Marathon Training Week 8 Recap–Halfway There!

Posted by hellyontherun in 5k, Running and tagged with Marathon Training, Personal Record, Rest, Running January 5, 2014

I can’t believe I’m halfway there! In less than two months I’m going to attempt my first marathon!

You bet I’m going to tell the world I ran a marathon! : )

Saying I’m nervous is an understatement.

I’m nervous because I haven’t stuck to the training plan as much as I’d like. I’ve significantly dropped my mileage the last two weeks to help with my shin injury and even though I would have liked to have continued with the plan’s mileage, I do feel like my shin has been muuuuch better with extra rest. My doctor had said to lessen mileage up to the 1/2 marathon happening in two weeks and then reassess. I like that plan. Hopefully, I can slowly increase again to finish the training strong.

Sunday, December 29th: Cross-train day, 10 bike miles. One slow streak mile.

Monday, December 30th: One slow streak mile. Blogilates video-Abs on Fire

Tuesday, December 31st: One slow streak mile.

Wednesday, January 1st: Commitment Day 5k! Recap here : )

Thursday, January 2nd: Rest Day

Friday, January 3rd: Blogilates videos-Victoria’s Secret Abs and Butt on Fire

Saturday, January 4th: 12 miles at marathon goal pace. I set out on this run to try and complete at my goal pace of 10:00/mile. I amazingly felt really good the entire way until….I got lost! At mile 11, I reached an unfamiliar point in my route and stopped to try and familiarize myself with my the surroundings. I saw I was in downtown of the city! Luckily, I saw a woman walking by and asked what the nearest major crossroad was. I recognized it and realized I was about 2 miles away–not too bad since I had one mile left of my scheduled 12 miles. I started running and then heard the 11 mile beep: 11:08. What?! I had been consistent with my 10 min pace and was bummed that I didn’t stop my watch when I asked for directions. I decided that I was going to book it to make sure my average pace was 10. So yeah, my last mile was 8:34 lol!

Total Weekly Mileage: 17.89 miles

Next week I’m hoping to slowly get more mileage in leading up to my 1/2 marathon January 19th.

–How was your fitness week?

–Have you signed up for a race this year?

Get Your Swirl On! (Swirlgear Review)

Posted by hellyontherun in Clothes, Running, Shopping and tagged with Clothes, Fashion, Review, Running, Running Clothes, Shopping, Swirlgear January 3, 2014

I recently became a Swirlgear Ambassador (you might have noticed my pretty swirly badge there on the right). One of the appeals to me with this brand is that as you already know, I love clothes. And I love running. So when I came upon Swirlgear, a women’s clothing brand made specifically for running, I immediately wanted to check it out.

I ordered my first shipment to arrive by Christmas—my little gift to myself : )

The first piece is this short sleeve number. What caught my eye initially were the black seams along the front. This detail allows for slimming and flattering look. I also liked the uniqueness of the print on the sleeves and sides and I liked the length. When it arrived and I was finally able to put it on, the length was a super plus. I like my shirts a little on the longer side and this fit was absolutely perfect.

I’m very big on fabric and this moisture-wicking poly blend is super soft to the touch. When I’m running, the last thing I want is an itchy shirt and this top is far from itchy. In fact, it’s my softest running shirt to date.

The shirt is tagless which is a running shirt necessity but this also tricked me at first. The top is so good looking inside out that that’s how I put it on the first time! It didn’t come in the box that way, but as I was inspecting it, I turned it inside out and forgot to fix it. My first run in it was worn that way! Needless to say, I had no issues in my 10 mile run that day : ) (You can see in the first pic the black seam across the collarbone area. It’s not there in the second pic when I wore it correctly lol!)

inside out

worn correctly

I’m 5’7 and on the curvy side so a size Medium fit perfectly.

My next purchase were these shorts. It’s cold out (for Arizona) but I knew I’d get a lot of use of them come spring and summer. The black color is a nice deep black—this is important to me because some “blacks” are lighter than others and that drives me nuts. I also like the white piping along the bottom.

The shorts are also moisture wicking and have built in briefs for support. The logo is reflective which I thought was a nice detail. The shorts do not have pockets. I’m a size 6 and purchased a Medium. Perfect fit.

boy, that mirror is dusty

Both of these together, I must say, make a great running outfit. I have my days when I don’t care about looking good while I run but every now and then I like to have a good looking combo to feel pretty in : )

I’ve washed both of these in a gentle cycle and both washed well. I didn’t completely dry them (I don’t with any of my running clothes) but took them out about ¾ of the dry cycle and then lay them to completely dry.

