Michelle

Training Week 6: Remembering Why

September 2, 2014 by Michelle 12 Comments

Happy September! Hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!

I’m getting ready to head out for this morning’s run and week 7 of my Philly Half training. I’m looking forward to a fresh start and to put last week’s runs far behind me.

Week 6 was rough people! I’m not going to lie – I thought about skipping the recap altogether. But with running, you’ve got to take the good with the bad, right?

So here’s how the week shook out:

Monday: Strength training – legs and core.

Tuesday: Heat & humidity returned just in time for my 6 miles.

Wednesday: Played with my kiddos and took a rest day.

Thursday: 7 miles – I could not get out of my head on this run. There was a lot of bargaining with myself during this one.

Friday: Core work.

Saturday: 3.5 miles – this was suppose to be 9. Despite doing all the things I was suppose to do to prep for this long run (sleep, fuel, hydrating), my body just wouldn’t cooperate. I was so frustrated with myself and finally just stopped, called J and asked him to come get me. A low point for sure….

Sunday: I briefly toyed with the idea of going out to try the nine again, but ended up sleeping through my alarm and opted to avoid the increasing humidity and have a lazy breakfast with my family.

Like I said, happy to put this one in my rearview mirror and move on. Time to get my head back in the game …to remember the reasons I’m out there…My Why.

How do you get out of your head when you’re running?

Filed Under: half marathon training, refocusing, Uncategorized

Friday Five: Fall Preview

August 29, 2014 by Michelle 13 Comments

I cannot believe this is the last Friday of the month – and with school starting for my boys next week, it’s really the last Friday of the summer! While it has been a wonderful summer – I am a Fall girl and love that my favorite time of the year is just around the corner!

So much to look forward to this fall, including….

Cooler Temps — While it wasn’t as brutally hot as some past summers, I’m just much more partial to the crisp cool days of fall. I’m happiest in jeans, boots, sweater…you get the idea.

Apple Picking — One of my favorite family fall traditions!

Cooking — We pretty much live off the grill during the summer – which I must admit is largely my husband J’s domain. But once fall kicks in, I love to get back into the kitchen and dive into some of my favorite recipes and to try out some new ones!

Football — If you’ve been around here for a while then you know I’m a huge football fan and cannot wait to watch my beloved Patriots take the field.

Fall Races — Hello Philly Half! Having not done much racing this year, I’m looking forward to running 3 (maybe 4) races this fall.

I could go on and on about the good things of fall! I’m linking up with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia again this week so be sure to stop by and check them out.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

Filed Under: fall racing, fave things, football, Friday Five

Week 5 – Hills and a Headache

August 25, 2014 by Michelle 20 Comments

Week 5 on the road to Philly is in the books and it was a challenging week for sure – thanks in large part to a migraine that hung out for a few days.

Monday: Hello migraine! Hip strengthening and core work.

Tuesday: A hilly 5 miler.

Wednesday: Migraine continued. T25 Total Body Circuit.

Thursday: 5.5 miles.

Friday: T25 Ab Intervals.

Saturday: 9.2 miles with rolling hills. First time running 9 miles since the spring!

Sunday: Much needed rest day.

So the base-building continues. On deck for week 6, 23 running miles, some cross training and more core work, including the 8 minute core workout posted last week on Fuel Your Future with Tina (if you’re not reading her blog, you really should check it out!) I love to mix up the core work and Tina’s workout looks challenging.

How’s your training going?

Filed Under: half marathon training

Friday Five: Running Unplugged

August 22, 2014 by Michelle 23 Comments

I’m joining Courtney, Mar and Cynthia again for the Friday Five, and this week’s theme is “5 Things I Love about….”

So I want to highlight some benefits of running tech-free – aka running “naked.” During the past coupe of weeks I have been really struggling with my pacing. I’ve been getting most of my mileage in, but every time I look down at my Garmin during a run I’ve been feeling very defeated as the number staring back at me has not been close to what I was aiming for – cue the negative self-talk!

So at Coach Bennett’s suggestion, I’ve put the watch away for a bit and am running by effort. I’ve actually taken it a step further this week and left the headphones behind as well – no devices of any kind (except my phone in my belt in case my kids needed me!).

Travel Light — There’s definitely something to be said for feeling lighter without all the tech stuff. No cords to manage, no satellites to find.

