Making It Happen

Before the race I was going to bed early, scheduling my workouts and making them happen, and just in more of a routine in general.  Without the race and a training schedule, I am missing that drive of accomplishing a set goal and thus not taking care of myself in some of the ways that I need to be.  Time to reboot!

Running

I love running, but not so much when it's 90 degrees outside.  I miss those perfect spring days in 50s and 60s.  Heck, I'd even take the 40s over the heat!  So what's a girl to do?

Hit the trail early!  The temps are cooler.  Doing my workout first thing in the morning would get it out of the way.  I'd have an incentive to go to bed early.  Isn't working out in the a.m. supposed to give you more energy too?

Check the forecast.  I could stalk the weather and look for cooler days.  I could try and schedule runs during rainstorms, my Garmin is waterproof after all!

Suck it up.  I could just go do it.  I see people running in the park when it's 95 degrees out and think, why?!  I should switch up my mentality and say, that girl is a boss, weather doesn't define her workout.  I just need to add some extra hydration, walk breaks as needed, and a "I don't care what I look like running in this sports bra, it's too hot for a shirt" attitude and I'll be all set.

Other Workouts

Remember that Groupon?  Well it's now or never, so looks like it's now!  I'm looking forward to trying hot yoga and zumba both for the first time.  I'm a little nervous about doing yoga in an organized setting (as opposed to my living room where I do whatever stretches I feel like when I get bored with what they're doing on the video), but I'm sure I'll be fine.  I'm super pumped for zumba because I think it's going to be right up my alley since I love to dance and I like learning choreography.

Let's raid my parents' garage!  There's a bike that's been chilling in the garage for years, I've been eyed it up and my neighbor conveniently works at a bike shop.  I'm going to see if the bike is still worth fixing and if not, maybe I'll craigslist it up.  Despite my last bike ride involving me feeling like I was going to get run over and jumping off into someone's yard, I would love to get some bike rides in my life.  On a trail, no roads with cars...

Goals

I'm obviously more focused with a big long term goal.  But I don't have one right now!  I was supposed to run a 5K this Saturday and I was supposed to do some speed training so I could kill it and maybe even PR.  Alas, I have not been running for the past 2 weeks and while I could run the race, I feel like it'd sort of just be a waste of money since I didn't prepare like I wanted to.  Races are expensive!  I am definitely running a 5K on Wednesday July 11th, so for the next 2 weeks I'll be training!  I miss my weekly workout goals.

7/1 - 7/7
- Run 3 times, any distance, 1 speed workout
- Arms & abs twice

Another goal I have is to carve out some time for writing blog posts!  I love this blog and I hate that I haven't had time to post regularly!  I have some awesome pictures that I still need to share and posting my workouts here definitely keeps me accountable!

Well, tomorrow is Friday, Dave's bday is Saturday, and I have one fun filled weekend ahead of me!

Does the summer scramble your schedule?  How do you beat the heat?

Busy Body!

There’s a reason that busy is in the name of my blog!  I have been crazy busy over the past week!  Last weekend was an epic bachelorette party with lots of wine, dancing, and celebrating.  Sunday was full of Father’s Day festivities including a turkey club feast, followed by a family afternoon nap, ending with ice cream for dinner.  This week has been go, go, go!  Every night has been completely dedicated to prepping for a giant block party at our house this Saturday!  I’m so excited for the party, but it’s also a lot of work.  I worked up a serious sweat mowing our hilly yard in the 95 degree heat yesterday!

Some link love:

• I was featured in SkinnyRunner’s reader roundup!
• Can someone please do this to my hair?
• Do you like cartoons?  How about dogs?
• Have you guys heard of the movie Moonrise Kingdom?  I just heard of it tonight and I need to see it!

Well, time for bed!  Just in case setting up for a party wasn’t enough, I also have a surprise deadline at work.  Eyes on the prize, Saturday here I come!

Anything good on the internet lately?

A Love Affair

Before I met Dave, I’d always heard about Cape May, but I’d never been there before. When he told me that his parents’ had a beach house, I was so pumped that it didn’t matter where it was. Fast forward three summers later and I’m officially a beach snob.

