Weekly Roundup: April 16 – 22

Monday:  Rest
Tuesday:  4.08miles @10:01/mi (40:55min)
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 8.0miles @11:14/mi (1:29:57)
Friday:  Rest 
Saturday:  Rest
Sunday:  Rest
     
**Stretched and foam rolled each day I worked out

Total for Week = 12.08 miles             Bike for Week = 0
Total for Month =  14.08 miles           Bike for Month = 1hr 50min
Total for Year =  86.89 miles             Bike for Year = 1hr 50min

*** @=outside run (refers to pace)  in=treadmill run (refers to minutes)

January  12.6 miles                                                       2011  329.45 miles
February   13.02 miles
March   42.19 miles
April   14.08 miles

 Last Week's Roundup

Thursday’s Long Run

Thursday when I got home from school, it was sunny and 65 degrees and I knew it was supposed to get colder and rainy this weekend so instead of waiting to do my long run, I decided to get it out of the way in the gorgeous weather!  I’m so glad I did, it was such a great run… a little slower than I would have liked, but great none-the-less and it’s been raining all weekend!!  WINNING!! :) 

I ran 8.0 miles at a pace of 11:14/mile which came out to a 1:29:57 run.  It was quite a hilly course so I ended up walking up a little ways on some of the hills… yeah, i know I’m a wimp… but I thought it was still pretty good for not having done the time to train for my half up to now… (2 weeks from yesterday!! EEK!)  Here’s the stats from my long run (you can click it to make it bigger if you want:

After I got back home from my run I took an ice bath (still trying to get rid of my annoying knee pain) while drinking one of my husband’s myoplex lite chocolate recovery drinks (don’t tell him! ;)  haha)  It was actually kinda tasty and has A LOT of good vitamins and minerals and like 20 grams of protein :)

Have you ever tried Myoplex? What did you think?

How far was your long run this week?

Do you always do your long run on the weekend or do you change it up sometimes and do it on a weekday/night?

 

Blog Posts From The Week

Wordless Wednesday: Shower Pictures
The New Blogger Look

Registered Races
 
5/5/12 – Cap City Half Marathon
10/21/12 – Columbus Marathon

Blogs… Why do you read them?

image found here 

So, I’m working on a review/giveaway post, but recently have been reading quite a bit about blogs and why people read them or why people actually blog…

I want your opinions… what keeps you going back to read the same blogs over and over again every day/week?

Is it the way they look?  The content? The pictures? The recipes?  The randomness?  The catchy name?  The author’s personality?  The healthy competition?  Or something else completely?

Be honest…

ALSO… how do you feel about bloggers who make money off their blog? 

Do you make money off your blog?

What keeps you writing your blog?  Inspiration?  Support networking?  Journaling?  Accountability?  Workout log?  The money? ;)

Again… be honest because I’m totally curious… And I’m sure the answers are different for each person because even though we all have running/working out in common… unlike the myth… we all aren’t robots who think the same way, say the same things, or talk about training/races nonstop…

ok, maybe the latter is a fact lol ;)

Hit me with your opinions and I’ll keep working on this giveaway post!! ;)

Email Mania…

People have emailed me about different things this week:

1) Letting me know that they are voting for me for the Refuel with Chocolate Milk Grant.. I REALLY appreciate that guys!!  You have until November 15th, so keep the votes coming!! :)

2) Numerous people have emailed me asking if I am planning on doing the Christmas Card Swap again… the answer is YES! :)  It was so much fun last year!!  If you are a relatively new follower, and have no clue what I’m talking about, CLICK HERE to be informed ;)  I will be posting sign-ups next week!

Image from last year 

3) Asking me to have a Q&A sort of post… well, I would love to do a Q&A BUT… you kinda need questions to answer for that lol ;)  So… if you have questions… about running, school, my other hobbies… ANYTHING… send them my way :)

4) Letting me know that they can’t wait until I post my marathon recap… THIS WEEKEND PEOPLE… I PROMISE! lol… I’ve noticed a trend.. I have more time and blog more when I’m not in school ;) haha… genius I know… but It will be posted this weekend! :) Thanks for all the support you guys have given me!

