2013 September

Birthday Wish List

September 27, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 8 Comments

So in case you weren’t aware, my birthday is coming up! My husband keeps asking me for ideas, but you know the old saying about champagne wishes and caviar dreams? Well.. yeah, that. Nearly everything I could think of was way outside of our normal birthday present price range.. so I figured I’d make a list and hopefully y’all could help me come up with more ideas. Here’s what I reaaaally want!

- Lululemon Run Inspire Crop II – So, I kind of already bought these. I was out at the St. John’s Town Center to meet some of my girlfriends for dinner and after I put these on, I did NOT want to take them off. So they came home with me. I gave them to Adam as soon as I walked in the door though and told them they were for my birthday and I promise I haven’t taken them out of the bag.. yet

- Garmin Forerunner 220 – These come out at the end of October, JUST IN TIME!! Perhaps it was meant to be?! I have a 305 that I love, but I don’t love that I can’t use it on the treadmill. If you’ve read my workout recaps, you know that the treadmill and I do not get along. I can never set the darn thing up right and end up having to do all sorts of middle school math to figure out how far I ran and my pace. Plus, it’s purple.. and has a color screen.. and syncs with social media.. what’s not to love?!

- Lululemon Wunder Under Crops - I tried these on when I bought the Inspire crops and could not decide which ones to get (the ones I tried on where a gray texture, not the purple shown). They were seriously the most comfortable pants I have ever put on. I ended up deciding on the running crops, since I run more often than I do yoga.. but I can’t stop thinking about how comfy these things were!

- Canon EOS 60D DSLR - I have a Rebel XTi now that I love, but I outgrew it a few years ago and have been wanting to upgrade. To be honest, I really can’t decide which I’d prefer – the 60D or the T5i. I think for what I need it for, they’re pretty similar. The 60D is $200 off right now and comes in a package with the lens I want, so I picked that one. Is there a reason I should want the T5i instead? Educate me!

- Lululemon Cool Racerback Tank – Yeah, I have a lulu problem. At least I admit it. These tanks are my favorite things in the world to run in and I love these two. They’re a definite splurge but so worth it!

- Oakley Urgency Sunglasses - I’m terrible about losing sunglasses, so I usually just buy cheap ones. I need something to run in though that is lightweight, filters out the bad UV rays, won’t slip off of my face, won’t fog up.. and they have to be cute. Hard to find that on the $12 sunglass rack at Target!

I’m sure I can come up with a few more things, if anyone else needs ideas.. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I’m a size 6.

What’s currently on your wish list?

Do you already have any of these?? Do you love them??

Filed Under: Personal · Tagged: birthday, kristin, photography, running, wish list

Five Things Friday (Sunday Edition!)

September 22, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 6 Comments

This week is weird – Braden had a half-day at school yesterday because they got their interim reports, so all day Friday, I felt like it should be Saturday. I know I’ve mentioned this a few times, but work is absolutely insane right now. My to-do list is a mile and a half long so by the time I’m finished with work, the last thing I want to do is look at the computer. Hopefully it settles down soon, I suppose I should not complain and I should be thankful for lots of work that I love.

Anyway, this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and write and there was so much going on this week — here’s the big five though

1. Head over to the ZOOMA site and check out the line-up of Florida race ambassadors!! I am so excited to run with such a fun group of ladies! Don’t forget to use code FLAAMB5 to join me at this girls race weekend getaway and save 10% off the race fee!

2. Braden got his first interim report this week. It’s crazy that his first 9-weeks is already halfway over! He’s doing so well and I’m crazy proud of him. He’s reading! They changed the way they evaluate kindergartners to follow the common core standards – it’s a little weird. His report was great though, he’s mastered everything that he should have at this point and his teacher says he is off to a great start. Yay!

3. Buddy had surgery this week. I jokingly told the vet that I’m just going to give her my paycheck for the month. He had a growth in his ear that needed to be removed. We got the pathology report back and thankfully it was all good news – it’s a benign tumor and they got clean margins. He was out of it for a few days thanks to his pain meds, but he’s pretty much back to normal now. Hopefully this is the end of the crazy vet visits. I’d really love to not be there so often.

