Friday Five: 5 Running Dreams That Probably Won’t Come True

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Dreams, Racecations, Running January 29, 2016

I think it’s normal to dream about races you’d like to run someday–the really crazy, far, expensive, ones that make it unlikely you’ll ever participate in them. I’m not the only one that does this, am I? 😀

It’s “Free Friday” in the DC Trifecta world of Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney and today I’m sharing 5 Running Dreams That Probably Won’t Come True, lol!!

1. ) The World Majors

These marathons include Berlin, Tokyo, Boston, London, Chicago, and New York City. I’ve got one down (Chicago!) but the others are an expensive stretch. I love that running also allows me to travel and maybe throughout my entire lifetime, I might make these happen. I think it’s kinda funny though, that the toughest one is in the states–I’d have to qualify for Boston, jaja!!

2.) New York City Marathon

Speaking of the majors, one that’s in the states is NYC and while it’s not impossible that I would do this one, the impossible part is how I would want it to happen. My brother wants to do one marathon and the one marathon is this one. I’d love to do it with him. I’d love for my sister to do it too. And it’d be even awesomer if my husband could too. Yeah, there’s the impossible part. The likeliness of ALL of us making the lottery in the same year….not very good. But one can dream! 😀

3.) Disney Dopey Challenge

I’ve never been a crazy Disney person and with recent price increases, it’s even less likely that I’d do a Disney race, BUT, if I was to it would be the Dopey Challenge in Walt Disney World. The reason this is a unlikely dream is because this is the costliest of all the Disney races. You’re basically paying for 4 races– a 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, a 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and a full marathon on Sunday. Final price: right around the $600-700 range!! That is NOT including price of park admission (which is insanity), NOT including air fare or hotel accommodations. Yeah, this race-cation could easily get you to the several thousand dollar range when all is said and done and for that amount, wouldn’t you want to do a World Major Marathon somewhere in Europe?? LOL

Bling from the Dopey Challenge–Source: RunDisney Mom

4.) Western States 100

I never say never, but it’s very unlikely that I’ll ever run a 100 miler but if the crazy in me was to ever come out the one I’d want to do is this one. Of course it’s not one you can simply sign up for, no, that would be too easy. You have to run a qualifying race and then enter the lottery. Double whammy. What makes the Western States 100 race so special is this prestige that comes with having qualified and been selected. It’s also the oldest 100 mile trail race and gives you life-time bragging rights if you complete it. Why does this sound so cool to me?

5.) Boston Marathon

If I was to devote my life to any of the races on the list, it would be this one. I think it’s easy to say that many runners dream of running this big race. At over an hour away from my qualifying time though, I’ve got a ways to go BUT I know that this one isn’t entirely an improbability. Recently, I’ve come across quite a few Instagrammers and bloggers who have shared their transformation stories of how they’ve become the runners they are now. Many started at or near what my current marathon PR and have bettered their times to comfortably below their BQ requirement.

This one’s possible ❤

–Do you have any running related dreams?

Thanks for hosting Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney!!

Week in Review

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Half Marathon Training, Phoenix Marathon, Running, Under the Weather January 25, 2016

It’s pretty crazy how this week is the last week of January. Time is a flyin’!

I wasn’t very productive last week as I was hit hard with what I think was the flu. I had a low grade fever, snot, body aches, head aches, the works. Ew.

I rested Monday, and Tuesday I really started to feel it coming. I managed some core and glute work at the gym and 3 miles in the evening that were fast–I think because I just wanted it to be done. It was nice to see splits in the 8s though, despite feeling crappy.

Wednesday and Thursday though?

I was out. I felt so miserable, I was thankful my husband was in town as I called him asking for a sick day. He came home early so I could rest and boy, I needed it. (I did drag myself out of my bed to register for the New York Marathon Lottery though, lol!)

I felt a little better Friday and managed 20 minutes on the bike and some planking but my body was so weak and achy from being sick. 😦

I rested Saturday and did my “long” run on Sunday. I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I wanted to because I still wasn’t 100%. I wanted 6 but managed to get in 5 miles and was so happy I had company for them.

Miles with my MRTT crew

And that was my week. Finally, I feel like a human being this morning and hope I can get some energy back to continue my Phoenix 1/2 Marathon training.

Hoping you guys had a better week than me!! We had amazing weather here in Arizona and I couldn’t even enjoy it, ja!

–If you’re stateside, how are you handling Snow-ville?

–Do you become a super baby when you’re sick? I totally call my mom and cry to her, lol!

–Did you put your name in the NYC Marathon Lottery?

Friday Five: 5 (Random) Things I’m Loving

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Expos, Friday Five, Garmin Fenix 3, Lululemon, Running, Things I'm Loving January 22, 2016

It’s a free-for-all in the DC Trifecta Friday Five world so I decided to randomly share 5 things I’m digging. Here we go!

Garmin Fenix 3

This thing is such an unnecessary beauty. The color, the features, everything ~~but the price~~ calls out to me. I’ve got a few Instagram buddies who torture me with wrist pics. Gah!

It’s got a ton of features–too many to name here but you could see them here–BUT, it doesn’t have a heart rate monitor, so for those who are into that, or who think “How can it be that expensive and not have it!”, there’s a good reason to not get it, lol! (Unfortunately, that’s not a good enough reason for me to not want it, ja!)

My watch is barely a year old, does exactly what it needs to do, and I really have zero reason to spend a car payment on the fenix so for now, I’ll just be watching from afar.

2. Expos!

I know a lot of people aren’t into expos and sometimes I just want to get my bib and get out, but lately I’ve been digging them. Maybe it’s the shopper in me.

RnR Arizona’s expo was pretty awesome if I say so myself. They had a ton of booths, they were–in my opinion–organized so crowds weren’t horrendous, and if you did want to get out, there was a HUGE exit sign letting people know where to go.

Anyway, I checked out the Garmin booth where I checked out the aforementioned watch. It was cool to see it in person! I swung by the ProCompression booth to visit friends. We registered for next year’s race at a suuuper discount and snagged free shirts

And then I spent money at the Lululemon booth–I thought it was super cool how they had special edition clothing for our state

I even snagged a coupon for later. Which takes me to…

3. Lululemon

I got these Lulu pants a while ago (in Vancouver actually!) and am so in love with them. I was eating dinner with some MRTT friends when I accidentally spilled my cup of water on myself (typical Helly style) and everyone was amazed at how I simply swiped the drops away from my pants! So when I got the coupon at the expo, I went to my local Lululemon store and treated myself to the crop version! ❤

4. Local Running Shoe Stores

I’ve usually gone to my nearby RoadRunner Sports for shoes but lately I haven’t been digging the customer service. So, when it came time to buy back-to-running shoes, I hit up my local shoe store, Cadence Running Co., where I know the owner. He’s an Ironman athlete and I trust him and his employees completely.

It’s a small store and when I walked in, I was the only one. It was pretty cool to be the only one being helped and getting all the attention.

They determined I didn’t need all the support I was getting in my last shoes and recommended I go neutral. I walked out with these bad boys.

Since I’m coming back from injury and starting with low mileage, I was told this would be the perfect time to try out Newtons (because I was little nervous, curious, but nervous). So far though, they feel great!!!

5. Staying Home

I’ve been loving staying at home. It feels good to know I made the right decision taking a break from my job and enjoying my time with my kids. My husband continues to travel and I knew if I had continued working, I would’ve been in super stress out mode 24/7.

You can barely see it, but my son is swinging at a bubble, lol!

Thanks again DC Trifecta ladies–Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney–for hosting Friday Five!

–What are some things you’re loving lately?