This Week in Workouts: A New Milestone!

Good morning! I hope your weekend was absolutely wonderful and to anyone who participated in the Boston Marathon, CONGRATULATIONS, you are incredible and I so hope your was one for the books!! In true marathon spirit, this last week included my longest run yet by a half mile. But, it was my fastest 10K and my longest time spent running. 

What is incredibly interesting about this run was that I did the run/walk/run per usual but decided to run the entire last mile. Turns out that was my slowest mile of all! The pace before that mile was 11.01, The 6th mile went up to an 11:38! There really is something to this run/walk/run method!! So, let's talk about what else I did for exercise.

Monday: 3-minute Magic Mile with a 9:30 pace! 

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 30-minute run. Ran 3.06 miles :)

Thursday: Long run of 6.50 miles on the Legacy Trail- an old train track that has been converted to a running/biking path. The parts that I ran were a bit boring, but I have heard they get better when you get into the state parks. 

Friday: This Hip Opening Sequence

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Some Sun Salutations

A little housekeeping for this week: The hubs and I will be in California for a bit so getting posts out might be a touch more difficult. My goal is to be able to do 1-2 posts about the area that we are in, great workouts (possibly while on an airplane since I have this one down), and hopefully a third!

Next week we will talk about Jeff Galloway's book, The Run Walk Run Method. If you have not yet finished it, or started it, I totally recommend picking it up!! 

Last Week in Workouts: The Longest Run

Last week, at 2:00 in the afternoon with a cloudless sky and 82 degree heat, I ran my longest run yet. It was hot, It was sunny, but it was also incredible. I keep doing the math and checking on my run keeper apps and Google maps to see that I actually ran that far, because my ody just does not feel like it usually does after a 3+ mile run. 

Maybe it was the heat that helped lubricate my joints and loosen my muscles. Maybe it was the incredible views of running next to the bay and by the beach. Maybe it was the run-walk-run time that I was using, but something was definitely different from the prior week's 5-miler from hell, and I am so happy for that!! 

Other than running this week, I did a wee bit of yoga and walked. That was it. I know, should have done more. But, with Easter, work, and just not wanting to, I just did not want to. So here is my workout sum-up and a hope that next week your will see a bit more yoga on my list! 

Oh, and the picture above, that was taken while on the six-mile run. With that view, running really cannot be too bad! 

Monday: 5-mile long run. This was definitely the hardest run yet. My pace slowed to an 11:33 average and my knees and ankles hurt like nothing else. There were also plenty of side stitches and lots of exhaustion when done. Yuck. 

Tuesday: Rest day. Still in pain from Monday. But, have been using this, and it makes everything better! 

Wednesday: 30-minute run using the 3/1 Run-Walk ration. Ended up doing a bit over 3 miles! 

Thursday: This new yoga sequence from Candace! 

Friday: 6-mile long run. This week I only fit in one 30-minute run since I was still catching up from last week. But, this run was incredible and my pace ended up being 11:16. Getting better!!

Saturday: Some nice walking :)

Sunday: I cooked a lot, but as far as a workout goes, that's about it. 

Happy Monday! Do you have any fun workouts planned for this week? 

runDisney Running Guides

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First off, I am sorry for the lack of posts over the past few weeks. There have been some very exciting, but very time consuming changes/projects over here, and sadly, the blog has taken the biggest hit. My hope, however, is to start back up on the whole writing thing and slowly return back to normal, weekday articles. It may take some time, but my plan is to get 3-5 articles out weekly for the next few weeks. Then, resume all as normal!

Now, for the more exciting and way more important news- today is sign-up day for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon!!!!! Oh my goodness, I can hardly contain my excitement for this. It is going to be absolutely fantastic!! Are you going to be running it?

Right now, we have a group of about twelve teacups running this together. Some are girls, some are guys, but all of us will be dressed up! My only hope is that all of us get registered in time!

As for what I have been doing to corral this excitement, well, I have been listening to massive Disney running podcasts (more about that another time) and I have been going Pin crazy. Here are a few of the articles, pictures, and items I found to be the most helpful or just plain entertaining!

A mile-by-mile rundown on what you should be doing and how you should feel for a runDisney half.

A great Wine and Dine recap!

Race recap for the Disney Princess half.

Lacing patterns for foot types.

Runspiration of the Disney sort. Do you know what song this is?

All about that foot strike.

Get mental toughness to complete your race.

What a runner's diet should look like, does look like, and what people think it looks like. Love this!

I get side stitches all. the. time. Maybe this will help!

So, are you running your first Disney race or have you run one in the past? I would absolutely love to hear what you are most excited for and what you loved best!!

The Water Challenge

Well, today is the first day of our slim down challenge!! I am so excited to get this started, we have so many fun things planned for the next couple of weeks that I simply cannot wait to get going on- let alone the prizes!!! It will be soooo great!!

As many of you know, one of the big parts of this challenge is drinking tons of water each day. Really, we will be drinking well over the daily minimum (which most people still do not drink daily) and seriously giving our bodies some hydration. This will give you more stamina, a better complexion, less dry skin (so needed in the winter!), and help clear out toxins that our bodies may be holding on to.

A little tip for those who, like me, hate water- put some lime wedges or cucumber in it. This will help with the taste and reduce bloating. Win, win!