Tag Archives: half marathon training

Boston Moves & Food

During this summer in Boston I have continued to eat great food, while also trying out some new fitness options (and keeping with old favorites). I’m back with another round-up post to catch you guys up, and this one focuses on both moves, and the food that makes all that moving worth it.

Vélo-city Spin in Back Bay

I went to Vélo-city once before, and was excited when one of the owners recently reached out and invited me and my partner in crime Emily to try out a class! We opted for this past Tuesday’s 5:30pm Britney vs Beyonce ride. FYI, Vélo-city offers a TON of fun theme rides, including country, which Emily and I plan to return for.

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The door to the studio is in an alley and looks like a portal to another world, like something out of Harry Potter.

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Zooma Zoomin: My Second Half Marathon

I am receiving a complimentary race entry from Zooma in exchange for sharing my training/race experience on my blog and social media.

Those who have been reading my blog for a year or more may remember that last summer, I trained for my first half marathon! For those who do not remember or were not aware, here are some of those posts to catch you up:

Though I am a self proclaimed non-runner, I still got such a high off of training for that big goal, and conquering it. I will never forget the overwhelming emotion and pride I felt as I crossed the finish line, with tears in my eyes, at the Zooma Women’s Half Marathon on the Cape last September.

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Reach the Beach Part 3: Two Runs & Done!

Before I conclude my Reach the Beach Relay recaps…an update on my stubborn right IT band! Thank you so much for your comments of support, advice, and your own shared experiences. I ended up trying to find an “emergency” PT appointment, but it didn’t work out due to scheduling/time/monetary restrictions. Someone suggested on Twitter (love that social media crowdsourcing!) that I try out Boston Body Worker, and I noticed while visiting the website that they offered an option to just walk in and get kinesiology taping after a quick assessment. I’d definitely heard some good things about that option and knew a sports massage could leave me too sore to race at this point, so I thought it was worth a shot, especially since I got $20 off for mentioning that I was a referral!

Of course I selected pink!

The tape lasts 3-4 days so I should have it on during the half marathon tomorrow. I don’t feel a difference yet…who knows if I even will. I am going NUTS taking it easy this week. I haven’t done cardio since Monday morning and even that was just about 15 minutes. I’ve been trying to get my heart rate up without using my legs, such as by doing rapid clean-and-presses. I also am making an effort to focus on upper body lifting, and it’s definitely paid off – I’ve been feeling sore! My abs are getting more attention too (I took a pilates class last night). Still, I really REALLY hope I finish the race tomorrow because I know then, all the rest will be worth it. If I don’t finish, it will be hard not to feel like a failure.

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Road Block

Interrupting my Reach the Beach Relay recapping (check out parts one and two if you missed them, because I do hope to post part three this week) to share some new frustrations I have encountered in my training for my first ever half marathon, the Zooma Cape Cod half, which by the way is THIS SATURDAY. How did that happen?!

I wish I had more time not because I don’t want to run the race, but because I’m having some issues that are much worse than the shin splints I dealt with earlier in my training. During Reach the Beach, I started feeling some irritation in my right IT band during my second leg. This continued during my third leg but after a couple of days of rest, the pain was gone. So I went for my first post-RTB run last Wednesday morning, a 3 miler, and once it was done I knew I was in some trouble. My IT band hurt the rest of the day – it was even difficult to get up and down stairs. So I told myself, only one more run until the half, and not for a few more days.

Flash forward to this past weekend in Newport, working the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival for 90+ Cellars. I took Saturday as my rest day (I’d done a bootcamp – but with low impact modifications – on Thursday and the StepMill on Friday, and had felt pretty good). Last night, I ended up going for a run when I got back from my trip. I was going to take yesterday off too, but the food and drink of the weekend were really getting to me. Lots of wine, LOTS of cheese, LOTS and LOTS of bread. I felt like I had to do something, and the dusk and weather and sunset definitely provided some pretty running scenery.

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Five Things Friday: My Week

I’m glad you all related so much to last week’s Five Things Friday post about aspects of life that have REALLY been making me feel adult-like lately. Those reminders have continued throughout this week, and I also want to give an update on how I’ve been doing since my particularly overwhelming weekend. Then I got to thinking – there are five days in a work week, and it’s Five Things Friday. So I’m going to share how each day of my week went/has been going, in an effort to catch you up on all the things.

Link up with Clare today if you are also rambling on about five things!

1. Monday

I knew all I wanted to do Monday was go to work, go to spin class, and stay in watching the Emmys. One of those things didn’t happen – spin class. Did I not feel well? Did I not have time? No, I just didn’t want to go. I got out of work late and the class was halfway over. I could’ve made it to half the class or gone to the gym to do my own workout, but I was starving. I was exhausted. So i went home, heated up the casserole I’d prepared the night before, popped a bottle of Prosecco (which I ended up not drinking half of and pouring out #singlegirlproblems), and watched approximately 20% of the Emmys. And then I went to bed, because it was absolutely necessary.

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Marvelously Overwhelmed

I had a marvelous weekend, but it was busy, and left me extremely overwhelmed. Like to the point of sobbing on the phone to my mom and not being able to follow through on Sunday’s plans because I worked myself up to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. I seem to always need to re-learn the same lesson, every few months, about over-exerting myself. This summer has been so fun and as much as I’m dreading the colder weather, I think I need fall to get here so that I’ll start slowing down. (Oh but I’m travelling three weekends in September, I’ll try not to think about that for now.)

Link up with Katie today to share your marvelous!

Still, there is plenty of marvelous about this past weekend in CT (yes, another one) to be thankful for.

Marvelous is…meeting my parents at Mohegan Sun for another overnight stay. The fam can’t seem to get enough of the casino lately and I’m not complaining about it one bit!

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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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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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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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