The thermometer hit 50 degrees yesterday and I can finally see a good chunk of my backyard. The frozen tundra is receding and I can feel that spring is finally just around the corner! So before I wave goodbye to March, let’s see how things shaped up?

Good things for March:

• March Movement – I consider my goal to move for 31 days a success. I did take a couple of rest days when I was fending off the beginnings of a cold.)
• Discovered the Arc Trainer and it was love at first workout!
• Return to Yoga — a big part of reaching my movement goal was getting back to yoga.
• Reclaiming my morning routine!

Things I could do without:

• Yeah…I’ve whined enough about the weather….let’s just move on, shall we?

What’s up for April:

• BAA 5K — this has become a favorite event to kick off Marathon Weekend!
• #StripatNight – RnR Vegas registration opens today
• Just looking forward to things finally feeling like spring…and planning to enjoy every minute of it!

How about you – was March a good month? Any big plans for April?

It’s the first Saturday of the month which means its time for the Ultimate Coffee Date! I’m linking up again with Coco, Lynda and Deborah so grab a cup of your fave beverage and join us!

 
If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that almost a week later I’m still giddy over my beloved Patriots winning the Super Bowl. It was an unbelievable game and I must say the final two minutes almost took me out!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’m really happy that both my husband J and my oldest son have decided to join me again in running the B.A.A. 5K! This race has become crazy-popular in the past couple of years so we wasted no time registering when it opened on Wednesday. We had so much fun last year – it’s a fun way to kick off Boston Marathon weekend. And, speaking of the marathon, I also submitted my application to volunteer again  – it will be a couple more weeks before I get my assignment.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I was so psyched to finally receive my discount code for the Rock ‘n’ Roll races that I can share with everyone! You can use the code RUNATTITUDE015 to save $15 on both half and full marathons in the US & Canada or £3 (GBP) off international races.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that my new favorite addiction is BarkThins!  I especially like the dark chocolate pretzel…seriously, I made need an intervention.

If we were having coffee together, what would you tell me? 

What’s your current snack addiction?

Hello October!

Did September fly by as fast for you as it did for me?! Well it’s time to kick off a new month and one of my favorite ways to do that is by joining the Ultimate Coffee Date!  So grab a mug of coffee, tea or another favorite beverage and let’s catch up for a bit!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you October is probably one of my favorite months! The weather is perfect for running and the foliage in New England is beautiful – it’s a great time to be outdoors! And, all things pumpkin are plentiful – win!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you we heading out to western Mass to go apple picking tomorrow. It’s a family tradition – we go to a great family run farm that has a wide variety of apples, peaches and pumpkins plus hayrides, an amazing farm stand and a great barbecue. It’s such a fun way to spend the day and I tell you those apple cider doughnuts are killer!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I am on a decluttering kick! After just one month of school, homework, volunteer projects, etc. I’ve lost sight of most of my dining room table and a counter in the kitchen. But, truthfully, I don’t plan to stop there – I’m going after closets, the mini-man cave (aka our playroom) and…our home office. 

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that my husband J and I will celebrate our 22nd anniversary later this month (another reason I love October!). We’ve actually been together 26 years! As cliched as it may sound he truly is my best friend. I don’t know what we’ll do to celebrate but given the way the calendar looks this month, it will probably be at one of the boys’ sport events!

If we were having coffee together what would you tell me?

It’s Friday again already and I’m linking up with Courtney, Mar & Cynthia (aka the DC Trifecta) for this week’s Friday Five! This week’s theme is “Race Day Rituals.” I really have any special rituals for race morning –  but I do have some key things I always do during training to get me prepped for race day.

Long Runs as Dress Rehearsal — Every long run is a chance to practice your fueling and hydration strategies.

Train for the Course — As often as possible, I try to pick routes that will mimic the race course. (If you’re facing a hilly course but live in the flatlands, make hill work on the treadmill part of your training!) Best of all, if you live near the course, try to run at least parts whenever you can.

No New Gear — It always amazes me when someone picks up new running clothes at the race expo and then wears them on race day. There are a lot of things you can’t control on race day, so where you can eliminate any surprises – like discovering that cute new shirt you picked up at the expo chafes in all the wrong places!

Go Easy on the Expo — If you’re running a larger race, then packet pick-up can also means a trip to the race expo. While it can be fun to check out the latest gear or a new vendor, be careful to not overdo it and spend too much time on your feet.

Catch Some ZZZs — If you’re like me then the night before the race is usually a rough night of sleep. While you should do what you can to get enough sleep throughout training, life happens right? So I make it my mission to get to bed early during race week so I’m as well-rested as possible come race morning.

Do you have any race day rituals? Be sure to stop by the link-up and check out how others manage their race day. 

Yep it’s the return of my Training Check-ins!

I’m once again working with Coach Bennett of IAWR and this time around he’s created an 18-week plan leading up to the Philadelphia Half Marathon. This is probably the longest training plan I’ve done, but with my hip happy again I’m glad to have the time to build the miles gradually.

So how did week 1 go?

Monday — I woke up with my left IT feeling super tight  – actually I had gone to bed that way and a night’s rest did little for it! So I swapped with Tuesday’s cardio cross-training and headed to the gym to hit the bike followed by some serious rolling and a little yoga.

Tuesday — Humidity was back with a vengeance and juggling family schedules pushed my run to the late afternoon but I squeezed 3.5 miles in!

Wednesday — My favorite Pilates Barre class. There were only 3 of us in class this week which lead to some extra torture… attention from our instructor 🙂

Thursday — Tempo run +humidity = uggh, but 4 miles done!

Friday — Yoga
Saturday —  With a little help from my running partner KT Tape, 5.5 done. My left leg felt great and I diligently rolled, iced and spent time in my compression sleeves post-run.

Sunday — Rest Day

All-in-all it was a good first week!

How’d your week go?

Training for the Smuttynose Rockfest and Philadelphia Half officially kicks off today! I came across this quote the other day and it struck a cord with me for how I want to approach this training cycle – so much so that I have it taped to my mirror as a friendly reminder for those mornings when doubt starts to creep in and the motivation is low.

Here we go!