February 2014

02/28/2014
by She's Going the Distance 7 Comments

Runnin’ & Rollin’

I’m running a Color Me Rad 5K on May 3rd. The 5k runs through a Six Flags theme park and it will be so much fun to take pictures in the theme park. The next day i’ll be running a marathon so having a fun, laid back, shake out 5k sounded like a good idea 🙂

I’ve been cheating and looking ahead at my training plan because I received the “final confirmation” email for the Rock N’ Roll USA 1/2 i’m doing on March 15th. I keep forgetting February is such a short month and i’m two weeks out from the race! It’s already taper time!! The rest of my running is pretty laid back with nothing too intense or daunting (other than the race of course haha). I know it’s strange and i’ll take this statement back in about 5-7 days, but i’m glad it’s time to taper. My body feels great, i trust my training and I’m ready to see what I can do after having a really great training period and running my highest monthly mileage!

127 might not be a lot of mileage for some people, but this is a big deal for me since i’m not injured, overtraining or burnt out on running. This could be a really big year in running for me.

Has this post been random enough for you yet? I foam rolled the crap out of my legs yesterday and will do it again today. Gotta keep the legs loose and the socks tight <— I need new compression socks!

How’s your Friday shaping up?

Anything exciting for the weekend?

02/25/2014
by She's Going the Distance 15 Comments

Hoffman-Boston Elementary School 5K Recap!

Monday: 4.2 easy 9:12/pace, 15 min back, 10 min abs

The morning started with eating peanut butter toast and coffee as my pre-race meal and sipping on water before the race. It was a 40 min drive to Arlington, VA and it was a cold morning, but the park was pretty where the race was held.

My coach wanted me to maintain a 6:55/pace and I went into the race with the Garmin set just to show Time & Pace. I didn’t want to deal with knowing how far I had left, so the plan was just to check on pace here and there. I did a mile warm up and then did my skips, dynamic stretches and strides.

pre-race pic

I made sure I was near the front of the pack when the race started (it was a small group, i believe 95 runners?) and I wasn’t trying to waste time weaving around people on the small bike path. I’ve always been too polite when it comes to the starting lines at races, but I have a new basic rule that hopefully will get passed around and start lines will be slightly easier to navigate.

Rule when there are no corrals: Start where you expect to finish. If you believe you are a top competitor in a race, start near the front. If this is your first 5k and will be doing a lot of walking, start toward the back. If you’re running with a few friends for fun (say that 5x fast) hangout in the middle of the pack. Don’t take seconds away from people trying to PR just because you want to start near the front for some reason. Got it? Great.

Back to the race… I started around a 6:25 pace and realized i was going to fizzle out if i tried to stay there, so i found the groove at 6:45-7:00 pace and just cruised. I know everyone’s looking for an amazing PR story, but this was a time trial race and i’ve been so used to just “hanging on” to a certain pace on the treadmill, this wasn’t much different. I knew all those treadmill miles were gonna pay off somehow! And I do what I do best when I’m uncomfortable: I focus on form, my footfall and breathing. Having Coach Lauren tell me I should be able to maintain a 6:55 was also important. I trusted the training and her opinions completely and knew this pace was doable.

My legs didn’t start to hurt until the last mile and I was running alone except for yellow shirt guy in front of me. I just tried to catch him during last part of the race. I never did, but I believe he helped pace me and also helped me from not getting lost. While running that uncomfortably fast it’s hard to think of anything except running and pain and I really thought if I lost yellow shirt guy I was going to make a wrong turn.

I crossed the line in 21:21 with a distance of 3.14, my official time was listed as 21:24, but we weren’t individually chip timed, so those extra few seconds were from me starting behind people at the start. I’m going to list my PR as 21:21 according to me and Mr. Garmin. I finished as the 2nd female overall.

I’m very proud that I didn’t go out too fast, hurt too much or have to walk. I know now that pre-race warm ups are key to getting the body ready to run fast. Thanks again to my coach for teaching me about the importance of warm ups before speed work!

