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.

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

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Filed Under: Runfessions

Five Tips for Staying Motivated for Winter Running

January 22, 2016 by 22 Comments

While December was gloriously warm here in New England, Mother Nature has finally caught up with the calendar and the frigid temps are here. I’ve been digging deep to get myself up and moving for my runs, so I thought I’d share a few tips for staying motivated for winter running.

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Use short term goals to keep you focused — sign up for a small local race or join a winter challenge (or create one!). “Competition” in the form of a race or mileage challenge can help to keep you going.

Join a group or find a running buddy — Committing to meet others on a regular basis will always help get you out the door, and it’s always easier to brave the elements when you’re not alone.

Keep visual reminders of your spring goals — Aiming for a PR? Got a great destination race planned? Post some visual reminders in key spots around your house.

Make sure you have the right gear — Dressing the part is always important, but never more so than when facing winter weather. Check out my cold weather running tips here and here if you need any ideas.

Change your alarm — Switch up the music on your alarm in the morning to something that will motivate you to get out of bed. (A friend gave me this suggestion a couple of years ago and I still use it.) Another option is to move your alarm so you have to get out of bed to turn it off – once you’re up you might as well keep moving, right?

What’s your best motivation tip?

I’m linking up with Courtney, Mar & Cynthia for today’s Friday Five.DC-Trifecta-Friday-Five-linkup

Also linking up with Jill for her Fitness, Health & Happiness link up. Fitness Health Happiness badge

 

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Filed Under: Friday Five, motivation, winter running

Weekly Wrap – A little of this and that

January 17, 2016 by 23 Comments

Work and family schedules continued to be chaotic this week, (I hope this isn’t a trend!) but I was able to get a decent mix of workouts in.

Monday – Some much needed yoga.

Tuesday – Determined to not have a repeat of last week, I jammed a quick 2.8 miles in between work and school pick-up!

Wednesday – Strength day: legs and core.

Thursday – 3 miles. I finished with a sore knee and would be lying if I didn’t say a tinge of panic set in. That evening, I went to my son’s high school preview/open house, and after a tour of the campus with a constant stream of staircases, my knee was not pleased.

Friday – Strength day: legs and core. Lots of foam rolling.

Arc Trainer

Love this machine!

Saturday – An icy rainy mix, meant a trip to the gym. Playing it safe, I opted for time on the Arc Trainer vs. the ‘mill. Lots of foam rolling followed. I also iced my knee while I watched the Patriots beat the Chiefs 🙂

I’m happy to say when I headed to my son’s hockey game this morning, my knee was feeling pretty good!

All-in-all, not a bad week – a good mix of this and that. The big lesson for me this week is that I’d probably do better to write out a strength plan. Up to now I’ve been kind of winging it when I hit the gym, but I think I’ll get more out of these workouts with a plan. So this week I’ll be digging out the workouts from my time working with the trainer and sketch out a more structured plan.

Do you follow a strength plan or do you wing it?

rp_WeeklyWrap-1-300x300.jpgI’m linking up again with Holly at HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for the #WeeklyWrap.  Be sure to check out the hosts (both just completed their first marathons!), along with the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

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Filed Under: Weekly Wrap

Races, races everywhere

January 15, 2016 by 10 Comments

 

race-memeAh the race calendar…so many possible races…I’m still weighing a number of options (and, of course, trying to figure out potential family conflicts).  Here’s what I’m thinking…

B.A.A. 5K (April) — both of my boys are talking about running this year, but sports commitments could say otherwise.

Boston’s Run to Remember (May) — this is one of my favorite half marathons and I’m already registered. It was my first (you can read about it here) and I can wait to run it again!

Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia (Sept) — I was so bummed to have missed this one last year because of my surgery, so when I got an email offering an early bird special I jumped on it.

Tufts 10K (October) — I haven’t run this one in a while and am still not sure it will fit in this year. This race is always Columbus Day and there are a couple of half marathons that are either that same weekend or the weekend before. Right now that list  of halfs includes Wineglass, B.A.A. and Newport.

Canton Fall Classic (Oct) — This is a great local race…the start line is literally 2 miles from my house – win!

Race in November TBD — Like October, there are a handful of half marathons I’m debating and they’re all clustered around the same weekend or two. Vegas? Savannah? Richmond? or stay local? Decisions, decisions.

Have you figured out your race schedule? Have you run any of the half marathons on my “maybe” list?

 

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Filed Under: Boston's Run to Remember, Canton Fall Classic, race calendar, RnRPhilly

Weekly wrap – Week 1 2016

January 10, 2016 by 11 Comments

So week one of the new year is in the books… and how did it go?

Week’s Plan: 3 runs, 2 strength workouts, 1 cross training and 1 rest day

Week’s Actual: 2 runs, 3 strength workouts, and 2 rest days

This week was all about shaking off the holiday haze and getting back into a routine. Returning to work, along with the kids school and sports schedules, had everyone in my house scrambling a little bit. Schedules collided everywhere this week and I was once again reminded that if I do not get my run in early, it may not happen — hence only 2 runs this week.

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The runs were solid – one very windy run with my husband J and one very hilly route that left me scrambling for a lacrosse ball to rollout some of the kinks. I was very happy to have gotten in so much strength work this week – one of my big goals for 2016 so a good start there.

Now that things have settled down a little, I’m confident I’ll get 3 runs in plus my the strength work. My tight hamstrings are also telling me some yoga would be greatly appreciated 🙂

rp_WeeklyWrap-1-300x300.jpgSo how was your first week of 2016? Join Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap and share.

 

 

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Filed Under: Weekly Wrap

One Word and Goals for 2016

January 5, 2016 by 21 Comments

As I mentioned before, I’m not much for resolutions, but I do like to set goals. So in and around the fun family time of the holidays, I did find some quiet time to reflect on 2015 and set some goals for 2016. I even got my boys in on the act, as each of them wrote out some goals for the year!

