Double Birthdays!

This weekend has been CRAZY so far...and its not even over yet! Why you ask? Well, because not only was it the boy's birthday, but it was also our roomates birthday too! Pretty random huh?!

Well, their actual birthday was on Thursday, so we celebrated a little then...we celebrated a little on Friday...and we are having a cook out tonight for the BIG celebration!

On top of working all day everyday and all the "celebrating" that has been going on, I haven't had much time for anything else!

I did however, get my butt up this morning to get a run in before work and it felt good!

I did 8.5 miles at a 8:50 pace. Here are the splits:

• Mile 1: 9:20
• Mile 2: 8:55
• Mile 3:8:43
• Mile 4: 9:00
• Mile 5: 9:03
• Mile 6: 8:17
• Mile 7:8:31
• Mile 8: 8:10
• Half Mile cool down: 10:14

Total Time: 1:15:31

When I got home I went for my go-to after run fuel...coffee, greek yogurt with banana, and wheat toast. Now its time to shower up, get ready for work, and then get ready to celebrate tonight!

Everyone with the boy and the roommate a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

What is your go-to after run fuel?

Running With Music: Good or Bad?

Listening to music while running, exercising, biking, or whatever physical activity you do has been something that has been debated for years. Does it just come down to personal preference, or is there actual science behind this debate?
A recent study done at the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise had 12 subjects ride a stationary bicycle at a pace that they could sustain for 30 minutes while listening to a song of the subject's choice. In successive trials, they rode the bikes again, with the tempo of the music variously increased or decreased by 10%, without the subject's knowledge. The researchers found that the riders heart rate and mileage decreased when the tempo was slowed, while they rode a greater distance, increased their heart rate and enjoyed the music more at the faster tempo. (Hudson, 2010).
However, A 2004 found that runners performing at a pace where they were at 90% of their peak oxygen uptake enjoyed listening to music, but that the music had no effect on their heart rate or running pace, regardless of the music's tempo. (Tennebaum, 2010).
Here is a video that I found on the effects of music on athletes from BBC News

Dr. Karageorghis is a professor at Brunel Univeristy who organized a series of tests to study the effects of different kinds of music on athletes and runners. According to Dr. Karageorghis there are 4 different factors of music that effects athletic performance. These four things are:

1. Rythmic Response: Your bodies response to the beat of a song
2. Musicality: combinations of cords and instruments that effect our moods while listening to a certain song.
3. Cultural Impact: Your personal response to a certain song based on social upbringing.
4. Association Factor: How we relate to a certain song based on past experiences and life associations.

According to this, the science is behind choosing the right song for you that meets all of the 4 criteria for the perfect song to get you pumped up. So a song that you may love to run to, another person may not get anything at all from it.
Some runners find that listening to music motivates them to get up and go, while others value quiet while running so that they are more in tune with their bodies.
Really when it comes down to it, staying "plugged in" while running is a personal choice. I personally think that it is best to experiment with both "natural" running, and running with devices such as watches, ipods, etc.
There is definitely something to be said for just getting out there and having nothing else between you and the road. But something a little upbeat music can get you out the door and going, and there is nothing wrong with that!
Now that you have heard all the boring scincetific facts, I am going to bless you with some of my favorite songs to run to. Please don't judge :) And remember, according to good ol Dr. Karageorghis every song has different effects on different people!
Some of my ALL TIME FAVORITE SONGS include:

• The Blackeyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
• Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha
• Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
• Jennifer Lopez - I'm Into You
• Shakira - Did it Again
• Wiz Khalifa - Mezmorized
• Kayne West - Im Your Pusha
• Destiny's Child - Solider
• Glee Soundtrack - Open Your Heart/Boderline
• Paramore - Feeling Sorry
• Eminem and Lil Wayne - No Love
• The whole Girl Talk Album
• Maria Carey - Side Effects and Cruise Control
• Outkast - The Way You Move

All pretty random huh?! I change it up depending on my mood so my music changes alot. This is just a small sample of what gets my butt in gear during runs!
So what do you think, music or no music?
What are some of your go-to "pump up" songs?

