October Rewind

November 3, 2012 by 7 Comments
Good things for the month:
Things I could do without:
  • No complaints – it’s all good.

What’s up for November:

  • Chilly Half Marathon is next weekend! 
  • Running without a training plan. I haven’t been without a training plan since I started working with Coach Bennett in July. And, while I have really enjoyed training, I’m looking forward to having a break and just running whatever and when ever I want.
  • Continue focusing on making my left ITB happy again. With some down time coming, I need to get this ITB beyond just the “manageable” stage.
  • Once again I’ll be participating in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge organized by Amanda at Run To The Finish. The Challenge starts November 19 and is an awesome way to stay motivated during the holidays. Amanda does an amazing job pulling this Challenge together and there are some great prizes for added incentive. There’s still time to register, so come join me  — and if you do sign up, please tell her I sent you 🙂
How’d your October go? What have you got planned for this month?


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Filed Under: Canton Fall Classic, Chilly Half, Holiday Bootie Buster, ITB, month in review, PR, product reviews

Saucony Triumph 10 Review

November 1, 2012 by 11 Comments

I have made no secret of my love of Saucony shoes since I first attended a shoe clinic sponsored by Saucony back in March 2011. At that time, I started running in the Saucony Mirage and by last summer, the Kinvara 2s had found their way into my heart! Currently, I do most of my runs either in the Mirage 2 or Kinvara 3.

So you can imagine how psyched I was when the folks at Saucony sent me a pre-launch pair of the new Triumph 10! I’ve now had a chance to get a few runs in them and I’m happy to say without hesitation that Saucony did not disappoint!

What stood out for me right off the bat was just how much cushion these shoes provide without the weight (9.2 oz). I could see rotating these shoes in for my long runs where my legs would appreciate the extra cushion once I hit double digits. I’m a big fan of the sock-like fit of the interior – my foot felt like it was being held while still offering the flexibility in the midsole that I want in a neutral shoe. (You can review the tech sheet here).

If you’re looking for a neutral shoe with a cushioned ride, I’d recommend checking out the Triumph 10s which launch today. A big, big thanks to Saucony for letting me try them out!

Saucony provided the pair of the Triumph 10s to me as a FitFluential Ambassador for the purposes of a product review. All of the opinions expressed here, as always, are my own.

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Filed Under: product reviews, Saucony, Triumph 10

Fall Classic Race Report

October 31, 2012 by 9 Comments
Nice tech shirt this year!

On Sunday, I ran the Canton Fall Classic. I just love this race! It’s really well organized, it’s a challenging course and, being a local race, it’s fun to see so many familiar faces.

My goals for this race were simple: to have fun and to hit the target of 30:00 Coach Bennett had set for me — done and done!

Unfortunately, when I woke up that morning I had a good headache brewing and my left ITB was feeling crank…hmm not exactly how you want to feel on race morning. But I was psyched to meet up with my friend E and her son (who was running his first 5k!) and head over to the race, so I went through my usual pre-race routine and got moving. E’s husband dropped us off, we picked up our numbers and race shirts and then milled around chatting with friends.

E was planning to start out slow with her son towards the back, so we wished each other good luck and I weaved my way to about the middle of the pack. Soon we were off! The start was a little crowded and I did my best to find an open lane to run without doing too much bobbing and weaving. But within the first half mile I found some space, I spotted J and the boys cheering and then settled in.

The climbs begin in the 2nd mile, my cranky ITB was not happy and I could feel my pace started to slip. There’s a short down hill before the second climb and I started targeting people to pass as I pushed up the hill. Thankfully, most of the final mile is a straight flat shot with a final turn towards the finish. It was great to spot my guys again right before that final turn. Garmin time: 30:00/Guntime 30:28 — a new PR!

I caught up with a few more friends and then found E and her son. He passed me, by the way on his way to a 28:44 finish and E PR’d too! I checked out a couple of the vendors and it was nice to get to meet Nick Warren the creator of Perfect Fuel Chocolate – a new fuel option I’ve been trying out.

It was a fun morning and I’m already looking forward to running it again next year!

 

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Filed Under: Canton Fall Classic, PR, race report, running coach

Yurbuds Inspire Review & Giveaway

October 29, 2012 by 46 Comments

While I do try to work in the occasional “naked” run, for most of my runs music is a constant companion. And, let’s just say in the past couple of years I’ve tried my fair share of earbuds with mixed results.

