Tag: lifestyle

me running
Running, Training

Training: Recovering and Easy Runs

Hollie

Training last week was anything but exciting.  I ran the Shamrock half last Sunday, and I can’t say I’m fully recovered from the race.  I had thought about jumping into the Love Run Half in Philadelphia yesterday, but I didn’t feel like racing hard when I didn’t feel 100%.

Most of my runs throughout the week were easy, and there was too crazy.  I ran a couple of times with my husband before he left on Tuesday.  On Saturday, I ran into one of coworkers during her first run back after an injury that involved surgery.

I did have two workouts to ease me back into running hard:

Thursday:
8X2 min hard (average 6:21 pace)
4X45 seconds hard (average 6:00 pace)
4X 30 seconds hard (average 6:00 pace…goal was 5:27)

I didn’t feel awful during my workout on Thursday, but my calves felt sore.  After my workout, I went and got ART on my calves from Dr. Kemonosh and staff, which immediately loosened them up.  Why I didn’t go earlier in the week is a mystery to me.  They are still tight, but significantly looser than beforehand.

Sunday:
As I mentioned, I contemplated jumping into the Love Run, but my body was not ready.  Could I have finished?  Yes but I know I wouldn’t have been happy or thrilled with the result.
3X1 mile (6:20 average per mile)
3×1000 (6:19 average per mile)
3X600 (6:01 average per mile)

While this workout was slower than anticipated, I was proud of myself for getting out the door and getting it done.

Next Week:

Next week I’m racing the Phillies 5k (In the last 12 months, it is my fastest 5k).  I’m looking forward to it.  I have talked with my coach recently, and I believe I run my best as well as being mentally happier when I race frequently.  We will be adding several 5ks in my calendar and racing more frequently.

Posts from the week:
Why 5ks are the Best
Shamrock Half Marathon (1:26.49)
3 Years or Reviewing NJ Diners

Questions fo you:
Do you find yourself running better when you race more or less?
What was your best workout of the week?

life

Weekly Recap

Hollie

I’ve thought about doing a personal life weekly recap.  I have a lot of friends and family that read LOLZ blog, but I barely ever talk about my “real life.”  While this blog is heavily running focused, it isn’t everything I do.

Sometimes I think I’m living a double life: Blogging and the outside world.  I’m not hiding anything from blogging, but I tend to microblog on Instagram or Facebook.

I thought I would start adding more personal life updates as well.

This week was a great week. My sister in law Lindsay graduated with her master’s degree.  I made the quick trip down to the DC area to watch her graduation.  It was a very good time seeing my family, and I definitely miss them.

mastes graduation

Yesterday I got my blood drawn for Inside Tracker.  I was given a discount to talk about my experience. To be honest, I was nervous about the entire thing.  I scheduled the appointment just over two weeks ago, and I wanted it to be over sooner than later.  I’ve never dealt well with needles.  I  can’t relax enough for them to get into the vein.  I also pass out the majority of the time giving blood or getting shots.  Needless to say, needles are a big deal for me. I paid the extra fee to have a certified nurse come to my house and take my blood at 7 am.  Since we had to fast 12 hours beforehand and I wake up hungry in the morning, this was the best option for me.  The Nurse was kind and helpful, and I watched Netflix, which kept my mind off it.  Everything went smoothly, and I was shocked at how easy it was.

I decided to try Inside Tracker for a number of reasons.  Since we are in the military, I don’t have a Primary Care doctor. It would take a lot of hoops for me to get a “routine blood test” after just getting one from my fracture (only with a few minerals such as calcium and Vitamin D) and the results being normal.  The miliary has great insurance, but I have no life-threatening conditions and in fact, I am healthy.  My quality of life is fine and I wanted a blood test “just to know” and to make sure that my nutrients are appropriate for running.  InsideTracker, while expensive, was the best route for me to take.  I have also seen several bloggers and others use and have great success with it.  Plus, Insider Tracker gives out fun bandaids.