Keep the emails coming… It’s been fun getting them… junk gets boring after a while ;)

ALSO… today is your last day to enter my Go Girl Sport Giveaway!! CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!! Ends tomorrow 11:59pm ET!

Today, I said goodbye to the bikini and flip flops (not that I got to swim at all this summer thanks to summer quarter)… I switched out all my summer clothes and shoes for my fall/winter clothes and shoes.  It was kind of depressing since summer is my absolute favorite season… but it’s ok because fall is a close 2nd! :)

 

Fall quarter started yesterday… it went really well, I’m going to really enjoy it, but it’s going to be a lot of hard work and studying… LOVE all my profs… they all smile all the time and crack jokes non-stop… it will be a great quarter :) AND if you read my post yesterday, you would know that after I got out of classes, I was heading to Fleet Feet to get fitted for a pair of shoes… first visit to a running store ever.

Here’s what I ended up with after getting measured a few different ways, running on the treadmill barefoot and running with different shoes on both feet a few time…

Any guesses as to what’s inside? 

Go ahead…

take a guess…

Brooks Ravenna 2! :)  Did you guess right? lol… They feel so good on… I’m pretty sure this “NIKE EVERYTHING!” girl has now been converted to Brooks Shoes!! I like them so much I had to get a few pictures of them on my feet…

             Mirror Shot                                   Hold the camera upside down shot

                           The “Yep, I’m pretty cool cuz I have new kicks” shots

Hello Mrs. Bigfoot! Jeesh! lol… I ended up getting a half size bigger than my “normal” shoes to hopefully get rid of my toe blistering and toenail losing problems…

 

And here is the big, happy, running shoe family:

 

What shoes do you run in?
- Used to be strictly Nike, but I’m converted to Brooks!

 What size shoe do you wear?
- ”normal shoes” I wear size 9US and now my running shoes are 9.5.

Do you swap out your shoes for different seasons? Or is your closet big enough to hold all your shoes all year?
- This is the first year I’ve actually had to swap out my shoes… I think it’s because of my growing running shoe collection… just maybe ;)

If You Have a Dilemma… Just Tweet It!!

Well, for some reason I didn’t get my speedwork in today… I was supposed to do 6 miles… just felt blah all day.. hormonal sickness… it sucks…

School starts back up tomorrow (after a 2 week summer vacation lol) and I’m super excited because this is the first quarter that I’m “officially” an interpreting major and will get to take interpreting classes… The only downfall is that I have to start getting up at 5am to make it to school in time… seriously?! I haven’t gotten up that early since… the capital city half marathon in May… and now I have to do it every Tuesday and Thursday! Guess I’ll have to start going to bed at 9pm instead of midnight lol ;)

I am rather excited about going back to school tomorrow though because I am heading to Fleet Feet after I get out of class at 4 to get a new pair of shoes before my Marathon! :)  I knew I needed new shoes, but I wasn’t sure if I had enough time to break them in… since I’m still a “newbie runner” I’m not as wise as some of you… If you ever need to know something… just tweet it… seriously! haha…

I tweeted:

And just a few SECONDS later many of you replied… thank you! :)  I am no longer worried…

So now I’m UBER excited to get an official fitting for shoes… this will be my first time in an actual running store lol… I can’t wait to let you all know how it goes and show off my new pair of kicks tomorrow!  (and of course tell you how my first day of school went… cuz I know you all care sooo much)  ;)

AND… don't forget to ENTER MY YMX GIVEAWAY!! (Ends 9/24)

 

How often do you get a new pair of shoes?
- It’s been 7 months since my new pair… but I ran a total of about 22 miles for May and June combined (hello wedding planning)

What kind of shoes do you get AND do you always stay with the same model?
- I used to be strictly Nike… Glide & Glide 2, but then I got to wear test a pair for brooks and LOVED them… so now I have no clue what kind of shoe I want to run in…

Do you have a twitter? Do you find it helpful or annoying?
- I have a twitter (obviously) and find it very helpful… I’ve almost stopped using facebook altogether

Blogger Facebooking? Your Opinion…

 

If you’ve been in the blogworld for very long at all,  you may have noticed that a lot of bloggers (seemingly most of the ones with A LOT of followers) have a facebook page for their blog. 

