My October Pink Challenge

As you know I decided to do a 30 day challenge to see if I could wear something pink during every workout during the month of October for breast cancer awareness.  One stipulation was that I couldn't buy anything new to wear during the month.  The challenge was really fun and I made it no problem.  

A spattering of pink I wore through the month:

After I did the wash I would put the pink items in a bag
so I wouldn't wear them again:

 I went through my workout clothes last night and found 14 more options - without even looking at socks, sleeves, gloves, shoes, etc. 

Conclusion:  I love pink workout gear and I might have too much workout gear.  It is nice to be able to wear anything I want again.  I love wearing all black almost as much as wearing pink when I workout :)

30 Day Challenge - Day 2

T-minus 3 days until the marathon.  Today was a short speed work - done in pink shorts of course.  It was 4 miles total with 2 sets  one mile intervals at a 7:13 pace with a half mile jog between.  It was so short I just ran on my treadmill in my basement.  I hate working out alone so I rarely run on my treadmill.  I'd rather run on the treadmill at the gym so I have friends with me.  But for a run this short I was done in less time than the drive to and from the gym.  

And look at the forecast for this weekend. It looks perfect!!

My October Fitness Challenge

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so I have decided to do a 30 day challenge.  Unlike most fitness challenges - situps, push ups, planks, etc - I've opted for wearing something pink every workout this month.  And just to really challenge myself it has to be something different and I can't buy anything new.  Don't worry...I've totally got this.  I counted my tops and bottoms last night and came up with 28 items.  I was planning on using accessories too if needed but it doesn't look like I'll need them.   Today I taught spin class and wore this pink skirt. Day 1.  Check.

I am 4 days away from the marathon.  I am so ready to run hard and then rest for a while.  My poor body is starting to feel the high mileage I've been putting in.  My right heel is killing me and I'm pretty sure the only thing to do to fix it is rest.  Why do I have to get old?  Ha.

New Race Outfit

I love (and I mean really love) buying new running clothes.  It's the way I reward myself for hard work and training.  Plus I love having a new outfit for every big race I run.  I train hard then focus my race jitters on random stuff like picking a new outfit.  I love running races in lululemon skirts - they are super comfortable, have 3 pockets to carry all my GU's and iPod and are dang cute.  

So when I saw this new black and white striped skirt I knew it would be my race outfit.  I wore it on my 22 mile run and it was perfect.  I am of course throwing in a touch of pink too.  I used to always race in all black - but the pictures weren't nearly as fun.  So next week if you're looking for me crossing the finish line at St. George you know what I'll be wearing. 

Cold dark running

This morning when I woke up it was 35 degrees and pitch black.  It was so hard to not send the "I'm out" text.  I mean I'm really I'm not training for anything so why get up and go run.....because I need it and once I'm doing it I love it.  It was still dark outside when I finished my run.  UGH.

I am so not looking forward to cold, dark morning runs.  I already miss running in shorts and tank top.  Today I had on a tank, long sleeved shirt, jacket and gloves.  UGH!!  

But I won't stop running outside just because it feels like winter.  I'm a runner and this is just what I do.   

So I think to get me through this winter I need this cute white jacket from Lululemon.  I totally deserve it for getting out of bed :)

Today was a nice easy 5 mile run and yesterday I did 6.5 miles.  My legs feel completely recovered even after making the mistake of not doing any recovery for my legs after the marathon.  Tomorrow I'm going to try to run 10 - we'll see how that goes :)

Which One?

I am planning on running the Halloween Half Marathon with a friend. I'm thinking a princess outfit would be a great option. But I'm not sure which one to do. 

What do you think? Aurora or Cinderella? 

P.S. Today's workout was spin and weights.

New workout clothes

One of the reasons I workout is for my kids.  I want to be active so I can play with them.  I want to live longer for them and most of all I want to be a good influence on them when it comes to fitness.  I like having my kids at the finish line of races so I can see the people who are most important to me and so they can see how hard I've worked.  

Last week the girls ran errands with me.  First we went to Runner's Corner to get some gels and *maybe* I picked up a new shirt.  Isn't it so cute? My girls loved it so I had to get it! 

Then we went to Sports Authority because I had a 25% off coupon that I *had* to use and really you can never have too much workout gear.  I got a new white running tank and the girls talked me into getting them some new workout clothes.  They both got cute running skirts.  They don't run or workout but the skirts are cute and they seem to be able to find places to wear them.

Since she had PE at school she needed to wear her new running skirt

Going to the babysitters house with her running skirt and Gatorade.

I love it that my girls want to be fit and that they love buying workout clothes as much as I do.  You can decide for yourself if that's a good or bad habit to pass along :)

Tomorrow is my last long run before the marathon.  We are running 22 miles.  Bring it on!

My favorite tank

I have issues.  Really.  When I love something I tend to go a little overboard.  I have 4 of the same tank.  At least I bought different colors.  I think they are super comfy and slimming.  I wore the black one in my marathon and loved it. I am planning on wearing the pink one with my black Lulu skirt at the St. George marathon.

