Motivation Monday: Here Comes the Sun!

In the middle of pre-training Week 2, I got some pretty bad news: I was actually in the middle of training Week 4.

Math has never been my strong suit. Apparently, neither is reading calendars. So when I backed out a 16-week marathon training plan from the race day, I somehow had it starting March 10th. I was wrong. I finally downloaded the plan from RunnersWorld.com to prepare for this week and when I did I realized how very far behind I was. The fear that I might not be as prepared as I was hoping to be come race day is stressful to say the least.

The good news is that my body is not as far behind as I thought. All of the major aches and pains that I was experiencing for my first few runs seem to have actually been the result of custom insoles. When I signed up for the marathon, I thought that I'd get all fancy and have custom insoles fitted at Road Runner Sports. For whatever reason, they ended up causing me major pain in my right tensor and both my hamstrings instead. Not to mention some lower back pain and ankle problems. Halfway through last week I switched them out for the insoles that came with the shoe and thankfully, it has made all the difference.

Overall, week FOUR was pretty good: I learned that in order to beat the lazy voices in my head, I have to have my shoes on and be out the door within 20 minutes of getting home from work. I generally felt better on the runs, especially after switching the insoles. I went for my first long run (10 miles!) on Saturday which was intimidating. I'm completely on track with the training plan now. Oh! And I discovered a really fun track to add to your workout playlist: check out "Romance" by Wild Flag. :)

3/4/13 - 3/10/13 Health and Fitness Stats:

• ran 5 days for a total of 26 miles
• average pace: 11'20" per mile
• lost 1.4lbs
• 1000 calories over the LoseIt! budget :(

Aloha Friday!

Back in Connecticut, during my sophomore year of college, I went through a Hawaii phase. I blame Iz, that Hawaiian singer who covered "Over the Rainbow." They played it nonstop at work and something about that song temporarily convinced me that Hawaii's version of a laid back lifestyle was much more my speed (or lack thereof) than Southern California's, where I had planned to move after graduating. I watched "Blue Crush" about a dozen times during this phase, bought a ukulele off eBay, and started wearing flowers in my hair and more puka shells than a 90s frat boy. I also researched grad schools in Hawaii and decided I was going to move there and do my Master's in Hawaiian at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

We all know how this turned out.

Needless to say Hawaiian living still appeals to me. I don't think I'd ever want to move there, but I like some aspects of their culture. There, casual Fridays are called Aloha Fridays which is just more fun. It's their way of welcoming the weekend and it originated because businessmen wanted to wear aloha shirts in the office on Fridays. So that's where the recurring title for my 'Friday Five' posts comes from. Without further adieu:

1. Everything is blooming! My amazing boyfriend has the greenest thumb I know. In our backyard alone, he's got a beautiful vegetable garden starting to sprout, a thriving succulent garden, a wall of cacti and all sorts of flowers, including some beautiful morning glories, are blossoming.

2. Even more exciting: last year, under the cover of darkness, we ran across the street and did some guerrilla gardening by the side of the highway. We didn't think it took, but this week, more than a year later, a bunch of poppies popped up!



3. My super adorable Colette Headband from oh, sweet joy! arrived this week! I bought it in Lemon Drop and it is SO perfect for spring. :) oh sweet joy!, $13

4. Foam's 'Escape' issue finally made it to my mailbox. It's been a while since I did the smart thing and subscribed to Foam instead of just buying every issue as it came out. This one is gorgeous with plenty of destinations to add to my travel wishlist.

5. Ryan and I finally started watching 'Happy Endings' this week. I am hooked. Go rent the first season. Now.

Happy Aloha Friday to all of you! :)

Chalk Dirrty To Me

source: 1 | 2

Confession: When I was a freshman in high school HALF MY LIFE AGO (ugh), Christina Aguilera released the video for "Come On Over". The one where she totally worked some hot pink highlights? Yeah, I was obsessed with that song and that hair. Almost immediately after watching it debut on TRL my best friend and I walked to the mall and bought some Manic Panic at Hot Topic. Yeah. True story. For like 5 minutes I had super rebellious pink highlights. Then they washed out and I had split ends. So.

My inner 14-year-old is obviously intrigued by this hair chalking trend. I've seen a few tutorials on the web, including this one by Forever 21 and it's too simple: spray water on strands to dampen them, use soft pastel chalk to color them, and a flat iron to seal in the look for 1-7 days. You can get the chalk at any art or craft store and of course, the ever-ahead-of-the-game marketing geniuses at Free People have already packaged up some cute ombre sets for $14/palette.

Basically, I'm sold. I think it will be really fun for Coachella / a weekend in Vegas. Plus, it seems a lot less harmful than temporary dye. Maybe I'll even dig up some butterfly clips for old time's sake (OMGJK).

Motivation Monday: Marathon Pre-Training

original source: 1

When I first started running in high school, I decided that I eventually wanted to run a marathon. At the start of this year, I finally made the commitment. No more excuses! I'm registered to run the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon on June 2nd.

Registering was the easy part. Training is what's going to kill me.

With my miserable track record for training for races, I know that I have to really discipline myself for a race this serious. So I've downloaded a 16-week plan and training officially starts on March 10th. Which meant that pre-training had to start last week. 

The training plan requires me to run 5-6 times a week with the shortest runs being 4 miles long. I kind of abandoned my exercise routine when I took my Jan/Feb MBA class (which is thankfully, officially OVER!), and now I have to work to get to a place where I can run 4 miles without dying. Last week was my first week back on the road and it was tough. 

I'm also using the marathon as a goal to get back into shape and shed some of my winter weight. Because of that I've started using the LoseIt! app again and staying within those weekly calories budgets while trying to maintain my rockstar lifestyle is hard. Bar nights have a way of devolving into midnight pizza and In N Out for breakfast...

But if I've learned one thing about goals like this, it's that transparency and accountability are a big help. So:

2/25/13 - 3/3/13 Health and Fitness Stats:

• ran 3 days for a total of 9 miles
• average pace: 11'20" per mile
• didn't stay under my weekly calorie budget :(
• started drinking more water everyday!
• 1 Tracy Anderson Ab workout from Abcentric Metamorphosis

What fitness goals do you have this year? What workouts are you doing?

Aloha Friday!

It's Friday, Friday, Friday.... and it's March! Which means that a lot of amazing things are ahead and a lot of stressful things, like my MBA class, are (almost) behind me! Class ends Saturday night when I submit my final project and then it's really time to relax. Or, you know, do some spring cleaning. One and the same really. :)

Despite all the last-week-of-school stress, this has been a pretty great week overall: 

1. I have been looking FOREVER for a pair of vintage, white cat eye sunglasses after seeing this pin from a British magazine. It's been really hard to find the exact same size and look, but I finally bought some that I hope will be close! bread by kira, $15

2. Run run run. I started running again this week and boy is my body mad at me. More about that on Monday, but for me, the first 3 weeks are the hardest part, so I'm happy to have my first full week of pre-training almost behind me. 

3. Making a lot of progress on barefoot sandals for the store. I should have a bunch of styles ready to order by the end of next week. Look for a giveaway on the blog too.

4. New friends! I stumbled upon a lot of great blogs this week and even purchased some sponsorship for March at Sincerely, Kinsey and Beauty and the Feast. I'm looking forward to meeting some of their readers!

5. I have a new house project that I am REALLY excited about! All of the supplies are purchased and I hope to get started on it (and maybe even finish it) this weekend. I can't wait to post the results!

Happy Friday everyone!