Monthly Archives: April 2012

7 Questions

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I’ve decided to participate in Gentri Lee’s 7 question challange- click the cute question mark to head over to her site! I’d love to hear some of your answers :)

1. You are stuck somewhere you really don’t want to be, do you- walk home, call a friend, or stick it out?
If I know my husband can pick me up or help me out, I make the desperation call. Not because I’m a baby (hah) but because I don’t want to deprive him of rescuing me.


2. Do you like to PLAY sports?
Volley-ball. I am far from good, but I love it. But most of all I love running :)
3. Everyone has that one “different” song that they secretly love- what’s yours?
Pretty sure my love for Someone that I Used to Know isn’t a secret.
4. What is one thing you feel you are really good at?
Cooking. I can create some pretty impressively healthy meals (and I have a very sweet husband who tries it all out and promises it’s good :)
5. A dog is running in your direction and barking loudly- what do you do?
Hold my ground. I’m pretty sure I’m more intimidating that that dog.
6. Star gazing or cloud watching?
Star Gazing. :) Warm Summer nights watching the stars? One of my favorite pastimes.
7. What time of the day do you feel the most productive?
In the early morning with my bowl of oatmeal and cup of tea, I’m mapping out my day
Can’t wait to read all of your answers!!

Summer Running

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Last weekend I almost ran 7 miles, which was broken up with a lot of walking. This is the story. I was going to meet my friends at the beach front to run 6m with them. I live three from the beach and left waaaay to late, so I booked it. I did 7minute miles. 3 of them. Terrible idea. Remember the fact that I’m a slow runner? SO combined with the summer heat?

This summer heat: GREAT for tanning, HORRIBLE for running.

I’m considering giving up running for the summer (after our half marathon in May)… But right now I’m just trying to balance my school, work and running. I need to change up my routine to run during the cooler moments of the day, which might call for my beloved 3 mile morning runs (I would do more, but there is something inherently wrong with getting up before 5:30 am for a run).

The glorious news is that I am 81% of reaching my goal of running 50mi during the month of April! Woot! This will be a glorious feat for me, as I’ve been trying all year to achieve this goal :) (which is a whole 3 months…)

I ran another 2 (measly but great feeling) miles tonight, and I feel amazing. All the hard work is paying off, and thankfully my husband isn’t coming home to fat wife. I ran off all the calories from the hot chocolate and marshmallows AND whip cream I drank last night as I plunged into depression because my husband was gone a whooooole week. But he’s coming home tonight and I had to run my hot chocolate off before he can back ;) !

My biggest weakness is chocolate and hot chocolate… what’s your foodie weakness?

Somebody…

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Just in case I didn’t love this song enough and play it so often that my husband and I have ‘parts’, I heard this version.

I give up on being a balanced person of music. I’m bordering obsessed.

Thank you Teaka.
Somebody That I Used To Know – Pentatonix (Gotye cover)

Staying Healthy on the Road

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With the warm weather here in Virginia Beach, all I can think about is tanning by the ocean. My hair whipping in the wind, and my skin soaking in the sun. My waterbottle strapped to me since I dehydrate quickly… and just generally being on the go. With our lives ramping up for summer, it’s easy to lose sight of our fitness and health goals. It’s far to easy to skip the healthy snack and hit up ice cream at the beach or fast food on the road, but that can quickly undo all of our hard work! Now, I’m not against a little dessert here and there (see photo below), but we can stay healthy (and save some serious money) with a little lot of planning!

What you need:

  • A sweet little cooler that can roll or be carried to the beach or Busch Gardens (my two ultimate destinations this summer)
  • Apples/Banana’s with peanut butter
  • Trail mix (preferably with chocolate, except if you’re gunna be in the sun all day. yucky)
  • Mini carrots with dip or hummus
  • Premade sandwhichs (no meat, that can give ya Salmonella)
  • Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies. Healthy and filling!
  • Tons of water bottles. Freeze them to keep your cooler cold

If you stay healthy during the day, you can afford (both financially and physically) to go out and enjoy yourself in the evening. If you’re heading out to a resteraunt, order a salad with the vinaigrette dressing. If the day in the sun leaves you famished, order the grilled, baked or steamed options and resist ones that are fried or battered (think grilled chicken or salmon with a baked potato or steamed veggies).

Enjoy the sunshine (load on the sunblock!) and stay healthy this summer. I know this girl is aching to enjoy some beach time!

My goal: 50 miles in April

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We had a lovely weekend. It was warm and breezy, and we spent the majority of it outside! On Friday evening I went running with a friend and almost logged 8 miles! We ran straight to the beach, on the boardwalk, and back in a little over an hour. Talking with a friend while running makes time fly! She told me about getting a bike this weekend, so hopefully we can ride around this summer together.

