Friday Favorites: Running Edition!

Here's what I'm loving this week- all running inspired for my upcoming race on Sunday!! My brother helped me change my flight to early tomorrow morning from rdu instead of clt so I could be at my house when my passport card came so now I'm completely, 100% ready for this race! I'm just taking it easy tonight so I thought I would share some of the things that are going to get me through those 13.1 miles on Sunday!

 

Nike Racer Women's Tank Tops

 

 

Ok so it wasn't until this past summer I felt completely comfortable running in a tank outside but these are the best! I am a sweater when I run (I know, gross but I blame my genes… haha) but these never feel heavy or make me feel gross like many other running tops/tanks I've tried over the past few years! I love them! I love it even more when I can find some cute ones on sale at the Nike outlets too haha! These are great with compression capris or my running skirts so they are perfect for any running occasion!

Nike Lunarelite +2

These shoes are my bffs when I run.  I've been wearing these shoes for nearly 3 years now (uhh not the same pair, duh) and I love all the fun colors! I'm currently wearing my yellow ones but they are on their last few races so I have my orange ones ready and waiting once I am done with Detroit! I like to have 2 pairs of shoes going at the same time so when it's time to switch, there's no new shoe break-in period! These shoes are a godsend for my feet and ooooh I love them! 

Lock Laces

Well, if you know anything about me you know how much I hate shoe laces and having to untie/re-tie them whenever I run.  Well, I learned about these during one of my past races (I think PHM2013?) and they are amazing! These laces are kind of elasticized and provide a bit of compression on the tops of your feet.  I love how much more secure my feet feel in my shoes with these new laces.  I'm not going to lie, I was a little intimidated when I first got these, trying to figure out how to lace my shoes (ugh I hate doing that!) but with the little youtube instructional video, it wasn't that hard and they look and feel great on my shoes! I have the black ones on my current yellow/grey lunar elites and I have the red ones on my orange lunar elites (go hokies!). Love them!

Gu Energy

OK, so I know I'm not supposed to "love" this stuff but it really just keeps me going in these long races! They taste horrendous but over the years I've gotten the talent where I can suck those little packets down without even having to taste it/touch my tongue so I'm good to go every 45 minutes! I usually take one every 45 mins but whenever I am at a water station so I can chug some water after since they always make me thirsty! My favorite flavors are the lemon sublime and the tri-berry.  I love that the tri-berry has caffeine so I try to save that one for the second half of my race to push me through the end! PS the espresso option is pretty tasty too as well as the orange one!!! I usually love the Gu Chomps but lately I've been all about my Gu Energy gels!

SparkleSkirts

So I am totally a girl when I run and I love running in these oh so comfortable running skirts! I love how there are so many pockets that I don't need to wear my running belt/spibelt to hold my phone  and there are great pockets in the compression shorts underneath that I can put some kleenex and my chapstick and Gu packets! Not to mention, they are super cute! I will be sporting the beautiful red option below this weekend, I can't wait! Hoping it brings me luck for another PR!

Sweaty Bands

I discovered these bad boys when I did my first Princess HM back in 2011.  I love them and they keep all my hair out of my face when I run, especially after sweating through the first few miles! They are way cute as well- I picked up a couple of the PHM13 special edition ones and I love the glitters ones but my favorite has to be my Greek/sorority letters one! They don't slide or slip off my hair when I run and that is the most important thing!

 Eminem

I feel like his music got me through a lot of my tough training runs.  Maybe I just have an excess of his songs on my playlist since I will be running in Detroit and all but still.  Love it.  My brother once ran into him in Panera once and ever since I want to "run into him" every damn time I go to Detroit to "visit my brother" haha but seriously. Lose Yourself is my jam for this race!

(ps. that bridge you see in the beginning of the video- yeah that's the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Canada and I'll be running on it Sunday morning!!!) 

Month In Review: August 2013

Ok, well, I've been meaning to post this for a week now but other things in life have taken precedence but regardless, here is my August month in review, finally!!!

