#trainingrecap

January 12, 2015

Good morning! I wish my mini absence from writing, reading and social media last week was due to my blog redesign, but unfortunately I was bedridden with the flu last week (started feeling better Thursday/Friday).  Thanks for all the recommendations/comments from my 2015 Race Schedule post - look forward to reading them all (Mallory - have your WVA reccos noted).

Monday 1/5 - Rest day (sick)

Tuesday 1/6 - Rest day (sick)

Wednesday 1/7 - Rest day (sick)

Thursday 1/8 - Rest day (sick)

Friday 1/9 - Rest day (cough)

Saturday 1/10 - Al Lewis 10 "5" Miler + 60 minutes personal training

Sunday 1/11 - 60 minutes yoga + sculpt

Total: 5 miles

I was a bit bummed to be sidelined for most of the week; my foot was finally back to normal and I was looking forward to a solid two weeks of training before this weekend's half marathon.  I know there will be some  adjustments to my race goals for the Charleston Half Marathon. 

As many of you know the east coast was hit with some snow on Tuesday.   Prior to being sick, I had signed up for the DCRR Al Lewis 10 Miler to serve as my last training long run.  By Friday I was only coughing and felt up to running on Saturday.  My friend Rachel joined me on a cold Saturday morning (17-20°F but feels like 7-10°F), but trails were not in the best of conditions.  We decided to cut it short and completed 5 miles.  It was nice to see Courtney who finished the 10 miles!

On Sunday I went to a hot yoga class - and it felt SOOO GOOD since its been so cold.  On a random note - Vanessa Hudgens of Disney fame happened to be in the same class (after some sleuthing...she is performing at the Kennedy Center for a month).

After yoga I went to Baked and Wired for the first time (shocker I know) for some chai and treats.

Today I am linking up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update.

Did it snow where you live?

December 30, 2014

Morning morning! I hope everyone had a good holiday week/weekend.  I am enjoying my "winter break" and finished both Parenthood AND Marco Polo.  Now that I am caught up with Parenthood... so sad that it is the last season. 

Monday 12/22 - 5 miles biking + 60 minutes personal training

Tuesday 12/23 - Rest day + last minute shopping

Wednesday 12/24 - Rest day + baking

Thursday 12/25 - Rest day

Friday 12/26 - Rest day

Saturday 12/27 - 3 miles + 60 minutes personal training

Sunday 12/28 - Rest day

Total: 3 miles + 5 miles biking

Fitness-wise it was not my best week.  I had planned on working out everyday, but ended up breaking my Turkey to Bubbly streak of working out at least 30 minutes a day from Thanksgiving to New Years.  A little bummed, but its okay... back on the workout wagon this week!

Nutrition-wise....I ate sooo many sweets.....and I do not regret it. They were good! I enjoyed making some of the goodies below (thanks for the idea Colleen)

Skinnytaste Nutella almond butter cookies.

The highlight of the week was my parent's annual Christmas party, which was held on Christmas Eve this year.  All of my siblings were in town, I got to see my cousins, and Cliff was able to attend the party as well.

Delicious homemade cookies and biscottis.

Today I am linking up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update (congrats on the marathon, Tara!)

How was your holiday weekend? 

December 8, 2014

And the weekends go by with a snap.  This week went pretty well:

Monday 12/1 -60 minutes barre 

Tuesday 12/2 - 60 minutes personal training + 3 miles

Wednesday 12/3 - 3 miles 

Thursday 12/4 - 1 mile

Friday 12/5 - 2 miles

Saturday 12/6 - 4 miles + 60 minutes personal training + 1 mile + 60 minutes barre

Sunday 12/7 - Jingle all the Way 5K + 1 mile + 60 minutes yoga

Total: 18.1 miles

I covered about 4 miles more than last week and attended 3 barre/yoga classes.  Remember the plank challenge I shared last time?  My fitness highlight of the week was holding the forearm plank (with good form) for 1 minute, an improvement of 30 seconds.

This week I also walked through City Center (new DC neighborhood-ish in DC with the fancy schmancy shops that I do not go to) to see their holiday decorations.

The had a gorgeous tree (I think it looks nicer than the White House one..)

Another social/food highlight of the week was the hazelnut crème brûlée at Bearnaise. The restaurant is owned by Chef Spike of Top Chef fame and I had a Gilt City deal for dinner.  I was surprised how good the steak was and thought it was better than Le Diplomate's version of the dish. 

What else did I do this weekend...ran another 5K - my second to last race of 2014.

Today I am linking up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update.

How was your week/end?

December 1, 2014

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday... how is it December already?!?

Monday 11/24 - Rest day 

Tuesday 11/25 - Rest day 

Wednesday 11/26 - Rest day

Thursday 11/27 - SOME Trot for Hunger 5K

Friday 11/28 - 3 miles

Saturday 11/29 - 3 miles + 60 minutes personal training

Sunday 11/30 - 5 miles (remainder of 11/29 scheduled 8 miles)

Total: 14.1 miles

Mileage-wise I ran about 2 miles less than last week, for a total of 77.1 miles for the month.   My first fitness highlight of the week was the Trot for Hunger 5K held on Thanksgiving morning.  Before the run there was a mini Oiselle meetup.  It was fun catching up with Courtney, Julie, and Prianka and meeting all the other birds (yesss we are in a CVS cosmetic aisle).  I missed seeing my friends Jenn and Brett that morning, boo.