InsiderTracker

Since my fracture still doesn’t have an exact cause I’m hoping my blood work might reveal something.  Either way knowing that information will be good knowledge to have, and I’m looking forward to the results. Once I have the results, I’ll be sure to talk more about it.

Last night for work we also hosted our first “Paint Your Own Race Medal Holder” event.  It was a lot of fun, and we sold out the event.  They have painting parties, so we thought, why not a race medal painting party?

running co paint night

Recent Posts: 
26 Things I learned before Age 26
Training Last Week (Summary: not so great)
Hiking at Bear Mountain (New York State)
A Day in the Life

Question for you:

How was your week?  Have you been busy? Quiet?

 

flying

Flying to North Jersey

Hollie

Last week my husband and I took a flight up to Northern New Jersey.  As I mentioned last time, if you have a pilot’s license and are qualified on the plane, you can rent an airplane.  So that’s exactly what we did. It’s like renting a car except you rent a plane.

Throughout the years, LOLZ blog has taken many different turns about life and other random topics.  Most recently, flying has seen its way into my life.  Like going to diners, it’s a fun hobby that both my husband and I enjoy doing so it makes sense to blog about it.  Since I’m not running much, I need something to talk about right?

tim and I

This time, we decided to fly up to Pompton Plains, New Jersey.  Neither of us had been to that general area of New Jersey, so we thought why not?  We also wanted to check out the Pompton Queen Diner.  It was recently ranked as one of the top diners in New Jersey, and I can see why! That deserves it’s own post for another day…

We flew out of Southern New Jersey and headed north along the Delaware Riverfront overlooking Philadelphia.  We saw a prison from above which I thought the design was neat.  Not neat enough that I would want to be behind bars though…

prison

We flew over Princeton.  It was so neat to see it from an aerial view.  I thought I might even see some of my friends doing a track workout or something.

princeton

Next, we saw New York from afar.  As you can see, there is a layer of smog there.  For our next flight, we want to fly to either Long Island or somewhere out that direction. For security reasons, you aren’t able to fly too close to New York.

new york city

Where we landed, in Pompton Plains, is a hilly and wooded area.  The runway sort of appeared out of nowhere.  pompton plains flying

Once we landed in Pompton Plains, we headed to the Pompton Queen Diner, which was only a few miles away.  In fact, we ended up walking back from the diner to the airport.  It was a fun little adventure.

pompton plains 1

It was a beautiful walk back to the airport, and I’m glad we did.

nature walk

I enjoy flying and checking out various places. Both my husband and I enjoy flying around and exploring new areas of the tristate area.  I’m not sure where we will go next!

flying

Incase you missed the Flight to Cape May.

Questions for you:

Have you ever flown in a private plane?

Do you have any recommendations of places to fly?

Personal

Mother’s Day

Hollie

As most readers know, I’m extremely close to my mother.  I’m not a mom myself, but I can truly say my mom has always been there for me every situation.

When I was younger, my mom took care of my brothers and I while my dad was away on travel and deployments.

When we moved back to the US from overseas, my mom moved three children under the age of 6, 2 dogs and two cats across the world by herself.

During the “rough” middle school and teenage years, I wasn’t a pleasant child, and my mom was still always there for me.  Even during the yelling and screaming.

She was there for me through childhood turmoils of high schools and helped me keep on when I didn’t think I would.

When I went away to college, she was always just a phone call away.

Mom and I

She was there for me when I switched majors, ended a relationship and quit swimming all within a month of each other.

Matt, mom and I
My brother Matt’s graduation

My mom has always been supportive and I could never ask for anyone better.

Now that I’ve flown the coop she is still here for me.  She was there for during wedding planning and helping have the most memorable day of my life.

My mom, sister in law and niece and I
My mom, sister in law and niece and I

She even made the gorgeous Flower Girl dress.

flower girl

My mom has truly always there for me. Every year when I reflect upon everything she has done for me, it makes me more grateful.  She is supportive, and I could never imagine it any other way.

