February Rewind

March 5, 20142 Comments

I’m thrilled that February is over. For being such a short month, it always seems to drag on. I’m not the biggest fan of March, but we’re one step closer to spring….well hopefully. February was a rough one, not only with the weather, but it took a beating on my body. I was in the final two weeks of my 5 week work trips and getting sick was something I was starting to grow accustom to. Let’s take a look at the numbers, and cross our fingers this is the last month of terribly cold weather and snow every day.

Miles run: 47

Races run: 1 (Frosty 5k)

Miles biked: 4 Miles

Favorite Workout: 2/19 Speed work- Mile Repeats

Books read: 1 (Thinking in New Boxes)

Places traveled: 2 (Dallas & St. Louis)

New recipes: 0

I was down 4 miles from January, but considering there were a few less days, I think I was just about on track. I didn’t actually start half marathon training until the 10th, so the week before was a little low on miles before diving in head first. I was also sick as a dog in Dallas, which meant every free moment, I spent sleeping instead of running. But I’m healthy now, so I’m hoping to get well beyond that mileage for March. My favorite workout (new point for the monthly recap) was my first speed day of the training cycle. I did two mile repeats, 8:12 and 8:02, and completed 4.5 miles in 39 minutes. This workout definitely gave me hopes of some fast races coming up!

I did get some miles in on the stationary bike, but no where near my goal. I can definitely see this number going up once the weather is nice and I can spend more time outside rather than trapped inside the gym. However, I have been using my Body Fusion class as cross training and it’s been great! Two months in and I can lift more than I expected and I’m finally getting toned in my arms and back.

I finished up my travels to Dallas, where it snowed, and to St. Louis for work. I wish I could have stayed in St. Louis longer to explore the city, but it gives me an excuse to come back to run someday. I also read “Thinking in New Boxes” for work, which was interesting, but I felt it was definitely a book I would have read in grad school. I’ll be back into my own books now, as soon as I can pull myself away from House of Cards.

So there we have it. February was spent running, traveling, being sick, and waiting for spring. I’m hoping to add at least 20 more miles to what I did in February, hopefully get some time on the bike and maybe dive into a few books.

What was your most exciting thing you did in February? Are you sick of winter as much as me?

365 Project-February Photos

February 28, 2014Leave a comment

On February 1st I started the 365 Project to document the next year in photos. Jen got me started on this after she decided to document her first year living as an American in Canada. Some days have been easy to find the perfect picture, while others have been a bit more difficult. And rather than spam your Twitter or Instagram feed, I kept my pictures under wraps for the most part. But after looking back at the past month, I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures. If you want to follow along my 365 day journey and see all of the photos, you’re more than welcome.

Sunset sneaking into my parent’s backyard. 7/365

Art at the Westin St. Louis. 12/365

Medina Ice Festival, Tower of fire & ice. 15/365

The sunrise, 7:21 am, 1 degree and beautiful. 17/365

The perfect sunset behind an old abandon barn. 18/365

I’ve certainly seen a trend with many of my photos, but I don’t follow a prompt, so really anything goes. I’m looking forward to seeing what moments I can capture in the next 11 months.

Have you ever tried a photo challenge? What prompt would you use for your photos?

A Weekend Celebration

February 26, 20144 Comments

A little over four years ago, I made the decision to go to Baldwin Wallace to get my MBA. Within that first month, I met a guy who caught my attention, and four years later he still makes me smile. Over the weekend we celebrated spending 4 amazing years together in the city where our relationship grew.

We headed to Wooster Saturday evening and started with dinner at my favorite restaurant, Broken Rocks Cafe. As always I had the Spaghetti & Meatballs and Darren had the Tomato Basil soup and Cajun Chicken. Both great meals and highly recommended. Afterward we headed to City Square Steakhouse for additional drink(s) and dessert, which is where we finished up the night before heading back to the hotel. It was so great to get away to a place we love and enjoy some of our favorite sites of Wooster.

So here’s to 4 years and many, many more!

Friday Faves

February 21, 2014March 18, 20143 Comments

Another month, and another round of my favorite items. Even though I spent most of the time traveling, I actually used almost all of these items while I was on the road, which is why they quickly became favorites!

Oiselle French Fleece Runfinity Scarf- This scarf is beyond warm! Imagine your favorite fleece hoodie wrapped around your neck. Yep, pure comfort! With our negative and single digit temperatures we’ve been having, this scarf became a necessity whenever I went outside.

