This week was okay. My mom was able to come down to help watch my daughter while my husband was out-of-town, so I was still able to get my workouts in. Yay!
Monday-Rest day
Tuesday- 4+ miles @ 8:30. The weather felt pretty nice at almost 40 degrees. I should’ve kept running since I was feeling so good but I try to keep my weekday runs short since the time I spend with my daughter is so limited during the week already.
Wednesday- 2 miles. It just felt really chilly and windy this day. This was one time that I wished I had dressed warmer. It didn’t help that I thought it would be a good idea to run in the windiest part of town. I kept getting really bad cramps too so I just cut this run short. I really hate to do that but I honestly wasn’t gaining anything from this run.
Thursday- 5+ miles @ 8:45 pace with Fleet Feet. I was so looking forward to this run all week since it was supposed to be in the 70’s and would feel like a tropical heat wave. I finally had the chance to wear my new t-shirt from the Rock’n’Roll DC half. I love it! I was little concerned cause they were calling for rain but we got pretty lucky with that. The rain held off until about the 4th mile and then we got pretty soaked. It felt nice and helped me cool off. I can handle running in the rain for a mile when it’s that warm out.
Friday-Rest day. My mom was leaving today since my husband would be returning this evening so we did some shopping and lunch before she left town. My dad had sent down some old school animal crackers for Haylie to try out. She seemed to really enjoy them.
Saturday- 9+ miles @ 9:30 pace. It said 30 degrees but felt much cold and it was really windy again. I had actually gotten up to run at 6am but upon letting my dogs outside and discovering how cold it felt I just couldn’t do it, so I went back to bed for another 2 hours and it was amazing. I was still able to fit the run in during Haylie’s nap later. I only wore one pair of gloves so when I returned home my hands were frozen and red. I think next Christmas I will ask for a pair of hardcore running mittens! Other than the wind, I felt pretty good.
Sunday- Orange Theory. Always a nice way to start off my Sunday. Later we went to a birthday party for one of Haylie’s friends from daycare. So exciting! She loved chasing her friends around and playing. She still doesn’t know what to think of pizza but she can put away some cake!
Do you have any recommendations for very warm running mittens?
It’s the Friday Five with: Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney today! Today’s topic is Favorite Springtime Foods. I love Spring especially after what seemed like a long, dreary winter.
1. Corn on the cob. It’s absolutely amazing and can be seasoned anyway that your heart desires. We’ve started cooking it on the grill which is also great. Truth be told, I still prefer it boiled on the stove but the grill makes less dishes, and less dishes always wins in my book.
2. Champagne mango. We discovered these little gems a year or two ago and I don’t know how I lived without them. They are a little sweeter than regular mango and oh so good! The only thing I don’t like about eating them is have to wait for my husband to pick me up some more. I’ve even gotten over my annoyance with the very large mango seed.
They are Haylie approved!
3. Cherry tomatoes. Every year my husband grows a lovely garden in our yard. I take no part in this. Not because I’m lazy but because I kill plants like it’s my job. I’m really doing us both a favor by not helping since we actually want to eat the vegetables. He seems to have the best of luck with cherry tomatoes. They are so delicious that I just snack on them constantly. I just grab a handful and go. Sometimes my husband has to ask me not to eat them all if he’s planning on using some for our dinner.
4. Berries. I really love all berries. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries. They are all great. I’m especially fond of blackberries because they remind me of picking them on my Grandma’s farm as a child. Then we would soak them in milk and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Good times!
5. Cucumbers. These are another of my vegetables favorites. They are great to just slice up and snack on. So fresh!
I know some of these things are more summer items but as soon as it starts to warm up and that snow melts this is what I crave! Spring makes me think of freshness.
I’ve got a lot on my mind, as per usual. I’ll spare you all of the details. I feel like it’s been a hectic week but that’s mostly because my husband is in Austria for work. Thankfully, my mom was able to come down and help me out with my daughter. For some reason I think day care would frown upon me dropping her off at 4:30 in the morning. It turns out when my husband (aka the voice of reason) isn’t here I don’t like to sleep. I stay up way too late blogging and reading instead of sleeping. Otherwise, it’s a win-win situation. I get to spend time with my mom and Haylie gets to spend time with her Grandma. I still can’t wait for his return though. I’m very much a creature of habit.
