Weekly Wrap – 6 weeks to Wicked

August 6, 2017 by 31 Comments

I hate to sound like a broken record but I really do feel like these weeks are just flying by! Anyone else feeling that way?

There are just 6 weeks to my next race, the Wicked Half Marathon.

Actually, thanks to the nagging hip/glute/piriformis thing, Wicked will be my first race of 2017. Gotta say that I’m glad I don’t have any big goals for this race, other than to finish upright and have fun, cause I feel like my training mojo comes and goes. While in the past two weeks I’ve been motivated to hit the track for speedwork and even worked in hill repeats…err this week…not so much. Here quickly is how the week shook out:

Monday – Since of late I’ve been running long on Sundays, Mondays are a total rest day.

Tuesday – A back-to-basics strength workout filled with lots of lunges, squats, and bridges in addition to the daily planks.

Wednesday – I enjoyed a break in the temps and got out an early for 4 miles.

Thursday – After a crazy hectic day, I got some much needed yoga in.

Friday – Kicked off my birthday with some miles with my husband – gotta run on your birthday right?!

Saturday – Yard work, planting, and cleaning counted as my cross-training.

Sunday – I have been battling poor quality sleep all week and when the alarm went off for this morning’s run it had all caught up with me. I was wiped out! I tried playing the re-set the alarm game, hoping an extra half hour…then hour would make a difference, but it wasn’t getting any better. So I decided to skip the run and give my body what it needed – sleep!

Hopefully I will not regret skipping today’s 8 miles. I’m not sure why my sleep has been so bad this week – I’ve been trying to get to bed at a reasonable hour, and falling a sleep hasn’t been the problem – staying asleep is another story! Fingers-crossed this week will be better.

How do you overcome bouts of bad sleep?

I’m joining in with Hoho, Tricia, and guest host Heather for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by and check out what they’ve been up to!

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Filed Under: Sleep, Weekly Wrap, Wicked Half Marathon

Wrapping up July

July 30, 2017 by 25 Comments

Well, we’ve sprinted through another month and here we sit at the end of July. As I sit here recovering from a rare-mid-day run, it seems like as good a time as any to put a wrap on this month.

Good things for the month:

  • Pain-free running! Yep…I’m almost afraid to put it in print. After months of dealing with the nagging hip/glute/piriformis thing, I’m happy to say my July miles were pain-free! (cue the choir!)
  • Thanks to the lack of annoying injuries, I’ve felt confident enough to start sprinkling in both speed work and hill work.

Things I could do without:

  • I’ve done enough whining about the weather…so let’s just leave that alone and move on.
  • I was definitely lacking a little on strength training as the month wore on – if I plan to stay injury-free, I’ve definitely got to get back on that!

On the decks for August:

  • More mileage. As I runfessed, I’ve got 7 weeks until my next half marathon, time to make those “long runs” longer!
  • Back to planks. I’ve let the planking slide a little lately, but I feel a streak coming on!
  • I also runfessed that my nutrition has been lack luster, so it’s time to start paying attention. On the flip side, it’s my birthday month and there will be some celebrating…it’s all about balance, right 😉

And, that’s a wrap! I’m linking up with Holly & Tricia, and this week’s guest host Deborah for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to stop by and visit these great ladies!

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Filed Under: month in review, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap – Feeling the Heat

July 23, 2017 by 37 Comments

Yeah, this pretty much sums up this week’s workouts! Another heat wave hit the Boston area this week, and by Tuesday I had given up even bothering to open the weather app on my phone. The workouts were a little all over the place, but here’s how it went down.

Monday — Since I ran Sunday and was planning to hit the track Tuesday, I took Monday as a rest day. I had dinner with a friend I hadn’t seen in months and we had an epic catch-up session that may have involved a couple of pomegranate martinis. So good, but so not the “hydration” to have before track day 😉

Tuesday — Suffice it to say I didn’t get to the track, but I did get an ab/hip/leg workout in.

