Cleveland Marathon Race recap

Just shy of one week ago I was headed to bed to get a good nights sleep before my 9th half marathon the following morning and what a race it was! It was my 7th time participating in the Cleveland marathon and my 4th year as an ambassador to the race. Its been such an honor these past 4 years to represent the Cleveland marathon, a race that I truly love so much!

Official Ambassador 2018

Race weekend is always my favorite, its where we get to celebrate and have a blast together at the VIP dinner and where all of the hard work that has gone into training is finally put to the test.

This year my mom joined me again as my date for the VIP dinner on Friday. We met after I finished work and rode up to Cleveland together. We took a slight detour to the expo where we picked up our racing bibs and got to check out all the new fun goodies that were for sale. I always love hanging out at the expo and could spend all day looking at all the cool new products and could really spend a lot of money there too! I was pretty excited about the cool American Greetings cards they had made especially for the race. I took a few and I'm looking forward to framing them with all of my racing stuff! After we walked around a little bit we headed over a few blocks to the Hyatt Arcade where the VIP reception was already underway.

Awesome running cards

The VIP reception is one of the coolest events I have been invited too. The Arcade is always so pretty and the race goes all out with special drinks, beautiful decoration, a live band and really amazing food. But the absolute best part is spending time with my friends that I have had the pleasure of meeting thru the race. It always goes too fast and before we know it we are back on the steps taking the annual photo. Its always fun and the one time a year that I feel like I have the paparazzi following me! This year was especially fun to meet some of the new ambassadors that I hadn't gotten a chance to meet earlier in the year. Everyone is so nice and its really interesting to hear eveyone's story. Before we knew it, mom and I were headed home and talking non-stop about how fun it was to get to see everyone again and how we couldn't believe that race weekend was finally here!

 

Me and Mary, our social media queen!

Me and Stephani, 26.2 rocksar!

Melissa times 2!

Our annual Ambassador selfie

2018 Ambassadors

Me and my mom

This year I was really wanting to run the challenge series again but my son had soccer on Saturday and living a little over an hour away from Cleveland made it pretty impossible to make it to both, so soccer (and the Royal wedding) won over me participating in the 8K on Saturday. And, in case you are wondering, the wedding was amazing, the kids were less than interested and soccer was great! It was honestly nice to have a low(ish) key Saturday instead of driving back and forth all 3 days. As low key as you can get with a house full of boys :)

My Saturday morning

Basically, the world cup

Before I knew it, it was Sunday morning at 4 am and I was up and getting dressed! My mom wanted to go watch me cross the finish line and Ryan said he would go with us too. Mom stopped by the house at 5am and we were off. I was shocked how bright eyed Ryan was at 4:45 when I woke him up!  I think he was pretty excited to see the race again. The drive up was pretty uneventful but the weather was a little less than desired. It was about 55 but I knew closer to the lake it would be cooler, which isn't the worst thing, but it was also drizzling and that didn't look awesome to me. It continued to drizzle as we made it into the downtown area and we found a parking area that I always park in. I left mom and Ryan in the car and told them to hang out there for awhile since the drizzle had turned into something stronger. I jogged over to the start line and was supposed to meet up for an ambassador picture but I needed to stop at the porta potties and that line took FOREVERRRRRRRRRR. It wasn't something that I could skip, so I waiting in line, knowing I was missing seeing all of my friends and giving out some good luck high fives and hugs! 

Lining up!

The start line

When I finally made it out of my pit stop it was already time to line up. I smushed my way into my corral, took a few selfies and then we were off!  It took a good 5 minuted to cross the start line and I was back further than normal and didn't even hear them play Cleveland Rocks but it was ok, I felt ready, more ready than I ever have been. I just took a deep breath, started my watch and crossed the start line. I was keeping track really good in the first mile to not take off too quickly. That has happened alot in the past and I just take off like a rocket and burn off too quickly and then feel like crap in the back half. I was careful to stay really close to my target of 10 minute miles. The first mile ticked by right at 10, then mile 2 at 9:53, and mile 3 at 9:39!  I was feeling so good!  Mile 4, 5, and 6 were all close to 10 too!  I was having a great time out there, only stopping for water to walk and kept plugging away. The awesome part of the first half is the people I saw randomly on the course! Right off that bat I saw a girl I have only really met in real life maybe two time, my insta-friend Stephanie!  But it totally made me smile and kept me moving. Its notable that it was still spitting rain, so between that and the sweat from running, i was not very dry! The other reason I had to stop was to re-tie my shoes. Specifically my right shoe kept coming loose and my laces were pretty soaked. As I stopped for the second time to re-tie another friend Stephani and her friend Marta ran by! I laced up quickly and eventually caught up to them for a little chat and some selfies. There is nothing like seeing your friends out there on the course to keep you moving! 

