Weekend Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Family, Running and tagged with Family, Memorial Day, Recovery, Running, Weekend May 27, 2014

This three-day weekend was just what I needed to help recover from the Canyon. (If you missed my R2R2R recaps, visit here first and then here.) My husband had a rare day off on Monday and it was so nice to have him home an extra day.

On Friday, this happened:

Double digits!

I can’t believe that in two months my son will be ONE!! Time is a-flying!

We celebrated his 10 month birthday by getting a haircut 🙂

It was a perfect rest day.

Saturday morning I met up with my run club for an early morning run. We started our summer schedule which means runs now start at 5:30 a.m. It was hard to get out of bed when my alarm went off lol!

I planned for 6 miles and knew I wanted to take it slow. It would be my first run post Canyon so I really just wanted to shake out my legs.

It was tough.

I started the first two miles pretty easily and felt good. I think it was the excitement of being back because once I got to mile 3…..I felt sluggish. And I never got it together after that. Miles 3-6 were a slow blur as I just wanted to get the run over with.

SPLITS:

1-9:13
2-9:27
3-10:05
4-10:35
5-10:29
6-9:30

Avg-9:53/mile

I reminded myself that this was a recovery run and that I wasn’t out to break any records here. I wanted simply to get my legs moving and ease myself back. The run definitely helped get me ready for the day though–one of the reasons why I love running in the mornings.

Sunday we had another get together with friends–it was my little guy’s first time in the pool 🙂

Looking serious for the camera but he was having a blast in the water 🙂

We got back from the BBQ and I was pretty exhausted having run around after my two kids all afternoon but I knew a quick run would relax me so I went for a 4 miler around my neighborhood.

I felt a lot more like myself with this one:

SPLITS:

1-8:42
2-8:51
3-8:41
4-8:30

Avg: 8:39/mile

My run club had a fun 5k run set up for the next day, Monday, and I planned on going. But as night set in, I was pretty exhausted from being out in the sun all day so I decided to sleep in. Big mistake.

I found out later the next morning that of course the fun run was a blast. Two of our members who organized it made the 5k into a Barkley-esque run. If you remember my post about the Barkley Marathon, there are specific criteria involved with the run. They made the 5k into 3 loops with stops at certain points. I’m SO bummed I missed it. Stupid sleep.

I love having my husband home so him having the day off was the best. We did some more shopping and my daughter was in absolute heaven in the light section at Lowe’s:

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She wanted to know where the switch was ja!!

I ended up not running at all yesterday:( but I had such a fun weekend with my family 🙂

–How was your weekend?

–Did you race or run?

100th Post=Pro Compression Socks Giveaway!!

Posted by hellyontherun in Fitness, Giveaway, Running, Shopping and tagged with Giveaway, PRO Compression, Recovery, Running, Socks April 17, 2014

It’s crazy that I’ve reached the 100th post milestone. Technically this is 101, but hey, I’m in the triple digits 🙂

So in celebration, I’m giving a away a pair of socks!

Cue memories of opening Christmas presents and being sad when they were socks.

These aren’t any random pair of socks though. These. Are. Awesome!

You might have heard of compression socks and the benefits of wearing them. They help increase blood flow in your legs, reduce swelling and inflammation, and are great for muscle recovery. I’ve been known to wear my sleeves under my pants during winter lol!

So I’ve tried the sleeve version of compression socks–these you slip them on over your feet so it hits around your ankle. (This is no easy feat by the way–sorry, couldn’t help myself. I’ll be here all week.)

Calf Sleeve
(Source)

My good friends at Pro Compression sent me the regular sock version to try out and I was so very excited.

Here I am sporting them at the track:

I’m not usually a bright color gal but I LOVE these. I like to think of them as Phoenix Suns orange (who didn’t make the playoffs by the way 😦 )

Wanna try a pair? Want to OWN a pair? Enter for a chance to score some sweet Pro Compression socks in the color of your choice!

First, make sure you click on the Rafflecopter link below. Then, comment on how you like to recover after a run or race. (I love to kick my pro compression clad legs up and drink a coke)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more entries:

1. Like Helly on the Run on Facebook.
2. Like PRO Compression on Facebook.
3. Follow Helly on the Run on Twitter.
4. Follow PRO Compression on Twitter.
5. Tweet about the giveaway.
6. Follow Helly on the Run on Instagram.

Good luck! And hey, everyone’s a winner here. If you want your socks NOW, use the code BLG14 at checkout for 40% off! Go to their website and start shopping 🙂 Be sure to check out their Sock of the Month at the bottom of their homepage and sign up for great deals!

Fine print:
The giveaway will on Tuesday at midnight and I’ll announce that morning.
Ships U.S. only
Void where prohibited by law

I did receive my socks courtesy of Pro Compression. My opinions on their product are honest and forthright. I have tried other similar products but wholeheartedly prefer Pro Compression for the quality.

Back on the Trail

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Arizona, Recovery, Running, Trail Running March 10, 2014

It’s been one week since my first marathon and it’s crazy how soon you itch to run again.

I’ve forced myself to take it easy and probably should take it more easy–and I plan too.

This is what last week looked like:

Sunday: Rest and recovery
Monday: Rest and recover
Tuesday: 4 easy miles
Wednesday: Core work
Thursday: Hip, legs, and glute work
Friday: Rest and recovery
Saturday: 6 miles @ 9:30/mile
I made sure to ice, stretch and foam roll throughout the week as well.

Sunday, yesterday, I really wanted to head to the trails with my run club. There’s a place they like to frequent that has a 3 mile loop, a 7.5 mile loop, and a 10 mile loop. I figured if I was going to drive the 30 minutes to get there I should eliminate the 3 mile and do either the 7 or 10 to really enjoy it. Since it’d only been a week out from my marathon, I went with the 7.5.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. Perfect for a trail run. I was so excited!

All distances started together which I liked. A few of my buddies were doing the loop I was so I decided to hang out with them since I didn’t really know where I was going.

We took off and at about mile 3 reached this picturesque spot. Since it was my first time on this trail, I found it necessary to take a picture 🙂

and this is why I love trail running

We started to separate soon after this spot as people gained/lost speed. I hung around a friend with a similar pace for a while until we parted around mile 5.

I was on my own and just relishing the views and fresh air. There was a slight wind cooling me as I went and I couldn’t help but just soak everything in. No pressure about time, no pressure about anything.

It made me really start to look forward for the Canyon in May.

It’d been years since I’d been trail running. In high school, a looong time ago, that was all we trained on. I’m from in-the-middle-of-nowhere Arizona, so we always ran in the desert. I loved it and when I moved to the city, didn’t make an effort to drive the distance to make it a trail.

But it was like I had never left. There is nothing like breathing in the fresh air and hearing the sounds of the desert 🙂

–Do you like trail running?
–Is there a place you especially like to run at?