Fitness Friday: ZOOMA Cape Cod Recap

It wasn't easy arriving at the ZOOMA Cape Cod event knowing that I wasn't going to be running this year, but I still had a great time hanging out with mr. C, the other ZOOMA Ambassadors, and volunteering on race day.

Here is a look back in pictures:

Race headquarters!

ZOOMA Fitness Expo 

Q&A with Ambassadors - Nancy, Dani, me, Jessica

Honest Tea "Mocktail Hour" - me, Jessica, Nancy & Dani

Race morning

At the starting line with Ambassadors - Nicole, me, Dani, Kelly,  Nancy

Handing out Personal Best medals was so much fun!

Post-race expo party music

Post-race yoga and massages on the Old Silver Beach!

See you next year ZOOMA!

Training Truths: Switching Gears

Last week should have been a taper week for the ZOOMA Cape Cod half marathon, but instead it was another injury-induced-no-running week. I haven't become a couch potato during my time off though because I'm hoping to bounce back enough to be ready for my next running event in just two weeks!

Monday - My 50 squats a day streak continued first thing in the morning and after a chiropractor adjustment, I did some touchdown lunges.

Tuesday - Morning squats and a 5K walk along the New Boston Trail with mr.C and the dog. Threw in my challenge workout while we were there: superman pulls.

Wednesday - Morning squats and another 5K walk with mr.C and the dog. This time we went to the beach and when we got there I did some dolphin walks on the dock.

Thursday - Morning squats and a quick walk after school on the Goffstown Trail before heading to my step daughter's soccer game. Does jumping up and down while cheering count as exercise? I think so! For my evening workout, I broke out the PAPER PLATES for some gliding saws.

Friday - Morning squats and then we were off to Cape Cod for the ZOOMA weekend. We walked around Falmouth after lunch doing some sight-seeing and some shopping.

Saturday - Spent the morning working the ZOOMA Cape Cod race handing out personal best medals. In the afternoon, we went exploring on a 15 mile bike ride along the Shining Sea Bikeway from Falmouth to Woods Hole.

Sunday - Started the day with a little yoga and a walk on the beach before leaving Cape Cod and heading home.

Have I mentioned how much I love the Under Armour September Challenge? Every day there is a new exercise that pushes me to try something new. As much as I have enjoyed focusing on some strength work the past 6+ weeks, I'm ready to put on my Mizunos again and go for a run.

Fitness Friday: ZOOMA Weekend Fun!

TGIF!! Today I am off to Cape Cod to begin my weekend with #ZOOMAnation. I was so excited yesterday when I got home from work to find a big box of product from ZOOMA sponsor Honest Tea  waiting for me. I was ready to get the party started!

Just like last year I am looking forward to an amazing weekend and as I already mentioned in my ZOOMA blog post, I'm not letting my cranky adductor ruin my fun!

So here is what I have planned for this weekend:

• First stop on Friday will be at the Sea Crest Beach Resort for the ZOOMA Fitness Expo where I will check-in with race co-founder Brooke. I'll probably do a little shopping, too.
• At 6 P.M. you will find me chatting it up with race participants and some of the other ZOOMA Ambassadors at a Q&A Session in the Nauset Center.
• After working up a thirst answering questions, we'll be heading to the Honest Tea Let's Get Fizz-ical "Mocktail" Party at Red's Poolside Bar. The fun begins at 7 P.M.
• Bright and early on Saturday morning, we will be reporting for volunteer duty at the Runner Info Tent and then waiting for the first runners to cross the finish line! 
• Sometime during the morning, we will head over to the After-Party Expo and maybe do a session of Recovery Yoga by Yoga Therapy.
• On Sunday morning, mr.C and I will be unloading the bikes and pedaling our way to the Shining Sea Bike Trail for a little ride before heading back to New Hampshire.

Source

This is hopefully my last weekend of no running. I will be doing another test run next week and (fingers-crossed) slowly getting back out there in my running shoes. 

Are you racing this weekend? Let me know in the comments and I will give you a shout out!!

WIAW: Weekend Plans

I've been cooking up some ideas on how to spend my ZOOMA Cape Cod weekend even though I'm injured and won't be running. You can check out some great ways to still have fun on race day in my post on the ZOOMA Blog and find out what I'll be up to this weekend!

Weekends are also fun for cooking up some treats around my house. Last weekend we had a big batch of Greek Flaxseed Protein Pancakes for breakfast.