Me, Marta and Stephani right before the mile 7 killer hill

I was moving fast and was feeling so good, even high-fiving myself for all of the training I had done. It was feeling like it was really paying off! Then, the mile 7 hill arrived into my life. WOW!  That hill felt like a mountain!  The other hills I was able to jog up but this one really made me take a deep breath and I needed to take a walk break. I started back up after that but at mile 7, I started clocking some 11 minute miles. Those were mainly because of the walk breaks I was taking pretty much each mile after 7. I didn't walk too long, but it was enough to make the dream of my PR waver a little bit. I kept thinking of that quote "everything hurts and i'm dying". I felt like everything was hurting out there and my shoes were pretty much soaked. My soaked shoes gave me the impression that the bottoms of my feet were totally covered in blisters. The other thing I noticed towards the end of the race was that my watch was off somehow. I thought it was probably because I was starting and stopping so much in the back half that I had confused my watch. Oh well, I just kept going and when I saw the crowds I knew I was close. I was in pain, I was trying to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and I was really ready to be done. My mom called me as I was about 1/2 mile away and she told me to look for her and Ryan on the right and that they had a pink sign. When I finally reached them and saw them I lost it! It was a struggle but seeing them waiting for me made it all worth the while.

Seeing mom and Ryan waiting for me

mile by mile says my Garmin

I crossed the finish line officially at 2:24:53. I knew I had missed my PR, my time to beat was 2:21:23. So, missed by 3 and a half minutes!  dang it! I got my medal and snacks, posed for a picture, declined the aluminum foil wrap (regretted that decision quickly afterwards) and made my way over to the Utterly Smooth cow and met up with Ryan and my mom. My counsin and her girls were amazing and came to the end of the race to cheer me on too! I was super happy for the extra love and support, especially since her girls are so little and its not always easy to take them at that age to any event! We had a nice little visit and then made the way back to our car. It never felt so good to sit down and change into some flip flops I had packed to drive home in.

Me and my girl Rachel

Cleveland rocks!

We made the hour plus drive back home and I took what felt to me like the best shower of my life and really took it easy the rest of the day. Ryan took a nap and I was able to close my eyes a little bit too.

Overall, I walked away from this race a little disappointed because I was so gung-ho on beating my PR and missing it by such a small margin was not what I had planned. Were there times out there where I could have pushed harder? Yes. And time that maybe I didn't need such a walk break? Maybe. But, did I really give it my best this year training wise? Yes! My plan with running is never to be the fastest or to even BQ, My goal is to keep improving over the last year, to stick with it and to keep liking it. And I do still like running, I actually love it! And I'm already planning on coming back next year and making that mile 7 hill my bitch!

Until next year Cleveland!

I would like to thank Jack, Ralph, Joan, Kayla, and Teddy for allowing me to be an ambassador for this year! Its been such an honor to represent and be a part of the race that I love so much!

its Race week- my Cleveland Marathon 26.2!

3 years ago today I ran my first and only (so far) full marathon!  It was amazing, emotional, it was so tough and it was one of the most rewarding moments of my entire life. The journey to those 26.2 miles is something that I haven’t really ever written out though I have thought about it a hundred times. 

26.2 miles complete!

This is my real Cleveland Marathon 26.2 story. 

Roughly 11 months before those 26.2 miles my husband moved out of our house. It was a joint decision and something that needed to happen but my whole world was thrown upside down. At the time our boys were 1 and 3 years old. I was obviously worried and not sure exactly what to do with myself. Specifically, I was not sure what to do with myself when the kids were not with me. I learned to mow the grass (I know, lame) and I tried new recipes and went to hang out with friends. I had been running for a few years in between having the boys and I saw an add about applying to be a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador and thought it sounded really cool. I hesitated as I filled out the questionnaire knowing I was just a slow-ish wannabe runner who trained on my lunch breaks and sometimes on the weekends. I was not fast at all and there was really nothing special about what I did but I sent in the application anyways and a few months later I received an email that I was actually chosen to be an ambassador! I was elated and actually pretty damn shocked but went with it.

