Runner Box Review

Disclaimer: I received the Runner Box to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews.


I'm sure you've all seen the subscription boxes that basically send you a surprise every month. You tell them what you're interested in or sizes and they send you a box of goodies.  Everyone likes a surprise.
My husband got a 6 month subscription from Cairn.com from me since he loves to hike and camp and I'm always at a loss at what to get him for Christmas. Now he gets goodies every month according to his likes.  It's always fun when the box arrives, we are all curious what he's going to get. I've always wanted to try Stitchfix but my wallet says no and to be honest, I like hunting around at TJ Maxx to find a deal.  Also, I'd prefer for it be something I really could use.  Like, things for running...

Enter The Runner Box. Here is what their website says:

What is The RunnerBox?

The RunnerBox is a subscription based box full of products and discounts which have been hand-picked to enhance your active lifestyle. The RunnerBox has everything from gels, chews, protein shakes/supplements, nutrition bars, energy boosters, healthy snacks, personal care, and other running accessories! Many products will be brand new to the market while others will be tried and true favorites. With so many new products claiming to be the next best thing – leave the trials and testing to us – we’ll search out the finest and send them right to your doorstep!

My runner box came with 10 items.

1.The first thing was Louva Shorties. I haven't gotten to try these out yet. When I got my box, it was bitter cold. I wanted my fingers completely wrapped up. I think these will be great in the early spring, when you go for a run in a tee shirt but still want gloves. These are so cool since you can push them up on to your wrist when you don't need them on your hands anymore. No need to have pockets to stash them! Win!😍

2. Pasta? I got a box of pasta? Not any pasta...but Banza is pasta made from chickpeas. It was a win from my picky eater boys. They hardly gave us a bite. It boasts of having 2x the protein and1/2 the net carbs. The pasta had an unusual first taste (definitely not regular pasta) but it grew on me. The cheese tasted the same as the popular brand of mac and cheese. 3 complaints: the pasta foamed like crazy, I had to keep stirring and blowing on the water so the foam wouldn't go over...it still did. Now I have to clean my stovetop. The other minor complaint. It was just enough for a small serving for each of my family of four, the box included a coupon but it was expired. :-(I'm on the fence if I'd get it again.😐 

3. Zest Tea- I got 2 teas to try, Blue Lady and Cinnamon Apple. These were high octane teas which boasted to have as much caffeine as coffee. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I've been fighting post lunch sleepiness so these would be great. I, honestly, didn't care for the taste of the cinnamon apple tea much. It was very mild. I did get a gentle boost and managed to skip my coffee after work that day. I'm a coffee drinker and I wasn't completely sold on this. Not my thing.😞

4.Runa- is energy drink made from Guayusa, a tea leaf from the Amazon. I liked this. It was a nice berry tea flavor with some carbonation. I tend to drink coffee if I need a lift but this was a nice change. This was handy to have in my lunch and it was just a pleasant taste. Win!😍

5. Chosen Foods Mango Chia bites- This made a wonderful snack before lunch. I ate them up. Light and crunchy, the only bad part was that some of them fell apart and I had a whole bunch of crumbs at the bottom of the bag- great stir in for my greek yogurt. Win! 😍

6. Oatmega bar- my husband took this out of my box since he was starving. He liked it but he mentioned that it was on the dry side and very minty. It was chocolate mint flavored. It had 14 gm of protein and low sugar. On the fence. 😐

7. HyperIce- It's an essential oil-infused soothing cream for sore muscles and joints.
 According to the website :

Peppermint oil to cool, Aloe and Nettle to soothe, Lavender and Chamomile for calming, Coconut Oil to moisturize and nourish, Sweet Almond Oil to soften skin, Tea Tree Oil to disinfect and purify. 