Then for dinner, we skipped the usual meal options and went straight for the football appetizer favorite: Buffalo Chicken Dip.

The recipe is so easy:

We watched football and munched all afternoon!

Find more ideas to cook up your weekend plans at the WIAW link up!

Training Truths: ZOOMA Week 11

My second "test" run last week did not go as I hoped, so my plans to run the ZOOMA Cape Cod 10K have been scrapped. However, I have plans to make race day just as fun as ever. Stay tuned!

Last week, I spent more time with my strength training and more time doing what I can do without pain: WALK. My friends in the running community keep telling me that hamstring injuries take a long time to heal, so I've decided to walk on the days that I used to run.

Monday - 50 squats. PT after school followed by a workout at home: Good Morning Circuit from Lorna Jane and the Knee Strength Workout from Christine.

Tuesday - 50 squats. Ran two slow painful miles on the trail after school and then sat through a soccer game. My adductor was not happy for about a day and a half.

Wednesday - 50 squats. Spider man pushups, straight leg bicycles, and the 8 minute belly buster circuit.

Thursday - 50 squats. Normally a run day, I took a 5K walk to the beach with mr. C and the dog. The view was gorgeous so I did some spontaneous side plank crunches for the Under Armour daily challenge.

Friday - 50 squats. Saw the dermatologist after school and he took a small spot from my cheek. Long day, emotional day = rest day.

Saturday - 50 squats. Walked, instead of ran, the My Dogs Are Barking 5K course with mr. C and the retired-loyal hound. Knee strength routine and got caught up on some daily challenge exercises.

Sunday - 50 squats. Needed to work the abs, so I did the 4 Minute Ninja Abs circuit and then added some glute strength exercises as well.

Waiting out this hamstring/adductor injury is by far one of the hardest things I've had to do in a while. If you have been in my shoes, I'd love to hear your advice/tips. This week, I'm looking forward to some good walks and then we head down to Cape Cod for a ZOOMA filled weekend!

Last, but not least, the winner of the Oofos Recovery Shoe giveaway! Please email me your Oofos recovery shoe selection and size.

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Training Truths: ZOOMA Week 10

Another week has gone by and I'm still not back to running. Instead of training for the ZOOMA Cape Cod half marathon, I downgraded my registration to the 10K (in the off chance that I might be able to run 6.2 miles just 2 weeks from now).

For now, it is more PT, lots of strength, and testing the hamstrings on smaller runs. I am again using challenges to help keep me motivated and focused while working to get back into my running shoes. Another thing to love about challenges is that some have prizes. Like this great Brooks Running hat I received from the #AugustCoreFocus challenge with Kat.

Monday - 50 squats and I broke out the weights for single leg dead lifts.

Tuesday - 50 squats in the morning. My afternoon workout consisted of horizontal pull ups, the 4 minute ninja ab workout and the knee strength workout I mentioned last week. Then I tried a new one from the Lorna Jane Challenge: Good Morning Circuit.

Wednesday - The usual morning 50 squats. After work I had to get a physical and then went straight to  PT. I was tired, so it turned into a rest day.

Thursday - 50 squats. After work I did some reverse table top crunches, single leg squat jumps, planks, and a slow, tender two mile treadmill run at the suggestion of my PT. As much as I wanted this to be pain free, I'm realizing that the healing process cannot be rushed.

Friday - My hamstrings were tender following my short run, but I still did my 50 squats in the morning. When I got home from work I did the Love Your Legs workout from Lorna Jane before heading to another session of PT.

Saturday - I started the day with happier hamstrings and 50 squats. Later I did some planks and jump rope jacks. My PT told me to take it easy after the ART session we had on Friday. I'm not taking any chances!

Sunday - This was rode trip day to Connecticut for a soccer clinic with my step daughter. Before we left I did my 50 squats and a handstand challenge. While at UNC, we walked around campus for a bit to stretch out our legs from the 3 hour car ride.

Off to PT now and hopeful for some more improvement. Maybe I'll even try another run tomorrow!

TrainingTruths: ZOOMA Week 9

It's killing me to not be able to run. Am I still a runner if I'm not running?

So, once again, I focused on the exercises that I could do and found a new challenging routine. I also joined a couple of September challenges to help keep me motivated. Remember the #AugustCoreFocus challenge? All my hard work for the month was rewarded with a prize from Brooks Running.

Monday: 50 squats to start the day and then some challenge work - twisted chair taps and Bulgarian split squats followed by my one minute plank routine.

