Who defines her happiness ...

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all having a good week! Did you guys see the SUPER moon this weekend. It was so bright and completely lit up the sky. I read that is was the brightest moon of the year - meaning it was the closest the moon will get to the Earth in 2014.
That is your Fun Fact of the day ... maybe that will help you get a question right at a trivia night!?!
(I love trivia nights!)

Got side tracked there for a second ... back to happiness ...

There has been a lot of things roaming the social media world about happiness and gratitude ... 100DaysofHappiness and more.
I think the topic of happiness is very interesting because essentially we are all in search of finding happiness everyday - but I think one of the biggest things that helps you, me and everyone find this perplexing emotion we call happiness is our own attitude.

You might not know, but my College major was Political Science, and one of my favorite politicians (or Americans in general) is Abraham Lincoln - and he says it best:

"Most folks are as happy as they make their minds to be."

- Abraham Lincoln

I am not writing this post as a lecture at all, because I constantly need to work on remembering to be grateful and to remind myself that my attitude and approach to different situations is up to me. 

Don't get me wrong - there are days that are just "blah" and wallowing in self pity seems like it will help - it never does ... but sometimes grumpiness happens. 

I do not want to over analyze this subject, because ironically, discussing happiness can sometimes cause others happiness levels to increase or decrease ... and I only want to help others increase and choose positivity! 

Today, I am going to use my little corner of the internet list just a few things I am grateful for and that make me happy! I encourage all of you to do this every once in while too because it is amazing how much you have to be grateful for when you focus on looking for the best! Tying this back to fitness ... I LOVE thinking about happy things and grateful things on runs ... great way to start the day with a positive run. 

"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life"

- Omar Khayyam

• My family
•  I am very thankful for my loving family  ... I always can feel their support and know they are there for help and for fun adventures too!

  

  Missing the twin girls that were not born yet - almost a year old!

• My married (in law) family also makes me so happy. They are so helpful and gracious and they have an admirable relationship with God that I hope to learn from.

• My husband
• B's support and love makes me happy everyday and I am so grateful that we both try to put each other first and are constantly trying to remember the others happiness. I could go on and on ... which also makes me happy =)
  

• Yosey
• She is the perfect example of happiness - She is constantly positive (tail wagging) and showing her love. She does not need fancy toys to make her day, she just wants to be played with and loved on. She always can make me smile and makes me feel so special. 

• Running
• I did a whole post on my love of running - but it simply makes me happy! 

• Traveling
• Exploring a new city and finding fun restaurants, interesting shops, talking with new people ... so much to be happy about! I am lucky and have a some amazing trips coming up too!

• Watching someone accomplish a fitness goal
• I am not a crier ... I have actually been called "cold and heartless," because I do not cry in movies, but watching any sort of race or physical goal can make me sob! I love watching someone cross a finish line and be overwhelmed with pride. At my mom's swimming race on Sunday, there was a girl who was almost last place in the 10K swim, but when she crossed the finish line - she was hugged by so many loved ones and she just started crying because she had accomplished her huge goal.... and.... I started crying.

• Farmer's markets
• I know this seems small compared to the other points - but they make me happy!

• Beer gardens
• I love discovering new microbreweries and trying new beers and I love drinking outdoors - therefore, a beer garden is one of my happy places =)

• Bike rides with fun destinations

Bike riding around Napa Valley - about to drink some bubbly!

• Cooking dinner or baking in the kitchen with trashy TV on in the background
• I will fully admit that I am bad at relaxing and resting (always have to feel productive)- therefore, when I am cooking in the kitchen I feel like I am accomplishing something, but I am also getting to relax and watch some mindless shows.

• Finding the perfect gift for someone
• My language of love is gift giving - and I find soooo much happiness in giving someone a thoughtful gift!

Share some things that makes you happy?!? It might make someone smile and say ME TOO!

Who loves running ...

You probably all know by now that I love running, especially long distances ... but I wanted to dedicate a post to why I love running!

Why do I love running?

• I love running because it an amazing way to make friends and build a community! The cross country team was my family in college and I can honestly say I planned my whole future life and made some big life decisions on the trails in DePauw's nature center running with my cross country girls. Just think of all of the interesting things the trees have heard in that park =)

I am absolutely obsessed with the book - Mile Markers: 26.2 Most Important Reasons that Women Run by Kristin Armstrong and there are so many quotes that relate to my love of running and friendship:

"I noticed during our conversations yesterday that we are are free to talk about our lives, the good and the bad, without judgement. As far as I can tell, no women feels compelled to take ourselves up or take the ourselves down a notch with the useless self-deprecating remarks that are often typical in other social areas. A running group can be such a unique and supportive group of friends."

