May 14, 2013 by Pink Runner

Preparing For My Big Les Mills Weekend!

Tonight was my first time on stage teaching BodyPump!! My new gym (I love it there!) had a 6:30-7:30 BodyPump class tonight. All of the instructors have told me I should try to teach my assigned tracks at a class before the training weekend. I love knowing most of the instructors and everyone is so nice!

The instructor tonight had me shadow her tonight on stage and I taught my tricep and bicep tracks! Everything went so well and the only weird thing was dealing with the microphone! I forgot that most of my tricep track has me laying down on the bench so I wasn’t used to dealing with the microphone. I’m sure I will have lots and lots of practice this weekend!

I couldn’t believe how many calories I burned tonight! This might have been my highest burn for just doing BodyPump. Sometimes I burn more if I run before class, but I didn’t run tonight. I think I was nervous and maybe my heart rate was a little higher than normal?

Can you believe I got up to 185?!?! It was during lunges, of course! Those jump squats are killer and always get me into the 170′s, but tonight I put both risers under the bench and it was extra high. At the gym, I’ve been putting one riser under the bench and at home my bench is different and not as high. I figured I might as well put both risers under the bench tonight because I’m sure I will have to do it that way all weekend!

I ordered some new protein because I was almost finished my other Vega protein. I’ve been trying to make a protein smoothie after tough BodyPump workouts. I had the Vega Energizing Smoothie mix before in chocolate and I really liked that. This time, I ordered their performance protein that is the third step in their nutrition program (recover). I got this one because it had almost double the protein for the same amount of calories. Since I don’t really eat meat (just seafood) I really need to watch my protein intake, especially with all this BodyPump training! I tried this tonight after my big class and it was good! I just had it with some Light Chocolate Silk Soy Milk and PB2 powder. Yum

I’ll try to post this weekend, but I might be too tired Saturday night! Hopefully I will do a big review on my Les Mills BodyPump training Monday or Tuesday after I’ve recovered!

May 9, 2013 by Pink Runner

BodyPump Instructor Training!

Look what I got in the mail!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, I decided to just go for it and hopefully get certified to teach BODYPUMP

I haven’t blogged this week because I’ve been busy at school and practicing BodyPump as much as possible!

A few weeks ago, I started asking a co-worker that teaches BodyPump about the certification process. I started googling and finding blogs that reviewed the grueling two day initial training weekend and instead of getting scared… I got excited. I contacted a local gym and quickly met with their group fitness instructor. Les Mills offers 2 day workshops to get certified in their classes in various locations. There was one offered very close to me May 18th, but Colby has a sprint triathlon that weekend. The next one within driving distance was 2 hours away and at the end of August after my next school year would already begin. Colby told me to not worry about his race and to do the training May 18/19 at the location only 20 minutes from our house. I know, he’s the best

So I signed up and I go to the training next weekend!!!!!!!

I will be using the 85 release (thank goodness!) and was assigned to teach triceps and biceps at the training. Triceps aren’t my strongest muscle group, but I’ve been working out non-stop and trying to get used to heavier weights.

My current weights (if anyone cares!) are below. I use three weights and I keep track of them by saying small, medium and large. Small is 1kg/2.2 lbs, medium is 2.5 kg/5.5lbs and large is 5kg/11 lbs.

Warm-Up: Medium+Small

Squats: Large+Medium+Small … but I think I’m ready to move up

Chest: Large

Back: Large+Medium

Triceps: Large

Biceps: Medium+Small

Lunges: Large

Shoulders: Medium

Core: Large

BodyPump instructors, any weight suggestions? I’m scared I’ll be on the smallest weights that weekend but I’m trying not to stress!

Oh yeah, the training is 9 1/2 hours both Saturday and Sunday I’m so excited!!!!

May 5, 2013 by Pink Runner

Nike Women’s DC Half Review-Part II

The first part of my review can be found here.

The race course was AMAZING for someone like me that loves to run FLAT courses! There was so much to look at along the race, I really didn’t need any music. This was the first race I ran by myself without an iPod and it was kinda refreshing. I’ve been doing a bunch of my training runs without music, so I was used to it. I started out running faster than expected, but that is normal for a race. So when I was in the 8′s for my pace, I didn’t get too excited. The only downfall of the race was some Garmin-drama… but what race isn’t complete without a little drama from the watch we all depend on so much?? (Well, I do!)

We went under a large highway tunnel (I think during the first mile) and everyone lost satellite reception on their GPS watches. The tunnel was dark and pretty long, so I took off my sunglasses. There was someone on a drum set and it was LOUD… too loud for me, especially when we had to run right past him. When I got out of the tunnel, I saw the satellite message on my Garmin, slightly freaked out and then knew my first mile would be off. It beeped at 8:08 soon after the tunnel. Then I realized it was about 0.14 mile off from the mile markers. It wasn’t a huge deal after that.

