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All weekends should be 3 days long…

December 12, 2011 by Kristy 15 Comments

I used my last vacation day of the year very wisely. Last Thursday night, I wrote out a rather ambitious to-do list for Friday. After knocking out a 13-miler (it was on my list!), I felt energetic and powered through everything on my list. Endorphins + crossing things off a list = amazing!

After a productive day, I was ready to relax at Girls’ Christmas (explained here). Amanda hosted this year and was truly the hostess with the mostess! The spread of food was unreal and perfect for carbo-loading: penne vodka, lasagna, meatballs, garlic bread. All topped off with a few Miller Lites. We chatted until nearly 2:30, way too late for this grandma, and then I collapsed into bed with a belly full of carbs. Life is good.

On Sunday, I got up and braved the cold for a run. Nine easy miles later I felt refreshed, energized, and really to tackle the mall. King of Prussia is the “it” mall right outside Philly. Venturing there in December can be stressful and suck the Christmas cheer right out of ya, but surprisingly it was OK. I’m kinda like a maniac in the mall. I don’t browse; I swiftly loop around for anything that catches my eye before speed walking to the next store. It’s a workout.

Do you feel more productive after you run? This explains why I feel so lazy on rest days. I need my AM run to jump-start my day.

Are you a fast mall walker or more of a browser? Slow mall walkers kill me!

Five for Friday

December 9, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

Five things I’m excited about or looking forward to this weekend:

1. I have today off from work. Enough said.

2. I just finished a 13-miler with absolutely no hamstring tightness. I feel 100% back to normal, except my speed is still on vacation. It’ll come back, eventually.

3. I get to see Matt today. He’s been away for work the past 2 weeks (again). These 2-week trips are getting old. I can’t wait to spend the weekend with him.

4. Tonight is our annual Girls’ Christmas. My friends and I get together every Christmas for lots of eating and drinking. I look forward to it every year (note that the long run was done this morning so I can be hung over tomorrow 🙂 )

5. Catching up on Dexter and The Amazing Race this weekend. Matt and I watch these 2 shows together so, with him away, I had to refrain from watching them. It was hard but I managed!

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Does your significant other travel for work often? Matt doesn’t too much but these 2-week stints suck.

Need Inspiration?

December 8, 2011 by Kristy 12 Comments

I must admit I’m having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning to run. It’s dark (and now cold). I’m technically only in what I call “pre-training” for Boston. So there’s no plan to follow. My main goals of pre-training are to build my base back up and regain my speed (i.e., more boring runs than fun ones).

So I’m in need of some inspiration. I saw this article on Twitter yesterday and found it so inspiring. It’s short but if you don’t want to read it, here’s the jist…

Erin O’Mara runs marathon #1 in 4:08:08 in 2006.
Erin O’Mara runs marathon #7 in 2:43:55 this past Sunday….and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials! Let’s look at the math…
marathon #1, 9:27 avg pace
marathon #7, 6:15 avg pace

Astounding. Incredible. Amazing.

I won’t call her an ordinary runner, because she’s clearly not. But I highly doubt any of the other qualifiers ran their first marathon in 4:08. She worked her ass off, and that is impressive and inspiring.

What’s inspiring you to run these days?

Do one thing a day that scares you

December 6, 2011 by Kristy 15 Comments

The lululemon manifesto…

poster_E_red_2008 — full of wise sayings

I have a lulu bag hanging up in my closet so everyday I’m hit smack across the face with words of wisdom. Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks. That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least. Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.

One particular quote that screams at me everyday: do one thing a day that scares you. So I am. I’m about to begin studying for my Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certification through NSCA.

So why am I doing this? To become a better running coach. To further my knowledge outside of running. Why am I so scared? It’s rumored to be a tough test. I’m, of course, afraid of failing (more afraid of the cost of re-testing; this is expensive!). I’m scared of the time commitment. Once I begin studying I need to stick with it or I’ll just end up re-studying the beginning chapters.