Today was an 8 miler and it felt great.  My average pace was 8:38 so I feel like I really am getting back to where I was in May.  I'm at 140 miles this month.  

Training for the rest of the week is: spin/lift, 16 miles, 7 mile tempo run and another 8 miler.  39 miles total this week.  Bring it!

P.S.  I should not have gone to the website to find a link to the tank.  Did you see all those colors????

You better be fast

If you're going to go out in public like this.  I get that it's hot outside but really those are some high cut dolphin shorts which are only allowed on sub 6:00 min/milers.  

Also if you plan on running in briefs, sports bras, or crocs you best be a speed demon.  That is all.

P.S.  today's workout was spin/lift and tomorrow is speed work and a double night run

Totally great bra

Have you seen this awesome bra from Lululemon?  It is hilarious and functional all at the same time.  I personally hate carrying things with me when I run but I know a few gals who always have chapstick and their phone with them.  And really kleenex is a great idea for a long run - if you can keep the sweat from turning it into a wet wipe.

On short runs I don't bring anything with me and on long runs I have my GU, water and my nano.  Oh and I always have my Garmin on.  I am trying to get in the habit of carrying a little cash and ID with me as well - but usually at 5:30 am I manage to forget. 

Today's run was 12 miles.  I did 7 of it on my own and met up with some of my Ragnar gals for 5 of it. 

Marathon Outfit...

 Don't judge me for my crazy pose - it was after my workout and I can't be held responsible for my thoughts. I wanted to show off the ruffles but not do a butt shot.  I don't know.  

Anyways, I got my new skirt in the mail a few days ago so I tried it out today.  It was great!  I'm not sure if you can tell just how cute those ruffles are but seriously I think I have my outfit.  Yes I know the marathon is still 10 weeks away but I want to run several long runs in my "outfit" before the race to be sure it doesn't bug.  What do you think?  Is it marathon worthy?

Today's workout was speed work.  I did 10 miles total on the treadmill.  1 mile warm up then 1 mile intervals @ 7:24 pace (8.1 on the treadmill and I pushed it to 8.2 for the last quarter mile of each one) with a 1/2 mile jog between each.  5 sets total then another 1 1/2 miles to finish it off. 

Tomorrow I'm going to run with my sister since she'll be in town - somewhere between 6-10 miles.

My Spin Room

Today was a spin/lift day.  For my spin workout we did endurance intervals.

The workout:

Warm up - 5 min (light tension)

Power Intervals

     2 on 1 off - 5 x's

Pyramid Intervals

     Easy Flat - Fast Flat - Hill Sprint

     30 s. each/ 30 s. each/ 1 m. each/ 2 m. each

Standing Run on bike

Tempo Hill

     Start @ 60% tension with the tempo of the music and tap it up every minute keeping at the same tempo (7 minutes total)

Last night I got a text with a picture of the spin room at the gym Todd works out at in DC so I thought I'd snap a shot of my spin room this morning for him.  Look at all those bikes just waiting to be ridden at 5:30 in the morning :)

Yesterday we did the usual 10 miler.  It snowed all night but looking out my window there was only snow on the grass and none on the street so we opted to still run outside.  After the 1st mile of our loop (which took us north towards the canyon) we were in 4-6 inches of snow until we came back the last mile.  UGH.  It made for some slow going miles and very wet/cold feet (thank goodness for my smartwool socks).  It was the slowest I've run in years but at least I got miles in outside instead of being on the treadmill. 

Yesterday I hit 102 miles for the month of March and I still have almost 2 full weeks left!

Tomorrow's workout:  TEMPO RUN 10 miles total w/6 @ 8:04 pace

Daylight Savings + Early Morning Run = SUCKS!

Today when the alarm went off at 5:10 am it felt like 4:10 am!  I seriously hate daylight savings.  My kids were moving in slow motion this morning and I didn't get up to run.  I just couldn't do it.  I sent a text to the girls and bailed on them.  I hate doing that but it was just too early!  


I did manage to get my run in this afternoon.  9 miles with just me and my iPod.  So boring.  The good part is that it was like 65 degrees so I got to run in a tank top and shorts.  I felt so free with so little clothing on!  I also noticed that when you run in the afternoon there are no old people like me out running.  Only college students and skateboarders.  

I am thinking about getting these shorts for ragnar to wear under my sassy sparkle skirt.  I love my other lulu shorts but I'm not sure if these are too short or if they'd be comfy.  Is it worth the $58?

Happy Valentines

Today I taught spin and I even went an extra 10 minutes just so I could burn off extra calories.  I love starting holidays or birthdays with a good workout.  If I do that then I don't feel guilty the rest of the day when I eat a few treats.  For me it's easier to workout a little harder than to not have a treat or two on holidays when they are everywhere.

Since it's Valentines I wore my pink outfit to the gym so when I saw this quote I thought it fit me perfectly.  Although I wasn't wearing cute knee socks like she is!!