After I hit the first mile marker, I realized I was running just under a 9 min mile pace. I figured if I felt comfortable, I should just keep up my pace. After I hit the second mile marker right around 18 minutes, I tried to hit the third at 27. When I did, I made the decision to try to hit 9:00 minute miles at every mile marker. Since my Garmin was a little off, I tried to just use it for the pace and do my 9 times tables in my head when I hit the mile markers. I started getting really excited around mile 4 or 5 when I was still holding this and felt fantastic. This is not how I was running for my long training runs. I was struggling to hold 9:30s before! I do think doing some mid-week speed work on the treadmill helped me a lot… and wearing my walmart super-tight, old lady compression socks to bed all the time helped too!

Around mile 9 I looked behind me and saw the pacer holding the 2:00 finish sign and I started thinking. I picked it up just slightly to get a little more ahead of the pacer. I had a lot of time to think without music! This was also the first race where I read all the spectators signs and noticed everything around me. It was refreshing!

Around 9.5 miles, I started feeling the first signs of tired legs. I turned around and saw the 2:00 pacer group getting closer to me. My 10th mile was a little slower and I just couldn’t pick it up at that point. The pacer group passed me and I tried to not get upset. I knew I was still going to have my best race time, because my last half was a 2:07! I thought, maybe I’ll get a 2:02! That would be wayyyyyyyyyyyy better than anything I ever expected for this race!

Well, wouldn’t you know it but around mile 11 or 12 we got near the finish and it was an out and back. Just before that, I had stopped at a water station and gotten my 3rd cup of water. I only took water because I knew I wouldn’t be a fan of the Nuun and didn’t want to upset my stomach at all. The other two water stations (There were a ton but I skipped most of them) I just slowed down a bit for second while I gulped what I could. At the station near 11, I stopped to a fast walk and probably walked about 20 seconds and I finished the whole cup of water. Soon after that, I ran past a large group of spectators and heard Colby yell my name. I knew I could pick it up for the end, but didn’t want to fall apart too close to the end. When I had a mile left, I started looking at my Garmin and realized I was still really close to going under 2:00! I picked up the pace and started regretting that last water station.

The last stretch of the race was deceivingly long, but I just kept pushing and hoping I could keep that clock in the 1-hour range! I looked over to my left and past the standing spectators was Colby running! I motioned over to him 2 with my fingers to say under two hours!! He just pointed to the finish and I knew I had to pick it up!! He was really worried about not finding me at the finish line, so I knew he was just trying to keep track of me. I crossed the multiple mats and clicked my Garmin after the last one. It was 2 seconds longer than my official time of 1:59:56!!!!! I COULDN’T BELIVE IT!!! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could go under 2 hours for this race! I had even said to Colby before that I didn’t know if I could ever go under 2 hours. I was on cloud 9 and my stomach was great! I didn’t throw up at the finish line like my last race!! (full marathon last spring… throwing up Gatorade everywhere… nasty)

I picked up that blue Tiffanys box from all the guys at the end and was practically jumping for joy. Colby was still following me on the outside of the race area until the fence ended. There was lots of bananas, bagels, Luna bars, etc and we even got a big Tiffanys bag to put our stuff in! In the finishers area, there was a tent to buy even more finishers gear… so I got in line with Amy and Colby. Amy did 1:56!! She is so fast

I ended up getting a finishers sweatshirt and put on my necklace in line. We also got Tiffany blue finishers t shirts that were really cute.

They had areas where you could take your picture, so Amy and I had a short photo session. I think both of our eyes are closed in this picture, but hey! We were tired! There were also hair and makeup stands from the sponsor companies, but I was super salty and in need of a shower!

Silver finishers necklace at the top of my collage Overall, great race! Besides running my best time, it really rejuvenated my love for running. The course was FLAT, the weather was perfect, it was a BIG exciting race and super girly. I will most definitely enter to race again next year! Although I don’t have any plans for upcoming races yet, I think I will be focusing on shorter/faster runs this summer! In the past I’ve been so obsessed with mileage I think it will be a nice change to shorten things up and try to work on this speed that I might be gaining!

I also have BIG fitness news coming up soon!! I have a different kind of goal that I made a quick decision to go for last week. Can you guess what it is by looking at my Exercise Log?? :) :) :)

May 4, 2013 by Pink Runner

Nike Women’s DC Half Review-Part I

Last Saturday Colby and I drove down to DC with my parents for my big race! We drove directly to the expo and found a parking garage. It was really exciting with tons of people out and about for the race!