4. I live in Florida and we have a lot of critters. A lot. I can deal with most of them, but not snakes. I reaaaally dislike snakes. Friday morning, as I was getting the kids in the car for school, I heard the all too familiar rattle of a rattlesnake. Thankfully, I kept my calm and just urged the kids to get in the car really quickly. I never actually saw the snake so I can’t be 100% sure that’s what it was, but I definitely sounded like one. I left the garage door open to hopefully encourage Mr. Snake to leave. My dad was off work, so I called him and he came over a little while later to get rid of our little problem. He couldn’t find the snake, so either I was wrong or he moved on. Either way, I’m glad there is no snake in my garage!

5. Fall is quite possibly my most favorite time of year. I love when the weather starts to cool down just a bit (so it’s not miserably hot outside, but not chilly) and we start talking about Halloween costumes and the local fall festival. Right now I’m really loving the Salted Caramel Mocha at Starbucks and my new fall nail color. Although I don’t love cold weather, I’m really looking forward to the cooler temps so I can enjoy running outside again! And by cooler, I mean lets keep it in the 50′s. Anything below that is practically arctic.

Filed Under: Us · Tagged: braden, buddy, dogs, kindergarten, kristin, run zooma, running

Weekly Workout Recap: September 9th – September 22nd

September 22, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 4 Comments

I’m trying really hard to stick to my goals this month and to my training plan. I’m not perfect, it’s too hard to be with life getting in the way, but I’m doing my best and that’s what matters, right? Right.

Marathon Training – Week 9:

Monday – Easy 4 + 6 Strides – Skipped my run, we had a really busy night, making it up on Wednesday after yoga.
Tuesday – Cross Train – Rode bikes with B, not sure that it counts though
Wednesday – Cross Train – Went to a Power Yoga class at the gym, followed by an easy 4 miles on the treadmill. I was supposed to do 6 strides at the end, but couldn’t really figure out how to do that so I just cranked up the speed at the end and ran an extra .25 as fast as I could. Loved the yoga class and I’m really looking forward to going again next week!
Thursday – 5 Tempo (1 WU, 3T, 1 CD) – Adam’s work ran late and Braden had soccer pictures, we didn’t get home until after 8pm so I didn’t have time
Friday – Cross Train – The gym offers a yoga class at 5:30 and I really want to figure out a way to work it into our schedule. It’s right at dinner time and hard.. need to figure that out though.
Saturday – Long 13 – Since I skipped my 15-mile long run last weekend, I did it today. Ran 15 miles at 10:54 pace. I ran the first 7.5 without stopping and felt amazing, then made a pit stop at the house to refill my water bottle and put on sunscreen. I felt good until around 11 miles, then it started to get really hot and I took a few walk breaks and stopped to stretch a few times. Forgot to stop my watch during a potty break too, oops! Overall though, it was a really good run, it’s making me more optomistic about the 20-miler.
Sunday – Rest

Marathon Training – Week 10:

Monday – Easy 4 – Ran 4 miles at 9:38 pace on the treadmill at the gym. I can’t wait ’til it’s cool enough to run outside in the afternoon.
Tuesday – Easy 6 – Decided to change it up and do Yasso 800s. I did a warm up mile, then 4 800s in 4 minutes each (so 8:00 pace), with a 4 minute recovery jog in between, then a mile cool down. The treadmill and I do not get along so I have no clue what my overall pace was. One of these days I’ll figure it out. I do like the treadmill for speed work though, I don’t think I could have held that pace for that long on my own.
Wednesday – Cross Train – I went to another Power Yoga class at the gym and loved it. I am definitely going to keep this one on my Wednesday night schedule.
Thursday – 7 Negative Splits 3/3/1 – I missed this one, Braden had soccer practice and Adam needed to get his run in so I took the kids to soccer while he ran since he did it on Tuesday. Is it bad that I can’t wait ’til soccer is over?
Friday – Cross Train – Mackenzie had a parade at school at 4, then Braden had a soccer game at 5:30, then we went to eat, so I missed this one since I needed to get to bed early for my 4:30AM wake up call for tomorrow’s long run.
Saturday – Long 16 – Ran 16 miles! I met up with one of my friends to run two, then we ran the remaining 14 with her running group. They’re a Galloway group and do 4:1 intervals. It was really nice running with a group, I’ve never done it before and it made the miles FLY by! I’m going to look into joining
Sunday – Rest

Previous marathon training workout recaps:

Filed Under: Weekly Workout Recap · Tagged: fitness, kristin, marathon training, running

Inspired Yoga + Run Recap

September 16, 2013 · By Kristin Smith · 6 Comments

The week before last, I mentioned in my Five Things Friday post that I was doing the Inspired Yoga + Run with the ZOOMA ladies. I won a free entry to the contest on a blog, then was offered a free entry since I’m an ambassador for their race next January in Amelia Island. I was really looking forward to meeting the ladies behind the race, so even though we all know I’m NOT a morning person, I got up before the crack of dawn and made the 45-minute trek out to Jax Beach for this inspiring event.