Wednesday — 90% humidity had me seriously questioning the whole running thing, but I eked out 3 miles.

Thursday — Another lower body strength workout followed by a massage!

Friday — I had planned to make up Tuesday’s track workout, but for some crazy reason I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and I was wide awake brain racing! Uggh. After lying awake for what seemed forever, I must have finally fallen asleep and promptly slept through my alarm. I didn’t have enough time to get to the track before work so it would have to wait.

Saturday — Finally made it to the track! I was determined not to skip this workout and it was my best of the week!

Sunday — Saturday’s long run became today’s run. Since I was still feeling the effects of a busy Saturday and I knew the humidity was supposed to finally relent a bit, I opted to sleep in and take on my run in the afternoon. It was still a heat-fest but having my husband along helped keep me going, and we made it through 6.2 miles.

All-in-all, not a bad week. We’re getting a ton of rain tomorrow and then cooler temps (relatively speaking) will be rolling in. I’m looking forward to getting a break from the steam bath!

I’m linking up with Holly & Tricia, and this week’s guest host Darlene.

 

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Filed Under: half marathon training, Summer running, track work, Weekly Wrap

A quick wrap-up

July 16, 2017 by 22 Comments

Happy Sunday!

Taking a quick break from enjoying a lazy Sunday with my family for the Weekly Wrap, hosted by Holly & Tricia, and this week’s guest host Janelle.

Thanks to a combo of multiple days of crazy thunderstorms, my youngest being home sick from camp, and feeling way under the weather myself, there’s not much to wrap this week from a workout standpoint.

I did keep up with my daily planking but did only one lower-body strength workout.

Planking & learning to work the new selfie stick!

And, there were just two days of running in humidity so thick it felt more like swimming!

I got a nice pick-me-up on Wednesday with the arrival of the July StrideBox! Always so much goodness – I especially appreciated the extra water bottle!

Thankfully I was starting to feel more like myself this afternoon so my husband and I headed over to catch a great sale and tasting at our favorite wine shop.

Photo Courtesy of Bin Ends

The rest of the afternoon will be kids choice, which I’m sure will include mini golf, ice cream, and dinner on the deck! 🙂

How are you spending your Sunday?

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Filed Under: #StrideBox, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap – Slow return to training

July 9, 2017 by 40 Comments

The first full week of July is in the books, and it’s time for the Weekly Wrap with Holly, Tricia, and this week’s guest host Christine. Definitely be sure to stop by and check out all of the great ladies who join in for this link-up!

So how’d things shake out this week? Here’s a quick run down…

Sunday – 4-mile run. A rare Sunday run for me, but I had missed running Saturday due to family plans. And besides, the morning was too beautiful to pass up! Also, I got back to daily planks.

Monday – Rest day.
Tuesday – The track was calling – I swear 800-meter repeats never get easier!


Wednesday – OK so I may have gotten a bit ambitious at the track 😉 I had plans on a strength workout, but listened to my legs and opted for rest.
Thursday – 5.5-mile run.
Friday – Strength work and chiro visit.
Saturday – 3.4 miles – this was supposed to be a 6 or 7-mile run but for some reason, nothing felt good on this run. My stride felt off and so did my breathing. After a solid week of running, the wheels came off the wagon a bit. I’m chalking it up to being just “one of those days!”
Sunday – Feeling especially tight today, so I went with some gentle yoga.

So as the title of this post alludes, this week marked a return to training. While I enjoyed taking June at a leisurely pace, I know the fall race season will be here in a blink of an eye so it’s time to ease back into a training plan. I still haven’t settled on a goal race, but the RC coaches and I are leaning towards a couple of November options with a possible tune-up race or two. I did sign up for the Wicked Half and I’m looking forward to the Skirt Sports Ambassador meet-up.  This race will be for fun and should help me to get focused. It’s a mere 68 days away, so Saturday runs will get longer and I’m going to try to keep one day for speed work.

