Friday Favorites – February Edition

Hope you guys have had a great week. Are you counting down the minutes until the weekend begins? Due to a last minute cancellation, Bo and I have no plans this weekend. After fighting off a cold and then stomach illness, nothing sounds better than a relaxing weekend in Geneva. I’m looking forward to plenty of time reading on the couch, running, practicing yoga, cooking, watching movies and relaxing with Bo.

It’s time for this week’s dose of Friday Favorites. This week includes everything from a few new recipes, beauty products I’m enjoying, a new pair of running tights and some great workouts!

Tonight I discovered OPI Dutch Tulip nail polish. A perfect mix of red and pink hues, it is my new Spring color of choice. After months of darker colors, the vibrant hue is a fun change!

OPI Dutch Tulips

This great No Equipment, 12 minute HIIT workout is perfect for days when the roads are too snowy or travel forces you to workout in your hotel room. I’m heading to London next week for work and have already pinned this for some much needed workout inspiration.

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My gray, frozen runs have been made a bit brighter thanks to my Nike Epic Lux Tights. Unlike many other running tights I’ve tried, these stay in place during sprints, yoga and bootcamps. 

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This month’s book club pick, Big Little Lies, is hard to put down and easy to enjoy! It follows three different friends, each at a critical turning point in their life. I’m more than halfway through the book and still can’t figure out how it’ll end.

homemade Tagalong Scout cookie recipe

Forget to order your favorite Girl Scout cookies this year? Can’t have those delicious cookies in your home? These five recipes allow you to bake your favorite Girl Scout cookie at home. Hmm, I may just have to whip up Tagalongs this weekend.

I received some wonderful samples in my latest Sephora order, including a deluxe sample of L’Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream. This rich face cream absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy. I’ve used lots of rich face creams over the year and this is the first that doesn’t leave my pillow case greasy and goes on smooth enough for daytime or evening use.

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Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon Training – Week 10

Hey gang! If you’re in the Northeast battling blizzard conditions, I hope you are staying warm and safe. I am sure many people are forced to change their running plans or resort to the treadmill this week as it sounds like it’s going to be nasty weather. If you need some inspiration before your treadmill run, check out this race recap of a treadmill marathon!

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Since it’s Monday that means it’s time to share last week’s training with you guys. I’m really pleased with last weeks training. Jess has done a great job making training work for my schedule which will often include winter sports during the weekend. This weekend that meant a day of cross country skiing but in the future there will be quite a few ski weekends thrown into the mix.

I was able to easily stick with a mix of cross training though I did fall short on the strength training. I find it’s so easy to do this when traveling as I far prefer it over hotel gym cardio machines but when I have other cross training options, it’s always pushed aside. Therefore, this week my goal will be to prioritize strength workouts just as much as my running!

Weekly Workout Recap – Savannah Half Marathon Training Week 10

Monday: Easy Run + Strides + Yoga I forced myself to roll out of bed early for a pre-work run. It wasn’t easy on a Monday morning but I was wide awake and energized after the 4 miles. The cold weather helped me move faster than planned, resulting in an “easy run” at 9:33 pace.  After work, I met a few friends for an hour of yoga at InnerCity yoga. The class is a relaxing class that has a different focus each week ranging from cooling inversions, twists and even a full class of hip and shoulder openers. The teacher, while newer, has a calming voice and does lots of adjustments during class which really helps me gain so much more from the 60 minutes.  I think this will be a regular part of my weekly workout schedule, becoming a social event, as each of us enjoy the class so much!

Tuesday: Swim+ Strength After snow and ice kept us from making morning swim practice, we rescheduled swimming for after work. I have no desire to swim after work again as the pool was packed. There were 10-12 people sharing a lane and every few minutes the lifeguards would close another lane due to competitive swim team practices. Regardless of how little I enjoyed the workout, the 40 minute swim felt great!

