The Oscars/Academy Awards: The Running Edition 2014

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Last year I wrote this post and I thought I'd make it a yearly tradition!

The award for best 'actress' in a supporting role goes to:
The panache sports bra! See my post evaluating several sports bras for more information.

The award for best 'actress' in a leading role goes to:
I love love love sparkly soul no-slip headbands. I wear them when I'm running and even when I'm headed out for date night!

The award for best 'actor' in a supporting role:
Skratch! I've recently become a big fan of scratch labs and much prefer that over any other hydration alternative. It's free of all preservatives and unnecessary ingredients and it's delicious!
I still love Sport Beans, but I'm also enjoying Honey Stinger chews on my long runs.

The award for best 'actor' in a leading role:
Last year at this time, I was still using a fuel belt. Since then, I have discovered hydration packs and I haven't looked back. My all-time favorite pack is the Nathan HPL 020 TorchLight:

The award for best 'director' goes to:
Definitely still my Garmin 610. I love my Garmin. In a way, it is my coach. It keeps me on my pace and tells me where I need to be.

The award for best 'sound mixing' goes to:
My Ipod shuffle, which I find a lot more convenient than listening to music on my phone. Though I love my Yurbuds, I keep losing the little covers for them so I switch between a few different pairs of headphones.

The award for best 'makeup & hairstyling' goes to:
I have given up on Bodyglide and now use this Lanacane gel for preventing chafing. Works like a charm! I don't normally "do" my hair for a run, but I've found that the best hairstyle to keep it from getting tangled and in my way are braids.

The award for best 'costume' goes to: 
This one hasn't changed too much. I still love my Nike Pegasus shoes and my CWX pro 3/4 compression tights (recently featured in Runner's World latest issue). I also love Pro Compression socks, I currently have a long wishlist of new designs and colors.

My barefooters also deserve a mention here. There's nothing better than taking my running shoes off after a long run and sliding these on!

The award for best 'documentary' goes to:
My blog! Without it, I wouldn't have reached nearly as many goals. Documenting my journey has helped me improve and motivated me to continue.

The award for best 'production design' goes to:
I've learned to love my treadmill for what it is; it's a tool to help me achieve my goals and I've found many ways to make it more interesting.

The award for best 'picture' goes to:
Friends, family, & spectators, all the people that allow me to continue doing what I love. Here's one of my favorite pictures from the last year featuring some awesome running buddies!

What's on your "best of" running list?

An InLinkz Link-up

Book Review: "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

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This book was a tough read, not technical wise but subject-matter wise. High school is such an uncomfortable phase, and this certainly brought back some of those memories for me. Quick worthwhile read.

My Rating (via GoodReads): 4/5 stars
Kobo Price: $10.99

Thirteen Reasons Why is about a girl named Hannah Baker and the impact she leaves behind after committing suicide. The story is told from the perspective of a fellow student named Clay who receives a box of tapes. Yes, tapes, as in cassette tapes. He plays the first tape unaware of what he will hear, only to find the voice of a dead girl telling her story. She leaves a map literally and figuratively of how she arrived at her life-ending decision. Only the people named on the tapes are the ones who receive them. Clay spends the majority of the book baffled as to why he could be one of the people named, all of whom seemingly indirectly caused her to kill herself.

It is disturbing, truthful, and makes me terrified to know that I too, will one day have a teenager living in my house.

What are you reading this week?

23km: Why it's my favorite distance and how I got there.

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Almost a year ago, I ran the furthest I'd ever run at that point, just a little more than a half marathon distance, and to me, it was a really big deal! I had joined one of my friends, Nikki, on her training run. I remember as my garmin ticked past 21.1km, that I had a few tears welling up in my eyes for how far I had come.

