Running... and 5 things I'm loving right now!

I tend to get obsessed with something and want to do it/eat it/see it/hear it all the time... most recently it's been McAlister's Chicken Tortilla soup, Zoe's Kitchen's Pimento Cheese (yum!), smoothies with whey protein, my Group Power class, Adele and monogrammed items. So I thought I would share 5 things that I'm currently LOVING:

1. The way I felt after doing 6.5 miles yesterday: Seriously... I thought there's no way I'm going to be able to do the Cooper River Bridge Run next weekend in my goal time of 55 minutes but now I'm thinking it's possible. I felt empowered. I felt like I could keep going. I felt extraordinary. So this has my excitement sky high for Charleston with our couple friends Liz (one of my future bridesmaids) and Chris, and for my bf's first 10k. I felt super proud of him for doing 4.3 miles yesterday - that's the farthest he's ever run! I'm SO looking forward to next weekend.

2. Being a bridesmaid: now... I know I have complained about the dress and it's hefty price tag, but seriously, this is the best motivation ever! This will be the wedding of the century with 400+ guests on the invite list so I have lots of people to show of my new (and hopefully toned) arms to! I've been busting my ass running, in the gym and doing home DVDs to get in shape. Now it's not ALL for the cause of being a bridesmaid but I'm certainly motivated to rock that Lula Kate dress all night long. This week's workouts were a 2.6 mile run on Sunday, 1.6 miles on Tuesday + Group Power, Tabata Inferno on Wednesday, Group Power on Thursday and 6.5 miles on Saturday. On target for being fabulous by August 25th.

3. Having a tan: Jergens now has SPF in their sunless tanning lotion! What a break thru! Now... I will NEVER, EVER use a tanning bed, but I do spend some time outside in the summer; however, I'm totally covered in sunscreen when I'm out there (I use 100 SPF on my face) and every night I'm putting Jergens lotion on which is really where my tan comes from. If you're still fake n' baking - STOP - and read this while you're at it. You do NOT want Melanoma. Use sunscreen every day!

4. Smoothies: I found recipes on Pintrest and tried them... and fell in love. I've also been trying to find ways to bulk my boyfriend up a little so I said we could do smoothies for breakfast and I've been adding Whey protein to them. It's great because he's still eating his normal bowl of cereal + the smoothie. Mission accomplished! However, I've found that they are heavenly and I've been trying different recipes with different fruits. Today, I tried my first "Green Smoothie" which I'm doing for a challenge for 7 days. I was TERRIFIED that I was going to taste the spinach, but I didn't. All I could taste was banana to be honest. There are so many more recipes to try... tomorrow I'm going to do a swiss chard recipe with pineapple and apples! I'll post an update at the end on how it went and if I'll be incorporating vegetable smoothies into my life on a regular basis or calling it quits after the 7-day challenge. 

5. Spring! Have you been outside?! The colors, the smells, the air... it's perfectly wonderful! I love all of the blooming trees and flowers and the smells that they produce. The air temperature was perfect this weekend for running with blue skies above. I even got to wear shorts on Saturday! I bought new sandals today and a bathing suit! Totally prepared for Spring to be in full bloom so I can soak it all up. What a wonderful time of the year! Enjoy it... have a smoothie, put on your sun screen and go for a run!

Running.... for a cause!

I've done fundraising before with my runs, mostly with my sorority or for Colon Cancer over the past few years when both my family and my boyfriend's family had incidences of the disease. I have a friend though, who has a toddler with Cystic Fibrosis and she was doing a fundraiser to help find a cure. I thought, I can help. I'll run for Keagan when I do the Cooper River Bridge Run. Keagan's mom made shirts for everyone who is going to participate in the Great Strides walk in Alabama, so I ordered one too - which I plan on wearing in the Cooper River Bridge Run.

I knew Cystic Fibrosis wasn't a good thing, but until I did some research, I had no clue how bad it could actually be. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver and intestine. Difficulty breathing is the most serious symptom and results from frequent lung infections that are treated with but not cured, by antibiotics and other medications. Other symptoms include sinus infections, poor growth, diarrhea and affect other parts of the body. Ultimately, lung transplantation is often necessary as CF worsens.

It's hard to think of a two-year old having to go through these treatments and not be able to enjoy running outside or playing with his friends because he has to be at the hospital doing a breathing treatment. I want to help in every way I can. My donation has been made, you can make yours by going here: Help Fight Cystic Fibrosis.

Running... for Summer!