I will say- it was a very pleasant smell, easy to rub in and lasted for about an hour. This was perfect for my sore, tight hip. Win!😍

8. Hotshot - I'm really intrigued by this. It's a sports shot with a kick that's scientifically proven to prevent and treat muscle cramps. You can take pre workout, during if you cramp or post workout to deal with cramping. I, knock on wood, haven't cramped when running. I haven't tried this yet since I'm on the injured reserve right now. I'm on the fence.😐

9. biPro- all-natural whey protein isolate.  I haven't tried these yet. I'm not a big protein drinker/smoothie maker. I have a bag of whey protein from 2 years ago in my pantry.  I generally don't like the taste. Not my thing.😞

10. R.e.d.d. is a superfood energy bar and advertises to give you 3 hours of positive energy and be a "meal bridge". I ate this after work before heading to the gym. It did get me to 5 pm without needing anything but I was hungry after working out. I had the chocolate bar. It tasted like a brownie. I thought it was just too rich. I don't like the idea of eating something so sweet. On the fence.😐

 My overall review:  

The Runner Box is bi-monthly for $22. You can do a 6 month or year subscription. If you are new to running or looking for new nutrition than this is definitely worth it. All of the nutrition seemed to be socially responsible companies. The box comes with a card with what each product does and a discount code so if you find something that you really like you can buy it. I can say that I'm pretty set on my nutrition. I have what works for me and so having all these new options were not was I was looking at in subscription box. 

👍 Positives: 

• nice selection of snacks that are healthy and/or can be used before a run or after.
• discount codes for everything in the box
• decent price point at $23/box for a 6 month subscription, boxes are every 2 months- plenty of time to try things out.
• they have options of a 1 time gift box for $25 and a birthday box for $30...perfect for the runner in your life when they seem to have everything! 
• the website has TheTriBox and TheCycleBox as options for multisport athletes
• exposure to products that your local running store might not have and you may not have seen reviewed anywhere.

👎 Negatives:

• no way to customize your box (i.e. allergies, caffeine free or diet restrictions)
• I'd like to have had a few more options for equipment (reflective, recovery, clothes, socks, etc.)
• ordering page is not as clear as other subscription box companies

Overall I'd say: I'm on the fence. 😐This has potential but I'd like it be more customized to me.

Want to hear what other BibRave Pros had to say about the Runner Box? Join us on Twitter with BibRave and the Runner Box on Tuesday, January 17th at 9pm EST. Just look for #bibchat

Bump in the road

Training for week of Dec 26-Jan 1:

Monday- 80 min progression run- I ran 20 mins at 9:15 pace, 20 mins at 8:45 pace, 20 mins at 8:15 pace and 20 mins at 9:15 pace for a total of 9 miles.

Tuesday- rest/core

Wednesday- 5 miles at 8:53 pace + strides

Thursday- Speed day- 10x 400 with 1 min recovery for a total of 7.15 miles This was a horrible workout for me. I got locked out of the good track, had to use a lumpy, frozen cinder track then as it warmed up it was more the texture of packed sand. I felt like I worked for each 400. Then a darn Weiner dog chased me (don't judge, he was super fast!). Leashes, people, leashes. I had to cut the cool down to get to my dentist appt. I haven't had a bad workout in awhile. I assumed it was the track and wind. (and possibly the holidaze).

Friday- 3 miles at 8:23 pace

Saturday- rest day!

Sunday- Long 90 min run. 10.2  miles at 8:58 pace

Week total of : 34 miles and change

Sunday and Monday after my long run. I was starting to feel the effects of running harder than I have in awhile. I just felt stiff. My back was stiff, legs stiff, ankle really stiff, hip sore, then my knee started getting sore (runner's knee) going down stairs, and my foot was starting to get hints of plantar fasciitis. (Not again!)

I went to my chiropractor and he said what need to be said. "You're over training. You need to take a week off." Yep. I guess I need to admit it. I love doing speed workouts but my Master's runner body needs more time to recover. So, this frigid week I got to do some Xtraining (which is the silver lining...no freezing cold runs this week)!

Week of Jan 2- Jan 8

not injured, just taking a break

Monday- Ran easy 5 at 9:10 pace
Tuesday- off- Chiro appt.
Wednesday- Spinning class with my son, Cub, who now is old enough to participate.
Thursday- lap swim for 20 mins, aqua jog for 30 ( 4 x 3 mins hard, 4 x1 mins v. hard, plus easy minutes in between)- I hate having to do this in the lap swim area. As a "swimmer", I hate when I have to go around others who are aquajogging. Alas, they won't let you aqua jog in the other side of the deep end that's cordoned off for the diving board (even when no one is using it or even going to use it.)
Friday- rest (skipped elliptical 30 min workout)- no excuse other than I was tired.
Saturday- swimming and aquajogging on the schedule

So, I'm hoping a week of rest prevents injury in the future. My coach is already adding in more cross training days for me for this marathon training cycle begins.

Monday starts 16 weeks til the Glass City Marathon. BTW they released what the medals will look like this year. 
Join me with the discount code: brpsavings for $5 off.

