Turkey Trotting and soul searching

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having an amazing Thanksgiving!! We haven't done the dinner thing yet, we tend to eat a little later than some, but my day has already been off to an great start!

Today was the local Turkey Trot 5k and I was able to take part this year :) This was by far the biggest race I've taken part in this year and every time I do a large race I have some mixed emotions, but more on that later. I was able to get there with plenty of time to settle in and finally got to meet fellow SWEET workout ambassador, Aimee. She is an amazing runner! We got to chat about running, and the local marathon (and half). I'm super excited for her because she has qualified and will be running the Boston marathon next year! How awesome is that?!?

I made my way to the start line and began to realize just how BIG this race was. True to form I lined up further back than I probably should have, but I was going to do this as a fun run. Well.....when the gun went off the plan changed, lol.

Now, I'm not gonna lie, this is where the mixed emotions come in. I love being at races, I love seeing families being active together, I love the energy of the crowd, but the crowding makes me feel a bit claustrophobic and I feel this need to find some space. I know this is partly my own doing by lining up too far back. I tried my best to just relax, find openings where I could, and run the best race I could today. The course was great, had a few hills (which I love) and was well marked and manned. The only thing I would say was a negative was I didn't see mile markers or see anyone calling splits. Not a big thing, but I would have liked to have seen it. 

    Without mile markers I just ran based on my RPE and to my surprise, my time was better than I had expected it to be. No PR, but a solid effort and I'm happy!

So, the soul searching part... I have been thinking about if I should train to race the 5k distance or move on to longer distances. My decision? Longer distances. I'll still run the 5ks, they're fun and a good test to see just how fast I can go. But for whatever reason, I feel let down if I don't place...which is silly. I don't tend to feel that way with the longer distances. Maybe because I see them as a race against the clock and myself. That nagging feeling when I don't place at a 5k takes the fun factor down a notch, and the fun is one of the biggest reasons I run and race. 

When I started racing, or should I say entering races, it was to celebrate the fact that I could cover the distance. There was a childlike giddiness that came with just being part of a crowd that was running. I felt like a kid that was running over grassy hills chasing butterflies. My heart was light and happy and I was proud because my effort was my best. Placing wasn't even a thought. 

I don't know when the "I've gotta place if it's a short race" mindset kicked in. I have absolutely no issue with those who run to place in a race. A race can be many things to many people. For me, however, I want the challenge and the joy of movement to be what I come away with every time. Not disappointment of not winning an award. So that said I think my focus is going to be more on the 10k - half marathon distance this coming year. I just feel that's what I need. 

So with that I'm giving thought to my upcoming race season as well as other fitness goals for 2016. Wow, I can't believe I just said that! lol! I do have one more race on the calendar for the year, but it is truly a fun run for me. I have no desire to rush this last run, and when I post about it you'll see why ;)

Oh, and finally, I did reach the big 3-6-5 this past Tuesday! It's quite a feeling to look back at the past year and think of the many runs I was able to do. Everything from one mile to 13.1, blazing heat, bitter cold, morning runs, evening runs, indoor, outdoor. Fitting them in between family, a full time work schedule, and other obligations. Enjoying the leisurely long runs on my days off. Discovering virtual racing, running local races. It's been an amazing year, and I can't wait to see what the next one brings!  Today was runstresk day 367 and I'm looking forward to seeing just how long this Runstreak can go!

With that I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Thanksgiving. Until next time live happy and run lots!<3

The Canton Charge 5k

Hi all!! Hope you've been running lots and reaching those fitness goals! I've had a lot of things on my mind lately and have been wanting to blog to get it all out there, so not to waste a moment let me get it started.

First off I competed in the Canton Charge 5k this past weekend. Totally fun, overall very well organized, even if there was one thing that caught me off guard but I'll get to that in a minute. This run was held to celebrate opening day for our city's basketball team. So it was totally all in fun and celebration. Start and finish were at the civic center, which meant we were able to stand indoors in the warm until the start which was very nice! 

The start was pretty uneventful, honestly, and I actually lined up in a great spot because I didn't get stuck behind slower runners or caught in a bottleneck ;) We took a straightforward loop through the city, and I felt light on my feet. I decided not to run with headphones so I could notice more of the architecture...one of the big reasons I love doing some of these races.

