made any progress on my weight loss, my scale made nice and showed a 2lb lost!

Yes – a pretty good week 🙂

rp_WeeklyWrap-1-300x300.jpgI’m linking up with Holly of HoHo Runs and Tricia of MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap – be sure to stop by and say hi and check out the other fun bloggers in the link-up.

How was your week? Have you ever tried a workout series like T25?

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Filed Under: T25, Weekly Wrap, weight loss

Ultimate Coffee Date – February ’16

February 6, 2016 by 18 Comments

The Ultimate Coffee Date

It’s the first Saturday of the month, which means it’s time again to grab a mug of your favorite hot beverage, and settle in and join our hosts Coco, Lynda and Deborah for this month’s coffee date.

Snow Feb 2016If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that we had our first snow day yesterday. A storm that was suppose to bring only a couple of inches quickly turned into 9! I figure if the kids are going to miss school, a Friday’s the day to do it, right? I was actually enjoying our winter wonderland – until it was time to shovel…started having flashbacks from last year. And, then we lost power…but just for a couple of hours and that’s what board games are for 🙂

If we were having coffee together, I would tell you that I’m still grinning from ear to ear over Tuesday’s news that I have been chosen again to be a part of the Rock n Blog team! I’m excited to run some fun races and share some discounts with you all – stay tuned!

Team-2016

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I started sorting through summer camp options. My oldest is all set to go back to the overnight camp he went to last year, so I’m just trying to figure out my youngest. It’s always surprising to me how fast some things fill up!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’ve been enjoying Mar’s 14 Days of Self Challenge – it’s really made me stop and intentionally carve out some time for myself each day.  So important…and yet so easy to overlook.

So what would you tell me over coffee?  

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Filed Under: #14DaysofSelf, #RocknBlog, weather

Weekly Wrap – January Rewind

January 31, 2016 by 34 Comments

Well January’s come to an end. I feel like these first 31 days of 2016 moved at a break-neck pace, leaving me feeling like I was constantly playing catch up. I got to this weekend and just wanted to exhale.

So today I’m once again joining Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap – but this time, I’m wrapping up the whole month.

Good things for the month:
  • Overall the weather for January was not too bad – New England actually avoided taking the brunt of a Nor’easter for a change and on many days the temps were downright mild — All this means more runs outdoors than on the ‘mill.
  • One of my 2016 goals is staying committed to strength training – This month was a really good start logging at least 2 workouts per week.
  • A return to the massage table – Say it with me…Ahhhh!
Things I could do without:
  • Thanks to a crazed schedule, more missed runs than I’d like to count. And, the runs I did log just left me feeling meh.
  • IT Band, while improving, is still a little moody 🙁
On the decks for February:
  • More miles – despite the schedule, Runs. Must. Happen!
  • Joining Mar for her 14-day Self Care Challenge – love this idea to remember to put yourself on the to do list. The challenge starts on February 1 – join us!
  • Time for some Focus – as in T25 Focus. I was whining….mentioning to my brother the other day about how annoyed I was with myself to have let some workouts slide and he mentioned he was thinking about doing T25 again just to make sure he got in a daily workout. So I’ve decided to join him… for the next 10 weeks (Hello!)
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Shaun T’s about to become my new BFF 😉

So I’m more than ready to say buh bye to January and to make February fabulous!

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How was your January?

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Filed Under: month in review, T25, Weekly Wrap

January Runfessions

January 29, 2016 by 35 Comments

Last Friday of the month and I’m returning to Runfessions and linking up with Marcia today! Time to cleanse my sweaty soul. Who’s in?

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Runfession #1 –– I had seriously forgotten how hard the early days of running can be. Getting back into running has been h-a-r-d! May I never have to do this re-building again.

Runfession #2 — I’m making very little progress on my weight loss goal. I’m blaming it on a combination of too many meals on the fly, mindless grazing while working at my computer and not nearly enough planning! This will change next month.

Runfession #3 — After a few months, I’m still a big fan of my FitBit, but it sometimes bugs me that it doesn’t give me credit for my strength workouts – steps aren’t everything, right?

Runfession #4 — I went to see the massage therapist earlier this week – I haven’t been since September. She was horrified at how tight I was. Clearly a lot more rolling, yoga and another massage (of course) needs to happen.

massage meme

OK – now it’s your turn. What are your runfessions?

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Filed Under: Runfessions