Goals 2017

My goals for 2016:
1. Run under 1:40 for a half marathon
2. Run under 3:40 for a full marathon
3. Work on core
4. Eat clean
5. Run 1600 miles



What really happened:
1. Run under 1:40 for a half marathon  I ran 1:42 at the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half. I have excuses though- it was humid (and hilly - but I'd prepared for hills). The humidity was too much for me. My sub goal was to be in the top 10 in my age group - which I was 5th. I don't like to count that is a goal since I couldn't control who showed up. But it did help lessen the sting of not making my "secret goal" of 1:35 (which I know I had in me!)

2. Run under 3:40 for a full marathon  I knew this goal wasn't going to happen in July when my hip started giving me such problems that I had to cross train only for weeks. I wasn't even sure I'd toe the line in October for the Chicago Marathon. I did recover but my training was not intense as planned. I ended up running 4:04 on race day. My mini goal was around 4:15 so I beat that AND the biggest thing was I finished with a smile because my race nutrition worked. Tailwind Nutrition is the nectar of the running gods! 

3. Work on core I definitely worked on my core but I need to do more.

4. Eat clean I worked on this but I wouldn't say that it was a complete success. More work needed this year.


5. Run 1600 miles So close, as of today I'm 1512 miles in this year. I have 2 more days but no way I'll be running enough to meet that goal. 


My goals for 2017:

1. Run a strong marathon at the Glass City Marathon (In a perfect marathon day, I'd run 3:40 for a BQ +5mins)

2. Run under 45:00 for a 10k (early fall race)

3. Run under 1:40 for a half marathon (late fall)

4. Xtrain more- swim or bike/spin once a week

5. Sleep- Get 8 hours of sleep at least 5x a week

6. Participate more within the Oiselle Ohio Volée

7. core x3 week/ yoga 3x week

8. Listen and respect my body's need to recover better

9. Continue to work on clean eating as an individual and creating healthy options for my family

10. Run 1500 miles next year. (I needed a 10th goal- lower the goal for next year but I'm also going to xtrain one day)

On the family side of things:

Our family goals this year:

1. Each kid will be in charge of 1 night of dinner per week. They can pick their sous-chef to help them. All meals must include a protein and veggie/fruit. (We might be having some pretty basic foods for awhile but I think that letting them have a chance to pick the dinner and fix it is important).

2. Family reading challenge- we'll record the number of pages we read. I need this motivation. I've gotten so bad with using the ipad and reading things online that the kids never see me read anymore.

We shall see how it goes. I'll post here.

Christmas Break Training Week

Christmas Break💚....ah, finally. Time to sleep in, eat too many sweets, and promises of all the things that you keep meaning to catch up with during the 2 weeks you have off but somehow they tend to slip away from you.

I am excited to say that I did keep my training for Glass City Marathon for this week in check👊.

Here's what my training looked like for the week of Dec 19-25:

Sunday: Treadmill for 90 mins: 10 miles @ 9:00/mi (That was tough!)⛄

Monday: 5.12 mi @9:07 

Tuesday: Fartlek intervals: 2 mile warmup, 5 mins hard, 4 mins, 3 mins, 2 mins and 1 min hard each with 2 min recovery jog between for a total of 5.58 miles 8:12/mile💪

Wednesday: Xtrain- Spinning class🚴

Thursday: rest

Friday: 6 miles easy with a teammate! Hey, @countryrdrunner, that was fun!

Saturday (Xmas eve): 3 miles easy

Sunday (Xmas day): postponed until Monday.🌲 

Total Mileage this week: 29.71 miles!

Glass City Marathon's entry fees go up on Jan 1. If you ever wanted to run a marathon, here's a great chance. Plus, they have a special 1st time marathoner package! This is the 1st marathon that I've run that has this! 

Discount Code: brpsavings

for $5 off

Anyone running a spring marathon? Which one(s)? What is the best or worst thing about a spring marathon?

Follow me on twitter @runmomdiary

2016 in a nutshell

Apparently, it's been a busy year. In addition to chasing my BQ this year, my youngest is doing select soccer. I now have to take him to soccer 3 nights a week plus games on the weekend.

It hasn't been too bad. The soccer complex is a nice 1.15 mile square with nice even grass or blacktop so I've been training there. I have 2 hours to kill, I might as well run! :-)

I divided my year into two seasons: half marathon PR attempt and BQ at the Chicago Marathon in the fall. I ran a few other club races but those were my BIG races of the year.

