Weekly Wrap – Training and a 5K

October 30, 2016 by 26 Comments

Once again the days are flying by at an alarming rate and October is drawing to a close. As always, I’m joining Holly and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap link-up. When you’re done here, please visit these two great ladies and all of the other fun bloggers linking up.

Monday: An easy run of 4 miles.

Tuesday: The plan called for 4 miles and I’ve been trying to shift to some late day running to get ready for Vegas. Well, life and family schedules caused me to keep pushing this run later and later and eventually it just didn’t happen. (This is exactly why I’m a morning runner!)

Wednesday: Strength day with Trainer Stacey. Turkish get-ups, deadlifts, bear crawls and lots of core work were all part of the mix.

Thursday:  3-mile tempo intervals. I don’t know where the RC coaches came up with this one! Plan called for two sets of tempo intervals with a 3 min rest, plus warm up and cool down. I’ll just say there was a lot of swearing!

Friday: 4 more easy miles in crazy swirling winds, followed by a much needed sports massage.

Saturday: Just a two mile shakeout run.

Sunday: Canton Fall Classic 5K. I haven’t run a 5K in ages and I forgot just how hard they can be. I also forgot how challenging this course is – mile 2 is just one hill after another. But this is a great local race – it’s always great to see so many of the runners I see out and about every day all running this race. There are also a lot of families running together and it was fun to be out there with my son. He totally smoked me, by the way, but he waited at the finish line and cheered me in (and to be fair, he asked if it was ok before he took off).

Tell me something about your week.

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Filed Under: Canton Fall Classic, half marathon training, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap – Just a little tired

October 23, 2016 by 28 Comments

Happy Sunday all!

I have been enjoying a much needed, and rare, lazy Sunday. This was one of those weeks where I felt like I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It was a week that included feeling less than fabulous, one kid home sick from school, school events, parent teacher conferences, a big work event, and managing the usual shuttling of kids here and there. And, yes there was training mixed in there, too. I am t-i-r-e-d y’all! Today provided a much needed break.

Monday: While I woke up not feeling all that great, I kicked the week off with some early morning miles. – 3 miles done.

early-morning

Moon wasn’t ready to head to bed

Tuesday:  The blech I was feeling on Monday got worse and I couldn’t get my head off the pillow for my run. My oldest was also down and stayed home from school. Missed my tempo run and spent the day on the couch.

Wednesday: Strength day – glutes, hips and abs were the focus.

Thursday: Time to get running again – an easy 5K done.

Friday: With a big event for work planned for Saturday, I opted to get my long run done on Friday instead. I’ve been exploring new fueling options and with double digits on tap it seemed like a good time to try Tailwind Nutrition I had ordered last week. The humidity was back with a vengeance (dew point of 85!), but I got 10 miles in, and I’m happy to say Tailwind agreed with my stomach and my energy level felt pretty good…I’m cautiously optimistic.

recovery

I must say it was kinda of nice having my long run out of the way before the weekend got going. We went to a school performance for my youngest son and then it was a quiet evening on the couch 🙂

Saturday: Ran the 4 miles that was originally on my plan for Friday. My legs felt really heavy and 95% humidity didn’t help. There was a flurry of kids activities and sports to shuttle between and I short-changed my post-run rolling. By halfway through the evening event, my legs were really talking back to me! (Didn’t help that I chose to wear heels – what was I thinking?!)

The upcoming week looks to be equally chaotic, and I know I’ve got to do a better job of being kind to my legs. I’ll be running a local 5K with my son next weekend, which should be a lot of fun!

As always, I’m linking up with Tricia and Holly for the #WeeklyWrap. Head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training, life happenings, motivation and encouragement.

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Filed Under: half marathon training, Weekly Wrap

Prepping for Brooklyn

September 25, 2016 by 23 Comments

The beauty of having another race on the horizon is it forces you to not wallow and to quickly get re-focused (if you missed my Philly recap, you can check it out here). So this week was all about turning my attention to the RnR Brooklyn Half Marathon. As always, I’m joining Holly and Tricia once again for the #WeeklyWrap link-up.

