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Silverstone Half Marathon Training: Week 1

Happy Sunday! I hope you all have had a lovely weekend. Bo and I spent the weekend in London getting ourselves back on track. We slept 8 hours each night, worked out each day, cooked in each night together, and enjoyed lots of relaxation time catching up on The Good Wife and watching movies. 002032When we weren’t cooking this weekend we were spending our time working out. The month of December didn’t do much for my training and overall health. I spent two of the weeks battling and succumbing to illness and the other two were spent either stressing myself out over work or celebrating and making merry. In fact, when I look at Daily Mile or even my calendar, I can only find 9 workouts – for the entire month.

Luckily, I have the Adidas Silverstone half marathon in 57 days and this fact is enough to motivate me to ensure I have at least 28 solid days of training this month. This week kicked off my half marathon training and it was a fabulous first week even with New Years Eve festivities in the midst of everything. I am going to work with Gia for this training plan but I won’t have my training plan until this week. Therefore I spent last week trying to build my overall fitness level. I mixed running, weights, yoga and movement together to remind my body and mind how wonderful it feels to workout even when it isn’t convenient.  Here’s the week in review:

Adidas Half Marathon Training Week 1

Monday: 60 minute Elliptical session and 60 minute long walk on the beach with my mom

Tuesday: Travel day but did reach 16,000 steps according to my Polar Loop thanks to lots of airport walking

Wednesday: rest day

Thursday: Uplifting-Sculpt Fusion with Laura and Melissa at Uplift Studios (review to come this week)

Friday: 75 minutes Yang and Yin Yoga at Good Vibes Fitzrovia

Saturday: Lululemon London 60 minute Forrest Yoga class with London blogger friends

Sunday: 4 mile run through Regents Park in London with Bo

My plan for this week is at least three runs and at least one yoga session in addition to the two days of skiing I know are coming up in Verbier this weekend!

Your turn: What’s your plan for January? Do you have something you’re training for or just ready to get back on track?

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Favorite NYC Running Route

There is no denying that New York City is beautiful in the Spring! Tulips abound throughout the cities small parks, fresh air beckons people of all ages outside, sunshine and blue skies tend to outnumber the gray days, and the cooler temperatures allow people to run anytime during the day!

Yesterday Katie and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather by running one of my favorite New York City routes – East River Path around the tip of Manhattan and up West Side Highway! Katie is going to run the Brooklyn Half marathon, her first half marathon, on May 18th! I’m so excited for her as she is a stronger runner than she realizes and I love watching people conquer their goals! Our goal for yesterday’s run was to enjoy gorgeous views, keep a strong pace, start and end in Katie’s Financial District neighborhood, and figure out how we’re each feeling for the upcoming half.

The weather could not have been more gorgeous during yesterday’s run! It was sunny enough for us to each get a bit of color during our hour run but the cool winds kept us cool.

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As we ran I realized that this route is one of my favorite runs in New York City due to the gorgeous views of Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, New Jersey, and Brooklyn along with the soothing water views which remind me of Savannah. While it definitely doesn’t provide you with any hill training, the flat, uninterrupted route can provide the perfect place for a few sprints since you don’t have to worry about stoplights or traffic! The water fountains are turned on for runners and the path is ready and waiting for you!

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If you want to get the specifics on this route or export it just click this link!

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In addition, I rocked some awesome shorts during yesterday’s run! I wasn’t able to make it to one New Balance’s recent events due to work travel so the team was kind enough to send me some of their Spring gear to review. These shorts, which are shorter and brighter than my normal running shorts, were incredible! The New Balance Momentum Short features a lightweight internal brief, a back pocket perfect for keys or fuel, are super lightweight, and has a comfortable, thick waistband. They definitely run a bit large so you may want to order down a size if you’re borderline.

For more of my favorite running routes, check out this post!

How about you? What is your favorite running route? Leave me a link or information along with which city the route is in and I’ll compile these along with links for readers to use as a resource!

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Say It, Do It Week of 2/25 and a Giveaway Winner

Tonight’s post is a quick one! I want to check in with you all regarding this week’s workout and training plan in addition to sharing a giveaway winner! I really am so thankful that Jes started this great tradition last year over on her blog as I love posting my workouts on here each week. It helps keep me accountable and plan the week out in advance which is something I rarely did before!

Let’s kick it off with the workouts first! I’m excited to finally have a full week in New York City that doesn’t include any travel or out of town guests. This week is all about focusing on half marathon pace during my runs and enjoying my workouts early each day. I know that this week and next week will include many late nights at work and therefore I’m doing my best to squeeze in morning workouts and then if I’m able to leave work in time I’ll enjoy a few evening workouts as social events.

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I’m hoping to make it to Lululemon Run Club on Wednesday where Jes will lead us through 400 repeats and then finally try Revolve with the Fitmapped Ambassadors!

This week’s long run will be a good mental test in advance of my half marathon in 2 weeks. Liz, Marcial, and I are going to head up to Central Park Saturday morning to do one full loop of the park and then the lower loop. Gia has some good goals in place regarding my pace that will help us figure out where we should target my goal pace on half marathon day. She seems to think that I have something far faster in me than I think I can hold for 13.1 miles but we’ll see how Saturday goes!

Next, it’s time to announce a winner of the Dasani Drops giveaway! You guys are certainly excited about a bike, that’s for sure! The lucky winner is #27, Emily, who blogs over at Sinful Nutrition! Congratulations! Please email me your mailing address so I can share it with Dasani!

What fun workouts are you excited about this week? If you’re in NYC or DC, have you tried Revolve? Thoughts?

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