Shred Day 11 and 12: Friday Faves

I'm on the move again! Yesterday I flew from Orlando to Cincinnati to visit my Ohio family and friends. All this running around seemed like the perfect time to do a Friday Faves post.

Before leaving Florida, I used my dad's home gym system again. (affiliate link) I'm seriously loving this thing and all the exercises you can do with it. I did a 20 minute upper body workout and the bands were super easy to adjust for shoulders, biceps, and triceps.

Spending time with my dad and stepmom in Florida. A week in their new house was seriously relaxing!

This roller table. While my mom got an adjustment at the chiropractor, I spent 10 amazing minutes getting my spine decompressed and stabilized. Wow, it was relaxing.

Lunch at Lachey's with my mom. And by Lachey I mean Nick and Drew, former boy band members from Cincinnati. They opened this neighborhood sports bar in the Over The Rhine over a year ago.

Even though it was a hot, hot day in Cincy, we had fun doing our version of the mural walking tour. The murals have been going up all over the city since 2007 and total more than 100 now.

My eats on Regular calorie and Low calorie days:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham, pb&j rice cakes

Lunch: spicy grilled chicken and rice

Dinner: at the airport ---.> chicken sandwich (forgot picture)

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bacon

Lunch: at Lachey's ---> grilled Mahi Mahi and tater tots

Dinner: veggie burgers and salad

Happy Friday friends!

Hyde Park Blast

Last week while I was home in Cincinnati visiting family and friends that I haven't seen since Thanksgiving, I ran in the Hyde Park Blast. I ran this event in 2007 before I moved away. Back then I was just a newbie runner with no clue what I was doing and very little miles being logged.

Since then I have been a running machine!

Ohio has been having a major heat wave with daily temperatures in the 100s! So with that in mind I set my goal for this race:

1. Finish 4 miles in under 40 minutes would be great.
2. Finish near my '07 time would be awesome.
3. I wasn't really expecting to better my time which was
    37:16 in 2007 - but it would be amazing if I did.

Registration and bib pickup was held outside Lululemon. When we arrived the store was already doing some demonstrations on their front porch and the square was coming alive as people checked out the booths.

We spent some time wandering around, finding the rest rooms, and enjoying the music.  

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Ten minutes before start time, we made our way to the starting line which was about a block north of the square. Since the road was completely closed for the event, there was plenty of room to stretch and hangout before the gun.

Race day essentials: Nike racer back,
Mizuno Wave Rider 15s and Simple Hydration Water Bottle

The four mile route took runners through the historic neighborhood and it was hilly.

The course support for this race was supreme. Not once did I worry about traffic or route direction. The organizers provided plenty of water support and (I think) added an extra stop because of the crazy temperatures. I brought my Simple Hydration Water Bottle, so that I could take water whenever I needed it and was able to cruise by the water tables all the way to the finish line.

After crossing the finish line runners were directed around the square where we received a much needed bottle of water, a free prize pair of earbuds, and a free beer. The post race food booths were also ready with doughnuts, scrambled eggs, frozen yogurt, and bananas. I also stopped by the Blast booth to grab a super cute T to go along with the race shirt all runners were given.

We weren't able to stay all day and enjoy the rest of the events, but I did get a notification of my results while we were having lunch. At first I saw that I had a 3 second PR, but then I realized it was nearly TWO MINUTES!! 

Have you ever run the same race more than once?

What is your race streak?

I've run a couple of races three times...

Fitness Friday: Home Runs

 
I've been spending the week in Cincinnati visiting with my family and friends. Tomorrow I will be running the Hyde Park Blast for the second time.

"The Hyde Park Blast was co-founded by Cheryl Koopman and Chad Sims, both Hyde Park residents, as a way for the community to have fun, be active and raise money for a good cause – the fight against cancer.

Since 2001, more than $260,000 has been donated to CancerFree Kids, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Cancer Support Community, The Cure Starts Now and Shemenski Foundation in addition to Give Back Cincinnati by the Blast."

This event lives up to its mission. 

It starts at 8AM with the 4-mile run/walk.

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Then throughout the day there are kids races, ice cream and footlong eating contests, 

as well as all kinds of FREE exercise demos and classes 

from race sponsors including Lululemon.

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The evening events include cycling races and the elite 5K run.

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The block party kicks off at 6PM with Cincinnati cover band The Gamut 

followed by national act Cowboy Mouth.

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The course has changed since I last ran this race, so I am hoping for a better time.

(they eliminated a nasty hill) 

No matter what, I'm sure I will be having a blast!

2007 - taken by my dad

Do you run races when you travel?