I started the week in my thirties and ended up in my forties. New age group bitches!!!
The whole family! It was a great celebration of LIFE!
WEEK OF MARCH 16, 2015
RUNNING: Last Monday started with a bang when I ran 18 miles in the sun. The first half of the run I was still digesting peanut butter so that wasn’t good but the middle was amazing and end was painful. I was hoping for 7:50 pace and ended up with 7:58. Hey, I’m 40, cut me some slack.
It took me to .01 to hit the stop button because I was delirious.
I rounded out the rest of the week with an easy 5 miler on Wednesday and some speed work in the form of 4 x 1 mile repeats on Thursday.
Total mileage: 31.5 (not too shabby for a total of three runs!)
CYCLING: I was happy to return to spin class on Tuesday for an hour of cycling. I was cringing when I first walked down my stairs at 5am on Tuesday morning, feeling the full effect of the 18-miler the day before. I may have thought something like “how the hell am I going to teach class?” but, it actually felt really good to spin out my legs and sweat out all those chomps!
SWIMMING: When you see “Kick and Scream” as the title of your pool workout, it can’t be good. I asked CRS if she didn’t recall I ran 18 miles on Monday when she prescribed (among 1900 other yards) 10 x 50 kicks! I’m not really sure if I walked or crawled out of the pool. I do know that all that kicking made the sprints sets wildly fun and floaty.
STRENGTH TRAINING: I’m really starting to see all this strength training pay off! I have almost no pain in my left hamstring and my glutes (especially that pesky right one!) are firing on all cylinders…or more then they were. Here’s a glimpse of what I do to keep them that way:
Yes, I’m wearing my Shamrock compression socks because it was St. Patrick’s Day and I’m sooooo very Irish. #KeepItReal
SNOWBOARDING: An absolutely amazing weekend of snowboarding in the sun with my brother. All the kids skied, and a great time of just hanging out was had by ALL…
It was sunshine and smiles on the mountain all day long!
My nephew was a little eager to get out on the slopes! He’s three and skis like the wind…
Birthday party dinner with my BIL and SIL.
FUEL: Waffles, burgers and beer and of course, birthday cake baby…
Slope side…
GEAR: There are so many cool Kickstarter campaigns for runners right now! For anyone who hates to run in the dark (I’m looking at you Angela!) you must back these:
Lights for your shoes! Genius!
There’s only two days left to get these things made so let’s do this people! I had a chance to talk with the husband of the wife/husband team who created these and he was one of the nicest, most down to earth people/runners I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to. Their main concern? Runner safety.
Here’s a quick sales pitch: they are lightweight (only 1 and half ounces each!), they run on LED rechargeable batteries and have a winged design that clips onto your running shoes – zero bounce factor and 270 degrees of light. See and be seen!
THINGS I LOVE: My new snowboard!!!! I’ve seriously been riding the same board for almost 20 years. I still have my Burton Twin 139 (foreshadowing much?) that I purchased at the Burton factory when it opened in Burlington, VT when I was a college student. I absolutely love that board but it was definitely time to say good-bye. As the guy in the ski check said about my bindings “They just don’t make ’em like that anymore.” And it’s for a very good reason…
My new ride!
THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH: Waiting in ridiculously long lift lines! When you take a sunny weekend in March, add in a gorgeous mountain of fresh snow, you get a lift line that looks like this:
Is there a lift up ahead? And am I the only one not wearing a helmet?
However, this line gave me the opportunity to read all the fantastic Facebook messages everyone left me for my birthday! I absolutely loved reading each and every one – some were hilarious, others short and sweet and some made me tear up – that in itself was a gift so THANK YOU!
RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’m sorry Miss Jackson,” sung randomly by multiple people in our party, for various reasons. It’s best to leave it at that.
How was your weekend?
What do you think about the running shoe lights?
What have you been “fueling” with lately?
Aw, looked like the perfect way to celebrate and once again, Happy 40th Birthday Allie! 😉
Thanks Janine! It was so great I want to do it all over again.
It sounds like you had a really enjoyable celebration and I’m happy for you! Congrats on everything and I hope you continue to enjoy the week!
Thanks Hollie. I have more parties and dinners coming up so it’s going to be a great week!!
I’m so glad you brought in a new decade doing what you love AND with a new board. My board is actually a hand me down and it’s the one I learned on. Yup, definitely don’t make me like the used to! And those lights are awesome! Looking into now!
I can’t wait to see how much different this new one is! It will be like going from a Pinto to a Caddy I’m sure!
Those lights are seriously amazing. I can’t wait to get my pair!
sounds like you had a lovely day, and I am so happy for you! Love that big beautiful smile of yours!! You can’t start throwing that phrase of being 40 around everywhere….we all know you are younger than that at heart 😉 Glad you had a good day, and SO happy the strength training is coming together, I feel that way too!
Thanks so much Tina! I will definitely be using 40 to my advantage in any way I can.
That kick and scream workout sounds like it would make me kick and scream as well. CRS doesn’t play any games but that is why you have her! You have had a snowboard for 20 years? Wowza!! I bet they have updated quite a bit since then. Looks like an awesome family weekend!!!
Yes, that’s exactly why I have her. She definitely balances me out!
I seriously cannot believe I’ve had it for so long either but there was a good stretch (having kids!!) when I didn’t go at all.
Yey for new age groups (not like you really need it though). Looks like an awesome way to ring in your birthday. Love the snowboard. Wish I could snow board. I took a lesson once and failed miserably. Your new board is awesome! And, wait…what do you mean do you don’t wear a helmet??????
I DO need the new age group!! I will take every angle I can get!!
