#FitFiveFriday

Fit Five Friday – Five Current Favorites

January 13, 2023 by Michelle 8 Comments

Happy Friday!

Thanks for joining me, Darlene, Renee, Jenn, and Zenaida for another edition of Fit Five Friday! This week we’re inviting you to share 5 things that motivate you. You are, of course, always welcome to write about any other fitness-related topic. Personally, I’m deviating this week to share a few of my current favorites with you. This post contains affiliate links.

Five Current Favorites

Garmin 255 – My husband gifted me a new Garmin 255! So many features that I still need to learn, but I already love it!

Brooks Shield Hybrid Vest 2.0 & Shield Hybrid Jacket 2.0 – OK I’m cheating a little here with this one but I honestly couldn’t pick between the two. I’m usually a vest-first girl when it comes to running outerwear, (the Brooks Shield Hybrid Vest has been in my constant rotation), but when Brooks sent Run Happy Team members the jacket last fall it quickly became a go-to for both my running and non-running days. Both the vest and jacket feature multiple pockets (a must for me!) and are surprisingly warm without being bulky.

The jacket made it on my November vacation – perfect for hiking the California coast!

Cozy Karma Asym Pullover – This pullover from Athleta lives up to its name, cozy inside and out! Its wrap front and asymmetrical neckline give it nice visual interest. It’s become a staple and perfect to snuggle in on a cold day.

The Five Minute Journal – I’ve shared before some reasons to start a gratitude journal. After seeing a few reviews, I started using the Five Minute Journal in August, and it has become a key part of both my morning and evening routine. I really like that it provides space for morning gratitude, daily highlights and affirmations, and reflection. What are some of your favorites?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please share the link-up love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, fave things, Friday Five

First Coffee Chat for 2023

January 6, 2023 by Michelle 17 Comments

Happy Friday!

It was a bit of a rough “re-entry” into the first week of the new year and I must admit that I’m ready for the weekend! I’m kicking off the first Fit Five Friday of 2023 by linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date. So grab a mug of your beverage of choice and let’s chat a bit.

First Coffee Chat of 2023

Over coffee, I would tell you that it’s hard for me to believe that I will be celebrating my first year anniversary at my job! And, what a year it’s been – big fundraising events, a change in the CEO position, and so much more. It’s been hectic at times, but I do enjoy the challenges of my “new” position.

Over coffee, I would tell you that I’m going to my high schooler’s college counseling meeting for parents next week. It’s starting to get real that my “baby” will be applying to colleges this fall.

Over coffee, I would tell you that I am hoping to dive into a house remodeling project this year. My husband and I have never loved our kitchen/family room layout and if we can settle on a contractor we like, construction could begin in the spring.

This could be me in the Spring

Over coffee, I would tell you that thanks to the anticipated remodel project, one of my non-fitness goals for 2023 is a massive purge! I am on a declutter tear and my boys are hiding their things LOL

Over coffee, I would tell you that the Fit Five crew has decided to try something new this year and we have created a whole calendar of suggested topics for the Friday link-up. You can, of course, write about whatever fitness topic strikes your fancy, but we thought it would be fun to try some themes this year, (we’re all still planning to continue to link up for both coffee and Marcia‘s Runfessions) – I hope you will join us!

What would you share with me over coffee? Any home remodeling advice you care to share?

Welcome to FitFive Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Who’s ready for some fun?

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Ultimate coffee date

End of the Year Runfessions

December 30, 2022 by Michelle 22 Comments

Can you believe that we’re at the end of 2022?! Well, before we put this year in the rearview mirror, Marcia has opened the runfessional so we can stride into the new year with clear ~~souls~~ soles. It’s also time for another Fit Five Friday hosted by Darlene, Renee, Jenn, Zenaida, and yours truly, so let’s get started.

End of Year Runfessions

While the slow and easy approach over these past few weeks appears to have helped my hip flexor/quad issue quite a bit, I runfess that I’m not fully convinced that I’m out of the woods yet.

I have rationalized that I could stick with what I’m currently doing and see how things go, but I also runfess that I’m growing tired of this cat-and-mouse game. So, I checked in with my primary care doc the other day to get a referral for PT.

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I runfess that I’m excited about starting PT (someone please remind me in a couple of weeks that I said this!). I’ve got races I want to run next year and I’d really like to toe the line not hobbled.