I have a small shopping addiction and have been blessed with living in a city of 4 malls and every store I could ever want. Yesterday when I got home, I was tired from working all day and then going to my night class until 8:45 and all I wanted to do was have a piece of Dan's Chocolate that my boyfriend's parents sent him for his promotion and to hit the hay. But lo and behold when I walked in the door, I had two gorgeous packages waiting on me. One, a white bag with hot pink flowers all over it, from where else but Lilly Pulitzer?! My sweet, sweet scalloped shorts have arrived! They are just like these but in white and oh my how perfect they are! As soon as I put them on I had the desire to do lots of squats and lunges to get my kickers in shape for summer. The other package had my new VS bikini inside. Can we say cute? So, now I am also in the mode to get my abs looking sharp... West Palm Beach trip at the end of April - so not much time but enough to make some progress with the right amount of dedication. Boy am I ready! It's been 80 degrees here for the past week so I have no excuses for not getting outside for a lunch time walk and an evening run. It's time to kick the workouts into high gear people. Summer is coming!

Running... thru March!

Running in March has been tough... but necessary. This is the month of my first race(s) of the year -- and 3 of them at that! I started with the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k, which we did for the 3rd year in a row with both of our colon cancer survivors! I hadn't trained at a "race pace" for this one so I wasn't expecting a new PR but I wasn't exactly thrilled with my time of a little over 28 minutes either. I forgot about the hills in this course so after the first mile, I was struggling. It was nice to have both of our families there participating, so the time wasn't the most important thing. 

This past week, I did the Shamrock 4-miler. You'd think I would know how hilly this course is, as it's right by my office and I drive it at least twice a week - but I didn't consider the hills when signing up. It was my first official 4-mile race, although I've obviously done 4 mile runs before. I passed the 2-mile marker at 13:18 - whew. FLYING, I tell ya. And at 2.4 it hit me... I.AM.GOING.TO.DIE. I know good and well that I cannot maintain that pace. So there it was, I was going to walk even though I started off with a goal of no walking. So I let myself walk for 30 seconds there, at 3.17 and again at 3.4, yes, I was struggling THAT much. I finished in 35:49 - which wasn't bad, but also not ideal. I guess my goal for that race would have been below the 35 mark but it was my first one and it was a hilly course (which I'm feeling today - OW!) 

It was also St. Patrick's day on Saturday - so after the race, I had to have some green beer! We went to the Whitewater Center for live music & beer - and what a gorgeous 81 degree March day it was! We're definitely going to get season passes so we can enjoy the hiking, biking and kayaking at the center. But after my morning run and afternoon in the sun with beer, I was early to bed last night and feeling like I'm headed in that direction again tonight. Less than 2 weeks til the Cooper River Bridge run and 43,000 people trying to cross it at the same time! I'm super excited for our first 10k together. Also hoping that I can get under 55 minutes in the race. Beer will likely be required after that one as well! 

Running ... and cooling down.

My "run lists" have been a "running" joke with my friends for as long as I can remember. I like 80's and 90's music, slow songs and a lot of Dave Matthews + Jack Johnson. I could run to those two ALL DAY LONG. I do enjoy a good "fast song" and my favorite motivational song is "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. As soon as I hear that beat, I am somehow magically able to push through the next leg (no pun intended) of my work out.

I tend to create/revise play lists for each race that I do, ensuring that I have enough music to cover the whole race. I had exactly 2:30 on my list for my first half marathon. I guess maybe that's one way to push myself and make sure I'm done before the music stops ("Please don't stop the music!") So, as race season is beginning, I'm working on updating, revising and creating new play lists for my upcoming 5k & 10k in March.

This post is not coming from my creation of new lists but instead comes from some excellent cool down music that was played in my Spin Class on Sunday and Group Power (a.k.a. Body Pump) last night. So here we go with the (my) top 5 cool-down songs: 

5. I Will Always Love You  - Whitney Houston (should we have a moment of silence here?)
4. Fix You - Coldplay (told ya I like slow (somewhat sad/sappy) songs)
3. You are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne (this will be played at my wedding, I love it so much!)
2. Hold On - Wilson Phillips (Bridesmaids, anyone?? "If you just hoooold on...")
1. If You Like Pina Coladas - Jimmy Buffet (this makes me crave smoothies)

What are your Top 5? Have a favorite un-changing playlist that you ALWAYS run to? Share it here!

Running... in skirts.

I haven't tried this yet, and actually don't know many people that do. I've seen a few women in races wearing them, but for the most part, I see shorts or pants which are COMFORTABLE. So, I don't know many people that run in skirts (yes, I know they have shorts under them) but I reaallllly don't know many people who do spin class in a skirt... except for the lady beside of me on Sunday. She was all "crouching tiger, ow-my-dragon" on Sunday.

We got to class a few minutes before it began so the bike choices were limited (first time we haven't spun beside of each other, aw!) and we got lucky and got this gem in between us. She literally hovered over her seat the whole class. It looked like she was scared to sit down on the toilet seat. Totally helped that she moaned and groaned the whole time. Um yeah, I bet your quads are hurting. Also bet that next week you're wearing pants... that is if you come back.

Kind of sucks for her, because that class was one of the hardest (read: BEST) classes I've had at ZX Fitness. I usually count on burning 500 calories in a spin class, but this time, I actually felt like I did. I also felt very thankful that I was smart enough to wear thigh covering pants and prevent chaffing.