Stick to the Plan!

2 days down, 54 more to go! (kidding...kinda)

This week marks the first official week of my 8 week training program for the See Chicks Run 10K on June 1st. This also marks the first time in nearly 2 years that I am following a training program. Last time, when I was training for the 2012 half marathon, I didn't stick to my schedule that well, and what do you know, I didn't do that well! Do you think it's related??

One of the ways I am trying to set myself up for success this time is by tailoring the training plan to fit my needs. I used Hal Higdon's 10K Training Program (a combo of the novice and the intermediate programs) as a starting point to gauge mileage progression and on/off days, but I mixed the days around to best fit my schedule. Since I created the plan, and didn't just get it from a book, I had a lot more buy-in to the program, as well as a lot more time to sit down and think about if it was a plan that was actually do-able for me.

I also tried to plan ahead as much as possible to figure out when I might need to switch my schedule around. As you can see, last weekend I was in Brooklyn, so I knew I wasn't going to go out for a run when I was staying over my friend's house, so instead I moved my "long run" to Wednesday.

I also integrated the schedule into my other workout schedule. I do a studio class about 4-6 times a week that I love and pay a lot for. These 60 minute studio classes help keep me strong, happy, and motivated. Since you probably don't know what all those crazy italicized class names mean (those are different classes at my studio) just know that my schedule is set up like this:

Monday-  Stretch and Strengthen

Tuesday-  Run + High Cardio (morning/afternoon)

Wednes-  Rest/Yoga

Thursday- High Cardio 

Friday-     Run + Strengthen (morning/afternoon)

Saturday- High Cardio

Sunday-   Long run

The last thing that I feel is setting me up for success is having smaller short term goals. You can see that in two weeks I'm running a 5K. Having that race in the beginning of my training gives me something immediate to start training for. It will also be a great way to set-up a baseline race pace that I can expect to beat  to follow during my 10K.

And don't forget this 10K training program is really just the beginning of my Half Marathon training program! Training for these smaller, more immediate races will help me build my base mileage for the half marathon. Since I am an "instant gratification" type of person, the idea of training for these smaller races is making the bigger half marathon goal seem much more realistic!

What are some ways that help you stick to your training plan?

Fair Weather Runner

Every year when I would find a sudden influx of runners on my usual trails, I would know that it was officially the start of spring. These new runners, in their fancy matching gear, were a better indication of the season than Punxsutawney Phil. I would snidely think to myself 'they're not real runners. Where were they a few weeks ago when the trail was covered in ice and I was waddling around in layers of spandex?' Ugh, the Fair-Weather Runners; the worst kind of runners.

Cut to 3 years later and I'm one of them. Oh Karma, you betch. If you've read my blog before, you know I've been trying to add running back into my normal routine. I've found new exercises that I love, but running was my first love and I will always be trying to rekindle that magic.

Well, this spring I am determined to get back to running and I did it the best possible way I knew how; set a hard deadline and threaten public embarrassment and personal failure if I don't succeed ;)

I've signed up for 3 races this Spring-Summer season to help force me into running again!

Rabbit Run 5K- April 19th

The first race is in 2 weeks. I've been running for enough years that 5Ks don't make me nervous at all. I'm running this one with a few friends so I'm planning on just taking it easy (I'm shooting for around 30 minutes) and have fun. I mean, it's at the zoo so it's gotta be fun, right? ...Right?

See Chicks Run 10K- June 1st

This race is in Wissahickon Park (a super big awesome park with lots of trails!) and is ALL girls (chicks) and ONE DUDE (rooster). I'm running this one with a friend also and I'm really looking forward to it!

Sorry for the TERRIBLE picture quality. I'll post a better one later.

Since I've never run a 10K (and it seems like a way more serious distance than a 5K- no hate to all you 5k-ers though, just personal preference!) I've committed myself to a training program. I kind of altered Hal Higdon's 10K training program and integrated it with my workouts that I do at the Lithe Method. Training for me is all about injury prevention so the more cross training and strengthening I can do, the better!

Also, check out these sweet new kicks that I WON from Philadelphia Runner! They're the Nike Free Flyknit 3.0's and they are amazing!