No, I don’t wear one. NO one did until the last 5 years or so. I know I should but it makes me feel like I’m going to topple over!! I know, I know…I have to do it before my kids notice because it’s mandatory for them!!!
What a great way to spend a big birthday! Although those lift lines….holy smokes! Loving the board you got. We are looking at end-of-year deals to get my son one since he has fallen in love with it and doesn’t want his skis anymore.
Ouch on those kicks! I hate, hate, hate, kicking in the pool. So unless I’m wearing fins, I don’t do it! How’s that for a good attitude? Wait until the end of your 40s–these are the things you do.
Love the shoe light idea and I really hope it makes it to market. I decided I was done with my head lamp this year.
That is so great about your son, although I have to say there were a lot more skiers then riders on the mountain…especially people “my age.”
Trust me, I don’t do kicks AT ALL unless it’s in my training plan and it’s usually no more then 2 x 50. It was awful!!…but I think it helped my snowboarding 🙂
Head lamps are horrible and these lights are awesome. I think it’s been funded so hopefully you will be able to get them soon!!
Looks like you had such an awesome birthday!!!! I pretty much totally want to buy a Bosu ball now :). That was an AWESOME 18 miler by the way!!!! I am so excited for your marathon!!!!! I had a rough 14 miler on Sat…I did it with some 1/2 MP miles in it…the hard part of it was good but by the end my legs were toast! It was also done after a pretty hard training week. It showed me my endurance is not where it needs to be, but it’s still early in the season 🙂
You snow board looks so pretty…I have never been snowboarding, but you are definitely styling!
I just had a horrible 20 miler today. I don’t really know what happened but what should have been an easy 8:30 pace just totally blew up. I hung in there but it was ugly. Luckily this is my “practice” marathon coming up in April and I have plenty of time to polish off my endurance by fall…and so do you!!
Thanks Jen!
Woohoo- speedy 18 miler!! My long runs have been slow. I’m just barely hanging on at this point in training- but the end is in sight. So glad you had such an awesome birthday!! You do not look anywhere near 40, by the way. 🙂
Thank you so much Laura!! My 20 miler today was a slower pace and somehow it felt worse!? I guess some days are just off.
I love the pictures of the family! I’m glad you had a good time! You will have to tell me what kicks are for the pool.
Thanks Kris!! Kicks are when you hold a kick board out in front of you and do laps by just kicking. It’s horrible.
Nice board!!! (I’m saying it like I know anything about snowboarding….)
Those lines are long – I would have given up and gone to hang out in the lodge.
And, I can’t wait to try those single leg BOSU jumps – I have a feeling they will be a 45 later this week!
It really went by quickly, and that was the worst one of the day because of the location of that lift. Trust me, I did plenty of hanging out in the lodge!!
I’m so glad you’re going to try the single leg Bosu jump! Can’t wait to see it and if you like it!!
What fun times! And those waffles… gimme!
I wish I could bring the smell of those waffles with me everywhere I went. I would be VERY popular.
Happy birthday lady!! Woo hoo! You are going to kick butt, I know it! Also, I love your new snowboard. Very cool.
I hate it when I’m exercising and I’m still digesting breakfast. I feel so gross!
Thank you Brittany!!
Ugh, that run was so hard for a while. I could almost feel my body trying to digest the peanut butter. Awful!!
bappy birthday! now i have outkast stuck in my head – not that it’s a bad thing. i love birthdays so i’m glad you had a great one. that swim workout sounds INTENSE!
Ha ha – thank you!! It was!!
What an amazing week! Except for those lift lines. That’s craziness. Not a bad way to ring in 40 – surrounded by good people. I hate kicking sets with a passion. Hate’em. Love your new snowboard and the single leg jumps on the Bosu.
Thanks Christine! That line was definitely the worst one all day but it was people trying to get over to the Okemo side of the mountain from Jackson Gore.
I’m supposed to swim today and if there are any kicks, I’m using my fins!! I can’t take it!
Happy, happy belated birthday!! Sounds like you rang in a new decade in style, full of fun and family!
It was great! Thanks so much!
Happy Birthday!!! What a fantastic celebration and your snowboard is oh so cool!!
Love that you are celebrating all week – that’s the way to do it!!! 🙂
Yes, the celebration must go on and on an on! Thanks Natalie!
Happy 40!!!!!! Kick ass board too. I can’t believe you had the same one for 20 years! Then I realize I’ve had the same softball glove for almost 20… True love. 😉
Either that or we just really get attached to things! 🙂 Thanks Laura!
Welcome to the forties, my friend – they are fabulous! As are those bosu one legged jump things you are doing – I’m trying them tomorrow! My right hip flexor is giving me some issues, and I am getting back on the strength training wagon to help prevent more aches and pains. Hopefully.
So far, so fabulous!
Can’t wait for you to try the jumps. Let me know how it goes. Hip flexors are pesky injuries!!
Holy lift line batman…HAPPY BIRTHDAY! So jealous you got to hit the slopes…that’s my dream…except my birthday is in September. And I’m not divulging my age but it’s a big one! Hope you are doing well!!
haha, I nearly Googled “digesting peanut butter” to see if it was some sort of running expression!
Ok, that lift line is ridiculous, but good for reading! And your new snowboard is very pretty.
Happy Birthday! I’ve enjoyed all your blog posts and tweets leading up to your birthday! Each decade should be celebrated! Lately, I’ve been thinking about my nutrition and what a woman’s body needs at 40 for optimal health and running! Still researching! I hit 40 at the end of April!
You make 40 look fun. Heck, you make life look fun!