Then I got Starbucks.

Starbucks decided I was “Carey” today.

This was my first time doing a tune up or time trial race before a goal race. It was super helpful and will give my coach and I a better idea of an attainable half marathon pace for me. Oh, and it’s a huge confidence booster. I highly recommend it.

Random fact, as soon as I found out about my 2nd place, that I just got the silver medal, and I did better than the USA Hockey team.. but then I gave this face…

**Just in case you don’t realize, i’m super sarcastic and am very proud and excited about 2nd place.. i just thought it was funny because we’ve been constantly talking about silver medalists and I just can’t quit McKayla!

Anyone ever have a McKayla Maroney moment?

I’m just gonna call them an MMM’s from now on. I seem to have them often.

What’s your 5k PR?

02/19/2014
by She's Going the Distance 12 Comments

Motivation Check In!

Monday: 5.5m easy 8:35/pace, 20 min TRX triceps/upper back, 10 min abs

Tuesday: 7m speed pyramid workout (i’ll detail this out later, it was hard!!), 15 min glutes, 15 min abs

I just got a friendly reminder email from Gold’s Gym (and they have posters all over inside the gym) that this is the most common week of the year for people to give up on their healthy New Year resolutions.

GoldsGym.com

I found this to be a very true statement this week because I had several clients tell me they’re just not motivated at all. They know they should be working out more, they want to eat better, but the motivation just isn’t there. So I tried my best to get them thinking and turn their motivation back on and I realized I needed a little too and I’m sure everyone out there can use a little pep talk!

January/February/March are difficult months to get through. The holidays are over but the cold is still here. We are all in desperate need of some sunshine + vitamin D, summer concerts, and warm weekends. Main points being that it’s okay to feel unmotivated, tired, and burnt out around this time of the year. It happens! Especially when working out, meal planning and doing cardio is a brand new thing in your life. But a healthy body– F*ck it– a sexy summer body isn’t built during summer. Those people you envy at the pool have been working out through winter so when summer rolls around and the clothing starts peeling off they look good. This got a good laugh out of a few of my clients but it’s true! We all want to look good & FEEL confident in less clothing.

(Source)

Now is a good time of year to revisit your goals from January. Try a few of these and get motivated!

–Write down the reasons you started working out. This was your motivation at the start right!? Knowing why you’re going to the gym, why you’re taking 2 showers a day, why you’re up an extra hour early to run or why you’re spending extra time in the produce section is important to keep you going!

–Make copies and put your list in places you see often. Fridge, bathroom mirror, dashboard in your car, desk at work, tv at home, laptop screen. Trust me, your spouse or roommate, or dog won’t care about the sticky notes if that means you’re reminded to carve time into your schedule to look better, feel better, and be a happier person all around.

–Put on your bathing suit from last year. It’s cool, laugh at me, but be like Nike and JUST DO IT. Nothing will motivate you more than seeing what your body looks like in almost nothing. This ends two ways, either you like the progress you see and you get motivated to keep going OR you’re not so happy with results and you know you need to work harder. Either way it will get your butt moving.

–Keep a gym bag packed in your car every single day. That way if you decide to go to the gym you won’t have to stop at home and get distracted. If you’re not a gym member get out your workout clothes, yoga mats, dvds, running shoes whatever you use at home–lay it out and have it ready to go!

–How is your daily energy? Think about what changes you’ve made so far and how you physically feel. You might need an extra 1/2-1 hour of sleep from the workouts, you might even need extra calories (healthy!) throughout the day. Maybe you need to take an extra rest day per week if you’re feeling burnt out. Making small changes will keep your energy going strong.

Don’t give up everything you’ve worked so hard for just because it’s getting difficult to keep that motivation. Find it! It’s always there, sometimes we just choose to ignore it with other things.. like Netflix and a couch. BLAH. Get up, get moving and get your motivational lists out! We’re about 28 days away from spring keep moving through winter so you can welcome spring into your open, toned arms! 🙂

shorts pic for personal leg motivation!

