Boot Camp, Skirt Converts, and Galloway

Skirt converts!

I had a great training week.  I got in both of my short weekday runs on Tuesday and Thursday, and I started a 6-week indoor bootcamp that I got through Groupon on Wednesday.  It felt really great to get those short runs in, and bootcamp is going to be hard work, but hopefully will be rewarding!  When I follow my training plan, I get enough cardio from running, so this bootcamp will be focusing on strength training.

I've been pretty successful in starting to get some of the girls in my Galloway Group to "convert to skirt" and start wearing SparkleSkirts.  Here, S, L, and I are all in our cute and comfortable skirts after our group run on Saturday morning.  As we pointed out to the other pace groups, we may not be fast, but we ARE fashionable!!!

"Lost in Pace" girls with Jeff Galloway

Speaking of Galloway, the man himself, Jeff Galloway, was doing a Meet & Greet at one of our local running stores here today, so a lot of us came to hear him speak and ask questions.  It was a relaxed and informative session.  He and I even got to have a short and fun conversation about Disney racing!  I asked if he had any insider info on the 20th Anniversary stuff.  He said he didn't know anything about the surprise at Mile 20, but he had been taping spots for a new promo video that RunDisney is putting together that will have hints in it - yay - and will be released in another 3-4 weeks.  Also, he said that the anniversary medal is going to be "SPECTACULAR."  I am SO excited!

Week in Review:

• Tues - 2.2 mi; 30 min; 13:57 pace (2:1,2:1,1:1 interval spacing)
• Wed - 30 min strength bootcamp circuit
• Thurs -
• 2.7 mi; 41 min; 15:01 pace (4x800 speedwork)
• 30 min strength bootcamp circuit
• Sat - 5.81 mi; 1:31:50; 15:48 pace (1:1 interval)

Double Digits, Princesses, & Bonus Bling!

So much for being better about posting, huh?  Last week was another one without weekday runs.  Geesh.  Although I did manage to get in a session of "Yoga for Runners" on Monday evening.  And actually, I think that helped some with my sore calf issues during Saturday's long run.  Also, friend S and I went on a 5 mile recreational bike ride Sunday evening.

Yeah - about that long run...the big group had 9 miles on tap, so my MCM group needed an additional 2  for a total of 11.  In light of the hot and humid temps, we decided to again meet beforehand and knock out the extra mileage early at 5:45am.  Thank goodness we did!  By the time we'd all finished that last mile of the big group run, we were worn out.  Depleted.  That was one brutal run - I'm really not looking forward to a whole summer of more like that.  But hey, it was the first double-digit long run of the training season and 11 miles done under gross conditions is a great feeling!

In more exciting news (please say that in a Peter Jennings newscaster voice - please?), my new friend L and I have committed to running the Disney Princess Half Marathon together next February!  I wanted to run it for the race's 5th anniversary and needed a roomie, and she's wanted to run a Disney race for quite a while but wanted someone to go with her, so we fit each other's needs perfectly!  We are going to have such a great time!!!

Patriot's Challenge Medal (middle)

Also, my Patriot's Challenge medal finally arrived yesterday evening!  And as a small "We're sorry this took so long" gift, they surprised all of us with a cool aluminum water bottle with the Run for the Dream logo on it!  Very neat!  And now my trio of medals from that weekend is complete - yay!  I really do wish I could do this race again next year.  The RD and the team are really a class act.

Last Week in Review:

• Monday: Yoga for Runners
• Saturday: 
• 2.2 mi; 0:31:52; 14:29 min/mi
• 8.8 mi; 2:26:32; 16:43 min/mi (includes 2 water stops)
• Sunday: 5 mi bike ride

Hydrating!

I try my best to drink water during the day, I really do.  Over the years I have kept numerous water bottles at my desk, but I either forget to drink from them, or if I do then don't have enough time (or willpower) to get up off my lazy butt and refill smaller bottles after I've finished one off.  I routinely find myself at the end of the day never having refilled my water glass/bottle that I started at the beginning of the work day - not good.

Then I saw this post on Pinterest.  What a great idea and easy way to make sure you get your daily 64oz!  Measure and delineate the water levels in a bottle for every 8oz, then mark what time you should be at each level by!  I pinned the idea months ago...and never implemented it.  Doh!

Last week, with an 11-miler scheduled for a forecasted VERY warm Saturday morning, I really concentrated on making sure I was drinking a lot of water in the days leading up to it, and was constantly checking the color of my urine to make sure I was on-track hydration-wise (there's no such thing as TMI amongst runners, right?).  The run was brutal, let's just leave it at that - I don't even want to think about what I would've felt like if I hadn't been properly hydrated.

I know myself well enough to know that I'm not always so diligent about getting all my needed water in while prepping for a run.  And summer temps are certainly not going to get any cooler, so I definitely needed an easy way to keep on top of properly hydrating.  And then the Pinterest idea re-surfaced...genius!

One thing I should note is that I am insanely picky about my water bottles - especially those I keep at the office.  So for this project I had the following criteria:

• "Cute" enough to keep out on my desk all day, but cannot be unprofessional (no cartoon characters);
• Clear so I can see the water level inside the bottle;
• Big enough to only need to be refilled at lunch (at least 32oz.);
• Rigid straw (I despise sport-spouts when I'm in a non-sport environment, so it had to have a straw, but not a bendy-flex straw - those are just a breeding ground for gross things.);
• Dishwasher safe; and
• BPA-free.

I truly spent about 20 minutes at the store pouring over all my options (thank goodness it's summer - so I had plenty of choices).  I finally settled on a clear pink one with cherry blossoms on it that has a straw that can be detached from the lid for thorough cleaning.  Once I got home and cleaned it, I pulled out my measuring cup and a sharpie and got to work.  Here's the final product:

It's working out really well so far!  It's so easy to look at clock and then at the water level, and know whether I need to drink more or not.  Plus I'm really loving the pink with the cherry blossoms - it's so cheery!  I'd recommend this easy project to anyone (honestly the hardest part was choosing the bottle)!