Obviously, since that day, I have run more than that many times over, but that distance still marks a special moment for me in my training. Saying goodbye to the half marathon distance and hello to a new bigger goal. The marathon. Last June, I went out for a training run and ran that far by myself. And again, for me, that was a really big deal. As I quickly approach my 2nd marathon, I find myself reflecting on that day when it all became real, the day I knew I would one day run a full marathon.

There was a time, only a few years ago, when I couldn't even run 5km by myself. Running has become such a huge part of my life since then, doing so many things that I never thought I would do. All I had to do was stop saying "can't" and get out there. Some days I would hardly run, it would mostly be walking, but gradually I made my way up to running for 10 minutes and walking for a minute, and continuing on that way until I reached the desired distance. The 1st half marathon I ever did, I was taught to run without intervals and my finish time was a lot slower, my slowest in fact except for Lululemon 2012, which was a disaster for other reasons entirely.

To this day, I still do 10/1s for my long runs. My 10 minute portions have become faster and that's how I have improved. Mentally and physically they work really well for me. I credit them for having gotten this far in running. Some people see them as a cop-out, as if somehow because I take a 1 minute walk break, I'm not a "real" runner and I can't improve beyond a beginner level. Well, I'm just not sure how you can possibly think that? How is it any different from people who walk through water stations or stop to take a gel? Don't get me wrong, towards the end of a race, if things are going well, I've been known to skip a few walk breaks, but for the majority I take them no matter what, and because of that I'm able to go a lot faster during the following 10 minutes.

I'm not trying to take anything away from people who run 100 miles, 50 miles, marathons, and so on, or people who run straight through without stopping... but we are all runners and part of the running community and I think that we should all try to honor that more. Whether we are running 5k, 10k, 23k, a marathon or more, however we get to the finish line, it's getting there that counts. Does being a more experienced runner give anyone the right to judge how I run or how I get to that finish line?

Let's rewind a little bit here, I had planned to write a post about surpassing 23km in your training and how much that distance in particular has meant to me over the past year. But last week, I read something and it gave me cause to reflect on literally how I got to 23km and surpassed that goal many times over.

I find that in general, there is a divide between runners who run to win and runners who run just because it's something they love to do, such as a recreational runner like myself. It would be nice if one day I could win a race, but it's not the reason I run, nor is it a goal or priority. I aspire to beat my own time and challenge myself every time I hit the pavement. So let's let go of the judgement and the comparison to other runners, and just do what we love.

Trail runner or road runner. Elite runner or recreational runner. We all love the same thing, can't we just embrace that?

My favorite running quote:
"I often hear someone say I'm not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner."
-Bart Yasso

Designing your workout or treadmill area for success.

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It is no secret that I have been doing a ton of running on the treadmill since I moved. I have a love/hate relationship with the treadmill or the 'dreadmill' as some people refer to it. I love it because it means I can run during the day when Griffin is napping without a babysitter or late at night when it is too dark and not safe to run outside. Not long after I began my many miles on the 'dreadmill', I soon realized how it received such a name, as the seconds seemingly took hours to tick by...

I have about an 8 x 8' space to store and use my workout equipment and there is no window as it is in our basement. I finally realized I needed to find a way to enjoy the space more because the blank walls and staring at a muted TV screen tuned to Dr.Phil on the other side of the basement wasn't working anymore. Honestly, it probably wasn't ever working. I run because it makes me happy, and those runs weren't achieving that, they were just something I wanted to get through. So the following are the ways in which I changed my space to be more successful for me.

1. Find a worthy distraction...
I've recently become obsessed with Netflix Canada and binge-watching entire TV series. It's so easy to lose yourself in the show and let the minutes tick by on the mill, exactly what I needed! It started with Breaking Bad and now I've moved onto House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
I use my iPad, but there are treadmills that have access to Netflix, isn't that awesome?!

Did you know that if you were on the treadmill for a whole season of Orange is the New Black, you could burn 4, 995 calories? Whoa! A whole series of Breaking Bad could burn up to 38, 000 calories on an elliptical! Can you guess where I'm going to be when the new season of #OITNB comes out in June?