How about you – do you tend to go the PT route or try to course correct on your own?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please remember to link back to your hosts and share the link love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Runfessions

Keeping Holiday Madness in Check

December 16, 2022 by Michelle 10 Comments

So how’s everyone doing?

Hanukkah begins Sunday. Christmas is 9 days away. Students are winding up semesters in a flurry of projects, exams, papers, and performances. Work is a sea of urgent requests, budget negotiations, or insert your industry’s last-minute push here. While I love the holidays, this time of year can be stressful! So for today’s Fit Five Friday, I’m sharing a few tips on keeping the holiday madness in check.

Keeping Holiday Madness in Check

First, and most importantly, give yourself some grace. Often the holidays can feel like an endless to-do list of shopping, cooking, hosting, and decorating. If you’re striving for the holidays to be “perfect”, let it go. Cut yourself a break and don’t feel the need to do all the things. And, always remember that it is ok to say No.

Give others grace — This time of year is hard for many for a whole host of reasons so check your expectation of others. Letting go of the “shoulds” as in s/he/they should do/be is very freeing. Focus on why you’re together and if someone is truly toxic do your best to minimize your exposure to them (see tip number 1 above!).

Move your body — Be it a run, walk, strength training, yoga, ice skating, or other activity, moving your body and protecting your fitness routine is good for your mind and body. Commit to carving out time each day to move. Some days you may have time for your regular run, but other times you won’t so have some quick backup workouts ready. And, remember every little bit counts, so take the stairs when you can or park at the far end of the parking lot when you’re out shopping.

Get enough sleep — As tempting as it may be, don’t sacrifice sleep in the name of getting more done. Stay consistent with your regular bedtime – your mind and body will thank you!

Take in the moment — As simple as it sounds, remember to stop, breathe and take in the moment. The holiday season is not a race – Enjoy the time with friends and family. And, embrace some self-care time for yourself.

How do you keep holiday season stress in check?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Share your fitness-related link, link back to your hosts, and please share the link love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, holiday sanity

Fit Five Friday – Stocking Stuffers for Runners

December 9, 2022 by Michelle 11 Comments

Happy Friday!

The holiday shopping crunch is on! In my house, stocking stuffers are a big deal so for this week’s Fit Five Friday I’m sharing a few stocking stuffer ideas for the runners in your life. This post includes affiliate links.

Heat Holders — Heat Holders offer socks, hats, and gloves made with an advanced insulating yarn designed to trap your body warmth and keep it close to your body. Every winter is a challenge for me dealing with Renaud’s syndrome so I’m all about gear that will help to lessen the effects of winter.

These Oslo Gloves come in a variety of colors but I think the black stripe is so cute!

Noxgear — I’ve been a big fan of Noxgear vests for years. The Tracer Lamp is a great addition to the Noxgear line-up. The lamp is a 500-lumen rechargeable light that securely attaches to the buckle of any Tracer vest to help light your path and improve your visibility.

Road ID – This is a must for any runner, walker, and cyclist. There are so many options in colors and designs.

Knockaround Sunglasses — Polarized lenses, durable, lightweight, and in a range of fun designs, Knockaround sunglasses are a great addition to your favorite runner’s gear. I’m personally a fan of the Paso Robles model.

Sukeen Cooling Towels — Once activated these towels will stay cool for up to 3 hours – perfect for those hot summer runs or after any intense workout. Just soak it in water, wring it out, snap it and go!

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Gifts for runners

December Coffee – The last coffee of 2022

December 2, 2022 by Michelle 14 Comments

I swear once we hit Thanksgiving it always feels like a sprint to the end of the year. Well, I’m doing all I can to slow down and enjoy this last month of the year, and that begins with a little catch-up over coffee with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date. And, of course, since it’s Friday, it’s also time for the Fit Five Friday link-up! So grab a mug of your fave hot beverage and let’s chat.

December Coffee — The Last Coffee of 2022

Over coffee, I would tell you that I’m looking forward to breaking out the Christmas decorations this weekend. My husband still insists on getting a real tree so we’ll wait on getting one right now for fear that it will be a fire hazard before Christmas – but we will take care of all of the lights and all of the outdoor decorations, along with most of the indoor stuff.