Anyway, I wanted to talk briefly about my goals. Ultimately, I would love to BQ. I don’t know if this is an achievable goal for me since I’m not exactly the fastest runner but maybe if I really focused on speed work. I’d like to achieve this goal possibly by the time I’m 40. I figure by then I will done having children and my daughter will be older. It’s also kind of an expensive goal with the race fee and travel involved. If I’m never able to run Boston, it’ll be okay. I won’t be over whelming devastated or anything but I just can’t help think of how amazing it would feel to cross that finish line. It would be quite the rush!
Really, I’m just grateful to be able to run. It’s hard not to compare yourself to others who are faster and run longer distances but there are people who would be to be able to run at all. It’s been a great journey so far. I’ve met a lot of awesome people along the way. I hope running and I have many, many more years together. I’m also grateful for the support from my family, especially my husband since he has to watch our daughter while I’m always out running. He’s been amazing. I hope one day my daughter will want to run or be into some sort of sports at least. She already runs around the house all day like a crazy person. I really would love just a little bit of her energy!
I’m excited because next month my MRTT group is having a craft night. We are going to be making our own medal hangers. I really need a proper place to display my medals! I’m hoping to make something like this but I’m not too sure about my crafting abilities.
One last thing, I ordered my Brooks Ravennas. I’m so excited to get them! New running shoes are the best! I hope that I love them. I found this cute poem by Kelsey Sheron @ The Blonder Side of Life:
Dear Running Shoes,
Roses are red and violets are blue;
I’ve got bad knees so I need a good shoe.
You’ve taken me on so many adventures;
I know you’ll be true till I’m wearing dentures.
Along this journey I’ve learned a thing or two,
Like look out for cars and don’t step in poo.
Also that outside is always better than the gym,
You fill me with joy right to the brim!
Whether I finish in the front, middle or back of the pack,
My love for you is an unwavering fact.
You’re always there to see me through –
The happy times, and the sad and blue.
I love you, Running Shoes, despite this bad knee;
You’re my best friend; don’t ever leave me….
That is all for now. Happy Thursday!!
Anyone else have a big racing goal? Do you have any tips/programs that you recommend for speed work?
Overall, it was a pretty uneventful week. Sometimes after races I find myself thinking where do I go from here. I really do enjoy the structure that training brings to my life. I would sign up for all the races if I could but I don’t think my body or my bank account would support that. Those registration fees add up fast! Not to mention, that I feel guilty spending too much time away from my daughter and husband. This week I just went with how I felt and I’ll start focusing more on Cherry Blossom next week.
Monday- 5k @ 7:58 pace. This was a great run! I felt amazing between resting up on Sunday and the weather. I also decided to run somewhere new. It’s this shopping center with a little lake near where I live. I go there pretty frequently for shopping, eating and such but have never actually run it. I felt like a change of location was in order to celebrate this 60+ degree day. It’s also really flat whereas the city I live in has hills everywhere.
Gotta love negative splits!
Tuesday- I did my own St. Patty’s day 5k @ 8:38 pace. It was a little cooler than Monday but still felt great in the 50’s. I was so glad to be sporting a green t-shirt and shorts.
It was pretty windy so excuse the crazy hair.
Wednesday- Rest day. This entire day I felt off. I woke up feeling exhausted and it never wore off. After I picked up my daughter from daycare, I was falling asleep while sitting up playing with her on the floor. Not to worry, every time I fell asleep she would come running over yelling “eyes, eyes” and proceed to poke me in the eyelids until I opened them. There’s no sleeping on her watch!
Thursday- 5 miles @ 8:55 pace with Fleet Feet. I still wasn’t feeling like myself but really wanted to run with Fleet Feet since our Thursday night runs were canceled for at least a month straight due to the lovely weather. Luckily there were a few other people who were also recovering from Rock’n’Roll DC so we took it pretty easy. It started to cool off again but I was still so glad to be outside!
Friday-Orange Theory and yet more snow! I thought it was supposed to be Spring now?!
I did go to a fun Paris themed night at Fleet Feet. They had mini massages and paraffin wax hand treatments. Yay!