Since I got a good run in the night before, I was a little sore for my Saturday run that I did with some girls from school in the park. The pollen was out and I could hardly breathe… so I took a few walking breaks I our 5 mile loop… slowing down the pack L so sad! I seriously tried to keep going, and I did my best, which is all I can do!

I’ve been wanting to amp up my mileage, and my goal is to run 50 miles this month! I’ve already run 30 miles, which is 62% of my goal in 14 days.  I’ll be so excited to hit another 50 mile month, which will be my second this year. For all you runners out there who are running with increased heat (or pollen), don’t forget to hydrate! I’ll be running with a water bottle on my long runs where their isn’t fountians… even though I hate running with one.
And another amazing pin I found on pinterest… always running… I’m glad I CHOOSE to run because I love it, not because I’m being chased!

A HUGE shout out to all those Boston Marathoners out there today! Best of luck to all of you :) Drink tons and take it slow in the heat!

Getting Stronger

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I’ve been running a 5 mile cycle pretty regularly now, which is my new 3 mile circuit. I’m still painfully slow, and yesterday had to walk about a half a mile to catch my breath… because my friend and I were talking so much. But it sure made the miles fly by… and we felt great when we were done! I’m still working on my Half Marathon Training for the Novice Runner by Hal Higdon, and it’s been kicking me in the butt!

I can feel I’m getting stronger, and running is coming easier, but who am I kidding? It’s still a struggle to get out the door and pick my route. My muscles have been in serious pain (I’m a wimp, I’m not injured or anything) so I bought a Stretch and Strength Foam-Roller with the super-awesome  amazon gift card my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday (YES)!  It’s purple and lovely.

I think it’ll help with my increased milage I’m planning for the spring.

Friday I’m going to do a lone run of 8 miles, and Saturday I’m heading out with a group of girls for a ‘chill’ 5 mile run (Since WHEN is 5 miles chill?!?). Hah.

YAY for the weekend!

Mile 13.1

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What does Mile 13.1 looks like for you?

For years, I didn’t understand the number bumper stickers people slapped on the back of their cars. 13.1 or 26.2 (or even higher). The day I walked in the running store to meet up with my first run group, I understood. I understood 3 things.

1. Running is VERY hard work.

2. People take (a lot) of pride in their distance.

3. People run for completely different reasons, like health, strength, endurance, peace of mind, organize their thoughts… they run for charity, raising money for a great cause, run to clear our heads.

I started running to cope with a very difficult time in my life. There was nothing that could keep my from crying, so the only way I would stop for 30 min is if I was running. So I started running every day. This was the only time of day that I was forced to think happy thoughts… if I didn’t, I was forced to walk.

And one day, everything that made me cry for months, just didn’t matter anymore.  That’s when I understood the power of running. Not only was I in better shape than ever before (even though I’ve always loved the gym!), I knew my own strength. I made decisions I’d been afraid to make before and stood up to people I’d be afraid of, because of the confidence I’d gotten during my runs.

That’s what Mile 13.1 means to me. It’s been a journey of almost 2 years, and I’m a completely different person. This is why I love to run.

Running Hills

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I am so proud… I ran 8 miles this weekend on trails with a friend… and I’m still feeling the pain! Hills around here are a little hard to find (without driving too far), so the park we went too is about the best we’re gunna get! It was lightly misting as we were running, and it was so muggy that we were soaked in the first 10 minutes of running, but it was wonderful =)

Our next 1/2 marathon is in seven weeks in the hilly town of Williamsburg, and we’ve got some serious training to do in order to meet our goals. I want to do the race in under 2:30 hrs, and Tyler is aiming for 2 hrs *GASP*
I realize I did our last in 2:34:54, but I know Williamsburg is going to be MUCH more challanging.

Tonight we are planning on running at Mount Trashmore, which will hopefully help with our hill endurance (and make my legs hurt EVEN MORE).

Here’s some helpful advice from HowToBeFit.com on running hills:
Different hill workouts can hit a variety of training goals.  Running hills, like lifting weights, is resistance training. Hills strengthen the leg muscles to meet the specific demands of running. By working hard on hills, you force the muscles to overcome the incline and resistance of gravity. This strengthens the driving muscles the hamstrings, calves, buttocks, and particularly the quadriceps, which don’t get much work on the flats. Fatigued quads are particularly a problem late in races, especially marathons. It’s hard to pick your feet up and move them forward if the quads are growing tired of this important repetitive task.  

I also asked the experts over at Runners World (my most favorite running magizine ever) how to run Hills:
“I once had a coach tell me that if you keep moving your arms, your legs have to follow,” says Erholtz, “so I focus on keeping my arms moving.” She says she also leans slightly forward into the hill. “I think a shorter stride is more efficient on the hill, with a more rapid turnover. Keep your head and eyes focused ahead, but not all the way up.”

I feel like we’ve got a good chance at this and we’re going to ROCK it!