And, speaking of Christmas, over coffee I would also share that I am really struggling with gift ideas this year. By now I usually have some inkling of what I’m getting everyone, but this year I’ve got bupkis. I’m trying not to panic.

Over coffee, I would tell you that I’m really looking forward to my son’s school concert next week! It’s been more than two years since the school has hosted a concert and in that time my son has switched from the trumpet to the drums – a much better fit for his personality! The drummer is always spotlighted in these performances and I can’t wait to see him perform.

Over coffee, I would tell you that we had a fantastic trip to Sonoma last month! And, we’re still enjoying the effects of the trip as shipments of wine continue to arrive. Clearly, we were enjoying ourselves because we didn’t fully remember what we had ordered LOL. Now the question is what do you do when you have more wine than you have wine rack space?

What would you tell me over coffee? What are you looking forward to this month?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Ultimate coffee date

November Runfessions

November 25, 2022 by Michelle 20 Comments

Happy Friday!

This month flew by in a blink (I feel like I say that often!), and here we are on the last Friday of the month. That means Marcia has opened the runfessional. It’s also time for another Fit Five Friday hosted by Darlene, Renee, Jenn, Zenaida, and yours truly, so let’s get started.

November Runfessions

I runfess that I am so over hearing the phrase “Black Friday”! I may or may not be spending some time today checking out the online deals, but absolutely no in-store shopping!

I runfess that as much as I wanted to join a few of my fellow bloggers for the Team Wilpers Holiday Run Challenge I’ve decided to take a pass. Speedwork is just not something my hip flexor needs right now. I’ll be focusing on the boring but necessary rehab work and hopefully, I can dive into the next Wilpers challenge in January.

As I start to look ahead to possible races for 2023, I runfess that at the moment distances of 10 miles or less hold the most appeal. While I’ve seen some great deals for early registrations, I’ll be holding off committing to anything.

How about you – have you registered for any 2023 races yet? Are you a Black Friday shopper?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Runfessions

Western Mass 10 Mile Race Recap

November 18, 2022 by Michelle 18 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I toed the line for the inaugural Western Mass 10 Miler. While I’m usually not a fan of “inaugural races” – I like to wait for some of the kinks to be worked out – I was excited to run this one because 1) I’ve made no secret of my love of the 10-mile distance and 2) this was an HMF event and they’ve got a reputation for putting on a great event.

For this week’s Fit FIve Friday I’m sharing a quick race recap — spoiler alert, this race did not disappoint!

Western MA 10 Mile Race Recap

The 10-mile course was a point-to-point route, starting on the UMass Amherst campus and ending in the town of Northampton. After a quick loop through Amherst (including an incline at the start), most of the race was spent on the Norwottuck Rail Trail – a beautiful trail for runners, walkers, and cyclists.

Isn’t this a beautiful spot to run?

After enjoying some cool fall mornings for my runs leading up to the race, Mother Nature threw us a big curve ball on race day with 78% humidity, which made the unseasonable 76-degree temps feel even warmer. Definitely not the November race temps I had been hoping for! As I had mentioned in some of my previous weekly run downs, my hip flexor had kept me guessing over the past couple of weeks – sometimes it was completely quiet and at other times quite irritable. Well, perhaps my hip flexor is affected by the weather because on race morning it was certainly crankier than it had been. I honestly had no goals for this race except to enjoy it and celebrate another finish line so that made it much easier to let go of concerns over the humidity or hip and just run.

Despite the hip flexor crankiness, I actually went out faster than I had planned for the first couple of miles. After the first mile, I settled into the 4:1 run-walk intervals that I’ve been using since the summer and overall felt pretty good through the first 6 miles. In mile 7, I started to slow as my hip region was just not happy. It took a few more walk breaks to get through the next few miles but I powered along and appreciated the encouragement of other runners, the volunteers, and the bike support crew (who did an excellent job of constantly patrolling the course since it was open to the public).

Thanks to Route 9 which runs from Amherst to Northampton parallel to the Trail, there are multiple spots where spectators could stop to cheer. It was great to have my husband J pop up in a few spots along the way!

The race finished at the Deck Bar at Union Station in Northampton. There post-race party with music, beer, and food, including vegetarian chili. I never have the stomach to eat right after a race so I didn’t partake beyond grabbing a banana and water.