Treadmill Long Run

Confession: Im TIRED!
Working on your feet all day and running 30 miles a week will do that to ya, I guess.
So this morning when the alarm went off for my long run at 6AM, can you really blame a girl for wanting to sleep in a little bit on her only day off?!
Add on to the fact that this is what I share my bed with:

pretty darn cute huh?
So yes, I kept sleeping and by the time I was up and ready to go at 830 this morning it was already 78 degrees. Oh yeah, and my garmin was dead. Guess you kinda have to charge those things if you plan on using them often. who knew?
So I did what any good/totally insane runner would do, and turned to the treadmill.
Yes. 12 miles. ON.THE.TREADMILL. I got to watch Good Morning America, Regis and Kelly, AND two episodes of say yes to the dress. Lets just say everyone in the gym today was thrilled that I got there first and had control over the remote!
So I got it done. Even though it wasnt the most enjoyable thing in the world. Now its time to relax by the pool. If you ask me, it was well earned :)
I also want to thank everyone for your race suggestions! Sarah suggested a muddy buddy race which I think would be perfect. The boy even said he may just do that one with me.
Hope everyone is having a great week!
Any training set backs that you have conquered?

Drop Your Drawers and Run Wild 5k Race Recap

First of all, let me just tell you that yes, I had a goal in mind for this race.

Yes, it was a steep goal. Basically I wanted to PR for this race with a hopeful time of sub-22 minutes. This would not only be a PR for racing at this elevation, but a PR in general.

I was ready to tackle to challenge and get that time that I wanted. However, it just didn't happen :(

I think that there were a lot of things that made this goal a bit difficult. Let's start with the fact that I worked a 9 hour shift at work before jetting out of the store in my running clothes at 530 to be at the race by 6.

I got there just in the nick of time and lined up at the start line. A second thing that made my goal a little difficult was that it was HOT! I'm pretty sure it was still in the upper 80s or lower 90s even at 630.

I was hot and tired from the start! My race photographer (the boy) didn't make it until after I had already finished, so I didn't get any of those lovely finishing photos that we all know and love.

I ended up finishing with a time of 24:11 and placed 4th in my age group, 12th female overall. Not quite what I was hoping for, but I guess it just takes more time to work up speed when you are racing at a different elevation then you are used to.

After the race we got to walk around the zoo and check out the animals at night. Oh yeah, and we also got FREE BEER! I'm sensing a theme here...

Of course I had to grab my beer and head over to see my little friends from the last visit to the zoo

There was also a band playing in the zoo while everyone walked around

Not sure whats up with the outfits...but I guess dressing weird is just part of being a musician...

case in point. From fashionbombdaily.

The band also had a captive audience with one of the zoo animals...

Overall, I would say that this was an awesome race. It was fun to get to run at the zoo and it was an awesome turnout. Even though I didn't make my goal time, I still had fun and it just gives me more motivation to try try again!

What should my next race be? Anyone have any races planned that are coming up?

Race Night!

Tonight I will be running the "Drop Your Drawers and Run Wild 5K" through the Denver Zoo!

Wish me luck!

Race Recap to follow.

Favorite Running Gear

Yesterday I  got a request from Miss Erosion to do a post on my favorite running gear. I LOVE requests and I love talking about running gear, so I thought it would be the perfect post!
Here we go!
Shoes:
Currently I have two pairs that are on rotation, or used for different purposes.

• For everyday runs and training I wear the Brooks Trance 10.

• For races and longer runs (because they are lighter) I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Mizuno Wave Elixir 5:

These shoes have been loved so much that they are about to retire. I have been looking into buying the newest version of them which is the Mizuno Wave Elixir 6:

Clothing:
Here is where I am the weirdo of the bunch. I like the Nike Tempo shorts, but they are not my favorite. I feel like they fit me weird and I have found ones that I like better. These include:

• Asics Favorite Short: For some reason these just fit me the best. They are very similar to the Nike Tempos, but I like that the pocket is on the back, they fit a little better, and they are super comfortable.

• Nike Dri-Fit Tanks: I will give Nike some props for their Dri-Fit tanks, because they are my all time favorite. I like the tanks better than the t-shirts and I usually buy mine one size up so they fit a little looser. My favorite one that I own is this one, mainly because its awesome:

Other:

• Garmin Forerunner 205: Yes, I have the old old version of the forerunner. I got it a couple of years ago and newer versions have come out since, but this one has been my little running buddy for so long I just can't bear to part with her!

