November 7, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Staying healthy & on track during the holidays

Every Friday, three DC area bloggers Mar at Mar On the Run, Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?! and Courtney from Eat Pray Run, DC to host the Friday Five linkup. Anyone can join with their own Friday Five post (yes, it must be a Friday Five!!) They encourage you to visit other blogs on the linkup, comment, share and engage!

This week, the theme is Staying healthy & on track during the holidays

1. Bring healthy snacks to work. If you are hungry, you will be tempted to eat something unhealthy. This is what I always have in my lunch bag everyday.

2. Walk whenever you can. That means taking the stairs rather than the elevator. Eat a quick lunch and go for a walk. Take a walk after dinner.

3. Sign up for a race. If you do, you will be motivated to get out and run. Running burns calories, right?

4. Do some kind of cross-training activity that you enjoy– work out, do yoga, pilates, zumba, play tennis or whatever you can to stay active.

5.Get on the scale. I rarely get on the scale but I try to weigh myself more frequently during the holidays. Nothing like several lbs gained to make me lose my appetite.

Will I cheat? Of course but I try to make them worthwhile cheats on special occasions. (I have a weakness for desserts…)

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christmas cookie exchange at work

Happy Running! How do you stay healthy & on track during the holidays?

November 4, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Cold Weather Running

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Cold Weather Running

I must say that I HATE the cold. I much prefer running in the heat but living in the Northeast, the cold arrives too soon and lasts too long.

I think that about sums things up.

Layers keep you warm but remember not to dress too warmly. If it is 20 degrees, dress for 40. The bottom layer should be breathable. You will sweat no matter how cold it is. My middle layer is usually a fleece vest and for the outside layer, I wear a windbreaker.

HMRRC 7K

I always wear tights with a skirt over them.

Wear wool socks, gloves and a hat. My head, hands and feet are what gets cold first.

HMRRC 15K

The infographic below is very helpful:

or use this tool that will suggest what to wear, based on the info you input – http://www.runnersworld.com/what-to-wear

If you run when it is dark, wear light colors, carry a flashlight or wear a head lamp or run where there are lights.

Running on Nisky Bike Trail

If it is snowing, wear Yak Trax, go slower and watch for icy patches.

I usually care what I wear in the warmer months. But in the winter, not so much. I try not to spend much money on winter running clothes. I wear race shirts and windbreakers. I buy dollar store gloves and buy my tights and skirts in Walmart and Target.

The important things is to just get out and RUN!

Remember:

beasts

Happy Running! Do you like running during the cold weather months?

October 31, 2014 by Darlene

Five Foto Friday x3

I decided to bring back Foto Friday because I want to share just SOME of the statues that I saw last weekend in Trenton, NJ at Grounds for Sculpture. Seward Johnson is the sculptor of most of them and bases many of his works on French Impressionist paintings. (My favorite as a former French teacher.)

: Confrontational Vulnerability (based on Manet’s Olympia)

: joining this man reading

: Sailing the Seine (based on Manet’s Argenteuil)

: Were You Invited? (based on Renoir’s The Luncheon of the Boating Party)

: Forever Marilyn – I saw her when I was in Palm Springs last year

: my friends Andrea and her husband Steve at a lakeside table

: Return Visit (Lincoln)

: Unconditional Surrender

: If it were time (based on Monet’s Terrace at Sainte-Adresse)

: Dejeuner Deja Vu (based on Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe)

: there were many peacocks around

: the Nature of Obsession (based on Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring)

: God Bless America (based on Grant Wood’s American Gothic)

: Daydream (based on Matisse’s Dance)

: Crossing Paths (me feeling small)

Happy Halloween!

Every Friday, three DC area bloggers Mary at Mar On the Run, Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?! and Courtney from Eat Pray Run, DC to host the Friday Five linkup. Anyone can join with their own Friday Five post (yes, it must be a Friday Five!!) They encourage you to visit other blogs on the linkup, comment, share and engage!

This week’s theme is Halloween, of course!

Happy Running! Have a nice weekend! Believe it or not, I do not have a race! Do you?

October 28, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Favorite Running Product/Gear

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Favorite Running Product/Gear

Mine is my Garmin 205.

I ran with the Nike Plus sensor on my shoe and my iPod for the first first years. I even trained with it for my first half marathon.

Then I bought my Garmin 205 right before the day of my first Half.

I know it is BIG but I love it. I don’t even feel it on my wrist. Someday, it will break and I will have to get a new/smaller model 😦

Why do I love it?

1. It was affordable. I paid less than $100 for and I have had NO problems with it in 4 years.)

2. The screen can be split in four so I can see everything I need on one screen – race time, clock time, race pace, race distance (or whatever I choose) without touching a button.

3. It has a very reliable and accurate. I sometimes use my iPhone and many of its apps and none are exact. They ALL measure less than the actual distance.

4. It can be set to beep for intervals. It can also beep if you are running too fast or too slow.

5. The current lap pace pops pops intermittently as you run and at the end of each lap.

6. It is easy to see your stats after you are done – lap splits, best speed for each lap, calories, etc.

this was my recent 5K PR – walked 3x!

7. You can also connect it to your computer so you can sync it and see even more of your stats.

I know that there are many more features that I don’t use such as the maps and I don’t use it for intervals or any kind of timed training runs (because I don’t do them) but I couldn’t race without it.

Happy Running! What is your favorite running product/gear?

October 24, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Reasons to race

This week, the theme is Five Reasons to Race.

running even while on a tennis vacation in Fla.

