Marine Corp Half Marathon 2014

This race recap is long over due, but I think this is a really good race so  I am going to do one anyways. 

Last Sunday, I made the trip to Fredericksburg, VA and ran in the Marine Corp Half Marathon. 

This race holds a special place in my heart. 

It was the first half marathon I'd ever ran. 

My twin sister and I have ran it together for the past 5 years. Unfortunately, she moved to Charleston, WV this past winter and couldn't be there:-(

This is the race that I broke my foot in two years ago.

This year, I decided not to race. A friend in my office asked me to pace her and help her beat the two hour mark. 

As much as I love racing, taking it easy (for me) and enjoying the experience is pretty great, too.

This race is ALWAYS a good time. The expo is big. The race is organized reallllly well, has plenty of volunteers, and always starts on time. 

You start and finish at the same place, too. I really like this.  Shuttles sucks.

 This picture is of the Marines walking in the final runner. They were singing and marching with him the entire way. It literally brought some people to tears.

 You can just feel the patriotism around you. The commodore. The passion. 

While there is a KILLER hill at the end (the incline on your treadmill would be set at 12 to mimic that hill) and it's a little busier than I like my races, it's one I'll do every year. 

Running Sans Watch.

    The other day, I was getting ready to go for my run, walked outside, and could feel the air. 

You know what I'm talking about. That heavy, muggy, humid feeling that makes you not want to run.

I knew I didn't want to skip it though. I mean, summers in the DMV aren't know for their fresh, crisp heat. It's humidity allllll the way. So I may as well get used to it. 

I drove to my running trail before noticing that something else didn't quite feel right. 

I accidentally wore my lifting shoes! Fail! I had them on earlier to walk my daughter to the bus stop and totally forget. 

Hell if I was turning around though. It's annoying enough I have to drive somewhere to go run. Damn country back roads. 

I decided I needed to do it a bit different today.

I took off my GPS and just ran. Dun Dun Dun.

My runners can empathize with how damn hard that is to do. We are competitive little bitches with ourselves. Almost 100% of the time. 

The run felt GREAT! Hot and sweaty and a great chance to get out there in the sun. 

Without killing myself over numbers. 

Then, of course, I ate. 

Romaine Lettuce, Orange, Yellow, and Green Peppers, Dried Cranberries, Goat Cheese, Sunflower Seeds, and Chicken Apple Sausage.

a deliciously salty salad. 

My goat cheese addiction is still going strong. 

Do you ever run naked? (sans GPS)

Is it humid where you are?

What's your favorite salad combo?

My First HOT Run of the Year

Hey there! How are things going? 

I cannot believe it's the weekend already. Let's hop right into things shall we? First and foremost, the winner of the race entry for the Williamsburg Half Marathon is RunningWithSass! Congratulations!!

Man. As much as everybody was bitching about the cold weather staying here forever, I'm certainly not too happy that summer is here and it's only mid-May. 

Thursday morning was a bit rough for me, so I decided to wait to run during work. 

But first, a volunteer organization was at our work serving steak lunches for free. Even though I'm not a huge fan of steak, this girl doesn't turn down free. 

So I had about 2/3 of a steak and the ice cream. 

and then I realized it was 78 degrees.

Meat and dairy before a HOT run? Suuuuuper idea, right? Determined, I left anyways. Not feeling to confident about my decision.

This beautiful little oasis saved my life though. (One good thing about running in DC is there are quite a few water fountains around)

DC water has never tasted so good!

(Check the new Brooks PureCadence 3 in the picture! I traded in the Transcends.....they just weren't working for me)

To my surprise though, the run totally rocked! I ran 5 strong, hot, sweaty miles and felt great. 

It's about time I switched my fuel from healthy grains to ice cream:-)

What is your best pre-race meal?

I have been doing dates recently. Delicious, quick energy.

Is it getting hot where you are?

It's going to be 91 degrees on Monday!

New Items for Me and a FREE Race Entry for YOU!

Some of my favorite blog posts to read are ones that turn me on to new products, so I thought I'd do one of those today. 

1. Almond Milk Yogurt. I'm really excited to try these tomorrow! I was recently told to go off dairy made from cow's milk (by a nutritionist I am seeing for my Alopecia Areata......that'll be reserved for another post though). While it didn't bother me too much, I really do miss the occasional greek yogurt. I've seen these at the store, but they are a bit pricey for me, so until today I haven't tried them. 

2. Food Life Gluten Free Rice Millet Bread. I LOVE RUNNY EGGS AND TOAST. Let me just say that. If I could only have bread with one thing for the rest of my life, I'd toast that shit up and put a runny egg on it (with jam and hot sauce of course). This better be good. 

3. Applegate Organics Organic Turkey Burgers. Just a spur of the moment buy. I'm always looking for quick and easy ways to get some quality protein. 

4. Meyenberg Low Fat Goat's Milk. Goat's milk was reallllly hard to get used to. I think I was being a kid and the thought of it kind of made me nauseated, but it really grew on me. I don't typically go for "low-fat" foods but I thought it might be a little less rich than Whole Goat's Milk, so I'd give it a try.

5. Salted Caramel GU. I almost made innappropriate sounds when I saw this new GU flavor at the check out of the Sports Authority. Let it be known that I would eat just about anything that has salted caramel on it. I am planning on a double digit run this Sunday and can't wait to bring this with me!

