Happy Monday, friends! And welcome, November (how did that happen?)  This past weekend was one to remember - I ran my first half marathon! And it wasn't that bad. My mom and her boyfriend also came to visit to cheer me and Chelsey on while we slogged ran. 

Chelsey and I headed to the expo after work on Friday to pick up our packets and a plethora of free stuff including a ton of mini Lara Bars. SCORE! After the expo we headed to Mercato, a fabulous Italian restaurant with homemade pasta. We both had amazing pasta dishes to carb up. No pics because we were too busy savoring :)

Race Day

Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to wake up at 5:30 a.m.! I made myself a bowl of oats with peanut butter, some coffee, and my mom and I made our way down to the race around 7:30 in the freezing cold. Chelsey and I were in coral 31, so we didn't actually start running until about 8:30. However, the sun came up once we started running and it felt great!

The first 8 miles are actually kind of a blur. They went by SO fast, there was a lot of adrenaline and we both felt really great. The first 5 miles were through the city and the remainder was a flat road along the river. Such a great course! 

Around the half way mark, my cousin Sara was working at the medical tent so she ran along with us for about a half mile and snapped some pics:  After mile 9 it became all mental. Everything felt great except my ankles - they were screaming! We just did everything we could to keep our minds off of the suck and finish strong. We finished in 2:26 and our goal was 2:30! And then the next day at the New York City Marathon (26.2 people!) the woman winner finished in 2:24! We may not be the fastest but we were happy to be running and having a blast. 

After chugging a chocolate milk at the finish line, we headed back to the hotel we were staying at for the weekend to shower and get some food. We ended up heading to Reading Terminal Market and stopping by The Original Turkey  for some fresh carved turkey club sandwiches. I inhaled mine in .000345 seconds. After refueling, we headed to the Field House Bar (home of the Philly Gator Club) to watch the Gators dominate the Bulldogs. 

We ended the night with dinner in Chinatown and I was passed out by 9:30. It was an awesome day and weekend. So glad that I could spend time with my family.

After SEVERAL jam-packed weekends, I'm totally looking forward to doing a lot of nothing next weekend :)

P.S. I didn't even end up listening to it, but I will share my half marathon playlist soon. I was really excited for it, but we had more fun chatting during the whole race.

XO -Rach

How was your weekend?

Have you run a half before? If not, would you ever want to?

Happy Monday all! Can you guys believe that tomorrow is September? Ugh. Time goes too fast. Way too fast. I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. Mine was great, filled with a lot of my favorite things.

On Friday night Michael and I headed into Center City to go out for a birthday celebration. It was lots of fun and a great start to the weekend. On Saturday morning, being the crazy people that we are, we decided to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to drive to the beach. We wanted to spend ALL day there and had to be early just in case we hit traffic, you know? Rest assured, there is zero traffic from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ on a Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. We got to Brigantine Beach around 7:30, waited for the CVS to open at 8 to get sunscreen, and we were on the beach by 8:15 and stayed until 6. It was PERFECT. Not a cloud in the sky :)

Brigantine Beach is an awesome location if you're anywhere near the Jersey area. It doesn't get too crowded, the sand is super soft, it really looks like a Florida beach AND there's a bar right on the beach. It's pretty perfect!

The full day of sun knocked me out and I got a solid 10 hours of sleep on Saturday night. Woke up Sunday morning ready to tackle my 8 mile run!

My run on Sunday was definitely harder than my 7 miler last weekend, but I keep surprising myself. I seriously thought when I started training for this half marathon that anything more than 5 miles is just going to feel like death, but to be honest, the long runs are my favorite. I think it's mostly because I can sleep in, eat a good breakfast and enjoy the morning. The slow and steady pace is leisurely and although I sweat like a pig, it's just refreshing to run along the river and zone out in my music. I think I'm starting to experience these runner highs.

Next weekend I am going to taper off and do either a 6 or 7 mile run and then the week after I will do 9. I still have a solid 8 weeks before the race, but I am glad I started training earlier because it's giving me confidence that I'll be able to finish the race without dying. Typing about it also helps :)

Now I'm off to work (currently on the train)! I was quite absent from the blog last week so this week I plan to come back strong - I've got a couple recipes on the menu, a workout and ooohh a video! Stay tuned...

XO Rach

What would you like to see more of on this blog? I'm all ears (eyes)!

Happy Monday! I got a jolt of inspiration this weekend so I wanted to start off the week on a motivational note and talk about my journey to a half marathon.

Practice does not make perfect. What even is perfect? No one is perfect. But practice certainly makes for a lot more ease and ability, and it's truly all about progress. That's how I feel about running. I'm a terrible runner! I've got short legs, a short stride and I'm all around SLOW. Running has always been a challenge for me but this year I decided to finally take on the challenge and register for the Philly Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. It's also a fun way to explore my new home, right?

Last year I really wanted to run a half and I jumped into running way too quickly, didn't stretch enough, etc. I ended up with AWFUL shin splints that forced me to just stop. It was incredibly discouraging, and I just kind of decided that running wasn't my thing. When I moved to Philadelphia, however, I got back into going on short runs around the city and realized how much I actually enjoy running.

The half marathon I signed up for this time is on Oct. 31. I've started training, but I'm not too hard on myself this time because my goal for this race is to simply finish without stopping to walk, even if it takes me three hours! Hopefully it won't, but you get the idea. I will say, a few weeks ago when my long run was a five-miler, I felt like there was NO way I could do anymore. Five felt like forever.

However, yesterday morning I ran seven miles and it was honestly one of the best runs I've ever had! It really gave me the push I needed to help me realize that I really can run a half marathon. I guess it's true what they say - if you put your mind to it, you can make it happen!

I've been trying to be a lot better about stretching before and after and foam rolling. Any running tips are much appreciated from any runners out there!

A few things I've discovered from changing up my routine to add in more running:

• I LOVE being outside. Unless I have to teach, I've been aiming to get outside for my workouts, not just running.
• Running is an amazing stress reliever. More-so than a strength training workouts or yoga for me, I think because I can listen to my favorite music and enjoy the scenery - it's simple, it's a great workout and I feel good after. The perfect weather here in Philly has also been helping...
• I love where I live. Seriously, I've discovered so many awesome streets and places that I want to eat. And homes that I want to live in. Philadelphia is a beautiful place!
• Shoes and compressions socks are everything. Running in Asics and wearing compression socks this time around has made all the difference. Although my shins act up sometimes, my hips and my knees never bother me.

I'll keep the updates coming about my running adventures.

Running - love or hate it?

Do you have any half marathon training tips?