Decision made – Hello Team Sony

June 24, 2011 by 6 Comments

So I decided to accept the invitation to join Team Sony Walkman – thanks to all of you who weighed in!

To answer some of the questions you raised:
— Yes – there will be free products and giveaway opportunities.
— Yes – free running apparel.
— The 5 race commitment runs from now through January 31st.
— I was initially a little nervous about the idea of doing 5 events, but then when I looked at my race schedule for the rest of the year, the reality is I’ve already committed to 3 races, so adding 2 more doesn’t seem like a big stretch, especially since I confirmed that I can mix up the distances (it would definitely be a different story if they all had to be halfs!)
— No – the races fees aren’t covered.

I think it will be a fun opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the other runners and trying out the products! I should be getting more information in the next couple of weeks.

 

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Filed Under: opportunities, Sony

Fun in the mail

June 20, 2011 by 5 Comments

I love getting new stuff in the mail!

So first the UPS man showed up with ….more new shoes! I know I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion how much I’m loving my Saucony Mirage. I started rotating these shoes into my runs in March and have steadily increased my miles in them – I even ran the half in them! I’d been thinking that once I put a fair amount of miles on them I’d look to add the Saucony Kinvara into the mix – one more step on the minimalism path.

Well, lucky me, Beth at Shut Up and Run recently hosted a giveaway with Online Shoes.com for a pair of Saucony Running Shoes – and  I won! So yeah it’s not hard to see where this is going…I selected the Kinvara! To say I’m excited to have these shoes to add to the mix is an understatement! Big thanks to Beth for the giveaway and to Online Shoes for getting them to me so quickly!

Then, the folks at McDavid USA sent me a pair of their new True Compression Leg Sleeves to try out! I’ve already used them for recovery after my 8-miler yesterday and will try running in them this week. Stay tuned for a full review and giveaway!
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It was a pretty good training week last week, but I did end up missing one of my easy runs. On tap for this week:

Monday — Rest day. I’ll be spending part of the day at my oldest’s school picnic and then my youngest is having a friend over so I’m not sure how much rest will actually take place!

Tuesday — Tempo run (5)

Wednesday — Easy run (2) and strength training

Thursday — Yoga

Friday — Long run (8)

Saturday — weekly Pilates class

Sunday — Easy (3 or 4). If I make my schedule work, I might try a group run. I always run solo, so running with a group might be a nice change.

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Filed Under: giveaways, Kinvara, McDavid USA, Saucony, training

An interesting opportunity

June 19, 2011 by 11 Comments

On Friday, I received a great surprise in my email inbox – an invitation for an opportunity to be a part of Team Sony Walkman!

As an “Ambassador” there are a variety of commitments you make in terms of working with Sony, but the two big commitments are to agree to Sony as your exclusive sponsor of music/mp3 products and to participate in at least 5 events wearing their custom branded apparel. Of course, my first thought is, this sounds pretty cool…though the five events has me mildly panicked (that Fall half marathon would have to become a reality).

Has anyone ever done this kind of sponsorship before? Can you think of any downside I should consider? I have until Friday to make my final decision and would love to hear any opinions.

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Filed Under: opportunities, Sony

Trackwork Thursday

June 16, 2011 by 7 Comments

Just as I thought, between the weather and crazy schedules, the theme this week has quickly become – fit the workout in when you can! So this morning Trackwork Tuesday became Trackwork Thursday.

By the numbers:

6 – # of high schoolers I have to weave around – I’m still not sure what kind of PE class that was they were doing but they didn’t stay long.

2 – # of 1600’s, with splits of 9:31 and 9:11! (Smart Coach target was 10:18)

4 – # of total miles run

3 – # of times I thought I was going to throw up during the first 1600. Fortunately I didn’t and the second interval felt much better.

4 – # of times I cursed myself for not getting up earlier to get ahead of the heat; followed quickly by the number of times I told myself to “get over it and get it done.”

0 – # of times I felt any knee pain!!

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Filed Under: Schedule vs Training, Smart Coach, track work

Monday Motivation – Week 2

June 13, 2011 by 6 Comments
“Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way.
Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be.”
— Marsha Petrie Sue
Week 2 Plan:
Monday – Rest Day — (Much needed since I took advantage of the rainy day yesterday to push my pace a bit)
Tuesday – Track work (4)
Wednesday – Easy run (2) & Strength work
Thursday – Yoga
Friday – Long (8)
Saturday – weekly Pilates reformer session
Sunday – Easy (3 or 4)
My schedule this week could get a little nutty as my boys’ schools continue to jam everything into the final few days of school – Seriously, why do teachers do that? So I may have to play with the days a little to get it all in.
When it becomes a battle of your schedule vs. your training – if you have to give up a workout in your plan, which one do you forfeit?

