Marathon Training - 19 Miles

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Yesterday I embarked on my longest training run to date ... 19 miles! And in TRUE New England form the weather called for a 95-100% humidity - Yaayyy!!! <>

But, Sarah and I are strong so we pushed through.

We met at our usual spot on the Charles River at 6:30am and headed out.

She was going to run the first 10 miles of my 19 mile run with me - she is training for our B.A.A. Half Marathon on October 7.

We got into a GREAT groove with a pace that stuck around the 9 min/mile range, which we both felt was a-okay with how humid it was.

About eight miles in, I started to feel a twinge of pain in my right ankle, but I kept stretching it and pushed through.

We stopped at Mile 10 for Sarah to get to her car and for me to refuel.

Sarah is up to speed on running with a blogger - "So are we taking our picture now?" Yes, yes we are. :)

How could we not with how awesome we look. ;)

So I bid farewell to Sarah and headed back out to finish the last 9 miles, but then the ankle pain started leading to some knee pain while led to some hip pain.

Could it really have been in my head? Maybe partly, but I wasn't about to risk it.

I made the executive decision to cut the run at 14 miles and finish it up later that night.

I had to be proud of pushing through the 14 miles in that humidity, but as you can see my pace slowed down in those last 4 miles. So I was proud of myself for listening to my body.

I drove home, showered, ran errands with the wife and decided to try the last 5 miles at about 5pm.

Somehow it seemed even warmier and muggier than the morning run.

But, I felt better. Despite having run 14 miles just hours ago, my legs came out strong in the evening run. I actually kept a sub 8:30 min/mile pace and the ankle was painfree.

I think the bumps and ridges on the Charles River path might have led to the pain in my ankle ... plus it is time to get a new pair of running sneakers! I think I have too many miles on the current pair.

Either way, I did it. I freakin' did it. I completed 19 miles. Wow! The pride I feel cannot even be put into words.

This marathon training has helped me prove to myself over and over again how strong I really am!

 

Technically the 19 miles were all supposed to be done at once, but total mileage is total mileage right?

Running 19-consecutive miles? I'll get there.

What #plankaday has done for me...

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Before 2011 the word plank wasn't a normal word in my vocabulary. I mean I knew of the "planking" youtube craze that really just meant people were lying down in random places around the country, not what the fitness world deems a "plank." So plank was not in my wheelhouse ... until August 2011.

Then I read about the #plankaday challenge on Twitter ...

... and I was ready.

The #plankaday craze was started by one fabulous Dr. Sherry Pagoto and I owe so much to her!! :)

I remember doing my first EVER plank while on the road in Milwaukee with the Cubs. I was in my hotel room and gave it a shot. I believe my first plank was either 30 or 45 seconds and I was IN PAIN after that.

Then I decided I was ready to start bringing it into my everyday life because I needed a way to strength my core without doing crunches.

(Side note: I suffered a sprained neck during a rugby game my Senior Year in college and my neck never regained full strength so crunches put a HUGE strain on those muscles. So crunches and I don't get along)

I made the #plankaday part of my Stupendous September challenge in September 2011 and I was HOOKED!!

It is CRAZY how much stronger my core has gotten since starting doing #plankday and how many different types of planks I have learned exist.

I have tried front forearm planks, front straightarm planks, side forearm planks, side straightarm planks, reverse planks and planks with leg raises and altered mountain climbers. And there are SOOO many other variations that I have yet to try yet.

But, wow have I earned a lot in about a years time.

When I hit 1,000 likes on my blog's Facebook page - I committed to doing 1,000 seconds of planks ... AND I DID!!! Say wha??

[embedplusvideo height="281" width="450" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/R_K8U0UUF-4?fs=1" vars="ytid=R_K8U0UUF-4&width=450&height=281&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=&notes=" id="ep1113" /]

 

Besides that, my plank durations have GREATLY improved.

In fact, on Wednesday, September 5, I hit an all-time #plankaday PR ... I held a front forearm plank for 4 minutes and 20 seconds!

Ahhhh... that is a FAR CRY from my first plank of 30-45 seconds.

#plankaday has given me the confidence to try something new and to truly stick with a core workout program ... plus I have met some pretty SWEET people through the #plankaday hashtag!!

So if you are looking for a new and fun core workout, please checkout plankaday on: Twitter and Facebook! There is one motivating and AWESOMELY cool crew of plankers out there!!

