Yes you already know that I’m a mom who runs….But guess who’s featured on the Another Mother website today?!?!
Yep it’s little ole me 🙂
I really enjoy reading the profiles in “Follow this Mother” series on Thursdays and am honored to now be included!
You can stop by and check it out HERE
Let me know what you think!
Under Armour just launched their third What’s Beautiful campaign and I’m very psyched to be a part of it through FitFluential.
Under Armour’s What’s Beautiful is all about pushing limits and redefining the female athlete. This is for women who want to push past where they have been before — To put a goal out there and then go after it in a big way. It’s easy to get started, just declare your goal on the What’s Beautiful site and then get to it! You stay accountable and get extra motivation by accepting challenges and interacting with other participants. You can also team up with others who share similar goals for additional support and motivation.
My What’s Beautiful goal is:
Focus on speedwork, strength training and core work so I can own new PRs for the 10k and half marathon; and most of all, be a stronger version of myself.
For added motivation I also created Team Core Strength for anyone who wants to make building a strong core a key to their overall success – you can join my team here!
You can also keep up on what’s going on by following along on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags #IWILL #WHATSBEAUTIFUL.
Are you ready to set some new goals or re-up your current ones? Join us as we redefine the female athlete. #IWILL.
Had a good week last week including a massage, time on the track, a return to my favorite yoga class and a great long run on Saturday! I had 12 miles planned and my running buddy E offered to join me for the final 6. I ran an out and back for the first 6 then met her in her driveway and we went out for another 6+ mile loop around town. I’m so glad I had her with me – she kept me laughing and moving when I was starting to fade. It was a great run and despite tired legs I finished strong – nice way to cap a week of training for sure!
So now it’s week 13…and this week will include my last double digit run before my half marathon. On the plan this week:
Monday: 6 with negative split on the last 3
Tuesday: Cross-training
Wednesday: 4 mile Fartlek
Thursday: 16 x 400m repeats, plus yoga class
Friday: rest!
Saturday: 12 with last 6 at RP
Sunday: Cross-training
I feel a good week coming 🙂
This year I’m participating in the 2nd Annual B.A.A. Distance Medley which consists of a 5K, 10K and half marathon. The 5K was held the Sunday of the Boston Marathon weekend.
It was a great morning for a run — sunny but cool (just 40 or so). J and the boys decided they wanted to come cheer me on so the whole family headed into downtown Boston. Getting in and parking was easy. It was definitely chilly so I left the guys to do some warm up strides. Just as I was heading over to get my good luck hugs from my kiddos, I was lucky enough to find fellow FitFluential Ambassador Amy from Running Escapades and her husband in the crowd!
As we stood in the shadows of the high-rises it was even cooler and I did my best to stay warm and loose. I chatted with some of the other runners and just tried to soak in the atmosphere. I couldn’t get over the size of the crowd for a 5K (5,000+ runners) – the energy was great!
The downside of a crowd that big on a course that winds in and around the narrow streets of Boston’s Back Bay was the amount of bobbing and weaving I had to do. 
There were also a fair number of people who clearly didn’t seed themselves properly as I found myself running up on people who stopped to walk within the first half mile….seriously?! But I settled in the best I could and just enjoyed the run.
The B.A.A. had set the course up so we would finish the final “right on Hereford, left on Boylston” stretch and across the Marathon’s famous finish line. J and the boys were watching from the grandstands and said they could see me make the final turn on the jumbotron — my boys thought that was pretty cool and allowed my oldest son to catch these shots of the finish. (My youngest liked that I passed that guy right at the end!)
I made my way through the corral, got my medal and a bag of snacks and found my wonderful cheer squad!
Overall I was happy with my time of 30:56 and I’m really looking forward to the B.A.A. 10K in June!
Jill, Nancy, Samantha, me, Amy
Boston’s Run to Remember Half Marathon! This is my goal race for the spring and with all that has happened in Boston, I know this is going to be an extra-special race this year!How ’bout you – any big plans for May?
Running with Attitude turned three over the weekend! 
I continue to marvel at all that running has brought into my life and it’s been great fun to share and connect with so many wonderful runners!
So very happy to be a part of this great running community!
Cheers to you all for being a part of this journey!
Recently this showed up on my doorstep
The folks at Designer Whey sent me a crazy array of their products to try! I was expecting to receive just one of their protein powders – instead they sent protein bars, ready-made shakes and Protein 2Go drink mix, in addition to two protein powders.
