keeping it interesting

Trying new things and big changes

June 24, 2018 by Michelle 39 Comments

There are some big changes going on in the RWA household! But, before I dive into that, here’s a brief recap of this past week’s workouts.

Monday – Rest day
Tuesday – Strength day including W4D1 and D2 of the Abs & Arms Challenge along with a PT series for hips and glutes.

Kai decided he needed to supervise!

Wednesday – 3 miles in a rare break in the temps.
Thursday – D3 and 4 of the Abs & Arms Challenge then a trip to see my massage therapist for some work on my hammy.
Friday – 1^st kickboxing class!
Saturday – D5 and 6 of the Challenge and some yoga
Sunday – BAA 10K (re-cap to come)

Trying new things!

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been feeling the need to shake-up my cross training and wanted to try some new things. Trying kickboxing has been on my list for a while and I’m so glad I finally signed up for a class. This class kicked my butt and I had a blast! I’ll be heading back to the studio again this week!

Also in the new things category – my husband J and I just signed on to macro diet program. Friends of ours have had some great results with the program and we’ve decided to give it a try to help re-set our eating. I’ll be sharing more about this as time goes on.

Ch ch ch changes!

My apologies to the late, great David Bowie…

I mentioned before that my oldest had a really tough school year. I’ve intentionally not gotten into details but suffice it to say it was a long, stressful year for everyone. But the good news is there’s light at the end of this tunnel – he’s off to a great new school in fall that he’s really excited about! And, while I’m struggling to get used to the idea that he’ll be a boarding student I’m really excited for him and know this will be a good fit.

All good stuff – there’s just one small glitch. The school calendar just came out and the big fall parents weekend is the same weekend as MCM. Nooooo! Ah but yes…

There’s just no way I cannot be there for the first big weekend at his new school. How could I possibly enjoy MCM knowing I wasn’t there? I can’t – As much as I was looking forward to MCM the choice is easy. Family first! I’m not giving up on my dream to run MCM either, I’ll just be deferring until 2019. (And, given my ongoing hammy issues, this may be a blessing in disguise).

So now without MCM on the horizon, I find myself with a wide open fall as I had no other races on the calendar. Time to get planning!

Tell me something about your week? Have you tried any new workouts?

I’m joining Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap.

Filed Under: keeping it interesting, Updates, Weekly Wrap

Ready to #RocknBlog 2015!

December 22, 2014 by Michelle 16 Comments

Well it looks like my dance card just got a little fuller…
I’m super psyched to announce that I’ve been selected to be part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series 2015 Rock ‘n’ Blog Team!

There are so many great RnR locations to pick from – Savannah has been on my list for a while so it looks like 2015 will be the year. Now to figure out where else I’m headed…

Have you run an RnR race? Which destination would suggest?

Filed Under: #RocknBlog, keeping it interesting, race calendar, RnR

Kicking off August!

August 1, 2013 by Michelle 10 Comments

While there was a lot of family fun in July – my running was a bit of a mixed bag. But, it’s a new month and I’m ready to kick things up a bit!

Kat over at Sneakers and Fingerpaints is hosting the August Core Focus Challenge! I’ve done a couple of ab/core challenges before and this one looked like fun and a perfect way to help get me on track for my fall races, so I’m in!

Another great way to kick things up? A race of course 🙂 Given that we’re in the dog days of summer there isn’t much to pick from on the racing front around here until September – so why not go virtual? Jill & Jen, the great ladies behind the #13in2013 Challenge are hosting a Birthday Bash Virtual Race in honor of their birthday month! You pick the distance and the day and for added incentive there are some fun prizes involved. August is my birthday month too and this is just the extra motivation to help me through one of my race pace runs.

I’m also thinking it’s time to mix things up with my cross-training so I’m returning to Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30. I tried this DVD out last summer and it definitely helped to keep things interesting. Just like last time, because of my schedule and making sure I get all my runs in, I will probably not do this workout for 30 days straight – but nonetheless Jillian is sure to keep me on my toes!

What have you got planned for August?

Filed Under: #13in2013, #AugustCoreFocus, core work, Jillian Michaels, keeping it interesting, refocusing, virtual race

Recharging for 2013

December 29, 2012 by Michelle 8 Comments

We’ve been in full holiday celebration mode for a week now around my house – soaking in time with family and friends. After all of the rushing around and planning, it’s been great to be present in the moment and just enjoy the days as they’ve unfolded. It wasn’t until late yesterday afternoon, curled up under a blanket nursing a sore throat that I really started to think about goals for 2013.

Looking back at the running goals I laid out in January, I’m happy to say that I hit almost all of them (the 10K PR still eludes me). I had a heck of a lot of fun this year with lots of highs:

taking the whole family along for a race in DC
getting to meet a bunch of runner/bloggers
serving as a ZOOMA race ambassador
getting away with my friend E for run and fun at ZOOMA Cape Cod
working with my running coach Bennett Cohen – learned so much!!
new PRs in the half marathon, 10-miler and 5K
ran over 900 miles

Now that I’ve had a little down time, I’m looking forward to kicking up my training for a half marathon in March (still debating which one!). So, what are some of my running/fitness goals for the upcoming year?

complete the 13 in 2013 Challenge— I think I’ve almost got the race calendar sorted out!
looking to shave some more time off my best times for both the half marathon and 10K (specific target times to come later) – I really need to find a flatter course for the half!
continue to do all of things that I believe helped to keep me off the injury-reserve list — yoga, strength training, massages and time with the chiro.

