Running must-haves

Good news everyone...Monday is almost over.  Cue sigh of relief. 

After a week of taking off too many days in the exercise department (at least in my opinion), I was determined to sneak a run in today between my two jobs.  I only have about an hour and a half window to do so, which is plenty of time but nonetheless, not very motivating.  Still, I busted out a slow, sore 2.5 miles.  Any run is better than napping and/or watching Weeds in your bed right? 

In the middle of my run I stopped at Highland park and did a mini-bootcamp!  It wasn't too intense but it switched things up a little so I think I'll have to do this more often.  In the mix was:

10 dips on park bench

10 incline push-ups on park bench

10 mountain climbers

10 regular squats

10 plie squats

2 times through

Hi park

Made that bench my b****

What saved me on this run though, was my new handheld water bottle!  I got it for my race last week and can't believe I ever ran in the summer without it.  I usually hold off on grabbing water on my runs, or hit up the 100 degree water fountain in the park for a super refreshing pick me up but, bringing my own bottle= so much smarter!

That leads me to ask, what do you need on runs?  Running is great in that you really only need a (good) pair of sneakers to get up and go, but there is so much extra swag that I can say I really need.  For me it's ipod/iphone, headphones, my Brooks, non-slip headband, Timex GPS, water bottle (in heat) and last but not least....tissues!  My nose runs like crazy when I run and not having tissues can ruin a run for me fast.  

First legit 5k!

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone had a great fourth of July!  Even though I hated that the holiday fell on a Wednesday this year, I'm realizing that it felt like the weekend but wasn't and now the weekend is only a day away, sweet.  I kicked the day off early with my first not tired, hungover 5k!

 I got to the Brighton Chamber of Commerce 4th of July 5K about 25 minutes before the 8am start.  I'm so glad I picked up my race packet the day before because it saved me a lot of pre-race time... don't do it the day of, just don't.  I did a quick warm-up by running around Brighton High School and doing some of my dynamic stretches before getting ready to get my run on.  I was alone at the race so it was fun people watching beforehand.  There were so many young kids with their friends and families, a lot of couples (so cute) and a lot of older people in great shape.  I really hope I am still running and working out as much as some of the jacked ladies there when I get older.  The race started right on time and we were off to a fast start!  I was overwhelmed in the beginning at the fast pace but I let a lot of people pass me so I could run at my own speed.  Besides, I figured a lot of people would fall back after going out so fast.  The course was very flat (score) through a Brighton neighborhood.  Some people were sitting outside their houses cheering us on which was fun!  I ran at a quick pace for me but I kept it pretty consistent.  I forget my splits (they're on my watch though) but my average pace was 8.13!  I feel like I could have gone even faster if I had two things- a friend to run with and my ipod.  I read that no headsets were allowed but people used them anyway so I could have brought mine.  Sometimes you just need a good jam to motivate you though, you know?  The weather didn't help either.  While it wasn't too hot at 8am it was so humid and got up to the mid 90's later that day.  I felt like I was going to puke right before the end of the course but I ended up being fine.  I was glad I bought a handheld water bottle the day before to keep me hydrated and not publicly vomming.  In the end I finished in 25.50 and ended up getting 11th in the 20-24 age group!  I'm pretty happy with my time and am already itching to sign up for another 5k.  I plan on doing a few more in the fall and maybe a 10K as well to help prepare myself for the Philly 1/2 in November.  Racing also made me realize how much I miss competing since I quit swimming.  I love working out for the health of it but I also love having something legitimate to train for. 

Gettting the gear all ready the night before

Necessary post-race, in front of tree solo shot

Picture of me finishing taken by Julia (thanks for cheering me on!).  Man in front of me looks quite exasperated

Sweaty post-race selfie.

Sorry for the super long, wordy post.  If you've been contemplating a 5K or any race for that matter, I encourage you to sign up for one!  Bring a friend, go alone, walk, run, the best thing about them is that you can take them as seriously or as casually as you want.

Liv

Workout: Cardio/strength circuit

Hey, how's your week going so far?  This week is going to be busy for me so I'm thinking I'm going to have to get creative with my workouts by sneaking in short, effective ones here and there.  That's precisely what I did today.  After going on a short (watchless) run yesterday in between job # 1 and job # 2 I decided I wanted to do a circuit workout today.  I love circuits because they are not only fast, but also they make you sweat and you can usually do them anywhere.  Which is where I did mine... in the gravel driveway at my house, aka my backyard.  I have an accordion folder that I throw my workouts in after I write them down so I dug through there hoping to find something that would motivate me.  I wasn't feeling any though so I combined a few moves from different workouts and made my own.  It went like this:

Jump rope strength workout

30 sec. jump rope

15 squats w/ overhead press

30 sec. jump rope

15 front walking lunges w/ lateral raise

30 sec. jump rope

10 planks row with hop

30 sec. jump rope

15 Plie squat with front shoulder raise

30 sec. jump rope

10 Dips and tow touches each

30 sec. jump rope

60 sec. plank

What I look like jump roping

I did this circuit 2 times through with little rest between each exercise and a short break in between rounds 1 and 2.  Each round took around 10 minutes for a short, but effective 20 minute workout.  Also, the Fitnessista's summer shape-up week 3 inspired me to put in the dips and tow touch and the lean green bean's guest post today inspired the plank row and hop.  Test this out and let me know what you think!

I can't wait to chill out with some wine and froyo while watching the swimming olympic trials tonight!

Liv

Hey everyone and happy Friday!!

Friday mornings I work at the radiation oncology department at Strong Memorial Hospital but I went in today at 8 and they didn't have any patients so I got to go home early.  I was disappointed because I like what I do there and because I woke up at 6:45 for nothing, but I got a nice, rainy walk out of it and now I have more time to get stuff done before work tonight.  Around 10 it stopped raining and the sun was starting to come out so I got my stuff ready for a run.

What would you do without a pre-run selfie of me?

I haven't run since Monday due to shin splits and other workouts I wanted to get in and I'm thinking that was a good idea because this run felt great.  I'm still pretty sore from yesterday's workout but it felt good to stretch my legs out. The temperature was perfect also (one of my main running requirements!). I decided to do a 2 mile loop twice, mostly because I like the loop I do and always feel like I'm just running aimlessly with no direction to get more miles in when I try to just add to it.  I really liked the whole loop thing, maybe 3 times will happen soon!  I did switch it up slightly though- the first time I ran down to Highland Park and walked up the steps to the park and the second time I walked up the hilly paths through the park to the top.  Both paths have the same destination but kept each loop fresh.  Does anyone who runs multiple loops ever get bored after a few, or do you like it better than one long route?  I walked the hills on this run but other than that I kept a pretty good pace at around 8:50-9:13.  Here is the final distance and start and end time:

Even though my shins still hurt and my legs were killing me from yesterday, I zoned out and just enjoyed myself.  I brought my old ipod out today instead of my iphone (therefore a lack of pictures), which I've been doing lately to listen to some random music.  The shuffle was killin it today, notable songs include "What's love?" Fat Joe "Brandy (you're a fine girl)" Looking Glass, "Never Say Never" J. Bieber, and "Upgrade U" Beyonce and Jay-Z.

I hope you have fun plans for the weekend!
Liv