It was about the time we started the return part of the loop that I noticed something. They didn't have anyone calling mile split times. Not a huge deal as I just wanted to run a strong race, but odd nonetheless.

I decided I was just going to focus on runners and either stick with them or pass. So one runner at a time I made my way toward the finish.

I crossed the finish line got my medal and made my way to the food. I knew I finished strong so we waited for the awards, alas I didn't place. When the official results were posted, I found I had missed third in my age group by 2 seconds! TWO! My official time was 26:12, a PR, but I'll admit I stewed over that two seconds for a while, lol. 

Which brings me to the next topic rattling around my brain. I've never followed a training plan to PR a 5k. Right now I'm in the process of deciding if that will be my goal for next year, or if I want to up my race distances and qualify for half fanatics instead. I'm still deciding, but one thing I know for sure is December is going to be a light month. Two to three miles a day. That's it. I need to give my legs at least one easy, and I mean easy, month before I launch into half marathon training. After my heartbreaking (for me) 2 second loss I came across this quote, and it helped me to think a little clearer. We won't win every race, but if we learn from our "losses" it's not really a loss, now is it? ;)

My other thought was about the direction of my blog. Mostly about wanting this just to be a place to share. I see so many experts and trainers and people sharing "how to"s and diet plans and the like, and part of my brain thought "Hey, you should do that too!" But truth be told, I'm no dietitian, no expert, no personal trainer (ok, I used to be one but I digress), I'm just a regular woman who has a family a full time job, home responsibilities and a big, huge passion for running. So I really do just want this to be a diary, or a dialogue, or like a chat between friends. I've got plenty to share, but plenty to learn too, so that's how I see my blogging from here on out :)

Finally, some big, huge, exciting news!! You all know I'm a SWEET workout ambassador, well I got the news a few days ago that I have been selected to be a FitFam Ambassador!! I'm so excited I could burst! FitFam's goal is to help encourage people to live a healthy, active lifestyle. They sponsor virtual races and events to help motivate you as well as having a supportive community on Facebook and an amazing site to help you find your next race. I'm looking forward to sharing news about events, and being involved in helping them #movethemission to help everyone live a healthy, active, happy life! 

As a matter of fact, our first virtual challenge is coming up in January and we would love to have you join us! You can run, walk or cycle, and earn some really cool swag in the process ;) not to mention get a jump start on any New Year's resoloutions. Just visit fitfamchallenge.eventbrite.com and enter MOVETHEMISSION10 to receive a 10% discount on your entry. Hope you decide to join in the fun! 

Well, I think that's all for now. I'm off to try and squeeze in some yoga and quilting before dinner, lol, wish me luck. Until next time, run lots and live happy!!

I would like to thank RunCanton Inc and TG Photography for allowing us to download and share race pictures from this wonderful event.

The SWEET workout virtual 5k...round one

So, today was my SWEET workout virtual 5k. Actually it's my first of two. I'm counting this one as my Instagram race. This race is a fun virtual race from the fitness group I am an ambassador for. The coolest thing about this race is it was FREE! Yes free, the only "entry fee", if you will, was you had to make a hand made piece of bling for the person you were partnered up with. Well heck!! You all know I love crafting as much as running so I was all about it! I am on vacation this week, so I though "how perfect". I should be rested and able to crank out a really good 5k. Well.....

When I laced up I just knew something was off, but I had set the date and I look at my virtuals like I do live races. Although I could move the date, I really feel you build character learning to run in various conditions. It teaches you what your capeable of, where your limits are, just how far you can push. So off into the unseasonably warm weather I went. I couldn't even have gone a mile when I could feel it...heavy, tired, an upset stomach...this wasn't going to be pretty. I had originally thought maybe I'd run longer and count the first 3.1 as my race, but that changed quickly. 

After the first mile, my plan quickly became just do your best. I kept telling myself think of this as a fun run...only 2 more miles...just keep your feet moving...you can do this...this is your race. But in the back of my mind I just kept thinking "Why? Why do I feel so awful?!?!"

After 2 miles I did feel a bit better and I was going a little faster. I think taking the pressure off myself to push made all the difference. I had never been so happy to just be done with a race in my whole life as when 3.11 finally appeared on my phone. It was rough. It was ugly, but it was done. 30:43 or 9:52 per mile. Not my best, but better than I thought it was going to be.

