I hope this entry finds everyone well! I hit a big milestone in my training this past weekend that I'm super excited about...
SIXTEEN MILES!!!!!!!!!! That's right. I ran (jogged? lol) 16 miles this past Saturday with the team. That officially marks my longest run ever since my longest races have been half marathons. It was a struggle for sure and I'm still hurting two days later, but still really psyched that I did it. It was exactly the pick me up I needed. Over the month of January I fell behind on training slightly due to the ridiculously cold weather we have had up here. I'm totally OK with bundling up for a cold run but when the water in your hydration belt freezes during your run.... well... it's too cold. And while I tried to log some miles in on the treadmill it just isn't the same.
Anyone who knows me knows that if you give me a schedule I HAVE to follow it exactly or else I get all anxious about it. Talking it through with my team helped a lot... all of them agree that while the schedule is the optimum way to train, missing a day here and there is not going to ruin the Marathon experience. I'm trying to take that to heart and learn to go with the flow a little better. I guess that's the mission for the next few months :)
Let's see what else is new... I've spent the last two weeks writing down every single thing I eat to show my nutritionist. (In a spreadsheet of course haha). I have my next appointment with her on Wednesday and I'm really excited to show her my food journal and see what she has to say. I'm hoping she has some suggestions about how to fuel my body for this race.
I had a really successful fundraiser over the weekend. Some of my most talented friends and myself put on a concert in RI with all of the proceeds going to my fundraising goal... Proud to say that I was able to raise $800! I'm in the beginning stages of planning another fundraiser.. this time with my band Walkin' The Line up in the Boston area. I'm hoping to make it a huge party so stay tuned for more news on that.
I'm off... time to get in the pool for some laps.
84 days....
xoxo
Ash
"We choose to run for those who sometimes can't."
I am running the 2014 Boston Marathon on the Marathon Strides Against MS Team! To make a donation to help end Multiple Sclerosis please visit my personal fundraising page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=12612971&pg=personal&fr_id=22897
Monday, January 27, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
It's Too Cold.
It's too cold. That is the theme of this week's training.
Let's see... I left off last week talking about how I had a 13 mile run coming up with the team over the weekend. Well needless to say that didn't happen. There were a few brave (crazy) souls who set out on the team run Saturday morning but most of us opted to do it on our own later in the day... The temp outside at 8am was zero degrees with a -20 wind chill! That just didn't seem safe to me. I actually ended up doing my long run the next day... Sunday was a balmy 30 degrees... stuff on the streets and sidewalk was melting away... it just seemed like the better day!
Well, that Sunday I had my first "bad run" of the year. It was awful. If you are a runner you know what I mean... from the first step it just feels awful... like you can't do it... every mile is a chore. I knew right off the bat I wasn't going to make 13 miles, so when I hit the 5 mile mark I turned around and headed back to my car... 10 miles seemed good enough considering the circumstances.
It was the first time I actually question myself for setting out to do this. Plenty of people have told me I'm nuts... and a few have even said "You're not ready, you shouldn't be running a race of this magnitude yet", and I've always been able to brush those comments off with lot's of self confidence. I'm going to take everyone's advice and not let that run get to me... we all have bad days right?!
The rest of this week has been spent training on the treadmill due to the extreme cold... have I mentioned how much I HATE the treadmill?? Hamster on a wheel, that's all I have to say. haha. I'm headed to hot yoga tonight which will probably feel even more awesome then usual!
This coming Saturday the team has a 14.5 mile run. This is a big deal because (If I make it the whole way) it will be the longest distance I have ever run. Ever. Pretty cool... I'm hoping to make it happen, but also preparing to not beat myself up if it doesn't. The ultimate goal for this whole journey is to get to the starting line in Hopkinton and of course the FINISH LINE on Boylston Street. So I'm going to make sure I listen to my body so I can get there injury free.
Don't forget to donate below, every dollar counts!!!
PS. Three cheers for 40 degrees this weekend!
109 days....
xoxo
Ash
"We choose to run for those who sometimes can't."
I am running the 2014 Boston Marathon on the Marathon Strides Against MS Team! To make a donation to help end Multiple Sclerosis please visit my personal fundraising page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=12612971&pg=personal&fr_id=22897
Let's see... I left off last week talking about how I had a 13 mile run coming up with the team over the weekend. Well needless to say that didn't happen. There were a few brave (crazy) souls who set out on the team run Saturday morning but most of us opted to do it on our own later in the day... The temp outside at 8am was zero degrees with a -20 wind chill! That just didn't seem safe to me. I actually ended up doing my long run the next day... Sunday was a balmy 30 degrees... stuff on the streets and sidewalk was melting away... it just seemed like the better day!
Well, that Sunday I had my first "bad run" of the year. It was awful. If you are a runner you know what I mean... from the first step it just feels awful... like you can't do it... every mile is a chore. I knew right off the bat I wasn't going to make 13 miles, so when I hit the 5 mile mark I turned around and headed back to my car... 10 miles seemed good enough considering the circumstances.
It was the first time I actually question myself for setting out to do this. Plenty of people have told me I'm nuts... and a few have even said "You're not ready, you shouldn't be running a race of this magnitude yet", and I've always been able to brush those comments off with lot's of self confidence. I'm going to take everyone's advice and not let that run get to me... we all have bad days right?!
The rest of this week has been spent training on the treadmill due to the extreme cold... have I mentioned how much I HATE the treadmill?? Hamster on a wheel, that's all I have to say. haha. I'm headed to hot yoga tonight which will probably feel even more awesome then usual!