Then I started getting the bug that maybe I should consider running a full marathon. I had run a few half marathons, I’m sure I could do a full if I put my mind to it right?  And I was an ambassador after all, why NOT go for it? And I had a day every weekend that I could dedicate to running when the kids were with their dad. It seemed like a better therapy than going out to drink, and cheaper too. I mentioned this idea to my running buddy Lynanne and she agreed that this was something that we could train together for so we got a plan and started training. At the time we worked together and were able to run on our lunch breaks and also had some really awesome running friends at work who were consistently motivational and pepped us up! We were so dedicated to our goal of completing the full that we just never took no for an answer. We ran and walked and ran again until we hit our long run goal each and every weekend and we really had the best time! Soon, I was watching her cross the finish line in Pittsburgh and a few weeks later, I was crossing the finish with my handsome little guy in Cleveland. This moment will never leave my memory, I thought I would be a sappy mess but I was never more proud! It felt like I weathered the storm and came out just fine. It was one of my proudest moments in my life!

2105 Cleveland Marathon

Over the next few years the schedule changed, the divorce was finalized and I didn’t want to dedicate as much time to running when the boys were with me. Now, we split the boys every other weekend and the idea of going out for a 4+ hours run just felt bananas to me. I wanted to spend time with my boys and decided that training for the half marathon for the last three years was a smarter choice for me. I was able to get up and run before they were awake or only be gone a minimal amount of time and hang with them. I plan to run the half marathon again this year, in just a few days.

The people I have met as an ambassador have become so special to me over the years. It’s this awesome little family of amazing people who not only motivate the heck out of me but they are just always there for me. One my most favorite nights of the year is the VIP dinner for the race that we get to attend. We change out of our sweaty running gear, get a little dolled up and hang out with each other and eat some great food at the gorgeous Hyatt arcade that in downtown Cleveland.  It’s the most fun night and I look so forward to it. The first two years mom my came with me and we had a blast! Shes a semi-retired runner and really loves hearing about everyone’s training plans and its an fun excuse to have a girls night. Last year I was excited to have my boyfriend join me for the special night. He had heard all the stories of my running friends and seen pictures from years before so I was excited to get a special date night with him in the city. It ended up being so much more special that I had even expected because after we ate and he had met all of my friends we stood on the stairs to get our picture taken and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was in complete shock and it was one of the best nights of my life! It was nothing short of incredible and made one of my favorite nights all the more special. 

2017 VIP reception dinner

And that night, that race weekend, really felt like a complete full circle moment for me. This race that is associated with getting me through some of my hardest times in life has also been a part a new beginning for me and some of the most exciting moments in my life! I'm happy to say that after that night we purchased a new home together and were married a few months ago.

This will be my 7^th year participating in the Cleveland marathon. I have run it with my sister, my mom, my cousin and so many friends. I have crossed the finish line holding my boys hands and have watched them participate in the kids run.  I am still completely honored and humbled by the fact I am associated with this race that is so unbelievably special to me. Thank you Cleveland Marathon for letting me be a part of this race that I love.

Here’s to a great race weekend!

It's go time

At this time in 3 weeks I will be home, showered, and on the couch or in my wildest dream sitting on a cozy lounge chair on the deck in the sun eating some pizza and drinking a nice cold diet coke soaking up the new PR of the Cleveland Marathon!

Just imagine me here with a pizza and a diet coke :)

You have to dream it for it to become a reality right?  I think so too!

April has been another crazy month in Ohio weather wise and personal wise for our family. A few weeks ago we lost my father in law. Its been incredibly hard on Chad, his sister, his brother and his entire family. We knew he was not doing well, but I don't think it's ever enough time to be prepared for the finality of loosing someone you love. I'm grateful for the time I was able to get to know him and that we were able to get married and have him here with us for that occasion. I'm grateful for him raising such a wonderful man and I'm grateful for his service to our country. I know that many service men sacrifice for years after their active duty and he was one of them. He will surely be missed.

The weather in Ohio has been bananas. There have been some really nice days this month and then this morning on my run it was snowing. (WHAT IN THE WORLD? I think its gradually getting a little bit more spring like, I have officially ditched the winter coat and boots, but really who knows what's around the corner.