SO, August 2013. Amazing right? I had a great month running and getting into the heart of my Detroit training plan this past month.  

The big life accomplishment that I mentioned in one of my posts before I left for Detroit was just this-- if check out my stats above, you can see my total mileage for August was 100.37 miles! IN ONE MONTH!!! This is huge for me since I haven't completed a 100 miles/month since November 2010 (of course that was when life was all cupcakes and rainbows).  I'm feeling great and I love running again like I did before the whole craziness of June 2011-July 2012 debacle in life. It just makes me happy that things are falling into place again!

The first full week of August was my second week of my training plan and I basically have been running 60 minutes 2x a week and a longer run on the weekends.  This first full week was a bit crazy for me but I was able to get my long run in the following Monday so even though I wasn't able to stick with my set dates, I was able to get my long run in at some point in the week!

The second full week was pretty good week and I started working on speed some here.  I didn't really track my distances when I did speed work this week but I think it has definitely helped doing 400m repeats (even on the treadmill if you can believe that).  I noticed my pace getting faster after this week and so I know this is ultimately going to help me once I get to Detroit in October!

The third full week was intense for me! 29.9 miles done and I felt amazing! I had four great runs in this week and I felt strong and not super sore like I had been previously in the month! I spent a lot of time focusing on how I was actually running during this week. I thought abut my breathing, posture, the way my feet hit the ground, and making sure I had a rhythm going rather than just running without thinking, which always leads me to run so fast to begin a race and I am worn out before ⅔ done. I felt great about this week, especially since I had been dropping the lbs like whoa and I had a fabulous sari I needed to wear when I was in Detroit the last weekend of the month!

The last full week was crazy! I was so busy with work and then packing and making sure I had everything I needed for my long weekend in Detroit! I got my 2 "short" runs in during the week and then I even managed to get a slow, easy 5 miles done in Detroit.  I was up super early since we had family coming into Detroit at all hours so I took advantage of that and went for an early morning run and then was able to spend time with my family and still feel OK about all the rich (and delicious) Indian food I consumed all weekend haha!

Here's how my weeks broke down:

Week 1: 20.4 miles
Week 2: 24.2 miles
Week 3: 29.9 miles
Week 4: 19 miles

All in all, it was a great month for me! I feel really good with my training for Detroit (currently in week 7 of 12) and am feeling more and more confident about being able to make it over the Ambassador Bridge come October 20th!

the Ambassador Bridge, that I will run on to get into Canada in the Detroit International Half Marathon!

 

Wednesday Thoughts?

Well, the past 5 days have been total craziness of family, fun, and traveling! I didn't get back home until pretty late Monday night so yesterday literally was a blur! Instead of my usual Tuesday Thoughts, I figured I would share some of my favorite pictures from my weekend in Detroit!

authentic Detroit soda! I broke down and stress drank my first soda in 3+ months!

sisters! I hope my sister and I have a picture like this in 30 years <3

Brother and Rachna all ready for the party!

bro & momma

ring ceremony

she wouldn't eat so my brother fed her. so sweet, these two!

fur-nephew Dr Dre!

peace out motor city! See you in 6 weeks!

A Quick Picture Update!

Things have been pretty insane since I got to Detroit yesterday but thanks to Starbucks I've been surviving the minimal sleep! It's been great seeing all the cousins! I was even able to get my last August run in this morning so its been a pretty good day overall!
We're headed to my brother's fiancée's house for a little get together tonight so that should be fun! Here are some pictures from my first day and half here in Motor City!

Detroit Eve!

Well, it's not really eve since I'm leaving for the airport in a few hours but that's not important right now! In a few hours (see 4am), I'll be on my way to the GSO airport to Detroit (by way of Reagan Int'l) for my brother's engagement party weekend! I definitely have my own opinions but this isn't the time to share them- only a time to be happy for my brother and celebrate this next big step he is taking in life! I'm so lucky and happy that we repaired our relationship all those many years ago so I can share in celebrations like this with him and our family.