• Also, I met my hubby while running! He was on the track team at DePauw! 
• Since leaving collegiate cross country, running has brought me so many new friendships! There is something about running next to someone and working hard together that can just bring you together. Also, when you are training for a marathon - you can really get to know someone over a 20 mile long run!

• I love running because it is my escape. It is a time that is just for me and I can use it as a stress relief, I can think through things (or blog post ideas!), or I can not think at all. 

• I love running because I can watch the whole world slowly wake up on my early morning runs. Watching the sunrise as I am getting in my daily miles is amazing. I cannot comment on early morning running without linking it back to friendships ... so many great early morning runs with my old roomie, Kate, and now with friends in my condo complex!  

Another perfect quote about AM running from Kristin Armstrong,

"As usual with our early morning sisterhood, we talk about everything under the sun. Our conversation dips and dives like hummingbirds; one second we land on shallow topics, the next something sweetly intimate, flitting from one to the next with ease and grace. We never talk like this at parties, restaurants, school gatherings, community functions, football practice, or play dates. The blanket of darkness adds a shroud of privacy, the pounding footfalls a buffer."

Santa 5K in Indianapolis with Roomie!

• I love running because it is the sport that put my weight into perspective and got me on the right track. I can now look back to my high school years and say that I was underweight and unhealthy. After becoming best friends with one of the best runners in the state of Missouri, I decided to give it a shot too and I realized that to perform at my best - I needed to fuel my body correctly. In addition, in college I met all of my amazing cross country teammates who had a healthy relationship with food and it put everything into perspective and I can honestly say running helped me work through everything! 

• I love running because it forces me to unconnect and look around. Being a newbie blogger and just being a yuppie in this generation, I feel like I am constantly looking at my phone or the computer ... running is a time to disconnect and just take advantage of nature 

• I love running because it is my FAVORITE way to explore a new city or location. 

• I love running because it is a pretty darn cheap form of exercise and pretty simple. You just put some shoes on and go put one foot in front of the other. 

• I love running (especially long distances), because you get what you put into it! A marathon is a daunting distance, but if you are willing to log the miles and work hard through a training plan - you can achieve your goal and crossing that finish line feels so good!

Color Run 5K 

• I love running because it is competitive, but it can be competitive at different levels. The Kara Gouchers, Ryan Halls, and Kenyans of the world are in their own competitive sphere of amazingness and some of their times and accomplishments just blow my mind - but running also allows us "normal folk" in the running community to compete. We can compete against ourselves, or even against the girl next to you as you both push to the finish line. If you have worked hard and finish a half marathon in 4 hours or in 1 hour and 30 minutes, you were competing and should be proud ... and next time you can work hard and compete to beat that time!

• I love running because it is part of my identity and I love being a runner and part of the runner world.

Writing this post has made me want to go out for a run! It has reminded me how lucky I am to be able to log all of the miles I have and formed all of the bonds I have through this sport.
As corny as this sounds, running is more than just a sport, it is a lifestyle ... and I am proud and grateful to live that lifestyle! 

What is something that you love and some reasons why??

Who is officially running the Detroit Marathon!

Hello Everyone! 

I hope you had a great weekend filled with fun, family, and some relaxation. Our weekend (especially Saturday) was jam packed! On Saturday morning I got a long run in with my favorite running group and then we had a tour of the Big House (Michigan's football Stadium), went paddleboarding (more on that later!), and went out to eat at our favorite pizza place in Ann Arbor. 

Sunday was productive and mostly filled with prep for the upcoming week. It was the first Sunday in a while that I started to dread the upcoming week and really did not want the weekend to end... but it was still a good day.

Enough weekend recap ... Let's delve into marathon training and my personal marathon experience for a bit.

I have run 8 marathons -- so you could say I am a bit addicted. 