1. Racing keeps me running. I know that I cannot slack off. If I do, then the race will be painful (physically and mentally).

before the start of a half marathon

2. I usually run alone and when I run a race, I see and meet other runners. So much more enjoyable.

my first 5k under 30 min after being injured

3. I am competitive so when I run a race, I don’t stop and walk as much and I run faster.

smiling even though running with a stress fracture

4. I only get that runner’s high when I cross a finish line in a race.

got to see Palm Springs. CA and my friend Mary

5. Racing gives me the excuse to see new places and visit old friends.

Speaking of races, 2 days until…

Bib#: 1697

Happy Running! Why do you race?

October 21, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Tapering

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Tapering

Well, this topic is appropriate because I have a 10 mile race this coming weekend.

So I guess I am tapering.

What does “tapering” mean?

It is the gradual reduction of training intensity and duration as you edge forever closer to race day. It is a necessary aspect of endurance training and it starts in the last few weeks before the big day.

A few weeks in the case of a marathon. For me, it is the last week before a half marathon. After my long run of 12 miles, I reduce my long run to 8 miles and run several times during the last week. Those runs are usually only 3 miles and then I rest for two days before the big event.

Why is tapering important?

Studies show that levels of muscle glycogen, enzymes, antioxidants, and hormones–all depleted by high mileage–return to optimal ranges during a taper.
The muscle damage that occurs during sustained training is also repaired.
And if that isn’t enough, immune function and muscle strength improve, as well, which reduces the odds you’ll catch a cold or get injured just before the race.
You will not lose your fitness during the tapering period.
If you do it properly you are likely to feel fresher on race day than you have ever felt.

What should you do during a taper (so you don’t go crazy)?

Obsessively check the weather for race day.
Plan your race outfit.
Make sure you have the right fuel for the race.
Check the race Web site for race-morning particulars such as start time, and work out the details of how you’ll get to the start on race day.
Also check the race Web site for the course map and study it.
Relax!!

Back to my tapering.

I don’t feel like I need to taper because I really didn’t train hard.

13 mile week included my only uninterrupted long run of 8.5 miles

Most of my long runs were interrupted by a race.

: 2.8 + 10k

: 6.9 +5K

: 6.9 +5k

: 5k – 27:11 – PR (Sept. 2014)

: 8.5

: 4.5 +5k

: 7.5

: 4.5

: 5

: 5k – 28:25

: 10k

: 5

This taper will be an easy one since the forecast is for rain everyday. I hate to run in the rain and I’m not a fan of treadmills.

Happy Running! What are your thoughts about tapering?

October 17, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Favorite Fitness Tunes

This week, the theme is Five Favorite Fitness Tunes!

Ok, I just picked ones that motivate me to RUN:

Stronger by Brittney Spears
Don’t Stop by the The Rolling Stones
Stronger by Kelly Clarkson
Best Day of My Life by the American Authors
Run Run Run by Michelle Lewis

and if you haven’t, watch this video:

Addicted to Running

Happy Running! What is your favorite running song?

October 10, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Favorite fuel/foods

This week, the theme is Five Favorite Fuel/Foods for Fitness/Running/Training

1. Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat

This is what I eat for breakfast before every race. Sometimes I make instant and sometimes I make the real stuff. My favorite flavor is maple or brown sugar cinnamon.

2. Protein Bars

If I run after work, I usually eat one of these before I run. My favorites are Balance bar (yogurt honey peanut) and Kind (vanilla blueberry).

3. Energy Gels

I love salted caramel and peanut butter. Now there are 2 new ones – chocolate peanut butter & root beer!!

I usually take one GU before a race and every 4 miles during a long run or race. I have never had any stomach issues with GU,

4. H20

Just plain water…nothing added. And usually from the tap.

5. Chocolate milk

Not fuel but refuel.

For some reason, after a race, this is the only thing I can eat/drink right away. It doesn’t upset my stomach.

Happy Running! What are you favorite fuel/foods for fitness/running/training?

October 3, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Fitness Inspirations

This week, the theme is Five Fitness Inspirations

1. Healthy + Clothes = 🙂

Being active (running and playing tennis and occasionally yoga) makes me feel healthy, helps keep a healthy weight and as a result, I can wear whatever I want.

I am over 60 and I want to be able to wear the same outfits as a 20 year old (except for maybe a bikini).

2. Healthy enough to run

Every time I don’t feel like going out for a run, I remember when I was injured and couldn’t run…

and know that someday I won’t be able to anymore.

3. Effort=Reward

I think I run half marathons because running doesn’t come easy to me. It is hard. I struggle on every long run.

Every half marathon that I finish still leaves me in awe. I can’t believe that I actually have run 13.1 miles.

4. Harriette Thompson

Harriette Thompson ran her first marathon at age 76. Now she’s 91 and still running marathons despite having had cancer, etc.

I’m not sure that I will ever run a marathon but I hope to continue running for a long time …hopefully still when I’m in my 90s.

5. John Anthony

This is John Anthony. He is my 10 year old running buddy. I was paired with him last November though the IRUN4 program.

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John Anthony has several rare genetic diseases – a skin biopsy showed he has SCAD which is an inborn error of metabolism. a metabolic disorder. His current geneticist thinks he also has glycogen storage disease type O and two of his specialists thinks he has Mitochrondrial disease (Mito).

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He is in and out of the hospital and sick so often. He cannot go to school, often is too weak to walk and cannot do the things we all take for granted.

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When I get them, I send him my race shirts. He is wearing one is all the pictures on this page. Inspite of it all, he is smiling 🙂

Happy Running! What are your favorite fitness inspirations ?

September 30, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Favorite Distance

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Favorite Distance

I am torn between two..

Love AG awards!

I love 5Ks. There are so many to choose from each weekend. I can choose by location, swag, elevation, friends going, AG award possibility, time, scenery, etc.