TrainingTruths: What's Beautiful: Try a Tri

First let me announce the winners of the Firmoo sunglasses giveaway:

Congratulations to Jenelle, Lydia R, Meredith, Cristi Rae, Shelley Oz, and Heather Hunter!

Please email me at so that I can give you your gift card code.

I mentioned last week that I am participating in the What's Beautiful campaign with Under Armour and FitFluential to help redefine the female athlete. My goal to run 20 miles a week fell a little short, but I did add a challenge to help make me a stronger runner.

The first part of my week was pretty normal. Tuesday I went for a 4 mile run after school with my Crazy Running Partner. It was a little cooler and my legs felt fresh and bouncy again.

My CRP was doing RTB MA and had to leave on Thursday afternoon, so I went home to run. I choose a route that took me off the main road, but was much hillier. It was a rough 5 miles in the bright afternoon sun. I tried to focus on how I was feeling and adjust my pace, but I ended up having to take a few walk breaks. It's going to be a tough transition to summer weather.

After a late start on Saturday, my sleep deprived husband and I drove to one of out favorite routes to do our long run. Ironically, we couldn't get to it because there was a race going on! Instead we headed downtown and ran on the Manchester portion of the rail trail. It was a tough one for him, but I LOVE paved paths. I rewarded mr. c with a stop for delicious fruit smoothies.

Saturday I also did the Try a Tri challenge. I'm not a triathlete, so I put together three workout moves of my own and ran through them ladder style starting at 20. Here's a snippet of what it looked like.

As always, how was your week? Try any new challenges?

TrainingTruths: No excuses.

First, let me announce the winner of the NYC Blogiversary Awesome giveaway:

Congratulations to Jill F!

Check your inbox for an email with details on how to claim your prize!

It was another slow week of training last week. 

I use that word loosely because I actually only ran once before leaving on Friday to run the New York City Half Marathon.

I was supposed to run on Tuesday, but it was raining. Instead of coming right home after a day of "professional development" and running on the treadmill, I took a break. That break ended up lasting all evening. Training fail.

On Thursday morning I received my daily dose of Runner's World motivation via the Quote of the Day.

How fitting. So after school I came home and went for an easy run with my husband. We did our regular out and back route. Once we got going, I found myself feeling better. The lack of motivation I had been experiencing began to be replaced with happy endorphins. 

We arrived in NYC on Friday evening, spent most of Saturday at the expo and site-seeing before the half marathon on Sunday. I went into this totally planning to just have fun and take some pictures along the way. I did that, but then I PR'd too! (Race recap coming soon)

Crazy blurry start corral picture!

How do you get past the excuses and do the work?

#TrainingTruths is not just about me. We all like to see what everyone else is doing and use that information to assess ourselves. It's not judgement. It's a way to share and learn and make changes when necessary.

To participate all you have to do is share your #TrainingTruths:

1. Tag a Twitter post with the hashtag #TrainingTruths
2. Comment on the Running Escapades Facebook page 
3. Leave a link to your own blog post in the comments

I look forward to reading your #TrainingTruths!

TrainingTruths: Running Gives You Freedom

Congrats to Sassy Bands winners Erin S., Kasy, and Mindy! Check your emails!

Last week was unusually busy, and I was tired. My normal running days schedule went out the window completely, but not the miles. I love that with running you can decide when to run, determine your pace, choose your course, and think about whatever you want. 

TrainingTruth: Running gives you freedom

THURS: This was my first workout of the week. I laced up my shoes with trepidation about how it was going to go after "resting" for five days. I decided to run on the treadmill (just in case) and choose a 6x800 workout. Other than initially flip-flopping the order of run/recover, I felt pretty good. I'm still doubting the pace of my treadmill, but going by effort I feel like I did a good interval run.

FRI: I don't usually run two days in a row (I fear injury), but with an unexpected snow day, I couldn't resist. This gave me a chance to catch up on the miles I lost at the beginning of the week. Since there was a snow storm going on, I choose the treadmill again and just ran. I didn't go with a planned distance or pace or workout. I just ran. When I felt like stopping, I did.

SUN: We pushed our Saturday long run to Sunday. This was our final long run before the NYC Half Marathon. Since Central Park has hills, lots of rolling hills, we chose a long route that also had some hills. It felt really good to get back outside. I was worried about how my legs would feel, but my conservative approach to hills seems to be working. I still get winded, but my legs are holding up better.

