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!