Month: December 2017

Christmas gifts I’m loving…

As I sit here and watch my kids play with their new toys ~ most popular were the trampoline-turned-ball-pit, plethora of baby doll stuff and the Razor scooters ~ I thought I’d share a few of my favorites that were under our tree this Christmas! Time with family, a week off work and celebrating baby Jesus are the real gifts (of course)… but a few running & fitness related items are always fun to head into the new year! Many thanks to Santa, my hubs and our parents for helping me prepare for another 365 days of merry miles & time on the mat. 🙂

My Top Five Fitness Gifts of 2017

1. lululemon “The Towel” – I seem to be one of the few at Harbor Yoga without one of these! With their 103 degree temps, having an extra layer to absorb the sweat seems like a great idea.

2. Training Journal – I’m big on journaling and recording my miles and workouts. To me, its super motivational, and can help with goal setting & planning out your week. This could be a blog post on its own! I’ve used several different types over the years ~ BELIEVE training journal, plain lined journal ~ and this year asked for an Erin Condren planner to try something new. It has spots for writing goals, motivational quotes (which I’m a sucker for), weekly planning and more!

3. Gift cards and a shopping trip with my mom – I’ll be heading to Dick’s & lululemon to start, searching for a new running coat. I am NOT a cold weather runner, so once it hits 20s or lower, I’m definitely in a jacket. I’ve been eyeing the luluemon Down for a Run and the Northface Thermoball Active Jacket. I currently have the lululemon Fleecy Keen run jacket that I’ve had for a few years… LOVE it and want a white or more reflective option as well. Let me know if you have any insight!

4. Destination trip details!! – Eeeek! One of my absolute favorite things is to travel! Isn’t it fun to explore new places, especially while running?! Stocking stuffers included…

Registration to the Knoxville Half Marathon in March – this will be my 10th state and we are excited to spend a few days in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina for our spring break this year.
Denver Running Tour – we are headed to Denver in July for our anniversary (my first time!) and we are scheduling a City Running Tour! I originally was hoping to do the half marathon while we were there, but since its a short trip, this is a good compromise. I’m hoping to run stairs or do yoga at Red Rocks as well, it’s come highly recommended!

5. Hubby running Cap City – so this one wasn’t wrapped up under the tree, but within the last few days he’s committed to running the Cap City half marathon! This has become one of my top five gifts this week. 🙂 He will train with me over the next few months and will start at least the first half of the race with me in the two hour pace group… then he may pull ahead and finish strong. This will be his second half marathon and compared to the Flying Pig, will be flat & fast. I look forward to the time we’ll spend during training miles, the race and the after-party!!

Other gifts this year included a NoxGear visibility vest, Honey Stinger fuel, some new water bottles, Nike running gloves, Nike running vest, oodles of running socks (which my husband will likely steal, even though they are pink), a renewed subscription to Runner’s World and a new book, Run Less, Run Faster. Runners are easy to shop for, in my opinion. Anything that helps us stay warm, stay focused or just look “put together” while we sweat gets an A+ from me!

Completely unrelated to running – my mom wrapped up a coupon for our first Disney Cruise on spring break of 2019! This will be our first and I’m super excited! More on this in the future. Can you turn a cruise into a running blog post?! Hee hee.

Hope your Christmas or holiday was a fun one! What great running, yoga or fitness gifts did you get (or give)?

Now time to put all this stuff to good use and start focusing on those 2018 fit goals!

Cap City Half Marathon… Who is coming with us!?

I’m excited to be signed up for the Capital City Half Marathon again this year! I’ve done the half a few times and last year, squeaked by the bad weather and big storm by PR-ing in the quarter (whoop whoop – gotta love a PR!)

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And even more exciting… I was asked to be an official “Voice of Columbus” for this year’s event! I’ve lived in Columbus my entire life (well, other than that random semester I moved to the University of Wisconsin) and my love of all things Cbus runs deep. The Cap City event is having its 15th anniversary and I’m SO very excited to be a part of it! I’ve always loved M3S events, especially the after parties, so much so that we’ve dedicated a page just to them HERE!

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Hope you’ll join us this year! As of now, we plan to stick with the two hour pace group and see that 1:59 on the finish line clock. Sign up before Dec 31st (or put it on your list – last minute gift idea without the hassle of long lines!) and save $10. Use code 18VOCLIVINGFIT to save an additional $10 off registration.

Okay, heading to bed. Only two shopping days until Christmas and only 126 days until the starting line… gotta rest up! 🙂 Stay tuned for discount codes, training tips, and little doses of inspiration over the next few months!

Nite!

“Last mile, best mile” // Why I love negative splits

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Why save the best mile for last?

Well, because it will make you feel empowered. To finish strong. To see what you have left in the tank those last few minutes. To push yourself, body and mind, even when you are exhausted.

Do what you need to do – tighten your ponytail, turn on your power music, tell yourself, “you got this” – and then pick up the pace for that final push.

For whatever reason, I have always liked the concept of negative splits. Allowing your body to warm up, then progressively get faster with a strong finish. Maybe it’s early in the morning and you’re not quite awake. Perhaps you’re just not feeling a run today, but you make yourself get out there and decide to “start slow.” Just getting started is half the battle and once your body warms up, you’ll often find that the running magic – whether it be motivation, ambition, adrenaline, competitiveness – will kick in and a strong finish is only a mind-set away.

Tank by Sarah Marie Designs – one of my recent favorites!

During my last half marathon, I started out on my own (miles 1-2), then decided to catch the two hour group, hung with them for a while (miles 4-10) and then decided to kick it in the last three miles. Love seeing those negative splits at the end!

Eric Fruth, owner of Columbus Running Co (Dublin) offers us this advice on negative splits… “In order to be at your most efficient on race day, and to run negative splits in your own race, you’ll want to practice. Start with one of your easy recovery runs. Run the second half just a little quicker than the first, teaching your body to accelerate as you get warmed up, loosening up as you go. For a track workout, that means running slightly quicker on each interval of your workout. You’ll find that this approach really pays off, allowing you to finish workouts on a high note and with your best effort. By training like this, you’ll prepare yourself for a strong second half on race day, regardless of the distance you’re chasing.”

Two of my favorite negative split workouts…

Descending ladder run – there aren’t any set rules here, do what works for you! I typically do a 2xmile, 2×800, 2×400 with a 30 second recovery in between each rep, getting faster with each ladder. Add in a 1/2 mile cool down and you’ve got a great 4 mile run.
Progression runs – the options are endless! Sometimes I’ll start out slow for a warm up mile, then pick up the pace by 20 seconds each mile thereafter. If I’m just doing a quick three, I’ll split it in thirds; first mile easy, second mile “push” and third mile “all out.” This is also a good 5K race day strategy (so they say)!

Finishing faster and stronger than you started is an art. Practice makes you better. So work it into your training and perhaps even at your next race… we dare you!