Tag Archives: running

A Marvelous Weekend Recap

Ah, what a marvelous weekend, and I am continuing to live life on the slightly-more-low-key side. But, I’m still having a great time! I’m doing a pretty good job of listening to my body and mind, instead of FOMO. Unfortunately I went back to my once-a-week blogging last week, with only one recipe post. Who knows what this week will bring? I’m not too worried about it – I’ll blog when I have time – but at least with this post I know I have one down!

Link up with Katie if you are sharing your marvelous today!

Marvelous is…a rest day on Friday. Some lessons need to be re-learned and on Friday, I re-learned that if I don’t work out in the morning, it just is not going to happen. In CT I often worked out on Fridays between work and my evening plans, but there’s something about a Friday late afternoon in Boston that makes me just want to get the weekend started as soon as I leave work. When I left for the day I decided to grocery shop, then put away my laundry, then get my nails done…all to put off going to the gym. So then I decided (with help from a text-pep-talk from a friend) to just take the day off. And I felt much better after making that decision and sticking with it.

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Thinking Out Loud: Shin Happens

My blogging inspiration and drive has really been in high gear the last couple of weeks! Probably has something to do with the fact that I’ve been trying to give myself the nights in I need to balance the nights out. So that means I have more time to think out loud.

Be sure to link up with Amanda if you’re thinking out loud today!

1. My left shin is freaking killing me and I am SO OVER IT. I had originally planned to run a 10K distance on Tuesday after doing spin on Monday, but once I woke up Tuesday and my shin hurt even when walking, I knew that wasn’t smart. So I ran 3.4 miles instead, but that was also not smart. My shin was literally throbbing afterward. I went home and utilized the closest thing to an ice pack that I had – frozen broccoli.

And wine, because always wine.

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JD Sports: Perfect Timing!

I received a complimentary pair of sneakers in exchange for a blog post about my experience. All opinions are my own. This is not a sponsored post.

I recently mentioned that I’ve learned during half marathon training that sneakers really DO matter. What people have been saying for months and months is NOT a joke! I thought I could get by on training for and running the Zooma Cape Cod Half Marathon with my eclectic collection of sneakers I’ve received from various blog–related opportunities. But not so much. I was shopping around for a pair to purchase, but then JD Sports contacted me asking if I wanted to try out one of the pairs they offer on their site. Um, yes please!

I was offered either Nike Frees or Asics, but I knew at least with my basic knowledge that Asics were a better choice for running. But which pair to choose? With help from friends like Sarah and Alex, both of whom have worked in running stores, I selected the Asics Gel GT 2000. My contact placed the on order for me and the sneakers arrived in a very timely manner, just as depicted on the site.

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Five Things Friday: Yup, It’s Me Again!

Happy Friday! Three days of posting this week – a recent record for sure. But I’ve had more downtime thanks to learning my lesson last week about wearing myself out. I was home last night after work for awhile – enough time to write a blog post, watch an episode of Breaking Bad (STILL working on season 4), and catch up on my celeb gossip on E! News (my favorite mindless TV). But I’m getting ahead of myself – Five Things Friday hasn’t even begun yet. It will after Clare‘s charming graphic:

Oooh. Aaah. Link up!

1. Everyone should listen to this amazing song and take its message to heart. EVEN if you’re not a fan of country music or the show Nashville. The song is about not throwing away all the beautiful gifts you have been given. Often I listen to it whenever I’m feeling tempted to restrict, base my self worth on my appearance, or just hate myself in general. In the worst of my eating disorder I was throwing away everything I’d been born with and all I’d worked for my whole life. This is the kind of song that can pull me out of a funk and make me re-evaluate what’s REALLY important in life.