-FlightView App– My life revolved around this app the last few weeks. The perfect travel companion, FlightApp has become my favorite flight tracker app to use. It actually keeps everything up to date and includes real airport sounds to alert you of your flight status. Clearly, that’s why it’s my favorite.

Available on iTunes

-Duolingo App- I’ve finally started on my German! After testing out many apps, Duolingo quickly became my favorite. Without knowing the basics, I was quickly able to catch on and understand phrases and every day words. With over 51 skills available for each language, Duolingo is definitely helping me learn German at the pace I want without getting completely confused.

Progress

–Oiselle Randies– Fun sayings and bright colors, what more could you want in a pair of underwear? I saw the original Rundies a few years ago, and couldn’t pass up the chance to get the Randies. Underwear or no underwear under your spandex, there is no debate when it comes to these. With minimal visible panty line, these Randies keep your bun warm in the winter and cool in the heat.

-Nuun of the month- Fruit Punch! I’ve been taking a tablet of Nuun Fruit Punch after every workout and I feel completely refreshed. The taste isn’t over powering like so many other fruit punch flavored sport drinks, which is why I can stomach it after any kind of workout. Right now, all orders are shipping for free from Nuun, but it expires tonight, so stock up today!

Nuun Fruit Punch

Those are my Friday Faves for this month. What are you currently crushing on?

January Rewind

February 7, 2014Leave a comment

The first month of 2014 is over and it went by so quickly! I spent most of the month traveling and avoiding some of the crazy weather we’ve had. I can’t help but think I’m starting this year on the right foot. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Miles run: 51

Races run: 0

Miles biked: 0

Books read: 1 (Once a Runner)

Places traveled: 4 (Chicago, Vegas, Detroit, Toronto)

New recipes: 1, Ham & Bean Soup

My mileage jumped up pretty high this month. I haven’t run that many miles since the early fall. It felt great to get more miles in and I know it will only go up from here. I even focused on cross training with my Body Fusion class. Once I get back to a regular schedule I can add yoga in, and hopefully get back on the bike as well.

I finally finished Once a Runner and it was a great book. It will be perfect motivation to get my training schedule off on the right foot. I’ve got a book for work to read next, but I’m hoping to dive into more books I’ve had on my to-read list.

Like I mentioned before, I traveled a lot in January. I started off in Chicago, where we celebrated New Years. I followed that up with 4 days in Vegas and got to run the strip. The next week I traveled to Detroit, and spent the week after that in Toronto. Lots of miles and lots of days wondering which time zone and state I was in. At least it makes the winter go by quick!

I also made ham and bean soup and shared my recipe of spaghetti squash. February will bring a few trips, more miles and hopefully better weather!

What did you do in January? What are your goals for February?

365 Days

January 31, 2014March 18, 2014Leave a comment

One year, 365 days. A lot can happen in this small amount of time. A few days ago, Jen asked me to participate in a 365 day photo challenge. I’ve participated in a few monthly Instagram challenges, but trying a photo challenge that would last one full year sounded really exciting. So I’ve decided to give it a shot. I haven’t decided on a theme, but I want to focus on taking pictures when the perfect moment happens.

We’ll be using 365project.org and you’re welcome to follow along. I’m sure I’ll update with my favorite pictures throughout the year, but to catch all the photos, feel free to follow me. We’re starting on February 1st and I’m excited to see what amazing things I’ll capture over the next 365 days.

And so we begin, 365 days of my life, filled with running, traveling, possibly some adorable cats, and so much more. I hope you enjoy it and hopefully you can start your own 365 day journey!

Friday Faves

January 24, 20142 Comments

It’s time for another addition of my favorite things! I’ve got a variety of items on the list this month, let’s take a look!

Hello Vino App – I’m a big fan of wine, and when I mean big, I mean I’m doing a wine tasting almost every weekend at our grocery store. (Too much wine, maybe?) I used to take a picture of the bottle so I’d remember it for future reference, but now there’s an app for that. Hello Vino is the perfect app for wine lovers. You can keep track of your favorite wines, find deals on wines, or find the perfect wine to pair with any meal. In other words it’s the how to on becoming a wine snob.

Body Fusion Class – I’m absolutely loving my Body Fusion class right now. It’s the perfect mix of lifting and yoga. I never knew the proper way to lift, so having an instructor show me the right way and new ways to lift makes all the difference. I can tell this will be a huge help with training this year. Better yet, the class is on Monday nights so it’s the perfect way to kick off a new week!