Do you have a facebook page for your blog?

Why or why not?

What are some of the benefits of having a facebook page for your blog?

Do you think I should get a facebook page for my blog?
(I’m thinking about it… that’s why all the questions, if you haven’t figure it out by now)   ;)

Thursday Thoughts – I’m running a marathon next month?!

1.  Now that it’s September I can say “I’m running a marathon next month!”  Wowsa!  I’m freaking out a tad here but one thing I learned from The Cap City Half I ran in May was that not all races have to have time goals… If you run just for fun, you end up having a good time and sometimes, doing better than you thought you would… so I’m running my first FULL marathon for fun and my only goal is to finish those 26.2 miles! :)

2.  Don’t forget to ENTER my giveaway if you want to have the chance to win a signed copy of Mark Remy’s second book called “The Runner’s Field Manual: A Tactical (and Practical) Survival Guide”

3.  If you miss out on a run is it ok to do 2 runs the next day? (as long as they are lower in mileage?) What are your opinions? Have you ever done this?  Like one in the morning and one at night?

4. I’m thinking about buying some nuun but I want to try it before I buy it… Have you guys tried it before? What did you think?

5.  I found this cute little kitten under my deck last week and he was rather scared… I named him Baxter, but since hubster and I are living with my parents I couldn’t keep him and called a few shelters including the humane society… I was kind of mad when the guy on the other end of the line told me they aren’t taking cats right now and that I’d be better off putting him back where I found him.  I told him I didn’t want him under our deck and he said to throw him in the woods or something… seriously?!

6.  Tressa over at Training with a Track Coach & His Adorable Wife, commented on one of my blog posts that now that I don’t have a job, I’m not a bum, I’m just a Domestic Running Diva lol… I like that and I’m sticking with it!! :) Thanks Tressa!

7.  It looks like I’ll be running on the treadmill today… it’s storming outside and I don’t feel like getting struck by lightening…

8. I found out that if I use Mozilla Firefox to read blogs, blogger doesn’t mess up as much and I can actually comment on blogs… who knew?  Try it out if you’re having problems with blogger!!

9.  Last but not least, I have my last 2 finals tonight and then I’m free for 2 weeks before I start fall quarter! lol… needless to say, I didn’t really get a summer vacation… guess I better go study…

Friday Five: Bum,School,Blogland,Marathon,Award

1.  First of all, thank you everyone for your kind words of encouragement on my post yesterday!  It really means a lot to me!  AND… In case you missed it and have no clue what on earth I’m talking about… I am now a jobless bum… You can read about it HERE

2.  Summer quarter finals are next week and then I have 2 weeks of a summer break before I head back for Fall quarter… gotta love it lol…

3.  I really have been MIA from blogland… I feel like I’ve missed out on TONS of stuff!!  Not to mention I have a lot to catch you all up on too!!  (now that i’m a bum I have more time to blog) ;) A couple reviews, giveaways, mileage reports, wedding and honeymoon pictures, cake posts and then back to our regular scheduled programming of running… MY FIRST FULL MARATHON ON OCTOBER 16TH!!!

4. Yeah, I’m freaking out a bit about that, longest long run so far has been 10 miles so lol… 50 days out and SO not ready… Should I try to change my registration to the half or should I stick it out and go for it?  Think I have enough time to train to the point where I wont hurt myself if I run 26.2 miles? eek!