2. Make yourself comfortable.
Do something to make the space extra special. Get yourself a nice yoga mat for any floor exercises and some nice soft towels.

3. Surround yourself with inspiration.
Post pictures or quotes that inspire you. I also hang my race medals and bibs on the walls surrounding the treadmill.

4. Be prepared and be organized.
Set your alarm for when you're going to workout even if it is not in the morning. Have your hydration choice in a bottle ready to go in the fridge. I prefer Skratch and I keep it in a jug which I bring down to the basement with me when it's time for a workout. I like to pretend I'm going to 'the gym', it makes it harder to skip your workout for doing something else at home.

5. Track your progress.
Post a calendar or keep a journal and log your workouts, it adds a feeling of accomplishment for me. I got out of the habit of tracking my runs on dailymile a while ago and now that I'm doing it again, I really think it's helping keep me motivated. It's so satisfying to see the total mileage rise as the week/month progresses.

It's silly, but just a few small changes can make your space more inviting and easier to keep yourself accountable.

Do you workout/run at home? How do you keep yourself accountable and stay motivated?

A MARATHON in 12 days...

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When I say what I'm about to say, you are going to think I'm crazy. And well, maybe I am...

On the weekend I signed up for the LA marathon which is happening in 12 days. Yes the FULL marathon. Why would I do that?

It all first started when I wrote this post with my marathon bucket list. And then months later after I finished my 1st full marathon this past September, I began considering my options for what's next and I wrote this post.

I really wanted to do the LA marathon in 2014, but it landed on the same weekend as an event my husband normally attends. I found out about a month ago that he wouldn't be able to attend for other reasons, but I dismissed the opportunity because it was far too late to up my distance to a full marathon... right? Never mind the cost of traveling to an international marathon and babysitting etc...

But as it turns out with the help of my ever-understanding family, I am headed to the LA Marathon!

I had only one choice this past Sunday to get myself prepared for this. The longest run I've done in the last few months has been 23km which is far from a marathon distance. So, this past Sunday, another friend, Jacki, who will also be traveling to the LA Marathon took me out for 32km.

The weather was also not unfortunately in our favor this weekend with a ton of snow which is fairly rare this late in the season on the west coast.

Nonetheless, off we went on our extremely long journey. And you know what? It wasn't easy, but it wasn't so bad. I know that I can make it to the finish line of the LA Marathon. I am not sure that I can PR, nor is that really a priority, but I know that I will get there.

Quite possibly the most exciting part of all of this is that my sister will be joining me for another racecation! Even though we live pretty close to each other now (since we moved in August), we don't see each other nearly enough. You might remember that we went to NYC together last March, almost exactly a year ago to the date of this trip.

Sisters' trip to NYC last March!

I'm so stoked to spend a weekend with her and to have her waiting for me at that finish line. Nikki & Jacki will also be racing LA and I look forward to spending time with them as well.

This is going to involve a "slightly" modified training schedule over the next couple of weeks to make up for all of the time lost but I am going to make it work. I've run over 50km in the last 3 days and even made some time to walk in the snow with my boys yesterday!

I am so thankful for my husband and his visa points which are flying us there, my wonderful Dad who is helping us get a hotel so late, and to my in-laws and favorite babysitters, you all rock!

So to those of you that know me, please leave your encouragement, your comments, and your love. I'm going to need it all to get to that finish line in 2 weeks.

Vegetable Beef Stew and Buttermilk Biscuits

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This is one of my favorite winter recipes. Hearty, delicious, and comforting.

Vegetable Beef Soup:

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2  pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cubed, or beef stew meat

1  tablespoon cooking oil

4  14 ounce can beef broth

1  teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2  bay leaves

2  cups chopped, peeled tomato (2 large) or one 14 12-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

1  10 ounce package frozen whole kernel corn

1 1/2  cups cubed, peeled potatoes (2 medium)

1  cup frozen cut green beans

1  cup sliced carrot (2 medium)

1  cup sliced celery (2 stalks)

1/2  cup chopped onion (1 medium) 

DIRECTIONS

In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil; drain fat. Return all meat to Dutch oven. Stir in beef broth, oregano, marjoram, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. If necessary, skim fat .