6. Under Armour Women's Training Socks. I have been getting some SERIOUS blisters recently. I've never had particularly attractive feet, but they've recently took a change for the worse when I bought new shoes. The new shoes feel great and cost me a pretty penny, so they aren't going anywhere. Enter new socks. Hopefully I'll finish my next long run without a disgusting, blood filled blister sticking out of the side of my foot.

 

and now I have something for you!

I was recently contacted about participating in the Williamsburg Half Marathon. After looking at the website (http://www.runforachievabledream.com/) I couldn't help but sign up! Historic Williamsburg is sure to deliver a beautiful, scenic race, and the money raised benefits a more than worthy cause. 

and I have a FREE race entry for one of my readers. 

To enter: Simply leave a comment and tell me what new item you're trying these days! I will pick a winner on Friday, May 9.

Leg Day.

Hey, Hey! How goes it? 

I've been meaning to post for weeks now, but things around here have been SO busy. 

Obviously, since we last spoke, I've been running. 

I recently switched my running to the mornings and I have been loving it! There isn't a better way to start the day.

Plus, Pennsylvania Avenue/Capitol Hill is usually packed with runners, so I'm not alone!

Isn't it so beautiful and peaceful before the sun comes up? 

Also on my workout agenda these days? Weights. Usually I am a high rep, low weight circuit kinda girl. For almost two weeks though, I've been putting that personal trainer certification to work and focusing on making some strength gains. 

8-12 reps, 3-5 sets of every move. 

I thought I'd share the leg workout that I put together that's made me hurt SO good. (Seriously, I'm really damn sore for 2-3 days.)

Squats - 85 lbs

Bosu Ball Squats - 20

Lunges - 40 lbs 

Deadlifts - 85 lbs

Jumping Lunges - 12

Plie Squats - 50 lbs

Bulgarian Squats - 30 lbs

Box Jumps 

Step up to balance - 30 lbs

I'm only on 3 sets of each at the moment and that is PLENTY enough for me. Sitting down or climbing stairs ain't feeling so good these days. 

Do you have a good leg workout?

Try mine and give me some feedback?

Are you a morning runner?

I Signed Up

Guess what I did?

I signed up for the Marine Corp Half Marathon.  I said that I was going to focus on racing shorter distances for a while, but I just can't say "no:. This race holds a special place in my heart. It was the first half marathon I ever did, I always run it with my twin sister (who actually got me into running. Too bad she'll be in WV this year), I broke my foot in it, it's something I do every year for the past 6 years. Even last year, when I wasn't running too much (stress fractures) I still ran the first few miles and the last couple miles with my twin because it's what we do. 

So when my friend asked if I would pace her, I jumped at the opportunity and I signed up.

In preparation for the race, her and I have been getting into the city WAY too early to get some runs in.

This week we had a particularly fun workout at Nationals Stadium.

Nothing like a few stairs to wake your ass up on a cold morning. Great way to mix things up too! We ran a mile (some of it in 6 inches of snow!), did the stairs 10x as fast as we could, ran another mile, 10x more on the stairs, then finished up. Came out to 3.25 miles, which typically isn't too challenging.....but with some stairs added in, makes for a damn good workout.

I'm excited to help a friend progress in her running. I'm definitely getting something out of it too though. Not like anybody has to twist my arm to run.

Plus, a week full of challenging workouts means a nice, relaxing Friday night.

Hope you had a great weekend!

All Over the Place

I am alllll over the place these days. 

 

Last we spoke I was going to focus on strength training and some speed work.

 

Well, if there is something I haven't told you, it's that I SUCK when it comes to sticking to a plan when it comes to anything but running. Periodization with my weights? Should I? of course. Do I? Never ever.

 

Hell, I don't even end up doing the weight routine I've written down and hour before I go to the gym.

What can I say, I'm spontaneous:-D

 

At least I've been doing strength work though! All of them have been circuit workouts (I'm a huge fan) with mostly higher reps, lighter weights.....These are what keep me engaged.

 

My Nike Training Club App has gotten A LOT of use (It's by far my favorite fitness app!) and I've been doing circuit routines that I teach in my circuit classes.

 

This week though, I realized something. I won't know if I've improved my short distance game because I don't have a point to reference it to. The plan (until I decide to change it haha) was to do a 5K and do another one 6 weeks from then and compare my times.

 

So this weekend, on a whim, I ran a Shamrock 5K! It was fun! Definitely not the most organized race I've done, but a first place medal pretty much makes you forget about that:-D

 

The goal now? To run another the last weekend in April and show that I'm improving!

Hopefully I don't stray......

 

Food:

I always have to end talking about food. I love it too much not to make it an integral part of my blog.

Butternut squash w/tomato sauce and ground beef

**Funny story behind this one actually. I asked my boyfriend to throw my spaghetti squash in the oven while I was out running errands. I came home and started on the meat sauce.....when the timer went off and I opened the door, I realized he doesn't know what a spaghetti squash is. So we had butternut. haha**

Carrot Cake M&Ms. 

Best Seasonal Candy EVER. Seriously. One bag. Two days. Can't buy those again.

Roasted brussel sprouts, quinoa, and chicken/steak kabob