Friday Feature- Top 5 Favorite Songs Right Now

Another weekend is upon us! Finally! I always feel like the first part of each week creeps by and then all-of-a-sudden it's the weekend. Does anyone else feel this way?

I wanted to share with you my top 5 favorite songs right now that really PUMP ME UP. These are the no-fail songs that I put on during the last part of my runs when I want to push it and concur that final stretch. You better believe that I will make sure these songs come on during those last 2-3 miles of my marathon. 

• Shark In The Water- VV Brown For whatever reason this song really gets me going. I love the beat and oftentimes find myself getting lost in the tunes. 

• Return of the Mack- Mark Morrison . I really love to listen to those early 90's rap/ hip-hop songs while running and this song gets me every time. The beat is fantastic and I love to utilize those strong moments to focus on pumping my arms and picking up my feet. 

• Get Back - The Beatles. This song brings back the best memories of Las Vegas Half Marathon last year. The Cirque Du Soleil Love Tour was AMAZING and I honestly can't help but smile whenever I hear this song. Running is supposed to be an enjoyable activity so why not put on a song that really makes you happy?!

• Just Like Fire- P!nk . I'm not sure if I will EVER get tired of this song. Every time it comes on it gives me all.the.feels and I feel so strong and powerful. We all need a song like this in our lives. This is definitely my 'sprint to the finish' song. 

• Look What You Made Me Do- Taylor Swift. Yes, I know this is a new song, but the beat is absolutely amazing and her lyrics are perfect for really gutting it out at the end of hard workout or race. 

Hanson's Marathon Method Week 8 Run down

What a week it was! This week was pretty low mileage since I had a headcold come on and wanted to get rested up for my half marathon on Saturday. I originally had wanted to race my half, but with my head still staying pretty congested I decided to just have fun and not push myself into a deeper sickness (plus I wanted to enjoy our weekend full of camping!). I still ended up getting fourth in my age group (!!!) at my race and honestly had SO MUCH FUN! It was by far the best half marathon I can ever remember having (race recap to come soon). 

Besides getting sick, I did hit my mile repeats on Tuesday so that was a huge bonus and I just ultimately took the rest of the week off from any hard runs and just focused on recovery and easy paces. 

Monday: 6 miles Easy @ 10:20 on the treadmill

Tuesday: 1.5 warm-up; 3 @ 7:20 (600 R) ; 1.5 cool-down- 7 miles total

Wednesday: Sick- took a rest day

Watching Sheep Herders because what else are you supposed to do when you're sick?! 

Thursday: 3 miles easy on the trails @ 9:54

Friday: 3.25 miles easy @ 10:00

Saturday: RACE DAY! 13.2 miles @ 9:17 - 2:01:37- I turned off my auto alerts for mile splits on my Garmin and just went by feel. I negative-split my race time by over 2 and a half minutes and kept my heart rate under 160. I never pushed myself too hard and felt super recovered after I finished. I also got 4th in my age group!

Sunday: Rest Day

Sunshine Goods:

• Kept my health and rest a priority
• Fitness is still there!
• 4th in my age group
• Negative-split by a huge amount!!
• Kept positive the entire race and never felt like I had 'hit the wall'
• Hit my mile repeats

Gloomy Goods:

• Got sick (bummer!)
• Didn't hit my mileage for the week 
• Didn't get a PR for the half like originally planned
• Took an extra rest day
• So much running = so much laundry!!!

Tips to run your best while still enjoying the race-cation!

I've traveled to a few different races where they involved planes, taxis, rental cars, shuttles, trams, cancelled flights, buses, snowstorms, etc. and now I kinda feel like I've got some pretty good insight compared to the first time I went to one! Here's some helpful tips to help you run your best race, while also finding time to enjoy the location!

1. Plan your travel plans around the season. For example, I now know that I need to not only book a flight in January in Colorado early in the morning (better chance of it either getting delayed rather than cancelled/ being able to still leave sometime that same day) and only book it out of Denver. Work in the worst-case scenario situations (like a flight getting completely cancelled) and know your other options for getting out. 

2. Write down a rough plan for what day you want to go to the expo and a few sight-seeing items that you want to do. This is really important to plan out if those activities include a lot of walking. In Disney, I knew that the expo takes a lot of walking so I got there 2 days before the race so I could do the expo and one park that day and save my legs the day before the race.