My favorite flying pig. 

Finish at the Pig

I decided to run the Flying Pig in Cincinnati in May. I've done this race at least 3 times so I knew what I was getting myself into. I hadn't focused any energy on the half and I wanted to improve my old PR of 1:49. I trained with the Hanson's method again but this was my first try with their half marathon plan. It was definitely as intense as my full marathon plan. I ran over 700 miles in 18 weeks. I PR'd with a 1:42. I know I could have gone under 1:40 if it wasn't so humid that day.  I managed to get 5th in my Age group so it was a good consolation prize. 

I'd hoped my speed training in the spring would translate to more speed in the fall marathon.  

In hindsight, I needed more time between training cycles. I took two weeks off. Then started for three weeks before I had to start my training plan for the Chicago marathon. My hip had been tight all spring but I chalked up to getting older. About five weeks in, it seized  up so much I couldn't even walk. My chiro recommended a few weeks of cross training. So for 4 weeks, I Aqua jogged and ellipticaled it. I went to a PT who was able to get my hip even again, finally no pain! I had nine weeks at that point to get ready for Chicago. 

Mile 23 at the Chicago Marathon

Training 4 days a week during soccer practices with a long run on the weekend. I let go of all my time goals and decided I was going to just have fun and enjoy the experience of Chicago. I'm so glad I did. I was so relaxed even up until the race morning. I had planned that I'd run around 4hrs15 mins. I surprised myself with 4:04.  

Now on to new adventures!

I've hired a coach. Coach Becki knows a bit about marathoning. She won the Akron Marathon this year and ran the Olympic Trials this past Feb. I don't planning on winning any marathons but I know I have some life still in these legs.

Also, I've been selected as a BibRave Pro. I get to help review races and products for runners. I'm super excited to join them.

In 2017, my Spring goal race is the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon in Toledo. I wanted a smaller race, flat and close to home but something new. Also, being a soccer mom, I had to wait to see what the spring soccer tournaments were going to be before I could commit. We still might have a league game that weekend but less of disruption. I'm totally looking forward to it. Check out the BibRave reviews of Toledo. Here's a discount code for $5 off the entry: brpsavings 

What was your year like? PRs? Races to remember? Let me know!

Digging this tri business

I have finished week 3 of triathlon training and I'm really digging it. I look forward to the different workouts.

Sundays and Wednesdays are my swimming days. Sunday, we meet with our swim coach, Jeni, who goes over basic drills with us, for example, streamlining our push off the wall. I'm not a swimmer (unless you count that one summer in 7th grade I did swim team) so this has been really useful. I'm getting more comfortable in the water without feeling like I'm holding my breath. I just need to relax more and probably should add another day in the pool for more practice.

Mondays and Thursdays have been cycling. Monday is with the group from Up and Running (UAR). We meet at a bike path and cycle for 7 and turn around. It has been good to get more comfortable on the bike. I still hold on with a death grip but did manage to change gears this time. Last week I stayed in the same gear the whole time.  I haven't wiped out with the clips since the first time. Thursday, I've ridden the trainer and discovered the world of YouTube trainer videos!  I still need to practice gear shifting more and getting my water bottle out and drinking while riding. ( seriously, It's hard (for me at least)). This week we're starting brick workouts. I can't wait! 

Tuesdays and Saturdays are running days. This can be an easy run but I'm making it Track Tuesdays. I'm using Lauren Fleshman's workouts of the week on Strava. They are amazing! Love a good speed workout. Saturdays are more about distance and easy pace. I'm still working on my IT BAND Issues so I'm only up to 5.5-6 miles before IT band lets me know that's too much. I want to incorporate more days running but I haven't yet. I guess that will change with the brick workouts...

Anyone doing their 1st triathlon this spring?  

Out of my comfort zone

My goal this year is to train for the Columbus Marathon in mid October and better my BQ time so that i have a better chance to get in Boston. (I'm convinced my squeaker time of :50 under my BQ qualifying time won't be enough). Backing up 18 weeks plus 6 weeks of base gets me to the beginning of May where I need to be 100% healthy. So what do I do until then?

