Cape Cod Summer 2018 - Week 2

This post is loooong overdue! Between travel, becoming a FASTer Way to Fat Loss® coach and spraining my ankle, it got lost in the chaos. Anyway, because I love to look back at our time with the kids at the beach, I'm finally finishing the post!

The glorious weather continued to bless us all through our second week in North Falmouth. Vacations are always so relaxing, but also seem to fly by. I love the way we blend new adventures, down time and exercise, but my favorite thing is just seeing all of us together again!

Interval Training: 
I took full advantage of the cool mornings to do my workouts outside on the driveway. Even on vacation, it feels good to move my muscles and sweat a little. mrC joined me every day and by the time we finished, at least one kid would join us for a cool down walk.

Strength Training: 
I'm so glad that we had the Fit Simplify bands so we could keep up with our strength days. They seriously were so convenient! Side note: I did accidentally break the yellow band pictured below, but FS replaced it!

Wednesday evening we checked out Cape Cod Winery. This place was pretty amazing ---> beautiful outdoor space, live music and a great vibe from the owners. It's a work in progress and we plan to return again next year to see the updates.

On Thursday we continued our summer tradition of hanging out with Fancy Nancy's family. Her family is so cute and always feed us the best food! This year Dev got to join us.

Active Recovery:
We spent our final rest day on a bike ride to West Falmouth. We stopped in a local market for a beverage and sat on the front patio chatting and enjoying every single second we had left together.

Every year we have a great Cape Cod vacation and writing this very late post has me already looking forward to our next one!!

Sharing a Love for Winter Running

Today I'm happy to share a post written by my running friend and colleague Melissa. Melissa has been a runner since her school days and is very competitive. Now she is sharing her passion with her daughter. 

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It's a winter wonderland out here in New Hampshire this morning. We have big white fluffy snowflakes and no wind. Perfect winter running!

My daughter recently started running with me to prepare for a mile test in her gym class last week. I hoped she would continue to run once the school challenge ended. 

Catching flakes on our tongues seemed like a perfect draw to get an 11-year-old hitting the pavement with me. We had a blast! 

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I can't wait to get back in my running shoes and go for a winter run too!

Do your children run?

How do you entice them?

Training Truths: Getting In Tune

Last week I found myself getting back in tune with my body. Trying to stick to the 10% mileage increase rule, I upped my weekly mileage slowly and paid close attention to which part of my thigh was achey, and then attacked it with the foam roller! After my runs I also made time to stretch with my yoga for runners app.

The #squatstreak continued, but I found a new favorite version thanks to Shauna Harrison and the Under Armour #SweatADay challenge: in & outs. After doing 50 basic squats every day for the last 40 days, the in & out squats woke up some gluteus muscles that apparently had been snoozing through the traditional ones.

Tuesday's two miles outside will probably mark the end of running in shorts, but I welcome the cold weather. I stayed on the flattest route from my driveway and kept the hamstring happy.

I was feeling pretty sore after my ART session at PT on Wednesday, so Thursday's two mile treadmill run motivated by the rainy weather was fortuitous. With the pace nice and easy, I focused on my form.

Saturday's "long" run of three miles was my best run of the week. It was my longest post-injury run on a hilly route which in the past would aggravate my hamstring, but it finally felt really good.

On Sunday we welcomed another half marathoner to the household. My step-daughter ran the Seacoast Half and we were there to cheer her across the finish line.

It was an exciting week and I like what my body is saying. What has your body been telling you lately?

Kickoff to Summer 5K 2013

For the third year in a row (4th time overall) I ran a local PTA sponsored 5K with my husband and youngest step daughter. The Kickoff to Summer 5K is near and dear to my heart because it is the first race I ran in New Hampshire after moving here in 2008. At the time my husband was working overseas, so running helped ease the pain of missing him.

This year, my step daughter is training for her first 10K, so we combined the race with her long training run. We planted a car in the parking lot and then ran 3 miles from home to the race.

Our first starting line - in the driveway

We arrived at the race with about 20 minutes to cool off, hydrate, and pick up our bib and race shirts. The course starts at the local elementary school and winds out & back through the fairgrounds. I've had some good finish times and not-so-good finish times with this race. This year I had no plans. No goals. I just wanted to run what felt good and not do anything crazy - like aggravate a healing ab muscle.

Waiting at the second starting line

The race is completely organized and run by volunteers, so you will not hear me complain that the race started a little late especially since it gave us some time to take pictures. Once it was under way, it was pure fun. The gorgeous weather, the cheering spectators, and the happy runners/walkers make this race one of those that you come back to every year.

My step daughter jumped out ahead of mr. C and I at the start. I ran with him for about a mile until we caught up to her. I was feeling really good, so I just went with it. Part of the course is an out & back on a dirt/gravel road (not my favorite terrain) and I got hung up here behind runners, but most of the time I was able to just let my legs go.

Long run & 5K finishers!

My times for this race have been: 32:13, 28:06, and 27:35. This year I was not chasing a PR, but I did finish strong with a time of 28:56.

How do you "kickoff" your summer?

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Speaking of summer, how would you like to kick yours off by winning a HUGE runner prize package valued at $400? My friends at Simple Hydration are having a photo contest and all you have to do is submit a photo to enter. 

Here are the details:

Take a picture with #RUNSIMPLE. Enter your creative photo here for a chance to win a Runner’s Prize Package ($400 Value!). Prizes include choice of HOKA ONE ONE shoes, a 4-pack of Simple Hydration Water Bottles, 1BandID ID tag, HVLO Headphones, Yankz! SureLace System, Mizuno visor and socks and Chica Bands headbands.

TrainingTruths: Half Marathon #9 Week 7

It was Spring Break here in New Hampshire although for the first few days you wouldn't know it. It was freezing. It finally turned around mid-week and cooperated for our last training runs before tapering begins for the Flying Pig. It was a week filled with finding ways to be active beyond the run and try to turn the occasional into habit.

#TrainingTruth: Turn intentions into actions.

On Monday I ran two miles with a wonderful group of runners who came out to support Boston at the #BostonStrongGoffstown event. I was a nervous host all day, but was put at ease as soon as we started running. It felt really good to be back on the trail.

Tuesday was a regular run day. The cold, rainy weather made it difficult to get out the door initially, but once we did, we covered the five mile route easily. 

The sun came out on Wednesday and since it was a non-running day, I took advantage of the weather and hula hooped outside.

Blessed again with sunshine and comfortable temps, Thursday's run was a treat after the soggy mess on Tuesday. My wish to replace my winter gear with running shorts was granted and even the headwinds couldn't dampen my spirits.

Thursday afternoon we couldn't pass up an invitation from my step daughter to join her and her boyfriend for some games of tennis. We enjoyed a little girls versus boys and then kids versus adults. 

Since the dog is retired from running, I decided to take him on a 5K walk to our local beach on Friday. Definitely need to do more of this.

The timing of the Newport Ten Miler fit perfectly as our long training run on Sunday (recap coming soon). I knew my husband's training had been going well, but I was blown away by how awesome he did running these ten miles. He finished in 1:36:32 and his overall pace was 9:39!

Share your #TrainingTruths!