Saturday-3 miles. This morning didn’t go as planned in any way. I wanted to get 9 miles in but I really wasn’t feeling up to it. I talked myself into literally running an errand so I at least got a short run in. Then I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my husband and daughter.
Sunday- Some more Orange Theory and a pretty sunrise.
That’s about it. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
Did you do anything exciting for St. Patrick’s Day? Do you usually make yourself run even if you aren’t feeling 100%?
It’s the Friday Five with: Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney today! Today’s topic is Spring! I love Spring, it’s my second favorite season. Right now it may be my favorite simply because it means that I don’t have to deal with any more snow for a while.
1. Running! I love running outside in the spring. I would take rain over ice and snow any day! On a bad Spring day, you’ll probably be good running in capris and a long sleeve t-shirt, but this week I’ve already busted out the t-shirts and shorts. It’s so much quicker to get ready for a run when you don’t have to put on layer after layer so as to not freeze your butt off. I also feel like all of those layers weigh me down. The birds are chirping……I could go on and on.
2. Playing outside- Once again I can play outside with my daughter. We can go to the park and do all sorts of fun outdoors activities that we haven’t been able to for the last few months. Even just going for a walk is lovely. Anything to not be stuck inside any longer. Can you tell that I’m not a winter fan? It’s also good for her to be able to run around and burn off some excess energy. If only she could pass that off to me!
This was taken last September. Crazy how big she’s gotten since then!
3. Flowers- I love seeing all the flowers and trees coming alive again. So pretty! This year I’m running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. That weekend is predicted to be the peak. It’s going to be so pretty! I can’t wait!
4. Easter- Always a nice holiday. Poor Haylie was sick last year but still did pretty well in the Easter basket department. I don’t think we have any family coming for visit this year like we did the previous year but it’ll still be a nice day, just the three of us.
Easter ’14
5. Happiness- Spring just gives me an overall sense of well-being. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s great for my mental health. It’s a literal breath of fresh air! A nice pick me up after the long, cold, dreary winter.
I’m linking up with Amanda again for Thinking out Loud! I have a few random thoughts that I’d like to put out there. Honestly, I always have random thoughts, so I’m loving this whole thinking out loud concept.
I don’t want to be too greedy but I’d love to get a 2nd pair of running shoes as a backup. They aren’t cheap by any means, but I feel like it may be a worthwhile investment. Especially for instances like Rock’n’Roll DC where my shoes are saturated for days. I do hold on to my previous pair for super emergencies but they are pretty much shot which is why I had to get a replacement pair to begin with. So I really prefer to not use them. I’m currently wearing Nike Structures which I’m loving so far. For the last few years I’ve been wearing Brooks Adrenaline, but honestly I hated the latest colors that they came out with for the latest Adrenaline. I spend enough time in my running shoes that I want to love everything about them.
Since having the gait analysis done at the expo last weekend, I am considering the Brooks Ravenna for a back up shoe. It seems like it would be good for my overpronation and it’s fairly light weight. It looks on paper and even comes in a color that I like! As far as price, it’s right around what I would normally expect to pay for a good pair of shoes. They also recommended the Transcend for me, but those are bit more pricey than I prefer.
Is it sad that I can’t remember the last pair of normal shoes that I purchased?! I asked for new running shoes for Christmas and a race entry fee for my birthday. I’ve got my priorities!
I’ve tried the waffles before and wasn’t impressed with either their flavor or their ability to provide me with extra energy for my run. I stopped into Dick’s Sporting Goods on Monday and upon seeing some decided to give them another try. They are about $1.50 each. This time I tried the vanilla flavor. I really liked it and had a great run after eating it. I may have to reconsider them as a possible fueling alternative.
Is it a good idea to have more than one pair of running shoes? Anyone have experience with the Brooks Ravenna?
This is the first race of the year! Yay! I can’t believe that it’s the middle of March already. Seriously where does the time go?! I thought that this would be a fun and exciting race. I haven’t done a Rock’n’Roll event before so I wanted to try something new. Ultimately I wasn’t disappointed. It could have been a much different race had it not been raining the entire time. I knew about the rain well in advance. Since taking up running, I’ve become obsessed with the weather strictly from the stand point of I’m concerned how it will affect my run. Also my husband is a wanna-be meteorologist so he makes sure that I’m up on the latest weather forecast.
