Life Lately 2/6/15-2/13/15

Hi friends!

This past week has been filled with fun & workouts per usual. Bae and I have been nailing this Yoga Six challenge and I'm still managing to fit my runs. All and all, its been a good week here in sunny San Diego. We're very fortunate to have some of the best weather in the county right now.

Friday 2/6/15- Slow Flow Yoga @ Yoga Six

Saturday 2/7/15- Y60 Classic and Deep Stretch Yoga @ Yoga Six

I cheered on my good friend, Amy, at the Mermaid Half Marathon on Mission Bay on Saturday! She returned the favor later that weekend at the San Dieguito Half. Runner friends are the best.

Go Amy!

I highly recommend this race if you're trying to PR. It's flat and beautiful, plus the race medal is a necklace!

Race Necklace

Sunday 2/8/15- San Dieguito Half Marathon & 1.5 hour endurance ride @ The RUSH

At the Start of San Dieguito Half Marathon

The San Dieguito Half Marathon is a great run and very beautiful. However, it's a challenging and hilly course. I ran it as a training run rather than a race, which was a little upsetting. I'm not ready to be racing half marathons at this point in my training. 

The course runs through some of the most expensive neighborhoods in San Diego County and I found myself dreaming of lavish lifestyles as I trudged up hills. Every year at mile marker 1.5/11.5 an older woman dresses up as the Queen of England and cheers runners on with British accent. She was pretty delightful to see during the race. Amy met me at mile 9 and gave me a boost to power on to the end. When I finally saw my boyfriend at the finish and I gave him a big sweaty hug. I always think of him during the last few miles and can't wait for our embrace. He always tells me he is proud of me even when I don't think I ran my best and I love him for that. 

San Dieguito Half Marathon Elevation

Monday 2/9/15- Slow Flow Yoga @ Yoga Six

Tuesday 2/10/15- TRACK at Balboa Stadium with SDTC 4 x 5 min @ threshold pace with 30 sec break in between 

I'm really starting to enjoy Track practices with SDTC. It's one of my goals this season to become faster and I'm determined to avoid the couch and brave the traffic every Tuesday night to make it to Balboa Stadium.

Wednesday 2/11/15- Rest day and the wonderful Carmel at Maida gave me some new hair. I love having a fresh new cut and color. We tried to do a natural look and she used a picture of me from when I was 10 years old as a guide. I'm really digging this new balayage technique.

Thursday 2/8/15- 4.5 mile Trail run at Lake Hodges with Bae and Jon- Marc

It was dry and hot but we still had a great time and enjoyed the scenery.

This weekend's update will have to go into a new post. Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and weekend! xoxo

Hello February and January Recap

We're officially 5 days into February, another one of my favorite months!

I love February because you can practically feel the love in the air...

I think a January Recap is in order, since my last post was January 15th. Seriously, who am I? Worst blogger ever.

Thankfully, I've been writing down my workouts!

Since last we left off, I decided to take more rest days and get back to a real running/workout schedule, in fear of getting injured or over training.

I did attend 16+ spin classes at The Rush during January and got a sweet shout of on their Instagram. I also get $25 toward my next purchase at The Rush. yessssssss.

Friday 1/16/15- Spin Class @ The Rush
Saturday 1/17/15- 6 miles with SDTC + Spin class @ The Rush
Sunday 1/18/15- OFF and babysit Macy!!

Monday 1/19/15- 6 miles + recovery yoga
Tuesday 1/20/25- 4 miles speed work (Half a mile on/off)
Wednesday 1/21/15- Spin Class @ The Rush
Thursday 1/22/15- 6 miles + Runner's World recovery yoga 
Friday 1/23/15- OFF
Saturday- 1/24/15- 7.5 miles with SDTC
Sunday- 1/25/15- Spin Class @ The Rush

Monday 1/26/15- Spin Class @ The Rush
Tuesday 1/27/15- SICK. I went to the doctor and found out I had a sinus infection. Yay for antibiotics!
Wednesday 1/28/15- Spin Class @ The Rush... yes, I coughed through the entire class and probably wasn't the best idea to go.
Thursday 1/29/15- Spin Class @ The Rush ... AGAIN yes, I coughed through the entire class and probably wasn't the best idea to go.  I have a problem.
Friday  1/30/15- OFF
Saturday 1/30/15- SUPER RUN  10k (in honor of Superbowl Weekend) + Spin Class @ The Rush . I decided it wasn't the best idea to "race". I knew I wouldn't be able to run my best. I paced my friend, Bianca, instead. I'm really happy I did. It was her first race ever and she was very grateful we were together.

Sunday 2/1/15-  Superbowl Sunday! Classic Yoga (heated) @ Yoga Six

Bae and I started off the month with a yoga challenge! We both joined Yoga Six in 4s Ranch and jumped on board for a month filled with Yoga. 

We'll be taking on 20 classes each or some combination of 40 classes. :)

Superbowl was celebrate at Bae's house with her husband and all the snacks you could have ever wanted.

Monday 2/2/15- 6 miles and Deep Stretch Yoga @ Yoga Six
Tuesday 2/3/15- TRACK at Balboa Stadium with SDTC 4 x 800s with calisthenics in between
Wednesday 2/4/15- Spin class @ The Rush
Thursday 2/5/15-  6 miles and Deep Stretch Yoga @ Yoga Six


Hope everyone is having a great week!

xoxo Kate

Why are bad runs so bad?