How is everyone handling this time of year?

This is my most difficult time to stay motivated, but it’s why i’ve been putting a spring 1/2 on the schedule. Can’t be lazy with that.

What resolutions have you kept or been working on?

I’m working on running speed!

02/16/2014
by She's Going the Distance 8 Comments

My first 40 Mile Week!

Are you guys as exhausted as me? I don’t know what it is, the weather, the mileage, marathon watching the Olympics, February or what, but I’m TIRED. Which is why i’ve been missing the last week. But I missed you, and i’m back. Enjoy the odd details from the week..

We’re on the east coast and snow happened. I’m over it, and i’m even more tired of seeing everyone’s pictures of it. So i took a picture of the sunset on my drive home from work instead of the mounds of stupid white powder that is hogging my running trails.

I had Thursday off since the streets weren’t plowed from said snow. Random–I felt super sick when I woke up. My whole body was aching and I ended up eating, napping and woke up feeling 100% better.

A new PD (personal distance record) happened this week. This is my highest weekly mileage i’ve ever done. Before this week I’ve only ever reached 32 miles. This is my peak week in training and it feels FANTASTIC. I’m not even exaggerating, i can’t believe i’m doing this and remaining uninjured and with minimal soreness. I’m a little tired, but what’s pushing me through is knowing this is something i never thought i could do. I never thought my body could handle a 40 mile week. I’m thanking my past self for pushing through the winter months with those slow, easy, mileage building runs. I couldn’t have handled this training load without that base. I’m ready for the next few weeks of training leading up to the half marathon. BRING IT! (and the spring weather please, all these layers are making me sad…)

Side note…I like the New Balance’s better than my Nike Frees..

Last week’s Runs (cause not a whole lot of lifting happened during peak mileage week)

Monday: 6.5 easy 8:24/pace, 10 min abs

Tuesday: 10 mile interval workout (8:09, 8:16, 8:13, 8:07, 7:59 <–easy, 7:39, 7:30 <–moderate 7:13, 7:02 <–hard 8:06 <–cool down) This was a tough cold, windy, outside run.

Wednesday: 10 min abs

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 5.5m 8:45/pace easy treadmill hills. I used this hill workout from my coach but I didn’t really speed up or slow down since my Saturday workout was going to be a tough one!

Saturday: 12 mile treadmill tempo (Miles 1-3 warm up–>8:30, 8:13, 8:00, Miles 4-10 @ 7:30/pace, Miles 11-12 cool down)

Sunday: 6 miles easy. Untimed and lots of walking.

Total Mileage: 40 miles!

Is anyone else feeling exhausted and ready for spring?

02/11/2014
by She's Going the Distance 10 Comments

Beer for Breakfast & a Workout Summary

Monday: 6.5 easy 8:24/pace

Alright, I’m going to talk about something everyone can relate to. Working out on vacation. While I was in Chicago over the weekend I messed up and missed my long run on Saturday. I even squeezed my runs in before the trip without a day off just so I’d only have 1 run to do during the weekend. But with 3 feet of snow on the ground and having to drive to a gym, I just wasn’t motivated.

it snowed about 2-3 more inches later that day

I’m human. Some people think I’m a machine when it comes to working out, but i get lazy and procrastinate and sometimes I don’t want to leave my friends and family because I’m afraid i’ll miss something. I don’t feel that bad, cause I spent quality time with my nephews 🙂

Mason, Jaxon & Brant

I had a hard 10 miler on the schedule, and I felt bad missing it–literally stressed about it all weekend! Which is crazy. One missed workout isn’t going to make or break a half marathon time, but if this was happening all the time, I couldn’t expect amazing things to happen in a race. Running is something I love because you really get out what you put into it.

Monday I had an email waiting in my inbox from my coach.. She was waiting for my log to update and show my long run. No, she wasn’t upset when I skipped it, she just wanted to discuss moving forward and suggested a 5k race to really see where my speed is. Then we can come up with some realistic 1/2 marathon goals. I’m about 4 1/2 weeks out from the USA 1/2 already! I swear if you stick to a training schedule and take it one workout at a time, the weeks fly by!