Gym Clothes

My spin class is at 5:30 am.  It is ridiculously early.  But still I refuse to just throw something on and go to the gym. Although I don't brush my hair or wash my face I still care about my outfit. There is a difference in what I will wear to the gym and what I wear when I workout outside.  This goes for running on the treadmill too - not just when I'm teaching.  I worry about if my outfit matches at the gym and I even have "gym shoes" for the days I'm not running because they are cuter than my running shoes.  Silly?  Yes I think so too.  But it's just the way it is.  

What about you do you care more about how you look when you're at the gym?

This weeks schedule

Since nothing amazing like a lunar eclipse happened on today's run I thought I'd just blog the training schedule for this week.


M:  8 miles (easy)
T:  spin/weights
W: 7 mile tempo run (warm up then 5 miles at 8:20 pace)
Th: 7 miles (easy)/weights
S: 10 miles 


Today's run was long for a Monday morning and it was FREEZING!  For some reason even though the temp was warmer than Saturday's run it was really cold today.  Of course it was dark the whole run since we had to go early and I didn't dress right.  I need to do laundry so I was at the bottom of the barrel on workout clothes.  I guess I know how I'll be spending my evening tonight.


Speaking of laundry....I always wash my workout clothes normal and I air dry them so they will last longer.  I also never use a dryer sheet if I do dry them.  I hear that makes the dri-fit part not work as well.  Do you do anything special when you are washing your workout clothes?

Long Runs & High Heels

I ran 15 miles this morning (I meant to run 14 but miscalculated and ended up going longer....dang it).  Changing the long run to a Friday instead of a Saturday was a great idea!  It's nice to have it finished and it was a warm beautiful morning.  And the sun coming up behind the mountains was absolutely breathtaking today. 

However, the bad part of doing my long run today is that I have a big presentation at work this morning so I had to wear my "fancy" work clothes so I had to wear nylons and heels.  My feet hurt soooo bad in these darn shoes.  I know that fashion is pain but mixing painful shoes with extra tender feet is just torture!  

Over the past few years I've had lots of back & hip problems so I rarely wear heels. I love that with the styles today I can still look cute and fashionable in comfy flats.  But not today - I just can't wear flats with this suit.  Oh well If I can run 15 miles I can last a few hours in heels :)

Winter Running Gear

It was 22 degrees this morning when I left my house for a 5 mile run.  Brrrrrrrrr. I run outside as much as I can in the winter because I really don't love treadmill running.  Anyways.....here is some info on how I dress to stay warm while running in freezing temperatures.

On today's run I wore a long sleeve shirt and a fleece jacket on top.  My Adidas supernova fleece lined running tights with extra warm running gloves (they have a cool wind breaker mitten that goes over the glove) and a hat. It took a few miles before my legs warmed up. It might have been a little warmer with a tank under my long sleeved shirt or maybe a more fitted shirt so my tummy wouldn't have been so cold.  The hard part with too many layers is that I feel constricted and if I sweat too much then I get even colder.

Here are my guidelines for what I wear at what temperatures. 

55 degrees - this is tank top & shorts weather for me!!  The sweet spot for me is actually 53 degrees (perhaps I'm a bit OCD to know this is my exact favorite temperature for running).  

45-55 - capri's with a tank and sleeves.  I love my sleeves!!  Sometimes I'll throw on my fun stretchy gloves if it's closer to 45 degrees as well.  I also like to wear a bandana to cover the top of my ears.

35 - 45 - light running tights or even my capri's if the sun is out and a long sleeve shirt with my very favorite stretchy gloves.  And to keep my head warm a headband that completely covers my ears.

30-35 - cold weather running tights a short sleeve shirt and long sleeve shirt.  A headband for my ears and stretchy gloves.  Sometimes instead of tights I will wear bike shorts with a loose running pant.  

20-30 - long sleeves with a running jacket and either my fleece lined pants or capris with my loose pants over them to keep my quads and buns warm.  A warm hat is a must at this temperature as well as warmer gloves.  I hate it when my fingers never warm up on a run. I usually wear my smart wool socks when it's this cold out to keep my toes warm too.  

I hate running if it's under 18 degrees.  I don't remember why but at some point we decided that was our low point for running outside and if it's that cold it's treadmill time.  I have run in single digits a few times but that was only for races never just to go run. 

The Earn Your Turkey Run 2010
It was 7 degrees when I ran and when my kids ran it was 12 degrees!!! 
I love that Sophie is wearing her snow boots!

  

What a cold cold morning this run was too! 
I don't remember the temp but we all had frost on our eyelashes

Just a note:  I run a bit hot and some of the girls I run with are always 1 layer more than me.

1000 miles & Race Shirts

Today on my 9 miler I hit the 1000 mile mark for 2011!! It has been so fun tracking my miles. A great goal for any runner to set.

Here's a question for you. Do you wear your race shirts?

I have a long sleeved one that is one of my very favorites but other than that one I never wear them. I don't know why. Maybe because they are short sleeves and I prefer tanks? Maybe I don't like being tagged to a race? I really don't know.

I wore my Ragnar shirt today because it was a little too chilly for a tank. Half the run I thought about why it was the first time I've ever worn it.