Bastille – This is my latest album download and I’m completely satisfied. I heard Pompeii on the radio this summer and recently started hearing Bad Blood, then I knew I was hooked. I downloaded the entire album and I can’t get enough. Plus, most of the songs are on a quick beat so they’re perfect to add to my race playlist! Also, they’ll be performing on Saturday Night Live this weekend if you’re interested in checking them out.

Source

My final favorite will be sort of a reoccurring favorite. Back in December I was accepted as a 2014 Nuun Fan Member as part of a new tri-level ambassador program. So each month I’ll be focusing on one flavor of Nuun that I’m loving.

Cherry Limeade Nuun – Cherry Limeade has been my travel buddy and afternoon savior. With just 40mg of caffeine, it’s the perfect dose to get you back on your feet, but doesn’t keep you awake until the wee hours of the morning. With early flights and multiple time zones over these next couple weeks, my sleeping schedule will be all over the place. Luckily I’ll have my Cherry Limeade Nuun to keep me awake when I need it most. It’s also been a great tool to use for that 3:00 lull every afternoon, one tab and I can keep plugging away until I leave at 5:30. The flavor is great and I’d definitely recommend it over that afternoon cup of coffee!

What are you currently crushing on? Do you still watch SNL? What’s your favorite flavor of Nuun?

2014 Goals

January 1, 20143 Comments

Happy New Year! Hope you had a fun and safe night bringing in the new year. We celebrated in Chicago, post to follow.

Anyway, it’s easy to say that 2013 wasn’t my best year of running, and that’s something I definitely want to change for 2014. I’m already optimistic that this year is going to be great. I have a lot of goals that I want to accomplish, or at least attempt. I also have other goals I’d like to work on through the next 365 days. 2014 will be a year to become a better me!

2014 Goals

Running:

Break 2:00 in the half marathon
Break 24:30 in the 5k
Raise $1,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Volunteer for a race
PR in all distances
Run at least 6 half marathons
Run 600 miles

Personal:

Try at least 15 new recipes
Plan a vacation for somewhere new
Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
Read at least 10 books
Donate 1/4 of my clothes
Try something completely out of my element
Bike at least 20 miles a month
Get back into yoga

Blogging:

Own my own domain
Blog at least 3 times a week
Update the blog layout
Use a blog calendar

I’m really looking forward to 2014 and all that it brings. Hopefully I can accomplish all these goals and more!

What are your goals for 2014?

2013 in Review

December 30, 2013December 30, 20133 Comments

Finally, 2013 is coming to an end. It’s wasn’t a terrible year, but I never really got too excited about it. However, there were plenty of great things that happened in the past 365 days. Here’s a look at 2013.

I ran 12 races: five half marathons, one 10k and six 5ks
I traveled: Vegas, Toronto x2, Dallas (Work) & Austin, Colorado (Vacations)
I ran the 3M Half Marathon and knocked Texas off my list
I met Melissa and Paula
I PR’d in the 5k
I traded in my Mazda3 and upgraded to the VW Tiguan, hello AWD
I ran my first trail race, the Yeti! Set Go 10k
I joined a new running group, Medina Country Road Runners
I was part of two weddings, Congrats again Elayna & Nicole!
I gave my dad a surprise 60th birthday party
We bought a house!

And of course 2013 had plenty of goals and plans that I set out to accomplish, so let’s take a look at how those turned out.

2013 Goals

Running:

Run a sub 2:00 half marathon –Stuck at 2:05
Run 800 miles –Not even close, but at least I made it over half way at 435
~~PR in the 5k~~ –PR’d on my home turf at the Sole to Soul 5k
Run two half marathons in two new states – I knocked Texas off my list, so I’m 1/2 on this one
~~Volunteer at races~~ –I joined the Medina Half Marathon committee, so that counts right?

Personal

Travel –I traveled a lot for work: Vegas, Dallas, Toronto x2, but we also took some trips for fun: Colorado & Austin
Learn German – I really need to learn German still
~~Learn to cook and eat healthier~~ – I tried some new and healthy recipes this year, not many, but it’s a start
Stress less – Oh, this was a silly goal, that definitely won’t happen
Read more, at least 10 books – Four books, and definitely not enough, I’ll be trying this again.
Cut out unnecessary purchases – I’d say I did this for most of the year, and then I got a new car, and a house, and some really cute clothes….

What did you do in 2013? What was your favorite memory? Did you accomplish all of your goals?