One of those runs!

We all run daily and most of the time the runs are not memorable and not even worth talking about. But have you ever had a run that you just want to pat yourself on the back afterwards? The other day I slept for 10 hours and it was lovely. After working my 10-12 hour shift for three days straight, I needed to catch up on my sleep. I spent the day relaxing at the beach with some friends. That evening I planned to go for a run when my friend got off work.

Our Running Lately

Since we both just completed our first race for Spring, we thought we would talk about our running lately.

To be honest, this whole year has been really up in the air and we hadn't really made concrete plans for our race calendar.

The only thing we really planned and trained for in advance was the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend and that was a success.

A Peek in Our Week

Its that time of the week again where we review what we did and how the week went down.

I surprised myself and got a run in everyday this week. My motivation is that I know Marine Corps marathon is right around the corner.

Sunday- Ran my own half marathon as a long training run. Then relaxed in an Epsom salt bath with a glass of wine:)

 

Mon- Ran 3 miles before going into work. That evening went to a Thai restaurant I've been wanting to try.  

Tues- Completed 7 miles. Watched the movie A Million Ways To Die in The West. My opinion, don't waste your money. Has anyone else seen it? I also caught up on past episodes of Nashville....so good! Anyone else watch it?

 

Wed- Slept in since I knew I had to work that evening. When I awoke I was feeling refreshed and ready for a run. I completed another 7 miles.

 

Thurs- Headed out for a run later than usual. To bypass all the school traffic around that time I thought I would try a different route. I ended up getting a bit lost and had to stop another runner and ask for directions.  When I finally made it back home it ended up being 9 miles. 

 

Fri- Weather called for rain. So I did interval training on the treadmill and lifted weights. Of course it never rained. I always feel like I don't get as good of a workout when it's on a treadmill.  Anyone feel the same way?

 

Sat- Headed to Dallas for the weekend.     ~L

 

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My week was just the opposite of Lacey's. As you know, I was at Disney for half the week but when I came home I did absolutely nothing training wise. My last run was literally on Saturday night when I ran the TOT 10 Miler.  It seems to be a trend with me that I take a whole week off after a big race weekend. I hope that doesn't hurt me too much!

 

 

When I returned home I had a few fun goodies waiting for me. I received the same backpack Lacey did courtesy of Competitor, the Mizuno Wave Rider 18 Courtesy of Mizuno, a new Influenster box, and a Victoria's Secret gift card from an online contest I participated in.

 

 

 

As much fun as it is to get away, I enjoy being home. I missed this girl so much! It was so great just cuddling with her. On Friday we slept in together and then I drove her around with me when I ran my errands. It actually made me upset to think that I will be away from her the next several weekends. I just want to spend all my time with this sweet girl!

 

Baylee was chosen to participating in the Purina One 28 day Challenge and we just finished it up this weekend.  As you can imagine I am super concerned about the health of my dog and I am very picky with what dog food I buy for her.  I read the ingredients and the claims of the Purina One and decided that we would give it a try. 

 Purina supplied us with a trial size bag of dog food and then a coupon for a free full size bag.  Brighter eyes, improved dental health, increased energy, shiny coat, a great taste and easy digestibility are all the selling points of this item.  I can not attest for the taste of course but I certainly did not see a major change in Baylee after eating Purina One.   If you would like your dog to try Purina One you can get a coupon HERE.

 

I will try to do some intense stretching and foam rolling tonight and get back to my running schedule tomorrow!  ~M

 

 

Tell us how your week went. Have you seen any movies lately? Have you ever got lost on a run? How long do you usually rest after a big race?

 

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read about us.  We hope you have a good week!

A Run Through Syracuse, NY

Last night I was in Syracuse,  NY. When I woke up this morning I was excited to go for a run knowing that it would be much cooler in upstate NY. Well, having been used to running in the 80s with humidity. I woke up to find it a little too chilly out. Only in the upper 50s. So I had a good breakfast and waited until it got in the 60s, which didn't take long.

I made my way through a park that led to a housing development. Even passing a yard sale, too bad I didn't have any cash on me! I didn't have a goal in mind of how far I would be running or even where, that is where my gps always becomes helpful.  I just kept running around the huge development passing many beautiful houses. I even ran some steep inclines along the way to mix it up a bit. I ran until my gps showed 5 miles. After that, I thought it was time to find my way out of the development and back to the hotel to get ready for work.

When you run, do you always have a goal in mind?

~L

Wicked 10K Race

Over Halloween weekend we decided to do the Wicked races by J and A Racing. My mom and sister drove down for a visit. This time they brought two Labradors with them. Since it was off season at the beach, we thought it would be fun for the dogs to go in the ocean and run in the sand. The day after the Wicked 10K the local SPCA was sponsoring a Pup Cake 5K run in which the dogs would be participating in. Looks like everyone was going to get a chance to run this weekend!  

