half marathon training week 3

August 13, 2012 by 3 Comments

Ruht roh. Looks like someone is starting a pattern of skipping her Saturday run…

I was anticipating it this week, however, so I made sure to get my long run in on Friday. That makes me only half a slacker, right?

  • Monday: Usually I’m strictly a morning runner, but I switched it up today and went for a sunset run along the Charles River. I figured I’d be sluggish and tired running so late in the day, but Boston was so pretty at that hour, I couldn’t help but enjoy every second of the run. During my lunch break I did a quick power wheel ab workout (which I’ll eventually share on the blog).
  • Tuesday: Monday’s night run was so pleasant that I decided to do another sunset workout. During my lunch break I did this full-body pyramid workout.
  • Wednesday: I ran in the morning, but I use the term “ran” loosely. It was more of a leisurely jog.
  • Thursday: I did an intense 15-minute workout on my lunch break that I’ll post on the blog soon.
  • Friday: Sluggish is the understatement of the century. Busy week, not enough sleep and one painful run as a result.
  • Saturday: I had a feeling I wouldn’t run today (had a weekend planned on the island with some friends) so I purposely did my long run on Friday. Skipping a 3-miler is better than skipping a 6-miler, right? Right.
  • Sunday: Rest.

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half marathon training week 2 & a running playlist

August 7, 2012 by 4 Comments

I meant to post this update Sunday night, but got back from Nantucket later than expected. Week 2 started out strong then ended in…doing absolutely nothing fitness-related all weekend long. But weekends like that are definitely the exception for me, not the rule, so I’m totally ok with it.

  • Monday: I did a quick plank workout to get the abs burning pre-run and will definitely need to share it on the blog next week.
  • Tuesday: I don’t know what got into me, but I FLEW through the first two miles of this run, which was all well and good until I got to the last mile…woof. During my lunch break I did an interval workout targeting the thighs and booty. Again…woof. Will have to post that workout on the blog soon as well.
  • Wednesday: A nice, leisurely morning run along the Harbor Walk. If you follow me on Instagram (@nicoleperr) you know how pretty the view is.
  • Thursday: On my lunch break, I did a killer Tabata interval circuit workout. Yet another that I’ll have to post on the blog asap!
  • Friday: My legs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds from Thursday’s workout. It was a sluggish 3-miler.
  • Saturday: Oops. I knew there’d be some training-cheating going on, but I didn’t think I’d bail during week 2. I was on Nantucket though, and my friend iced me at 9AM. You just simply can’t run 7 miles after being iced.
  • Sunday: Rest. (Again.)

{taken on one of my morning runs via instagram @nicoleperr}

And I wanted to share my current running playlist with you guys. When I work out I like “party” music/anything that will get me amped. And I’m always looking for more music because I overplay the bejesus out of these songs until the mere sound of them actually makes me nauseous. That being said, what songs are on heavy rotation for you?

  1. Control (Gigi Barocco Remix)—Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go
  2. Somebody That I Used to Know (Tiesto Remix)—Gotye feat. Kimbra
  3. Take a Walk—Passion Pit
  4. Good Good Night (Chuckie and Horny Sanchez Smash Krank Remix)—Roscoe Dash
  5. We Run the Night—Havana Brown feat. Pitbull
  6. Titanium—David Guetta feat. Sia
  7. Back in Time—Pitbull
  8. Only One—Sammy Adams
  9. Lights—Ellie Goulding
  10. Where Have You Been—Rihanna
  11. This Is Love—will.i.am feat. Eva Simons
  12. As Long As You Love Me—Justin Bieber feat. Big Sean

Don’t even try to judge me for having Justin Bieber on this playlist. At least I removed Call Me Maybe.

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do what you say you’ll do when drunk, sober: the story of my first half marathon

July 31, 2012 by 8 Comments

I’ve been an avid runner since my high school cross country days. Well, ok, sometimes senior year I would hide in the woods during practice and jump back into the run on the last lap, so maybe “avid” is a strong word…but suffice to say, I’ve been regularly running for years. And for almost as long, I’ve tossed around the idea of doing a half marathon, but just never pulled the trigger on doing it.

Then along came Saint Patrick’s Day weekend 2012. As a proud Italian-Portuguese-American, it was my cultural obligation to get hammered. I had no choice, guys. A disgusting amount of Bailey’s and countless beers later, I was doing my usual browse-the-internet-in-bed-before-passing-out-with-my-contacts-in routine. You can probably guess where this is going…

I woke up with my debit card on the pillow next to me and immediately it all came rushing back to me. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW, DRUNK NICOLE?! My online banking account confirmed it: I signed myself up to run the Amica Half Marathon in Newport, RI.

Compared to the things I did while drunk in college, this little stunt shows huge signs of maturity. Not gonna lie, I’m kinda proud of myself. And I’ll feel even more proud in October when I finish my first half marathon!

I don’t want to take away from the pace of pumps & iron with boring half-marathon training posts that the majority of you probably don’t even care about, but for the runners out there (and for my own personal benefit to help me stay accountable during the next few months), I’m going to do a weekly Sunday update of how I’m progressing. I’ll accompany each post with something everyone will find useful—playlists, new running routes to check out, etc.—and if nothing else, you can all get a good laugh as I (inevitably) fail to stick to my planned training schedule for various ridiculous reasons. I laid out my training based on the resources at CoolRunning.com. I’m going to adjust it at the start of each week to accommodate my social schedule because, hey, I’m a disciplined athlete, what can I say.

 

  • Monday: Felt great. Then again, it was day 1—I’d be seriously worried if I didn’t feel great. I ran in the morning before work and on my lunch break did my 30-minute kettle bell workout.
  • Tuesday: This run was four miles of absolute torture. I did it on my lunch break in the 86-degree midday heat, my Nike+ GPS running app was acting up and wouldn’t let me listen to music while I ran, my tendonitis was acting up and to top it all off, I was PMS-ing like a certified psychopath. I was shocked when I saw it only took me 35 minutes because it seriously felt like 35 years.
  • Wednesday: Weather was perfect for running at 5:30AM. Fixed the Nike app (if you ever encounter the same problem, press your iPhone’s lock button, NOT the app’s lock button in the lower corner of the screen). Great run to start my day! I was still feeling a little sore from Monday’s kettle bell workout (especially my inner thighs) so kept it light(er) with my plank workout.
  • Thursday: I did the Olympic Workout I posted yesterday on my lunch break.
  • Friday: After attending a booze cruise around Boston Harbor Thursday night, I can’t exactly say I was excited for this run. But it ended up turning my whole day around and gave me a much needed post-lunch-break energy boost.
  • Saturday: Great early morning long run.
  • Sunday: Rest.

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