Just like the past weekend, it flew by. I want to go back to Revolution Brewery and get brunch again. Breakfast foods are my all-time favorite type of foods. This was the BEST BREAKFAST I’VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE.

Perfect eggs in a basket with hollandaise sauce that was to die for! Also, this was the first time i’ve had beer with breakfast. Move over mimosas! There’s a new Sunday drink in town.

Two hours after I landed back in DC Monday morning and went for an easy 6.5 mile run. I was going to try and makeup the 10 miler, but after a weekend of beer/pizza/no workouts my legs were heavy and tight. It felt great to get a run in, but man, it’s hard to take a weekend completely off. I’m back and ready to get back to it!

Late Recap from Last Week

Monday: 4m easy 8:25/pace, 20 min shoulders, 10 min abs

Tuesday: 7m hills 8:10/pace, 20 min chest/biceps, 20 min abs

Wednesday: 5 easy 8:25/pace

Thursday: 6.4m moderate 7:21/pace, (7:55, 7:36, 7:37, 7:15, 6:56, 6:47)

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

How did your weekend run/workouts go?

Ever do a shorter race before a goal race one to gauge fitness?

02/08/2014
by She's Going the Distance 11 Comments

Getting faster!

Thursday: 6.4m moderate 7:21/pace, (7:55, 7:36, 7:37, 7:15, 6:56, 6:47)

Friday: Rest

Well that was new. It was the first time I’ve ever run a sub-7 pace during a run, not just intervals or a track session–an actual run! I haven’t been this excited about running in a long time.

I was worried heading into this year with my new goals that i was plateauing and I couldn’t get a whole lot faster or better at running. But having a coach and seeing some amazing #’s beep out of the trusty Garmin is making me feel like I’m just getting started. I don’t ever want to doubt that I can or can’t do any better than where I’m at.

Ok now that the cheese fest is over, I’m heading to Chicago 🙂

The place got a rare treat and flew past downtown Chicago and over lake Michigan (which was mostly frozen). Since 9/11 they haven’t allowed planes to fly so close to the city. The clear day made it pretty cool for pictures.

A very cold Lake Michigan & Indiana to the right

To sum up my first night in Chi-Town: I’ve already indulged in pizza, hot dogs, and 3 Floyds (my favorite craft beer)

Instachicago

What are your tips for working out while on vacation!?

02/05/2014
by She's Going the Distance 13 Comments

Sisterhood, a Short Q & A

Monday: 4m easy 8:25/pace, 20 min shoulders, 10 min abs

Tuesday: 7m hills 8:10/pace, 20 min chest/biceps, 20 min abs

I got to test out my new Pure Grit’s yesterday during a hill run and if I do say so myself, I really like the color. Might be my favorite color running shoe so far. And of course they feel like a dream on my feet!

The hill workout was difficult because I ate 2 bowls of cereal right before I ran out the door. Bad idea. It was 7 miles of stomach issues. Note to self, cereal doesn’t work as a pre-run meal for me and neither does running directly after said cereal.

I meant to do this last week, but I had a fellow awesome blogger that nominated me for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy so it’s time to answer the fun questions and pass it along to a few blogs i love to read. Thanks again Emmeline!

Questions

1. What is your favorite color? Wine. Can that be a color? i’m sure it’s called burgundy, but wine sounds delicious. If i had to choose based on wardrobe, it would be any and every shade on the gray scale. Note the pic below, grey and black tank w/wine pants.

2. Favorite animal? Dogs, specifically terriers. I had a Westie once, he was the coolest dog ever. And bunnies. I love me some bunnies.