Expo/Packet Pickup:
My husband was kind enough to drive to the expo so I didn’t have to deal with the metro. What can I say, he’s a great guy! I tried to rush through it quicker than I would have liked so I didn’t make him wait for me too long but really that’s for the best. I tend to want to buy all the things will all the money that I don’t have.
I got there pretty much right when it opened at 10am on Friday. The convention center is really nice. I hadn’t been there before. I was able to easily get my packet and shirt then decided to walk around at least a little bit. Brooks had a Run Happy Island which I felt compelled to check out. I had a free gait analysis done which was pretty neat. I’ve had them done before but they showed me more of the science behind it. Fascinating! They had a mechanical shoe to ride instead of a mechanical bull. I also won a free t-shirt at their market place. Score!
How can this shirt not make you happy?!
After Run Happy Island, I started rushing. I went to find the pacer’s booth because I wanted to sign up to run with the 2:00 group then I was on my way. I didn’t spend any money. So proud!
The Night Before:
It was a pretty laid back night. I have an irritable stomach so I do not experiment with anything new the night before a race. I’ve discovered that for some reason frozen pizza from Wegman’s sits really well with me. It’s actually not even that bad for you compared to most other pizzas. After that I was kinda nervous just from normal pre-race jitters combined with not knowing what to expect with the rain. I was running around trying to set everything out so as to not disturb my husband and daughter in the morning.
Race Morning:
I got up early enough to have some coffee and read some blogs. Top priority any morning! It was already raining when I let my dogs out. I made my ritual race breakfast: PB & honey with bananas and cinnamon. It’s delicious and seems to provide me everything that I need to get started. Then I was out the door.
I went with Cynthia @ You Signed Up for WHAT?! who is also the leader of my MRTT group. Her dad offered to drive us and cheer us on which was amazing again so I didn’t have to metro. We got there with plenty of time to spare. It was pretty chilly and rainy so we tried to take some shelter under one of the museums after hitting the port-a-potties.
The Race:
I eventually headed over to the corrals and found my pacer. I was in corral 9 so it took a little while to get to the start line. I was pretty pumped up by that time despite the cold. I wasn’t able to take any pictures during the race since my fingers were frozen and I had my phone in a Ziploc bag.
It was a good race. I really enjoyed the music and crowd support. You did have to watch out for the occasional pot hole and road cone but otherwise I didn’t think it felt as crowded as Baltimore was. I had my first Gu around mile 5. There was a rough hill around mile 6 where I lost the pacer for a minute. I had to push hard to catch up after that hill but I managed. I had a 2nd Gu around mile 9 as I started to feel sluggish. Kevin, the pacer, helped me reach my goal! I really wanted to finish sub-2:00 but I wasn’t sure how manageable that would be given the difficulties I experienced with the snow and ice during training. The last week and a half were pretty much spent on the treadmill but I pulled it off! Heck yes! I felt pretty proud.
Afterward I was given chocolate milk, a bottled water and a few snacks. Then top priority was to find Cynthia and get out of the cold. Again I was so grateful that her dad drove us because I would not have wanted to sit on the metro all cold and wet. If the weather were better I would’ve loved to have hung around and enjoyed the music more.
Overall, It was a great race even with the rain. I would definitely recommend a Rock’n’Roll event. It seemed very well-organized to me. I even pulled off a half marathon PR. I’m still on a bit of a runner’s high! The best feeling, for me, is at the end of the day when I’m completely exhausted and don’t have any fight left in me. In that brief moment of time, I’m totally calm and relaxed. All is right in my little world. That’s why I run. That is one of the best feelings in the world to experience. I wish I could have that feeling every single day of my life. It’s truly wonderful.
Anyone else have a great experience at a Rock’n’Roll event?
I’m linking up for the Friday Five with these three ladies: Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney again today! Today’s topic is 5 Things in My Day/Day in the Life.
1. I get up at 3am for work. It’s crazy early and I am by no means a morning person so I start my day off right with some coffee! Coffee and I have been BFF’s for quite some time now. We understand each other. I’m actually trying to cut coffee out, because reasons, but it is not going to be an easy task!