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Monday and Tuesday were all about rest and recovery. There was nothing wilder than lost of stretching, rolling and icing.

Wednesdays are strength days, and I was back in the gym with Trainer Stacy. We went old school with the workout using a weighted sleigh and medicine balls. Hips, glutes and core got a serious workout!

By Thursday, it was time to get back to running. 5 miles, with 3 at steady pace, done. And on Friday, I got 3 more miles in at an easy pace.

The temps on Saturday dropped, and the morning air felt downright chilly. I loved it! My husband J is getting ready for his race next weekend, so he decided to join me. We got an early start so we could get back in time to shuttle our boys to their sports commitments.

chasing the sun

This run felt great! The miles clicked along easily, and we finished 8 miles with plenty of time to spare. The only minor glitch was for some odd reason my stomach was not happy with my usual Honey Stringer Waffle – this is my standard pre-run fuel, so I’m not sure what happened here.

Today was a rest day and I spent the day purging the endless stacks of paper from our home office and trying to find my desk again!

clutter-creative

I’ll be back to four days of running this week and the forecast is showing cool temps. Fall may finally be here!

Have you ever had your stomach reject your routine fuel?

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Filed Under: half marathon training, RnR Brooklyn, Weekly Wrap

RnR Philly Training – Week 10

September 5, 2016 by 20 Comments

Happy Labor Day!

I’m taking a quick moment out of what has been an enjoyable and lazy long weekend so far to join Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. I love this link-up as it helps me to stay accountable on my training, and it’s such a great group of supportive women!
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Even though, as I mentioned over coffee, I’ve switched up my goal races, I’m continuing to count down to #RnRPhilly since it’s the first big race on the horizon. So how did week 10 go?

Monday, 8/29:  Nice 3-miler. It was overcast and kinda felt…dare I say it…fall-like!

Tuesday, 8/30:  800 meter repeats. Dear lord when do these get easier?!? Probably not…5.25 miles done.

track shot2

Wednesday, 8/31: Strength day – Lots of core and resistance band work.

Thursday, 9/1: Allergies reared their ugly had with a vengeance which made sleeping tough. Lack of sleep and trouble breathing = rest day.

Friday, 9/2:  I don’t usually run on Fridays, but wanted to make up for missing Thursday’s run. Also it was a beautiful cool morning, so 3.5 miles happened.

Saturday, 9/3:  11 miles – I really wanted this to be a great run, especially since it was my last long run before Philly. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t 🙁  I was having a really solid run until mile 8…and then I wasn’t. Around mile 6 I started feeling a lot of discomfort in my right glute where it attaches to the hamstring. I took a short walk break and thought I had it under control, but in mile 9 the wheels completely came off the bus… I finished but not as strong as I had hoped.

Sunday, 9/4: Rest day.

My last couple of long runs have definitely been my nemesis, and I don’t know how that will translate on the streets of Philly. Only time will tell…

Are you training for anything right now?

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Filed Under: half marathon training, RnRPhilly, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap – Feeling Recharged

August 29, 2016 by 16 Comments

Happy Monday!

I’m back from a fun family get-away in the White Mountains. This vacation came at a perfect time as I was really starting to feel fried. We celebrated my husband’s birthday, rode the Cog Railroad to the top of Mount Washington, explored glacier caves, zip lined (is that a verb?), and hit the alpine slides and coasters…just to name a few. We came home tired and happy.

I did my best to keep up with my workouts and for the most part it went pretty well. I’m linking up again with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Be sure to check out these great ladies and all of the other fun bloggers joining in.
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Monday, 8/22:  A much needed rest day.

Tuesday, 8/23: I was hoping to make up for Sunday’s long run, but my tired legs had other ideas. I knew before I left the house that 10 miles was not going to happen, and for half a second I toyed with skipping the run altogether. But it was a rare morning in the low 70s – too nice to miss out on, so I got a solid 5 done.

