Training Truths: Saying Goodbye

Last week was about saying goodbye.

We closed another year while ringing in the new one.

We bid adieu to our old goals as we made plans for 2014.

Sadly, I also said farewell to my beloved ninety year old grandfather.

Monday - back to Booty Barre. I don't know how she does it, but Becki makes 2 pound hand weights feel like a ton. On top of that, my arms. abs, and legs become a shaky hot mess! It's awesome and I can't wait to go back on my next break.

Tuesday - mrC joined me for a cold, but sunny run to the beach and back for a nice little New Year's Eve 5K. I was feeling festive in my new eggplant Nike running top and sparkly winter hat.

Wednesday - After finding out late Tuesday that my Gpa had passed, mrC and I decided to still do the First Run 5K on New Year's Day. Honestly it felt wrong to be hanging out at a race, but it did feel good to run.

Thursday - We drove to Cincinnati for the funeral. No running this weekend, but I did take a walk at every stop and stretched my legs whenever and however I could.

In the car using the dash as a prop:

In the hotel room using my yoga for runners app:

After the 1900 mile round trip, I am looking forward to a good run. I know that it will feel good on my legs and on my grief.


**I have also extended my REPREVE beanie giveaway for another week as I get caught up. You can still enter here.**

Fitness Friday: Five Favorites of 2013

Even though 2013 didn't play out exactly as I had hoped it would in the running department, I still had a great year and found tons to love about it. Today though, I just want to share my top five favorite things from 2013.

Wave Rider 17s - I probably say this about every new pair of Mizunos that I get (hey, I can't help it if the shoes are THAT good), but this pair seems to be a combination of everything I loved about the 16s and the Sayonaras rolled into one shoe. Lightweight, fast, and super comfortable. You can check out my full review here.

Oofos Recovery Shoes - I first told you about these shoes back in September, but what I haven't told you is that they have barely come off my feet since then. These shoes are so comfortable to walk around in especially after a run. Even in the bitter cold of New Hampshire's winter, I am sporting these around the house.

Ninja Professional Blender - In 2013 I discovered smoothies and then promptly blew up the blender. I have been so happy with my new Ninja. It has an oversized pitcher or the option to blend into an individual cup that can be taken on the go. It's powerful, quick, and not nearly as loud as my last one!

Challenges - I participated in a ton of challenges throughout the year and loved everything about them. I was so motivated by them that I decided to host my own for the 2nd Annual Chilly Challenge. As a matter of fact, today is the day to announce the winner! Congratulations to @nicowhat! Please email me your mailing address and shoe size so I can make arrangements for you to get your new Wave Rider 17s!

(shoe color may be different than pictured)

Giveaways - Who doesn't love free stuff? Last year I was fortunate enough to host giveaways for an assortment of fit gear from headbands to calendars. Some of you found yourselves trying new protein or using a free race registration. 2014 is off to a promising start too. Check out how you can get your hands on a free eco-friendly beanie.

What was your favorite thing about 2013?

My 2014 Bucket List

Welcome to 2014!

When putting together my goals for the new year, I started by looking at the past. I can't change what did or didn't happen, but I can look forward and focus on new achievements I'd like to make.

So after thinking long and hard, here are my 2014 goals:

Keep running - Am I crazy to go chasing 1000 again?? I'm pretty sure I learned my lesson about listening to my body, so I'm ready to set my sights on that evasive number again.

Run at least 2 new races - This year I'll be joining Team Too Vicious and Delicious for  Reach The Beach MA in May. I have a couple of other new races on my list of possibilities, but nothing definite yet.

Complete a race in a new state - I'd love to find a race to do while in Florida over February vacation, but it's hard when I won't be there on a weekend. My other options include Vermont or Connecticut.

Try at least 2 new fitness activities - Through my membership in Blog & Tweet NH, I found and fell in love with SurfSet and Booty Barre classes. I still want to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding and maybe even Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga.

Get coaching certification - I'm hoping to connect with other New Englanders to earn my coaching certification through an RRCA course in the Spring.

Make healthy food choices - When I gave up wheat, I began to really learn about food, started following WIAW, and discovered quinoa. I love finding new ways to use it, especially in old recipes. Here's an easy recipe where I swapped out macaroni to make cheesy tuna quinoa:

What's on your 2014 bucket list?

A New Name in Sports: REPREVE Recycled

The following post is sponsored by REPREVE

Here in New Hampshire, recycling is a BIG deal. In our household we do it daily and take our trash to the local Transfer Station where we sort our recyclables. You might remember when I told you about my favorite yogurt company helping the planet and today I want to tell you about how your choice of fit gear is too.

REPREVE is a recycled fabric made from recycled PET introduced to the world in 2012 and already using over 629 million plastic bottles recycled by people like you and me. REPREVE fabric is already being used in many brands that you know and love.

• Patagonia
• Swiftwick
• Polartec
• The North Face Denali jacket
• ChicoBag
• and more listed here

So how does it work? REPREVE takes plastic bottles and other recycled materials and turns it into cool stuff that we wear and use every day. 

For example, it takes 6 recycled plastic bottles to make one REPREVE green beanie.

Would you like to wear an eco-friendly beanie made out of recycled fiber? You can win a REPREVE beanie of your own by entering the rafflecopter giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I want to thank REPREVE for sponsoring this post and inspiring me to #TurnItGreen. Next month I will be telling you about an exciting contest where you can win $5000 by showing how you #TurnItGreen! 

Training Truths: Christmas Break Workouts

In addition to not having to work and being able to sleep in if I want to, Christmas Break means that I can do workouts in the morning again. I love starting off with a good workout and feeling ready to take on the rest of the day.

On Monday I made my way back to Booty Barre after trying this workout at a NH Blog & Tweet event. Becki must have taken it easy on us that day, because after just a 50 minute session this time, I was sore for two days!

Tuesday was the unofficial Christmas Eve Family 5K. My husband and stepdaughter joined me for a morning Santa hat run to the beach and back. Surprisingly we only got honked at once.

mrC was not impressed with the lack of holiday cheer

Before the unwrapping of Christmas presents and chaos began on Wednesday, I did a quick strength workout in the basement.

While in Massachusetts on Thursday my brother-in-law offered to lead us on a morning-after-Christmas run through Forest Park on the Bright Nights 5K course. It was the perfect follow up to a busy holiday visit. Later we spent an extra 1.5 hours in the car trying to get back to NH during a small snow event, so it was good that we ran before leaving.

Friday was a rest day except for another quick strength workout.

I did my long run on the Manchester Rail Trail on Saturday morning so that mrC could run the first 4 miles with me. The first mile of the trail was a frozen icy mess, but then we found that someone had hand-shoveled a 1.5 mile path large enough for running. Rather than struggle on the trail, I opted to run the last three miles on downtown streets.

My Athleta Polartec tights kept my legs nice and warm!

Sunday was another day of strength followed by a football game workout from Amanda at RunToTheFinish. She always has the best workouts!

With only days remaining, the Chilly Challenge has begun to heat up. There are about 12 challengers  (and several very close) in the running to win a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 17s  Will it be you? Have you posted at least 5 Instagram photos of the daily challenges? Check out some of my favorites from last week.

Did you workout more or less over the holiday?