5. Last but not least, Apparently my blog was named as one of the top 100 running blogs by HealthCareColleges.net … who knew?!  Here’s a link to the other blogs who also got awards.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!! Good luck to everyone racing, especially all you hood to coast’ers out there! :)

 

 

Are you racing this weekend? What races?
- I’m not, I’m a bum, but I do have a 5k next weekend

If you could make up a blog award what would it be called?
 - Random Rainbows Award: given to blogs that make me laugh even though I have no clue what they are talking about! ;)

What… you want to know pointless running info about me?? ok…

So Nicole over at Running for Love came up with a little running survey and I thought it would be fun to repost on my blog with MY answers lol… Sidenote:  Nicole is also planning a wedding for this year!  AWESOME!! :D

* what is your favorite type of cross training?
I haven’t really been cross training… whoops… Does working on my feet and carrying two,
5 gallon buckets of ice to the pop machine while doing bicep curls count?

* what is your favorite song to run to?
I don't really have one favorite song and I tend to listen to all sorts of different genres of music while I run from classical to hard rock lol.. just depends on my mood and what type of run it is

* what brand of shoes do you wear?
Nike Lunar Glides or Brooks Pure Flow

* do you wear a hat when you run?
Usually yes

* what temperature is your favorite for running?
I hate cold weather so I would say anywhere from 60-80 lol… yeah, I’m crazy ;)

* do you have any big races coming up?
I have multiple little 5ks, my 2nd half marathon on May 7th (this weekend), and my first full marathon on October 16th! :)

* what is your favorite distance?
to just run… 5 miles… to race… half marathon

* are you a morning, noon or evening runner?
I am not a morning person so running in the morning is difficult for me… i like noon or evening TONS better!

* do you run solo or with a buddy?
I tend to run by myself… every once in a blue moon you’ll read on my blog that I ran with someone… which is also fun… but I find it hard to coordinate schedules so tend to be a lone runner

* what's your favorite post run snack?
Chocolate milk blended with peanut butter, a banana, honey, cinnamon, carnation drink (added nutrients), and ice while I sit in an ice bath while eating a bagel

It is sad, but I had to use white milk in this
picture cuz I had run out of chocolate milk

* what's your FAVORITE race?
My absolute FAVORITE race so far has been my first ever half marathon!! I just loved the whole experience from traveling to a different state, to spending the weekend with just my parents, and running an all women’s race as my first half! :D  HERE’s the recap!

* do you wear a garmin? If not how do you track your runs?
yes, my fiancé got me the forerunner 405cx for Christmas (I LOVE it!!) before that I used a nike+ sensor with my ipod

* what is your least favorite race?
I don't really have a least favorite as of right now… I’ll get back to you on that ;)

* what race is your favorite medal from?
My first half marathon!  there was a medallion in the middle of the music note shaped medal (Nashville, Tennessee) that you could take off and put on a necklace

* who is your running idol?
I don't really have one, but I'm really starting to like Kara :)

* how long have you been a runner?
years that I’m counting… 1 :)  (not counting HS track)

* (ladies) do you run with your engagement/wedding ring on?
no way!  I am often times a klutz and just know that something would happen to my engagement ring before the wedding if I would wear it to run in or exercise in… not chancing it!

haha… couldn’t help it ;)  I’m getting
married  NEXT MONTH!!!  :D

* what's your favorite workout? repeats? long runs? tempo? fartleks? 
long runs… although they are my least favorite too ;) lol

Garmin Forerunner Quiz

Man, it’s been a long week already…  Is anybody else tired of working? lol… silly girl running?! ;) Anyways… I’m getting ready to head back to work and just wanted to write up a quick post because I’m curious about something.

Garmin forerunners…

Do you own one (or more)?

Which model do you have (or want)?

What do you love about it?

What do you hate about it?

Any additional comments?

I’ve been dreaming about them lately, so I though I’d gather a bit of data before actually really thinking about buying one ;)  Have a great day everyone!