Image: Courtesy of Julie

The second fitness highlight of the week was my personal training session.  While my current trainer is recovering from a serious fall (get better Nicole) I had my first session with Jessica - who is a long distance runner.  She is going to incorporate exercises that will complement running and work on my weaknesses.  This includes the below plank challenge:

There were a couple of social highlights this week.  On Wednesday I had dinner with Cliff and had the most amazing lasagna at Floriana.  They make their own pasta and it melts in your mouth.  If you are in the DC area I would highly recommend going there - plus there is usually a Gilt City or Living Social deal that you could use.

The second social highlight of the week was Thanksgiving dinner - of course!   My parents host Thanksgiving at their house every year and I get to see my aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides of the families.  I always have a great time seeing my cousins and playing with their little ones.  A shout out to my cousin Chris who completed his first 10K! Below is a picture of my mom's brussels sprouts.

And my favorite part....dessert.

As for the remainder of the weekend I spent my time cleaning the apartment, doing a little online shopping, and wrapping some gifts.  As for my buy of the weekend - Potomac River Running is selling their Race Pass again for 2015 ($110 for 4 races) - which I purchased (thanks for the message Kathryn).

How was your Thanksgiving?

November 10, 2014

Last week was my last NYC Marathon Training recap (sad face).  As you may have noticed with the title change, my next training cycle will focus on the Charleston Half Marathon, which is 10 weeks away (woah 2015).  While I have 5-6 races remaining in 2014, they are primarily for fun.

Monday 11/3 - Rest day + 60 minute massage

Tuesday 11/4 - Rest day + stretching/foam rolling

Wednesday 11/5 - 1 mile walk + stretching/foam rolling

Thursday 11/6 - 1 mile walk + stretching/foam rolling

Friday 11/7 - 1 mile walk + 60 minute yoga

Saturday 11/8 - Rest day + stretching/foam rolling

Sunday 11/9 - Across the Bay 10K

Total: 9.2 miles

This week's focus was on all about recovery from the New York City Marathon. On Monday I had a 60 minute massage and it felt great.  There was a little quad soreness on Tuesday (only discomfort was going down the stairs), but by Wednesday my legs were feeling "back to normal".  I did not have my first workout until Friday (I took an un-wind yoga class) because I still wanted to give my body more time to heal with some rest, stretching, and foam rolling.  I had my first run on Sunday but participating in the inaugural Across the Bay 10K.  Don't worry, I took it nice and easy and ran/walk the 6.2 miles (recap coming tomorrow). 

On the social front I had the chance to catch up with two of my college friends in Baltimore.  We had lunch at Farmstead Grill in the new Canton Crossing Shopping Center.  The food was great and it was so cute inside.  I can't believe how much Baltimore has changed! I remember going to school/working there when Harbor East didn't even exist.

On Sunday the Alton Brown Live tour was in Washington, DC.  Held at the Warner Theater, Alton talked about some of his food observations (chickens do not have fingers - in reference to chicken fingers), sang a few songs, had some cooking demonstrations with his own version of the ice cream maker and easy bake oven, and hosted a Q&A via twitter feeds. 

The show as pretty funny and it was a nice way to end a relaxing weekend at home.

How was your weekend?

October 27, 2014

Congrats to all the MCM runners this past weekend (10K and Marathoners).

Week 19 is complete and we enter Week 20 - yes!! This week is full on taper time - I think I will enjoy it.  I have a few yoga classes lined up and a stretching session with my trainer. 

Monday 10/20 - Rest day 

Tuesday 10/21 - Rest day

Wednesday 10/22 - Rest day

Thursday 10/23 - 6 miles + 60 minutes personal training

Friday 10/24 - 1 mile

Saturday 10/25 - Rest day

Sunday 10/26 - 8 miles

Total: 15 miles

My mileage decreased by 2 from Week 18.  Last week I had the opportunity to try 8 juices by AliveJuices.  Because I was 2 weeks away from NYC, I opted out of a juice cleanse and decided to use the drinks as snacks.  I will have a separate post about my experience this week.

Social-wise there were quite a few of celebrations.  On Wednesday we went to Le Diplomate to celebrate Cliff's Birthday.  Had some escargot.

On Friday I met up with some of the Oiselle DC teammates for Happy Hour (hey Courtney, Prianka, Ivey, and Ashley), and on Saturday we celebrated my old roommate's wedding.  Congrats Rachel and Andrew!

Very cute theme, right?

How was your weekend?

October 6, 2014

You know it is fall when....there are tons of races on the weekend (Portland, Wineglass, Wilson Bridge, Gretes Gallop... the list goes on). Hope everyone had a good run whether it be racing, training or for fun.  Since I was up north, I got to break out some of my fall duds... yess.

Monday 9/29 - 1 mile + 60 minutes personal training

Tuesday 9/30 - Rest day 

Wednesday 10/1 - Rest day

Thursday 10/2 - Rest day

Friday 10/3 - Travel to Corning, NY + 1 mile

Saturday 10/4 - 1 mile

Sunday 10/5 - 4 miles + Wineglass Half Marathon + .9 miles

Total: 21 miles

Week 16 was a cut back week for the weekday runs (I certainly took advantage of that...maybe too much as last week I completed a total of 30 miles..I'm not losing sleep over that). The fitness highlight of the week was my 18 mile long run this past Sunday.  I ran 4 miles before the Wineglass Half (recap coming tomorrow) and a .9 mile cool down post half. I also got to meet Sharon from Run-Hike-Play.

Of course the social highlight of this week was visiting Corning, NY as part of Wineglass race weekend.  My mom and I usually take one racecation per year, and last year was the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon.  Started off with this yummy chilli (it had kale and cashews).

Visited the Corning Glass Museum where the expo was held. Aren't these flowers cute?

And visited two wineries along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.

How was your weekend?