Dumbo Training week 3

MON: Rest

TUES: 2M and PiYo. My legs were still super sore from the race but once I got into it, they felt better. I think I need to switch up my minimalist shoes for now. My feet have been hurting me since getting back into things. I've already switched out my shoes. I think I just need more cushion to get my feet accustomed to being back in training. 

WED: Rest 

THURS: 2M and Zumba

FRI: Rest

SAT: Volunteered

SUN: My First ever Spin Class!*

hopefully, I'm leaving for it as soon as I post this. Wish me luck! 

I know there is supposed to be a 3 miler in there, but Saturday's volunteer session left me completely wiped out. Between the 2 hours of sleep, the carrying of the barricades (hello, no upper body strength) and being on my feet outside in the height of allergy season for 4+ hours, I think it's safe to say I earned my Saturday on the couch.

Even though this week started out super sore (probably not the smartest idea to race someone like the first week of training), I did notice I wasn't as tired as I was in the previous ones. I'm hoping this is a sign my endurance is slowly coming back. 

Congrats to all the BK Half marathoners and everyone who raced this weekend.

How was your weekend? 

3 Things.

If you haven't seen it already, there is a very funny story at the Runner's World website about runner's etiquette. It address my number one pet peeve:

 

THIS!!!!

Just pretend that marathon means 4 miler :)

In an effort to mix things up this training season, I bought a passport with Classtivity to try out a ton of different studio classes. . . now the challenge is trying to figure out how to add them into my schedule and my schedule is annoying. It's easy for me to double up my Tues/Thurs workouts, because those classes happen at my gym. If I take a class on one of those days not at my gym, where/when am I going to run? And do I really want to add another day that I have to lug my gym bag around the city? I know, I know. I'm just being lazy about it. Since I kicked off my membership and it only lasts 30 days, I will hopefully get on it. My first class is going to be my very first spin class! Hoping it works out as well as my Zumba class, but who knows? There is opportunity for me to fall off the bike. . .

(source)

Good luck to everyone rocking the Brooklyn Half! Can I please express my love love love for this event's branding?! Kudos, NYRR! You really knocked this one out the park. Keep up the good work (The Oakley Mini 10k looks super cute, too!) I love all that is surrounding this event dedicated to my favorite borough and I can't wait to run it next year! I really want to go to the pre-party, but sadly I am a New Yorker, we generally don't like to venture into different neighborhoods (j/k! but not really. If it's not on my subway line or easy to get to and from, I'm probably not going). I'm way nervous about having to BE at Prospect Park for 4AM on Saturday, too. YIKES! But for automatic entry to next year's race with some kickass branding? I think I can do it!

What's your running pet peeve? What's your favorite branding from a race?

WoW!

Totally a fan of recovery :)

Japan Day 4M 2013

So clearly The Japan Day race is my jam. The 2011 race held my PR at the 4M (totally had to look that up- do you know your 4M PR?) and spoiler alert: this year's race holds it now! I definitely pushed the majority of the race and I'm really proud that I did. No one improves by just going through the motions, a lesson I'm learning from the many months of marathon training I refused to try to get faster in fear of getting hurt.

It almost felt like my very first race. I was nervous. It felt like the first time I ever met up with TNT to run in the park. I was terrified. I knew once I got out there and remembered what it was like, I'd be ok, but that didn't help me with the in between time. I was a mix of emotions all Saturday night. I was excited to get to lay my stuff out and get ready, but I was also trying to fight the "do you really want to wake up that early?" feeling. I did not miss that alarm clock going off at the ungodly hour. Get back into training is awesome. Let me tell you.

Originally I wasn't going to check a bag (just tie my shirt around my waist) but when it started raining, I knew I'd want my long sleeved shirt dry and ready for me at the finish. This also gave me a chance to experience the new security area. The bag check process for all races seems to have morphed into the same as big races- there is a secure area that you bring your clear plastic bags (no other kind was allowed in the area. If you had another kind, security asked you to put everything in a clear one that they had available for you). There are volunteers behind a table, who take your bag and hand it back to you. Gone are the days of wide open spaced bag check with volunteers checking your numbers match at the exits. I don't know if Rumsey Field is the permanent home for bag check every race, but getting to it can be tricky the first time.

The race was just the middle loop of the park. I knew I wasn't going to be a fan of Cat Hill before mile 1 or the 3 bitches on the west side, but it was nice getting reacquainted with my old training friend. I knew I also wanted to see how fast I could go on the road since I had been running fast on the treadmill. Even though it wasn't as fast as I was hoping, it was still an average of a minute and a half per mile faster than I had been run races, specifically during marathon training! It wasn't fast enough to hit my 10K PR goal, but it's a good start!

I would also like to thank the annoying lady who's goal throughout the entire 4 miles seemed to be making sure she was in front of me. I let it go after the first mile, but when I caught up to her at the end, I had had enough. It was cute how she tried to kick it up a notch at the end of the race, but since she had been pissing me off the entire race, I ran as hard as I possibly could and came out the victor; entirely ok that I wanted to vomit as soon as I crossed the finish line. Welcome back to racing, Abs.

