just having fun

#NoExcuses Challenge

January 15, 2015 by Michelle 10 Comments

To help get the year off to the right start, I joined my fellow Sweat Pink Ambassadors for the #NoExcuses Challenge. The challenge is simple – to commit to moving every day in the month of January and share what you do via social media. There are weekly emails with prompts to help keep you motivated and the potential to win some great prizes!

Today it’s time for a little Mad Lib fun! Thanks to Amy for tagging me 🙂

Hey 2015, it’s me Michelle (nickname, spirit animal, real name, blog name)
This year I would like to learn more about nutrition, truly commit to strength training, and stay off the injured reserve.
It would also be super duper awesome if I also did snag a PR or two this year. It’s not a resolution, though, just a reminder to myself to try and have the best year yet because I want to Thrive!
The thing I am looking forward to most this year is having fun!
I’ll use the one thing that truly gets me out of bed in the morning which is that voice in my head saying “make it happen” to help me get up, get moving (verb) and get after my #NoExcuses 2015.
Speaking of excuses (ahem), my very favorite excuse is not enough time and I have used it to get out of doing rolling and proper recovery on more than one (number) occasion.
I vow to move my body and be more healthy this year even if it means I have to give up my night-owl ways.
Even if my alarm clock gets eaten by the dog in the middle of the night, I’ll still be woken up by my snoring husband (seriously you should hear him!)
I will stop blaming the kids [ex: kids, dog, husband] for eating the rest of the chocolate covered almonds from Trader Joe’s when everyone knows it was really me.
My crazy family schedule [job, hair, car, husband, kids] is not the reason I make excuses. I will show my crazy family schedule [same as before] who’s boss this year and get my run [type of sweaty activity] on.
I know that any workout [type of workout] is better than working long hours at my desk [noun].
I will reward myself by booking some spa time.
No Excuses 2015 has just begun and already I am imagining myself a winner. I can’t wait to rock a hoodie (article of clothing) from Augusta Active. I can’t wait till my sweaty friends are jealous of how fresh, clean and not stinky (adj) I am between workouts with help from ShowerPill body wipes. I can see myself rocking sumo deadlifts [yoga pose / workout move] in new Tie One On Legging [article of clothing from Actio926] from Actio926 and looking fit and fly while doing it. And of course, I’ll be taking my workouts to the next level and improving my core [noun] with my new ActivMotion Bar to help me train for my next half marathon [distance] race with Sasquatch Racing.
Oh, and let’s not forget how amazing my favorite tank [article of clothing] will smell in my / during my Pilates Barre class [favorite type of workout] after washing with some WIN Detergent. And lastly, I’ll keep rocking my 2015 with clean eats and nutrition from Beaming with Health!
Tag, Tweet, shout-out, call, text, fax or email 3 friends to take this survey and share how they will have a #NoExcuses 2015. Remind your friends to simply fill in the underlined parts!
Use the #NoExcuses hashtag and post to win prizes from Augusta Active, ShowerPill, ActivMotion Bar, WIN Detergent, Actio926, Beaming with Health, and Sasquatch Racing.

I’m tagging Coco, Sue, and anyone else who wants to play 🙂

Filed Under: #noexcuses, just having fun, Sweat Pink

Good Stuff Going On

November 17, 2014 by Michelle 7 Comments

Happy Monday!

The weekend went by way too fast for my liking (isn’t that always the way?) And this week is shaping up to be a busy one! Before I dive in, I wanted to share some fun stuff going on around the interwebs.

Women’s Running Telesummit — The International Association of Women Runners (IAWR) is hosting a Running Telesummit. The Telesummit features a great line up of speakers including my running coach Bennett Cohen, Jeff Galloway, Katherine Switzer, Sarah & Dimity from Another Mother Runner, and one of my fave bloggers Marcia from Marcia’s Healthy Slice. The Telesummit starts today and runs until December 4th…and it’s free! Click HERE for details.

DC Trifecta’s Gratitude Challenge — Also kicking off today, Mar, Cynthia and Courtney (aka the DC Trifecta) is hosting a Gratitude Challenge on Instagram. Should be fun to see the different things people are grateful for!

Holiday Sweat Challenge — Formerly known as the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, this year Amanda from Run to the Finish is teaming up with Sweat Pink! This 6-week challenge is one of my favorites and with the addition of Sweat Pink, this should be fun!