I’m doing this and it scares me. So be it.

Are you doing something right now that scares you?

Do you have a favorite lululemon quote?

Know anyone that has taken the CSCS test? Help me!

Great Destinations

December 5, 2011 by Kristy 23 Comments

Today’s post isn’t running-related at all. It’s all about traveling!

Matt and I got our first taste of traveling on our honeymoon and since then we have not been able to stop thinking, researching, dreaming, and booking more trips. It’s funny since prior to our honeymoon, we both barely been outside the US. We didn’t step on a plane until college and grew up vacationing at the Jersey Shore (Wildwood for me, Ocean City for him). Since gallivanting around Europe in 2009, we can’t seem to get enough.

We decided to honeymoon in Europe because why the hell not? Since we both never been there, we couldn’t decide on just 1 country to visit so we went with the European cruise. The cruise itself was not our thing (old people doing the hokey pokey and macarena – no thanks), but getting to see so many European cities in 2 weeks was fantastic.

208 — stickers = group tour. another not-so-fun side of cruising.

A year later we went to Australia (sidenote: our trips always fall post-marathon – no idea why 😉 We went to Australia 5 days after the Steamtown Marathon in October 2010). Words can’t describe Australia. I’ll show pictures instead.

our first surf lesson ever...in bondi beach!

211 — we found nemo in the great barrier reef

This past May we went to Ireland (again, post-NJ Marathon). So many pubs, so little time.

NEXT UP….Kauai in May and Paris/London in June!!!

We have been thinking about Hawaii for some time now and May would be a perfect time to go (post-Boston, of course!). Paris and London we could not pass up. Matt’s brother-in-law teaches a summer course in Paris and will be there throughout June in an apartment. All we needed to do was pay for airfare. See how we couldn’t pass it up?!?! And Matt came up with the idea to tack London on (it’s only a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Paris to London). So yes, we are very excited!

My question for you…if you could plan a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go (and why)? I love hearing people’s response to this question!

Friday Updates

December 2, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

TGIF! It has been a long and busy week. I’m heading down the shore this weekend to see my parents (not that shore, there will be no fist pumping). I haven’t posted since Tuesday so here are the latest and greatest updates:

Hamstring
Good news here! I’ve been running this week with minimal tightness. A huge improvement over my Thanksgiving run. This morning I did my long run – just 10 miles – and felt good. I’m aiming to hit 30 miles this week with all easy runs. Next week I’ll add in some speed work as long as my hammie still feels OK. I’m hoping to be back to my old self by the end of the month for Boston training.

I am weak
I started strength training this week. And this time I am sticking to it. Mark my words. I know my hamstring issues exist because my core/glutes/hamstrings are all weak. I really can’t “just run” anymore. I would love to jump on the BodyPump bandwagon but can’t find a class around here without joining a gym. So I’m going to my yoga studio’s Whole Body Strength class twice a week. And I bought a Groupon for some CrossFit classes (ouch!). CrossFit scares the crap out of me.

ART with a PT
Yesterday I had my first appointment with a PT (I was previously seeing a chiropractor) and WOW, what a difference! I actually have a plan to nip these hammie issues in the bud. I have exercises to do each day to build up my right hamstring (it is significantly weaker than my left). And the ART was amazing, way different than the chiropractor. I’m happy I made the switch.

Oiselle Burke Jacket
I consider a lightweight, waterproof, and windproof jacket a winter running essential. There is nothing worse than the bitter cold wind penetrating through your clothes and hitting you smack in the chest. I love this Oiselle jacket: the fit is perfect (streamlined but you can add layers underneath), it’s reflective, it has 2 front pockets, and the sleeves are long. The orange was sold out so I got the white instead.

That’s it folks! Have a great weekend!

Ever go to a CrossFit class? Do you strength train? Do you enjoy it? I’d rather just run but I’m going to have to learn to enjoy it!

I bought the Oiselle Burke Jacket myself and decided to do a review because I liked it!