Monday, March 25, 2013

Wait...It's possible to run without music?!?!?

Had a great week running! Was able to get a 5 mile run in on my lunch break at work however I forgot my headphones. I do not know the last time I even ran without a running buddy or headphones so it ended up being a fun experiment. I still prefer running with noise though I realize I don't need it. Sometimes it's nice to enjoy your surroundings.

The view from my 5 mile headphone-less run
Yesterday I completed my 5k for the Jelly Bean Virtual Race hosted by Run with Jess. Then I went on a hike to Table Rock with my husband and our friend. The weather was perfect and I needed to get some hills in even if it was just walking.

Jealous...you should be! My beautiful city!
Robie is just 25 days away! I am still on track with my training so I know I won't completely die during my first half marathon. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little  a lot nervous!

I just received this beautiful new FlipBelt in the mail. My first impression was that it looked well made with a great material used. I picked the seafoam-ish color on the website. However I should have paid attention to the color name. "Sky" isn't exactly seafoam. While I was bummed that the color wasn't what I wanted it was still cute.  I couldn't wait to try it out. My first test run was an easy 3 miles. It worked great, didn't move at all and held my iphone securely! Then I took it on my hike. Still worked great but when I got a phone call it seemed impossible to get my phone out before the call was sent to voicemail. That has to do with it being new to me though. I love the fact that people can't see the holes so despite the fact that it took me a few seconds to remember where they were located I wouldn't change the design. I can't wait to see how it holds up on longer runs!


What do you use to carry your phone and gels while you're running? 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Birthday 10k recap

Last weekend I ran my very first 10k, The Shamrock Shuffle! To make it even more special it happened to be on my birthday and it was a themed race! It was the perfect birthday event because of all the above plus running with good friends. I was all dressed up in green! Green sparkly skirt, green socks, green headband, you get the idea. I would have loved to run in a TeamSparkle skirt but due to slacking and not ordering in time I was forced to make my own. I used this tutorial for the skirt. While the tutorial was great and easy to follow, my sewing machine did not want to cooperate so I think next time I will just order one instead of redoing the whole skirt twice!


The Shamrock Shuffle was located at the Ste. Chapelle Winery. I ran a 5k out at the Winery for the Idaho Wine Run back in September so I was able to anticipate some of how the course would go. However this course was slightly different (instead of turning right we went straight) but still very beautiful area. The course started off flat taking us out of the winery and onto the paved road. Once there, the course went up hill. When we reached the top of the hill we were overlooking part of the beautiful lake. The view of the lake didn't last long but the awesomeness of the view helped fuel me and push me forward.
 

 Mile 2 was flat and easy. However mile 3 was a little irritating with a bunch of loose gravel.  Mile 4 was similar to mile 2 since it was flat and easy. However I did get passed by a tractor which made it a little more memorable!

Mile 5 we hit another hill and powered through it. It was probably the toughest section of the race. Once we got over the hill then it was smooth running for the rest. I finished with a time of 1:09:37! That is my fastest time for that distance and given the fact that the course was kind of hilly I was super excited! It was a fantastic birthday and I can't wait until next year when I can run another race on my birthday!


What is your idea of a perfect birthday? 

Monday, March 11, 2013

7 day updated, MRTT, and hills oh my!!

The last seven days I participated in a cleanse. It basically involved lots of fruits and vegetables (easy), lots of water (easy), no grains (pretty easy), no dairy (hard), and no meat (hardest). I love meat! That was by far the hardest thing about the challenge. Oh and the headache for the first three days. Yep that sucked to and not having as much energy at the beginning. By the end of the challenge I was kind of bored of my food. What do I do to it to make it more exciting? I had a variety of meals throughout the seven days but clearly it wasn't enough. The sixth day I could not wait to eat normal again. My mind was racing with all the possibles of what my first meal after the cleanse would be. On the seventh day I was feeling good inside and out and seemed to have energy again. It got me thinking, I feel good but I don't like feeling so restricted on what I eat so how should I move forward? What things should I introduce back into my diet and what things should I only have in moderation? I will introduce meats for sure. I want to continuing staying away from grains, I actually tried to avoid them before the cleanse so it will not be much different than what I was doing, I think I will limit my dairy though. Indulge every now and then but for the most part avoid. What are your thoughts?


Saturday was my monthly group run and meeting with my MRTT chapter. It was a cold windy day. The meeting was short because it was so cold but I did win a race entry to BoGlow on April 6th. I am so excited about this black light and glow stick race! Tons of friends are signed up for this race and I can't wait to cheer on one of my friends run her very first 5k! At our group run we did a short 4 mile run but due to my crappy knee it wasn't a pleasant run.


My running buddy is finally back in town. My ankle and knee were feeling better. It was time to run some hills! It was a beautiful day Sunday morning so we ran part of the course for our hilly half marathon coming up in a month. ONE MONTH!!! I am freaking out! My first half marathon!! Anyway back to the hills, we did an easy 4 miles. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect, friendly people every where, and challenging myself with hills. It rekindled my love with running!


What to you do to keep the spark with running alive? What would be the first thing you indulge in after a week long cleanse? 


Friday, March 1, 2013

Join me in a 7 day cleanse!

Have you been participating in any of the challenges I posted about here? I am loving the #nomoregirlypushups challenge. I force my husband to feel my "guns" many times a day. I am on week 4 from the 100 push-up program. It is great, you started at week one maybe only doing 10 push-ups then by week 6 (last week of program) you are doing over 100! Check it out if you have ever wanted to become awesome at push-ups! This is my second time doing the program (this time on level 2) but my first time I could barely do 5 "real" push-ups. Tonight I did 100! Anyway with #nomoregirlypushups you set a goal that you want to achieve, do "real" push-ups and tweet, instagram, or report on one of the wonderful bloggers that is hosting this challenge. There are three and they all have great blogs, check them out here: Jennifer from Wine to Weightlifting, Alex from Alex Tries it Out, and Jacki from Dare 2 Dream.

The other one is #AbsByApril. The the different exercises that Megan from Run Like a Grl sends out. It keeps it fun and interesting switching the routine up! Plus all the people tweeting using the hashtag #absbyapril are super great and supportive! I have noticed my abs getting stronger. I can't wait to see what my abs look like in one more month!
Sample of Abs By April Exercises for one week

I also joined a 7 day cleanse with Sarah from My (mostly) Healthy Life that starts Monday. What have I signed up for!?!?! Can I go 7 days without meat? Can I survive? I will keep you updated and post my progress here. If you want to join me in this challenge there is still time to sign up! Click here for more info.

Are you going to join me in any of these challenges? We can motivate each other!