Week 5 – Hills and a Headache

August 25, 2014 by 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. Migraines

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?

 

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Filed Under: half marathon training

Friday Five: Running Unplugged

August 22, 2014 by 23 Comments

DC_linkupI’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!).

unplugged

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?

 

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

Training Update & Nuun Winner

August 18, 2014 by 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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Nuun EnergyAfter a great response to my Nuun Giveaway, the winner is  Samantha S! Congrats!

A big thanks to Nuun for sponsoring!

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Filed Under: giveaways, half marathon training

Friday Five: Things that Make Me Smile

August 15, 2014 by 7 Comments

Linking up with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia again today. DC_linkup

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

cool weather 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! Ice Bucket

 

AltrasAltra 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.

dahliaDahlias 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!

Time at the beach

 

What’s making you smile lately?

Don’t forget to enter my Nuun Energy giveaway!

 

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

Nuun Energy Review & Giveaway

August 13, 2014 by 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.

Nuun Energy

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

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Filed Under: fave things, giveaways, hydration, Nuun

Training Check-in Week 3

August 12, 2014 by 12 Comments

 

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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?

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Filed Under: half marathon training

Night Out with Athleta

August 11, 2014 by 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.

Athleta product shot

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! Athleta loot

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.

Athleta group shot

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.

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Filed Under: Athleta

Friday Five – Race Memories

August 8, 2014 by 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!

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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)IMG_0717

 

 

 

 

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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)

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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)  picmonkey_image (5)

Be sure to check out the link-up with Cynthia, Courtney & Mar — I’m looking forward to reading about everyone’s memories!

DC_linkup

 

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Filed Under: Boston's Run to Remember, family running, Friday Five, Philly Half, playing race director, race, ZOOMA Cape Cod

Training Check-in: A Week of Shuffling

August 5, 2014 by 15 Comments

Well for as good as Week 1 felt, Week 2 was meh at best! A combination of various family obligations, schedule changes and the hangover effects of dealing with insomnia, left me in a state of constant shuffling last week. Shuffling of workouts to fit them in…and shuffling with tired legs out on the road.

check in

So this is how the week shook out:

Monday:  Needed to push this run to Tuesday.

Tuesday:  Again, needed to push this run till later but was sure I’d get it in. By late afternoon I needed to concede that I was just too damn tired so I skipped the run.

Wednesday:  Weekly Pilates Barre class

Thursday:  4 miles of intervals plus 2 miles warm-up and cool down. Ugly but done.

Friday:   Cross-training on the bike

Saturday:  Needed to leave uber-early to drive to Maine so moved my run to Sunday.

Sunday:  I was exhausted when I started…Was suppose to do 7 but called it quits after 5.8 miles.

Daily:  Core work & rolling

Clearly the mileage suffered…Some weeks you just have to do what you can and move on…last week was one of those weeks!

So the goal of week #3 is simply to get back on track!

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Filed Under: crazy week, half marathon training, Schedule vs Training

Ultimate Coffee Date – August

August 2, 2014 by 22 Comments

This morning I’m happy to be linking up once again with Jill, Nikki and Lynda for the Ultimate Coffee Date. I missed the last two Coffee Dates thanks to vacation in June and the 4th holiday weekend, but I’m so glad we could catch up for a cup this morning!

coffeedate

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I cannot believe how fast July flew by! It was a great month filled with lots of time spent with friends and family – I’m looking forward to August bringing more of the same!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you after eyeing the Nike Studio Wraps online I was very happy to find these at a Nike outlet for a fraction of the cost! Can’t wait to try them out in Wednesday’s Pilates Barre class. Studio Wrap

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. Unfortunately, I go through bouts of insomnia from time to time. I have no problem crashing at night, just can’t stay asleep. Thank goodness for coffee 😉

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that we’re in the middle of a flurry of family birthdays. We celebrated my youngest’s son’s birthday at the Red Sox game last week. My birthday is Monday, my oldest son’s is later this week and then my husband J’s is a little later this month!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that we’re driving to Maine today to look at a potential sleep-away camp for my oldest son for next summer. I will admit that the thought of a sleep-away camp unnerves me just a little – I remind myself that we’re just looking.

In fact, I’m sorry to cut our coffee time short, but I need to get everyone organized so we can get on the road!

If we were having coffee together what would you tell me?

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Filed Under: Ultimate coffee date