Fitness Friday: #GoalGetter 2013 May Update

Happy Friday! It is hard to believe that it is already June. I wish I could say that it was summer vacation already too (like my Ohio peeps!), but that will not come until the end of the month (thanks to all those hurricane/snow days).

For now I will happily say goodbye to the month of May, although I did have some seriously fun adventures.

Here's a look back at some memorable moments and my running goals:

I started the month with a crazy, unexpected two day trip to Atlanta courtesy of Mizuno to participate in the Mezamashii Run Project. The project launched this month, but my role in it has yet to be revealed. Stay tuned!

Immediately following my trip to Atlanta, I headed to Cincinnati to get a quick family visit and run the Flying Pig Half Marathon with mr C. I wasn't into running when I lived in Ohio the way I am now, so this was my first time running this race. It was one of the best race weekends I've ever experienced. 

I began working on a sponsored campaign with Under Armour and FitFluential. What's Beautiful is a competition that focuses on inspiring women to set goals and conquer them together. My goal is to work on adding up the miles to reach my running goal for the year. May was not my best month with 56.76 miles, but I'm not giving up on hitting 1000 for the year. 

Another one of my goals for the year is to improve my overall core strength, so I jumped at the chance to try SurfSet at TI Fitness Training in Manchester with New Hampshire Bloggers & Tweeters. This all-in-one workout was the hardest thing I've done in a long time, but so fun I went back for more! This is going to be my summer core workout plan. 

Even though May was filled with amazing running adventures, I'm disappointed that I didn't meet my monthly mileage goal to keep me on track to reach 1000 for the year. What's Beautiful is that I will keep pushing through the obstacles. I will not give up.

How was your May? Any achievements or setbacks?

National Running Day Recap

Here's how I celebrated on National Running Day!

I made a running declaration.

I wore one of my favorite running shirts to work.

I donated an old pair of running shoes.

I went on a fun run with a bunch of running friends.

Hope you were able to celebrate in some way!

National Running Day is Swagtastic!

It's that time of year again. On National Running Day people start talking about all the reasons they run. I wrote about my reasons here and I still feel the same.

It doesn't take much to convince me to run and I'm always on the lookout for a good race. Last week I was asked to help promote a virtual race series put on by Swagtastic Virtual Races to support the organization Medals4Mettle, which collects earned race medals from runners and triathletes and donates them to children and adults facing serious illness or injuries.

The Swagtastic Race Series features a virtual 5K, 10K, and half marathon and 100% of the registration proceeds go to cover the costs of presenting medals to the victims of the Boston bombings through the Medals4Mettle organization.

What makes the race series unique is the swag - the first 300 registrants receive a swag box filled with samples from over 25 companies and all participants that self-report their race finish times are entered into a drawing for over 60 prizes. You can check out what they have lined up by going to the Facebook page or following on Twitter. 

What better way to celebrate National Running Day than to sign up for a Swagtastic Virtual Race? Registration closes on June 28th and they are hoping to reach 100%. If you are interested in supporting this fundraiser, you can register here.

Do you like virtual races? 
How will you be celebrating National Running Day?

Disclosure: I was comped a race entry for promoting the Swagtastic event.

TrainingTruths: What's Beautiful: Reach

Stretching has become a priority after spending most of last week nursing a strained lower abdominal muscle. I'm pretty sure that my lack of attention to pre and post run stretching is what led to this injury and I can count my blessings that it stayed minor. So last week I went on a mission to turn stretching into a habit.

I'm still working on the What's Beautiful campaign with Under Armour and FitFluential and came across the REACH challenge. This challenge reminded me that it feels just as good to stretch as it does to run. The challenge was to upload a video of your favorite stretch and cool down routine. Since I was in rest mode I'd been using a favorite app, Yoga For Runners, and stretching everyday using the pre-run sequence.

On Friday I was feeling better, so I decided to lace up my running shoes and jump on the treadmill (I didn't want to be away from home if my muscle acted up). I started with my Yoga for Runners pre-run stretching sequence and then ran 3 easy miles. Even though I felt like I could pick up the pace, I forced myself to leave the speed set to 5 and just ease back into it.

On Saturday morning I attended another TI SurfSet Fitness class in Manchester, but this time I took mr C with me. I'd been looking forward to this since my first session a couple of weeks ago. It was another sweat-fest and my first time tossing a tire, booyah! Later in the evening I completed another stretch session knowing that it would help preclude muscle soreness.

I was back in the running shoes on Sunday and up early to meet some friends for a nice trail run before the heat set in for the day. This was a new running location and we fell in love with the trail, the views, and the wildlife. About a 1.5 miles into the run I thought we were being ambushed by some wild animal when I was startled by Gary & Michelle's shouts... it was just a snake slithering across the path!

What is your training priority?

A Race Not to Miss: ZOOMA Cape Cod

On Saturday I worked for a couple of hours in the ZOOMA Women's Race Series booth at the Run to Remember Half Marathon expo in Boston.

Part of my role as a Cape Cod Ambassador is to promote the race, so hanging out with other Ambassadors, like super fun Andrea from I Run For Donuts, and talking to people at a race expo was easy peasy!

Hanging with Andrea

It was so much fun talking to (mostly) women about how much fun the ZOOMA races are and why they should sign up for the 10K or half marathon. 

Michelle and Andrea

Here are some of the highlights:

1. THE SETTING: Spend the weekend hanging out and running around the Sea Crest Beach Hotel on the Cape. 

2. THE BLING: What woman doesn't love a gorgeous race medal that you can wear around your neck all the time? 

3. THE AFTER PARTY: Massages, music, wine, and hundreds of your best new girlfriends just hanging out and celebrating together.

4. THE COURSE: Both the 10K and half marathon courses offer stunning water views and start/finish just steps from the resort doors.

I ran the inaugural half marathon last year (you can read my recap here) and now I'm looking forward to returning to do it all again. If you are thinking about joining me, enter my ambassador code CCAMB3 when you register to save 10% off the 10K or the half marathon registration price. 

What race do you consider a NOT TO MISS?

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