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Filed Under: half marathon training, Weekly Wrap, Wicked Half Marathon

Weekly Wrap: Eyeing Fall Races

June 25, 2017 by 25 Comments

Staying true to my goals for this month, my workouts have been comfortably locked in on cruise control. This past week was no different. There was some time for yoga and getting re-aquatinted with my foam roller. And, there was some running. The temps have been climbing so I promised myself this would be the week to get out early to beat the sun’s heat.

Of course, Mother Nature does have a twisted sense of humor, and just as I stepped out the door for Tuesday’s run I was greeted with this…

Yep a serious downpour…given how warm it was I ran anyways…anything to avoid the mill. And actually, this run felt great!

I was chasing my shadow and the sun on Thursday’s run, and happily logged another pain-free run!

And, while the struggle bus came looking for me on this morning’s run thanks to a cranky stomach, I’m happy to say the miles were pain-free

the glute/piriformis/hip thing finally feeling under control these past couple of weeks, I’ve allowed myself to start eyeing potential fall races.  I’m pretty sure I’ll pull the trigger on the Wicked Half Marathon, held in mid-September. Some of the Skirt Sports ambassadors in the area picked this race for a meet-up so I’m sure this could be a fun one! Past experience has taught me that the temps can still be pretty warm in mid-September, so I’d like to find a goal race for October or early November.

Any suggestions for a half marathon? Do you have your fall races settled yet?

Linking up with Holly & Tricia for the Weekly Wrap, and this week’s guest host Zenaida. Definitely be sure to stop by and check out all of the great ladies who join in for this link-up!

 

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Filed Under: fall racing, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap – Just cruising along

June 11, 2017 by 19 Comments

It’s been a couple of weeks since I last joined Holly & Tricia for the Weekly Wrap – How’d I let that happen?! Kim is this week’s guest host so be sure to stop by and say hello!

As I mentioned in my June goals, I’m not following a training plan at the moment – just kind of taking workouts as they come. So how did this week go?

Monday: Yoga and chiro visit. Based on the feedback I gave my chiro, he thinks I’m progressing nicely so we’re going to see if I can get to the first week of July before my next appointment!

Tuesday: I usually run on Tuesdays, but the combination of a torrential downpour most of the day and a crazy work day, made it easy to push this run to Wednesday.

Wednesday: We finally got a break in the rain, so I celebrated Global Running Day with a 3-mile run.

Thursday:  Strength work – my usual focus on hips, glutes, and abs, followed by some trigger point work with my massage therapist.

Friday: Since I ran Wednesday, I’d plan to run Friday…but remember the never-ending mulch pile in my driveway? I decided I just couldn’t look at it any longer, and I knew with our town’s big lacrosse tournament this weekend if I didn’t tackle it then it would most likely still be there on Monday. So I spent a couple of hours hauling mulch around and I’m happy to say the pile is gone! Talk about a total body workout!!

Saturday: The whole family spent the day at the lacrosse tournament – we left the house by 7:30 and didn’t head home until close to 6 pm! And, did I mention the temps jumped to the high 80’s? Yeah, we were all toast!

Sunday: Being on my feet all day Saturday took its toll, but I really wanted to get a little run in before day 2 of the tourney. So I tacked on another 3 miles.

As you can see, there was not much running this week and I’m totally fine with that. Temps are supposed to hover in the 90s for most of this week so I’ll be pushing the clock back to run as early as possible – otherwise, there will be a lot of cross-training this week 🙂

How do you fair when not on a training plan? 

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Filed Under: no training plan, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap: Mother’s Day Edition

May 14, 2017 by 28 Comments

The days just continue to fly by….halfway through May and I feel like I can’t catch my breath! Am I the only one feeling this way?

Thankfully, it’s been a lovely, lazy Mother’s Day! Ma Nature decided to send a nor-easter our way (yes…in May!) so I was gifted with the rare Sunday with no lacrosse games…and no ability to do yard work 😉 It’s been a fun family hang-out day and soon we’ll be heading to out to dinner, but first a quick re-cap of the week.

