Training for the Smuttynose Rockfest and Philadelphia Half officially kicks off today! I came across this quote the other day and it struck a cord with me for how I want to approach this training cycle – so much so that I have it taped to my mirror as a friendly reminder for those mornings when doubt starts to creep in and the motivation is low.
Here we go!
Hello Friday!
Seriously these weeks are flying by – hard to believe we’re more than half way through July already!
I’m linking up again with Courtney, Mar and Cynthia (aka the DC Trifecta) for my Friday Five. This week’s theme is “Friday Favorites,” so I thought I’d share a few things I’m loving right now.
source: Outshinesnacks.com
Pineapple Outshine Fruit Bars: I am seriously addicted to these things! They’re a mere 80 calories, ooze pineapple goodness and are the perfect refreshing treat on a summer afternoon.
Lazy Dinners on the Deck: Dinners on our deck are truly one of my favorite things about the summer. The meals are slow and easy, tunes are quietly playing in the background, and no one is in a rush to go anywhere.
House of Cards: OK I may be late to the party on this one, but we just re-joined Netflix this week and J and I are hooked on this show!
New Recipes: With the abundance of fresh produce at this time of year I’ve been playing with some new recipes. Currently I’m perfecting my peach salsa.
Family Running: This month I have been enjoying getting in some family runs. At my chiro’s urging I have been logging some miles at the track to keep my healing hip happy. It’s been a great spot to run with this little guy 🙂
What are you loving right now?
Just a little reminder for myself and everyone else training this summer!
After mentioning that I was getting ready to start my fall training soon, I got several emails and twitter inquiries about which races I was doing – so I thought I’d share my fall race schedule here!
October:
Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon — advertised as “flat and fast” with beer and lobster rolls served at the post race party – what’s not to love? This one’s been on my N.E. must-run list for a while.
Tufts 10K — This one’s going to be a “wait and see” since it’s a week after Smuttynose – but I love this event and I haven’t run it in a couple of years. There are always a few friends running so I’m going to try to keep this day open and if the legs feel go enough I can always register on race day.
Canton Fall Classic — The starting line is literally 2 miles from my house and the course covers streets I run on a regular basis. It’s a great local race and it’s always fun to see so many familiar faces!
November:
Philadelphia Half Marathon — I ran Philly in 2011 and by half way through the race I knew I wanted to come back (you can check out the recap HERE)! I loved the course, the great crowd support and the 3+ minute PR I snagged — I’m hoping lightening will strike twice as this is my goal race of the fall.
December:
I’m sure there will be some fun 5K requiring Santa garb 🙂
I’d like to slip in something during September to kind of track how my training’s going – but I’m going to wait to see what Coach Bennett has to say on that.
The fall should be a lot of fun – can’t wait!
What have you got planned?
Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Mine was spent eating a lot of great food, lazing on the deck and enjoying some great family time – even got some family runs in 🙂
But now it’s Monday…and time for me to start to make the transition towards training.
Time to start being more mindful of my eating…to building up my cardio…to getting more sleep…to wrapping my head around being on a training plan again.
I ran a mile trial this weekend to benchmark where I am…and oh my, let’s just say there’s work to be done! But that’s OK. There’s still a couple of weeks before Coach Bennett sends me my Philly training plan and I know I will be ready to take on whatever he sends my way (someone please reminds in a few weeks that I said that, ok!)
Let the transition begin!
Have you started your fall training yet?
At the moment….
…. I haven’t been running much….in fact just 6 very slow miles last week. The good news – they were pain-free!
…. I’m going for session #2 with the chiro this morning. He believes he’ll have me fully-operational shortly as long as I do my exercises and roll daily. He’s also urging me to get off the pavement for a bit – on trails, grass or at the very least the track – a more forgiving surface would help my cause.
…. while I wish I were running more, I’m embracing what I can do now – enjoying other workouts like TRX, basketball in the driveway with my kids, walks with my injured BRF and weekly barre classes. I had stopped T25 last week, but I’m going to add it back into the mix with my chiro’s OK.
So my right hip has not been cooperating…in fact it’s been downright cranky. During the course of all of our vacation adventures I threw something out of whack – I’m pretty sure it was while scaling the Dunns River Falls. I knew something felt a little off towards the end of the trip…and by the time I got off the airplane I was flat out uncomfortable.
I stretched and rolled like it was my job last week…but continued to workout (you see where this is going, right?) Pilates and T25 was fine, but when it came to my runs not so much. The hip was ok (but not great) as long as I stuck to an LSD pace…and even then, 4 miles taxing (and I could start to feel my ITB talking). This was not boding well for Sunday’s 10K. After a quick chat with Coach Bennett, I knew I would not be racing this weekend – it just wasn’t worth it to risk doing damage for a race I’d signed up for on a whim…not with fall training starting in a couple of weeks.
I’m determined to go charging into my fall training…not limping in. So, I didn’t give the race a second thought, had a great weekend, and am now wholly focused on doing everything I need to to get on top of this. I’ll be heading back to the chiro this weekend…he’s been my miracle worker in the past so hopefully he can help me get back in balance fast!
Have you ever worked with a chiropractor?
Ah yes…after a glorious 8 days away, I’m back.
We had a fantastic vacation – spent time in some great tropical locations, got up-close and personal with both dolphins and stingrays, hiked waterfalls, snorkeled, kayaked, and spent enough time in both pools and the ocean that we should all have gills! We each got to try something new – for me it was zip-lining 🙂 And overall, we had great family time – completely unplugged! If you haven’t tried a cruise, I highly recommend it!
OK so before I get completely carried away with exclamation points…
Now it’s time to settle back into reality…and with that some form of a normal workout routine. While I do have the BAA 10K coming up on Sunday, the early weather forecast is showing that it’s going to be a hot one, so this will more likely be a leisurely run through Back Bay. Fall training doesn’t begin until next month, so I plan to spend the next few weeks focusing on core work and cross training and running without much concern for time.
So fill me in…how was your week? When will fall training start for you?
Happy Friday all!
With the weather finally warming up around here, school done for one son and quickly winding down for the other it’s starting to feel like summer! So I’m linking up with the fun ladies of the DC Trifecta (Mar, Cynthia and Courtney) for a Friday Five summertime theme: “This summer I will_____________”
This Summer I Will….
Travel — With our vacation starting tomorrow, I’m off to a good start on this one! 
We’ll also be looking to get some shorter day trips and overnighters throughout the summer.
Learn a language — Or more specifically brush up on my very rusty Spanish. After getting to try out 3 languages this past school year, my son settled on Spanish and he’s inspired me to join him!
Train for the Fall –With two half marathons and a PR to chase, training will start in earnest in July!
House Projects — There are a number of projects I’ve had on the backburner, but with more free time available this summer I’m hoping to conquer some of them. At the top of the list – declutter and build out our mudroom.
Relax and Have Fun! — Summer is such great time to slow down, re-group and re-connect. I’m looking forward to lazy days at the beach, meals on the deck and lots of time with friends and family!
What’s on your must do list for summer?
There are so many great bloggers joining the DC Trifecta link up – be sure to stop by and check them out!
Happy National Running Day ~ a coast-to-coast celebration of running!
A group run?
Solo time on the trails?
A little race shopping?
Purchasing some new summer running gear? 🙂
Maybe I’ll sneak another quick run in with my son this afternoon – he wants to start training for his next 5k! And you know I love hearing that!
What have you got planned for today?
