I feel like the last 10 days have been completely out of control. Its like I'm living in fast forward! With long work days and fun-filled weekends, I've been struggling to find time to say hello! and catch ya'll up.
Here's my week in fast forward.
Worked late and rode home to be stopped on the way by a bomb scare.
Two of my dear friends tied the knot! And we had a rockin' good time (more to come on that)
I've even tried to be better about my training. I started the week with a 14 mile bike ride and body pump!
Now if you'll excuse me, its off to the races....I mean work :)
As you may have guessed after 2 hours of drinking and laughing, food was in high demand. Besides, we had to rest up before hitting the Barefoot Wine Tent
So this is what heaven is like ;)
We made friends with Jen where we talked business, wine and networking.
Clearly they could be the face of the brand ;)
Barefoot is one of my favorite everyday wines…bar none! The BF and I often pick up the Moscato or Pinot Noir for our wines of choice.
This is where things started to get a little blurry
Hydration Station on the way home
The night did not end there. We snagged some cupcakes for dessert and after a bottle of wine, numerous beers, some yummy pizza (thanks Natasha!) cupcakes were perfect!
Never mind the hand photo bomb from Kara's hand :)
For beer lovers, and those just looking to enjoy an afternoon or evening with friends, McCoole’s Beer festival is one not to miss!
My favorite beer of the day? An Oktoberfest that (like a bad blogger) I forgot to capture.
Question of the day: Do you enjoy craft brews as well? What is your favorite? Any pumpkin beer lovers out there?
"He was a wise man who invented beer." –Plato
Saturday’s Story is that of 4 friends, 2 couples, 60 different beers, 1 bottle of wine and headaches all around the next day. The BF and I have recently ‘gotten into’ drinking beer. Now you might think how redneck we are, and I assure you, we are not pounding back PBR’s on the weekend crushing cans against our heads. Thanks to Penn Tap Room and our introduction to craft beer, we have fallen in love.
This new interest caused us to do a little digging into beer festivals in the Delaware Valley this fall. Lucky for us, we found a great deal to attend McCoole’s Beer Festival Friday with our good friends (and partners in crime) The Ricks.
You know when there are signs for beer pong...
And you are handed a plastic little beer mug...
You are in for a ride.
After the first three tastings, I was not thrilled. We tried Tailgate beer and it tasted like I belonged in the fields of Happy Valley on a tight budget my senior year of college. Then after sipping a few local breweries, I was thrilled to see the day drinking adventure was not all lost :)
Slowly the BF is getting used to the camera.
Maybe with a little coaxing ;)
And a little humor
Parte Dos coming up!
Ahhh what a lovely weekend it has been! Between a beer festival, fun with friends, a bike race and arts fest, there has always been something fun going on to kick off the fall season!
Sundays are my designated long run days and so today there was 6 miles on my calendar. Feeling a little less than stellar (l had a lot of fun at the beer fest ;)) I pulled myself together to sweat it out along the paths at Peace Valley Park.
After reading this post two weeks ago, I packed my fuel belt with chapstick, biofreeze (amazing for achy IT bands), my cell phone, ID and car keys. Up until reading that post I rarely carried my phone and tied my key in my shoe laces to have a little "on" me as possible. Today I kept my music on low and chugged along through the first 3 miles surprisingly fast. It was a great day for a 10k indeed with the fall breeze and sun shining.
After about 3.5 miles I was running along the path, and passed an older man wearing a Phillies jacket. I made eye contact, nodded and continued on my merry way. At this point the trail turns into a parking lot, so instead (as always) I look behind me and take a less beaten – self made path through the woods. I was not paying attention, until I heard a branch snap. I turned around to find the man in the Phillies jacket following me. I immediately ran for the edge of the woods and into the street where other runners and bikers were. I turned around and the man was gone.
This was just another example of how crucial it is to be aware of your surroundings when you run. Sure there were other people within ear-shot, however I was much more vulnerable in the woods, alone. Please be sure to take your ID, turn down your music and bring your cell phone when running alone.
After that small but scary encounter, I was a little freaked out and finished my last 3 miles quickly. I wanted to just be done.
Question of the night: What do you do to be safe while running alone?
P.S. I did not forget to let you in on the Saturday Shenanigans at the McCoole’s Beer fest. That post coming Monday!
Training for a half marathon, full marathon or any endurance race is nothing to turn your nose up at. It requires persistence, time, and dedication (and often a whole lotta moxie).
I have trained for 4 endurance events now (2- 10 milers and now 2 half marys). I have trained for each of these events alone (although it was nice to have teammates to consult during my Hope relay training) and I believe this has a huge impact on the will to keep on running.
A friend of mine called me last week since she is training for her first 10k ( I’m thrilled she’s catching the running bug) and wanted to talk training schedules. Now I am a novice runner, so I can only speak from my personal, short experience…however, I think when starting out, it’s good to talk to others who haven’t run multiple marathons (I remember the first time I laced up a little more clearly than some seasoned vets).
Here is a sneak peek of my schedule:
Monday- Yoga
Tuesday – 4 mile run
Wednesday – Cross (usually spinning or interval cardio class)
Thursday- 3 miles and body pump
Friday- Rest
Saturday- Strength training (aka Body Pump)
Sunday – Long run
I based my training off of Hal Higeon’s intermediate half program. I should mention this is a flexible schedule. If I feel achy on Wednesday and can’t do my cross training, I might take my rest day then. If I have a big Saturday night planned, I usually do my long run Saturday morning to allow Sunday to recover. Life happens, and this schedule is all about working around life events.
For my first half mary, I just wanted to finish but this time I have a multitude of things I want to accomplish.
1.) Avoid training burnout. – Last time I trained alone I dreaded long run Sundays because of the boredom. This time I’m putting the word out for friends to join me (even if its just for a mile or two) to break things up.
2.) Have better balance. – All running with no stretching and no strength training led to my ITBS flaring in a big way. This time I’m hoping with the incorporation of yoga and intense cross training, I can keep the cardio up, and keep my body healthy.
3.) Better finish time- Now that my body knows the endurance it takes to complete the 13.1, I want to beat my Disney time in a big way. Hopefully Savannah will be kind to me on my return visit.
4.) Better nutrition.- Training = my appetite increasing 10x. This time I want to make more conscious choices about what I’m eating and when. After all, food is fuel.
So far the training has been a little more sporadic than I prefer. But I’m hoping with a little better time management (and maybe some early morning runs) I’ll be following the schedule to a ‘T’.
Question of the night: How do you train for endurance events? Do you follow a training schedule or do you create your own?
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