2. My left shin has REALLY been bugging me. I’ll see how my new shoes (post to come on those next week!) help the situation but I don’t think I can shrug off the left shin pain I’ve been feeling during my runs any longer. Even though I haven’t done a “long run” in almost two weeks now, I still am feeling it both during and after my runs, no matter the distance. I’ve been running 3-4 days a week since I started training so I think that next week I’m going to do just 2 runs. Hopefully that, plus my new running sneakers, will send improvement my way. If not I will have to get serious about the left shin pain because I don’t want an  injury sidelining me from the half marathon, or fitness in general.

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Half Marathon Training: Lessons So Far

So it’s been almost two months since I signed up for my first half marathon – the Zooma Women’s Cape Cod Half. And I’ve been excited to write a post about what I have learned so far during training, and my experience overall with running more than I ever have before!

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Training for My First Half: What I’ve Learned (So Far)

1. Following a training plan makes it (mentally) easier to rest. I haven’t gotten to the point where I can take more than one rest day a week, but for someone who has previously gone as long as a month without a day COMPLETELY off from exercise, this is a big deal. I have been able to take a rest day almost every week since I started training. And I mean real rest days. Not rest days that are actually just days I don’t do cardio, or days I “only” do abs. I’m talking days I don’t do anything except my usual walking around Boston. Seeing rest days on the training plan I’ve been (loosely) following has made it easier for me to tell myself that it’s OK to rest. So has feeling like my rest days have made the long runs done on the day FOLLOWING my rest days easier to push through. It is now mentally normal for me to take one rest day per week. I can’t remember the last time that happened! Not that it’s totally easy, but I’ve been doing it! I’m thankful that I have realized this because I know it’s important if I want to prevent something like an injury – or taking steps backwards in recovery.

I definitely enjoyed this past Thursday's Sazerac more knowing I planned to take a rest day the next day!

I definitely enjoyed this past Thursday’s Sazerac more knowing I planned to take a rest day the next day!

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Trade Em Up Tuesday: Slowing Down

Another longer-than-a-week gap between posts – ugh! I honestly had time this past Sunday night to blog, but opted to sit in bed and color (something I haven’t done in awhile) while listening to NPR instead. I’m getting ahead of myself though. Let’s get rolling with a Trade Em Up Tuesday that’ll tell you what’s been up with me in the last week-ish.

Oreos and beer were involved.

Oreos and beer were involved.

I would trade…FOMO. I’ve had a serious case of it lately and it’s resulted in me wearing myself out. I need to take a step back and slow down. Is there an event coming up? I feel like I have to go to make sure I don’t miss anything. Someone’s having  a party? Well I can’t possibly miss it, it’ll be so much fun! The thing is, a lot of the time it’s not even worth it, so I need to take a step back and put on the brakes. I was sick this past weekend and spent all day Saturday contemplating whether or not I should still go to my co-worker’s party. In reality it should have been a no-brainer – NO. Stay home and REST.

NO. That's not resting.

NO. That’s not resting.

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Marvelous Miles!

This post will not be all about Zooma Cape Cod half marathon training, despite the title. But it will first and foremost make mention of a marvelous half marathon related accomplishment, because I’m just so psyched about it. Plenty of non-running-related marvelous to share too though!

Make sure you link up with Katie if you’re doing a MIMM post today!

Marvelous is…an 8 mile run on Saturday morning! So the run itself wasn’t exactly marvelous because well, I’m not one of those people who will pretend she enjoys running that long. (Not that those who do actually enjoy it are pretending they do.) I woke up really excited to just get my 8 mile long run done so I could feel awesome about it afterward, but during the run I had to battle with myself mentally. Once I got to my halfway mark (yay out and back runs!) I knew I’d make it back, so the mental battle became less – but the physical became more. I ran the whole thing pretty slow (over a 10 minute pace) and am glad I did.