Do a triathlon. 🏊🚴🏃

I have lots of friends who do them and I've been curious but not had the time in my training, nor the real desire to get into the pool. Plus I have a mountain bike and don't like lakes for swimming. So ... Doesn't look promising for me. But, my fav running store Up and Running (UAR )is offering a beginner triathlon training group with the tri at the end being a pool swim on May 10!  Score! Then I asked my friends if I could borrow a road bike and score, got one! No more excuses for me. 

I'm going to say this week as been a weeks of firsts: first lap swim in 25 years, first wipeout on a bike (darn clips) in 30 years, first time in a tri suit (not a flattering look, I must say). 

Sunday, we had our swim assessment with our coaches. I was a bit nervous ( I'm out of my comfort zone here) but I managed ok. Then we worked on drills, again, out of my comfort zone. That whole no being able to breath when you want is challenging! 

Monday, we met for the group bike ride. It was 70 degrees ( 1st time this spring) so we took it outside. I came early and had my coach adjust the clip on the left side ( my bum weak ankle can't twist out of the clips - learned that quickly earlier this week- bruise, skinned knee to prove it). We rode 14 miles on the rails to trails bike path. It's been a while that I've been on a bike for an hour! It took me a few minutes to get used to my friend's bike but soon I was cruising between 14-16 mph. That seems so fast to me since I'm used to going a nice easy pace with my boys.  I nearly got taken out by a groundhog who decided to cross the path (I actually braced for impact- along with a squeal) but he stopped short and I lived another day. 

 

Tuesday's will be my running days, I did 5k at 8:20 pace. Felt great! I'll probably make Tuesday's my speed day. Went to UAR after to try on a tri kit. Wow, you can't hide any imperfections in those. It's a pretty sweet professional looking kit though and the price is great so now I'll not have to worry about the race day outfit. 

Wednesday is swimming on my own. I got to the pool at the beginning of lap swim after work. I did my drills and kept my eye on the clock; thirty minutes and I was out of there. I'm going to have to work on my attitude towards swimming.

Thursday was biking on your own. It was a cold 45 degrees so it was either trainer at home or spin class. I did spin class.  Ran 2 before class as well.

Friday is rest day and PT- my glutes were burning- yeah for clamshells and storks!

Saturday- run day. I went to UAR for the group run, I love it when I'm done, but it's always awkward when I haven't been there in 6 months, because I know the routes, recognize the regulars, but no one remembers me too much. Got to work on that! 

So that was my week. I'm excited about the tri group since I'm out of my comfort zone and thrilled to have a race on the calendar! 

Any suggestions for a noob to triathlons?

Year of Redemption

2014 has been the year of redemption for me and after 2013, I needed it.

I have so many things to be happy about it so I'm just going to list them:

1. Boston Qualified at the Columbus Marathon in October. PR of 3:44:09- a dream for so long but the first time I really attempted to go for it. I'm thrilled, now I barely qualified by 51 seconds so I have to wait til Sept 2015 to see if I get to run it. Must. be. patient.
2. Ran 3 marathons this year without getting hurt (Flying Pig, Columbus, OBX)- I told myself if I was within 10 mins of a BQ time at Cincinnati, I'd run another marathon this year. I did Columbus in October, trained for a BQ time and succeeded but... I had a rough time after mile 16 and ran 9 mins slower than planned (I should have blogged about that...) So, what did I decide to do? Head out the the OBX for a marathon 3 weeks later- I'm in shape, right? Maybe, I can run better.  (yeah, that didn't happen- ran 20 mins slower and felt like crap.  Not my most brilliant idea.)
3. PR'd in the marathon and the half New PR in the half at the Air Force Half Marathon 1:47 (although I really need to focus on the half) and Columbus Full in 3:44:09
4. Joined the Oiselle Flock in July- I've loved Oiselle stuff for years but it was when Lauren Fleshman and then Kara Goucher joined them that I got really excited. They are just awesome.  When I looked into their athletes, I noticed that they didn't have just elites but ordinary runners too. I set my eyes to finding out about joining them and in July they opened up the Flock.  I'm proud to help out the emerging athletes and represent a company that is so supportive of woman athletes. Here's an awesome article about CEO Sally Bergesen from Outside Online. I love having a group of woman who are so supportive. Love my #flockmates!
5. Selected to be a Nuunbassador for NUUN- I submitted my Nuun ambassador application and figured I didn't blog enough to get this, even though, I haven't drank anything other than Nuun for years for my electrolytes.  Score one for: "you don't know unless you try". 
6.  Picked to be a wear tester for a major running shoe company- BTW, cool shoes in Spring 2015 coming your way...can't say more than that!
7. Ran 1607 miles this year -(double of what I did last year)
   
8. Found a training plan that works for me. Love you, Hanson's Marathon Method!
9. Found a chiropractor who works with serious athletes - thanks, Dr. Pat! If you live in Dayton, OH, I highly recommend him!
10. Having an awesome, supportive husband who supported my dreams this year - I couldn't have done this at all without my dear husband.