But, as always, the biggest goal is to continue to have fun — to run with friends, to run in some new locales, try an obstacle course race (or two), be a race volunteer, and have more blogger meet-ups!

Filed Under: #13in2013, goals, keeping it interesting, PR

Adding to the workout mix

July 24, 2012 by Michelle 11 Comments

Because I’m always looking to mix it up a little and keep things interesting, meet the newest addition to my workouts:

Starting today I’m going to give Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 for the next 30 days. The DVD is comprised of four 24-minute workouts based on Jillian Michaels’ 3-2-1 interval system: 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. Each routine progresses in difficulty over a four-week period (a new workout each week), and Michaels promises there are no repeats from week to week.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

Have you ever used a workout DVD?

Filed Under: Jillian Michaels, keeping it interesting, Ripped in 30

Fall Racing

June 22, 2012 by Michelle 10 Comments

Last night I started my 2nd 6-week session of “Yoga for Runners” – a 2-hour ~~torture session~~ gloriously zen experience, where I and 7 other runners attempt to get our hamstrings and hip flexors to release…just a little bit from their usual death grip-like existence. After class our instructor mentioned fall racing and it was funny to see everyone light up and immediately start comparing notes on which races were on their fall calendars, training plans, etc. It was a little like watching kids talk about Christmas – you could just feel the excitement!

I’m happy to say that I think my fall schedule is pretty much set:

ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon — 9/22
Tufts 10k for Women — 10/8
Canton Fall Classic (5k) — 10/28
Chilly Half Marathon — 11/11

I think it’s a good mix of distances to help keep things interesting, but not so many races that my legs will rebel.

Have you got a big race (or two) lined up for the fall? When does training begin?

By the way – if you are thinking of heading to the Cape this fall to run ZOOMA don’t wait to register, price increase kicks in tomorrow. And remember to use the code in my sidebar for a discount on either the half marathon or 10k.

Filed Under: fall racing, keeping it interesting, race calendar

Setting some goals

January 10, 2012 by Michelle 10 Comments

So we’re ten days into the new year – I have a tentative race schedule laid out…but beyond the schedule what are my fitness goals?

Increase my weekly mileage such that I can maintain a solid base mileage to build on for any training plan
Try some new race distances (I’ve got a 10-miler and 15k on my schedule so hopefully I’ve got that one covered)
Run a 2:30 half
Run a sub-2:30 half
Set a 10k PR
Stay injury-free — as I mentioned in my post about acupuncture, I believe this will come through more consistent strength-training, improving my range of motion/flexibility and proactive self-care
Incorporate more healthy eating habits — J and I are planning to add one new habit a month so by year-end we’ll have 12 new habits and hopefully lose some not-so-good ones along the way

Continue to have fun! I had a lot of fun with my running in 2011 and obviously want that to continue! I want to connect with more runners (both locally and online), encourage others when I can and hopefully meet up with some other bloggers 🙂

Filed Under: goals, keeping it interesting

New Year’s Planning

December 29, 2011 by Michelle 8 Comments

After comparing the collective family calendars for school, business travel, a plethora of the boys’ sports events and activities, J’s lacrosse schedule and all other various things that make up life, I think I’ve come up with my race schedule for 2012.

There are 10 races – a good mix of half marathons, 10ks and 5ks – with 2 new distances thrown in, a 15k and a 10-miler I’ll be running with J!

February

— Wampanoag Road Runners Old-Fashioned 10-miler

March

— Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon
— Boston Tune-Up 15k

May

— Boston’s Run to Remember (Half)

July

— Harvard Pilgrim 10k

September

— Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon

October

— Tufts 10k
— Canton Fall Classic (5k)

November

— Philadelphia Half Marathon

December
— Jingle Bell Run (5k)

I’ve got a few others in mind if I’m feeling ambitious or if something goes haywire and I need to switch up the schedule…or if money for race fees and travel starts magically falling from the sky 🙂

Should be a fun year – I’m looking forward to it!

Happy New Year!!

Filed Under: keeping it interesting, race calendar

Mixing it up at the track

June 28, 2011 by Michelle 9 Comments

Trackwork Tuesday again – The plan called for 1600 repeats again this morning, but I’ve been itching to mix it up a little. So instead I decided to try a speed workout from Coach Jerry’s Key Workouts for a Successful Half Marathon courtesy of iRunnerblog.

Start with 10 minute warm-up, then 3 sets of 200/200/400 intervals with matching recovery intervals. I went with 2 sets plus warm-up for a total of 3.5 miles. My main goal was consistency in my splits and as you can see, I was right on target today:

200 — 1:00; 200 — 1:00; 400 — 2:18

200 — 1:01; 200 — 1:04; 400 — 2:18

I really liked the mix of speed and endurance this workout provides. I will definitely do this workout again and next time add in the 3rd set.

Do you have a standard track workout? Do you mix it up? Or do you avoid the track altogether?