First stop was packet pick-up. We kinda panicked when we saw the ridiculously long line to get into the packet pick-up tent, but it went surprisingly fast. My parents walked around while Colby waited in line with me in the nice weather. When you got inside the tent, they have tvs on the wall with race facts and tables with dozens of volunteers checking everyone in.

We went for some lunch after that… Colby was really hungry after fitting in 14 miles early that morning! Have I mentioned he is training for a Half Ironman? It is in Maryland in June

After lunch, I practically ran up the road to get to the new Nike Georgetown store. This is where all the merchandise for the race was and I realllllly wanted this grey t shirt I saw on their Facebook page to wear for the race. They had a huge sign outside the store saying “WE RUN DC” with every runners name! I found mine in the big C!

Inside the store was a madhouse but, I was on a mission to find my shirt and possibly get the infamous “Tiffany Nike Shoes”.

They were there and they were beautiful. My Mom was feeling generous and got them for me! They are Nike Free 5.0 shoes with race date on the tongue of the shoe, on the insoles and under the silver nike charm on the laces. They only had smaller sizes left, and I was lucky to have small feet

After getting the shoes, my grey shirt (!) and another t shirt, we headed back down the hill to the expo.

The expo was crowded and had few companies. I guess I can’t blame Nike for making it really a Nike-only expo. The other vendors were women-friendly like one of my favorites: Bare Essentials and they passed out tons of free sample moisturizers and were doing makeup for people waiting in line. Luna and Nuun were there too.

That night I tried on my outfit, pinned on my bib and laid out my gear for the next day.

This was my first race in a skirt and I LOVE IT! It was so comfortable and looks way better than shorts! I bought a pack of two Nike headbands at the expo and decided to wear the chevron one for the race. The red wristband was for our corral groups. I put down 9:00-9:59 min pace when I registered and so did Amy. I had my ipod ready to go, but decided against wearing it the next morning! I also used NO nutrition! I was going with less is more… and boy did it work!

The next morning we walked over with Amy’s family to the start of the race at 6am. Had to stop for a few pictures along the way. The weather was PERFECT! NO WIND! It only took us 15 minutes or so to get to the start of the race. The race started at 7am and you had to get into your corral by 6:45. It was already looking pretty crowded.

Amy and I got to the corrals and said goodbye to our families and made our way to the start! It looked really crowded by then, but when we entered the right side of our corral and just walked over to the far left near the stage. We were at the very front of our group and never got pushed back so we stayed very close to the front! The stage had a few Nike girls do warm ups, but it was kinda crowded so we stayed pretty still. Shalane Flanagan was introduced and we could see her very well! I was excited, but if it would have been Kara Goucher I would have freaked!

I ran with no nutrition, no music and no iphone. Colby was worried about finding me at the end, but we planned a meeting place just in case. Amy and I stood next to each other as we waiting for the race to start and once the gun went off, it only took us 13 seconds to pass through the start line! There were multiple mats down and I never know which one is the right mat so I clicked my Garmin at the first one I passed. Icona Pop’s “I Love It” started blaring and it got everyone pretty excited! My Dad filmed the start and it is just a full pack of racers crossing the start line for 10+ minutes! Crazy! I was really happy to be so far forward to start early. The corrals in front of us weren’t that big, so I guess that is how we were able to start so soon.

This post is already pretty long, so I guess I’ll continue tomorrow about the actual race!!

April 28, 2013 by Pink Runner

New Half Marathon PR!!

Nike Women’s Half Marathon – DC

1:59:56

I couldn’t be happier! I had no idea I could break 2 hours!! I will post a review of this great race soon! We had such a great time and my Mom spoiled me and bought me these…

April 26, 2013 by Pink Runner

I Think I’m Ready…

My buddy Amy wrote a post “I AM READY”. She really is… and I think I am too… I’m ready to just enjoy the weekend, run a race with all women and have fun running.

I ran 3.5 miles on the TM Tuesday and I ran 2 miles outside on Wednesday and just beat the rain.

I just ran 2 miles outside with Colby and it was nice and sunny. I wanted to go a little slower, but we were talking and I wasn’t paying attention. Hopefully I can hold 13 miles at that pace!

April 24, 2013 by Pink Runner

Favorite Summer Breakfasts

Overnight Oats

As soon as the weather starts to warm up, I crave these oats! When I first started reading running and healthy living blogs, I couldn’t understand how these bloggers ate cold oats soaked in yogurt! Now I crave them and it is my favorite way to eat a big breakfast. Don’t let the small bowl fool you! If you are watching calories, you could easily get to 500+ calories in this tiny bowl… or else that is just me because I put so much peanut butter on top! Here is my favorite mix…

1/2 serving of So Delicious Blueberry Coconut Milk Yogurt
1/4-1/2 cup Silk Almond Milk
1 serving oats (usually 1/2 cup)
Tbsp Chia Seeds

Mix that up at night (I usually make two at a time because I split the yogurt container) and stick it in the fridge! In the morning I add…

Banana (or sometimes blueberries or strawberries)
Way too much White Chocolate Wonderful – Peanut Butter & Co (cheaper at Target) This is my absolute favorite PB

My Favorite Smoothie

I am blessed with a beautiful Vitamix blender and I use it daily. It is great for hot soups in the winter, sauces for dinner, chopping veggies and of course, smoothies! Above are the ingredients I use, except I forgot to take a picture of my huge container of fresh spinach.

