7 Things

Happy Monday! I had the weekend off, which was SO nice, but also- time went by way too quickly. Can I please have a few more days off? I would also really love being woken up every morning by Alex saying that blueberry waffles are waiting for me downstairs.

We got our date night in our home gym Saturday night. I got in some strength and yoga, while Alex got in some hiking 🥾

I got in my long run Saturday too before my Physical Therapy Appointment (Hilary McCloy is amazing if you’re in the area and looking fir a PT) and all 10.8 miles were on the treadmill. I love our Nordictrack and think that there will be many more long runs together in our future. I also followed the iFit Boston Marathon course, which is so inspiring and makes me miss racing so much!

I saw this on Instagram the other day and I feel seen. This is 100% me after working a few night shifts in a row and trying to adjust back to normal sleep hours.

Brady is also really enjoying our home gym (….or well- the plant in our home gym really)

We’ve started playing bird noises from Alexa during the day for our cats and Maple loves it.

30 minutes of cycling, 1.5 mile snowshoe, PT exercises, and an easy 5 mile run to round out the weekend (also currently eating Brownie Sundaes for dessert as I type this out).

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-How was your weekend?

-Tips for keeping cats off of plants?!?
-Brownie Sundaes- yay or nay?

Reflecting on April- Running, Strength, Life

For a month of quarantine, April seemed to go by pretty fast for me! I think my birthday month always does. It also signified one year since I left my full-time job and went back to school full-time (SCARY! EXCITING!). I had a BIG month of training with some of the best long runs I’ve ever had. I mixed in middle tempo miles on roads that weren’t flat and just pushed along at a steady pace. I stayed with it when runs felt like a slog and really tried to slow down on my recovery runs. I honestly still want to slow down more -> goal for the month of May.

I also still continued to do strength training generally 3 days a week and yoga 2-3 days a week. I’m really proud of continuing to both of these because my mileage jumped quite a bit this month from last (~30 miles). Normally when my mileage goes up = strength/stretching goes down.

I’m also proud that I was able to find some elevation to gain during my hilly recovery runs (over 1,000’ is pretty good when you don’t necessarily live in the mountains)- they’re actually one of my favorite days because it reminds me vaguely of being on the trails. All of our trails are closed here, so sadly exploring isn’t an option right now.

I celebrated my 30th birthday! Also weirdly since then I’ve been feeling achier than normal- is that what happens when you turn 30? IDK but oddly feeling no longer ‘like a Spring chicken everyday’.

I’ve got ~14 weeks left of classes before entering the “REAL WORLD” again full-time and am currently starting to apply for jobs. Right now, I’m really interested in working in an ICU-type of environment (also currently interested in becoming a CRNA someday)- so trying to figure out the best positions to help set me up for that later on. I’m also trying to decide on how far I want to travel for a job! It’s exciting/scary. Yup, just adding more fun into the whole pandemic situation over here ; )

I’ve also been loving a lot of Epsom Salt baths lately given that it’s been basically windy/rainy/cloudy for 30 days straight (or so it seems…)

I’d love to know how your month went! Anyone else feel like it went by really fast? What were some of your ‘silver linings’ in April?

I'm BACK TO DO IT AGAIN.

You know those things where you’re thinking to yourself ‘gee, well I MIGHT be a bit crazy, but 'WHY NOT?!?’’ - that’s me most of the time. Ha. And I suppose this latest new goal basically solidifies my craziness.

I’ve signed up for a 100 miler on August 14th, 2020. And my big goal? Do it in 24 hours.

Oh, and my other big goal? Fundraise some money for my favorite non-profit, MS Run The US because well, why not?

Once I committed to training for my first 100 miler, I thought back to my Relay experience in 2018 and how amazing of an experience it was to run for more than just me. Running is a very selfish sport (you have to take hours upon hours to train away from your family/friends!) and running a 100 miles just because didn’t seem right to me. I wanted it to be more than just running 100 miles in 24 hours- I wanted to connect with my new community, meet others who have been impacted by MS, and draw upon these experiences during my 100 mile race.

I’d love to say that my big goal is to again fundraise $10,000, but that most likely is not possible given my very busy student schedule these next 6 months (ahem- HOW is it already only 6 months away?!?). BUT I want to see if I can get to $1,000 (maybe $10 from 100 people) and who knows beyond that. I have a few different fundraising ideas and hopefully can get those in motion within the next 3-4 weeks.

I have my fundraising page up here and also have a Facebook fundraiser page as well if that is easier for you to donate.

Maybe you’re unable to donate, but want to help me reach my goal in another way? AWESOME! I’d love to have anyone jump in with me for a few miles (it’s a 2.6 mile loop course - race website is here), help me with my fundraising campaign (help me get the word out- share it with co-workers, friends, family members), or come support me during my race!

It also happens to start the same day that the 2020 MS Run The US Relay Team finishes the entire relay in New York City! Coincidence? Maybe. But I’ll take whatever signs I can get.

SO, that’s a new update from me and I promise I’ll start sharing my training recaps on Wednesdays beginning next week because not everyone trains for 100 miles and shares how they get it all done!