Tuesday: 50 squats first thing in the morning. After my first day back to work I did my challenge work - triceps dip and flips. I really have no upper body strength.

Wednesday: 50 squats. Two mile trail walk after school with mr. C, then some walking planks and my one minute plank routine. I'd never done walking planks before and felt completely awkward at first, but then finally got the hang of it.

Thursday: 50 squats. My first attempt at downward air jacks (not easy or pretty), along with some jumping jacks and crunches. I also found and tried the 4 minute ninja ab workout from Amanda for the first time. This is an awesome dynamic ab workout. Be sure to watch her video!

Friday: 50 squats. Too tired after school and a soccer game to workout. Took a rest day!

Saturday: 50 squats. Cross-body mountain climbers, 15 minute very slow jog on the treadmill (speed set at 3) with the incline on 10 for some "hill" work, and the 4 minute ninja ab workout again. I also did my plank routine with some supermans and butt kicks.

Sunday: 50 squats, hip flexor strength workout from Women's Running and a new knee strengthening workout from Christine. She has a great demo video too.

It's three weeks until ZOOMA Cape Cod. I already know that I won't be running the half marathon again this year. Now I'm wondering if I'll be able to even do the 10K. We've decided that we will go for the weekend no matter what and if I can't run, then I will volunteer at a water stop!

Until then, all my faith is in Trainer Brian and St. Sebastian.

Training Truths: ZOOMA Wk 8 with a #GoalGetter2013 August Update

It has truly been a bummer to not be able to run. I spent A LOT of time last week trying to get a diagnosis. So, after physical therapy, a referral to a sports medicine doc, an x-ray, and an MRI, here's what I know:

NOTHING!

No one can find an explanation for my pain. What we do know is that I need to strengthen my left leg and HOPEFULLY with continued TLC I will be back to 100% soon.

On Saturday I had to defer my first race entry and now the ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon is in jeopardy. There is still the option to run the 10K or just enjoy the weekend on the Cape with mr. C and the other Ambassadors as a spectator. We shall see.

Looking back at my #GoalGetter2013 goals, my quest to reach 1000 miles for the year was derailed this month with only 33.19 miles. On the upside, I was very consistent with my strength exercises.

Thank goodness for Kat's #AugustCoreFocus challenge and Under Armour's #SweatADay challenge to help keep my mind off what I couldn't do and stay focused on what I could do.

Here's a look at all the core and strength work I did this month.

After an easy 2 mile test run on Saturday, I was still feeling tenderness in my left leg which tells me I'm not ready to jump in where I left off earlier in the month. Heading into September, my plan is to keep working on strength training and patiently wait for the pain free running to return.

Training Truths: ZOOMA Week 5

I have really been liking my summer running schedule of 4 days per week. In preparation for my September half marathon, I have been running 5 mile routes 3x per week and then following my long run plan on either Saturday or Sunday. The bad news is that my left hamstring has started bothering me, so I did a couple of walking workouts using the new laptop board my husband made for me and took some extra rest days.

Wanting and needing a change of scenery, on Monday I drove into town and ran 5 miles along the river. The weather was cool and the route was semi-peaceful - just a little morning traffic and one barking black lab protecting his domain.

Spoiled by my bike trail run in Ohio, on Wednesday I recruited mr. C for an adventure. We drove 25 minutes to Peterborough to check out the bike path I heard about from my Daily Mile friend Colleen. It was a mix of paved path-sidewalk-neighborhood road. We loved it. We parked on the south side and ran north through Depot Square where we found a quaint collection of shops and cafes.

I developed a pain in my left hip- turned out to be a tight inner hamstring muscle - that went from nagging to almost making me limp, so on Thursday I went for an easy walk of 4.15 miles on the treadmill and used my brand new laptop board. I told mr. C that I wished I could multitask during my walking workouts and voila! He's the greatest.

My 5 mile run on Friday became a another rest day to give my tender hamstring more rest time before Sunday's long run. I still completed my daily exercises for the #AugustCoreFocus and #SweatADay challenges I am doing this month. I also iced, rolled, and compressed in my Aspaeris pivot shorts.

Feeling in good shape, Sunday we went back to the Peterborough Trail to do my scheduled 9 miles. This trail is a gold mine for runners who like paved paths, peace from traffic, and shade. I made a point to stop to stretch my crabby hamstring a few times during the run, but overall it was a good run.

Heading into next week, I know I need to take it easy or this hamstring issue could get worse. I'm thinking I might return to a three day running week again and cross my fingers.

How do you deal with injury?