I have long been on the search for a convenient, easy to carry, easy to prepare, protein source. I think I've tried every protein powder out there. I finally realized that I'm not a fan of drinking my calories (unless it's beer LOL). There were plenty of decent options, I just never reached for them. So, I've been trying other protein sources - I need easy to carry with me, no refrigeration required, and it has to taste good. So, when I was offered the chance to try the new Naked Bars, I jumped at it. Naked bars are nut based, gluten free bars with added whey for additional protein. They currently come in two flavors: peanut butter (which is peanut based, as you might expect) and chocolate (which is almond based.) Neither has any … [Read more...]
Move More, Sit Less: Keeping your heart healthy with exercise
Confession: I want to be that lady running races in her 90s. While I will totally admit to being a bit of a serial racer and a mileage addict, when I'm being completely honest, I run so that I can be healthy enough to run when I'm older. That's why I'm partnering with the American Heart Association to run their Lawyers' Have a Heart 10K. Since I'm training for a 50K right now, I will be running the Lawyers Have a Heart race in the middle of a long training run. We'll call that a tempo run with a long warm up and a long cool down. The location is perfect for me to run to the race, race, and run home. In addition to running a race with the American Heart Association, I'd like to share some of their tips on improving and … [Read more...]
Runfessing over a cup of coffee
Since Marcia opened the Runfessional late and Deb and Coco are hosting the Ultimate Coffee Date, I've decided to combine the fun into one post. If we were having coffee, I'd runfess that I meant to write this post days ago, but life kept getting in the way. In fact, it took me all day today to actually hit publish. I've been juggling two part time jobs for a while, but recently I started working a regular shift at the library as well as picking up a few other shifts as they need people. I like it and I'm still not working 40 hours a week, but it's taking a bit of adjustment to fit in my non-paid activities now. Speaking of non-paid, if we were having coffee, I'd runfess that I'm nervous about getting in all the miles for … [Read more...]
Marine Corps Marathon 50K Training
According to various training plans I've been looking at, it's nearing time to get this party started. I've done some crazy things in the past, including 7 half marathons in 7 days and two marathons in the same weekend. I've created training plans in the past to accommodate these antics, so now it's time to take all the plans I've been looking at and put them together in a perfect plan for me. I won't be sharing it here - I've designed one that works for MY body and its strengths and weaknesses - but here are some elements I plan to use to be successful in October Incorporate one or two full marathons as training runs. I've already identified a few options in September and early October. Most of the plans I've looked at … [Read more...]
Half Marathon #79: Rutgers Unite Half Marathon
Rutgers Unite Half MarathonNew Brunswick, NJApril 14, 20192:27:59 Temp: mid 50sWhat I wore: hat, tank top, Skirt Sports Lotta Breeze Skirt, ProCompression socks, and Altra One 2.5 Beer Geek and I both signed up to run this race. One of us was actually trained for it. {Hint: it wasn't me.} Life through us a curve ball in the form of a cancelled flight by Southwest. (They cancelled our kids' flight two hours before the flight. They blamed weather, but it was the ONLY flight cancelled or even delayed. I call BS. I might still be livid 2 weeks later...) Anyways, thanks to my parents and a very understanding race director, we were able to run. Never mind that we had to drive to New Jersey via Pittsburgh. We made it there. That's all … [Read more...]
I’ll take wine instead of coffee…
It's time for the monthly virtual coffee date with Deb and Coco, but this month I had the pleasure of getting to see both of them at a dinner party that Deb threw. So, today we are having wine. If we were having wine, I'd tell you that it was awesome to meet up with a bunch of local MRTT ladies and a few bloggers at Deb's house. I got to meet Kim and Linda and also see the other Deb again. Not only was the food great, but the company was amazing. Kim and Linda were in town for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler, so hopefully they had a great run today. If we were having wine, I'd also tell you that I volunteered at the Altra booth at the Cherry Blossom expo. I got to try on the new Kayenta (OMG, can't wait to get a pair) and learn … [Read more...]
