looking back at 2016 and my running evolution over the past couple of years.

~ loveandlunge ~ Leave a comment

I’ve planned a lot of things out this year and I have to say few if any have actually stuck exactly to schedule.  It’s been an absolutely insane year.  I made a lot of goals and I knocked most of them out and I’m still not entirely sure how I did it.  2016 was bananas to say the least.  I feel like this year was just crammed full of things and it makes me even more excited to see what the next one has in store.

This year has really been an interesting one for me in terms of my fitness.  I became a certified personal trainer through NASM and a Spinning instructor.  Fitness has always been one of my favorite activities and I’ve taken it to such a different level now.  Teaching my Spin classes has become one of my favorite things to do and has taught me so much.  I wouldn’t have pursued either of these certifications if it weren’t for failures in other areas though.  I decided to get NASM certified after I was fed up with studying for the GMAT and wanted to take my mind off of everything academic related and prove to myself that I was capable of handling this difficult exam on my own.  Spinning came about because of my ankle injury and me needing to find a cardio outlet since I was side-lined.  Were either in my plan going into the year?  Nope, not a chance.  But I am super proud I pursued both.

I told myself that my New Years Resolution for 2016 was to run a half marathon. Well, this year I ran not one but three.  So there’s that.  The first was on a treadmill (okay so I ran this Dec. 29th, I think we can call that close enough), the second was the Philly Love Run, and the third was another on the treadmill to prove that I was ready to get back after it coming off of my ankle injury.  I don’t know why I make up the idea in my head to just run one some days, but I do.  I’ve made the executive decision to sign-up for the New Jersey Marathon for 2017.  Training will start the first week of the New Year and I’m stoked.  Right now, I’m dealing with a tiny bit of ankle pain, so I went out and bought all of the balancing implements I could and am working on stretching and strengthening.

My goal for marathon training is simple.  Don’t train the same way you’ve trained before.  Listen to paces.  I am THE WORST.  Literally, certifiably the WORST at slowing down runs.  Which is probably why I spend a good amount of time injured.  I ain’t sayin’, I’m just sayin’. So.  I’ve consulted some handy-dandy pace calculators and am going to do it for real this time.  This week has been 2 miles quick-ish, 8 miles long and easy (9:05 pace), 4 miles for speed (including a 6:38 mile), and I’m aiming for maybeeeee 6 easy tomorrow but don’t quote me.

http://runsmartproject.com/calculator/embed/index.php?title=false

I started running a couple of years ago when my Aunt Mari announced at Thanksgiving that she was going to run a half marathon.  My dad and I, as competitive as ever, decided we were going to blow this one out of the water too and we started training.  Enter both of us getting immediately injured.  I came back swinging but every time I tried to get over 6 miles, I would injure myself in some capacity.  This year, I’m really trying not to.  I’ve talked about running paces before and I really wish I would heed my own advice (Can someone please tell me why I don’t?  Ugh.) because I think it will save me from injury.  I’m prioritizing long, easy, SLOW runs this time around and tons and tons of foam rolling and stretching.

I’m going into this marathon training smart.  I want to be a smart runner.  I have some genetic ankle issues working against me, but I know if I’m patient and go slow I can work it out and have already proved that with my most recent half.  I can do this, it’s not going to be easy but I can.

this was one of my first “long runs” ever. I was so proud, i snapped a pic haha

A lot of people have told me they can’t believe I’m training for a marathon and that they could never do that.  It’s not true.  Every single person started somewhere.  No one was born running 26.2 miles.  No one.  With a little work and a little care, anyone can do it.  Is it going to be easy?  Not a chance.  Is it going to be worth it?  God, I hope so.  In fact, anytime any one asks me anything and about how I got to be fast (for the record, I do not for a second think I’m fast. my 6:38 mile time today is some people’s warm-up) or how I can run all the miles, I just tell them that I worked at it.  I pushed a little harder, ran a little longer and it’s just been adding up over time.  I’m excited for this new challenge, but also straight up terrified.  All I know is when we make plans, God laughs though.

2017 I’ve got big plans for you, don’t let me down.

 

-sj

WHISTLE GIVEAWAY!!!!!! and new goals.

~ loveandlunge ~ 2 Comments

I had to take a break from blogging for a little bit for a whole host of reasons.  Mainly because I was so busy prepping for a big test while simultaneously taking a Financial Accounting course online and dealing with an onslaught of extra work from my day job.  So, after crossing most of that off of my list, I’m back y’all.

These last couple of months have been tough stuff.  I have been traveling like a mad woman and working towards this huge personal goal I have of going to business school and it has taken all kinds of tolls on me.  I am very excited to be back in a good mindset and ready to take on new challenges.  I have a half marathon coming up in January that I’m running with one of my dearest college friends and while I’m having a great time training for it, the half marathon distance is becoming more and more attainable…which is both an awesome and scary thing.

It’s awesome because yay, fitness!  Look at me go crushing double digit mile runs repeatedly!  But also GAH!  That means to challenge myself next I’ve got to set my sights on the big ole marathon.  So, I’ve semi-decided that in my 26th year I’m going to run 26 miles.  Or at least attempt to pending no injuries.  This is still a maybe goal since I haven’t really decided if I’m up for the challenge of running for 3+ hours straight but we’ll see.

At least I’ve got the most epic training buddy in the world to get me through it.  I always say that if I didn’t have Boo, I wouldn’t move nearly as much.  This pup keeps me on my toes and keeps me active all day everyday whether I like it or not.  If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know that I am obsessed with tracking metrics.  I have a Polar watch, a Garmin, a Jawbone Up, a MyZone, and seemingly every other type of tracker in between, so when WhistleLabs reached out to me to get Boo in the game, I was all for it.

The Whistle is this genius little device that clips on to your dogs collar and uses GPS and an accelerometer to track minutes of activity and where your pup is in the world.  It’s seriously Genius.  I had always wondered how much activity Boo had been getting compared to her other peer dogs, and was really happy to see she was consistently above the norm.

The tracker syncs up with an app on your phone and provides you with a unique community to talk to and share all the puppy pictures your heart desires.  It’s awesome.  Plus, you get a notification on your phone when your dog goes out of a pre-set range you determine.  This thing is perfect for escape artists, I’m telling you now.

GIVEAWAY TIME:

I’m giving away 1 Whistle and 3 months of service to a reader!

You can enter in the following ways.  Do one of the below and comment what you’ve done and you’re entered!:

  • Instagram about the giveaway, using the tag #WhistleFit
  • Tweet about the giveaway, tagging #WhistleFit
  • Follow LoveandLunges & Whistle on Insta, Twitter, or Facebook

Restrictions: 

  • U.S. only
  • 1 prize per person

You can use the code WHISTLEFIT for $30 off!  This is such a great holiday gift and highlyyyyy recommended.  I know Boo loves it.

 

-sj