I have logged some decent miles this month although I have been not as great at reporting on those miles. I think that training wise this year I have been able to get the most consistent long runs in and I think its going to make a difference come race day. I have been averaging 19-22 miles a week so not totally on track with making the 100 mile goal this month but its ok, there has been a whole lot of life happening around here and family is number 1. I'm still running on my lunch breaks and getting in some stretching and arms. My right hip has really been bugging me a little so I have been taking it easy on my hip and doing some different stretches to make it feel better and its been working. I have been lacking the overall strength department and this is a good reminder to not just run, but to get some strength training in too.

The actual count down is on for Cleveland. less than 21 days!

Did you register yet? Online registration closes on May 1st, that THIS TUESDAY! If you haven't already, go sign up!  You can sign up here! 

You can use the offer code MBCLE10 for an extra 10% off! There are so many distance options to choose from! the whole 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8k, 5k and kids fun run!  Hope to see you there!

If you like what you see here, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram! I'm way better at posting updates there! Make it a great week guys!

April running brings May PR's

Amiright???

Once I turned the calendar to April it got really real!  Next month is half marathon month and I have some serious running to do.

I have 2 April Goals
1. I will run 100 miles
2. I will do 30 push-ups a day (10 am/ 10 at lunch/ 10 pm)

This may seem like nothing to some of you guys, but its been a serious struggle for me to stay focused and consistent so I'm starting small and I know it will make a big difference and help me gain some confidence.

Week 1 in April was kind of the well, FREAKING BEST! I had some really strong workouts and I'm so proud of where I am. I know I have a long way to go to where I was but isn't the comeback the best part?

Monday: 5k at lunch at a strong pace 31:41

Tuesday: 2 miles of sprints with strength in between

Wednesday: 4 miles at lunch at my best pace ever!

Thursday: 4.5 miles after work with Lynanne. It felt so good to be outside

Friday: rest day

Saturday: 7 miles at a 10:09 pace!
After a pretty regular Saturday with errands, haircuts, a vet appt and making lunch for the troops I took the opportunity to disappear from the craziness of the house for a long run. I got dressed and escaped the house full of crazy boys playing cops and robbers and just started off. After almost a mile I realized my pace was really strong. Even uphill it was just at 10 min miles. I felt good and not at all out of breath. My next mile was at 9 and change and THAT was a SUPER confidence boost! I took about a 30 second walk break when I felt it was needed or I needed to blow my nose. Its still SNOWING in Ohio, so its not quite Spring yet. I weaved around some neighborhoods that I had planned on running and it just all clicked!  When I hit 7 I really could have kept going but I didnt have the time to stay out too much longer. What a rush!  I am feeling so good about running and REALLY REALLY looking forward to next weekends 10 mile drop race!

Sunday: an additional unplanned rest day!

Overall a really strong week to kick off April and it mentally is helping me tell myself that I am going to be able to run this again and be able to run it strong!

I also did keep up with the 30 pushups a day!

Are you signed up for Cleveland yet? You can sign up here! 

You can use the offer code MBCLE10 for an extra 10% off! There are so many distance options to choose from! the whole 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8k, 5k and kids fun run!  Hope to see you there!

If you like what you see here, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram too! Make it a great week guys!

March Madness

I'm not sure how we are already at the end of week 1 in April but I would really like to take a moment to recap March because it was pretty big! It also FLEW by!

The biggest and most fun personally to me was that I got married!  It was so beautiful!  It was small and at our house and the kids were involved and it was exactly what we wanted! We spent the day doing to usual Saturday things and then all got ready for our little ceremony and a nice family dinner. I really thought that all the of the people that said they married their best friend were full of it until I met Chad and he truly is my best friend and such an amazing partner! I really know how lucky I am.

Jack turned 5! My baby is now 5 and ready for kindergarten! How in the word did that happen?  Its like in the blink of an eye he is fully grown! Hes 5 and quite full of personality! He is so smart, really fun and fun to be around! He loves playing jokes and hiding around corners to scare you. Its wonderful to see him and the boys grow but on the other hand, it breaks my heart that they are growing up so quickly!

Ryan had his first speaking part in a school play. His class had a little Spring singing show and some of the kids had lines to speak. We practiced and practiced and he did so well! All of the kids did such an awesome job and all of the parents and family's were just a pile of mush!  It was one of my favorite days watching him be so confident!

