A What’s Next Update

Posted by hellyontherun in Race, Running and tagged with 27k, Adrenaline, Aravaipa Running, New Things, Race, Run Steep Get High, Running, Running at Night, Trail Running May 30, 2014

I hadn’t planned on doing any summer racing but my running group advertised a popular trail run that many said they were participating in.

So I’ve never done an actual trail race.

And I’ve never raced at night.

Totally seems like a good idea to do both for the first time together, right?

The race is put on by Jamil Coury, the guy I wrote about a few weeks ago who did the Barkley Marathon. He founded Aravaipa Running and I’ve heard nothing but good things about their races. I’m super excited to finally have a chance at participating in one.

I’m pretty excited about it actually. Nervous too, but definitely more excited. There’s a 10k, a 27k, and a 64k option and I decided to go with the 27k. AZTNT, my running group, has a ton of people signed up for it so it’s going to be a great time running with friends. I don’t have any goals or expectations with it; I just plan on enjoying myself doing something different.

I feel like I need things to look forward to to kinda help the days go by. With this 100 Days of No Soda starting, I’m going to need all the motivation I can get. I plan on also looking around for a 4th of July run. August will be plenty busy with me going back to work (this news will be elaborated on in a later post 🙂 ) and once fall gets here, race season comes with it full throttle.

But for now, this trail race in a couple of weeks has me counting the days. I’ve got my head lamp ready and we’ll just see what happens!

–Have you ran a race a night? What tips can you give me?

–Do you schedule races to have something to look forward to? What’s the method behind your planning, if any?

Have a great weekend! Tomorrow’s the last day to think of something for the 100 Days of Summer Challenge! Keep me company (and help hold me accountable) as I try to go without soda 🙂

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th. Click here for details.

It’s Getting Hot in Here {and an Ignite Naturals review}

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with 100 Days of Summer, Challenge, Electrolytes, Hot, Ignite Naturals, No Soda, Running, Weather May 29, 2014

Living in Arizona, I’m used to our hot weather. Really, I don’t think there’s anywhere else I’d rather live.

But running here is ~~hot~~ hard.

We typically don’t see crazy heat til June but it looks like we’re in for a long summer as my run on Tuesday was in above average temperatures.

Before my run

After my run. Not much of a difference lol!

I made sure to hydrate and even tried out a new product by Ignite Naturals.

The box comes with 10 packets of three different flavors-Blueberry, Dragonfruit Lemon Lime, and Tangerine Passion Fruit. For my run, I tried Blueberry.

The instructions say to add 1 packet with 8-12 ounces of water depending on taste preference. I grabbed a bottle of Dasani (16.9 oz), took a swig, and then poured in the pack. My thought process was that after I drank from the bottle, I would make it around 12 ounces of water. I might have over shot my drink. Once I mixed the contents and tasted it, it tasted really good but also really fruity. I blame it on my very scientific way of having made my drink so I don’t think it’s always this way.

I tried it again the next day at track, giving Tangerine Passion Fruit a shot. This time, I took a small sip from my water, then mixed in the contents. Much better. It was still on the fruity side but definitely not as concentrated as the previous mix.

Pluses:
*100% Plant based
*Vegan
*Non GMO
*Gluten Free
*Tasty
*Convenient on-the-go packaging

Cons:
*A litte on the fruity side for me (they do have other not so fruity flavors though like prickly pear and coconut water)

I like trying new types of electrolyte drinks especially because of the aforementioned heat wave that’s started. And also, since I’m planning on going 100 Days without soda, I’m going to need some alternative options.

I was really pleased to see that people were excited to keep me company in my new venture. Some things people are planning on going 100 Days doing:

–eating a bowl of fruit
–no sugar
–sit ups
–no alcoholic beverages

Remember, it doesn’t have to be deprivation of something. You can add things that you struggle doing and hope that after a 100 Days it becomes a habit.

Two more days before we start–join in!

The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th.

–What’s the weather like where you’re running?

–What do you think you can go 100 Days doing?

–What type of electrolyte drinks do you like?

Weekend Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Family, Running and tagged with Family, Memorial Day, Recovery, Running, Weekend May 27, 2014

This three-day weekend was just what I needed to help recover from the Canyon. (If you missed my R2R2R recaps, visit here first and then here.) My husband had a rare day off on Monday and it was so nice to have him home an extra day.

On Friday, this happened:

Double digits!

I can’t believe that in two months my son will be ONE!! Time is a-flying!

We celebrated his 10 month birthday by getting a haircut 🙂

It was a perfect rest day.

Saturday morning I met up with my run club for an early morning run. We started our summer schedule which means runs now start at 5:30 a.m. It was hard to get out of bed when my alarm went off lol!

I planned for 6 miles and knew I wanted to take it slow. It would be my first run post Canyon so I really just wanted to shake out my legs.

It was tough.

I started the first two miles pretty easily and felt good. I think it was the excitement of being back because once I got to mile 3…..I felt sluggish. And I never got it together after that. Miles 3-6 were a slow blur as I just wanted to get the run over with.

SPLITS:

1-9:13
2-9:27
3-10:05
4-10:35
5-10:29
6-9:30

Avg-9:53/mile

I reminded myself that this was a recovery run and that I wasn’t out to break any records here. I wanted simply to get my legs moving and ease myself back. The run definitely helped get me ready for the day though–one of the reasons why I love running in the mornings.

Sunday we had another get together with friends–it was my little guy’s first time in the pool 🙂

Looking serious for the camera but he was having a blast in the water 🙂

We got back from the BBQ and I was pretty exhausted having run around after my two kids all afternoon but I knew a quick run would relax me so I went for a 4 miler around my neighborhood.

I felt a lot more like myself with this one:

SPLITS:

1-8:42
2-8:51
3-8:41
4-8:30

Avg: 8:39/mile

My run club had a fun 5k run set up for the next day, Monday, and I planned on going. But as night set in, I was pretty exhausted from being out in the sun all day so I decided to sleep in. Big mistake.

I found out later the next morning that of course the fun run was a blast. Two of our members who organized it made the 5k into a Barkley-esque run. If you remember my post about the Barkley Marathon, there are specific criteria involved with the run. They made the 5k into 3 loops with stops at certain points. I’m SO bummed I missed it. Stupid sleep.

I love having my husband home so him having the day off was the best. We did some more shopping and my daughter was in absolute heaven in the light section at Lowe’s:

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She wanted to know where the switch was ja!!

I ended up not running at all yesterday:( but I had such a fun weekend with my family 🙂

–How was your weekend?

–Did you race or run?