Stir in tomato, corn, potato, green beans, carrot, celery, and onion. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 25 minutes more or until vegetables are tender.

Makes 8 servings (13 cups)

Buttermilk Biscuits:

INGREDIENTS 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp granulated sugar 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed 

1 cup shredded extra-old Cheddar cheese 

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives 

1 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONSIn bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With fork, stir in cheese and chives; stir in buttermilk to form soft dough. 

On lightly floured surface, gently knead dough 10 times. Pat into 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick round. Using 2 1/2 inch floured round cutter and pressing scraps together, cut out 12 rounds. 

Bake on parchment paper–lined baking sheet in centre of 425°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.  

You can put just about anything in these biscuits, it doesn't have to be cheese and chives. Dried herbs work nice as well. 

Not a race review.

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I'm angry.

I'm angry at the flu, I'm angry at Winter, and I'm angry at myself. This post was supposed to be a recap for the Vancouver First 1/2 Half Marathon that occurred last Sunday, but the thing is, I didn't race.

I felt great on Saturday after the snowshoeing. Before I did that, I had worried I'd be really sore and it would effect my ability to run on Sunday. But as it turns out, it wouldn't even matter. I had organized all of my race stuff on Saturday evening, repacked my hydration pack etc. In fact, it's all still sitting there on the counter (as of Monday).

At about 11:00PM, I started to feel "off". By 12:00AM, all hell broke loose. All of the sudden, I found myself in the throws of the stomach flu. I was clammy all over and more nauseous than I have been in a really long time. All I could think was why is this happening now? The night before my 2nd race of the year. I took some Gravol and headed to bed hoping that something amazing would happen in the next 5 hours that would change how I felt.

Not surprisingly, 5:00AM came and went and I was no better than the night before. I had to make a decision even though I felt like it had already been made for me. I could go and end up sick on the sidelines most likely ending in a DNF or I could stay home and try to get through this in a more comfortable situation, the most comfortable you can possibly be when your body is emptying your insides in every way possible...

There were 3 local races that happened on Sunday. I did the First Half and Fort Langley Historic Half last year (they were on different days). My twitter and Facebook news feeds were full of shiny new PRs and amazing race stories. I tried my best not to feel sorry for myself because it's not like this doesn't happen to everyone at some point or another. You might remember that it has happened to me before. Frankly, when you plan 14 races or more per year, it is bound to happen, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing.

I'm trying to count my blessings, you know it's only the flu right? But I still wish I was there and that I ran an awesome race, instead of looking at my incredibly low mileage for last week and wondering what I could have done differently.

Maybe I could have been eating better and then I wouldn't have gotten the flu. Washed my hands more, been taking more vitamins... I don't know. Maybe I would have done all of those things, and still have gotten the flu.

All I can do is get healthy and move forward.

Has this happened to you? Would you have done the same thing or would you have attempted to race?

Snowshoeing

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So recently a friend and fellow blogger, Solana from Beast Mode on the Run, invited me to a free event at Cypress mountain to try out some snowshoes and preview the upcoming Yeti snowshoe run in March.

I've never been snowshoeing before so I really wanted to try it out. I had a race planned for Sunday (the day after snowshoeing) so I wasn't sure it was the best idea, but I decided I wouldn't be snowshoe "running" anyway so why not give it a try?

On Saturday, I picked up Cindy and Jacki and we headed up to Cypress! The yeti was waiting for us when we arrived! (Thanks to Solana's husband, Jay, for all the awesome photos!)