Training was pretty decent as a whole in March, I ran a total of 71 miles and even got in another 10 miler at a faster pace then I did in February! The weather in Ohio was pretty much crap for most of March so there was a lot of treadmill and track running throughout. I started adding hills and speed work to my runs here and there and I can tell that it is making me stronger. One of my favorite workouts from the month was adding cross training to my some speed at the gym. I did 5 minute intervals of running starting at a 10 minute mile and upping the speed every minute until I was sprinting. In between the running I would hop off the treadmill and do pushups, crunches, planks squats and burpees. Then I'd repeat, run for 5 minutes and then hop off and do more strength!  It was really a great workout and made me super sweaty!  It also made me feel stronger and proud of doing what I really never thought that I could do.

In full disclosure, I have been really disappointed with myself in my lack of blogging about my training and my lack of excitement with running but after finally taking some time to process my thoughts, I know I need to be kinder to myself. It's life and I now have a husband that I really like to hang out with and I have 2 sweet step sons that I enjoy playing x-box with, on top of my awesome boys that I don't like to take time away from and a house that I like spending time to make look nice. So, in April, I will continue to train and re-focus on running but I will also give myself a break and not beat myself up. Life is just been super busy and I'm sure that you can all relate!

My goals in April are pretty simple
1. I will run 100 miles
2. I will do 30 pushups a day- 10 in the am/ 10 on my lunch break/ and 10 in the evening

What are your April goals?

Are you signed up for Cleveland yet? You can sign up here! 

You can use the offer code MBCLE10 for an extra 10% off! There are so many distance options to choose from! the whole 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8k, 5k and kids fun run!  Hope to see you there!

If you like what you see here, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram too! Make it a great week guys!

February recap and some advice

Wow, I feel like I blinked and February and almost half of March is already in the rear view mirror! What the heck time, you  keep moving so fast! Training wise February was decent but it was no January!  I think that in January I was really on my game and this past month I just kind of lost my umpf! I ran 70 miles each month but January just felt stronger. I have to attribute that to my Coach Rachel for hosting a fitness challenge that I participated in. In February, I did my own thing and that didn't really seem to work out as great for me. To be clear, Rachel hosted a February challenge too but I kind of missed it all. I also made it a point to get in miles pretty much every single day of the month. So I'm going to go back to what I know will work for the rest of this month! 

Coach Rachel is awesome, shes one of my fellow ambassadors for the Cleveland Marathon and has been so patient with me. It turns out that if you have run a few races, you kind of have your own training plan in mind and don't always check in and follow the actual plan. This too, I'll get better at!

I was asked lately week to give some advice to a beginner runner and after, I thought maybe someone else out there reading this may find it helpful too. It took me a really long time to actually consider myself a real runner. I think I felt "worthy" of the title when I completed the whole 26.2 a few years back.  

But here are the most important things that help me with  my training 

1. A good support system- this is really, really important! When I started training for my first half marathon I had some amazing support people at work that made me feel like I could do it! Also, I joined some social media things that make you feel good about your progress and that you can post in. My favorite is Kelly Roberts. I have been following her for years and joined her new group this year on facebook "the #BadassLadyGang".


2. Sticking to some sort of loose plan- I'm totally not the type to have a schedule that I'm religious about. I know a lot of people do, but sometimes its my 3 mile day and I feel like doing 4 and sometimes I only want to do 2, so I kind of do what I want while making sure I aim for the total mileage goal for the week.


3.Upping the mileage on the long runs- When I trained for the full, it was just about getting the miles in, no matter how long it took. Even if takes longer than anticipated, you will gain so much confidence that you can actually do the mileage and this is priceless!


4.Take walk breaks- I still do this on most of my runs!  Very rarely have I run an entire race. I know that its not the best plan for a timed race, but I really just listen to what is working for me.


5. Always remember that a mile is a mile, no matter how long it takes. A lot of people (myself included) really discredit themselves because they aren't running at whatever pace they think they should be at. But, shes still doing it and that's so much better than nothing!

Are you signed up for Cleveland yet? You can sign up here! 

You can use the offer code MBCLE10 for an extra 10% off! There are so many distance options to choose from! the whole 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8k, 5k and kids fun run!  Hope to see you there!

If you like what you see here, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram too! Make it a great week guys!

Staying motivated

Its been 2 weeks since my last update and its been buuuuusy! Every week its my goal to sit and write an update and then it seems to slide into the next week and here we are.

