5 Tips For Getting Back into A Routine

My mojo has been missing lately, and I'm over it! I haven't been following a running training plan or scheduling out my weeks. Lots of missed workouts, shorter runs, and not enough stretching & yoga.  Also I've been really slacking on my greens and water intake (as I try to to drink a Gundalow green juice after an indulgent wedding weekend).  Side note, the Tone it Up ladies posted a great list of how to bounce back eating-wise after an indulgent weekend. 

I like being flexible with my schedule and being comfortable with getting in what I can when things come up throughout the week #wycwyc).  It's the only way I stay sane. That meant when I woke up feeling under the weather on Saturday and had to travel to a wedding later, I did 4 miles instead of the 8 I had planned. That meant eating out for dinner many times this week due to birthday celebrations.  

With being busy at work, vacation, social events, and my birthday, I've gotten off track. Before the start of a new week and as the spring/summer only proves to be busier, I want to get things in line again. 

Being organized keeps me happy, less anxious, and more productive!

Getting my life re-organized is easier said than done. 

Here's 5 ways I'm setting myself up for this week:

1. Drink more water. 

With the warmer weather I have definitely been noticing  that I am more dehydrated and really need to step up my water intake, especially when outdoor are in the mix.  You here this advice so often because it's so important! More water makes your body happy & balanced, gives you clearer skin, and gets rid of bloat. I'm aiming for half my body weight in ounces in water each day based. I use a 32 oz. water bottle so I only have to drink 2 bottles a day which makes it easier for me.  

 2. Go to bed at a reasonable time.

This is probably the hardest one for me. I'm a night owl, but have been in this awful pattern for months and months now of staying up late, sleeping in later because I need sleep, and repeat. If I go to bed earlier I can workout before work and not feel completely like death all morning.  This will definitely help me to fit in all my workouts. The less I need to do after work the better, especially with a full calendar these days.  

5 Friday Favorites 5/8/15-Ways to Share Running & Fitness Love

I obviously  love sharing running & fitness love so today's  DC Trifecta Friday Five linkup seemed like a perfect topic to discuss on the blog . Life is still cray and busy and I'm not caught up on life or even unpacked after my vacation, race, and birthday.  Hoping to make some progress Sunday but if it's sunny outside, all bets are off! 

5 Friday Favorites: Ways to Share the Running/Fitness Love

1. Find a group. 

Whether you recruit friends to run with you or join a local running group, running with others is my favorite way to share the love.  In Baltimore, check out local running groups through Charm City Run, a race training group like the Baltimore Women's Classic 5K training,  join this month's Shake Shack Track & Field run, or drop in for a free November Project-Baltimore workout with me! People who sweat together, stay together!

Mid-run Team Nuun Hood to Coast selfie from August 2014

2. Connect online. 

I love finding motivation, encouragement, and friends through connecting with others online. There are Facebook groups like the Half Fanatics, Twitter, blogs, and Instagram. You can search for hashtags like #runchat, #run, #fitfluential to find some posts about running & fitness and be inspired! 

3. Make it a date. 

Birthday Check-in

Life has been crazy with travelling, a family vacation, my first Broad Street Run, the BWC training group, and now my 27th birthday. 

Yep Cinco de Mayo is also a celebration of my day of birth, didn't you know?  It also happens to fortuitously fall on Taco Tuesday. So go eat some guacamole and tacos tonight and think of me!

I swear I'll eventually get all caught up-it just might take a few weeks!

Yesterday my guest post went live on Chrissy's blog Snacking in Sneakers. I shared an easy, no equipment at-home arms and abs workout so please check it out and share! 

Baltimore Women's Classic Charm City Run Training Starts TONIGHT

I've run the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k the past two years in a row (2013 recap here) and love this all-women's race that takes over the Inner Harbor. Besides being the mid-atlantic's largest all-women's 5K, the race is well-organized, always fun, and benefits the Cancerve which supports women cancer patients. This year is the race's 40th anniversary is taking place in Baltimore on June 28, 2015.  

I also love my local running store Charm City Run (CCR) and have participated in their fall marathon training group the past two years. They do a great job of helping you follow a training plan, meet fellow runners, and learn specifics about running such as nutrition. 

I am excited to say that I'll be volunteering as an assistant coach for Charm City Run's Baltimore Women's Classic Training Group that meets in Patterson Park starting tonight.  

The training program is in locations all across the area and is for anyone from a beginner or intermediate walker, walker to run, and beginning or intermediate runners. It doesn't matter if you have never run a race before or have never even run before!  You also aren't obligated to sign up for the 5K if you so choose, although I highly encourage it. The weekly group runs will be once a week (day depending on the location of the group) from 6:30-7:30 PM.    

CCR Baltimore Women's Classic 2015 training starts TONIGHT at 6:30 PM in the following locations: 

Tonight, May 4th

Lake Montebello in Baltimore

Patterson Park in Baltimore

Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis

Tuesday, May 5th

Centennial Park in Ellicott City

Goucher College in Towson

Wednesday, May 6th

Cedar Lane Park in Bel Air

Winter Mill High School in Westminster

Thursday, May 7th

CCBC Catonsville Track in Catonsville

The program only costs $25 and includes the 8-week training plan, weekly group runs, a t-shirt, a 10% discount to Charm City Run and more! 

Register here online or just show up at 6:30 PM at any of the training locations this week and sign up in person! 

Grab your friends and come sign up for a fun way to get in shape this season and possibly run a great race (maybe even your first!).  You can check out the race website or the Facebook page for more details.  

