End of November!

Total Miles Ran in November: 84.36
This is a 6.4% increase over November 2015 miles.  Just squeaked in with that one - even with a full week off of running this month after my half-marathon!

This leaves one month left in 2016.  I have already surpassed my 2015 mileage so I could theoretically run 0 miles in December and still come out ahead.

BUT, I'm not going to do that!

I need to run at least 1 mile per day in the month - which comes out to 31 miles.

BUT I'm likely not going to do that either.

I have a fun goal for the last month:  I would like to retire my pink Adidas energy boost 3 shoes to end out the year.  I started running in these shoes in March and wore them for the Boston Marathon.  Admittedly, I don't love these shoes.  The Energy Boost 2 was much better in my opinion.  But, I have 72.59 miles left on them.  (I generally retire shoes after 400 miles).  I also have other shoes in my rotation so it may be a challenge but that is my goal so I can bring on a new pair come Jan 1!

Social Media Plans Update
#RWRunStreak still going strong, 1 full week in.

I also finished the #RLYBALANCEYOURSTRIDE workouts this morning.  Keep your fingers crossed that I win one of the sweet prizes!

I am halfway through the #AMRSTRIDE plan.

Last week in Review: Low Mileage, But Lots of Other Stuff!

Moving onto week 3 of the AMR Stride plan!  And My #RWRunStreak is going strong at 5 days...even though I REALLY wanted to stay in bed this morning.

Last week was a short mileage week.  I just barely cleared 20 miles for the weekly total but I did a track workout, a lot more yoga that usual, and a strength circuit (twice).  At this point, since I am not training for anything specific, I think the tradeoff in miles to gain diversity in workout was worth it.  My daughter also came out on a run and made it a mile (with a few stop breaks).  I was super excited about that.

Another thing I am trying to do more at work is use the standing desk options.  We all know sitting all day is terrible.  But it is easy for me :)  I gained a renewed motivation for interrupting my sitting ways after reading this book: Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally  I actually have colleagues remind me to go use the standing desk and peer pressure works.  :)  (For reference, we work in an open concept "Google" type office where we can rotate work stations throughout the day.)

One crazy thing I was able to participate in over the weekend was being a running model for a local organization, Serpentijn Art & Athletics.  (Yes! A model! Not gonna lie - it was super fun!) The organization was founded by a friend's husband to bring art and athletics together to support organizations that benefit kids.  They collaborate with artists to design products, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the products benefits one of two organizations: Dreaming Zebra and Milwaukee MTB Kids Mountain Bike Team.

Their newest product is a beautiful gaiter designed by Emily Balsley.   I spent my Saturday wearing it running by Lake Michigan, running through Lake Park and running with Mags.  I also spent a lot of time wearing it while running errands, decorating our house for Christmas, playing spies with my kids.  If you are so inclined, you can check it out here (including some photos of me wearing it).  I am already anticipating that it will be one of my winter running staples.

Full disclosure - I will probably overshare more of the amazing photos taken by Darren Hauck on my Instagram account (@amyschlott) because they are AMAZEBALLS.  And how often do you get AMAZEBALLS photos taken of yourself?!

Here was my last week:

Monday: 30 minute Zen Run followed by Legs Up the Wall.
Zen Run = Basically trying to practice mindfulness while running.  Holy shitballs.  It is difficult, but rewarding.  I'm glad these are a weekly staple of the AMR Stride plan.  4.03 miles

Tuesday: off.  This was an unintentional day off, but looking back, it was appropriate since I technically will not have any off days until 2017!

Wednesday: Negative split run followed by Pigeon Yoga
First block:  2 miles, 15:39, 7:48 pace
Next block: 2.2 miles, 16:00, 7:20 pace

Thursday: Track workout!
1.78 mi warm up (run to track)
4 x 400 (1:24, 1:25, 1:26, 1:28) with jogging 400s in between (1:53, 1:54, 1:50)
1.83 mi cool down (run home)

Friday: 4 mile easy run, 30:53/7:38 pace followed by Lizard Yoga

Saturday: 1 mile run with Mags, 11:30 pace (plus "running" for photo shoot)

Sunday: 20 minute run, followed by 2 x BAMR Strength Circuit followed by Hamstring Yoga

Black Friday Links

I am out of the turkey coma and back at work.  This morning I had a great run through my neighborhood after sleeping through the night!!!! Before you get too excited this occurred because my children spent the night at their grandparents' house.  

I have a few links for you on this Black Friday:

1.  Ten Things Runners Remember from Ten Years Ago

This list made me laugh.  I had forgotten about the chip you used to get for your shoe for races!  It is funny to think how much has changed in running over the years, and how much stays the same.  All you nostalgia nerds might also like the November issue of Runner's World which takes a look back over the history of the magazine.

2. Kindness Over Fear

3. Do you ever run angry?  

4.  Some Black Friday deals for runners!!

Picky Bars are currently 30% off

Nuun Hydration is 20% off + Free Shipping with Code optoutside2016

Momentum Jewelry has shoe tags for only $5 through tomorrow! (And other holiday offers in the coming weeks)

Sarah Marie Design Studio has 15% off + Free Shipping their holiday shop with code blackfriday2016

Run Ink has 20% off their site with code turkey

Tailwind Nutrition is 20% off on their site and on Amazon 

Believe Training Journals are 30% off with code believers

Hashtag Collector

I just love social media running plans!  Really - no sarcasm intended.  I DO love them.  Maybe the lesson learned is that I should just give running plans hashtags?! :)  It has turned into winter here in Wisconsin so I will use all the help that I can get to get me out the door.