  
Since we're talking hills, I saw this on Pinterest. 

                                                         Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

Which reminded me of this tweet.

Don't think of them as hills, think of them as "mounds of opportunity." #TrainingTruths

— Amy C. (@RunningEscapade) November 18, 2012

What does running give you?

#TrainingTruths is not just about me. We all like to see what everyone else is doing and use that information to assess ourselves. It's not judgement. It's a way to share and learn and make changes when necessary.

To participate all you have to do is share your #TrainingTruths:

1. Tag a Twitter post with the hashtag #TrainingTruths
2. Comment on the Running Escapades Facebook page 
3. Leave a link to your own blog post in the comments

I look forward to reading your #TrainingTruths!

TrainingTruths: Spontaneous Running

I'm waiting to find out when my next big race will be. If I don't get into the NYC Half Marathon in March, then I will probably run the Half at the Hamptons at the end of February. In the mean time, my weekly runs have been unplanned and spontaneous. We run whatever sounds good. 

#TrainingTruth: "Running made me feel like a bird let out of a cage, I loved it that much" - Priscilla Welch

Monday runs have never been a favorite of mine. Maybe it was coming back to work after a weekend that made my runs feel crappy. This was my first Monday run in a loonnngg time and it was MARVELOUS! I really felt like I could fly.

#TrainingTruth: Hamstrings can be a real pain in the rear.

I took Anatomy in high school (like a billion years ago), but I had no idea that the knot in my a$$ was actually inflammation of my hamstring muscles, commonly known as high hamstring tendinitis. Luckily Trainer Brian thinks Active Release Therapy combined with daily foam rolling and stretching after runs will put me on the mend.

#TrainingTruth: A short hill run is just as good as a long hill run.

Unexpected kid duty changed this run from a long run on a hilly course to a long hill on a short course. I'm not a fan of any kind of hill work, but it does feel good when you get to the top. 

#TrainingTruth: Maintenance running should include something fun.

Instead of meeting up for a long run on Saturday, the girls and our families got together for the local Santa Shuffle downtown. This 3 mile run amongst thousands of Santas in the frigid temperatures and snow flurries was a perfect way to kick off the holiday season and have fun with running friends.

Guess what wasn't cold during that fun run? You got it, my ears! And thanks to Sprigs, Tracey, Jill, and Nancy will also have warm ears this winter! Ladies, I've already sent you an email. Congratulations!

What does your training look like right now?

Scheduled or impromptu?

#TrainingTruths is not just about me. We all like to see what everyone else is doing and use that information to assess ourselves. It's not judgement. It's a way to share and learn and make changes when necessary.

To participate all you have to do is share your #TrainingTruths:

1. Tag a Twitter post with the hashtag #TrainingTruths
2. Comment on the Running Escapades Facebook page 
3. Leave a link to your own blog post in the comments

I look forward to reading your #TrainingTruths!

TrainingTruths: Recovery

First, let me congratulate the winners of the Big Banjees Wrist Wallet GIVEAWAY:

Joanna

Gabi

Shannon

Thank you to everyone who entered. If you didn't win, STAY TUNED. I have another giveaway coming up!

Last week was all about recovery. Time to take a little break, let my legs recuperate, and figure out what's causing the pain in my a$$!

#TrainingTruths: Active Release Therapy hurts so good.

Trainer Brian diagnosed me with a super tight semitendinosus and gave me specific hamstring and hip stretches to do AFTER running plus 30 minutes of ART which I get to repeat twice a week.

#TrainingTruths: Rest days are more important than we realize.

After the challenging half marathon on Sunday, I acknowledged that I have been running a lot (maybe Trainer Brian helped with this). Since school was closed on Tuesday for the election, I took advantage of having the day off and kept the running shoes off as well.

#TrainingTruths: Treadmill runs are not as bad when you have a workout plan.

Cold and rainy weather didn't sound fun, so I jumped on the 'mill and followed a Sing-along Run workout recommended by Dimity in the Another Mother Runner November newsletter. This workout allowed me to keep things nice and easy; a great workout for recovery week.

#TrainingTruths: It is so much easier to run in the cold weather.

I like to run with temperatures in the 30s. Just recently I learned that the colder the weather, the less heat stress on the body. Since my body isn't working as hard, the running feels easier. 