Seeing as the race was also a part of The Japan Day celebration, there were a lot of food and drink venders around. The weather turned out to be a great day to hang out in the park.

What motivates you to run faster?

What's Beautiful

I'm so excited to tell yall that I'm working with Under Armour, thanks to Fitfluential, on their What's Beautiful campaign. Under Armour originally started this campaign to “redefine the female athlete by setting epic goals and pushing past where we’ve ever been and where we thought we could go.” I absolutely love everything that this stands for and I can't believe I get to be involved. 

Since the first 2 rounds were so successful, here is our chance! I've already signed up and picked a goal:

 PR at a 10k #iWill

There you have it folks. I put it out in the Universe. I think the timing is perfect, too- I already have a few on my calendar in preparation for Dumbo weekend. Seeing as focusing on getting faster has been a goal for me for awhile, I figured why not put it in writing and make it happen already?! I've been playing around on the site and I already feel empowered to kick some serious 10k butt.

Now, it's your turn- create a profile and accept the challenge. You don't have to be a runner or even consider yourself an athlete (although, you should!)- all you have to do is set a goal any goal and then kick butt at achieving it. Here's your chance to define what's beautiful! 

Under Armour has set a bunch of fun challenges to keep you motivated along the way! I can honestly attest that it's a great community filled with lots of encouragement and makes me want to push myself to be the best version of myself; and that's definitely beautiful if anything ever was! Follow other beautiful people and cheer each other on. There is even an option to create or join a group for people who share the same goals or any goal you want to be a part of. With all these different ways to get involved, get motivated, be motivating and stay focused, I think it's an awesome way to redefine what's beautiful.

What goal do you have that you know you should just write it down and get over trying to achieve it? 

** This post is sponsored by Under Armour & FitFluential. I am not being compensated for this post. All opinions are 100% my own** 

Dumbo Training: week 2

Happy Funday Sunday! Hope everyone had a great weekend and a great Mother's Day!

In an effort to keep myself more accountable for Dumbo Training, I've decided I am going to keep track of my weekly progress every Sunday (since all the cool kids are doing it ;) even if it means shaming myself into doing more. I feel like this is a good thing to help me focus and see what I'm actually doing vs what I think I am. This is the first time I'm switching up the old formula, so I'm excited! 

Since it's technically week 2 according to the runDisney Jeff Galloway plan, I will stick with that so as to not get us all confused. Sound like a good plan? 

Mon: Rest

Tue: 2 Miles/ 45 min PiYo class

Wed: Rest

Thu: 2.5 Miles/ 45 min Zumba class

Fri: Rest

Sat: Rest

Sun: Japan Day 4M

Yikes! There are a lot of "rest" days in there! Originally, I had this entire paragraph typed out with a ton of excuses but decided against it- because honestly, for me, that's a pretty awesome week if I do say so myself! Technically, that's 2 workouts on Tuesday and again on Thursday. What what?! It is week 1 of training for me, so I think I kicked it off quite well. 

How are you keeping yourself accountable during training for your next race?

KindRunner. Old shoes for new!

Don't know what to do with your old running shoes? Have I got the solution for you! 

Recently, I've gotten the opportunity to work with the soon to be launched site, Kindrunner and I'm excited to tell you all about it, because THIS is what you can do with your old running shoes!

Kindrunner.com is different from other running shoe sites for a few reasons. First, they have the Kindness Cash Rewards program. You send them your old running shoes (free, by the way. Their Free Three Way Shipping means you never pay for shipping- on new shoes, old shoes or returns!) they give you a credit to get new shoes. Credit for your old shoes- Sounds pretty amazing, right?

And those old shoes? They end up in the hands of shoe donation partners, including Soles 4 Souls, so that the shoes will get to those in need. This keeps old running shoes out of the trash and in turn, reducing the running community's impact on the environment. Did you know, average running shoe will not even begin to break down in a landfill for 90-100 years? Yikes! Me neither. Kindrunner also recycles all of their packaging material, and use UPS carbon neutral shipping just to make sure they're making their carbon footprint as small as possible.

On top of that, the founder and employees are experts in the running shoe world. They can help you decide what is the best option for you. Everyone at Kindrunner has experience running races, getting injured, coming back from injury, and they have all fit 1000s of runners with the perfect shoes for them. I'm totally taking them up on that now and will report back on how it goes! The site will also offer product review videos to help explain what each product is about.

Interested? You should check out the video on their site right now that also gives more insight to what it's going to be when it launches.

And they're already holding contests! Once their facebook page gets to 500 likes, they're giving away a pair of shoes to a follower and their running partner (both have to be followers) Also, from now until their launch, when you sign up for their email list, you'll automatically be entered in their "free shoes for a year" contest- what runner doesn't want free shoes for a year?!

Would you be interested trading in your old running shoes for new ones?

What do you do with your old running shoes?

Disclaimer: I am an ambassador for kindrunner.com and will be doing ongoing campaigns with the site. This will include reviews of products and giveaways provided by kindrunner. I will be providing my 100% honest opinion, per usual.