Bad runs. Yes, we all get them and I had a particular bad one yesterday.

I had been killing my workouts recently. Seriously, I was feeling stronger, faster, and even was feeling slimmer in my running clothes.

Here's my workouts for the past 2 weeks....

Thursday 1/1/15- 4 miles (tempo) and + spin class
Friday 1/2/15- 3 miles (easy)
Saturday 1/3/15- First day at SD Track Club 3 miles and spin class
Sunday 1/4/15- 6 miles (easy) + recovery yoga

Monday 1/5/15- 6 miles (tempo)
Tuesday 1/6/15- spin class
Wednesday 1/7/15- 3 miles (easy) + spin class
Thursday 1/8/15- 6 miles (tempo) + spin class
Friday 1/9/15- spin class
Saturday 1/10/15- 5 miles with SD Track Club
Sunday 1/11/15- spin class

Monday 1/12/15- 6 miles (tempo) + spin class
Tuesday 1/13/15- 4 miles (temp) + recovery yoga
Wednesday 1/14/15- BAD RUN 4 miles + spin class

Well, thank goodness for writing my workouts down. It's pretty obvious I've become obsessive with spin class and not following a real set schedule yet. I feel more advanced than the training program I was given to by our coaches and kinda went AWOL. Not to mention I haven't taken a rest day this month. Ok, so I got carried away and my body told me it had enough with a really bad run.

My really good friend, Madelynne, sent this great bit of advice...

Ok, I get it. Today will be a rest day instead of running and spinning. No sense getting injured before the season even begins.

On a happy note, I entered the lottery for the New York City Marathon today! I'm not really counting on getting selected. I have tried for the past 2 years with no success. There's always Marine Corps Marathon or Chicago for a fall race.

One good thing about taking the night off... I got pretty far in the book I'm currently reading.

Don't judge me! Ok, you can judge a little but I just adore a love story. :)

Have a great night!

New Year & New Beginnings!

Hi! I'm back!

Yes, I took a short unexpected break from blogging over the holidays. Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa or just family time. :)

Christmas we spent in NJ with my family and New Year's Eve we enjoyed an amazing dinner at Bijou in La Jolla.

I always love a new year with a fresh start. One of my main goals this year is to have a marathon PR and focus on speed work and strength training, which I tend to shy away from in training cycles.

My friends and I have join the San Diego Track Club to train for spring races. I'm going to be running the Mountains2Beach Marathon in Ventura, California on May 24th.

Saturday was our first day of Track Club!

Bae and I also signed up as a team to conquer 2,015 miles in 2015. Have you heard of this from run the edge? One of the founders is Kara Goucher's husband, Adam Goucher! (Insert Fan Girl squeal here.) It's such a great way to stay motivated all year long.

So far we're off to a great start with 16 miles.1,999 to go!. Bae, sadly, still can't run till the 26th (fingers crossed) due to her broken baby toe. I have no problem carrying the team for January, :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Back to work tomorrow... booooooo

Happy trails :)

Stocking Stuffers For Runners

December 18th- Stockings

To go along with the Christmas presents for runners, I have also made a top 10 list of best stocking stuffers for runners!

1.  Massage Ball

2. Nuun

3. GU Energy Gels

4. Lululemon- No Show Run Sock

5. Brooks- Run Happy Calf Sleeves

6. Brooks- Nightlife Reflective Vest

7.  Nike Pro Arm Sleeves

8. Road ID

9. Body Glide

10. Hand Water Bottle

Now get out there and stuff those stockings! Only 1 more week till Christmas!

See you soon! xoxo

Presents (For Runners)

December 17th- Presents

I've created a top ten list of Christmas presents to buy for that special runner in your life (or yourself, lets be honest).

1. Oiselle- Believe Training Journal 

2. Oiselle- Rundies

Underwear to match your training plan!

3. Lululemon Run With Me Toque

Finally a running hat that fits your pony!

4. Lululemon- Feelin' Frosty Softshell Jacket

Reflective arms to keep you safe.

5. Lululemon- Bang Buster Headband 

6. Runner's World Subscription 

7. Foam Roller

8. Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS

9. Marathon Necklace

10.  Oiselle Big O Yeti

Because runners lounge as hard as they train...

Hope my list has inspired you!

Happy Shopping!

xoxo

Outside Christmas Lights

December 16th- Outside Christmas Lights

With a title like that, how can you not think of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation??

Yesterday, Huan and I headed out to Christmas Card Lane in Rancho Peñasquitos. For blocks and blocks, every home is decorated to the max with Christmas cheer. The residents there encourage you to park the car and walk around to take in all the sights. It was pretty spectacular.

You can find the most Christmas decorated neighborhoods in San Diego here.

I took some pictures of my favorite houses.

It rain in San Diego today! It's always very exciting to San Diegans to get some rain.

I brought my workout inside today and avoided the outdoors.

I rode by bike for 75 minutes and watched multiple episodes of Once Upon a Time. I finished up with today's Holiday Workout Challenge...100 squats, 40 sec plank, and 35 (on my knee/girl) push-ups.

Have a great night! See you tomorrow! :)

xoxo