Half Marathon #78: Mike to Mike Half Marathon
Mike to Mike Half MarathonFayetteville, NCMarch 24, 20193:08:39 Temp: 38* at the start, 50s by the endWhat I wore:hat, tank top, Skirt Sports Happy Girl, ProCompression socks, and Altra One 2.5 (that I switched into from Escalante at the last minute.) I signed up for this race on a whim because my friend Liz was an ambassador and offered me a free place to stay. I somehow totally ignored the fact that it was a 5 hour drive home. On I-95. On a Sunday afternoon. Oops. Oh, and I didn't actually run more than 6 miles between my half marathon in December and this one. Oops. My drive down went smoothly and I managed to meet up with another friend from Skirt Sports for lunch on the way. When I got to Fayetteville, I scored the … [Read more...]
Registering during Marine Corps Marathon Rush Registration
Running the Marine Corps Marathon is on many people's bucket list. And once you've run it once, it grabs you by the heart strings and you want to run it again. (Even if you claim you don't. Not that I'd know anything about that.) But getting into the race requires a little bit of luck. In recent years, in addition to the other options, MCM has offered a rush registration. This is a 20 minute window to register that will allow up to 7,000 runners to register before the lottery opens. It starts at noon - usually on a day in mid-march. Here's how the process goes: Set an alarm on your phone so you don't forget. Ok, maybe set 2 or 3. Actual number dependent on your level of OCD. Dress in your lucky MCM registering clothes. If … [Read more...]
Finalizing my 2019 race plans
I can't believe it's March and I'm just now figuring out my race plans. Everything hinged on getting into the new Marine Corps Marathon 50k. If I had not, I'd have upended everything to find another race. So, here we go... March 17 - Four Courts Four - I run or volunteer at this race as often as possible (sometimes both.) It starts with a wicked fast downhill, but what goes down must come up, so it ends with a painful uphill. Luckily it also ends with beer. Guinness to be exact. March 24 - Mike to Mike Half Marathon (All American Marathon) - This race goes from downtown Fayetteville to Fort Bragg. I'm pretty excited about this race because a number of Skirt Sports ambassadors will be there. I'm less excited about the fact that … [Read more...]
March Coffee Date – Lion or Lamb
Here we are, one month closer to being done with winter. I generally don't mind winter, but this has been one of the rainiest that I can remember and I'm pretty much over that. But I've had a lot going on, so grab a big cuppa and we'll chat with Deb and Coco‘s and catch up on things. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that last week was one heck of a roller coaster. There were just so many things up in the air. On the bright side, we got tickets to Savor again, Jones got accepted to something he really wanted, and I got into MCM 50k. That's right! I'll be running my first 50k this fall instead of the Marine Corps Marathon. And Beer Geek didn't believe me when I told him I would not be running the marathon. If we were … [Read more...]
Runfessions of the shortest month of the year
I have to admit that when I realized today was Runfession Friday, I freaked out a little. I mean, how could it be the end of the February already??? Thankfully we have almost a week left, so I'm not quite as far behind as I thought I was (I just finished sending my tax stuff to my accountant. Pretty sure that's going to be blood bath. Oh well.) So, it's not quite the end of the month, but I'll runfess with Marcia anyways. Because this is how my February has gone... I runfess that I've had a hard time actually committing to any races this spring. I even went so far as to sign up to volunteer for the Reston Half Marathon rather than run it. But last night I got bitten by the race bug and signed up for the local Four Courts race (OMG, … [Read more...]
Put your oxygen mask on first
Last week was a hard week. I was dealing with a couple of really stressful things, as well as just having a lot going on. And I responded poorly. I skipped a few workouts and I ate my feelings. (And then I went to Costco and bought ALL the carbs so I could continue eating my feelings. Lesson learned: don't go to Costco when you are stressed.) By Friday evening, I was just done. Unfortunately, despite going to bed early, I had a rough night (Jones had the ACT on Saturday morning. I've discovered that if I have anything that makes me get up earlier than usual, that I don't sleep well. I need to fix this.) Saturday, after I dropped Jones at his test, I decided I needed to just stop. I needed to find a way to get my head on straight - I … [Read more...]