I’ve mentioned here before that one of my goals for 2013 is to get a better handle on my nutrition. And now that I’m finally feeling like I’ve got a handle on my fueling during a run, I’ve started to turn my attention to what I’m eating during recovery. So getting to try out these products came at a great time for me.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had a chance to try everything — and the verdict….love them!
I immediately started with the protein powders – 18g of protein, only 100 calories and naturally sweetened with Stevia. I received both French Vanilla and White Chocolate – they both had good flavor, but the White Chocolate became an instant fave! I was initially concerned it might be too sweet, but it had a yummy creaminess that worked well with my usual smoothie add-ins (unsweetened almond milk, chia seeds, almond butter and frozen strawberries, bananas and cherries) without being overpowering. It has quickly become a favorite post-workout recovery drink.
My husband J got in on the act sampling the protein bars. We had three flavors to try: Peanut Butter Crunch, Triple Chocolate Crunch and Chocolate Caramel Crunch. Quite simply these bars are so good! They’re 160 – 170 calories with 10g of protein and other vitamins. Designer Whey packs a lot into these bars including a lot of flavor!
My favorite was the peanut
butter, while J really liked the triple chocolate – he said it tasted “like a real chocolate bar not at all waxy.”
The last item I received was the Protein 2Go. Designer Whey sent all three of their flavors: Lemonade, Mixed Berry and Tropical Orange. You just pour one of the packets into about 12 – 16 oz of water and shake. I thought these mixes offered a nice refreshing drink with the added benefit of 10g of protein plus B-Vitamins and Vitamin C. I really like these have no artificial sweeteners or flavors, and the packets are easy to carry with you anywhere. I think these will be particularly good in the summer months served ice cold!
A big thanks to the folks at Designer Whey – I’m happy to have discovered their products as they’ll now be a part of my recovery nutrition strategy.
What’s your go to recovery foods/drinks?
I received these products as a FitFluential Ambassador. All of the opinions expressed here, as always, are my own.
This Thursday’s randomness comes in my post-track workout induced haze….
1. There needs to be some basic rules posted at our track — Why would you, as a walker, continue to walk in the same lanes you see people are running in? I can see maybe being clueless the first time round but after you’ve been passed – move over! (And to make matters worse there were 2 of them walking together)
2. My next rule for the track is no perfume. One of the same walkers was doused in perfume – each time I ran by her it was like dodging the perfume counters in a department store.
3. And now completely unrelated….told you this would be random…I got an email this morning announcing that the half I’m running next month Boston’s Run to Remember has sold out and they are looking for more race volunteers. This race is run in honor of fallen police officers and after recent events, registration skyrocketed. This will be the first major race run on the streets of Boston since the Marathon – so if you are going to be in the Boston area Memorial Day Weekend, and want to be part of what should be an incredible day, please consider volunteering. You can check out the race website HERE.
So do you have any rules for the track?
Well I’ve reached week 11 in my training plan and it’s once again a race week! This time I’ll be toeing the line at the Newport 10 Miler Sunday – still not sure of what my race goals yet – last week was a mixed bag including really solid intervals at the track one day followed by a craptastic long run the next. Going to wait and see what this week serves up then check in with Coach Bennett on Friday.
On the schedule for this week:
Monday — 6 miles with a negative split on the back 3
Tuesday — Cross-training
Wednesday — 5 mile Fartlek
Thursday — Track work: 300 meter repeats & Yoga class
Friday & Saturday — Rest days
Scheduling snafus galore forced me to have to swap Monday & Tuesday’s workouts so I’m off for a rainy 6 now. Running 3 days in a row is usually something I avoid, but mentally I know I’ll beat myself up if I cut back on my mileage too much. I’ll see how it goes…
What an incredible week it’s been here in the Boston area and now thanks to the amazing work of law enforcement it’s over. Yes, the investigations will continue, but for now people can breathe easier knowing that those behind the attacks on Monday can no longer cause more harm.
We can focus on healing, remembering those lost and continuing to help those most greatly impacted by the attack.
I sit here on a quiet Sunday afternoon feeling very grateful – for those incredible people who worked tirelessly so the City of Boston can now breathe a little easier…
for family….
for friends… for the normalcy a routine brings….for the promise of the week ahead.
Here’s hoping we all have a peaceful week!
Happy Running!