I have done the following races:

• Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (Fall) - Love this course! Flat, takes place in November so usually nice and cold, and on a Saturday! I have run it twice!
• Indianapolis Marathon at Fort Benjamin Harrison  (Fall)- I would not recommend this course to very many people. It is a small race, and the second half is pretty boring
• St. Louis Go Marathon (Spring) - It was 80 degrees the day I ran this race, so my time was horrible, and the course was actually a lot harder and hilly than I thought
• Cincinnati Flying Pig (Spring) - I got my PR on this course! This course is hilly and pretty hard, but I loved it. There was great support and the course really showed you Cincy and its suburbs
• Chicago Marathon (Fall) - I did not love this course and race as much as everyone else. I thought it was too crowded and cramped. It is very flat though!
• Boston Marathon (Spring) - This course deserves a whole novel! I have a love/hate relationship with it because it is so hard (I have done it twice)! I will say that if you get the opportunity to run it ... you have to do it!

B ran the Flying Pig too - like our bibs?

Since I graduated college in the Spring of 2010 - I have run one marathon every Spring and Fall season. That sounds kind of intense, but I have taken some marathons more "seriously" in regards to my training than others. I usually always sit down and make a training plan, but for some marathons I have been a lot more relaxed about hitting all of my weekly runs -- but for others I have tried really hard and worked in some workouts too. My PR was at the Cincinnati Flying Pig in May 2013, which surprised me because I was not very rigid about my runs and it was a crazy time in my life - I was in the middle of planning our wedding (June 2013), moving, and finding a job. I think this shows that a "good race day" can make a big difference and I felt really good that day. I also felt like I focused on having a positive attitude during this race, and running is 96% mental!

With my friend Emily after the Chicago Marathon

I am excited for the Detroit Marathon this Fall, because I want to put some time and effort into my training and really give it my all! My plan is to run the Detroit Full Marathon this Fall and then take a little bit of time off from full marathons ... maybe race a few half marathons and 10Ks (give my body a little break from the 20 + mile long runs).

This weekend I had a little bit of a shock when I sat down to work out a training plan for the Detroit Marathon and realized it is only 14 weeks away! Wowowo! 

The good thing is that I have been running consistently, so I am not worried about being in shape - I just need to start upping the distance and running with a purpose instead of going on random runs. 

For all of my past marathons, I have based my training plans around Hal Higdon's free training plans. I usually make modifications, but I like his format and his long run distances. 

Here is my rough training plan for the Detroit Marathon on October 19th.

For this plan, I went off of Hal Higdon's Advanced Marathon Training Program.
I want to start by saying that I have run 8 marathons and I feel like my body is used to the pounding and torture I put it through .... and I can handle high mileage, but I would not recommend running this high of mileage to any beginner! If you are interested in help with your own training plan (for any distance), please contact me!!

To explain the plan in a nutshell -
Sundays and Tuesdays - Run easy and lower distances - I have to admit ... sometimes it is hard to go out and just run 3 miles... sometimes I will do 4 or 5 on these days. I always strive to keep it easy though so my legs get a chance to recover
Mondays  -  Run at an easy pace, but I will run higher mileage (this gets a little hard because I always run in the mornings and have to wake up extra early for the extra miles- but I have amazing runner buddies that wake up crazy early and get my butt out of bed too!).
Wednesdays - Workouts - either a hill workout or a tempo run or occasionally I am hoping to motivate myself to do a track workout. I could see some of those 800s becoming tempo runs and I am ok with that! More info on tempo runs and other running specifics at a later date.
Thursdays - Rest days
Fridays - Longer runs and some Fridays I will try and pick it up a bit and run at my marathon race pace. I will do this on my higher mileage/more intense weeks.
Saturdays - LONG runs! I try and meet up with an amazing group in Ann Arbor called PR Fitness for my long runs!

Indianapolis Marathon - one of my favorites!

In this plan I am doing two 20 mile runs. There is always a big controversy over running more than 20 miles and I have to admit, I think I am in the not over 20 mile "long run" camp.
I feel like getting in a 22 or 23 mile long run does more harm than good. I do not think the extra miles will help at all and it will just tear down your body even more. I have done both in preparation for a marathon and I think I will stick to running 20 miles as my longest run. In the race, you run the last 6 miles with your guts and your mind anyways!


Well - this post is getting long, as you can see ... I love running and talking about running. I plan to do many more posts on running and racing in the future! Also, I will check in occasionally and let you guys know how the training is going (and you guys can hold me accountable for doing the weekly workouts!).


But how was your weekend? Also, any races or big events coming up for you?