It was nice to be up in the mountains with the snow! I felt totally out of place though, it has been years since I've done any sort of winter sport which is practically a crime here living so close to the North Shore mountains...

I think there ended up being about 40 or so people there and after a group shot, we split up into a fast and a slow group.

 

I decided that I wanted to hang out near the back of the slow group, since I was incredibly new to snowshoeing and frankly, didn't really know what I was doing.

The first part was probably the hardest because we kept going up and my legs were admittedly still quite sore from hill training.

I knew we weren't traveling at a very good pace, but when we got to the top of the intended location to turn around, we were only at 1.2km... That hardly seemed worth it and since we had the opportunity to try out these great snowshoes, we decided to keep going! All in all, we went just over 4km in about an hour. Very slow I know, but I enjoyed myself and my legs weren't tired at all, which was perfect considering I had a half marathon planned for the next day!

I won a 5peaks buff and Cindy made a valiant effort in the yeti snowman building competition:

I had such a great time that I'm strongly considering signing up for the actual race on March 8th!

After we headed down the mountain we went for a very filling breakfast at Tomahawk!

It was turning out to be the perfect Saturday and I was feeling awesome and ready for the race the next day! Everything changed that evening though... Stay tuned for more on that tomorrow.

Book Review: "Labor Day" by Joyce Maynard

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This book is on my 2014 to-read list and has also been made into a major motion picture, in theaters now. I have not yet seen the movie, but when I do, I will add a short comparison to the end of this review.

My Rating (via GoodReads): 3/5 stars
Kobo Price: $11.99

I'm sort of ashamed to admit I liked this book. It's not the type of book I would normally go for. The writing intrigued me though, even though it was simple. It is told from the perspective of a thirteen-year-old boy named Henry who lives with his mother. His mother Adele appears to be extremely odd from the start of the book.

On one of their rare trips to the grocery store, Henry meets a strange and injured man who asks to go home with them... Yea, would you say yes? Well, they did. I know right, who does that? Anyways, they find out as time goes on that he is an escaped convict which seems quite obvious to me. He stays with them for all of Labor Day weekend, through which Henry learns a lot about himself, life, and those around him. Yup, totally cheesy statement, but it's true.

The premise was so outrageous and unrealistic, it fueled my need to know how it ended. It's a nice quick easy read and though I find it unlikely to happen in real life, I enjoyed the book nonetheless and the ending was less depressing than I pictured which is always a nice surprise.

It's pretty much made to be turned into film... I'm interested to see how they translated it to screen and whether it's any good. So why 3/5 stars, well I liked it, I didn't LOVE it. Would I have read it, if not to compare it to the movie? I'm not sure, but likely not.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Today Griffin is delivering cupcakes to some of his favorite ladies... don't worry I tasted them first ;)

Cupcakes:

INGREDIENTS 
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted 
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 1/2 cups sugar 
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 
2 large eggs, room temperature 
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1 cup buttermilk 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

INGREDIENTS 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 (1.5 packages) ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups of confectioner's sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.

Once cupcakes have cooled, ice as desired. 
 
  

Running will you be mine?

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So my husband doesn't believe in Valentine's Day, something about Hallmark and money grabs, blah blah blah...

Anyway I've had some fun putting Valentine's together this year with Griffin and I decided who I wanted to be my Valentine this year: Running.

Dear Running,

We've had a great couple of years,
as well as lots of tears.

You've seen me through all of my highs and lows,
Oh and the hills, please no more of those!

So on this special day,
I'd like to share with you if I may,

A run instead of flowers,
Because that's my favorite way to spend a few hours.

Love,
Krista

Pardon the cheesiness but I will actually be running today. How about you? Any special Valentine's plans?

Running for Clarity

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This past Saturday, I was NOT having a good day. I'm not exactly sure what was happening, I think life just caught up with me you know? I had a bit of a melt down that ended with a migraine and really not feeling the energy to run the next morning. However, I managed to get up on Sunday morning, put my clothes on, and drive to the starting point that I had planned for my (mostly) solo 20k run.

