Rainy Wednesday & 72 miles in April!

Woke up to rain this morning and it's still raining. Seems the rain just won't stop today. Some roads are even closed due to flooding right now. I just want it to stop and for spring to come back and stay!!

Tuesday Gym Day

Gym day today. I've got the 5K coming up this Sunday and wasn't quite sure how to prepare for it as I've been running by following a half marathon schedule. I looked online and saw that Hal Higdon also has a 5K training schedule (of course he does). 

Signed up for the Wineglass 1/2 Marathon today

I'm excited because today I signed up for the Wineglass 1/2 Marathon in Corning, NY. A friend of mine mentioned she was thinking about doing the run, and I told her I was definitely interested. I'm not even sure if she signed up yet, but I wanted to get registered sooner rather than later, as according to the site's website the run sold out last year by Memorial day weekend. I'm so excited for the run, I'd run it even if she decided not to run it. :p I even went as far as searching for accommodations before I registered. To my surprise, many of the area hotels were already booked. Pretty much all of the ones in Corning are already booked, unless you want to spend a lot of money in a really nice hotel (something we don't have right now, especially as a SAHM). But, I guess that's what I get when a race is so popular and I register later than most people. 

Family hike at Point Mountain Preserve

With today being a rest day from running, it meant family hike day. :) The weather wasn't bad, partly cloudy and a little cooler than last week, but in all decent weather for hiking. 
Today's hike, we ventured to Hunterdon County, where Point Mountain Preserve is located. According to Google Maps, it was about an hour and 10 minute drive to get there from Princeton. 

At the trailhead

D&R Canal Long Run & Big Red Run 5K next week

Went on my long run and it was perfect weather. This is how beautiful it was. 

I love running on the D&R Canal trail on days like this. The trees looks so pretty. However, the one thing I did dislike about today's run, was there were a bunch of puddles I had to maneuver around at times. I'm not too keen on getting my shoes wet and muddy. Good thing was it was just in a few areas that the mud and puddles were bad, so I guess I shouldn't complain. It's not as bad as when I ran in the snow this last winter. 

Focus T25 Alpha Total Body Circuit & Ab Intervals

Today was another Focus T25 day. With my not so great run yesterday on the treadmill, I figured I'd take a break and not run today. Looking at the Focus T25 calendar, Fridays are usually double days, so I thought I would give it a try. I picked out the Alpha- Total Body Circuit & Alpha- Ab Intervals workouts. Boy was I in for a surprise. Both were very tough. Alpha Total Body Circuit started out great but when we got down on the ground and we started doing shoulder taps, plank walks with additions, and spider lunges, and push ups, I was beat! Very tough workout!

Treadmill Thursday

Today was another treadmill day. Goal was to do 5 miles. I felt ok for the first two miles, but then I started getting tired. I definitely wasn't feeling as strong as I was a couple of days ago. I kept thinking to myself "I can't stop, I can do this. I can't stop, I can do this". That helped me and I also slowed my speed down. I started at a speed of 6.0, went up slowly to 6.5, then back down to 6.0. 

The Rachael Ray show also helped as it was entertaining watching about crashing weddings and they even got a couple to get married on the air on a whim. Lucky couple got everything paid for, including the bride's dress, and the honeymoon! LOL, see! Watching tv at the gym can get your mind off of how long a run you are doing, and it definitely helps in making the time go by.

Anyway, close to the end of my 5 miles, I did my usual sprint at the end, where I ended at a speed of 7.2. I'm just happy I did the 5 miles I said I would do today. I did do a cool down with a walk for another 5 minutes. 

Focus T25 workout day.

Today was a Focus T25 workout day. The kiddos had a playdate in the morning to go to, so I saw this was the only workout I could get in before we had to leave. I chose to do the Alpha speed 1.0 workout. 

It focused on speed, stretch, and stability. This workout is a bit different from any I've done so far, as we did a lot of quick moves (jogging in place, hop hop turning, burpees with kicks etc.) and then Shaun T would have us stop to do some stretching, and then right back to the fast moves. 

Tuesday Gym Day

Today was a treadmill run. Did 4.5 miles with .5 mile cool down walk. I actually felt pretty strong running, not sure if it's the Focus T25 or if it's because of all the miles I've been running lately. I really enjoy the feeling of not being so tired on the treadmill. I have also been trying something new. Lately, I'm starting out at slower speed, then gradually increasing. I started with a speed of 6.2 for a few minutes and then was at 6.5 for majority of the time until the end where in the last .5 mile, I went up to a speed 7.2. In all, it was a good run at the gym. My legs weren't tired and I felt I could have stayed on longer. With that said, today was a great treadmill run day.