The Challenge starts on November 24. Click HERE for details and please say I sent you 🙂 (Disclosure: I received the Sweat Pink Ambassador discount).

What have you got going on?

Filed Under: #holidaysweat, Challenges, gratitude, just having fun, running community

Birthday Weekend Wrap-up

August 5, 2013 by Michelle 5 Comments

Enjoyed a great weekend…

… lots of time with family & friends

… a return to double digit long runs

… way too much good food & drink

… another year older

…. and spending time here

How can you not be happy looking at this?

I’m ready to take on the week!

How was your weekend?

Filed Under: birthday celebrations, just having fun

Summer mode

July 9, 2013 by Michelle 6 Comments

We have comfortably shifted into summer mode here in the RWA household – the pace has slowed, there’s far less clock watching and on some days this usually high-energy family has become downright lazy! And I say thank goodness 🙂

While getting out early in the morning before the heat really cranks up doesn’t allow for much sleeping in, I have passed on a couple of runs in favor of catching more ZZZs – I figure my both my mind and body will thank me later. When I do run, there’s been almost no attention paid to my Garmin – it’s just been about getting some miles in and trying to acclimate. I’m most definitely not breaking any land speed records and I’m good with that. I know that soon enough I’ll be focused in on hitting paces and more structured workouts as I start training for my fall races. I am starting to kick my strength training up as I’ve started another 30 ab/core challenge and I’m heading back to my beloved Pilates classes later this week.

How’s your summer going? Have you started training for your fall race yet?

Filed Under: general musings, just having fun, summer mode

Finish at the 50 10K Recap

July 5, 2013 by Michelle 6 Comments

On Wednesday, the whole family once again ventured out to Gillette Stadium to take part in the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50. This was our second year doing this event – my oldest participated in the kids’ races and I ran the 10K. J and my youngest son played chief cheerleaders – which quiet honestly may have been the smarter choice!

OK so how to write this recap without it being a complete whine-fest about the heat?! Let me start by saying it was 88 degrees with a dewpoint of 70 – translation the heat and humidity combination was downright oppressive! Combined with the late day start time (6:30 p.m.), this morning runner was way out of my comfort zone!

The Good Stuff

The kids races were a lot of fun and my oldest son did great!
getting a “Congrats!” from Pat the Patriot
They changed the location of the 10K starting line so we started in the shade this year
The 5K race started an hour before the 10K to help elevate the crowded start
Several wonderful residents of Foxborough took pity on us runners and broke out their hoses for some impromptu misting stations – bless them!
Enthusiastic volunteers did a great job at the water stops and generally just being really encouraging
Challenging course with the first 4.5 miles on a rolling out and back through residential neighborhoods before coming back into the stadium for 1.5 miles of ramps before the final tunnel run to finish at the 50-yard line

The Ugly Stuff

It was HOT people – just ugly, soul-sucking hot!

Running those ramps — surprisingly, going up the ramps wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was running down them that proved a lot more challenging, especially when you threw in the hairpin turns at each level. By this point my quads were just screaming to be done!

Post race was like one big tailgate party as runners and their families hang out and wait for the fireworks. We enjoyed a great picnic dinner and the fireworks display did not disappoint!

Overall this is a really well-run family event and a fun way to kick-off our 4th of July celebration! I did say to J shortly after finishing that I just don’t see myself running this again next year – at least not the 10K. J said he may try it and I think I’ll be happy to swap roles as chief cheerleader 🙂

Do you run a 4th of July race?

Filed Under: #13in2013, family running, Finish at the 50, just having fun, race report

A run with my son

June 21, 2013 by Michelle 6 Comments

Now that we’re officially registered for my son’s first 5K, he’s been eager to start training! Since he tends to be an early riser, we agreed that maybe trying to run before school would be more practical than waiting until after school (when I know running with mom is not going to be nearly as appealing as hanging out with his friends!)

So yesterday was suppose to be our first run….my early-riser was sound asleep when I went into his room and I just didn’t have the heart to wake him. Last night I told him if he wanted to run it was up to him to come and get me — well guess who was standing over me well before 6 this morning!

my new early morning running partner!

waiting for the Garmin to find a satellite

waiting on the Garmin

The last time we ran together it was a pattern of sprint, stop, heavy breathing, walk then sprint again – ah yes, the concept of pacing is lost on a 10-year-old boy! So I suggested that our main goal was to slow down a little so we could keep going without stopping.