3. Research places to eat and know what works best for you (food-wise) before the race. I know that I have a pretty sensitive stomach when it comes to race-day, but I also know that I perform my best if I eat heavier meals (breakfast/lunch/early afternoon snack) earlier on in the day and a lighter meal for dinner. I don't do too much research about meals after the race or two days prior, but I definitely look at a few menu options the day before my race. I also try to plan ahead and know a few fast-food type options that work well for me. I know that I can eat a Starbucks sausage, egg, and cheese and be totally fine (and these are pretty common where my races are held), so I sometimes will have that the day before my race. 

4. Never schedule a race at the end of your vacation. This MIGHT seem like a no-brainer, but I did this before and will never do it again! You're tired at the end of your vacation, running during vacation is sometimes hard, and your diet normally suffers a bit when you're out of your comfort zones. Plan to arrive a day or two before the race and have a few days afterwards to enjoy everything!

5. Plan almost a total rest day (or even half day) before your race. Lying by the pool is normally my go-to afternoon before a race or doing a bit sight-seeing from the car. It's relaxing, helps you rejuvenate before the big day, and gets you even more excited to do the race and see more of the scenerary where you are!

There you have it! A few tips that I've learned when traveling for races. I hope some of them will help you on your next race-cation!

Happy Father's Day! Hope you are able to either spend time with your loved ones or skype/facetime/chat with them for even a few minutes. Family is everything :) 

Any tips on traveling to a race?

Some go-tos for you while you are on a race-cation?

Revel Rockies Race Expo & Pre-Race day Necessities!

Race day is done and gone, I can't believe it! I'll have a race recap up soon, but today I am recapping the day before my race and the expo.

I started my day with a nice shake-out run with Stella out on the trails around the lake. We did an easy 2 miles with some pick-ups towards the end. After packing everything up in the car, we were off to Denver!

Sorry for the blurry photo. I think I was rushing and trying to be "stealth like"

The Expo was held at the Colorado School of mines and they have you park about .25 miles away from the expo! It was mid-90s by the time we arrived (early afternoon) and HOT! The expo doesn't have anything too crazy there, but I really enjoy that. I grabbed my bib, a REVEL hat that I had been eyeing, walked by some of the vendors (maybe a total of 7 there), and I was out of there! I love the big race expos (like Disney or Rock 'n Roll), but also really love a small one that is simple and doesn't have any of the extra stuff.

My REVEL hat!

We then drove the race course and stopped by a local park to let Stella cool-off in Bear Creek for a bit! It was off to the hotel to relax and unwind for the evening. We stayed at the Sheraton-West (one of the official race hotels) and it was in a really good location. We had food from the downstairs restaurant for dinner (just pasta and butter for me), so it was super easy and convient! It was only about 15 minutes until the start line, but they actually provided transportation directly from the hotel TO the start line! This was perfect because Alex was not looking forward to getting up at 3 AM to drive me to where the buses would pick me up and bring me to the start line. 

Flat Stacy ready to run her 4th 26.2 !

Stella was even happy, but that's until she learned she couldn't run 26.2 miles with me in the morning and got a little upset! Luckily, a bone distracted her :)

Any necessary things you do the day before a race?

Race expo- do you like the big or smaller ones?

Any favorite pre-race day dinners that you HAVE to have or do you just go with the flow?

Top 10 of my Favorite Songs that Pump Up my Marathon

Hi Friends! Well, it's a good thing that I have scheduled this post because it wouldn't be wise to be racing and posting at the same time! Hopefully by this point, I'm almost halfway through the race and going strong! I'll post about my race as soon as I can today, but for NOW I thought I'd share with you my top 10 must-have songs on my marathon playlist. So get ready to look these up and download them (and maybe start a dance party too?).

1. Rise- Katy Perry

2. Just Like Fire (From "Alice Through the Looking Glass") - P!nk

3. Too Close- Next

4. Stop- Spice Girls

5. Return of the Mack- Mark Morisson

6. Ready to Run- Dixie Chicks

7. Come Together- The Beatles

8. 24k Magic- Bruno Mars

9. You Be Killin Em- Fabolous

10. Sweet Child O' Mine- Guns & Roses

There ya go! Top 10 of my favorite songs that no matter what state of mind I'm in, I'm able to push through it with the help of these pump-up songs! 

Do you have any good songs that are your favorite to run to?

Keep the same playlist for each race or make a new one?

Do you time your playlist out for the race course or have it on shuffle? --> I just did my first 'timed-out' playlist (with the super pump-up jams to come either on the harder sections/ later on in the race) & will let you know how it goes!