Recently I had the opportunity to try out a pair of the new Yurbuds Inspire for Women. Quite simply these earbuds did not disappoint!

These earbuds feature the same patented TwistLock™ technology and FlexSoft™ fit Yurbuds is famous for, while being designed to specifically fit the smaller ears of women.

For me, all of this translated into earbuds that stayed in place regardless of how much I sweated. They were super comfortable – basically I put them in and forgot about them. The sound quality was good, while providing enough ambient sound so I was aware of my surroundings.

The folks at Yurbuds were nice enough to send along an extra pair for one of you to win! To enter:

  • Simply leave a comment below and let me know what song inspires your runs (I’m always looking for new songs for my playlist!)
  • For an additional entry, tweet about this giveaway and please be sure to include the hashtag #InspireForWomen — come back and let me know you did!

The giveaway will be open until midnight Friday, November 2, and is open only to U.S. residents.

If you don’t want to wait, Yurbuds Inspire for Women are now available at Target ($29.99 – and in 8 great colors!). Check them out, you won’t be disappointed!

I received this product for the purpose of providing a review. As always, the opinions expressed here are completely my own.

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Filed Under: fave things, Inspire for Women, product reviews, Yurbuds

Midweek Motivation

October 24, 2012 by 12 Comments

I think this pretty much says it all, don’t you think?
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Filed Under: motivation, no excuses

Monday Morning in Bullet Points

October 22, 2012 by 9 Comments

It’s Monday, I haven’t had coffee and I started my morning in a school gym with 40 very energetic kids…it’s a bullets kind of morning!

  • Saturday’s 12 miler was my last double digit run before the Chilly Half Marathon. Just 3 weeks to go!
  • I did go and check out the race route yesterday…let’s just say, sometimes ignorance is bliss! The good news is the course winds through some lovely neighborhoods in the picturesque town of Newton, MA. The bad news…I’ll be rolling through the hills once again.  Could someone please remind me to check the course elevation before registering for another half 🙂

  • I’ll be running the Canton Fall Classic on Sunday. This is a great local race that I’ve run the last couple of years. I haven’t run a 5k since the Jingle Bell Run last December and I haven’t “raced” a 5k since this race last year when I PR’d! This race is always a good time so I can’t wait!
Saucony Triumph 10
  • These lovelies showed up on my doorstep at the end of last week – Yes those are the new Saucony Triumph 10s (due out in November)! It took great restraint to not deviate from my training plan and go run in them immediately! But I’m off to take them for a spin now….review to come!
Happy Monday!
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Filed Under: Canton Fall Classic, Chilly Half, long runs, Saucony, Triumph 10

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

October 18, 2012 by 6 Comments

1.   If someone sees my zen, could you please return it to me!  It’s almost hard to imagine that last week this time I was getting ready to head out of town with J for a weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. (By the way, thanks you for all the good wishes!)  We had a great time! But a few days back into the grind of the daily routine, kids’ school work & sports, etc. and that weekend away seems like a million years ago! As a friend pointed out, “The zen disappears the moment you pull into your drive way.”

2.  It’s Thursday so that means I hit the track this morning which always makes me happy (despite not being a fan of 1000 meter repeats!) There’s always something about finishing a track workout that leaves me feeling a little badass — gotta work on translating that feeling to the road more often! Just a little more than 3 weeks until the Chilly Half Marathon — I think I may try to go check out the course this weekend to see what I’m in for.

3.  I participated in a great Twitter chat on Tuesday hosted by FitFluential and Commitment Day. What is Commitment Day? It’s a movement to get 300,000 people in over 30 cities to participate in a nationwide 5k on January 1st, and more importantly to set the tone to commit to a healthier lifestyle in 2013. You can run, walk, skip if you want but the point is to get out there. I especially love that they are encouraging families to come out and participate together (in fact children register for free with an adult!) I’m planning to participate in the Boston event with J and our boys and encourage you to check out the event in your city — check the Commitment Day website for more information.

 

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Filed Under: 3 things, Chilly Half, Commitment Day, crazy week, FitFluential, track work, Zen

Kona Kase Review

October 15, 2012 by 7 Comments

As I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion, I’ve been on the hunt for the fueling options that will work best for me.  So when I was contacted by the guys at Kona Kase I was definitely intrigued.