This is totally me!
2. I go to work and make all kinds of yummy pastries that I must try to not stuff in my face. I have a serious sweet tooth. The struggle is real!!
3. After I get off work, I run. This is the 2nd favorite part of my day. It’s helps me clear my head and get out any pent up aggression I may have. This week has finally been great weather for it!
4. I pick up my daughter from day care next. Seeing that little smiling face is the favorite part of my day! We get to laugh and play around in the car. She’s on a duck, duck, goose kick right now. Apparently geese are hilarious! Of course I’m also excited to see my husband once he gets home from work.
5. I also have three crazy animals to take care of. Two dachshunds, Oscar and Hurley, and one Goffin’s Cockatoo, Noodles. Haylie is getting big enough that she can interact with the dogs more now. Oscar gets so excited that he just wants to lick her to death. Hurley isn’t too sure about her still, but both the dogs know that she throws them food so ultimately she’s okay in their book. Noodles can cause some trouble. We are trying to teach Haylie the importance of not putting her fingers near him. He loves to throw his food and she seems to enjoy picking it up and throwing it back in his cage so that’s good at least. I also try to get some sleep when I can before I do it all over again the next day! There’s other random fun things that get thrown in there too, like broken washing machines. Never a dull moment!
Do you have lots of crazy pets? How about a job where you get up at crazy o’clock in the morning?
I’m a complete scatter brain most days, I like to blame it on being a mom. I should just have my spare car key taken away from me because I spend more time looking for it than anything else. I’ve decided that today is a good day for some random thoughts, so I’m joining up with Amanda for Thinking out Loud!
1. We’re currently in the process of trying to get our house ready to sell. It’s just time. While these past few years have been lovely, we’ve simply outgrown our townhouse especially with the addition of our daughter. This is the first time that we have been through the house selling process so it’s really nerve-racking. We find new homes that we like, then they get sold. What if takes a while to sell our house but we buy one in the meantime and end up with 2 mortgages? It’s a bit maddening I tell you! Our basement is a total mess of boxes right now. Progress I guess?
The bird is always so helpful!
2. I love baking and pastries which is good since that’s what I do for a living, unfortunately I also love to eat said pastries. The struggle is real! Today I made these chocolate chai thumbprints that were delicious! Chai anything is amazing, but the best chai tea latte in my opinion is from Nordstrom. Seriously so good!
3. Lily Trotters! I won some of these compression socks in a giveaway from Run Salt Run on my birthday. As soon as they arrived I had to take them out for a spin. They are amazing! Some of the other compression socks I have are very difficult to get on and I almost punch myself in the face doing so! These had just the right amount of compression and are super cute! Lily Trotters is a Baltimore-based company which is great because I love to support local businesses. They are in the early stages of development but if you put in your email address on their site, you’ll get updates and early-bird pricing! I know I plan to get several more pairs!
4. This weather is amazing! We are finally seeing a break from the snow and below freezing temps! I’ve been running outside this week for the first time in what seems like forever but is really more like a week and a half. Yesterday’s run was pretty rainy, but it could be raining at the Rock’n’Roll DC half on Saturday so I considered it preparation. I’m super excited and nervous about this race. Training wasn’t as great as I wanted mostly due to the weather but I just want to have a good time and do the best that I can.
5. Lastly, this could be happening…..
Yes, I’m pretty sure I’m going to Paris y’all! I probably shouldn’t try to jinx it but I’m so excited! My husband has an opportunity to go for work and I’m going to tag along. I totally want to run all over Paris. It’ll be amazing. This is a bucket list item of mine, so to actually get to go will be huge! I don’t even care that I’ll be by myself a lot since he’ll be working. That will give me time to explore the pastry shops which I know he doesn’t care too much about. The biggest problem will be leaving my daughter for the first time but she’ll be in good hands! Also my very sad wardrobe which pretty much only consists of workout attire. The people of Paris may just have to deal with it. I’m not exactly going to make a fashion statement. It’s going to be epic!
Thanks for listening to the random craziness! Enjoy the rest of your week and this weather!
Anyone else have an awesome trip coming up? What are your favorite compression socks?