#TrainingTruths is not just about me. We all like to see what everyone else is doing and use that information to assess ourselves. It's not judgement. It's a way to share and learn and make changes when necessary.

To participate all you have to do is share your #TrainingTruths:

1. Tag a Twitter post with the hashtag #TrainingTruths
2. Comment on the Running Escapades Facebook page 
3. Leave a link to your own blog post in the comments

I look forward to reading your #TrainingTruths!

#TrainingTruths: Recovery to 13.1

The past week was a whirlwind of amazing events: a quick Reach The Beach recovery run, a film premier and run with the legendary first-ever women's Olympic marathon champion, and the ZOOMA Cape Cod Half Marathon. I'm looking forward to a quiet week of running just for fun!

#TrainingTruth: Recovery runs should be slow and easy.

Amazingly, my legs were feeling pretty good on this run. I didn't have any soreness after Reach the Beach, but I did feel the effects of lack of sleep. This run felt awesome and it wasn't that hard to slow down!

#TrainingTruth: "We are all runners" - Joan Benoit Samuelson. 

I love that Joan reminds us of this. So often, we judge ourselves by making comparisons to others. Joan lets us know that we don't have to run marathons or win Olympic medals to be runners. If we run, we are runners.

#TrainingTruth: Something magical happens at a race run by women.

Women are competitive, but in a non-threatening supportive way that men don't always show on race day. I saw first hand a level of positive energy that is contagious and extraordinary and every woman should make a point to run a women's race. 

#TrainingTruths is not just about me. We all like to see what everyone else is doing and use that information to assess ourselves. It's not judgement. It's a way to share and learn and make changes when necessary.

To participate all you have to do is share your #TrainingTruths:

1. Tag a Twitter post with the hashtag #TrainingTruths
2. Comment on the Running Escapades Facebook page 
3. Leave a link to your own blog post in the comments

I look forward to reading your #TrainingTruths!

The winners of the Mizuno Mezamashii Giveaway have been selected! Check the original post to see if it was you! If it was, your email has been forwarded to Mizuno and someone will be contacting you soon! Congratulations! 

MUST HAVE Winners!

Happy hump day!

Yesterday was my first day back to work for the new school year and back to the after school running schedule. I find it a lot harder to run at the end of the day versus first thing in the morning, but I don't see how people can get up so dang early to run before work. 

So, Monday night I packed my running bag with...

...you guessed it! My running MUST HAVEs!

Today I get to announce the winners of my MUST HAVE GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations to the following winners:

Sandra Laflamme - Simple Hydration Water Bottle

Amanda Naro - Sweaty Bands

Heather Roe - Sweaty Bands

Kierston - Cytomax Sampler

Please email me your mailing information so that I can get your prizes to you.

Do you prefer to run before or after work?

Running BFFs

 
April 1 - Today I want to tell you about some of my favorite running gear. Gear that has been helping me get ready for my next half marathon.

#1- I never run without my Nike GPS Sport Watch. GPS changed my running world. With the push of a button, I start my run and the satellites track my route. When I'm done, I can upload my data and view my route. It's that easy. And, I don't have to spend hours trying to map it myself.

#2 - I simply love my Simple Hydration Water Bottle. Fill it up, stick it in, and go. When I need a sip, all I have to do is reach back and grab it. It stays put no matter what type of bottoms I'm wearing and sometimes it feels like it isn't there at all. I love this bottle because it is completely hands-free. It is perfect for my half marathon training runs.

#3 - My favorite source of fuel at the moment is Sport Beans. I already love jelly beans and Sport Beans taste just like jelly beans to me. Before a long run I fill my pocket with beans making it easy to grab some when I'm running. They are super easy to chew and swallow, so I don't need water to eat them. There's nothing better than munching on something that tastes like candy.

#4 - I am falling in love with my new made-just-for-me orthotics (and maybe Mr. Chiropractor for recommending that I get them). These babies have helped alleviate my calf tightness and put an end to my knee-knocking. They are easy to insert and remove, so I can wear them in all of my running shoes! Maybe I can even get more running shoes? Hmmm...

What is your favorite (can't live without) running gear?

**The winner of the CLICK-Start Pack is Amanda from RunToTheFinish!
Congratulations Amanda. I hope you find CLICK as yummy as I do.
Please email me at runningescapades@hotmail.com within 48 hours
with your mailing address so I can get your prize shipped to you right away!**

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”