Moving :)
So in an effort to maintain my blog and stick around, because I really don’t want to stop altogether, I am moving to Tumblr. I think it will suit my needs better, as it isn’t so time intensive. Now maybe I can actually post the stuff I want in a timely manner despite my busy schedule.
Come over and visit me at http://pretty-fittie.tumblr.com/
I’m at work until 4:30pm and then I hit the road with the ladies of Ragnar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s Get Ready to RAGNAR
I’ve been away, and I’m not sure how much of a role blogging is going to play in my future. I’m considering Tumblr as a way to keep in touch with my family, friends and those who like to follow my training 
.
However, a day that I have been waiting for is ALMOST here!
Ragnar 2012!!!
I am so excited to run with a group of 12 girls this weekend, some I have gotten to know, others I have never even met. I know that no matter what, I am going to make some amazing memories. I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of a team with some shnazzy sponsors who have outfitted us in various ways. So I want to make sure to say thank you!!!!
To our sponsors, and companies who have simply given us freebies thanks!!!!
Aspaeris Compression shorts, Run Pretty Far tank tops, Pro Compression socks, Nuun electrolyte beverage, BIC Bands, Running Skirts…
Seriously, this is going to rock!
Copied from teammate Shannon, our first runner at 5:45am… that crazy girl! Here is the final line up.
Ultra:
Sarah Once Upon a (L)ime @SarahOUaL
SarahSR SkinnyRunner @skinnyrunnerSR
Pam
Margot Faster Bunny @FasterBunny
Chacha Chasing Imperfection @lil_yogini
Nicole Haute Running Mama @hauterunningmama
12 Lady:
Heather 365 Days of Awesome @hmgiraffy
Elisabeth Running at the Speed of Me @ewallerscott
Julie
Shannon Hungry Gazelle @hungrygazelle
Sandy BIC Bands @BICbands
Becka 50 Half Marathons in 50 States @squirrelgirl44
Sharon
Madison I’d Rather Be Eating @borntorun77
Danica Girls That Run @danicalynne
Erica Cajun Runner @cajun_runner
Ashley PrettyFittie @prettyfittie
Linzay Broke Runner @brokerunner
Until next time…
-Ash
Del Mar is a Little Piece of Heaven and I am TIRED
Tuesday workout: Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30
Thursday workout: Pilates + Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 + 6mi Run
Friday workout: 4.7miles + 2/3 of Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30
Saturday workout: 17.3 mile bike ride
Sunday workout: 9 miles of running and walking…. and dying.
Last week I was exhausted. Like tired to the bones, like my neck feels tired from holding up my head. What the heck? I got into bed at 5:30pmWednesday night and out of bed at 6:30am Thursday morning. Eesh.
Phil even started bringing me a Peet’s chai at work as a little 2pm pick me up in preparation for our run/strength sessions.
I hate those tired weeks, where working out is really hard and you feel like you have lost your mojo. Sometimes it’s tough to decide if you would feel better if you muscle through it, or give your body a rest because that’s what it’s telling you it needs.
Isn’t ^^ that the truth? Pushing past all of those excuses and making it a habit feels so.damn.good.
My sister sent me a text about how exercise is a huge commitment; she just got a gym membership and is toiling through those first few miserable weeks of getting back into the habit of working out/getting your body back up to speed. I get a nagging fear sometimes when I take an extra day off, that I will backslide into a state of living where I don’t make working out a priority. Once I think about it though, I realize that there is no way I could ever go back to not working out or being active. It has become a part of who I am, working out is a part of my day that I miss when it’s not there and I can’t imagine a time when I won’t actively pursue my daily dose of exercise. So for those of you just starting or starting again for the 10th time, keep at it.
Recently, P and I meandered north to Del Mar. DM is the next town up from us, we regularly run up the coast and through the cute little beach town of Del Mar, but never stop for more than a snack or some coffee.
Finally this time, we donned actual clothes instead of our sweaty attire and set off to do some exploring. I fell in love with this place.
We sat on a rooftop sun deck and sipped sparkling water and microbrew root beer.
We meandered past gorgeous hotels
And adorable markets
Sooner or later P and I will have to leave our adorable, affordable, awesomely located apartment on the cliffs of LJ. The apartments are only for UCSD grad students and he is bound to graduate at some point, if we are dealt the cards that allow us to stay in San Diego, I would LOVE to live in Del Mar.
In other news, RAGNAR is one week away!!!!!!
I have lots to say about some of our sponsors, Pro Compression socks, RunningSkirts and Run Pretty Far here soon! I’ll start out with a big THANK YOU to the team mates who facilitated everything and to the companies as well which all seem super awesome.
Hot Chocolate 15k
Wednesday workout: 13ish mile bike ride (1 hour)
Thursday workout: 6mi run with P
Friday workout: No work for Cesar Chavez, ran 10 miles including one beast of a hill
Sunday workout: 12 mile trail run with P, nice and easy, longest run since December
*This post was written last week, sorry bout the delay! Finals/Spring Break with le students got cray cray!