It was hot out (I didn’t get started til 10AM – so worth it to sleep in though) and I also got a bit lost at one point. After calculating exactly how far I’d run, I realized I’d run 8.2 miles thanks to that fact. I did stop every now and then to wait at a crosswalk or drink water (thank you Charles River Esplanade for your water fountains) but the whole time I was actually running, I did run – I really didn’t want to walk! Big thanks to the BU campus grounds worker who sprayed me with his hose (I asked him to, don’t worry) right around mile 6. That got me through to the end! This is officially the furthest I’ve ever run because I ran 8 miles once back in 2010, and this was 8.2 miles. So seriously, go me. (Way better than the other GOMI.)

Yaaaaaas.

Yaaaaaas.

OKAY, back tracking to the start of my weekend…

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Long Newport Weekend

Once I got going writing yesterday’s post, I knew this recap of the long July 4th weekend in Newport, RI would have to be a two-parter. So many photos and so much to say! Thankfully I woke up at 5:30AM for no reason this morning, actually feeling quite well rested, so I was able to sneak in a quick run and sit down here to blog before starting my work day. Let’s pick up where we left off:

Sunday 7/6

So I woke up and despite feeling guilty about what I’d eaten/drank the day prior, I also just didn’t feel like going running or doing cardio of any kind. Our timeshare complex had a gym that I walked into and said…wtf? It had three machines, dumbbells that maxed out at 10lbs (not that I’m strong man or anything, but come on!), and not even a space to do abs and no bench. So I basically did arms for 20 minutes, abs from the now-longer-than-30-days ab challenge, and called it a day. I was happy to be able to hightail it to Mokka Coffeehouse down the street to get some work done!

The shop was adorable as you can see from the above photo, and the iced coffee DELICIOUS. I had it a few other days on my trip and definitely recommend this place, though Coffee Grinder is still my favorite coffee place in Newport simply because of the waterfront seating (unfair advantage). After plugging away for a couple of hours I got hungry and found out my family was having lunch at a diner. I just didn’t really feel like eating diner food, and OK I was having anxiety over it, so I decided to take my current read and check out Newport’s newest farm-to-table (this term is, to me, becoming overused) restaurant – Stoneacre Pantry.

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Five Things Friday: Good and Bad

I guess twice a week of posting is the best I’m gonna get this summer. Not that I won’t strive for more, but this season sure is busy. With my busy weekends I don’t have time to draft up posts on my days off! Oh well, fun fun fun, and I’m still posting as frequently as ever on Instagram. Let’s get this Five Things Friday show on the road.

Be sure to link up with Clare if you’re participating!

1. I ran 7 miles this week! Once again I got my long half marathon training run done on Tuesday and once again it went better than I thought it would. I stuck by the Charles River for most of the route and that made a huge difference. The gorgeous sights and “sea” breeze were helpful but most important was the presence of so many other runners. I really felt like a part of that Boston running “scene” and that motivated me to run strong and keep going! Really once I got to my halfway point and turned around, I knew I was home free because well…I have to get back home, right? The hardest part of my runs, I’ve found, is getting to a halfway point and turning around. But that makes the second half easier, so I’m going to try to stick with that type of route, instead of one that takes me on a circle of sorts.

I wore my pink and purple PUMA ensemble (the leggings too) and being so matchy-matchy definitely helped my run motivation!

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Five Things Friday: On the Road Again

It’s Friday which must mean I’m hitting the road again! My summer is going to be defined by weekends away from my Boston home, but that’s all good because all my weekends away will be pretty fabulous. I’m lucky to have so much fun stuff going on! Last weekend DC, and this weekend it’s back home to Connecticut to see my family and many old friends. I’ve got updates about those plans plus this past week, so I thought a Five Things Friday link-up with Clare was appropriate.

1. Tonight is the Best of Hartford Magazine party at the Hartford Public Library, and I get to attend as the first runner-up for Best Blog! I can’t remember if I ever mentioned on this blog the fact that I received this honor…I know I mentioned it on social media. But I’m really really pumped to reunite with my CT event friends, FINALLY. And I’m bringing one my token foodie plus ones, Rachel, along for the ride. Expect lots of photos like this to come:

YAAAAAS

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Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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