Still snowy out?

Day 4!

Today was a lazy day. It's still cold and wet outside and I just couldn't put together energy to go anywhere. Must have been all that laundry... Way too much laundry with 2 a day workouts!

My brain definitely won out on this run. I got in a mile before I was ready to call it quits so I finished out my workout on the elliptical. Not a proud run day but I went, I ran and I feel better for it. 

Well there it is..lazy, unmotivated Sunday to counteract the productive Saturday! Go figure! When will I get TWO productive weekend days? Oh well.

How was your weekend? Productive? 

4/365 complete. (8 miles for 2015) 

Keep running,

Lisa

Snow day!

Day 3! 

Today was a SUPER productive little Saturday. I put away all my Christmas decorations, cleaned the whole house and did all the laundry! (Holy laundry after working out twice a day... :/)

My pretty ($20!) tree! And now it's gone...

Then it snowed...I have a total love hate relationship with snow. I love playing in it, running in it and sitting on the couch with coffee staring at it...basically I love it when I don't have to drive. So today was the perfect snow day!

The only time I had to venture outside was to run...I took a loop around the complex and decided it was a bit icy so I ducked into the gym to round out my run at 3 miles. 

Now I'm warm and toasty inside with my little family getting some much needed puppy cuddles. 

Happy snow day!

3/365 complete. 

Keep running,

Lisa

Yoga and a little run

Today was day 2! It's been awhile since I've been out for a run (holidays make me lazy-- mmmm cookies!) so needless to say my legs were feeling yesterday's run a little bit. 

But today was yoga Friday! Every Friday the girls...and some guys ( it's weird but fun) at work do yoga on our lunch break. We pretty much just follow the p90x yoga for the first 45-60 minutes. It's pretty intense but I love love love it!! (If you're interested in the whole p90x thing see my girl Allison at allisonmaeb.blogspot.com-- she can hook you up!)

The workout was great but I still hadn't gotten my miles in for the day so I told myself I would go when I got home from work.. Except then this happened!!

And then this!

He's just so adorable I couldn't resist some puppy cuddles. So after daddy got home, and could takeover cuddle duty from me, I headed off to the gym to get in a quick run. (It's too cold and I'm a wuss after training for Boston last winter!) 

That's me! Watching "say yes to the dress." Hey a girl can dream! 

Anyway. Another 2 mile run today, I was planning on doing more but I wanted to get home to my adorable little family. Longer tomorrow perhaps? 

Doesn't matter the mileage. 2/365 done. 

How many miles did you do today?

Keep running,

Lisa

1/365

Day 1 COMPLETE! 

I had a very relaxing New Year's Day.. Brian had to work so I was home with the pup all day. We took a nice long nap and cuddled watching movies on the couch. I ignored the laundry, the dishes and the rest of the to-do list and it was nothing short of perfect. 

Eventually I got my butt in gear and decided to get focused on my running and weight loss goals.. after all it was the first. So here it is! My fridge.. all decorated and ready to keep me motivated! What do you think? Do visuals work for you?

Ignore the junk on the top of the fridge

After getting all motivated with the fridge, I was ready to get my butt in gear and get that first run of the year done! I laced up and headed out. 2 miles down. Then I got really motivated, and hit the gym for an hour... WAHOO!

Sneaks!

Well there it is. Day 1 in the books. 2 miles down. 364 days... 

keep running,

Lisa

#run365

The whole Christmas - Pre New Year week always gets me thinking. I think about how I spent too much on Christmas and vow that next year will be different (Spoiler alert - it won't.) I think about how I ate too much this holiday season and again vow that next year will be different (Spoiler alert - it won't.) And I think about what I want this new year to bring.

From a facebook post.. 

I saw this on facebook the other day and it got me thinking even more, do I always try this new year new me crap?? I try every year to lose weight, have more patience and watch less tv. (Spoiler alert - I don't, I can't and I won't.) In fact I'm pretty sure I have a Pinterest board called new year - new me. Well clearly that works every year right ?!?! 

So this year I want to be different, no BIG and SUPER far reaching goals that I'll just get disappointed if I don't make. I want to make ONE resolution per se to cover it all, ONE small thing to do daily, and the rest will be hopes for the new year. 

So that brings me to  the title of this post... #Run365 I'm not on twitter, I rarely use instagram and I NEVER use hashtags... but well it seemed to fit. 

This year's resolution will be to STREAK! ... no not that kind of streaking (didn't we already cover that I needed to lose weight!?!?) I'm going to RUN 365 days. That's right. Every. Single. Day.

To me, this is a resolution that is totally attainable. I thought about putting a mileage goal for the day, the month or the year. But frankly, I don't think that matters. We all have good running days and bad, so I simply promise to myself that I WILL lace up my sneakers EVERY day, I will push myself out that front door and I will RUN, every day, for 365. 

From the interwebs... again.  I'm lazy. But I do LOVE stridebox!

Holidays, vacations, rain, snow, shine all will provide a different background, backdrop and  affect on me. I don't care where or when I run, as long as its every day.

yes... from the interwebs.

So because mom always asks why I do crazy things like this... here's why mom... 

