Mother, Run, Hike

I've been running for almost 4 years, and in that time, I have never had any issues with any creepers on my training runs. I've been fortunate to be training with my fiancé, who is a black belt in aikido and is most of the time running behind me, or next to me.   Last week, as I was getting ready for my early run the next morning, that I would be doing alone around my neighborhood. Roger told me the story of Karina Vetrano, who was found dead  in Queens . He suggested that I took the knife he gave me, and reviewed with me again, what points to go for if somebody attacked me. I hate carrying the knife, but the story scared me and I attached it to my shorts. Then last Sunday, he was telling me again of two other runners who we killed while out for a run. What hunts me about this killings is that they happened in broad daylight! Karina Vetrano was out running around 5:00 pm. Vanessa Marcotte was out running around 1:15 pm. Alexandra Brueger was out running at 2...

Today I'm linking -up with  Patty ,  Erika , and  Marcia  for the Running Gear and Where to get it link up.  Tuesdays On The Run Link up I'm going to keep it totally real here... as I've said more times than anybody cares to hear, I'm a divorced mom, with shared custody of my son, so I'm on my own for all expenses for both of us. We are not starving, but you won't see me running to a Lululemon store anytime soon, or to many other expensive stores for that matter. Running can get to be pretty expensive solo sport, starting with shoes, fancy *blister preventing* socks, compression socks, race registrations, tech shirts, leggings, Nuun, sport bras... the list goes on, and prices add up. But I don't agree with needing expensive stuff to run. Running in Walmart shorts is just as efficient as running on Lululemon shorts. Here are some of my favorite places to buy gear for running, zumba and weigh work outs.   Favorites   Under...

My legs are in pain right now and I want to go home and keep sleeping.... but adulting is getting on the way... you know, with having to be at work. So, last week we decided to change up the training days cycle, to adjust for longer runs. It's all complicated because of my custody schedule, and I will not bore anybody with those details, but our training week will now be a Monday to Sunday week. So Training Week #4 will now have also included the Ice Fest 5K, and 12.5 miles of running. We had warm temperatures on Sunday and Monday, and this melted a lot of snow from our running trails. Monday 2.01.16  - Rest. After those exhausting 3 miles the day before! Tuesday 2.02.16 - A little bit of everything 30 minutes of weights with Roger. Let me say that, I do the exercises he gives me, but I don't know what they are called. I only know they worked because everything is sore the next three days. 1 hour of Zumba with Susan 3 mile tempo run on the treadmill- I was ...

Marathon training is kicking my butt! my legs hurt right now, and I barely ran yesterday. Sunday January 17th 14 Miles, Half Marathon pace. I begrudgingly skipped Sunday Zumba for our super long run. This Is MY LONGEST RUN EVER! Monday January 18th Rest Day- Martin Luther King day, my son had off school, we donated a few bags of stuff to Goodwill. Tuesday January 19th Zumba with Susan Hip Hop with Denise 1 mile of sprints, with walks in between Wednesday January 20th Body Weights with Roger- 3 sets of each, Pull ups, push ups, shoulder press machine, pistol squats, Russian twist and V ups. - I know I complain, but without Roger's training, I would have never gotten better at running. 1 hour of Zumba with Denise Thursday January 21st Rest day Friday, January 22nd We skipped Weights to get groceries for the impending Blizzard. 8 mile easy run- I knew that with the incoming storm, there was a high possibility that we will 1. be staying home a...

Christmas Wish list I just finished putting together the Christmas list for my family. We have grown up a lot in the last 5 years and have made our list about things that we can / will use; which prevents wasting money for all of us and hoarding for others. Last year somebody even asked for a bottle of Ketchup, it was a joke but it ended up being used. In other years I have asked for things that I don’t use. For some reason that I don’t understand now, I asked for a deep fryer and a food processor one year. I lost the fryer on my divorce, but I’m glad to not have the fryer anymore. Other years I asked for work out leggings and I got an awesome pair of bright pink capris leggings. A color I would have never bought for myself, but that I love. Last year I didn’t ask for many things, I asked for a DVD/CD combo of my favorite Artist, Enrique Bunbury and a few movies. I was fortunate to get a pair of super awesome Adidas Hiking sneakers, an iPad mini and socks. Those sneakers wer...

April 2015- Completed my first 10K, and survived with no major injuries! Meaning, I had shin splints for a while, but they have for the most part gone away. My grandmother passed the day after, and while grieving her passing, my heart was not into running, or really moving at all, but I forced myself to get up and go to work. Roger and I started talking about the Hershey Half Marathon, and jokingly I mentioned that it could be split up, because they offer a relay option. He could do half and I could do half. We laughing agree to split it. It would still be finisher medals for both, Hershey In the Dark tickets for both and tshirts for both. We left it at that and continued eating our French toast. May 2015. I had 3 5Ks runs that month, Kat’s Angels, Kennett Run, and the Color Run. I kept up with some of my 10K training, but wasn’t overly worried. I started doing more weights and yoga, and again Roger and I talked about the Hershey half. I don’t know why we are not capable of be...

  Aah!! It has been a long week, a wonderful weekend, but exhausting. I’m out of sync with my half marathon training and it’s beginning to stress me out a little. Here is how I came off the plan, and how I hope to correct it soon. Saturday Aug 29 I did my 10K- and got firs place female. It was awesome. I was a little tired, but rested most of the rest of Saturday and was ready to run 6 more miles on Sunday. Sunday Aug 30 I was feeling good, and rested. All ready to run 6 miles. But I made a mistake. I wore shoes that I hadn’t worn in a few runs, and I only wore one pair of socks, after having been wearing two pairs of socks, to prevent blisters… a big investment on socks is needed soon. \ I was feeling really good, considering that I had ran 6 miles the day before, and then my left toe started to feel tingly and painful. I stopped. I had the exact same experience at the Color Run in Philadelphia in 2014, and ignored it then. And the ball of my toe was never the ...