You know those days that when it turns 5:30 p.m., you think back to what happened earlier in the day and it feels like a week ago? That was my day yesterday. I think that Daylight Saving time has something to do with it because it's now pitch black outside when I leave work, but it was just a long, strange day. I missed my train in the morning, a grumpy old man at CVS told me to drop dead around noon after I accidentally cut in line to buy soap and then a man approached me as I was rushing to catch my train to introduce himself and tell me that he was catching a train too but took the time to introduce himself (jeesh could you be a little more subtle, bud?) People, man. Lessons learned today: kick my ass into gear in the mornings, DON'T cut old men in line at the Pharmacy and maybe put my earphones in while I walk to the train.  Let's get to the fun stuff - sweat! 

Here's what my week of workouts looked like last week:

Monday: 

Teach 6 a.m. spin class 

Tuesday:

5K run along the river and a few stair sprints up the Art Museum steps. I loved this workout. I can't get enough of the fall weather and being outside after work. I mean, look at this view! 

Wednesday:

21-15-9-6 reps of hang cleans, push-ups, kettlebell swings and push presses 

4 Rounds of 100 meter run, 10 alternating box pistol squats, 5 bicep curl & press, 15 in and outs

Thursday: 

Early a.m. sculpt class

Friday:

Rested and carbed up for the half marathon!

Saturday: 

Philly Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon! First time I've ever run 13.1. 

Sunday:

I stretched a bit and put my mom through a little circuit workout. I didn't do all of it with her but it actually felt good to move my sore body! Then we went for about an hour and a half walk that was only supposed to be 30 minutes. Oh, and lots of eating. 

It was a solid week of workouts, but I really am looking forward to getting back into more strength training and mobility. Running has taught me a lot but I'm totally ready to switch it up again. 

I will leave you with this boot camp inspired workout that's adapted from my Super Circuits class & my half marathon playlist that I didn't even listen to during the half marathon! But I promise it's been on repeat otherwise. 

Can you tell that circuit style workouts are my favorite? Best bang for your buck!  

Have a great Hump Day, everyone!

XO- Rach

Did you have a weird Tuesday, or am I the only one? Is Mercury in Retrograde or something?

What was your favorite workout of the week?

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 FRIDAY! We made it through another great week. I cannot believe we're already at the end of October. I'm sad to see it go - so many great things happened this month. On the flip side, it was a very BUSY month and I'm looking forward to a fresh start in November and getting myself a bit more organized. Does anyone else feel that toward the end of the month you're just a little scrambled? Just me? Cool. 

Finds:

Michael came home with a a couple nights ago - these Angie's Boom Chicka Pop Holidrizzle flavors  including Pumpkin Spice & Candy Corn Kettle Corn. Oh YEAH. He also brought home these chocolates that he found at Whole Foods - one with energy and one with melatonin. This was actually on #NationalChocolateDay! There's a chocolate for everything.  

Around the web:

Improve Ankle Strength & Mobility - Tomorrow I'm running my first half marathon and my ankles were hurtin' bad on my last few long runs. I found this article really helpful if you're in the same boat! 

These Salmon Asparagus Muffins from Jess at hellotofit.com! These just look incredible and such a great on-the-go breakfast. 

10 Easy Ways to Save $250 This Week - I spend too much money on coffee! 

This Pumpkin Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl from Jen at peanutbutterrunner.com are drool-worthy and I think she's inspired me to enter the Chiquita Banana Recipe Contest if I have the time on Sunday!

Happenings:

My mom is coming tonight so that she can watch me slowly crawl run the Philly Rock 'n' Roll half marathon! I am excited to run my first half, but honestly I'm more excited to get it over with. Training for this half marathon has taught me a lot of things, but mostly that my body isn't really made for long distance running. But more on that another day, I'm just going to focus on having fun and sticking with my goal of running the entire race! 

Listening to:

If you listen to podcasts at all, I recommend Switched on Pop. Michael is a podcast enthusiast and gives me many recommendations. I think this is my favorite so far. The episodes feature two guys who take apart and analyze today's biggest music hits. It's SO cool. My favorite episode so far has been about The Weeknd's I Can't Feel My Face. If you know music theory at all or you just plain love music, this podcast is the jam. 

Current favorites: 

XO - Rach

Do you have any favorite Podcasts?

What are you loving this week?