Have you ever joined a training group? Have you run in an all-women's race?

Things That Shouldn't Exist {Part 1}

Edit: I wrote this post before I went out of town which coincided with all the the unrest and news coverage on Baltimore. My apartment was less than a mile from riots, looting, and police altercations but luckily all my friends and my apartment building & boyfriend were all safe. It seems like a trivial post now, but maybe a little laughter will help a few who haven't had much to laugh about in Baltimore lately.  My heart aches for a place I call home, and as I head back I want to help the city heal and stay strong anyway I can.  There will probably be a longer post about what happened and my feelings but I felt I had to just mention this now.  The ladies at BmoreTone have posted a great round-up of ways to help Baltimore.  #OneBaltimore

I loved this post Emily did so I decided to do my own version.

This is of course the more insignificant annoying things to me at the moment. Serious issues like cancer, war,hate crimes etc. of course should not exist.  There will probably be more posts like this because commiserating with others over annoying things is fun. 

Things That Shouldn't Exist  Part I

1. That evil little bottom part of a banana.

2. Places without Wawa.

It's a New Jersey thing. It's the best convenience store with delicious Icees, coffee, sandwiches, and snacks, 24-7.  Thank goodness there are some in Maryland. 

3. Drivers who sit in the left lane and aren't passing other cars.  

The left lane is not for doing right under the speed limit. 

4. Commericals. 

It's why Netflix is the best. I hate interrupted television. 

5.People confusing "their", "there" and "they're". 

6. Hangnails

Love Run Philadelphia Half Marathon 2015 Recap

Life won't slow down, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Unfortunately that means a lot of half finished blog posts sitting in my draft box. Today I rallied and managed to get this race recap out for you!

The last weekend in March I returned to Philadelphia to seek vengeance on the Love Run Half Marathon.  Last year was the inaugural race and was really well organized. I loved everything about it except for the down-pouring rain for most of the race. It figures that one of the few races my parents came to see me finish there is a record rainfall that day for Philadelphia.   I knew I had to come back and run it again, this time hopefully without rain.  

I had just been in Philly the past weekend and had gotten a little run around the Ben Franklin Parkway where the half marathon would start & finish. This is where most of the races I've run in Philadelphia start. 

I had quickly gone to the expo at Citizens Bank Park the day before and picked up my bib, mug, free 2 Phillies' ticket vouchers,neck buff, nice long-sleeve red tech-tee. It was really windy and cold in the stadium so I grabbed my  things, purchased an awesome Bondiband with the race logo, redeemed my ticket vouchers, and left.  I loved the stadium expo because it was easy to navigate, convenient for parking, and a cool place to visit. If it was warmer I probably would have rushed around less. 

Race morning I left a little later than I wanted to get into the city thanks to my driver/boyfriend, but managed to get to the start line with 15 minutes to spare. Now we had been having some nice spurts of spring weather ,but this particular weekend showed March would not be tamed as temperatures were downright wintry in the high 30s. That means it was somewhere in the 20s on race morning-yikes!  I was representing ZOOMA Annapolis (register here with my code LAUREN15 to save 10%) but had to layer my cute Oiselle ZOOMA tank over a cold-gear zip-up. 

Photo taken from Love Run Philadelphia. I love this city. 

Marathon Monday 2015

Wishing everyone a happy Marathon Monday! I'm cheering for all my friends running the Boston Marathon and definitely will be watching the results live via my computer at work today. 

Why isn't Marathon Monday a national holiday? 

 Besides cheering for Shalane and Meb, I know friends and other bloggers running so it's really fun to virtually follow everyone. 

I think the Boston Marathon is the most inspiring sports event!

One day soon it'll hopefully be my turn to run such a special race. I'm feeling really inspired and think this year might be there I get my time with only a minute (plus a little extra) to shave off! 

Get ready, Baltimore-Shack Track and Field is Coming!

I am SUPER pumped to be sharing the news with everyone that Shack Track and Field will be starting in Baltimore next month!

What is that you ask?

Shake Shack is a delicious restaurant which serves burgers, fries, milkshakes and other yummy treats which I've previously raved about with numerous locations across the country. 

In cities including New York, Philadelphia, and DC there is a group called Shack Track & Field started by one of Shake Shack's awesome Operations Managers, Allan.  A group of people run together on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 PM usually 3-5 miles and then end up at a Shake Shack to enjoy a free beer. You could always just run the most direct route to Shake Shack though! 

It's open to anyone of any running pace.  It's one of those awesome community experiences because you know that at 7 PM in multiple cities, people are all running and ending up at a Shake Shack.   

Let's face it, people probably end up grabbing dinner there too because who could resist their yummy food?

I had initially read about Shack Track & Field in Runner's World  a few months ago (see article here)  and totally wanted to go to one of the DC or Philly runs. Lucky for me, I was invited to the demo run of the Baltimore Shack Track & Field last night.  I tested out the 5 mile route Charm City Run had come up with which included a nice run down along the Inner Harbor, through Harbor East, and into Fells Point before heading back towards the Shake Shack.  

Baltimore's Shack Track & Field will be starting next month in May (5/12) and continue at  7 PM on the second Tuesday of each month.  It's also great because Shake Shake has partnered up with my favorite running store, Charm City Run. The run starts from Charm City Run in McHenry Row at 7 PM with a 3 mile or 5 mile route, ending up at Shake Shack in the Inner Harbor at 400 East Pratt Street.