I felt rough for a few kilometers, but of course, pressed on anyway. In the bitter cold, I knew it was going to take a while for my legs to warm up. There were what looked like snow clouds overhead but when I looked North towards the mountains, the sky had opened up into a beautiful sunrise.

Sometimes it's so easy to get lost in your own thoughts and the chaos of life, and when this happens a run always helps me clear my head. At the time, it is usually the last thing I want to do, but it's almost always what I need. I feel like maybe I should make my husband a sign that says "You Need to Run Now", so that when I get the way I was feeling on Saturday night he can just put up the sign and no questions asked, I can go for a run.

My legs were still tired, but I was just so pleased to be out there on the road doing something I love. I was completely at peace, a total contrast from the day before. The question I get asked the most now that I can call myself a runner is "How can you do that, go out and run for that long?". The way I feel about it now is how can I not? It's my sanity, it's my time to sort out my feelings about everything, my time to just BE. It wasn't always that way of course, I struggled for a long time when I started to run. Even now, I still have days where my legs never seem to warm up and every step feels like one step too far, but I know now that there's a run waiting for a me, a run that will change me and remind me why I love running.

At about 12km, I met my mother-in-law so she could finish off the last 8km with me. The sky had completely clouded over now and occasional flurries were falling. That's all I needed though, an hour with myself on the roads hitting the pavement and I felt like myself again.

Did you run this weekend? How did it go? 

Blueberry Crumb Cake

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I felt like some homemade baking yesterday morning and I was at home studying anyway, so I decided to throw this together with what I had in the fridge and some frozen blueberries. Super easy to prepare, takes a while in the oven but totally worth it.

INGREDIENTS
Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 cups blueberries


Crumb Topping:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.

Prepare crumb topping. In a medium bowl, combine cinnamon, salt, sugar, and flour. Cut in the butter using your hands, two knives, or a pastry blender until well combined and crumbly.


In the bowl of electric mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Add vanilla, and beat until combined. Add reserved flour mixture and the sour cream, and beat just until well combined. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumb topping over cake. Bake until golden brown until toothpick comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. If it needs longer, add some foil to the top and continue to bake for 5 or 10 minutes.

Liebster Award

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Last week, Jessica @ Run Your Mutt Off nominated me for a Liebster Award! Thanks Jessica.

Here are the details: The Liebster is an award to help promote new bloggers. The rules are simple:

• Mention the person who nominated you with a link in their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions provided by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers. (I was a little unclear how this is defined, so I’ve looked up each blog’s follower counts on bloglovin’. If I nominated you and you’re more popular than I realize, then I apologize)
• Create a new set of 11 questions for your nominees to answer.

Jessica's questions for me:

What is your favorite race you’ve run, and why? 
This one is a toughy... I'm going to say it's tie between Rock 'n' Roll Seattle last June and Run for Water last April. Rock 'n' Roll Seattle was really awesome race with my running BFF and I felt pretty good throughout. Run for Water is still my half marathon PR, I can't really explain why that happened because it defies all logic, but I loved that day and I felt so strong even in the pouring rain. My first half marathon and my first full marathon will also always hold a special place in my heart.

Who is your biggest supporter/fan?
My husband. He grumbles about going to races or how much I spend on race registrations, but there is absolutely no way I could do this without him.

What is your favorite piece of running gear?
Hmm, this is also a tough one. I have lots of great stuff now. Shoes are pretty much essential but maybe not my favorite. Again, I think it would be a tie between my injinji socks and my CWX Pro Compression 3/4 tights.

What is your tried-and-true pre-race meal?
Something plain. The night before, I'll have chicken and veggies usually maybe with potatoes or rice. I tried to avoid wheat as it can upset my tummy. The morning of, I don't normally eat very much, usually a CLIF bar.