The houses and hotels are all gorgeous, I love the old Victorian style. The beach is huge and never overcrowded, so there’s plenty of space for sunbathing and playing games without feeling like you’re on top of your neighbors. I see dolphins every single time I’m there. The houses aren’t awkwardly close to each other and they actually have yards (real yards with grass, unlike most shore towns in Jersey with tiny “yards” full of stones or sand). There isn’t a traditional boardwalk, which may be a negative to some people, but I’ll take a paved boardwalk for running and a cute outdoor mall area for shopping and eating instead.

Did I mention that there are tons of delicious eats? Our new fave breakfast spot is a place called The Y.B. Eat Place. When you pass it on the street, it doesn’t look like much. We didn’t even know it existed until the hostess at our fave place, George’s, told us there was an hour wait but that we should try the new place down the street. The Y.B. stands for younger brother, aka George’s younger brother! Although they offer the standard breakfast choices, their specialty dishes are what really shine. Rice crispy treat french toast, a breakfast club sandwich on fresh sourdough, or how about a breakfast flatbread with two types of cheese and some chorizo? Yes, please.

They have lunch and dinner, but we never make it there since we’re either sitting on the beach or enjoying the amazing home cooked meals Dave’s mom never fails to whip up.

This beach weekend was a little different than our typical trip, we took a little detour and headed to visit Ben and Josh at their dad’s beach house near LBI. The visit included friends, cocktails, and some picturesque views.

I can’t wait for our next trip there so we can spend some time on the boat. Who knows when that will be since we have some super busy weekends coming up! But I do know we’re headed to Cape May for the 4th of July. Until then my love, I miss you already. 

Did you do anything special this weekend?

What I Learned Training for a Half Marathon

In January, I set a goal that made me question my sanity but I trained hard for 5 months and I killed it!  Along the way I definitely learned some things about running, training plans, and myself, so I thought I'd share.

Go to a running store and get legit shoes.  I started out my training in random shoes and after a month of running only a few miles at a time, I had intense hip pain that I'd never felt before.  I was really scared that I was seriously injured, I was limping around at work!  Once I went out and dropped some money on new kicks (and took some time off) the pain went away completely.

Follow your training plan, but listen to your body.  When I created my training plan, I thought I was going to be running 4 times a week.  At first I couldn't fit 4 runs into my schedule but when I finally did, I ended up with super sore shins.  I decided that 3 times a week was my sweet spot as long as I didn't skip any of my long runs.  Towards the end of my training I twisted my knee and only ran twice a week, because I wanted to save myself for my weekend long runs.  In the end it all worked out!  I'm glad I listened to my body and was able to overcome my potential injuries!

Sweat wicking clothes actually make a difference.  Before training, I never understood why anybody needed special clothes to run in.  And then I tried to do a few runs in regular t-shirts and the ending result was a super wet heavy t-shirt that just felt gross.  Go to stores like Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Target, and Old Navy and you can get great deals on gear.

You won't feel winded, but your legs will ache.  I always thought long distance running would involve huffing and puffing and side stitches, but that wasn't the case.  After a few miles, you really do get in the groove and you feel like you could run forever.  Until your legs start to ache, like really badly.  Once I got close to double digits I experienced a lot of hip tightness and my knees really hurt.  I'm sure this is different for different people, but I was not a fan.

Find a running buddy or a group!  I was pretty nervous before my first group run.  Would they be too fast?  Would I hold them back?  Would I fit in?  All of my concerns quickly vanished after the first run and the group has been an amazing resource for me during my training.  My long runs would've been much more difficult without the support.  If you find a good buddy to chat with the miles just fly by!

Everyone will say "Wow, that's great... I can't even run a mile."  I know that I've always been an athlete, but I never thought I'd ever be able to run a half marathon!  I always want to tell people that they are capable of so much more than they think!

Thank you so much for all your amazing comments throughout my training!  All the support has meant so much to me and I couldn't have done it without you guys :D