#RLYBALANCEYOURSTRIDE
I started a this plan today on Instagram which combines yoga and running from Nov 23-30.  Yoga moves are provided by @runnersloveyoga and running workouts are provided by @mollyhuddle .  I have followed @runnersloveyoga for a while but this is the first challenge I have participated in.   Today was a yoga move (pigeon pose) so I presume tomorrow will be a running workout.

#RWRUNSTREAK
Tomorrow I also am going to try tackling the Runner's World Run Streak for the second year in a row! To recap, this means that I will run, at least one mile, every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day.  Last year, I stuck with my running plan and then on the "off" days, I ran 1 mile.  I will be doing this again this year.

#AMRSTRIDE
I am continuing with the #AMRSTRIDE plan as my base running plan.  I may have to combine workouts from the #RLY plan for the Nov 24-30 time plan.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Thanks for reading!

Friday Links!

This week I joined and started following the Another Mother Runner Stride Through the Holidays plan for Heart Strides.  AND WOW.  I am sore.  Not from the running - no, running is the easy part.  It is the cross-training workouts that I always say I want to do but then never do them.  This week, I did a strength circuit (twice!) with things like burpees, Russian twists and other intimidating names, AND 30 minutes of yoga targeting my hamstrings.  And I am still feeling it. I am hoping that by the end of the 5 week plan, I will be more consistent about incorporating these beneficial workouts into my weeks.

Now the links. 

How A Step Back Was the Way Forward

Love Sarah Mac.  And my main takeaway from this article (and learning lesson from this past week) is that it might be worth dialing back on miles/running days to incorporate these workouts that I always want to get in, but then never do.  I also have learned that I need to be intentional about non-running workouts.  Having a running plan helps me stay on track with getting running in so it should come as no surprise that having a plan for things like yoga and strength training might also be helpful.  (DUH.)

Runners Try: Jasyoga

I first heard about Jasyoga from Oiselle.  I bought the Hit Reset book, which I (and my daughter) like.  Having the book was not really helping me incorporate yoga in a more consistent way so I have considered purchasing a Jasyoga subscription to have access to the videos.  I have had some hesitation in doing so because I own yoga DVDs and still...I do not do yoga regularly.  I liked that Oiselle has some free Jasyoga videos hosted on their blog so that I could try them out before taking the subscription plunge.  I really liked the hamstring workout.  It was hard for me (hello! tight hamstrings) but I could feel (and am still feeling) a difference after doing it.  All I want for Christmas is a Jasyoga subscription! 

8 Ways to Become a Morning Runner

Morning running is where it is at!  The quotes in this article are spot on.  It hurt a bit to get out of bed this morning.  The hubs and I went to a neighborhood social where I had 2 glasses of wine and because I am getting old, that was enough to make me feel not so great this morning. It was time to Woman Up! so...at 5:06 AM, I slid out of bed, scrolled through my Instagram feed for motivation, and got out there to slog (and I mean SLOG) through a 30 minute run.

What Does Sub-Elite Mean and Race Offerings for Sub-Elites

I have heard this term ("sub-elite") and didn't know what it meant.  Thank you Salty Running for this series.  And...some of those half-marathon sub-elite times are NOT too scary to me. I loved my recent half-marathon experience and it was not an easy race...and yet, it wasn't god awful.  I have room to push there. (2017 goal?!)  

Have a great weekend!

FINALLY!!! A GOOD RACE PHOTO

Back to Running

I took a full week off.

No Running.

The first two days post-race were easy.  My legs, specifically my quads, hurt A LOT.  Didn't even cross my mind to go for a run.

Last Monday night, I was packing for our 5-day family vacation to St. Louis and Chicago and my bag was full without running stuff.  I considered switching bags, however, at that moment I thought, "It might be good to take a full week off."  So I kept my bag and brought ZERO running clothes along.

It was fun.  I ate ALL THE FOOD.  I drank ALL THE BEER.  I took ALL THE NAPS.

While the week wasn't entirely devoid of exercise due to the fact that we did a lot of walking (and chasing kids), by yesterday I knew my running vacation was up.

I also knew that I am a little lost as to what's next for me.  I have no races on the horizon.  2017 seems a long way off and although I have some things in mind, nothing that I am ready to commit to.  I know that one of the biggest threats to consistency for me is not having a plan.  I just love checking off those little boxes of workouts!!

I want/need a plan to say consistent, and yet, I also want to be free and not have to train for anything right now.

Enter the Stride Through the Holidays training plan by Another Mother Runner.  The plan is 5 weeks long, designed solely to keep you moving. No race at the end. Just 40 check boxes of workouts to do.  Best yet, 100% of the proceeds go to Heart Strides.  For $25, I thought it was well worth it to keep up my consistency game AND the added bonus of supporting a great cause.  (Helping moms prioritize self care!)  I signed up last night and checked out what the first workout (today) was: a simple 30-40 minute run.

So I returned to setting out my clothes on the bath tub ledge...setting my knuckle lights, house key, hat on the kitchen counter...setting out my shoes by the front door...setting my alarm for 5 AM.

Old habits die hard.  Sometimes, that's a good thing.