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Wednesday: Spin I feel like this spin class should actually count as a strength workout as Bo and I had a private class due to many no-shows or last minute cancellations. Matt made us work hard the entire class and showed us no mercy. He focused in on my cadence and resistance, making sure that I was loaded heavy for the multiple climbs. I was dripping sweat and out of breath when class ended!

Thursday: Pick-Ups I really enjoyed this early morning run! I run a lot faster in the cold weather so  the pick-up minutes were easier and faster than expected though by the end my quads were burning. I started with a 15 minute warm-up followed by 2 minute repeats at 80% followed by 2 minutes at 40%, repeated 4 times. I finished with 10 minute cool down on the way home, slowing down to catch my breath and shake out my legs a bit. By the end of the workout my glutes and thighs were burning due to the spin workout and speed workout less than 12 hours apart!

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Friday: Long run I woke up around 6:15, chugged some DailyBurn Pre and ate a few dried figs before heading out the door. The Weather Channel website said it was 28 degrees but felt like 21 degrees. Well, I think they meant felt like –21 degrees as this run was DOWNRIGHT freezing due to the damp air and blustery wind. Even in three layers and windproof gloves I was so uncomfortable that I called it quits at 6.2 miles, 10 minutes short of the prescribed 70 minute workout.

Saturday: Cross Country Skiing I now understand why many say that this workout burns more calories than any other. Holy heck was I sore after my first cross country ski experience!

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Sunday: Rest I enjoyed a complete rest day save for walking up and down our four flights of stairs, unpacking the car and foam rolling. Spending five hours on the sofa watching movies (The Hundred Foot Journey left me craving Indian food in a HUGE way) and catching up with family on the phone was the perfect end to the weekend.

Your turn – How’s your training going? Did you get all your workouts done last week? Are you having to make changes due to this week’s snow? What’s your least favorite workout of training that always gets pushed aside?

PS: I’m working with the team to get the comments issue fixed – sorry guys! Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean I’m not reading and responding to them!

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Swim Etiquette – Do or Don’t?

Hey gang! I hope you guys had a good evening. It seems like most of the people in my Facebook to Twitter feed were busy watching the State of the Union. When dealing with time zones, I’m thankful for recordings and clips so I can feel as if I watched it, even though I was fast asleep. 

Yesterday morning’s early swim practice didn’t happen as the snow and ice made it virtually impossible to leave the house at 5:45am! In fact, at 8am when I left for work, the commute took over 45 minutes as I walked part of it! Talk about a core workout, trying not to slip in slush and ice will work your whole body!

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Instead of skipping yesterday’s workout, Bo and I headed to the pool after work. This is just another example of when having a training plan really helps keep me accountable.

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Our swim might as well have been a return to this Summer’s open water swim practice as I shared a lane with 10-12 people – far too many for my liking. Also, can we talk about swim etiquette for just a minute? Who the heck tries to swim breast stroke or butterfly when sharing with that many people? You know who does that – more than four different people in the lane. Also, one final point for the rant, these people who have no idea how to behave themselves in a lane are indignant about their behavior. In fact, I have heard many stories of fast swimmers kindly asking one of these lane loafers whether they might do their slugging in the open swim area to have their ear torn off completely. 

After our swim workout we headed home to enjoy dinner and Modern Family & Law and Order: SVU. Unfortunately I ended up working on a project most of the evening so it wasn’t exactly relaxing. 

Before turning on the television, Bo and I spent 15 minutes chatting and catching up. I really can’t stress to you guys enough what a difference this change can make in a relationship. A lot of time the day is busier than you think and suddenly you realize that you go to bed without really talking.  We’ve done a really good job sticking with the few changes we made in December. This week we have put time on the calendar for smaller, more intimate dinners with a few of our friends this week and next week. We also made sure to schedule phone and FaceTime dates on our calendar as it’s easy to miss a week or two and then forget.

Your turn – Do you follow the swim etiquette in the article when sharing a lane or do you fight for your space by throwing elbows?

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