Less Anxiety — Knowing that I wasn’t going to have my pace reflected back at me, immediately took the pressure out of the run. I don’t think I realized how much having a number (pace) hanging over my head was upping my anxiety level.

Letting My Body Lead — There are lots of variables that can affect a run on any given day (sleep, nutrition, the previous day’s workout, etc.). Running by feel vs. my watch gives my body a better chance to adjust to those variables.

Listening to My Feet — No music means I can tune into my footfall. Is it soft and light? Am I scuffing my feet? When I hear scuffing, I know my form’s starting to fall apart.

Enjoy My Surroundings — Running tech-free not only gives me the chance to tune into my body, but to tune into my surroundings as well.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready to give up my running gadgets – they do provide a lot of useful feedback and motivation. But more and more I’m seeing the importance of taking a tech-break.

Do you ever run naked?

Filed Under: Friday Five, listening to your body, no music, tech-free

Training Update & Nuun Winner

August 18, 2014 by Michelle 15 Comments

Week 4 of my Philadelphia Half training is done! Here’s a quick recap:

Monday: 3 miles with negative split

Tuesday: Spent a fun day with my mom – lots of walking

Wednesday: Pilates Barre

Thursday: 5.75 miles – tough run! My legs felt so heavy, I seriously wanted to stop a mere mile in, but stuck it out.

Friday: Rest and a massage

Saturday: 6.5 miles on a very hilly loop. My legs felt so much better!

Sunday: Hip strengthening exercises and core work

After Saturday’s run, I’m feeling much more upbeat going into this week. I’ll be adding more hip strengthening work this week, as well as some T25.

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After a great response to my Nuun Giveaway, the winner is Samantha S! Congrats!

A big thanks to Nuun for sponsoring!

Filed Under: giveaways, half marathon training

Friday Five: Things that Make Me Smile

August 15, 2014 by Michelle 7 Comments

Linking up with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia again today.

This week is theme-free so I just thought I’d share a few things that made me smile this week.

The Weather — Most mornings this week have looked like this! Perfect running weather…and unheard of in August!

#IceBucketChallenge — It’s been great to see power of social media used for good with the #IceBucketChallenge to wipe out ALS! I’ve been lovin’ the videos in my FB feed (and yes I both dumped and donated) – but nothing made me smile more than watching my boys take the challenge and want to make a donation!

Altra Intutions — These are quickly becoming my go to shoe for the majority of my runs. I have the 1.5’s and heard rumblings that the 2.0’s are a very different shoe and are bumming out fans of the 1.5’s. So to play it safe, I hunted online and bought another pair of 1.5’s that I’ll just store away for later.

Dahlias in My Garden — These have been a labor of love. I planted them back at the end of May and have been nurturing them along. They finally started to bloom this week!

Beach Time — Was so happy to finally get to see this view this week!

What’s making you smile lately?

Don’t forget to enter my Nuun Energy giveaway!

Filed Under: #IceBucketChallenge, Altra Running, Friday Five, gardening

Nuun Energy Review & Giveaway

August 13, 2014 by Michelle 22 Comments

This post and giveaway are sponsored by Nuun. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Since I started my half marathon training plan, I’ve also started testing out different options for fueling my runs. In the past, a big area where I’ve fallen short is hydration. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been getting better with some help from Nuun.

Just as I was getting ready to start my half training, Nuun reached out to see if I was interested in testing out their newest product line Nuun Energy – perfect timing! I had tried the original Nuun tablets out a couple of times last summer and found them to be a nice alternative to traditional sports drinks – which my stomach just wants no part of! So why didn’t I stick with them? Pure laziness on my part truthfully – I got so obsessed with trying to figure which gel/Chomp/etc. to use that my hydration plan kinda took a backseat and I went back to just water.

But knowing my hydration needs some extra attention while training in the summer I knew I wanted more than water. Enter Nuun Energy! I’m happy to say that the best things I liked about the original Nuun haven’t been changed – all natural with no added sugars and less than 12 calories. Nuun Energy provides 40 mg. of caffeine and 5 essential B vitamins for more sustained energy. It comes in Wild Berry, Cherry Limeade, and Lemon-lime — I tried out the last two flavors and was especially fond of the Cherry Limeade. Overall, it’s light, refreshing and easy on my stomach – a definite win for my workouts! Additionally, I’ve actually taken to drinking it in the late afternoon when I typically start to fade and begin dreaming of iced coffee concoctions!