I was so excited for giveaway week and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated and shared and liked my posts! It was pretty successful with more participation than I have seen in the past! I just wish I was able to give away more entries!

If you didn't win, there are plenty of more opportunities to win still, once a week to be exact! Follow my fellow ambassadors here and ill be sure to post how to win weekly too!

OR you can always use my code to get an
EXTRA 10% off your entry at any time
MBCLE10

You know you want to :)

So, I had a great week of training followed by a week that my boys got the flu and that feels like the opposite of training. Or, training in another way: giving all the medicine, lots of sterilizing, temperature taking and making sure that the soup and crackers stayed in stock. I'm happy report that the boys have most of the way recovered and fart jokes and running around are back in the daily mix! I have never missed a good poop joke more!

Here is the official last two weeks

Monday: 1 mile walking at work

Tuesday: 5k at lunch

Wednesday: 2 miles with HIIT inbetween

Thursday: 

Friday: 5k at lunch

Saturday: 4.1 miles in the great outdoors

Sunday thru Wednesday- flu patrol

Thursday: 5k at lunch and 1 mile walking

Saturday: 6 miles on the track with Lynanne

Sunday: 3 miles at 5 minutes at a time with HIIT training intervals in between

I  missed some days on my training calendar and it bummed me out, but life happens. And It was just in time for a new month to roll around and see what February bring to us!  My January mileage was 70 miles, more specifically 69.8, but i'm rounding up! That is way more than I have hit in any January of the past so I'm really excited to see whats coming down the way. 

I'm still using my calendar for the most inspiration. I really, really hate writing a goose egg on this thing!  Even a mile walking is a mile walking! I think that you can still order one here. 

The other big motivator is that I cleaned out the basement this weekend and made myself a little space for my running things! I have more that I cant wait to hang up but for now having a little space is perfect to come down and do whatever I need to get done at whatever time works for me! 

What keep your guys motivated to keep on training or just staying active?  

Are you signed up for Cleveland yet? You can sign up here! Use the offer code MBCLE10 for an extra 10% off! There are so many distance options to choose from! the whole 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8k, 5k and kids fun run!  Hope to see you there!

If you like what you see here, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram too! Make it a great week guys!

IT"S GIVEAWAY WEEK!

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This just happened today. Maybe you are saying, "hey lady that's a lie because haven't you been running for years? and didn't you do a marathon?"  Yes, yes I did. But starting again on Jan 1st was just as hard for me as it is anyone. I didn't run much the last half of 2017 and definitely nothing consistent. So, this is a new training season and like I have mentioned I have a new commitment to myself to get in some miles everyday and I have only missed one day so far! Today I met up with my running buddy and we did 4 miles at the indoor track and it FELT GOOD! I didn't feel like I was going to die and that is a difference from just 3 weeks ago when I started. 

The past two weeks have been great training wise! I have been averaging about 18 miles a week, which is pretty big for me. I'm really lucky to have an amazing gym facility right across the street at my work. I credit this to one of my key factors to be able to run as much as I do. I am able to take my lunch break on the track or the treadmill and stick to my plan of daily miles. If work is too busy, we have an indoor path from building to building that I have also been able to use to get some movement and just walk, but it all counts!

Just yesterday was the official kickoff run for the marathon and it was so fun!  It's such great motivation to see all the people who are excited for the race and are starting to train. I also love seeing the race crew and some of my fellow ambassadors who are much more like family to me these days. We also had some great weather to run outside in, it was about 42 degrees and it was so nice to hit the road with some sunshine, a big difference to the last few weeks of Northeast Ohio weather!

The kickoff run with some of my favorite people!

This week is super exciting for a few reasons!

It's GIVEAWAY WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get to give one lucky person a race entry to the Cleveland Marathon event of their choice! There are so many events to choose from: the full 26.2, the half 13.1, 10k, 8k, 5k and even 1 mile. There is a race distance for everybody!  We even have an awesome kids run! Both of my boys participated in it last year. You have two chances a day to enter all week on Instagram and Facebook for a total of 10 entries!
Follow me on Instagram here
Follow me on Facebook here

The other super fun thing that is new and exciting is that I have an official running coach this year! My good friend and fellow Cleveland Marathon Ambassador Rachel! You can find her here! Shes a badass runner and so motivating, Im excited to see how having a coach this year changes things up for my training!  Shes also taking new clients! Check her out if you are interested in one of her coaching plans!