Have you met any of your twitter/blogger friends in real life? If so, when & where?
Yes, I've met lots now. Mostly at races! It's kind of funny how you meet people these days. A few have become some pretty great friends :)

What is your favorite non-running workout or exercise?
I'm really enjoying p90x right now but if I could afford it and I wasn't a runner, I'd probably still be doing CrossFit. Before I became a runner, I did spinning and yoga for years and loved them both.

Tell me the most memorable thing about your wedding or someone’s wedding that you’ve attended.
The most memorable thing about my wedding was that my husband wrote "I DO" on his hand so he wouldn't forget... no joke.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things could you not live without?
Shoes. Water. Something to Read.

What is the last book you read?
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard (Review in progress). Before that, Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight. 

What is your all time favorite book?
Gosh, Jessica, these are really tough questions! I can't pick just one, it's not fair to the other books. So I'll name by top 3:
1. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christy
2. Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
3. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Pick one – pizza, beer and a movie OR pasta, wine and a good book. Why?
Pasta, wine, and a good book. Though I'll admit, I would also be satisfied by a movie. I crave pasta more than I do pizza and I would drink white wine over a beer any day as long as I got to choose the wine.

I nominate the following 11 blogs (most of these are not NEW bloggers, but neither am I...):

Slow is the New Fast
Fabulosi-T
Running for Cupcakes
Fine Fettle Frets
Strive to Stride
Running with Rhyno
Running with Needles
Cowgirl Runs
Runner Leana
All You Need is Love
Captured and Exposed
All Downhill from Here
Terry Runs

Yea there's 13 instead of 11, it's my lucky number, so you will just have to deal with that.

My questions for these wonderful bloggers:

1. What is the best running costume you have worn or seen?

2. What is your favorite thing to do right after a run?

3. What is your favorite baked good?

4. Does all your running gear have to match?

5. What is your most anticipated race of 2014?

6. Do you have a bucket list?

7. What is your favorite recovery item? Socks, food, or other?

8. If you had to describe today in one word, what word would you use?

9. What is your favorite place to run? (Pick a location whether it be a country, city, inside or outside, trails, or roads)

10. Do you think you'd love running in the same way if it was your full time job?

11. What is the biggest thing that blogging has taught you?

And go!

Thanks again to Jessica, and I look forward to reading the rest of the responses!

If you were not nominated and you'd like to answer any of the above questions or comment on mine please feel free to share below!

Strength Training

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First off, I'm sorry for the silence over the last few days, I've just been busy with life.

In other news, I started a new strength training program last week as per my February goals, and so far, it is going great. Essentially, I'm doing P90x, I'm just not doing the FULL program. I need it to compliment running and not take away from it. When I did CrossFit last year, my biggest complaint was that I was so wrecked, tired, and sore all of the time, there was no time or energy left for running.

So here's what I've managed since last Thursday:

Chest & Back
Ab Ripper
Plyometrics
Yoga X
Arms & Shoulders
Legs & Back

I like all of the workouts, though they are a bit long when you add a run in too. Unfortunately, I went a little too far with Ab Ripper and was way too sore by Sunday for my long run. I think I may have pulled my hip flexor.

I looked up all sorts of interesting stretches for your hips on Saturday night, hoping that I would feel better Sunday morning.

Since then, I've been a bit more careful to only push myself just enough, but not to the point where my form falls apart. Another complaint I had with CrossFit was that though there was support and a lot of instruction on form sometimes the spirit of competition takes over and that's when my form fell apart. Though, I still think CrossFit is a great workout and honestly if I could afford it, I'd probably still be doing it, it's not very convenient, and it's probably better that I focus on my running.

Anyways, I'm already feeling stronger and the scale is moving very slowly as well. Though, weight loss isn't the goal, I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds. I'm roughly 10 pounds away from my goal weight which I got down to last June and then gained most of it back after the marathon...


Have you done p90x? What did you think? How do you balance strength training with running?