Here is my favorite variation and this is the order I put it into the Vitamix…

1 cup vanilla or original almond or light chocolate soy milk (depends if I want extra chocolate)

Powder mixes (Usually 1 scoop chocolate vega protein, but I’ll add a scoop of Colby’s chocolate Recoverite if I just did a crazy workout or run)
Chia seeds and PB2
Tons and tons of spinach… seriously like 2 and 1/2 cups
Banana
Frozen berries (usually strawberries because they taste so good in this smoothie!)

The frozen berries and banana weigh down the spinach. I feel like everything blends the best in this order.

Not the prettiest color, but it is delicious!!

April 22, 2013 by Pink Runner

Easy Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

Sometimes at night I want something sweet. Lately, I have been dipping fresh strawberries into dark chocolate for a treat. They are so good and it is just enough chocolate for me.

I put some Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips (my favorite) into a small glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. When you take them out, they won’t look much different, but mix them around with a spoon for a minute and they will slowly start to melt. Then, put them into the microwave again for 30 seconds. Take them out and mix, mix, mix! It should turn into a smooth melted chocolate. If you are doing a larger batch, try another 30 seconds. By only putting them in the microwave for a short time, you won’t burn the chocolate! Nothing is worse than ruining perfectly good chocolate!!

I wash the strawberries and dry them well. If they are wet, the water will ruin the chocolate. Dip the strawberries and place them on a parchment paper-covered plate. Stick them in the freezer for a few minutes and they will be ready to eat!

Or eat most of the melted chocolate straight out of the bowl before they even make it onto the strawberries like me

April 21, 2013 by Pink Runner

12 Mile Run

Woo Hoo!! Last long run before the big race! Amy and I ran 12 miles yesterday in some crazyyyyy wind! I know Garmin only says 9 mph wind, but it felt like 20 in some spots! I’m hoping for comfortable temperatures next weekend with NO WIND

I walked a little at the end, but overall I was pretty happy with the run. It really is hard to run in tons of wind. I wore a Brooks Glycerine black running skirt that I’ve only worn once. It looks like this…

This is a picture of Amy and I from Summer 2011 when I posted about this skirt. I haven’t worn it since because I thought the shorts underneath were uncomfortable. I actually liked it yesterday, so I’m going to race in it next weekend. I also wore that t shirt yesterday from 26.2 but I’m hoping to find a cute new pink shirt at the race expo to wear!

I remembered yesterday that I have this Tiffany blue nail polish! I’m SO ready for Tiffany’s race necklace next weekend so I decided to have matching nails.

I did a few upper body “BodyPump” tracks this morning (chest, triceps, biceps and shoulders) and half of the Pop Pilates DVD. Man that DVD is HARD!

April 20, 2013 by Pink Runner

Pesto Veggie Pizza

Homemade pizza dough, pesto sauce, veggies and non-dairy cheese!

This pizza is vegan, except for the honey used in the pizza dough recipe.

I’ve always liked making my own pizza dough recipe and use Ina from the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe. If you are trying this dough recipe here are a few tips that have worked for me…

Use a thermometer to make sure the water is just over 100 degrees and then add yeast, honey and olive oil. Set the timer for 15 minutes and let it get foamy!
Add 3 cups flour and set kitchenaid to #2 for 10 minutes. Add a little flour to keep it from sticking and getting too crazy.

Colby and I always split the dough into two parts (his part is always much bigger than mine) so we can make separate pizzas. The last few times I’ve had cheese on my pizza, I’ve felt really sick so I decided to make this one dairy free!

For the pesto… buy the new “More Peas, Thank You” book. There are some really good recipes I’m looking forward to making this week. I’ve already made a few and they are easy and delicious!

The pesto includes: chickpeas, basil, walnuts and nutritional yeast and I made it in my vitamix. Fast and easy clean up!

For my toppings: mushrooms, onions and red peppers (sauteed first), toasted pine nuts and a little Daiya “cheddar cheese”. I’ve tried the Daiya “mozzarella” many times and I hate it. I LOVE their cheddar melted!

Getting ready to run my last long run for my Nike Women’s Half training! 12 miles

Author Archives: Pink Runner