Here is what my training looked like the past two weeks

Monday: 1.5 walking miles at work

Tuesday: quick 5K on the treadmill on my lunchbreak

Wednesday: 2 miles, 5 min at a time, in between burpees, pushups and planks. This HIIT kicked my butt!

Thursday: 5 miles on the treadmill with some Netflix to keep me company. Anyone else obsessed with the Crown? Its so great!

Friday: This was my big fat 0 miles day!  We had a crazy snow storm and I left work early to get the boys. Even the indoor track closed early that day. So no dice on miles.

Saturday: 3.5 miles on the indoor track with pushups, planks and burpees to round out the day

Sunday: 5k on the track with Lynanne

Monday: 5k on the treadmill on my lunchbreak

Tuesday: 2  miles, 5 min at a time. More HIIT intervals with burpees, pushups and planks.

Wednesday: 1 mile inside at work

Thursday: 5k on the treadmill

Friday: 1.5 miles, 5 min at a time with lots of squats and some leg work

Saturday: 4 miles for the official kickoff run for the marathon

Sunday: 4 miles today on the track with Lynanne!

Going forward, I'll be posting about my training at least once a week. And stay tuned to hear more about how its going having an official running coach.

Don't forget to check out what all of the other ambassadors are up to and follow along this week to enter my giveaway! Cant wait to pick a winner next Saturday morning! 

Here we go again!

Yay for a New Year! Everything is so fresh and new. Its a great time to feel extra motivated. I know that there are a lot of resolutions this time of year floating around but this is usually my training go time for the Cleveland Marathon.

I have been participating in the Cleveland Marathon on and off again since 2010. Its my favorite race and I am super excited to be chosen again for the 4th year to be an Ambassador for this race that I love! Its an honor and a privilege to me because of the people that I have gotten to know thru the years. This race family has really become such a wonderful source of support and motivation for me. Many of the ambassadors are returning again this year and there are some new faces that I'm really looking forward to getting to know this year too! You can get to know them all here too!

My plan for this year is the kick the crap out of my half marathon PR, which is currently 2:21:23. This was from the Cleveland Marathon two years ago when it was the snowpocalypse. My parents are both signed up for the 5k and the kids will be participating in the kids run on Saturday and i'll be there to cheer them on! Then on Sunday, i'll do my thing. I'm super excited and I think that focusing on my speed this year will be really good!

Now lets talk motivation.

You either ran today or you didn't

My running bestie hooked me up with this awesome running calendar and I LOVE IT!  I know that I wont be running every day of my life, but if I cant get in a few miles, I feel good about walking a mile or two to keep track of my miles. In the past I'm usually good for the first half of the year and then after Cleveland It just all goes away. I know that this calendar isn't going to go out and run the miles for me, but it will certainly give me a good motivation to keep at it day after day. Its the 7th and I'm 7 for 7 so far!

This week felt pretty solid

Monday: It's pretty damn cold in Ohio this week, but Jan 1st my indoor track was closed, so I bundled up and braved the cold for 2.5 miles. It felt surprisingly awesome!

Tuesday: I took the kids to the indoor track and they hung out while I ran, slowly but i managed to get in 2.

Wednesday: Back to work and back to a lunchtime 5k on the treadmill!  It felt good!

Thursday: I wanted to get some arms and some other cross training in, but still wanted check off that calendar so at lunch I did a combo of pushups, squats, lunges, crunches, planks, jumping jacks and then 5-7 minutes of running. This was really awesome because I was still able to get some running in (2 miles) and at a faster speed than normal and some other strength training in. So yay, ill definately be doing that again.

Friday: I walked a mile at work on my lunch break, work was busy and couldn't leave for a whole hour break. But, I did get the bonus of rollerskating for about 90 minutes that night too. I haven't roller skated in about 20 years but it was really fun and i highly recommend it.

Saturday: 2.5 miles on the indoor track

Sunday: 4.5 miles on the indoor track

Week 1 total: 18.6 miles
I'm pretty happy about this mileage for the week, it goes to show that the daily miles really add up.

Are you signed up for Cleveland yet? You can sign up here! There are so many distance options to choose from! the whole 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 8k, 5k and kids fun run!  Hope to see you there!

If you like what you see here, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram too! Make it a great week guys!

What do you do to stay motivated?
Do you have a running group or friend that helps you stay accountable?