My older brother, fur-nephew Dr. Dre, and I- Christmas 2011

I originally planned to ride up in the car with my parents (they left earlier this week) but they weren't planning on coming back until a day later than I took off at work and already scheduled meetings for that day.  SO- I found a plane ticket last week so I could work a few extra days and make the $$ (or as T.I. and RiRi say, "chasing that paper" hahaha). I also used my brain and got my parents to take my large amounts of clothing and accessories in the car with them so I only have a few last minute items to take with me on the airplane so hopefully that will make my early flight out/late flight back much smoother than having to deal with luggage!

This has been such a crazy week- I spent last weekend at my parents' house to help my mom out with preparations for this trip (my parents are throwing/hosting this ooc party for my brother and his fiancée) and to get some additional opinions on my outfit selections for the weekend haha! My dad actually told me the sari I picked out for the party looked "too old" and I need to wear something "young and for a girl" since I am unmarried. Craziness all around, seriously. BUT, now I have a most beautiful outfit picked out for the party! Well, after a crazy weekend in Danville, I've been working a lot this week trying to make sure everything will be OK on the cases I've been working on the past few weeks.  I was so dilirious today after work, I headed to the post office at 5:30 and didn't realize it was closed until I was inside! CLEARLY my mind's been preoccupied with a number of different life issues (both good & stressful life issues haha).

So, now there's my justification for the lack of Playlist Wednesday and Training Thursday! I'm excited to finish out this month strong with my Detroit training and I CANNOT WAIT to share my Month In Review: August post once I am back next week. I have some really exciting news that I am just over the moon just thinking about this big life accomplishment!

In lieu of my Playlist Wednesday and Training Thursday posts, here are some songs I've been obsessing over this week (ok maybe the past few weeks) but hopefully I can make a few updates over the weekend from Detroit!

I am OBSESSED with this song. The End.

I'll be your strawberry bubblegum, if you'll be my blueberry lollipop..

Love me some T.I.- such a beautiful beautiful man and I am also obsessed with this song and his show on VH1 with his hilarious family!

 

Watch out Detroit &Eminem, I'm coming! 

 

Hope everyone has a wonderful (and safe) Labor Day Weekend! Enjoy the time off and be sad about the end of summer!

 

 

Training Thursday: Detroit International Half Marathon Training Plan

Ok so if you've been following my blog for the past few months, you're probably aware that I am running in the 2013 Detroit International Half Marathon in October! I am a big fan of half marathons (my favorite race distance) and they literally changed my life. So, I like to try to pick out 1-2 bigger races throughout the country each year (if feasible) and just have fun with training and running! Oh and it keeps me in amazing shape so what's not to love??!

SO- whenever I train for a big race, I like (need) to use a training plan so I stay on track and prevent any race-day anxiety for lack of preparation.  I am a BIG/HUGE fan of Jeff Galloway and the Galloway method (run-walk-run intervals) so I usually try his training plans.  This time, I wanted to change some things up and basically googled half marathon training plans and I formulated my specific plan (in the pictures below) based on these training plans (forgive me- I didn't save the links so just google them if you are interested!):

• Runner's World SmartCoach (you can input a recent race result/pace and they will formulate a plan based on your specific body type and goals)
• Julie from pbfingers.com
• Coach Jenny (Jenny Hadfield)'s plan for Intermediate Runners
• Cool Runnings Half Marathon plan
• Shape.com (geared toward women runners)
• Hal Higdon (not really a huge fan of his but hopefully when I have time to run more than 3-4 days a week I can tackle his plan full-on)
• HalfMarathons.net
• Jeff Galloway

For my specific plan, I know I can only handle 3-4 runs per week (every other day) and I know that having a 5 mile base/short run was crucial to my massive half PR last April so I knew I wanted to work on that again.  I got the plan I used last spring for Divas HM from Julie at pbfingers.com (I am OBSESSED with her blog, and you should be as well) so I basically altered that 8 week plan to 12 weeks for my Detroit training.