Phil’s mom came to visit this week! She and P go backpacking every year during P’s spring break. It’s a way for both of them to get into the great outdoors (not to mention it saves me the trouble of trying it with P). Although, I will admit I am starting to get curious about backpacking as a way to reduce stress and break off from the world.
Mayhaps I will be trying this look sometime during the summer?
She was also running the Hot Chocolate with us!
Here is my simple, to the point race review:
I was really nervous that this race would be a disaster, because a few of the earlier Hot Choco’s had horrible reviews.
The expo was small and at Road Runner Sports. Parking was plentiful and free. The expo was small, just some race merchandise, chocolate samples, bib pick-up etc. There was a convenient spot to swap your jacket for a smaller size, which P did and it was really easy. The jacket is CUTE. I mean, the jacket isn’t super swanky or anything, but I love it and the XS fits me really well.
Race day morning was a breeze, there was a TON of easy parking right next to the start area for $10. It was easy in and easy out which made it worth the money to us.
There were LOTS of portos, but they were foul just like at every race, at least it seemed like no one had to wait more than 5min to go.
Both the 5k and 15k seemed to start on time. Win.
Lots of aid stations along the way with water/Gatorade/electrolytes. The volunteers were wearing gloves, and kept the street CLEAN. Good on them.
The course was plenty wide enough, I never saw congestion. There were even volunteers warning runners of uneven pavement .
The post race finishers area was great, getting my chocolate fondue was easy and DELICIOUS. OMG I need more.
This was a beautiful course, a painless race experience and I really enjoyed the challenge of all of the hills. I’ll definitely do it again next year.
The $65 entry fee was pricey, but you get a jacket and CHOCOLATE!
All in all I had a blast. Running with friends, Phil’s mom being in town and running with us. I wish more of my family could race with P and I. It was a really new experience running as a pacer for Andrea, it’s tough to see a friend struggling and not quiteknow if it’s time to stop or to keep pushing her.
Game face, I was totes yelling at her as we ran in the home stretch, and after, she was so happy/emotional and I was SO pumped for everything. What a good day. I’ll never forget it.
I was happy with my knee during the run and I totally still have my fingers crossed that I am moving towards a full recovery, I think it was wise of me to take this race easier and just see what my body could do. Unlike P.
He finished in the top 50 and like 12th in his age group. 7:05 miles and such. Nice work babe. He looked really cute and focused while running
I know he was just trying as hard as possible to beat Skinny Runner.
Let’s Talk Training: Misc. Info and I Love Family Visits!
Friday workout: 13 mile bike ride + 3.75 mile run
Saturday workout: 21m ile solo bike ride + yoga
Sunday workout: Hot Chocolate 15k
Tuesday workout: 4 miles @ 8:38pace + Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30
P’s mom was in town so we did some fun stuff. In true to Ash/P form we went for a bike ride:
Ate at RK sushi
as well as Naked Café.
P’s mom seemed to really love Naked, I am tempted to run out and eat there again this weekend. It’s so good.
We did some yoga.
We picked up our race stuff and saw puppys for adoption…omg <3
I love hosting and I can’t wait to have a place big enough to really accommodate a few guests/game nights/dinner parties.
P’s mom is an amazing house guest and I find myself trying to take in everything she says because she hands out yoda-wisdom effortlessly.
Let’s talk training: Race and general running stuff every runner should know.
SO, you’re a runner, here are some things everyone should know.
-
- When you sign up, you normally put a projected pace in. Be honest on this! This pace will determine your corral in many races. Fastest runners start first, and it moves back to the equally bad ass walkers. Corrals help prevent congestion, respect them.
- Make sure you pee before you run. Holding it sucks.
- Eat a breakfast that works for you. I could run on half of a medium pizza, but that’s me. I have friends who can barely stomach half a Clif Bar that early in the morning. If this is your first race ever, you should always do a full dress rehearsal on your longest training run. Get up early, wear your race outfit; eat your race-day breakfast etc. You will learn what works and what doesn’t before you are on the race course.
- I usually stop drinking water 30 min before I leave my house/hotel/friends floor, which is usually about 90+ minutes until the start. I hydrate like crazy the days before in an effort to make sure I am as hydrated on race day as possible.
- Some runners like to grab an old sweatshirt or long sleeve that they wear for pre-race through mile 2-ish, then it gets tossed to the side of the course, let’s prevent tripping our fellow runners, yeah. These items are collected and donated to charity.
Most of all, have fun. Whether you are running or training, try not to be that person screaming at people to get out of the way. Share the road, share the love and enjoy the ride!
My sister just sent me Born to Run and Mile Markers. Mayhaps there is an ultra in my future!
Any other random tips or running ettiquette that you wish someone had told you?
Happy Hour and Staying Positive
Happy hour really is the happiest of hours. On Wednesday I met with Shannon and Lindsay at Rock Bottom in LJ to gab for a while.
After 1 beer I get really chatty, so ladies I apologize if I yammered your ear off. I had a blast, and decided that I DO want to live in Napa, Wyoming in the winter sound brutal, and every college drinks just as much as the other. Father’s hide your daughters, no college is safe. Really though, I am SO excited to run Ragnar with these peeps in less than a month!