Tell 'em I sent ya! ;)

#100ozchallenge

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So I started the #100ozchallenge on Twitter early in 2012, but I never formally introduced it so I thought I would now. Better late than never, right?

So I gave up Diet Coke on December 7, 2010 ... and have remained soda friend to date! WOO!

But, I needed something else to drink to replace the many many cans of Diet Coke I was consuming a day ...

Enter WATER!

I know. I am ahead of the curve on joining the "drinking water" and "staying hydrated" craze. :)

Well, I noticed that I am better at creating a new habit when I have a challenge or community to turn to.

Then #100ozchallenge was born.

So the goal is quite simple: to drink at least 100oz of water a day.

Seems pretty basic.

The #100ozchallenge hashtag is a great way to find motivation from others and a sense of community.

But, if you feel that 100oz is too much water for you in a day - that is fine. Shoot for your own goal, but still use the hashtag to keep us up to speed on how you are doing.

So I ask, are you in for the #100ozchallenge?

 

Maintenance Meets Marathon Training

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Weight loss maintenance on it's own is a tough beast. I think many that have gotten to their weight goal can agree. Maintaining is a whole different world/struggle than actually losing the weight. Many think you will lose the weight and everything is magical and perfect ... NOT (at least for me)!

I have been working through that this summer as I have mentioned before...

As I continue to find the balance between being social and sticking to my healthier lifestyle, I also started marathon training.

With the increase of miles, I have found myself STARVING all the time.

So on top of learning how to maintain, I am also working on how to best fuel my body during this grueling training process and not succumb to the "Hungry Horrors" that can occur after a looong run.

But it is tough and I am tired of beating myself up over and over again during this learning process.

Because fitness wise I feel great, strong and lean ... but then I see the number on the scale and it is a few lbs higher than I want!

The Steps I Am Working On Now:

I am getting back to tracking all my food which is really helping ... especially since I am really listening to when my body is truly hungry or just feeling dehydrated.

I am keeping my water intake up and trying to stick to my 100oz water challenge (drinking at least 100oz of water a day) to help quelch the "horrors."

In Weight Watchers terms, I am trying to save the 49 Weekly Points for the weekends of my long runs so when the carb monster hits ... I can satisfy him! ;)

I am also reminding myself that it is normal for people to gain a few pounds during marathon training since you are really teaching your body to hold on to enough water and fuel to survive the 26.2 miles and hours of running.

So to my fellow weight loss friends, healthy eaters and runners, help!

Please share your wisdom with a new-to-maintenance friend!

Grilled Tequila, Citrus And Jalapeño Chicken

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This recipe came from the Weight Watchers "Best Darn Food Ever!" cookbook. I LOVE this cookbook is full of comfort foods ... without the extra Points Plus values! ;) As we know, I personally can't cook, but my wife and dad like to cook so that saves me! I am more than happy to shop/supervise/clean up the meals as long as someone else does the cooking...

The Grilled Tequila, Citrus And Jalapeño Chicken is a recipe we have made quite a few times since purchasing the cookbook. It is different, fun and easy to cook ... plus you can't go wrong with tequila in the ingredients!

Doesn't the pic look DELISH??

The wife had a great time mixing the ingredients all up:

* Lime Juice

* Orange Juice

* Tequila

* Jalapeño Pepper

* Garlic cloves

*Canola Oil

*Salt

*Black Pepper

... and boy did it smell good!

The directions were easy - just combine all the ingredients - add chicken - and let marinate for up to 4 hours.

Simple. Direct. Doable.

We threw the chicken on the grill and opted to add some corn on the cob as well - why not, right? :)

I love grilling since the whole cooking process takes about 10-15 minutes and BAM dinner is served.

Doesn't this look awesome?

And it tasted as good as it looked. You could taste all the flavors - tequila, orange, lime, jalapeno - all for just 6 PointsPlus Values per serving.

Have you tried this recipe yet?

Marathon Training - 13.1 Miles

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I was REALLY looking forward to today's training run ... why you may ask? Because I was going to have a special guest on part of the run!!! My friend Sarah, who just had the adorable baby I keep showing pics of just 7.5 weeks ago!

Her first post-baby race is going to be the Boston Athletic Association Half on October 7 with me. I can't wait to run the race together!!

But today she had 9 miles on the docket, while I had 13.1 so we met and she decided to run the first 9 with me then I would finish up what I had to do.