Ready to try it out for yourself? One lucky reader will win Nuun Energy tablets. The giveaway will run from now until midnight on 8/16. A winner will be announced on Monday, August 18th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: fave things, giveaways, hydration, Nuun

Training Check-in Week 3

August 12, 2014 by Michelle 12 Comments

Well thank goodness for Week 3! After a less than stellar Week 2, it was nice to get back on track! There were 19 miles on my plan and I finished with 16 miles – I’ll take it! So here’s how the week played out:

Monday: Cross-training – 55 minutes on the bike

Tuesday: 4.25 mile run – hot, humid and hilly!

Wednesday: Pilates Barre – my usual weekly class. I can never say enough good things about this class – and this week was no different!

Thursday: Sick kiddo at home led to strength training/leg work at home instead of running.

Friday: Thursday’s 6 mile tempo run became Friday’s 5.25 tempo – I ended up cutting my cool-down a little short in order to jam some “must do” errands in before the kids got home from camp.

Saturday: 6.5 mile LSD. It was suppose to be 8 but my legs were toast! I knew I was taking a chance doing a tempo run on Friday, but I just didn’t want to miss the workout. I think the other contributing factor was being on my feet Friday evening at the Athleta event.

Sunday: Rest day at the beach!

Overall not a bad week. I was super diligent about rolling, especially post-run and I think it helped – no KT Tape needed!

How did last week go for you?

Filed Under: half marathon training

Night Out with Athleta

August 11, 2014 by Michelle 17 Comments

On Friday night, I attended a VIP shopping event at the Athleta Store in Legacy Place. A group of us met at the store to sip a little wine, nosh on some goodies and, most importantly, check out the new fall line!

We shopped, chatted with the uber-friendly and helpful staff and agonized over which pieces to buy. I had promised myself no” ninja black,” and happily there is no shortage of color in Athleta’s fall line – with an emphasis on a range of blues.

After much ooing and ahhing, I finally settled on the Sprint Reversible Stripe Bra, the Crunch Tank, the Ambassador Tank and the Splits Revelation Capri. You can see I embraced the new color scheme!

I love that the clothes feature both wicking and “unstinkable” technology – less stink = less laundry. Athleta also offers a “give-it-a-workout guarantee.” If an item doesn’t perform during your workout, return it! This is my first Athleta wear and I can’t wait to give them a try – I’ll be sure to let you know what I think.

All-in-all a lot of fun was had by our whole crew – no one left empty-handed! I have my eye on several other pieces so I’m sure I’ll be back soon. Thanks to the Athleta staff for hosting such a fun evening!

Disclaimer: I received a 30% discount on my purchases at the event. As always, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Filed Under: Athleta

Friday Five – Race Memories

August 8, 2014 by Michelle 25 Comments

Linking up with the fun ladies of the DC Trifecta again this Friday. Today’s theme – Race Memories…so come take a little walk down memory lane with me!

Boston’s Run to Remember — My first half marathon! Without a doubt, this will go down as one of my all time favorite race experiences! My whole family turned out in force all along the course to support me, and my husband surprised me by ordering matching shirts for everyone. Best cheer squad ever. I smiled the whole race! (Recap HERE)

Philadelphia Half Marathon — This was the first time I’d traveled to a race. I just loved everything about this race experience – as you can see from this picture 🙂 Loved the course and the crowd support — so much so that I’m going back this November! (Recap HERE)

ZOOMA Cape Cod Half — What made this race fun was all about the people! I was a race ambassador and the other ambassadors were a great group of ladies to get to know. Also got to meet Sarah & Dimity of Another Mother Runner fame. But best of all it was a fun girls weekend with my running buddy E – we both PR’d and had a blast together! (Recap HERE)

The Time I Played Race Director — Yep one of my favorite race memories is of a race I didn’t even run. A couple of years ago I took on the crazy, stressful and very rewarding task of being race director for the local 5K and kids’ fun runs to benefit my sons’ school. I was both thrilled and exhausted by the time the day was done, and I had developed a serious appreciation for all that goes into race planning. A very worthwhile experience and while everyone can’t play race director, I seriously encourage every runner to volunteer at a race at least once! (Recap HERE)

My Son’s 1st 5K — For those of you who’ve been around here for a while I’m sure you’re not surprised to see this one on the list of my top race memories! Nothing better than watching your child push themselves to reach a goal…and being asked to come along for the ride 🙂 (Recap HERE)