P and I rode our bikes to Rock Bottom cause we are cool like that. We look sexy with helmet hair.
Speaking of sexy, OMG how pretty is my new bag!?
This weekend is the Hot Chocolate 15k. I had high hopes of running this baby fast, but decided a few weeks ago to take it easy and just run it for fun. I’ll be running in a tutu with my friend Andrea to essentially help her try to stay on pace. It should be more relaxed and a lot more fun and I will give my next half or 10k the good old 110% college try. Plus, P gets to run FAST for once and his mom is coming to run with us, I am SO excited for that you don’t even know!
Positivity is the name of my game as I push myself to take my return to running slowly. Yoga is helping with that, so here is an amazing video to inspire everyone.
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I used to beat myself up in my head while running. I would say lots of the following things:
Quit slowing down
Push harder
Dig deeper
If I’m tired and running slow, I get *so* frustrated with myself. Blargh it sucks.
There are days and times and certain runs where I really need to push it (Speed training, pace days) but on the last few runs where I have pulled my Garmin under my sleeve and ignored my pace, just focusing on how hard I could push it while still having fun, I found a new voice in my head.
She says:
You are here today, Ash, and this is a beautiful way to show your body how much you love it.
You can push as hard as you want or slow down, but either way you are out here logging those miles, become stronger with every step.
You know you can get home at this pace, there is no room for doubt in your mind, feel how strong your legs are.
I’m really loving this new voice in my head and I know that it started with yoga. Never once had I taken the time to thank myself for putting in the time for a workout, until my first practice. When the instructor told us to thank ourselves, I almost said “WHAT?!”. Oftentimes I feel guilty or I am even told that how much I work out is selfish so I’m lucky I don’t have kids etc. After thinking about it, I realized working out is a way to give back to the body that carries you through each and every day. I want to try to thank myself every time I get out there and sweat.
It’s so easy for any athlete to be WAY too hard on themselves. For me, I may not break any records, but I am constantly impressing myself with what I can train my body to do. So, what I’m saying is, every step you take is one in the right direction and we should all recognize how much we rock. Forreal, you rock .
Good luck to all of the runners/racers/general badasses this weekend!
Running Again and Let’s Talk Training: Shoes
Monday workout: Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 at 0’Dark:30and a 4 miler at an 8:55 pace in the evening
Tuesday workout: Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30 and a 5 miler at an 8:18 pace in the evening
P and I set off on a run againon Monday(yeeee!). I finallydecided to push it a little, while not on painkillers, and see how it went. Wekept an 8:55 pace and though I had some pain, it is getting MUCH better. Tuesday I had some awesome caffeine energy so we slammed out 5 miles at an 8:18 pace. I was basically cracked out on yerba mate and excessive amounts of coffee. It felt amazing, the run not the jitters.
It’s been the pefect weather for running; cool, sunny and fresh from the recent rains. I’m not a crazy fast runner, I’d like to continue to improve my pace over time and I won’t lie, the NYC Marathon is on my bucket list, but just getting outside and running 4 miles at a decent clip felt GOOD. If June Gloom/Gray May comes again this year, I’m DONE. I will show everyone what SD is really like and the gag will be up!
After our run it was grocery shopping time. We bought a TON more groceries this week, especially fresh veggies, like enough fresh veggies to support a family of 5, I may have been overzealous. I am taking advice from the 6-pack sporting HRM and trying to make my plate ½ fruits and veggies at everymeal. I always worry about getting enough vitamins etc. and this should do the trick, right?? Or at least give me horrible bad gas :-X
Yeah, it’s like that
SO much food! Does anyone else get stressed about letting food go to waste? I looked at this mountain of perishables and had a mild heartattack. Then I remembered that giant salads are my favorite food and I was excited to whip up some new entrée salad recipes this week.
I make my salads worthy of being called a meal by adding lots of protein (meats, beans, cheeses,eggs) and a variety of fruits and veggies for flavor, usually shooting forabout 450-500 calories total before I call it a win.
I also have to eat them out of a serving type bowl because normal bowls just don’t cut it.
Let’s talk training: Shoes
Shoes: This is hard. Shoes are so individual to each runner,and I am largely into the minimalist and maybe even one day barefoot running. Ithink the most important things are proper sizing, most people buy theirrunning shoes ½ to 1 full size up, and comfort. I have wide duck feet so I have to make sure my shoes are wide. I get hot feet really easily so I also look forshoes that breathe really well to avoid the post run sausage toe shame. I find that reading the reviews on shoes givesme the best idea of what will work for me and; trial and error helps too, so look for stores that have great return policies (RoadRunner in SD offers a 90 day no questions asked worn shoe return policy and runningwarehouse is amazing as well with free overnight shipping! just FYI).
Keep track of your mileage either with a Garmin/GPS watch,online tracker like mapmyrun.com or a exercise diary and start thinking aboutnew shoes anytime between 300-450 miles depending on the type of shoe.