This coming Saturday the team has a 14.5 mile run. This is a big deal because (If I make it the whole way) it will be the longest distance I have ever run. Ever. Pretty cool... I'm hoping to make it happen, but also preparing to not beat myself up if it doesn't. The ultimate goal for this whole journey is to get to the starting line in Hopkinton and of course the FINISH LINE on Boylston Street. So I'm going to make sure I listen to my body so I can get there injury free.
Don't forget to donate below, every dollar counts!!!
PS. Three cheers for 40 degrees this weekend!
109 days....
xoxo
Ash
"We choose to run for those who sometimes can't."
I am running the 2014 Boston Marathon on the Marathon Strides Against MS Team! To make a donation to help end Multiple Sclerosis please visit my personal fundraising page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=12612971&pg=personal&fr_id=22897
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Happy Holiday Running
Ooops... it's been awhile since I updated this! Been so busy over Christmas and New Years that I started to slack!
Training during the holiday break has been a dream come true! No need to get my miles in before the sun comes up or after the sun goes down because I've been on a two week vacation from work. It's going to be tough going back on Monday that's for sure. During the week of Christmas I got a few 4 - 6 mile runs in in Bristol RI... the bike path is a beautiful place to run.. I didn't even mind the cold so much because the ocean views made me so happy :)
I have to admit I missed a few days over the last few weeks... I can make every excuse in the book but bottom line is I should have made the time. This Saturday's long run is 13 miles... (A freaking half marathon!) and I'm hoping my missed runs don't affect me. If they do it's my own fault, but I plan on powering through! I've also been bad about making time for my twice a week yoga class and I can feel it starting to affect me, so I guess my New Year's resolution is to get back on track. Real original lol.
I haven't talked much about diet on this blog but thought I would touch upon it this week. It's no secret that one of my goals with this marathon is to drop a few pounds in the process, and figuring out the right diet to follow has been tricky. My first few weeks I ate my normal 1300 cals a day and felt super sluggish. Over the holiday it was the opposite problem... nothing but food and drinks as far as the eye could see, and that also made me feel super sluggish! When I got back from RI I was craving fish and veggies so badly that it's basically all I ate for a few days and I felt much better. Now that I'm back on track the trick is to find the right balance. I want to be giving my body the fuel it needs to be running 30 - 40 miles a week... but I'd also like to lose some weight. My acupuncturist recommended a nutritionist he often works with so I'm in the process of making an appointment with her. Here's hoping she can help guide me in the right direction! If I learn any fun tips and tricks I will share them here of course.
Luckily today is a cross training day so I don't have to battle the snow outside in order to run :) I'll let you all know how Saturday goes!
PS. I'm trying to kick my fundraising into high gear this month... click on the link below to donate!
PPS. I also got LOTS of running and yoga gear from Santa this year. 2 new jackets, some hats, new base layer gear to keep me warm... Santa is a good guy.
109 days....
xoxo
Ash
"We choose to run for those who sometimes can't."
I am running the 2014 Boston Marathon on the Marathon Strides Against MS Team! To make a donation to help end Multiple Sclerosis please visit my personal fundraising page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=12612971&pg=personal&fr_id=22897
Training during the holiday break has been a dream come true! No need to get my miles in before the sun comes up or after the sun goes down because I've been on a two week vacation from work. It's going to be tough going back on Monday that's for sure. During the week of Christmas I got a few 4 - 6 mile runs in in Bristol RI... the bike path is a beautiful place to run.. I didn't even mind the cold so much because the ocean views made me so happy :)
I have to admit I missed a few days over the last few weeks... I can make every excuse in the book but bottom line is I should have made the time. This Saturday's long run is 13 miles... (A freaking half marathon!) and I'm hoping my missed runs don't affect me. If they do it's my own fault, but I plan on powering through! I've also been bad about making time for my twice a week yoga class and I can feel it starting to affect me, so I guess my New Year's resolution is to get back on track. Real original lol.
I haven't talked much about diet on this blog but thought I would touch upon it this week. It's no secret that one of my goals with this marathon is to drop a few pounds in the process, and figuring out the right diet to follow has been tricky. My first few weeks I ate my normal 1300 cals a day and felt super sluggish. Over the holiday it was the opposite problem... nothing but food and drinks as far as the eye could see, and that also made me feel super sluggish! When I got back from RI I was craving fish and veggies so badly that it's basically all I ate for a few days and I felt much better. Now that I'm back on track the trick is to find the right balance. I want to be giving my body the fuel it needs to be running 30 - 40 miles a week... but I'd also like to lose some weight. My acupuncturist recommended a nutritionist he often works with so I'm in the process of making an appointment with her. Here's hoping she can help guide me in the right direction! If I learn any fun tips and tricks I will share them here of course.
Luckily today is a cross training day so I don't have to battle the snow outside in order to run :) I'll let you all know how Saturday goes!
PS. I'm trying to kick my fundraising into high gear this month... click on the link below to donate!
PPS. I also got LOTS of running and yoga gear from Santa this year. 2 new jackets, some hats, new base layer gear to keep me warm... Santa is a good guy.
109 days....
xoxo
Ash
"We choose to run for those who sometimes can't."
I am running the 2014 Boston Marathon on the Marathon Strides Against MS Team! To make a donation to help end Multiple Sclerosis please visit my personal fundraising page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=12612971&pg=personal&fr_id=22897
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