8th grade and Max 🙂

3. Favorite non-alcoholic drink? COFFEE

4. Facebook or Twitter. Facebook, but i’m slowly relying on the blog and Instagram for my social media fix.

5. Favorite pattern? stripes, haven’t you noticed?

6. What is your passion? I love helping people become a better version of themselves. It makes me feel like I have a purpose being a personal trainer and it’s so incredible for clients and friends to envision what they think they can do and then exceed it. I also like to think I have a passion for life. I love to try new things, listen to new music, visit new places, eat new foods, meet new people. Maybe it’s just ADD maybe it’s passion!

Now I get to nominate a few people to do the same and pass along the Sisterhood Award!

The Rules:

1. Post the logo on your blog.

2. Thank the person who nominated you.

3. Answer the questions.

4. Choose other ladies who blog as your nominees

5. Post the links to the nominees’ blogs and notify them on their blog.

——————————————————————————————————————————————-

I’m choosing a few i’ve probably mentioned before but I can’t help what I like!

1) Megan @ The Lyons Share – She brings a really great balance of nutritional health and mental well being into the running blogosphere.

2) Sarah @ Once Upon A Lime – She’s hilarious, works with Oiselle and is working through a hamstring tendonitis injury.

3) Kristina @ Blog About Running – This chick started running and just took off.. She has major running goals, and is running her first marathon in Portland.

4) Lily @ Lily Runs the World – Lily’s training for her first marathon and she and her boy just quit their jobs to tour around Europe, can’t wait to hear about this journey!

I’m heading to the gym for 5 easy treadmill miles. What’s your workout today?

02/03/2014
by She's Going the Distance 11 Comments

Weekend Recap: Shows, Stars, Shoes & Brews!

This weekend went by much too fast, even though it was a lot of lazing around. Friday I went to Constitution Hall to see one of my favorite bands of all time who never, ever, ever, tour. Neutral Milk Hotel. If you’re ever wondering what’s tattooed on my back, it’s lyrics from this band. And if you’re wondering what the heck Neutral Milk Hotel is, check them out. It’s worth it.

Constitution Hall was pretty cool to be in. I really dug the star spangled seats and the carpet on the main floor was blue with stars as well. Also, i can tell i’m getting older when I get excited to see a concert in an actual seat…

Saturday morning I headed out for my 12 mile run which finally got to be outside!! It was wet and there still were parts of the trail that were ice and snow, but mostly slush so I could deal with it. I got to test out these new RBX tights I got from Marshall’s for $15 a few weeks back. I loved the higher (colorful!) waistband, the tights felt compression like, tight but not uncomfortable and I didn’t chafe.

new capris!

The 12 miles actually flew by quicker than past long runs. My pace averaged a 8:14, nothing felt too difficult and I ended up getting home a little earlier than anticipated and had plenty of time to stretch out afterwards.

I think the whole feet up thing really helped recover my legs, that and I wore compression socks the rest of the night. That was the first time I put my feet up immediately after a run and might become part of my routine. I wasn’t even a tiny bit sore the next day.

Pretty much all I need to be happy: a recovery beer.

After lunch I HAD to check out Potomac River Running Store across the street. They had a big sale on last season’s shoes and I couldn’t resist…

I almost made my goal of no new shoes until March.. so close!! I got a pair of the Brook’s Pure Grit’s cause they are the most comfortable shoes i’ve worn, i’m hoping these might be the ones I wear for the next 1/2. The New Balance Minimus are for work. I need the lightweight shoes for weightlifting and standing on my feet all day. (These are zero drop and I’ve never owned a pair of zero’s so i’m excited to try them out.) aaaaand I LOVE the Colors!!

my instagram

Workouts from the week!

Monday: 15 min abs

Tuesday: 6.6m treadmill intervals (pace ranged from 7:30-6:00), 15 min abs

Wednesday: 4.25m treadmill easy 8:41/pace, 30 min TRX upper body, 30 min yoga

Thursday: 7.2m hill workout, 15 min abs

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 12 easy & long 8:14/pace

Sunday: Rest

Total Miles: 30.1

How often do you buy shoes? I feel like i have a problem haha.

Have you ever put your feet up after a run? Notice a difference or not?