 

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Filed Under: kids, Monday Motivation, Quotes, Schedule vs Training, track work, training

Lessons learned and training begins again

June 8, 2011 by 12 Comments

I’ve started training this week for the Providence Rock ‘n’ Roll Half! As you can imagine, I’ve been thinking a lot about my last race — both the training and the race itself. Where do I make changes? What do I tweak…or throw out?

A couple of things stand out for me….

  • Without question, I need to make a more dedicated effort to strength training, especially where my left leg is concerned. The imbalance between my quads and hamstrings is a major contributor to my knee woes. Additionally, my right leg is so dominant that it is throwing off my gait – especially when I start to get tired. In looking back at my training, I was understandably most focused on building the miles. While there was some strength training, to be honest it was both minimal and inconsistent. If I do not want a repeat performance of my left leg cashing it in shortly after mile 8, then I have to get serious about strengthening the leg!
  • I’ve got to figure out a hydration plan. All of my long runs leading up to the half were done in cool temps – I never carried water with me. Then bam, race day is hot and humid and I wasn’t use to taking in water while running and as a result I don’t think I managed the water stations as well as I could have. Obviously, no one expected those crazy temps then, but the Providence RnR is in August so heat and humidity is a given! In general I know I need to hydrate better, both on days I run as well as off days. But I also need to use my long runs to figure out a hydration strategy for the race.
  • I need to continue to work on pacing and not be afraid to push it. There were moments during my last training cycle where I’d be running and feeling good then glance at my Garmin and think “whoa is that really my pace, I’ve got to slow it down cause I’ll never make it to the end of the run.” In other words I’d psyche myself out! I realize it’s really easy to fall into this rut of thinking of yourself as an XX min/mile runner – I need to challenge myself to not fall into that rut.

So, now with a better mileage base, my goals leading up to the next race are to strengthen my legs (especially the left), learn to hydrate better and embrace a little speed! And I’m going back to posting my weekly plan because it helps to keep me accountable.

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For this week:
Monday — Yoga  (check)
Tuesday — Strength work (check)
Wednesday — Tempo run (4) (check)
Thursday — Yoga or Rest
Friday — Long run (6)
Saturday — Pilates reformer (counts for strength work)
Sunday — Easy 5

Happy Running!
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Filed Under: goals, Half marathon, hydration, left knee, pace, RnR, training

May Rewind and Giveaway Winner

June 3, 2011 by 6 Comments
Good things for the month:
  • Completed my first half marathon – ‘nuf said!
  • Logged my highest total ever of 74 miles.
  • My love affair with my Saucony Mirages continues – rotating them with my Brooks Adrenaline has worked well to make the transition easier. Even used them for my race!
  • Discovered the benefits of KT Tape!
  • Hosted my first giveaway!
  • 98 of you now follow this little journey of mine — welcome to the new followers — and to all, as always thank you for the support!

Things I could do without:
  • My ongoing annoyance with Mother Nature – we had one of the coldest and wettest Mays on record in NE. That is of course until my race weekend!
  • Return of my left leg/knee issues in the final week of training.

On the decks for June:
  • Start training for the Providence Rock’n’Roll Half!
  • Get real about my strength training – more on this to come.
  • Log more than 80 miles

And speaking of my first giveaway….the winner of the copy of Running on Empty is lucky #5 — Kittee at Running Half Crazy! Congrats Kittee – shoot me an email at runningwithattitude (at) yahoo (dot) com and I’ll get the book off to you.

Have a Great Weekend!

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Filed Under: giveaways, month in review, RnR, Running on Empty, Saucony

Thursday Thoughts – aka 3 things

June 2, 2011 by 5 Comments
  • Took my first post-race run this morning — it was a very tentative 2 miles. While my knee felt ok, my hamstring was not having it! It was such a beautiful morning, I wish I could have gone further, but I’m playing it safe.
  • Don’t forget about my Running on Empty giveaway – it ends tomorrow. You can click HERE for details. There are some really great giveaways going on in the blog world – I have a bunch listed on the sidebar if you want to check them out.
  • I’m WAY behind on my “spring cleaning” so I’m back on a huge clutter purge. With the end of school coming, it time to go through all the many school papers and projects that seems to be taking over my dining room table!
 It’s almost Friday – love a short week!

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    Filed Under: 3 things, giveaways, injuries, Running on Empty

    Boston’s Run to Remember Race Report

    May 31, 2011 by 27 Comments

    I don’t even know where to begin – it was a really good day…hard but good!