1. I love attainable goals.

2. I want to do another marathon this year.

3. I eat better after a run, here's to hoping the weight loss sticks this year! (this is the part where you cross your fingers... or tell me to put down the chocolate)

4. I want to have more patience this year, and do less complaining. I'll complain to God, myself, the weather, the stars and the pavement. But not to people. At least not as much. (I'm still human)

5. That whole tv thing.. If I'm running I can't watch it right??

So there it is, splashed all over this (hardly) read blog, where you handful of people that actually read this thing (hi Mom!) will hopefully hold me accountable. I'll try to blog every day (yeah right, we've seen how good my blog streakin' is) or facebook post every day using that clever little hashtag... 

0/365.. tomorrow it begins.. Happy New Year! :)

keep running, 

Lisa

The Greatest Day of my .... .Life!?!

The Boston Marathon was on April 21st. That means it has been roughly 4-5 months since I've written anything.. whoops... BUT I started this blog with the intentions of writing about my running leading up to my BIG day, and after I crossed that finish line I KNEW I wanted that moment to myself. I wasn't ready to share what it all meant to me.

Well here goes it.. 

My parents came into town a couple days before the race and we had a TON of touristy things planned. Salem, Rockport, Newport.. we were BUSY! Overall it was a terrific distraction from the stress of the big day. 

Saturday we spent the day in Boston and walked around the runners expo for awhile... There is soo much running gear out there. I got my bib number and we ventured out so my parents could see the finish line. 

Bib Number!

Finish Line!

Sunday we had Easter Lunch with Brian's parents then headed back into Boston where we stayed at a hotel for the night. My parents ventured out to grab dinner, but Brian and I took it easy, watched a movie and I went to bed early after laying out all my gear. 

Monday morning I was up early.. but not because I had to.. I didn't end up leaving the hotel until 8:15 since I was in the last corral since I was running for the First Responders. Brian took a cab with me down to the common to board the bus and stayed with me until I was off!

Hotel room pre-race photo. Thanks MOM!

I was totally nervous, people on the bus were super chatty but I didn't know what to expect and I didn't know anyone! I just tried to stay focused on what was coming up and I hoped my Dad and Birdie were watching from above. 

Finally our bus pulled into Athletes Village! Very exciting. I was a complete ball of nerves. This whole time was kind of a blur... I got my picture taken, stripped out of my warm up clothes, ate my banana, used the bathroom (ok maybe I used it like a dozen times..) and called Brian to tell him I was there... 

WAHOO!!!

Holy Moly People!

Next thing I know we are making our way to the starting line! (Which is NOT super close to Athletes Village.. we walked for EVER!) Once the crowd of people started running I couldn't stop smiling... this was it! The moment I trained for, the moment I've been waiting for.. We were off!

A friend from work captured this gem.. 

I won't go into detail for the whole 26.2 miles... its far.. I still don't think it's easy..(I now think 5k's are a walk in the park.. go figure) but I did it. It was TOUGH. My leg hurt.. really bad.... Heartbreak hill was NOT FRIENDLY... and I saw LOTS of people in the medical tents. 

I didn't finish the marathon with some amazing time, but I finished. I had really bad shin splints in my legs, they were bruised up and down and my left leg was a borderline stress fracture. It was painful. I walked. I ran. I walked some more. 

BUT this.. this sign... this was what I needed. When I saw the Citgo sign (a LANDMARK in Boston) I knew that I was getting closer... I knew I could finish this, that was all that I wanted, to prove that despite my ups and downs and my non-runner body I could do it. 

oh sign.. how I LOVED seeing you... 

Despite everything, this might have been one of the greatest days of my life. Everything was amazing. From the crowds cheering "Boston Strong" to the people high-fiving me and yelling "You got this orange shirt!" (next time.. def putting my name on my shirt) 

The greatest moment of the day was DEFINITELY taking that right on Hereford and left on Boylston. Despite me taking forever to get to the finish... there were TONS of people cheering me on.. I picked up the pace and pulled straight into the finish! :) I was HOME!

I'm pretty sure I was crying.. and so was mom. <3

 

Family!

My Biggest Supporter! Brian xoxo

Well that's it.. the greatest moment of my life.... so far.. :) I've spent the last few months recovering from the leg pain.. Happy to report we're all healed up and back to running!

CRAZY HAPPY FACE!

Onto the next one right?

Happiest Run

Yesterday I had the happiest run!

The day didn't start out so great, I forgot my work badge sitting on my dresser, work was slow and I just didn't feel great. I went to the gym per usual at lunchtime and the girls really kept me motivated to keep pushing! So thankful for them! :)

On my drive home I still hadn't decided whether I was going to head out for my 4 miler or not. My hip hurt, my head hurt and I kept telling myself... well it's not like I didn't already work out today!

But of course I'm a sucker for beautiful weather and BOY was it BEAUTIFUL yesterday! With the whole daylight savings, it was still pretty sunny out, so I laced up and headed out figuring if my hip hurt I could always turn around.

But I kid you not, I was GLOWING. I couldn't stop SMILING. Just such a happy run. Nothing hurt. I found my rhythm almost instantly (usually it takes a good mile before I'm cruisin' in a happy place) and EVERY song that came on my ipod was a happy song.

I must have looked nuts to all the cars, smiling smiling smiling!

I'm not sure if it was the sun shining, the 50 degree weather or the fact that I DIDN'T have to wear a reflective vest and headlamp for an evening run. Either way, I was happy.

Beautiful!

It's amazing how one simple short 4 miler can make all the difference. A day that started out blahh ended amazing.  I'm hopeful I can find my happy place again tonight...

What's your happy place?