I chose to purchase warmer weather items but Salt bought some winter wear and you can read her review of her pieces here.

If you think these clothes are as awesome as I do and are interested in gifting yourself or someone some Swirlgear, you’re in luck! Enter the code swirlon at check-out to get FREE GROUND SHIPPING. Yay!!

I’m pretty positive you’re going to love this brand. I may not be the best runner out there, but I do feel like I know my clothes : )

Hope you have a fun Friday!!!

NOTE: I did receive these pieces for 50% off as part of the Swirlgear Brand Ambassador program but I purchased them myself and these opinions come solely from me.

–Do you love shopping for running clothes?

–Do you make running “outfits”?

Commitment Day 5k Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in 5k, Race, Running and tagged with 5k, Challenge, Family, New Year, Personal Record, Race, Running January 2, 2014

I have to start by saying that I’m officially not a fan of 5Ks. Holy cow do they take a lot out of me!

I was looking forward to this race for a couple of reasons. One, I don’t run many 5Ks so this was an opportunity to get the under 25min I’d been shooting for and I also really wanted to run a New Year’s race.

The start time was 10:30 a.m. but I had to get there earlier than usual because I completely forgot to pick up my bib the day I was supposed to. So, to beat the crowd and get good parking, I arrived at 9. Yeah, I was way early. I got my bib and then walked back to my car to drop off the swag we were given (I do like the shirt!). I noticed on the bib there was a space for us to write “Our Commitment” for 2014. I thought this was so cool and I grabbed a pen and jotted, Challenge Myself. That’s what I want to do this year.

I hung out in my car for a bit since it was cold out (for Arizona) and when I saw 9:45 I started walking to the start line.

There was a big crowd and this was an untimed race so I knew people would be all over the place as far as speed went. I decided that even though I wasn’t the fastest out there, I’d scoot myself closer to the front so I wouldn’t have to doge around too many people.

The national anthem was sung and then a countdown was started. At one, a bullhorn sounded and we were off!

I started running and made sure my watch was at its pace setting. I prefer looking at my pace rather than time/distance.

Once I felt settled in, I glanced down to check out my pace and saw 6:40. I was so confused; that couldn’t be right. I clicked to return to time/distance then clicked to return to pace thinking maybe I had it on a wrong setting. No, it still read 6:40. I stopped looking at my watch and started concentrating on running but was bummed that I must have pressed something to mess up the watch.

I knew we were approaching the first mile because I had studied the map the night before, and soon enough my watch beeped the first mile done. 7:25. WHAAT??!!??

I was in shock seeing that time displayed and realized my watch wasn’t broken, I was really going that fast! I couldn’t believe it. I decided heck, since I was feeling good, I might as well shoot for somewhere in the sevens for each mile.

Mile two-7:42.

I seriously was running in complete disbelief. I knew I was well on my way to getting that sub 25 and told myself to just kill it and get the best time I could since I was already here.

I turned the corner and heard my name shouted out. Who was that? I’m always in such a zone when I run but my name is pretty unique so when I heard it, I turned my head at the direction it came from. It was my husband! I was excited to see him there with my kids and I told myself to go, go, go! The faster I finished, the faster I’d see them.

I could see the finish line in the distance and mustered whatever energy I had left to pick up speed and finish strong. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch before almost collapsing on the event volunteer leading runners towards the water/food table.

I looked at my watch and saw 22:05. NO. WAY. I looked at the distance and saw 2.87 miles. Wah waaah…it was a short 5k course : ( I was a little bummed because I wanted an official 3.1 for my PR 5k. (ETA: A fellow runner friend said she re-mapped the course and got 3.05 miles. Not sure what the actual distance was, but that made me feel a little better) I told myself that even had it been a full 3.1, I would have definitely, without a doubt, gotten a sub 25. Plus, my average pace was 7:41. 7:41!!!

My husband found me and I showed him my time. He’s my biggest fan and supporter so he knew how much I wanted a sub 25. He had the same look I had when he saw 22:05 and 7:41 avg/mile : )

I walked around to cool off. Reaching my goal and seeing that number makes me so happy and proud of the hard work I’ve been putting in lately. I did what I said I wanted to do and that was challenge myself. I’m excited to continue doing that this year.

My favorite cheerleader

–Did you run a race yesterday?

–How was your New Year’s?