Good morning! Lots of new things to share with you because I have gotten quite a few deliveries over that past couple days. First, and foremost let’s talk about my super sweaty, yet awesome interval run yesterday on the treadmill. I usually get very bored on treadmills but interval training keeps me interested and is perfect for the .25 mile speed work I have to do every two weeks for half marathon training. This week I only had to do 6x .25 mile worth of speed, but I felt great afterwards.
The total mileage with warmup, warm down, speed work, and resting pace was 2.84 miles but for 1.5 of those miles I was running at 6:40 mile pace and it felt GREAT. Usually I am dying after a speed like that, but I was energized and felt as if I could do more. A good sign for the BAA Half in October? I think so! It is important to compliment your longer, slower runs with some speed work either on the treadmill or on a track, especially when training for a race. The short bursts of speed are a time to show yourself how fast you can actually go. Over time, you will be able to hold that faster speed for a longer amount of time until it feels easy. I honestly believe my increase in speed work has helped me run all the PRs I have done in the past 3-4 months. The only sad part about the inverval run was it was my last run in my old Nike Frees, but you know what that means…NEW SHOES!
My new running shoes came in the mail yesterday. It was about time to retire my old Nike Frees, even though I haven’t had them for that long. I have put a good amount of miles on them and I am being very proactive about preventing another injury like last fall. Changing shoes, wearing the right shoes, strength training, etc. I know a lot of runners have fancy $100+ shoes, but I absolutely swear by Nike. I have tried ASICS, Brooks, and Adidas and they all make my knee hurt/don’t make me feel like I’m running naturally. The way I feel during a run is extremely important to me so when I felt like I was running awkwardly, I wasn’t able to focus on the run itself. I bought my first pair of Nike Frees back in March and I am never turning back. I’m sad to retire my old shoes since I have been running really well in them but I have a feeling the new beauties will be great as well.
Yes, they are a little bright…OK, very bright but that is why I love them. Neon is my life and my first run in them this morning felt awesome (check out the workout log for details). I settled on the Nike Free + 3. I order all my shoes, and a lot of my running stuff from Road Runner Sports. They have AMAZING customer service and great deals/discounts. There were so many issues with my order this time (ran out of my first choice of shoe, accidentally started to send me the wrong size) but all I had to do was email customer service and they immediately helped me out. They also gave me an additional discount just because they ran out of the first color I wanted! I would recommend this site to anyone. They truly are a pleasure to do business with and they know how to treat their customers.
I also did some dress shopping since one of my favorite websites for cute clothes, Tobi.com, had a 50% off everything sale last week. They always have 30% new arrivals everyday and have a ton of unique, fun dresses. If I could buy all of them I would. I purchased the Athena Maxi Dress and the It’s a Wrap Dress II in Mint Green.
I am a huge fan of the cut out dresses and maxi dresses so the Athena Dress is literally made for me. I will be wearing it to NYC tomorrow and it’s going to be perfect for the hot weather this weekend. I bought the It’s a Wrap Dress as a birthday dress possibility (the belt in the picture did not come with the dress). Mint green is a big hit this summer (I even have the color on my toes right now) and I’m in love with the short dress/long sleeve combo. It’s light enough to wear during warmer weather, but dressy enough to wear it out to dinner and drinks.
That’s all for today. Now it’s your turn to talk to me!
Do you have a pair of “go to” running shoes or are you still exploring brands/types? Is there a particular website you buy them from or do you always buy in-store? What do you think of my new dresses? Do you think the mint green one is birthday worthy?
Happy almost Friday!
I rock ascics!! They are the only running shoe for me. It is funny how every runner goes through several different brands to find “their” brand. I love both of those dresses but especially love the first one, those colors together are amazing!
I think once people find something that works, they don’t want to change it!
The colors of the dress are ultimately what made me buy it! Love it!
I love Brooks pure cadence!
But I’m going to explore their pure projects line.
BTW, cute dress!
HUGE fan of your blog! Love how passionate you are about fitness and the fact that you were a D1 athlete!! I was so pumped when you published your vegetarian chili recipe. Keep up the great work Candice. I want to use your awesomeness as inspiration for myself to become fit.
Ah! I love comments like this! Thank you so much for stopping by! Hopefully I can keep you interested with some more easy meals!
You’re quite welcome Candice. It just occurred to me: You know what I would love to read from you? If you’re able to watch the Olympic swimming meets, your analysis of the performances; maybe, including some technique critiques. I’d rather read your takes than hear the ones from the overpaid talking heads. Just an idea for some fresh, neat blog content.
Unfortunately I did not get to watch a ton of the Olympics swimming coverage! Way too busy!