And, as I did last year, I’m once again picking one word…kind of a “theme” to tie the many goals for the different areas of my life together. This year my word is “Progress.”

Progress word cloud

So, now for my fitness/running goals:

  • Return to half marathons — Thanks to injury and generally my body having other plans, I haven’t run a half marathon since 2013! I’ve already got two halfs I’m registered for and am eyeing a couple more for the fall.
  • Set half marathon PR  — I figure since I am returning to this distance, I might as well go for a PR, right?
  • Lose 12 pounds — there I said it! With the running hiatus that dominated last fall, more than a few pounds have happened – if being fitter and faster is the goal, then these pounds need to go.
  • Continue my strength program — I had started a great program with the trainer last year that  got sidelined with my surgery, but I’m back at it now and know how important it is to stick with it. I need to give as much attention to strength work as I do to logging miles.
  • Actively manage recovery – This was a goal on my 2015 list that I think bears repeating – I cannot just run and then rush off to the next thing. I need to give time to rolling, Epsom salt baths, etc.

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Have you set your goals for 2016?

rp_Tuesdays-on-the-run-150x150.jpgIf you need inspiration, check out today’s Tuesdays on the Run link-up with Erika, Marcia and Patty and see what others are planning.

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Filed Under: goals, one word

Ultimate Coffee Kick off 2016!

January 2, 2016 by 10 Comments

The Ultimate Coffee Date

Happy 2016!

It’s the first Saturday of the year and the perfect time to catch-up over coffee. I’m joining Coco, Lynda and Deborah -grab a big mug of your fave hot beverage and let’s catch up for a bit.

If we were having coffee together, I’d ask you what you did to ring in the new year? We had a great family night including our traditional new year’s eve fondue dinner, Lego building, Mario Kart battles and watching the bowl games. The boys had no trouble making it till midnight…I wasn’t so sure I would…but I did see the ball drop.

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If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that we have been making the most of this school break! We saw Star Wars (loved it!!), made it to the Nutcracker and my youngest son & his hockey team were invited back to skate at a Bruins game again! It’s been a good mix of fun things to do and just hanging out – I think we’re all feeling re-charged.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that we had our first blast of frigid weather here, including some sleet. Icy roads meant my first trip to the gym in months – let’s just say I have not missed the treadmill.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’m struggling a bit with my race calendar for this year. As I start to pencil in all of the boys sports commitments, J’s lacrosse schedule, plus the races we both want to run, there are conflicts everywhere!  Not sure how this will all shake out yet.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I wish I could chat for longer, but I’ve got to fill my travel mug and head to the arena for my son’s hockey game.

So what would you tell me over coffee?  Have you figured out your race calendar yet?

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Filed Under: race calendar, Ultimate coffee date

Move beyond resolutions

December 30, 2015 by 13 Comments

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It’s that time of year again – time for reflection and planning…and the New Year’s resolutions. I’m not much for resolutions, but I do set new goals each year. Some would say this is a matter of semantics, but what I like about goal-setting is that goals are definable, with a clear point of accomplishment. Resolutions have no clear end-point – perhaps that’s why so many resolutions end up broken before January is done?

Well, however you choose to look at it, here are a few tips to help turn all that New Year’s motivation into good habits for 2016 and beyond.

Pace yourself — It is very easy to get too hyped up – even “over-motivated”? – go out too hard, and then fizzle, or get injured. Start small…baby steps can add up to big payoffs down the road.

Be consistent — I’ve ever read that it takes between 21 and 28 days to build a good habit, and from personal experience I believe that to be true. A little something each day during the first 3 – 4 weeks will help ensure the new habit sticks.

Break down big goals — Sometimes it’s easy to become overwhelmed by a big goal. It’s important to track your progress and celebrate small successes along the way. Don’t shy away from dreaming big – just break it down into smaller goals.

Find a partner or group — There’s a lot to be said for being accountable to someone else and having someone to draw motivation from on those days when you’re not feeling it.

Surround yourself with success — Beware of spending time around others who don’t support your efforts – they will drain you! As much as possible, spend time with others who model the behavior/habits you’re striving for.

Remember your “why” — I find whether it’s a word, phrase or photo, posting visual reminders where you’re sure to see them will help keep your goals and your “why” front and center. Energy flows where attention goes so make your goals hard to ignore and you’re more likely to follow through.

Be prepared for setbacks — When you fall down (either literally or figuratively), the key is to not beat yourself up over it, but be willing to pick yourself up and begin again.

Do you set goals or make resolutions?
Linking up with Deb for Wednesday Word – be sure to stop by and check out Deb and other’s take on “resolutions.” rp_WednesdayWordScrabbleButton.jpg
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Filed Under: #WednesdayWord, goals

2015 Top 5 Posts

December 27, 2015 by 6 Comments

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas! I had a great day with my family and am looking forward to some fun family hang out time this week.

I’m also planning to steal some quite time figure out my goals for 2016.  But first, as I did last year, today I want to take a look back on the top 5 posts for 2015:

5 tips for running with kids — This was actually a post from 2014. I’m so lucky to be able to share my love of running with both my boys, and glad others continue to find these tips helpful.

I Heart Fridays — I declared my love of Fridays and clearly many of you agreed!

Meditation Tips and Benefits — If you’ve been around here for any length of time then you know I’m a big proponent of meditation.

Running Pet Peeves — Ah yes…you know we all have them!

5 Tips for Returning to Running — After a long layoff it’s tempting to want to jump right back into running, but you’re better served to ease into it….slowly.

Thanks for sharing in the fun around here this year! 

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Filed Under: year in review