This was the gorgeous sunrise that greeted me as I turned off of 3rd Street headed toward the beach. It’s hard not to be in a good mood with a sunrise like that welcoming you.

There was plenty of parking and even though I was almost late (as usual!), I found a spot and was checked in and rolling out my yoga mat within just a few minutes. I met up with one of my local Moms Run This Town friends (Hi, Jessica! So great to meet you!!) and we chatted for a bit before the yoga session started.

photo courtesy of ZOOMA

The yoga part of the morning was a 50-minute all-levels yoga flow session, led by Paula Puopolo, the Founder and Co-Owner of Ocean Yoga Center. I loved her sense of humor and how she kept the atmosphere light and relaxing — sometimes I have a hard time not giggling in yoga sessions. Perhaps I’m not very connected with my inner yogi or nature or whatever I’m supposed to be connected with.

photo courtesy of ZOOMA

Paula was really great at breaking down the moves and she had a friend on stage demonstrating the moves just in case you weren’t sure what exactly you were supposed to be doing. It was very laid back, go at your own pace. Several times, Paula reminded us to do what felt good to us and to take a break if we needed to. I love that. I really enjoyed the session and also learned a few new poses to help stretch out my sore hips. If it weren’t such a long drive for me, I’d seriously do this every weekend.

photo courtesy of ZOOMA

We finished up with the yoga session and had enough time to pack up our mats, make a potty stop, and either stash our stuff in our cars or at the gear check (which I did, it was very quick and organized). We walked down to the beach and gathered at the starting line for an easy three miles on the beach.

We were encouraged to run, walk, or even dance down the beach — the entire morning was all about doing what felt right to you. I loved the no pressure, relaxed vibe.

photo courtesy of ZOOMA

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. As the sun continued to rise over the ocean, it did warm up a bit, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. The breeze felt great and I loved breathing in the fresh, salty air.

You may remember a few weeks ago, I was stressing about running on the beach for Tour de Pain and it all turned out okay. I didn’t worry about it prior to this morning, but it was totally different. Since the tide was just coming in, most of the sand was soft and powdery.. great for beach-goers but tough to run in.

Of course the fabulous ZOOMA ladies thought of everything and had inspirational signs along the beach to keep us going. I ran the first mile or so, then alternated walking and running. I didn’t stress over time or anything, it was a nice change of pace from marathon training.

We ran a mile and a half down the beach, where there was a water stop, then made our way back to the start. There was a crowd waiting for us at the finish, cheering us on and encouraging us to head back toward the pavilion, where there were lots of delicious snacks. They had KIND bars, GOOD bean bars and beans (OMG delicious – go buy them NOW!), Chobani greek yogurt, HINT water, regular water.. so delicious!

photo courtesy of ZOOMA

I grabbed a few snacks and some watermelon HINT (I still prefer my watermelon Nuun, but it was pretty good) and ran into Jenn & Erik – we chatted for a few minutes (So nice to meet you both!! Sorry I’m such a spaz and was half out of it!) and I waited for a few minutes to see if I could find Jessica to say goodbye. We were headed to Orlando as soon as I got home to visit with my in-laws and meet our new baby cousin, so after a quick chat with Allison, who I can’t wait to work with on the ZOOMA Florida race, I took off and headed home.

This really was such an Inspiring event, if it’s coming close to you, I definitely recommend giving it a shot! If you want to read the ZOOMA recap and see more pictures, you can do that here.

Don’t forget, you can use code FLAAMB5 to join me at ZOOMA Florida and save 10% off the race fee!

Disclaimer — My entry into this event was free, but the opinions are 100% mine. I truly loved the event and would have absolutely paid the entry fee – worth every penny!