There were so many pluses to this race — from the course, to the volunteers, to the swag (I love the color of the long sleeve tech shirt!). Race management did a great job of being in touch pre-race, and I appreciated that they mailed bibs if you registered up to a week before the race. I would definitely run this one again…and hopefully next time, we’ll get real November weather 🙂

Have you run an inaugural race?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, race report

November Coffee Catch-Up

November 4, 2022 by Michelle 30 Comments

And just like that October is out the door and November is here. As we usher in a new month, it’s the perfect time for a little coffee catch-up, so I’m linking up with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date. And, of course, it’s Friday so that means another Fit Five Friday link-up! So grab a mug of your fave hot beverage and let’s chat.

November Coffee Catch-Up

Over coffee, I would have to start by mentioning this crazy weather we’re having! The days have been unseasonably warm (upper 60s to mid-70s) – I’m certain we’ll pay for this later, but for now, I’m not mad about the fact that I can still run in shorts and a T-shirt!

Over coffee, I would tell you how much I’m looking forward to our wine country vacation! We’re heading to Sonoma next week and I cannot wait to eat great food, sample wines, and r-e-l-a-x!

Over coffee, I would tell you that I have two races this month. I’m heading out to Amherst this weekend for the inaugural Western MA 10 miler and then the weekend before Thanksgiving my husband and I are Philly-bound to run the 8K as part of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend.

Over coffee, I would also tell you how much I’m looking forward to having my college boy home for Thanksgiving break! I so enjoy this time of year and the holidays and after all of October’s busyness, I’m very intent on slowing down and savoring these last couple of months of the year.

Lastly, over coffee, I would tell you that I’ve jumped into a couple of challenges just to keep things interesting. Inspired by Jen, I’ve climbed back on the planking bandwagon with a Planksgiving Challenge. I know there are various versions out there, but I’ll be following the one offered by Women’s Running. I’ll also be diving into ZOOMA’s Winter Warrior Challenge. I runfess that I couldn’t resist the cute swag!

What would you tell me over coffee? What are you looking forward to this month?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, races, Ultimate coffee date, vacation

Running Books I Can’t Wait to Read

October 21, 2022 by Michelle 20 Comments

I love to read and when I can combine it with running, all the better! So for today’s Fit Five Friday, I’m sharing a few new running books I can’t wait to read!

Running Books I Can’t Wait to Read

This post contains affiliate links.

First up is Running while Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn’t Built for Us by Alison Mariella Desir which hit the shelves just this week. Alison is the founder of Harlem Run and Run 4 All Women, which supports women’s reproductive rights, in addition to being a co-chair of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition. She’s driven to challenge the long-distance running industry to be more inclusive and I’m here for it!

Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World by Lauren Fleshman is slated to release in January. Described as “part memoir, part manifesto” this book focuses on Fleshman’s journey to elite running status and the turn of events that led her to become a fierce advocate for female runners.

I’m a huge Des Linden fan so I’ll admit I’m especially looking forward to reading Choosing to Run: A Memoir. Her book is fittingly due out in April right around the time of the Boston Marathon. I can still so vividly remember watching her run and win in 2018 in absolutely brutal weather conditions and can’t wait to read more about what motivates her.

The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher is due out in March. This promises to be an unvarnished look at Coach Alberto Salazar and the scandal around the Nike Oregon Project. Kara has also become a strong advocate for female runners and was a key witness in helping to get Salazar banned from Olympic-level coaching.

Which book are you looking forward to reading?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, running books

Fit Five Friday – Five Current Favorites

Five Current Favorites

First Coffee Chat for 2023

First Coffee Chat of 2023

Welcome to FitFive Friday!

End of the Year Runfessions

End of Year Runfessions

Keeping Holiday Madness in Check

Keeping Holiday Madness in Check

Fit Five Friday – Stocking Stuffers for Runners

December Coffee – The last coffee of 2022

December Coffee — The Last Coffee of 2022

November Runfessions

November Runfessions

Western Mass 10 Mile Race Recap

Western MA 10 Mile Race Recap

November Coffee Catch-Up

November Coffee Catch-Up

Running Books I Can’t Wait to Read

Running Books I Can’t Wait to Read

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