 

Unfortunately, right before we left for the expo on Friday, we got notification that the Pup Cake 5k run on Sunday was going to be cancelled. They said the weather report looked bad. Something about a storm called hurricane Sandy was suppose to make an appearance! So I guess the four legged creatures would not be running this weekend after all.  They would have to get their running done out on the beach later this afternoon. So we do finally make it to the Race expo inside the VA Beach convention center to pick up our race packets and goodie bag.  Since this is considered a smaller race, the expo was not nearly as large as the ones at Disney or the Rock n-Roll that we attended last month. You could probably look at everything you needed to in about 20 minutes.   We finished up at the expo and then headed to the beach with our dogs.

                                                                   

Our Labradors love the beach.



The Wicked 10k is a J&A series race. J&A puts on many local runs in Virginia Beach including the Surfin Santa, Crawlin Crab, Virginia is for Lovers 14K, and Shamrock Marathon.  This one especially, was a fun run. People dress up in costumes since it's over Halloween weekend. You can even win prizes for great costumes. People even ran as teams in costumes. This one was one of our favorites:



Can you see one of our dogs in the background?

 

I woke up in the morning and it was a bit chilly and windy. I wore my compression capri pants and my Wicked 10k shirt, with another long sleeve tech shirt on underneath. Walking to the Convention Center, I thought I should have switched my capri pants out for long pants. During the race, I'm glad I had my capris on, and should've gone with only one of the long sleeve shirts. It got much warmer throughout the day, even though it stayed pretty windy.

Even though it was just a fun run, I still wanted to do well. I didn't want to go all out in a costume. I decided to play it safe and just wear black, put whiskers on my face, ears on my head, make a tail for my backside and go as a cat. Sounds simple enough, but like I said earlier, this was the weekend of Hurricane Sandy, so it was very windy, and I had to run pretty much the whole way holding my ears. I also was going through an injury at this time, so I wasn't sure how this race was going to go, since I hadn't gone that far in awhile.  Since it was Halloween and people were dressed up, we decided we would dress our Labradors up as well. They were matching clowns and they got tons of attention from runners and spectators alike.  The dogs, along with my mom and sister waited for me at the start and then walked to the finish line to watch me end.  This race started at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. We ran down 19th street to Atlantic Ave towards Rudee Inlet and then down the boardwalk to 10th street, back on Atlantic Ave to 40th street, then up the Boardwalk to the Finish line at 23rd street. As I crossed, I could see the dogs waiting patiently for me in their costumes!  They were so well behaved. The race went well and I ended up finishing in 49 mins.  



That's me, right in front of the bumble bee!



My sister made me this great sign.

 

 

After the 10K was over, my sister joined me for another fun run called The Monster Mile! This race started on 21st street, down Atlantic ave to 27th street then up the boardwalk to the finish line on 20th street. Usually this race has a fun after party at the beach with bands. But due to the weather we had to enjoy the festivities inside the convention center. The race was sponsored by Blue Moon and Bakers Crust. Everyone one that participated in either of the races got a free Blue Moon and some chili in a bread bowl.  It was a good after race snack (our dogs thought so too)!



This was the start of the Monster Mile. The finish line was on the boardwalk. It was the same finish line as the 10K.

                                             Here are the medals we received:

 

This is the Wicked 10K medal for 2012.



This is the Monster Mile medal for 2012.

 

Here is a picture of the sign for my Pupcake run that we never got to do!

Belle was really looking forward to her race.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

-L

Rock -n- Roll Series Virginia Beach 2012

I was very excited to run this race, since a lot of my friends from my running group (Hampton Road Runners) were doing it as well. This would be the first race I would be doing that I could consider myself a local. Last year I was unable to do it because I was moving the same weekend, so this time there was nothing in my way that was going to keep me from doing this race. Another reason that I wanted to do this race was because I've heard nothing but great things about the Rock and Roll Series. My mom and sister were meeting me here for the weekend to partake in the concert series and of course watch me run the race.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend 2012 : Half Marathon Race Day

Yesterday we had to get up early for the 5k and this day we had to get up by 3:30 am again. This was my sister first Disney Half marathon. I think I was just as excited as she was even though I was only going to be a spectator. I grabbed my “designer” sign that I made for my sister  Lacey and we all headed for the “event” bus at our resort. I have since learned to make signs that are much easier to pack and transport.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend: Royal Family 5K Race

In 2012 we were back in Disney for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend Again.  This time we brought our dad with us to run the Royal Family 5K and my sister was prepared to run the Half Marathon.  Since I knew this was a weekend dedicated primarily to woman, I called Run Disney several weeks before the race to see what color the 5K t-shirts would be.  I was hoping for my dad’s sake that they wouldn’t be pink or some other girly color.  I found out that they were going to be white. I also found out