I was psyched to have someone to run with and I know we complement each other well when it comes to pace so I was ready!

We met along the Charles River at 6:45 and set out. We fell right into our normal groove, but quickly realized that we were going faster than we had set out to go so we tried to bring it back a little bit around mile 4.5 or so.

But the pace was working and the time passed quickly as we chatted the entire time.

Next thing you knew it was time for Sarah to finish.

We ended up running the first 9 miles together at about a 8:43 min/mile pace - perfect for her goal to finish the BAA Half in October under 1:55.

Aren't we awesome? ;)

So I gave Sarah a high-five, told her to give Joanna a hug from her favorite aunt (her words not mine ;)) and headed out to complete my last 4 miles.

Since I was ready to be done, I picked the pace up a smidge in the final miles, but I also stopped to soak in the scenery.

THIS is why I get up at 5:45am on a Saturday to run!!

I couldn't believe I was less than 2 miles from finishing so I had to stop and snap a pic...

... boy do I love these running sunglasses! For too long I said I needed a pair and now I can't imagine a run without them.

And just before I finished my run I saw a familiar face ...

... oh hey there to my Racemenu folks!! :)

I ended up with a time I was proud of:

Now is the time - with 63 days to go til the Marathon - to work on keeping the same pace throughout the entire run! I don't want to get tired to easy or burst on to the scene too late in Savannah in November.

But, today I really didn't think about my pace too much - I just enjoyed the time with Sarah and listened to my body.

Now, next week and the 18 mile run on Saturday is a different story ;)

Twist & Shout On The Charles River 5k - 8/30/12 - 23:23 (7:33 min/mile)

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Time freakin' flies my friends. I cannot even believe we already had the fourth of the five-race "Let's Run, Have Some Fun And Be Fit" Summer Series... The Twist & Shout On The Charles River 5k was Thursday night!

My dad and I did this same race series together back in 2005 when I started running, but due to injuries he hasn't been able to run in ages, but for this race he decided to volunteer. Why not, time to see some old running buddies of his ... and we got a free ride out of it. ;)

Well since we actually had to park the car and there is limited limited parking at these races - we cut it CLOSE to getting to the Start Line in time for the run.

Additionally, this is an old school race without timing chips/etc so once the clock starts your time is based off that - no matter what time you actually cross the Start Line.

So I usually try to get as close to the front as I feel comfortable going, but since we got there so late - I was much farther back than usual.

Which led to a TON of bobbing, weaving and running on the grass for the first 1/2 a mile or so. It was also a task running on the grass and avoiding the large divots, dodging the tree branches and not tripping on the tree roots. It was like a mini trail run at the beginning. ;)

But I really didn't mind since I love these races - great fun atmosphere!

As I got myself back up to where I would normally be running and actually seeing many of the familiar faces, I remembered one of the bridges was out - finally after years and years it was deemed unsafe - so we had a slight detour, which actually didn't alter the flow of the run at all.

On my Runkeeper, I was averaging a 7:13 or so pace, which is what I normally shoot for in the Summer Run series so I was excited. I knew it would be altered at the Finish because of the timing they use, but I was happy with how the run was going.

Especially since on Wednesday morning I had to cut a 5 mile run to a 5k, I was glad to be running painfree!

After that the race was pretty much the same as the others. ;)

I tried to really dig deep and push it when I got within 1/2 a mile of the Finish.

I knew the race would be longer than 3.1 miles because of the detour, but I have run the course so many times I still knew when it was time to kick it up a notch. :)

According to the official results - I finished in 23:23 (7:33 min/mile) - I would probably take off at least 30 seconds for the time it took me to get to the Start Line, but either way I am happy ... I came in 164th out of 917 overall and 32nd out of 515 females.

Either way I was stoked to be done :P It was wicked humid.

I got my Harpoon IPA and went to the usual meeting spot to wait for the rest of my crew!

Mmm... beer! :)

My dad (one in red) was actually helping with the beer distribution and "overseeing" the keg issues:

Well, the final run of the series is just 3 days before my birthday and I think my dad will be volunteering again! YAY!! :)

**REVIEW** Running On The Wall

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I think everyone knows my love ... okay obsession ... with race medals! I just love them sooo much. It is a great way to remember a fun race! Plus, every medal is so unique - just like the races themselves. Well, I LOVE to show mine off. I hang them on the wall right across from my bed! They serve as that extra motivation to get up and get my workout on. ;)

So I wanted the wife to experience that same feeling. She has been doing a great job in her races and I wanted to show off her hardware.

