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!
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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?