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?

Review: Mizuno Wave Rider 17

Happy Fitness Friday! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying all of your new fit gear.

Earlier in the month my friends at Mizuno sent me an early Christmas present - a pair of shoes to try out before their release. As soon as I saw the new Mizuno Wave Rider 17s, I knew they were going to be fabulous.

Admittedly, the first thing I was excited to see when I opened the box was the color. I had been eyeing the slate gray shoes since seeing the color options on my laptop.

When I slipped them on, I noticed right away that the shoe felt wider. The toe box especially seemed much more roomy than the Wave Rider 16s. I have worn the 16s for more than 200 miles and never thought of them as narrow, but next to the 17s you can definitely see and feel a difference.

In fact, the new Wave Rider 17's toe box width reminds me a lot of the Wave Sayonara.

Although these shoes are lighter than the 16s (can you believe it?), they are still supportive and very flexible.

I've already put my Wave Rider 17s through the New England initiation and they are awesome on the road...

on the snow...

and on the treadmill.

In addition to function every runner girl knows that running shoes must look good. The Wave Rider 17s have some fashionable features that standout, like colored aglets.

A cool new medallion design.

And look at the rainbow reflection.

Once again Mizuno has completely spoiled me in more ways than one: they treated me to another pair of awesome shoes and every time I lace them up, I'm reminded why I fell in love with their brand.

What new fit gear did you get for Christmas that you are loving right now?

Update:

Road Runner Sports spotted this awesome review and asked me to share their exclusive review video with you! Enjoy!



Women's Mizuno Wave Rider 17 Video Credit: Road Runner Sports

WIAW: Raspberry Protein Bars

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.

It's also #WIAW, so I wanted to share the newest homemade protein bar recipe I tried over the weekend.

I'm really enjoying making my own bars and knowing what exactly goes into them. The recipe is very similar to my Banana Peanut Butter Bars and Blueberry Protein Bars, but I used Sunbutter for the first time.

This recipe only takes about 15 minutes prep time (I'm usually ready to put them in the oven right as the beeper tells me it has pre-heated) and 15 minutes to bake. So just 30 minutes until delicious-ness!

One of the best parts of baking is the removal from the oven. Everything smells so yummy. I flip the baked mixture onto a cutting board and remove the wax paper right away, but then let it cool for a minute or two before I cut it into squares.

After opening presents this morning, we're heading to Massachusetts to spend the holiday with my husband's family. These homemade bars will be a great little snack on the 2.5 hour drive.

Do you have any favorite snacks for when you're traveling?