Now, it's your turn- What were some of the best things that happened this year for you?

 My year in pictures:

Columbus Marathon 2014

Columbus Marathon 2014 with Cub

Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon in May

Smashed 4 hr mark, 3:48

1st race representing Oiselle (with Buster)

My number #1 fan, support team!

Family 5k

Race Recap: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon 2014

Stars can and do align for races!  

I have been trying to do everything right for this race.  I followed a solid training plan, stayed injury free, ate right, hydrated properly and even got a good night of sleep before race day. 

So here's a quick breakdown of the day
Pre-race prep: all done the day before, number on my favorite Oiselle tank, gels in my spibelt, etc.

Alarm set for 3 pm: Wake up at 3:11 am good thing since I had the alarm on pm. That would have just sucked to oversleep your race.

On the road at 4:15am:  to met up with my chicas as we were carpooling down to Cincinnati from Dayton

Traveling:  oops forgot directions for parking, call hubby and have him send a picture of the directions since the website was being difficult.

Parking: right next to Paul Brown stadium

Bag check:  first school bus we walk by is the right bus for my bib number. 

Waiting time:  Inside the stadium, woman's bathroom without a line?  What?! 

Walk to the start line:  hardly 100 m away, no problems

The race:

1: trying to find my happy place and pace of 8:30
2: Yikes 7:57 pace, slow down chica.
3-5: keeping close to my pace, Best days of My life comes on as I run down mile 5 with tons of people, it was surreal.
6-8: Hills, knew about those, slowed my pace, looked for my friend from HS who is about half way up the "big one".  Found her, jolt of energy. 
8-9:  Always forget about this section of the course after the beautiful vista of the Ohio River. 
10-13: zoned out, the half had split and I found myself on my own a bit. My mile splits were off enough that I always missed them by the time I saw the mile clock on the course.  Running by feel I guess.
13.1: 1:50 feeling good.
13-15: hung out with the 3:40 pace group (mostly men). This was my BQ time so tried to stay there. Until we turned a corner and found a little but steep hill.  My quads were not having it.  Slowed down, then said F it and walked the last 15 feet or so.
16: was a turnaround, so I could see runners ahead of me.  This was the longest run I did in training so every after this was untested.
17-20: zoned out, there was a portion on the bike path which had HOPE written out, honestly don't know what I was thinking here. 
21-25:  These hurt, I was hot, the sun was out, no one really around me too much, I was timing my gel intake because I knew I was needing the energy.  I could see the Great American building further down the river but it looked so far away yet, that's were the finish line was.  Mile 21 the 3:45 pace group passed me.  There goes my training pace...
26:  who put that hill there, it's not much but I wanted to cry when i saw the rise in the road, then my music shuffled and I got the Olympic theme song going, the streets are lined with people and I just gave it what I could.  Anyone else use the Olympic theme in their race mix?  It never fails to give me a lift when I need it.

Finish: 3:48:19.  PR by 28 minutes.  I'm super happy with my time and my place top 8% of all woman in the race. 

Post race:  No Gatorade what was up with that?  I didn't drink it on the course because my gels have electrolytes in them so I only drank water but I was so sick of water! I ended drinking the syrup out of the free fruit cups they gave out.  There was plenty of junk food after but I didn't have the stomach for it and I was amazed to see how many people were just piling up the food to take with them.  Finally got out of the finisher's area and found my boys and hubby. 

my cheering crew, a bit tired after being in the sun and getting up early!

Overall:  it was a great race for me.  I'm proud of
my time considering the hills on this course.  The volunteers (Grunts) were amazing and all the crowd support was fabulous.  I will do this race again but I'm not sure when...

P.S. Love, love, love the finishing medals this year!

Stats: 

Hanson's Marathon Training Program

I got this book over winter break and devoured it.  I've been thinking about doing a marathon again, since the last 2 were not complete fails but I haven't been 100% either.