 

• Ipod Nano: The boy got me this for Christmas last year and I love it. Its perfect for running because it has a built in clip that you can just clip to your shorts and you don't have to buy anything extra to hold it on runs. I may do a post on my favorite running songs too, if anyone is interested!

 

• GU gels: These things are like MAGIC! I take them on all of my long runs and they really do make all the difference. So far my favorite flavor is expresso love (I prefer the chocolate or vanilla flavors over the fruit flavors)

 
These are some of the favorites that I am loving right now. I could probably make a whole other post with more, but these are the essentials right now. If anyone else has suggestions, requests, or questions about anything involving my training leave me a comment or email me. I love hearing from you guys! :)
Speaking of training, yesterday was my day off for the week, so I decided to get my long run in. I did 15 miles at an easy pace. Here are the splits:

Mile 1: 9:48
Mile 2: 9:44
Mile 3: 9:56
Mile 4: 9:39
Mile 5: 9:30
Mile 6: 9:33
Mile 7: 9:26
Mile 8: 9:23 (half way point, kicked it up just a little after this)
Mile 9: 9:19
Mile 10: 9:11
Mile 11: 9:10
Mile 12: 9:02
Mile 13: 8:43
Mile 14: 8:45
Mile 15: 8:39

Yay for negative splits! I have really been trying to make it a goal to run the second half of all of my runs faster than the first. And this run was great, I am happy with my times, for sure! I think I am getting more used to the longer distances too, because today I was barely sore at all. This is VERY encouraging for running that first marathon in a few months.
What is your favorite running gear at the moment?

Walk on the Wild Side

Being the very serious runner that I am, I decided yesterday that a trip to the zoo was a must, you know so I could pre-screen the course and such.

Ok, maybe it was just because I REALLY wanted to go the zoo...and the boy's family had free passes! Plus, remember how cute the boy is with his nieces?! I couldn't pass it up.

We were scheduled to meet the family for breakfast at 9AM, so I set the alarm for 7 the night before and got my run in before all the festivities began. I did a semi-speed run (mostly just ran fast because I knew I would catch crap if we ran late for breakfast because I had to run). Here are the splits:

Mile One: 8:45

Mile Two: 8:30

Mile Three: 8:28

Mile Four: 8:20

Mile Five: 8:08

I have been working on booking it at the end and pushing myself to finish hard. I think this will help me out in races, because usually I struggle to finish hard by the end.

After the run it was speed-ready time! This was made way easier by my awesome new haircut, that doesn't take 30 minutes just to blow dry!

We met up with the fam, had some breakfast, and then headed for some wild and crazy fun at the zoo.

We saw miniature deer (this one was full grown):

Some crazy birds:

Tigers:

And my favorite...the giraffes!

So of course I had to get a picture "beside" of them:

Way to get one out of the 5 giraffes in the picture, hun...I guess he was concentrating on more important things ;)

We saw polar bears:

Peacocks:

and penguins:

And the boys' favorite the apes!

Seriously, this was the situation for about 30 minutes at the ape cages:

Move over boys! Let the children have a turn! 

Oh yeah, we even took cheesy "couples photos" that Mike just LOVES to take.

I tired to take a picture of Tice, but he was a bit camera shy:

After walking around the entire zoo in about 100 degree heat it was about time for a little something to cool off with...thats right, you guessed it...

ICECREAM!! Chocolate, of course. I don't waste my time with vanilla! ;)

The boy eats his cone a little bit more gracefully than me.

Oh yeah, and slushies help out with the whole hydration in the heat thing too...

After a long day at the zoo, we were all ready to come home and crash. Except I kinda wanted to shop, so I forced the boy to take me to the nearest sporting goods store to scope out some running gear. (its sad how obsessed I am).

I guess it just wasn't my day, because I didn't find anything that I just HAD to have. However, the boy did pick up a massive amount of fishing gear!

And what happens when you give a boy fishing gear?

He'll want to take you fishing.

Which is just fine when you are ending an already perfect day with a beautiful sunset and a view like this:

And a few more cheesy couple pictures. (Hey, it comes with the territory, right?)

 

 

What is your favorite way to spend an entire off?

What is your favorite zoo animal?