I can’t believe Rock’n’Roll is next week already! I’m excited and a bit nervous. I don’t think that I’m as prepared as I would like due to the crazy weather conditions this past month. In the future, I may have to reconsider a March race but I think that I did the best I could all things considered. I would have loved to of crawled under my nice down comforter and hibernated until Spring but I didn’t.
Monday-rest day. I had actually planned to get 3 miles in today, since my daughter had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday that could potentially make running difficult, but I just didn’t have enough time with running errands.
Tuesday- 3 miles. We took Haylie to her 18 month checkup today. I still can’t believe that she’s that old already! After we got back, my husband asked me if I wanted to go for a run. Heck yes! He knows me so well and he’s become very supportive of my running obsession. It was pretty chilly and the sidewalks were still looking rough so I hit the treadmill. The nice thing about the treadmill is that I can set it for a bit faster pace and push myself harder than I might normally. Plus it’s a much more consistent pace than when I run outside. Let’s just say that the past month with this awful weather the treadmill and I have made peace with one another. I still prefer to run outside but right now it’s not worth the risk.
Wednesday- 3 miles. I hit the treadmill again. I wasn’t really looking forward to this one as much and I kept trying to put it off but I knew I would be more angry with myself if I didn’t get it in. I am happy Planet Fitness finally got with the times and got scan cards instead of having to type in my account number every time. Yay!
Thursday-Unplanned rest day (aka my birthday). So remember that 60 degrees and sunshine that I had requested for my birthday? Yeah, that didn’t happen. Instead mother nature decided it would be super fun to send me about 9 inches of snow. Pretty awesome. I ended up having to put in a half day at work. I had packed gym clothes so I could go on my way home but it was bad enough at that point that I decided to pass and go home while I still could. It’s usually horrible trying to get up our road when it snows. So we watched the snow fall and took it easy. I was bummed cause all I really wanted to do was run outside with the Fleet Feet run club but eventually I made my peace with it. I’ve convinced myself that this will be the last of the snow and spring is right around the corner!
Friday- Pure Barre. I got up and went to the last Pure Barre class in my Amazon package. I’m a little sad that I won’t be going anymore but I can always take a class from time to time if I feel the need. I’m really glad that I was finally able to try it and that it was all that I hoped it would be. The instructor and I even had a great conversation about the Under Armour tights that I mentioned in my last post. I love getting complimented on my workout clothes!
Saturday-12 miles. It was 7 degrees when I woke up and I knew that there was no way the sidewalks were going to be clear less than 48 hours after the snow storm, so I decided to run it on the treadmill. I was totally dreading it honestly. I know I said that the treadmill and I have made peace but the longest I have ever run on it was about 5 miles. So I knew it was going to be a huge challenge mentally. Luckily, I took a cue from Sue at This Mama Runs for Cupcakes and I figured out how I could watch the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy on my iPad. I don’t know if I could’ve done it otherwise. Grey’s got my through the first half and my favorite hard rock strength training Pandora station got me through the rest. The last 4 miles were hard but I pushed through. Apparently the treadmills are not meant to be run on for that amount of time. I ended up breaking it up into 6 and 6 because the longest I could set the time for was 60 minutes. It really wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated and I was pretty proud of myself for being able to stick it out. I’m glad I didn’t take the risk of getting injured or sick from running outside in the snow again.
Smiling because my fingers are not frozen this week!Two more of my favorite things! I have a weakness for anything pink lemonade flavored.
Sunday- Orange Theory. We had a new trainer today so that was a little awkward but I’m sure it was for him as well. Like any new job, it takes some getting used to. Still got a great workout!
Have a great week! Good luck to all those who are racing next weekend! I’m hoping the weather forecast in DC gets better. It’s supposed to be pretty rainy as of right now, but it’s still too early to tell. I’ll take rain over snow and ice any day!
What’s your favorite way to workout besides running? Are you as ready for Spring as I am?!
Wednesday- 2 miles. It just felt really chilly and windy this day. This was one time that I wished I had dressed warmer. It didn’t help that I thought it would be a good idea to run in the windiest part of town. I kept getting really bad cramps too so I just cut this run short. I really hate to do that but I honestly wasn’t gaining anything from this run.
Do you have any recommendations for very warm running mittens?
Madeleines & Marathons 