Monday – Rest day & a trip to the Chiro
Tuesday – Strength work
Wednesday – 4-mile run
Thursday – Yoga & sports massage
Friday – Strength work
Saturday – 6-mile run
Sunday – Rest

The piriformis was on the cranky side this week, so there was a little less running, and more attention to strength work and babying the muscle.

The runs I did have were fairly decent. I started using a metronome app – a suggestion from the Chi Running instructor, and while on the one hand, the beeping does take a little getting used to, on the other side there is something very meditative about it. For the next week or two, I’m going to try to use the metronome for most of my runs so I can laser in on my cadence.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!

I’m, of course, linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Be sure to stop by and visit both of these great ladies and check out some of the other bloggers! 

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Filed Under: metronome, Weekly Wrap

RtR Week 9 – Finding My Chi

May 8, 2017 by 19 Comments

Happy Monday!

Last week marked week 9 of Run to Remember training, and while I’m no longer closely following a training plan, I still like to use these weekly check-ins to hold myself accountable. And, as always, I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap.

For the most part, it was a pretty uneventful week – a good mix of some easy runs, yoga, planks (of course), and strength work.

The highlight of the week was attending a Chi Running clinic!

The clinic was just awesome! As evidenced by the fact that I was so engrossed from beginning to end that I took not a single picture. There was so much great information  – seriously my head’s still spinning!

I completely lucked out in that we had a great group of just 7 – all dealing with varying challenges/past injuries, and with big goals ahead. Our coach Marc did an excellent job of breaking down the posture, arm swing, foot strike, cadence, gears, and hills. Yeah – like I said…a lot of info!

We did a mix of drills and my favorite part was the group run at the end, where Marc ran with each of us giving cues on things we needed to focus on. By the end, I can understand why Marc kept emphasizing that Chi Running is a practice (like yoga or meditation), not a quick fix.

I can’t wait to get my video analysis and am already looking forward to Marc’s next session!

So, of course, I had to head out Sunday morning to start to put my new Chi knowledge into practice!

How was your week? Have you ever attended a running clinic?

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Filed Under: ChiRunning, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap: Goals, Decisions & StrideBox

April 30, 2017 by 42 Comments

I know it’s already been said by many, but I do have to ask – how is it possible that tomorrow is May 1st?!?

I had set 5 goals for April:

  • Hit every workout
  • Run 100 miles
  • Continue my plank challenge
  • Weekly yoga
  • Meal planning

Well, if you’ve been following along here, you know goals 1 and 2 quickly went out the window as I’ve been plagued with a hip/glute thing that just won’t quit! I am happy to say that I did a pretty good job with the other 3 goals so that makes me happy!

While it’s taken me a while to say it out loud, it’s been very clear that my body’s just not up for dealing with a lot of miles right now. 5 – 6 miles is my sweet spot at the moment – any more miles and the hip speaks up loud and clear. As much as I want to be running the Run to Remember half marathon at the end of May, it’s clear I need to stay in my zone, drop down to the 5-miler option and continue to get healthy. So my race dilemma has been resolved.

And speaking of RtR, week 8 played out like this:

Monday:  A trip to the chiro and yoga
Tuesday:  Cross-training on the arc trainer
Wednesday:  Rest
Thursday:  3-mile run and a 90-minute sports massage
Friday:  Strength day – hips & glutes (no surprise!)
Saturday:  5.6-mile run

In other news, the great folks at StrideBox sent me another box of goodness along with a special coupon code to share with all of you!

Use code 5RWA417 to receive $5 off of the first box when you sign-up for a monthly StrideBox subscription! This code is good through May 15th. I have really enjoyed receiving these complimentary boxes – you can check out my review here.

As always, I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies participating in this fun and motivating link-up! 

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Filed Under: #StrideBox, Boston's Run to Remember, training, Weekly Wrap