Now I’m incredibly lucky to be so close with my mother in law as well.  She has been there for both my husband and I throughout our life together.

Moms
Moms
So thank you, moms.
Running, Running Reads

Broad Street 10 Miler (1:01.59)

Hollie

My training for April was erratic at best.  Originally, I had hoped the Broad Street 10 miler would be my Spring goal race. Then my training for April altered my plans, and Broad Street simply became a “make it through race”.

As the race drew closer, the weather forecast became progressively worse.  By the evening before, the race was predicted to be in the 40s and pouring rain.  It’s weather I know too well, and as most people know, Shamrock broke me.

I kept my head up high, and my goal became to finish and do well.  My PR from Broad Street was a 1:05.20 in 2014.  In 2015, I ran it in 1:05.39.  Despite the rain and erratic training, I was determined to set a course PR.I knew my fitness was much better than previous years.

Both Tim’s parents, as well as mine, made the drive to run so we had a full house.  On Sunday morning, we woke up and drove to the start.  My husband dropped us off, we went to the bathroom and headed to the start.

broad street 10 miler 1 dads

As a last minute decision, I opted to use my Gortex jacket to stay dry.  I had no plans to drop the jacket and pinned the bib on the outside.

We stood around, and I was drenched at the start.  I didn’t want a repeat of Shamrock, and I was nervous the race might be.  We started the race and as usual, the first mile was elbow to elbow.  In a 40,000 person ten milers there is no such thing as personal space.

Broad Street 10 miler
Via Broad Street Flickr

I saw several friends, and we hit the first mile in 6:05.  I thought: Woah nelly that’s probably too fast.

The second mile went without too much, excitement and I ran it in 6:17.  I doubt myself a lot, and I panicked I was going to positive split like Shamrock.

My goal of the third mile was just to make it through.  I wanted to see where I was time wise for the 5k.  I hit the 3rd mile in 18:30 and the 5k in 19:10.  I was pleased and began to focus on everything else.

Nothing of note happened during the 3rd and 4th mile.  The pack I was running with dropped me, and I found myself alone.  I grabbed Gatorade and hit the 4th mile in 25:45.

When I got the 5th mile, the owner of the running store I work at cheered for me.  I gave a meek wave which was a cross between: will he judge me if I wave and my hands are too cold.

The fifth mile of Broad Street always goes by the fastest because it’s cut up by the turn around city hall.  By the time you’re around city hall, you are at the 6th mile.  I ran the 5th mile in 6:07 and was surprised and pleased.

Both the 6-7th mile went by with nothing eventful.  I ran mile 6 in 6:12 and 7 in 6:11.

During the 8th mile, I noticed many men beginning to pass me.  Was I fading? Was I dying? No…they just had more energy I guess.  I was running two of my faster miles.

I nicknamed miles 8-10 the rush of dudes. 

The rush of dudes was a strange occurrence because not one woman passed me but at least 30 men did.

During the last mile, I saw it would be an extremely close push to a 1:02.  I decided I might have it in me and went for it.  Keep in mind; I have zero kick.  In fact, I might go slower when I try to kick.

Broad Street 10 miler
Via Broad Street Flickr (You can see me tucked behind the male in the blue/black singlet)

I finished the last mile in 6:07 and crossed the finish line in 1:02.01.

I was 34th female overall and 14th in my age group.  Since I didn’t age group place, my gun time was 1:01.59 so I guess that counts.

At the finish line via Instagram
At the finish line via Instagram

Thoughts:

I’m pleased with this race and have no complaints.  The weather was awful for everyone, and as I said yesterday, you can’t control the weather.  I’ve been 3/3 of bad weathered major Spring Races.  It was a course PR of 3.5, and if I had run an extra 5k, I do believe I would have Pred.

Questions for you:

What is the biggest race you’ve run?

Do you have a good kick?