Coach Jen B

and that's the story I'm sticking with.  If it's in print, it's got to be true, right? I blogged about that awful, lingering fever last week and thought I was back.   I had a pretty good stretch of some kick butt speed workouts last week, then a 12 miler, and BAM, that's awful fever was back!   It left me quite frustrated this time.  Another fever?  Seriously?  Why?  Perhaps I pushed too hard coming back.   So this time, I took Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off.   I even took 1/2 of Monday off from work.  I made it to about 10:30 and couldn't function.  So I found coverage for the rest of my classes and headed home.  Just as I was getting to my car, my phone rang.  It was the school nurse at Tucker's school.  He had a fever and needed to come home. Part of me was kind of relieved he was sick, which meant I was really (still) sick.  I retrieved him from school and we just napped and took it easy. Tuesd...

Brian at the Pavement Runner is hosting a link up today about what we have in our Fitness Closets.   Because my closet isn't very large, my fitness clothing is under my bed. I have them somewhat organized, but they are definitely not folded.  There is no time for that.  I'm happy just as long as they make it back into the right basket.   In my Long Sleeved basket - I have my favorite long sleeved race t's,  race jacket, and other long long sleeved t's. The long sleeved collection gets rotated through quite often from October to April.  Then I normally pack a few away in a tote and put them in the attic for the warmer months.  I will leave a few out just because this is Maine and it can still get chilly. My short sleeved and tank collection is rather slim right now because the bulk of them are in a tote somewhere in the attic. I suppose I'll have to get into the attic shortly to check out what I have in there.  It's alway...

Marathon training takes up quite a bit of time.  When I'm not working or taking care of the kids, I'm usually running, sleeping, or eating.  This doesn't leave a whole lot of time to do other things - like biking or cross training dvds.  I've had a few opportunities to try out my newest Xtrain Cardio Leg Blast, but never the entire dvd at one time. Today, I had an entire hour to do the entire dvd and I am sore.  I great sore for sure.   I thought the Cardio Leg Blast was perfect for me, to build more strength in my legs to make me a stronger, hopefully faster runner.  I'm thinking if I stick to this dvd, I will definitely, without a doubt, be a stronger, faster runner.  Cathe's dvd is an upbeat, challenging workout that left me feeling even stronger. I will note that I didn't have all of the equipment that was listed as needed - so I just improvised.  Instead of the risers, I pulled out a low bench that we have.  It wasn't perfect...

I didn't go anywhere.  I wish.  But I've had a fever since Friday and my last run was Friday morning.  I was scheduled to run 7 easy miles and I was only able to manage 5 painful, dizzy, miles.   I felt off for the rest of the day, I thought perhaps I was feeling off maybe due to the excitement of getting into those awesome races.  But Friday night it finally dawned on me that I felt flush and had been feeling rather flush all day.  So I took my temperature and that darned thermometer read 102F!  Grrrrr..... Because I am getting better at listening to my body, I heard it loud and clear with a temp, so I didn't run on Saturday or Sunday.  I rested, took care of myself, hydrated, ate, took medicine, but yet my temp stayed between 101 and 102.  I stayed home from school yesterday, and still didn't feel better. Today, Maine got hit by a snow storm which meant a bonus day off for me and the rest of the state.  But by 10 am, I was feeling ...

I have a whole lot of running new to share with you.  First and foremost, yesterday was a big race day for me (and a lot of people I know).  Yesterday, at 7 am, the Beach to Beacon 10k registration opened, and then closed 4:58 later.  Not 4 hours and 58 minutes, 4 minutes and 58 seconds later.  Craziness.  How many people exactly registered for this race in record time?  4,000 people!  And I'm in!  Ward is too.  And many more of my friends got in too.  It was so much fun to watch facebook light up yesterday with many of my friends proclaiming their acceptance into this race! Now, why on earth is this race so exciting?  There are a multitude of reasons. For me, #1: the brains and organizer behind this race is Joan Benoit Samuelson.  My idol. #2: the race takes place in a beautiful coastal town in Southern Maine - Cape Elizabeth and ends at my mom's most favorite lighthouse.  It's always emotional for me to enter the g...

2 months ago I was given the opportunity to review Diet-to-Go's meals.  I enjoyed every single bite of those meals. Diet-to-Go' s meals were completely satisfying and came in a variety of delicious, tasty meals that were quite convenient to prepare.  They were perfect for my busy mornings and lunches, when I have zero time to prepare anything. I am also drawn to Diet-to-Go as they promote a common sense approach to healthy living and weight loss.  They do not promote fad diets, diet pills, or other plans to focus on punishment.   I have always found that taking a common sense approach to healthy living leads to a more permanent change for the positive. With that said, I am pleased to announce that I  am Diet-to-Go's new ambassador!   Diet-to-Go is hosting a Tweetathon this weekend.  It starts on Saturday, 3/16/13 at 9 am and will continue on for 32 hours, or until Sunday, 3/17/13, at 5 pm .  This will be a fantastic opportunity to cha...

Running an obstacle race has been one of those races I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.   Add in some mud , in the middle of the summer , in the Boston area , and the name Dirty Girl and I am sold.   A few highlights of what The Dirty Girl 5k is about: -        women only -        for all ages and athletic abilities -        untimed, obstacle course -        teams are encouraged -        music -        adult beverages post race Now if you want a good laugh, check out the names of the 12 obstacles you will find along the course.   The names make me a little nervous but make me laugh even more.   I cannot wait to get down and dirty with my girls with these obstacles.   - Stairway to Heaven - Networking - Utopian Tubes - Get Over Yourse...

Anyone who is in the midst of training for a marathon or who has trained for a marathon before knows that it's almost a second "job".  A job that I love, but a job, nevertheless.   Marathon training requires a significant amount of time commitment.  And with that, comes a significant amount of miles put onto your shoes.  The past couple of weeks of my marathon training has had me logging in over 40 miles per week.  That's quite a bit of mileage for my legs and feet and I don't want to just do that in any old shoe.  With this kind of mileage, I only want to put my feet into shoes that I know will treat my body well.  Shoes are only one component to training, but they are quite an important piece to the training puzzle. I am beside myself with happiness that I was selected to try out the new Saucony Virratas.  I've been running in them consistently for the past couple of weeks and have just over 90 miles logged in them already.  They've...

This past week was week #5 of my marathon plan.  I've been using the Hansons Marathon Method, and I'm feeling great!  I am quite pleased that I'm following the plan and doing the speed workouts in the plan and I'm really taking it easy for my easy days.  I'm looking forward to the next 11 weeks of this plan and to see how I perform at Sugarloaf on May 19th.   Here's a quick look at my week in training: MONDAY 6 "easy" miles + 20 min of Best Body Bootcamp TUESDAY Scheduled rest day - so I took an hour to try out cathe's Cardio Leg Blast.  Wow!  This workout was tough and I was exhausted afterwards.  It truly gave me a great workout.  If you are looking for a fabulous workout that concentrates on your legs, this is the one for you.  I am quite partial to this one as I know adding more strength to my legs will only help me as a runner.   WEDNESDAY 5 miles of intervals on the treadmill at school t...