As you can see, my longest "long run" is only 10 miles and this will be the first half marathon I've ever trained for without running 13+ miles pre-race.  I think I am ok with that idea by now, especially because the fact I am in such better shape than I've been in for any of my previous HMs and I have the endurance to maintain that distance and speed is really my focus this fall.  I know there aren't any specific days in my plan for speed work but I am going to throw in some Wednesdays for speed.  The hardest thing so far in the past 3.5 weeks is actually getting outside because of the ridiculous humidity and rain.  Hopefully, I can make it out to Country Park some more.

Training in falltime is always hard for me because my weekends are usually occupied with trips to Blacksburg for Hokie football but I'm hoping that I can not only make it to a handful of games but also stick with my training plan and hopefully get some training races (8K or longer) in on the weekends to get my mind back in racing mode!!!

NOW, the most exciting part of this post- race details! The main reason I fell in love with this particular race and the course is 1) because it's where my brother lives and I get to visit him/have a place to stay for free and a ride to race start hah! and 2) IT'S INTERNATIONAL! How many half marathons are there in the world where you can run in two different countries all within a 13.1 mile distance?! Below is the course map and after the first 5K, we run on the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Canada and then run a few (about 4) miles in Canada before crossing back into the USA via the Windsor Tunnel (a/k/a the 'underwater mile') and finish up the race in the heart of downtown Detroit!

I am beyond excited for this race but still have some anxieties about the course- 1) we have to run with our passports/passport card just in case someone stops you going into/out of Canada and I haven't been able to locate my passport since our trip to Puerto Rico last fall so I have about 58 days to find that bad boy! and 2) um, have you BEEN to downtown Detroit/Detroit in general? It's pretty scary! At least I have some time to get mentally ready for this race, which if you ask me is more important than the physically ready aspect!

 

How to you prepare for races? Do you have any particular training plan/running guru you swear by for race prep?

July 2013 Month in Review

What a crazy month it's been! July has been a mix of incessant rain and random, extremely humid, dry heat.  It's been an up and down month for me and I didn't quite increase my mileage this month as much as I hoped but it's better than nothing!

SO- first week I was in Detroit and after that terrible allergic reaction to Bactrim, I was incapacitated for about 13 days so that took away from my mileage that I was hoping to build from June's 45 miles/ month.  I continued my walks during that time so I had some activity!!

The third and fourth weeks I tried to increase my mileage so I would be ready to start my Detroit training the last half week of July so I worked my way up to 5 miles. One week was working through 3 miles/5K distance.  The fourth week I worked on staying in the 4mile range at an easy pace.

In the last/partial 5th week of July,I finally have been been running in the 5-5.5 mile range. I am definitely feeling some soreness and pain in my shins and calves so I am thinking of slowing my pace down a bit until I can do my 5 mile base pain free, hopefully in 2 weeks or less! I am pretty sore right now even and wearing heels to work and other events lately hasn't helped at all but they look so damn good with my suits, etc!

I am hoping to start adding in smaller races on the weekend for training in the next few months so hopefully I can get back in the racing mindset and build up my weekly mileage!!

Here's to a wonderful, 50+ mile August!

Sunday Recipe (on Monday)- Mango Pie

Here we are for another Sunday Recipe! I learned how to make this amazing no-bake Mango Pie from my mom so many years ago and it's a staple dessert I make for large groups of Indians.  My momma raised me right and the Southern way- never go to anyone's home empty handed! SO, I ended up made this when I was in Detroit (AFTER I was sick, I could barely stand the day I made this so my mom helped out a ton) at the beginning of the month to take over to my brother's fiancee's house when we went for dinner one night.  We didn't eat it that night/I never heard anything back so I hope they enjoyed this amazingness. This recipe is fairly easy and straightforward (no-bake, yes!!!):

Ingredients 

• 1 can mango pulp
• 1 graham cracker pie crust (make your own or store bought- I used store bought because it was easier & quicker!)
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin (I got store brand but usually prefer the Knox brand)
• 1 brick of cream cheese

Method

1. Prepare the gelatin based on the directions on the package (usually boil 1/2C of water, add the pkg contents to the water and stir until dissolved, then cool). 
2. Mix the mango pulp, cooled gelatin mixture and room temperature cream cheese. I used an emmersion blender to make sure everything was combined evenly and the gelatin was evenly distributed.
    
3. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust.
    
   Dr. Dre wanted to help cook!
    
4. Set the pie in the fridge for a couple hours. I left it in the fridge for about 3 hours and they looked perfect! 

done!

he wanted to eat it so bad! he had an adventure of his own that night!

Do you have any Southern traditions/traditions in general you adhere to no matter where you are?

 

Outfit of the Day (Thursday) & Other Important Things

Today's post is dedicated to my mom! She found this amazing skirt for me and I promised her I would wear it this week and do a blog post so Mommy, here you go!

OK so after a week of dark/neutrals, today was the perfect day for a lovely spring/bright option! I went a little casual since I knew I didn't have to go to the courthouse or meet with any clients and this outfit was perfect! So comfy and still appropriate for a law office!

• Top & Cardigan: LOFT (I got them YEARS ago and still love them!)
• Skirt: Target (like a spring multi-colored tweed)
• Necklace& Earrings: Black Onyx with Jade and Pink Coral from Hawaii (Waikiki trip 2012)
• Rings: VT Class Ring & David Yurman Petite Wheaton Ring in Black Onyx
• Watch: Rolex
• Bangles: Malani Jewelers
• Shoes: Audrey Brooke Kristin Flats via DSW

Look at that gorgeous necklace! I love Hawaii so much and I thought this was the PERFECT outfit to wear my onyx/jade/pink coral necklace.  My earrings are just black onyx studs but you know how much I love anything with black onyx! My hair was extra full/fluffy (haha) today since I washed it last night and put it up half dry so I could get some curls/waves for today.  Yeah that happened and my hair was BIG haha I had to comb it out before I got to the office!

I love this outfit!

 I got these shoes last weekend when I made a trip to DSW with my mom. I had been sweating those gorg Tory Burch flats forever now but after hearing about so many people having to return them because they hurt so bad, I was still on the quest to find some professional looking flats that I can wear to work and to court if I needed.  I found these and they look like the Tory Burch ones but that's not why I love them.  They are BEYOND comfortable.  I used some body glide on the knuckles by my big toes and I didn't feel a thing! 

 And they look super cute on my wide, flat, runner's feet.

My sweet Rusty on our drive home after a LONG day at work (I didn't leave until 6:30pm!)

ALSO, I got this super exciting email this morning:

In 3 years and 1 month, I've worked out 850 times!!! It's so hard to believe that and where I've come since then.  I started this life/weight loss journey in August 2009 and it's great to see things like this to remind me that it's ok to take a day off here and there and make sure my body is strong so I can improve for my future races!

SPEAKING OF WHICH: I've signed up for 2 new races!  1= Blue 5K & 10K on the Runway at PTI (I'm doing the 5K) on June 8 annnnnd #2=  

 

I'M FINALLY REGISTERED FOR THE DETROIT INTERNATIONAL HALF MARATHON!!!

I had a minor freakout when I couldn't find my passport last night but I realized that I don't need it to register so I just need to find it before October! YES! I AM SO EXCITED! This race sounds nothing but amazing-- running through DT Detroit (hope I don't get shot but I'm sure my surgeon bro will save me if I am), Greektown, Mexicotown (sp??), running INTO Canada, the "Underwater Mile" in the Windsor Tunnel, running OUT of Canada, and then back into DT! I can't wait for this fabulous race!

 

Anything exciting happen today??