Happy Tuesday and Bloglovin

I've just discovered Bloglovin. It's a great site that helps you follow all your favorite blogs that fits with whatever you are interested in (whether it be running or fashion) and it helps you discover new ones. What I really like is that it lets you know when your favorite blog has a new post. So far I like it a lot. They even have an app which you can find here. There are a lot of cool running blogs on there. 

I definitely recommend you check it out. :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Marathon Monday - Thoughts on today's Boston Marathon

What an amazing day of running! Thousands of people all gathering to run 26.2 miles in a great city. This is the first time I actually took the time to watch it, and wow, what an inspiration it has given me. These runners are amazing! They push themselves so hard and look so strong. 

Congrats to Meb Keflezighi,who became the first American male to win since 1983. I loved watching him cross the finish line. It was so emotional. Such an amazing moment.

Photo from cbsports

Rest day of running means family hike up Mt. Tammany

Happy Easter!! 

With no close family nearby, we decided on going on a family hike for the holiday (after of course having a mini egg hunt and treats after the Easter bunny came last night).

Hiking is one of my favorite things to do when I'm not running, after all it is basically what brought my husband and I together. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, it was pretty much our backyard. There are so many bigger mountains there. The East coast has mountains, but not as tall and prominent. Great thing about the mountains on the East coast, is that it is perfect for the kiddos. My boys, so far really enjoy the outdoors and I hope it continues till they are adults. 

Unexpected Long run today

With plans of doing a hike tomorrow, I ended up doing my long run today instead of tomorrow. I actually felt pretty good considering we had a busy day (egg hunt in the morning, then playing at a park in the afternoon). 

I decided to do 10 miles like last week because I felt pretty strong. I even stopped to take some pictures on the way. Spring is definitely here. The weather was perfect, low to mid 60's with low humidity. I didn't take water with me (when I'm sure I should have). However, I did have a GU with me, that I took at mile 7. That helped a bunch. 

Some of the trees had blossoms, which was pretty cool to see on the run. A nice change from the dull bare trees, we've been seeing all winter.

The Treadmill

Today I did a 3 mile run on the treadmill. I'm not a fan of the treadmill, however I can't really run outside when I want due to my 3 year old. So, the gym is the best bet for me when it comes to running consistently. The gym I go to is great! It's big and the Kid's Club (where my 3 year old goes when I'm working out) is awesome. The girls that work there are great and they've known my sons since they were babies and when I say baby, from when my 3 year old was 4-5 months old or so. 

So when it comes to running, I have to run on the treadmill. Like I said I'm not a fan as like many of you know, it is boring. I'd rather be out on the streets or on a trail running, rather than being stuck inside on a treadmill. The gym I go to tries to make it more exciting with all the tv's and it does help a little but it still ends up being very monotonous. 

Some tips that I have on keeping it more interesting on the treadmill:

1). Go to the gym when you know one of your favorite shows will be on, or at least an interesting one. Lately, I've been watching Live with Kelly and Michael and it helps a lot when someone funny is on. It definitely makes the time go by faster.

2). Music! Music helps a lot and sometimes when there is nothing good on tv, it helps to have a good running playlist. Sometimes I even sing along (quietly of course) because the music is too good and energizing. :)

3). People watch - Just glance around, it helps the monotony at times when you just look around. Sometimes I even watch the class that's going on and check out the the moves they're doing (silly it sounds but watching body pump and the moves they do can be interesting). 

4). Go with a friend. Not only does a friend push you, but they could be good chatting partners on the treadmill and the time can just fly by. 

Do you have any suggestions on how to make running on the treadmill more interesting? Any tips on how to stay on longer?

First Post!

Hi!

This is my first post and I'm pretty excited to be starting this blog...even if nobody reads it. :p After reading a bunch of other runner blogs, they've inspired me to start up my own. Plus, I like the idea of documenting and sharing my runs and experiences with others. If you want to know how I started running or when, check out the About Me tab.

So the last run I did was the Hot Chocolate 15k in Philly which was great. I got a pretty good time for me, not horrible nor was it a PR (but I guess it was because I had never done a 15k), but in general it was ok. The next big run I'm running in is the Seattle Rock and Roll Half marathon in June. We will be in Seattle visiting friends and family at that time, so I figured it would be cool to do a run there as well. And what's really cool, is I'll be running it with my twin sister. :)

With my mileage already at around 10 miles for the long runs on Sunday, I've been trying to stay close to that. I will probably go down and up a few miles depending on how I'm feeling but so far so good. I usually follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate schedule and have been doing fine with that, but I'm not really sure if I should just go back down or keep up with the 10 miles.

I have also started to incorporate Focus T25 as a workout in my training. Today, I did the Gamma Extreme Circuit and it was pretty good. I used 5lb weights during most of the routine and some parts were pretty brutal especially when Shaun T had us doing push ups that incorporated our triceps. 

I really like these workouts, especially since they are only 25 minutes long and you do work a hard 25 minutes. I'm hoping these workouts will help me with my running.