Rock N' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon- September 21st

Are you noticing a trend??? Yep the mileage is going up, good for you! I've run the Rock N Roll Half Marathon once before in 2012 and even with the terrible under-training I did it was still awesome! This year I'm hoping to come back (beat my time) and do it the right way with a solid base of training!

Also, I have convinced myself that I NEED a Garmin Forerunner 220. I mean my birthday is coming up and I deserve this $300 watch right? Well, I don't think my parents agree (nor does my bank account).

Does anyone run/cross train with the Garmin Forerunner 220? Is it as amazing as I think it is?

Long Time No Read

(Oh you know, just chilling out on the highway)

Gosh, it's been a long time, hasn't it? For a while there I felt like I didn't have too much to share. I went into deep winter hibernation mode, but I'm back! I have lots of exciting things to share! But for now, here is a quick picture update of what I've been doing, where I've been going, and what I've been eating!

I've officially started drinking coffee

Sometimes a girl just needs a fruity cocktail and some apps.

Peanut butter, wasa cracker, craisins, and coconut make a delicious post workout snack!

The Philadelphia Flower Show came to Macy's

Checking out some red pandas at the Brooklyn zoo!

Yummy cakes from a Brooklyn bakery

Cedric Gervais and Lana Del Rey are a match made in heaven

The End of a Long Weekend

Happy President's Day! Because of snow I haven't had work since Wednesday which means today is the last day of my 5 day weekend. To be honest, I'm not ready to go back to work yet (I have too much work waiting for me when I get there...) but I don't really have a choice. So at least I made the most out of my day today! 

I woke up early (after going to bed late) all because I'm finally reading Divergent. I know I'm about a year behind on the trend, but this book is so good! If you like The Hunger Games I am 99.9% certain you will like Divergent.

I have all 3 books downloaded together which is why it looks like the book has 952 pages. I started reading this book last night and I'm already 251 pages in. That's how good it is!

Nick and I went to Target this morning to pick up some things for around the house but we also ended up doing our grocery shopping there too.

Why hello cashew cranberry almond mix.

Next I was off to Lithe to take a 12:15 class- A-List Abs. My abs were burning. After 1 hour of pure ab-enhancing torture, I went to PAWS (Philadelphia's animal shelter) and took a dog out for a run.

This is Sage! She was really sweet and didn't pull too much on the leash! She also ran at a pace similar to mine (about a 9:00min mile) so we got along really well!

If you're interested in learning more about Sage, you can go to http://phillypaws.org/locations/adoption-center/

Once I got home I made a salad with my new fixings and drank some Miso Ginger Broth from Trader Joe's. That stuff is surprisingly good. I think it will be a new pantry regular!

One piece of bad news: both my boyfriend and I put our names in the lottery for the Broad Street 10 Miler and neither of us got in, so that kinda bummed us both out some. 

Anyway, I'm off to take a shower and then read more Divergent.

Did anyone else get a nice long weekend because of the snow? Did anyone get into the Broad Street Run?

Love, Love, Love

I think that it's pretty fitting that my first official day back together with running was Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day also happens to be my boyfriend's birthday, so today was a lot more about him than about me (which is how it should be!)

We had both gotten new running shoes and were chomping at the bit to try them out, so we decided to brave the snow and drive to the Schuylkill river trail for a run.

Bits of the trail were really icy!

In the distance you can see boathouse row!

Nick is way faster than me (plus I'm just coming back to running) so we made a plan to meet back at our car in 30-40 minutes. Because I haven't run in a while especially with my new shoes, and with it being so icy, I knew I needed to take it slow. I probably only ran about 2 miles. But those 2 miles felt good! And they were fun! First time back running = Success!

I loved my Brooks Ravenna 5 on their first run

We stretched a little while we were outside, but once we were back home I made sure to stretch everything out really well since my legs have been really tight and going back to running is all about injury prevention for me this time around.

I'm taking no shortcuts this time!

After our run we showered and then cleaned our apartment. I tried to look nice for my man (I even washed my hair for the first time in days!)

Freshly showered

Then we headed to Whole Foods and picked up lots of cheeses and crackers for a cheese plate and some mussels and baguette! 

My family has taught me well in the art of the cheese platter ;)

Oh and of course we got a piece of tres leche cake and some mini heart shaped raspberry cheesecakes. Sorry no pictures of those ;)

All in all it was a wonderful day filled with love and happiness. Did you do anything special for Valentine's Day?