 

After it was all said and done I started thinking. What happened? Everything going on right now should have netted me a great race. On vacation, resting when I want, easy run yesterday, then it hit me. Diet. My diet has been awful since vacation started :( Which then got me thinking more...

Why have I not been eating like I should? I know how I should eat. I'm constantly reading about nutrition, I've taken nutrition courses, I know what it takes to lose weight and have the right nutrition to fuel my workouts (for me anyway) Why haven't I been doing it? I could give a million excuses, but excuses do nothing to fix anything. 

Long story short, there comes that moment of clarity. When you realize YOU ARE in control. You are the one making the decisions. No one else is telling you what to eat, when or how to workout, what steps you should be taking to reach your goal. It's in your hands. You need to take the bull by the horns and MAKE things happen. 

The thought actually came to me earlier today when I decided to go grocery shopping. I try to involve my family in meal planning, but far too often I get "I don't know what I'm hungry for" or "I don't like that" and we've fallen into the trap of eating what sounds good, not what's balanced and healthy. Today's shopping trip is when I took the bull by the horns! I had in mind healthy dinners. I circled the store hitting the produce, meat and dairy departments first. Much less in the way of processed foods. I felt really good when I looked in my cart! I saw REAL food. REAL meals. And what will REALLY help me to become a better athlete (as well as help my family become healthier as well). As they say, you can't out exercise a bad diet!!!

We shall see how getting my eating back on track fares as I have a live race on Saturday the 14th. I will be running the Canton Charge 5k. I wasn't going to sign up for this one as I don't like requesting a lot of Saturdays off, but everything lined up for me to be able to run it. I pretty excited about it!

 

Then to finish out this month's race calander I am running the local Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. It's been years since I ran this particular race so I'm looking forward to it as well. As well as watching the Macy's Thanksgiving  Day Parade when I get home ;)

Finally, I have something really exciting I will be announcing soon. So you'll have to check back here early next week so I can share my news. It's really cool, though, I promise!

For now I'm off to enjoy my evening. Until next time be happy, run far, and smile bunches!!

Recomputing....recomputing...

I can hardly believe it's the beginning of a new month! It's the perfect time to reestablish and renew your commitment to your goals, fitness and otherwise. I always hear people say, "It's the first of a new month. Time to start over again." I don't have a problem with setting goals with the new month, or week, or day. Goals are an important part of achieving your dreams and making something a reality. My problem comes with the starting over part of that statement. Getting in shape is a process. Unless you've totally sat on your butt for a month and eaten candy bars you're not back at square one! Sure, you may not be as far as you thought you would be, you may have backslidden a little, but as long as you've at least tried to keep moving forward, you're NOT starting over. I think of the GPS systems when you make a wrong turn, you're still heading toward your destination, you just need to reevaluate and recompute ;) Right now, I'm in the "recomputing" stage. Last month wasn't bad, but I know where I want to be. I know the changes I want to make, and the direction I need to go. Now to find the best possible way to make them happen!!

So, what are my goals for the month? Well, let's see....

1. Continue running and planking, and add in some yoga and foam rolling for flexibility and recovery. 

2. Add strength training. I'm thinking the best way for me to do this with my busy schedule is to add full body workouts. I know that building muscle will help rev my metabolism and help give my muscles some better shape. 

3. Work on my eating habits and drink more water. This is probably going to be the toughest for me being a restaurant cook (surrounded by food all day), having a teen and tween AND a fiancée with a naturally high metabolism, and I just love food. But long story short, I have some body fat I wish to shed, so I just have to find a way!

4. Be more consistent with my social media. I am here, on Facebook and Instagram and am also member of an online quilting group, and want to make sure to find at least a little time for it all.

5. Work on finishing some of my crafting projects. I have more knitting, crochet, and quilting projects and supplies than I know what to do with. It can feel overwhelming!! I just know finishing some will help me feel less stressed...and I'll have gifts for friends, family and maybe a giveaway some time ;)

6. Just find some time to live life, laugh, smile and be happy!

So there you go! Will I reach them all? Do everything 100%? Maybe, or maybe not. The most importing thing is to have something to shoot for. To keep moving forward, and to recompute when I have to. So what about you? What are your goals? Whatever they are I hope you make lots of progress and have a great November!!