Wednesday, 8/24: Cross-training in the form of climbing around Mt. Washington

Top of Washington

The amazing view from the top of Mt. Washington

Thursday, 8/25: Hill work was on the plan so I headed to the base of Loon Mountain and found a perfect access road for hill repeats.  5 more miles done.

Friday, 8/26:  More play time with the family!

Saturday, 8/27:  10.5 miles – this was one of the toughest runs I’ve had in a long time. My stomach went south almost immediately – I have no idea why since I didn’t deviate from my usual foods. I was ok for the first 5 miles, but then the wheels completely fell off the wagon. Angry stomach and intense sun = one ugly run.

Sunday, 8/28: Rest day.

How was your week? Do you workout on vacation or just hang out?

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Filed Under: half marathon training, vacation, Weekly Wrap

RnR Philly Week 6 – Enjoying the Cutback

August 7, 2016 by 6 Comments

Hard to believe last week marked the half way point in training for RnR Philly. It was also my birthday week and my husband J planned a great birthday getaway to one of our favorite inns in the White Mountains. So it was perfect timing to see that the RC coaches had a cutback week on the training plan.

Monday, 8/1: Strength Day

Tuesday, 8/2:  Track workout — 400 meter repeats, plus warm up and cool down – 3.25 miles

Wednesday, 8/3: You know how crazed work becomes right before you take a few days off…yeah well that was this day! Yoga was necessary!

Thursday, 8/4:  Day off so I slept in until almost 9 (What?!?) and then got in 4 easy birthday miles, before a much needed mani/pedi – the hot stone leg message was the highlight!

Friday, 8/5: I swapped Saturday’s LSD to today and got it in super early before we left town. I ran 6.5 miles, and probably faster than I should have, but it was a picture perfect morning…and I was ready to head out of town 🙂

Saturday, 8/6: 4.25 miles of hiking. I thought it would have been cooler in the mountains, but surprisingly, not so much. But the scenery was beautiful and worth it.

White Mtns

Sunday, 8/7:  Rest Day

The inn we stayed in serves the biggest country breakfasts and amazing 5 course dinners – and we indulged to the fullest! It was a great weekend and now I’m having a hard time getting back to reality 🙂

rp_WeeklyWrap-1-300x300.jpgSo that’s my #WeeklyWrap! As always, big thanks to Holly and Tricia for hosting this linkup! By the way this wonderful linkup is celebrating its own birthday so be sure to stop by and see what this great group of bloggers are up to.

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Filed Under: birthday celebrations, half marathon training, RnRPhilly, Weekly Wrap

RnR Philly Training Week 4

July 24, 2016 by 21 Comments

Happy Sunday all!

Just checking in for a brief recap on Week 4 on the road to Rock ‘n’ Roll Philly….

Monday, 7/18: Rest Day

Tuesday, 7/19:  Rest Day

Wednesday, 7/20: Woke to a rare cool – ish morning. After two full days of nothing more than icing and rolling I was itching for a run. Seemed like the perfect time to run my Guitar Solo Virtual 5K! I drove to one of the flattest streets near home and busted out 3.1. No leg pain certainly called for a little post-run air guitar 🙂

Air guitar

Thursday, 7/21:  Cross-training = 40 minutes on the Arc Trainer

Friday, 7/22: Rest Day.

Saturday, 7/23: 8.2 miles. It was 75 degrees with 93% humidity when I checked the weather just before heading out. Note to self…sometimes ignorance is bliss! I was holding together relatively well until somewhere in the middle of mile 6. Then the struggle bus pulled up and I hopped on board. I’m grateful my husband J had decided to run with me, and at his suggestion we switched to a 2:1 run walk for the final two miles. Mentally, it got a lot easier to run when I knew it was only for short bursts.

Sunday, 7/24:  Strength day – lower body focus

So just 11.3 miles this week. But thanks to sticking to the plan of rest, rolling and icing – plus a trip to my massage therapist, they were pain free miles – so that’s a big win in my book! The RC coaches have revised my training plan and assure me I still have plenty of time, and I know they’re right. This week I’ll be aiming to return to at least 3 days of running, plus 2 strength workouts.