    (Shirt– front and back)

    The night before the race I got a nice surprise when my hubs J revealed that he had t-shirts made up for all the family members coming out to cheer me on! He had also taken care of all of the logistics to have family strategically stationed at key points along the route — gotta love that man!

    Race morning I was up by 5:15, followed my usual routine and with my brother and mom set to take care of the boys and bring them to the race later, J and I headed in. On the way in, I read tweets, texts and re-read comments to my Race Goals post — you all rock! The support is greatly appreciated!

    There was of course no traffic at that hour so we flew into town and found parking without a problem. I had plenty of time to make one last pit stop and take a quick warm-up run. We spotted a couple of friends, chatted with them and took a couple of pictures before they started calling for runners to line up. I decided to line up at the front of the 11 min group, still totally unsure of what my knee would tolerate. It was already crazy humid, and the race announcer was urging people to be careful and to take water at all the stops — at least there was cloud coverage to start!

    Race ready!

    The race started and finished at the Seaport World Trade Center which sits out on Boston  Harbor – so at the beginning we had to cross a bridge to head into the city. Coming up to the top of that bridge and seeing all those runners, I was overwhelmed with the thought “you’re really going to do this!” There was a little bumping and jostling in the first mile, but all-in-all not too bad given Boston’s narrow streets and the number of runners. For the first few miles I was feeling good – kept an eye on my Garmin to make sure my pace was steady…so far so good. I spotted my dad and step-mom just where I expected them to find them just after the 4 mile marker. Then just before the turn-around, I found my brother, mom and the boys waving the cheer banner! One of the great things about this out-and-back course meant I was going to see them all a second time after the turn-around — I cannot even describe what a lift it was to see them all cheering! J had made it over on the subway by the second time I passed my dad and step-mom again and joined in the cheering. I was still feeling really good but as I charged up the bridge my left leg announced that it was not happy and would no longer be cooperating! Fine be that way – I took a short walk break just before the 9 mile marker, hoping to shake it off, but as I started again I knew my pace was slipping. I ran and chatted with a woman who had stopped to walk when I did. It was getting hotter and people were starting to drop along the course. The medics were busy as we crossed 10 miles — pretty scary!

    I fell in with a couple of other women as we started encouraging each other that there was only a 5k to go. We ran the next mile and a half together, chatting off and on – it was good to have the distraction. My left leg was yelling at me pretty good by now, and shortly after I passed my family one more time (yes they were everywhere and I loved it!) I took another walk break…this one longer…the heat was really draining. I knew I was close to the 12 mile water station so I told my leg to shut up cause it was time to finish this thing! The crowds were getting bigger as we made the final turn and headed back over the last bridge. Once again the sight from the top of the bridge was awesome! Finishing strong was one of my goals, so I dug in figuring I could endure whatever my leg could throw at me, and actually managed to pick a few people off on my way to the finish. I crossed the line with a big smile on my face – time 2:35:15!

    Attitude Cheer Squad!

    Overall, I thought this was a great race — good crowd support, great group of runners and fairly well-organized…though I do think they should consider adding more water stops given how crazy hot it can be in Boston on Memorial Day weekend. The police along the course were great, many cheering the runners on and the volunteers were really enthusiastic. I have to give a big shout out to State Trooper Riley, who I ended up chatting with a bit post-race after he loaned me his cell phone so I could track down my family.

    And to my family…there are just no words…your support along the course meant everything to me!

    I learned a lot during this race, but I’ll save that for another post! For now I’m happy to say, I’m a Half -Marathoner!

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    Filed Under: Boston's Run to Remember, Half marathon, race report

    Race Goals

    May 27, 2011 by 13 Comments

    After signing up for this race back in December, I can’t believe Sunday’s almost here. My first half marathon – I am beyond excited!

    My goals for Sunday:

    • Enjoy the moment! To appreciate the fact that less than a year ago, the thought of running my first 5k was a big deal, and now I’ll be running another 5k…just running another 10 miles first!
    • Finish strong! I will not let concern about my knee consume me. I know that if my legs can’t carry me any further, my heart will.
    • Be consistent! In all my long runs I had a tendency to go out too fast. On Sunday, I’d like to strive for consistency mile over mile – I think it will help me to have enough in the tank at the end.
    • Be proud of the effort! I’m trying not to get too caught up in having a goal time – it’s my first race at this distance so whatever the time, it’s a PR, right 🙂

    Send some good vibes my way on Sunday, ok? And have a great weekend!

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      Filed Under: goals, Half marathon, race