• The 2012 Air Force Marathon was after being sick the week before and really not recovered. 
•  The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 7ish weeks later was better, but my IT band started screaming at mile 17. 
• 2013 was a disaster which I was just able to finish races but not train for anything.  
• So, I'm healthy and eager to knock at least one race out of the water.  Will this be the year? I'm hoping so since I signed up for the flying pig marathon in Cincinnati on May 4th.

Enter the Hanson's Marathon Method training plan. The idea behind their training plan is cumulative fatigue.  If your legs are tired, you won't push them and train at a pace that is too fast (and get injured in the process).

The first 5 weeks are the building stage.  All the runs are done at an Easy Pace.  In the beginning, this seemed WAY too slow, but I wanted to be true to the training plan so slowed down my pace from 8:30s to 9:40-10:30 pace.

At week 6, they add the 3 SOS workouts per week.  SOS means Something of Substance.

•  My Mondays were SPEED workouts (12x400m w/400 recoveries up to 4 x1200m). I did all except one on the treadmill.  Snow covered the track and I wanted a flat surface.  I did these at 7:33 pace.  These were done weeks 6-10. STRENGTH workouts replace speed workouts in weeks 11-17.  These are longer workouts example  6x 1 mile or 3x 2miles. These were on the track or in the neighborhoods with hills. In all the workouts ended up being around 10 miles.
• My Wednesday are TEMPO runs starting at 5 miles for 3 weeks, then 8 miles for 3 weeks, then 9 miles for 3 weeks, with 10 mile tempo runs for 3 weeks.  These all had 1 mile warm up and cool down for an additional 2 miles.  My tempo pace is 8:25-8:35.  I did these around the neighborhoods, on hilly places, in pouring rain and strong winds. 
• Saturdays are my LONG runs. I planned on doing these at Up and Running (my local running store) but cold/nasty weather made me try to wait out the weather and run later in the day.  Long runs started at 10 miles and go up to 16 miles. I've finished my 2nd 16 miler and only have one more to go.  My pace for these have been 9:18 pace.
• The other days are EASY runs which add mileage and help recovery and add to the general tiredness.

• Tuesday is my REST day.

The taper is only the last week and you are still 24 miles before the race.

I've just finished the plan, my race is in 2 days.  I can tell you that I was vigilant about using the plan and only missed 3 runs (on easy days) the entire 18 weeks.  I have run 3 marathons before and every time I've had a nagging injury or I've been sick.  I'm so impressed that I managed to do this whole plan without any injuries. 

Final stats:  682 miles in 18 weeks
Hours spent running: 106

Now, time to go spend sometime with the kiddos! 

 

houses & streaking

I'm back on the bandwagon with blogging, and the temperature is so cold we're trapped inside for the next 48 hours.   

Let's see after my last post....

1. Done with PT for my ankle- no more drama there
2. Bought our "new" house
3. Sold our starter house
4. Moved
5. Worked full time
6. Ran the Runner's World RunStreak
7. Thanksgiving and Christmas

Whew.

Home buying was thankfully, a pretty smooth process, until the very end.  There always is a snag somewhere, thank goodness for great realtors on both sides and everyone being chill.  I won't say more than that. 

Home, sweet home with character. 

The "new" house is great. Far from being new, it's 98 years old.  Which is very cool (literally very chilly) I love walking around and randomly thinking to myself that "this is actually my house!:-)"It's very much a work in progress, still unpacking and figuring out where to put things.  Our storage is just different than before, just have to remember that we bought it for the character not for ample storage.

Runner's World Run Streak

Finished the streak!

Run at least 1 mile everyday from Thanksgiving til New Years Day.

35 days, 100 miles, longest run was 6 miles.

If you do a run streak in the winter in Midwest you must have the following things:

1. Windproof & water proof/resistant jacket.  I got my Saucony jacket at the outlets this summer.  Best. investment. ever.

2. Buff - a light weight scarf/headband/earband- I wear mine everyday. I can't stand a cold neck.

3. Good flip mittens.  I got mine at Target, thick, wind resistant, yet easy to get my fingers free for iphone, or garmin controls.

 

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4. Yak Trax 
 I never slipped, complete confidence in keeping up my normal pace in snow, packed ice. 

5.  Confidence that you will feel better after running. I dreaded some days going out for a run, but always enjoyed it once I was out there. 

Quiet snowy streets to myself