What is Kona Kase?
Kona Kase is a subscription service delivering a collection of endurance nutrition samples to your doorstep every month. (Each Kase is $15 and shipping is free.)

Kona Kase Goodies!

I received the September Kase which included 10 products: Hammer Heed, Honey Stringer Waffle, Cliff Bar, Cliff Shot Bloks, GU, PR Bar, Cytomax, Picky Bars and Urgent Rx Headache Relief.

I appreciated that the day my package arrived that I received an email from Taylor at Kona Kase saying that he saw that my Kase had been delivered and was interested in my feedback.

 So I’ll tell you what I told him:

  • Loved the collection of products, (it’s a good mix of products I was familiar with and others that either I wasn’t familiar or had never tried).
  • It would be very helpful if some product information was included in the Kona Kase to help educate recipients about the products. 
  • Also, along with the product information, recommendations for how best to use the products (pre-workout, during a workout and recovery) would be helpful.

Taylor told me that starting with the October shipment that they are including educational inserts and are labeling the products pre/during/post-workout. And, soon recipients can go back to the Kona Kase site and order their favorite products from the Kases.

Overall, I really like this concept behind Kona Kase! There are so many products on the market, I think this is a great way to see what’s out there and to sample until you find the ones that work best for you! (Hint to my family – a subscription would make a great Christmas gift 🙂 )

I received a Kona Kase for the purposes of a review. As always, the opinions expressed here are solely my own.

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Filed Under: fueling a run, Kona Kase, product reviews

Thursday Thoughts – By the Numbers

October 11, 2012 by 15 Comments

11 — miles done this morning

4 — first 4 running and chatting with my friend E

5 — hills on my route

1 — driver on his phone who rolled through the “walk” light when I started to cross

?? — names I proceeded to call him…too numerous to count

6 — times I thought “This is why I love running in the fall!”

3 — truck drivers who waved

20 — years of marriage I’m celebrating today!  J & I are heading out of town for an extended long weekend to one of our favorite inns in New Hampshire to celebrate!

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Filed Under: by the numbers, general musings, wedding anniversary

Running Pop Quiz

October 8, 2012 by 5 Comments

Christine over at Big Dream Runner posted this quiz and invited others to play along. And this seems like more fun than brooding over my struggle through 11 miles this weekend thanks to an ITB flare up…so here goes:
 
1. FUEL: Shot Bloks, GU, Energy Chews, Candy or Other?
I’m actually still trying to figure out what works best for me. Of late I’ve been using either GU or GU Chomps on my long runs, but I’m still playing with the  timing of when to take them.

2. Race Length: 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon, Marathon, Ultra or Other?
I love the 1/2 marathon distance! I would like to run more 10ks because I think they’re such a great mix of speed and endurance, but as I’ve mentioned before I feel like races in this distance are getting harder to find around here.

3. Workout Bottoms: Skirts, Running Shorts, Capris, Pants or Other?
Usually I’m either in a running skirt or capris unless it’s ridiculously cold out!

4. Sports Drink: Gatorade, Powerade, Cytomax, you stick to water when you run or Other?
Water or Nuun – everything else seems to upset my stomach.

5. Running Temperatures: HEAT or COLD?
Cold!! I’ve made no secret of the fact that running in the heat and I are not friends!

6. Running Shoe Brands: Saucony, Mizuno, Nike, Brookes, Asics or Other?
Since discovering Saucony Mirage and Kinvara, my closet has been dominated by Saucony!

7. Pre-race meal: Oatmeal, Bagel, Banana, Eggs, Cereal or Other?
 I try to keep this consistent with my long runs, so of late it’s a Honey Stringer Waffle and half a banana.

8. Rest Days: 1x per week, 2x per week, never ever ever or Other?
2x per week — I like to book-end my long runs with rest days.

9. Music: Have to have it or go without it?
I went through a long stretch without music, which I talked about here. And while I try to get some runs in without, I definitely prefer to run with music.

10. #1 reason for running: stress-relief, endorphins, you love to race, so you can eat all the cupcakes you want, weight-loss, love running for social reasons or Other?
I run for lots of reasons, but sanity/”me time”/stress relief would be high on my list!

 So how would you answer any of these questions?
 
 

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Filed Under: general musings, no music, Saucony