Enter: Running On The Wall

They have amazing wooden race medal and bib holders ... for all sports!!

I bought my race bib holder from them in early 2012 and it is sturdy, secure and holds all sizes of bibs.

They have so many great running related sayings that it was hard to pick which one I wanted for the wife.

Examples:

Pain Is Weakness Leaving The Body

Running: Run, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

Bling Chasers

But, then it crossed my screen. The one ... "Race Bling"!!! How perfect, right? That is exactly what I call my medals - my bling!

The next toughest choice was color. I hate having so many options ;) 14 different colors. Oh the choices. :) But we went with Blue since it would match the motif we had going in the bedroom and to match my bib holder.

And to top it all off shipping was quick and easy ... I received the holder within two days! Score!

All I had to do was install the hooks - which was super easy with a pair of needlenose pliers - and it was ready to be hung!

I presented to the wife and she LOVED it! Yay!!

Doesn't it fit perfectly between the windows?? :)

So if you are in need of your own bling holder (again for any sport) or a bib holder - check out Running On The Wall on their website or on Facebook. They are friendly, fast and affordable.

PLUS, for a limited time only they are offering 10% off any purchase of $40 or more!!

Show off your own bling friends!! :)

I Should Be My Own #1...

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The past few weeks for me have been a negative spiral inside my head. I'm not good enough.

I'm not strong enough.

I'm not worthy.

Why do you bother trying?

I shoulda ... I coulda ... I woulda ...

Now, I think everyone knows that for me the toughest struggle in this whole weight loss journey is switching the mental part from being the first to point out my flaws/self-deprecating humor to being my own biggest cheerleader!

In the deep part of my brain, I know I am worthy of all that has happened in my life in the past 2.5 years, but for some reason it keeps getting blocked by the negativity.

I should be my #1 priority ... ALWAYS!

Then on Saturday morning during my long marathon training run, Jessie J's song "Who You Are" came on my phone. Despite hearing this songs dozens of times before, the lyrics hit me differently this time around ... I really listened to what she was saying.

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I stare at my reflection in the mirror Why am I doing this to myself? Losing my mind on a tiny error

I nearly left the real me on the shelf No, no, no, no, no
Don't lose it all in the blur of the stars Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart

Tears don't mean you're losing Everybody's bruising Just be true to who you are

Who you are, who you are, who you are Who you are, who you are, who you are Who you are, who you are, who you are

Brushing my hair, do I look perfect? I forgot what to do to fit the mold, yeah The more I try the less it's working, yeah, yeah, yeah
'Cause everything inside me screams
No, no, no, no, no

Don't lose it all in the blur of the stars Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart

But tears don't mean you're losing Everybody's bruising There's nothing wrong with who you are

Yes, no's, egos, fake shows like boom Just go and leave me alone Real talk, real life, good luck, good night With a smile, that's my home, that's my home, no No, no, no, no, no

Don't lose it all in the blur of the stars Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart

Tears don't mean you're losing Everybody's bruising Just be true to who you are Yeah, yeah, yeah

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It's like she's been in my head the past few weeks. But, she speaks the truth.

WHY do I let myself get so wrapped up in one mistake? WHY do I beat myself up constantly when I don't reach my own expectations? WHY after all this time do I hold myself to this regard of being perfect all the time? WHY do I care so much about what other's think of me?

I. Am. Human.

I. Am. Me.

And now it is time to remind myself of that.

I don't want to miss out on celebrating my successes because I failed to reach the ideal results that I had in my head.

Life isn't going to go exactly how I want it to, but I need to enjoy the ride while I'm on it.

So today is a new day. I'm ready to be proud of my accomplishments and to pick myself up when life doesn't turn out how I want it to.

I am ready to be my own biggest fan because if I can't do it for myself how can I do it for others.

Okay, it's actually WAAAYYY easier to do it for others than to do it for myself.

So let's rephrase : I owe it to myself to be my biggest cheerleader because I am so many other people's biggest supporter - friends, family, Weight Watchers members - and I need to be there for me ... so I can be true to who I am!

I just need to remind myself that no one is perfect so why do I expect to be?

It's time to love me ... imperfections and all! Because accepting me will allow me to be a better friend, a stronger Weight Watchers Leader and a happier runner!