So that’s my #WeeklyWrap! Thanks to Holly and Tricia for hosting this linkup!

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Filed Under: #261BeFearless, half marathon training, RnRPhilly, Weekly Wrap

Taking on Your First Half Marathon

March 25, 2015 by 9 Comments

This post was inspired by my friend Steve, who after debating for a while….ok a long while, recently announced that this will be the year he runs his first half marathon! Since his decision, he’s been sending me text messages with all kinds of running questions…and I’ve been enjoying sharing in his excitement of the newness of all of this. It also got me thinking back to my first half marathon and wondering in hindsight what I wish I had known when I started training.

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Start with a proper base —  Before taking on half marathon training, have a good base  (running 3 days a week, at least 10 miles/week). If you don’t have this, get there before you dive into a training plan.

Find a plan — First timers are best served by following a training plan. A plan will help guide you to build your mileage slowly. It is important to recognize that not all half marathon training plans are created equal, so take the time to review a few to find one that fits where you are in your running and seems manageable with your other commitments (family, work, etc). For example, don’t pick a plan that has you running 5 days a week if you know that’s not going to fit into your life.

Recognize that life happens — Do your best to follow the training plan, but all is not lost if you miss a run or two.

Cross-training is worth it — Doing some low-impact cardio on your non-running days will help your overall fitness and keep boredom at bay.

Rest is not a four-letter word! — Those rest days in your plan are there for a reason; don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re only training when you’re physically active.  Rest and recovery is a critical part of your training.

Remember why you started — When you’re in the thick of training, getting out for you next run or pushing through a tough run can sometimes feel like a chore. Don’t lose sight of why you decided to take on this new challenge in the first place and celebrate milestones along the way!

What do you wish someone had told you before your took on your first half marathon?

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Filed Under: half marathon training, tips

Training Check-in – Week 11

October 13, 2014 by 8 Comments

check in Happy Monday!

With today being Columbus Day (or Thanksgiving in Canada) – hopefully you’re enjoying the long weekend!

After a much needed cutback week the week before, I resumed my Philly training plan last week.

So how was Week 11?

Monday  —  T25 Cardio

Tuesday  —  5 Miles

Wednesday  —  Yoga

Thursday  —  5 x 1000 meter intervals plus warm-up and cool down – 6 miles

Friday — Rest day

Saturday — 9.5 miles

Sunday  —  More rest – hanging with the family 🙂

I had planned for 12 miles on Saturday but the rain went from steady at the start of the run  to a torrential downpour! So for the sake of my cold wet legs and my iPhone I decided to cut it short. Overall, it wasn’t too bad of a week. As much as I want to increase my mileage and bump it up to 4 running days per week, my energy levels are just not there yet. Hopefully, as I get this anemia under control that can happen.

How was your week?

Do you usually run 3x’s a week or 4 or more?

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Filed Under: half marathon training

Week 8 and Counting

September 15, 2014 by 16 Comments

Success-repeated

Fall weather has finally arrived! Hallelujah!

It was pretty crazy here last week as there were lots of school activities, sports practices and homework to adjust to. In between, I managed to log 23.5 miles for the week:

Monday:  5.5 miles.

Tuesday:  Leg and core work.

Wednesday:  Pilates Barre class.

Thursday:  Hill repeats – 7 miles total.

Friday:   3 miles on an Alter G treadmill – (more on this coming in a separate post!)

Saturday: 8 miles. The plan had been to do 10, but around 6 my ITB really tightened up. I tried to run through it…but those of you who’ve dealt with cranky ITBs know that’s not how it works. I could tell my form was starting to suffer so I cut the run at 8. Lots of rolling, time in my compression shorts and some icing seemed to have helped.

Sunday:  Rest day.

I know that the ITB flare up was a direct result of not following my usual recovery routine this week. I was jamming in workouts and then skipping my usual rolling, icing, and strengthening exercises. So guess what I’ll be focusing on this week 🙂

Do you have a regular recovery routine? Do you feel the effects if you skip it?

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Filed Under: crazy week, half marathon training, ITB, Monday Motivation