He agreed to try and then asked if he could wear my Garmin 🙂 So he had important lesson number 2 of the morning – you need to be patient while you wait for the Garmin to find a satellite!

Finally we were off! He went out fast again but I realized if I could keep him talking it would force him to slow down a bit. He was doing great and I just loved the look on his face – just smiling and talking. We had only one short walk break before turning for home – a huge improvement over out last outing!

Leaving me in the dust

While we’d planned a half mile run, in the end we made it just over a mile! He was very psyched and is already planning our next run – great way to start a day!

Filed Under: family running, just having fun, kids

Monday Motivation: Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

November 19, 2012 by Michelle 4 Comments

The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge starts today! This Challenge seems like the perfect way to kick off this Thanksgiving week. Amanda from Run to the Finish has once again put together a great Challenge with Twitter chats, a Facebook group and prizes to help everyone stay motivated through the holidays. I’m definitely looking to improve my point total over last year!

There is still time to join the Challenge – you can register HERE. Please tell Amanda I sent you!

Now I’m off to kick off my Challenge with a 4 mile run and a little yoga!

Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Holiday Bootie Buster, just having fun, Monday Motivation

A race from a different perspective

May 10, 2012 by Michelle 9 Comments

Last Sunday, after weeks of planning, I officially donned my race director hat for the local 5k race and kids’ Fun Runs hosted by my sons’ school.

The start of one of the kids’ races

After being both a participant and spectator, it was such a different experience to view a race through race director “glasses.” Yes there were the annoying requests (Can’t we get an extra race shirt?”); registration glitches (“We don’t have them on the list – they swear they paid!”), and volunteers who did not show up (“What do you mean we have no one directing the runners on Pleasant St?!”).

But as I watched the day unfold — watched each of the heats of the kids’ runs go off; medals hung around the necks of smiling faces; runners toe the line waiting for the 5k to start; and, stood along the street directing the runners, cheering and high-fiving them, before heading to the finish line to congratulate the winners and see the awards passed out — the joy (and relief) of seeing the day come together seriously outweighed any of the negatives.

Once the races were done, the awards given out, the raffles drawn and the cookout was done, our race committee was tired but feeling pretty good about how the day went overall. I think every runner should volunteer at race at least once. And, if you ever get the opportunity to be part of a race planning committee – take it! It will truly give you a whole new appreciation for the race experience.

Filed Under: just having fun, new perspective, playing race director

Jingle Bell Run Race Recap

December 20, 2011 by Michelle 11 Comments

On Sunday, I ran the Jingle Bell Run with my husband J and friend E. I had wanted to run this last year but was injured — so glad I got to this year! This race was fun from start to finish!

It was a balmy 23 degrees when we got to the race so we hung in the car for as long as we could before heading over to the starting area. We made a quick pit stop, and I saw one of my favorite costumes of the day – a group of 6 guys with huge inflatable reindeer heads tethered together “pulling” another guy dressed as Santa with a cardboard sleigh. They were guided by two women dressed like elves. And yes, they ran that way! Unfortunately, my camera was not loving the cold weather and failed on me so I didn’t get any pictures of them or some of the other fun costumes we saw along the way. E and I agreed we were going to have to be much for festive in our outfits next year ~ we also made a pact that we better beat the reindeer 🙂

E & I post-race and ready for a beer

The 3 of us ran together for the first half mile or so, then J headed off – he had a goal to hit 30 mins. E wanted me to just run and she was going to just try to hang with me and keep me in sight. I had no goal except to have fun…I even left my Garmin at home! It was a nice course with some rolling hills. I settled into a nice comfortable pace and enjoyed the sights. This race went by so fast – before I knew it we crested the last hill, turned the corner and could see a great down hill stretch to the finish.

There was a huge bottle neck at the finish as many people just came to a dead stop. The bottleneck continued as runners moved down the street in search of water and medals – this was my one complaint about the race, it was very disorganized at the finish! E, J and I re-grouped – J hit his goal of 30 minutes and E got a big PR in only her 2nd 5k!

Now it was time to celebrate. There were at least a dozen local pubs sponsoring the race, (did I mention the race medal was a bottle opener!) so of course a post-race beer (or 2) was necessary!

Definitely a fun race and one to keep on the schedule for next year!

Filed Under: Jingle Bell Run, just having fun, race report