runner

Training & Updates 1/21 – 1/27

This week was a really good week for many reasons! I broke my streak since I last posted but started another attempt on the 20th. I’m more hopeful this time since the week went by super smoothly, with none of my runs feeling forced. I feel like running daily might be going back to being more of a habit again!

I also finally got my own treadmill and it is now setup in the basement so I have almost no excuse not to run! I’m pumped to not have to go out to the gym anymore or deal with their schedule!

Here’s what my week looked like:

Monday – 6.83 miles / 8:51 pace

Tuesday – 3.12 miles / 9:20 pace

Wednesday – 4.86 miles / 9:17 pace

Thursday – 2.02 miles / 9:38 pace

Friday – 2.01 miles / 9:59 pace

Saturday – 3.40 miles / 8:02 pace

Sunday – 2.57 miles / 9:12 pace

Total – 25.81 miles

This week also marked the start of a new training plan!! I started marathon training the 26th for the Vermont City Marathon, as well as the Illinois Marathon! How are you training for two, you ask? The plan is actually set for Vermont, but Illinois is happening first, during training, so I plan to take it as an easy practice marathon. I’m hoping that while I won’t be in peak condition, the training beforehand will make it an easy enough time. Also my PR from my first marathon is so slow that I should also get easy PRs both times this way (if I can control myself in IL 😅)! I can’t wait!!

In other news:

My work started a step competition and being the only runner everyone expects me to win. Like to the point where my boss said I was the reason they were giving out a second and third prize. Not going to lie, I originally thought it would be kind of a cake walk as well, until my one co-worker, [the] IT Guy 👨‍💻, was CRUSHING it. I finally caught up to and passed him at the end of this week though! I then made the mistake of adding my mom and old track bud to the app so don’t be surprised when I start doing double sessions to CRUSH THE COMPETITION 👊 I’ll keep you updated so you can watch as a silly work competition slowly takes over and ruins my life 😂🤣😂

Lastly, I got a Koala Clip to try and really like it so far! I think I’ll go more into detail about it in a post about all phone pouches since I think I’ve tried almost all of them at this point!

Anyway, those are my updates for this week! Hope all your weeks are going swell as well!! 🏃‍♀️👋

Training & Updates 12/17 – 12/23

So I may have had a mini crisis over 2018 after thinking the year over the other day (I’ll go into detail in another post once the year actually closes out) and decided to step up my game for the last little bit of the year. I’ve always wanted to do a streak and a few of the reasons for my crisis could have been helped via run streak, so I decided to start a 2019 goal early! I actually started the 16th, but am happy to report I ran 2 miles or more everyday this past week! Since my previous mileage had been super spotty I took it nice and easy on most of the days, which is fine because the goal is just to get out there consistently. My week ended up looking like:

Monday – 4.01 miles / 11:09 pace

Tuesday – 2.70 miles / 9:02 pace

Wednesday – 2.30 miles / 10:58 pace

Thursday – 6.54 miles / 9:51 pace

Friday – 2.04 miles / unknown

Saturday – 3.36 miles / 8:27 pace

Sunday – 2.01 miles / 10:58 pace

Total – 22.96 miles

Weirdly, I ran on a treadmill everyday except one. Normally I avoid treadmills like the plague but I’ve also been too lazy to put in the extra effort it takes to stay super alert while running at night. Tuesday was another Zwift run, which was super fun! But unfortunately the WiFi at my gym won’t let me make every treadmill run a Zwift one. It’s making me thoroughly debate finally getting my own treadmill. I definitely felt a bit of tired and achiness in my legs/feet toward the end of the week when standing at my desk (this was also the first week I had my standing desk ❤️) but doing less Friday and Saturday fixed that by Sunday.

In other news:

I am a Tiux Ambassador again for 2019! Feel free to use the code SAMRTIUX for 20% off purchases from their site.

I am also a Rhode Races Newport Ambassador this year! I’m super excited since I love the Rhode Races series and their Newport race is my absolute favorite half marathon! If you’re a 50 stater I’d definitely recommend this race for Rhode Island and if you have any questions feel free to ask me 🙂 I don’t have a discount code yet, but keep an eye open for that soon!

BUFF DryFlx Neckwarmer and Headband

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

While I love Winter running, I generally hate Winter gear. The gear that is supposed to keep me warm smothers me and causes me to sweat so much I become drenched and even more susceptible to freezing. I’ve had gloves and buffs get so wet they froze solid later in the run.

After trying the New Original BUFF earlier this year, I was excited to get to test their new DryFlx fabric to see if it was just as magical and could solve my cold gear problems. Turns out, it is and did!

I was able to keep warm using both my headband and neck warmer on a variety of runs without them causing me to sweat! One of my biggest dilemmas at the start of Winter is whether or not to wear ear warmers. I hate the wind and cold air blowing in my ears, but also hate the inevitable ring of sweat headbands will leave around my head. I threw on my BUFF headband on a warmer, windier day to see how much it would cause me to sweat and was extremely happily surprised to find out it didn’t at all! It’s honestly really cool how well the fabric keeps you warm and protected from wind while still managing to let your skin breathe. I wore both on a below freezing run as well and didn’t get a single chill. It also felt easier to breathe through than other buffs when in face-mask mode.

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Another feature I really liked was they added elastic to the ends of both product. It’s on the inside so it doesn’t catch on your hair, but gives a slightly snugger fit. I am super picky with ear warmers because I refuse to have to keep pulling them back over my ears every 5 minutes the entire run. There is elastic on one side of the headband that’s perfect for securing it over your ears. The neck warmer also has elastic, of slightly different sizes on each end. (My guess would be for different sized heads/faces.) This elastic was a huge game changer when I wore it as a face-mask. Normally I have a very difficult time keeping a buff up on my face, but I didn’t have to fix the DryFlx BUFF once!

Lastly, as you may know, I’m all about COLOR, reflectiveness, and really anything to make gear more crazy (and safe, I guess). Well the DryFlx comes in THE MOST NEON GREEN (and BLUE and some boring colors 😜) AND has a reflective design!!

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I was told I looked very ninja turtle and I love it!

If you want to check them out for yourself:

BUFF DryFlx Headband

BUFF DryFlx Neckwarmer

They also have a hat version!

BUFF DryFlx Hat