Coach Jen B

Happy Monday!  I was super excited to wake up to hear ice beating on the windows...and then to see some nasty ice/slush/snow combination on the ground.  I was convinced that if I stared at my cell phone long enough - I was going to get THE TEXT telling me to stay in bed - at least for another hour.  But nope.  No text.  A girl can dream, right?   I love 2 hr delays - but at the same time I really hope this is our nasty, cold, gross weather situation for the rest of spring. Let's move on to some more positive notes - like running and fitness.   Last week's training.   Monday 5 miles and then stretching it out for Happy Fit Mama!  Tuesday 3.6 miles and then a wall sit.  Burning quads! and you're going to be shocked - I'm wearing my Gone for a Run sweatshirt! Wednesday 3.26 miles - #326forepilepsy  I wore purple at school and wore purple when I ran later that night for everyone whose life is impacted by epilepsy.  As

Have you tried Bestowed yet?  If you haven't, you are missing out.  Bestowed is a monthly subscription box that gets delivered to your mailbox or door filled with hand selected items by Heather Bauer.   The March box was focused on immune-strengthening ingredients - like lemon, ginger, honey, tea, and oats - which was perfect because March seems to be the month of illness.  It seems like everyone in my house has been sick this month.  I'm definitely looking forward to warmer weather so I can do a huge spring cleaning and open the windows and rid my house of all the germs.  But until then, I'll just continue to load us up with immunity-boosting foods and drinks.   I have got to be super honest with you.  I'm not a fan of ginger.  I used to love it.  However, when I was pregnant with Izzy, I had horrible morning sickness and ate a lot of ginger to keep it away.  Perhaps too much, because now ginger makes me cringe.  I was a little nervous when I ope

A few weeks ago I received an invite on Facebook.  I accepted the invitation just as fast as the invitation popped up on my phone and squealed with excitement.  You would have thought I won the lottery at the way I reacted.  Seriously.   As a matter of fact, I won, big time.  I was invited to attend a Wine and Dine and Photo Shoot with the ladies of Spandits .  Being the only Spandits Ambassador living close enough to be able to attend, I felt quite lucky to be invited.  This was a great opportunity to get to see Kelley and Sarah, their awesome running group, and check out their new prints and products with the new stitching.   I was so excited, but quite nervous as well!  Before I dropped the kids off at my inlaws, I had to send this picture off to Ward.    I only knew Kelley and Sarah and was feeling quite nervous about not knowing anyone else.  You wouldn't really know this about me, but I am rather shy in new situations.   But after a few snacks, a little

Here we are...Monday!  But hey, only three more working Monday's until April break....which means 4 weeks until Boston!  I'm getting very excited to be taking the family down to Boston again to cheer Ward and some other friends on.   Here's my week in review:  Monday & Tuesday:  100% complete rest.   Fever.  Horrible cold.  And I am very proud of myself.  I rested.   Even when I received a super awesome box in the mail on Monday.  I even stayed home from school on Tuesday.  I normally don't stay home for myself.  But I was that sick.   Instead, I just put them on and admired them while sitting by the wood stove.   Wednesday: 3 miles @ 8:04 pace.  After not running for a couple of days, I just wanted to run fast.  I tried to keep it in check, but my new Karhu's felt awesome and it was warm enough for my Spandits capris .  So I just went for it! Thursday: 5 miles @ 8:12 pace.  I was going to run outside, but Ward c

You may be thinking, what in the world is a running blogger reviewing a toothbrush?  Well, first, let me tell you, I really like to emphasize overall health here on my blog.  Not just running, not just eating healthy, but overall health.  Keeping your teeth and gums clean and healthy is so important!  And second, this isn't just any toothbrush.   The Toilet Tree Rechargeable Toothbrush is a very high quality toothbrush that is far better than any other battery operated toothbrush I've tried before.   My thoughts.   My teeth feel super clean.  You know that really clean feeling you get after leaving the dentist's office after a cleaning?  Yep.  I get that feeling every single day now.    The battery lasts an incredibly long time.  I don't know how long it lasts, yet.  But I'll tell you it's longer than 3 weeks.  When my new toothbrush came, I followed the directions and plugged it in for 24 hours.  After that, I unplugged it - mostly becaus

Another Monday is here.  But it's a special one.  The last Monday in this winter season.  Oh yes!  Now, if we'd get a major heat wave and melt all that snow and ice and I could get back on the rail trail.  A girl can dream, right?   Regardless of the horrid weather, it didn't hold me back from my training.    Monday - REST!   Tuesday - 3.5 miles.  44 degrees, melting snow.  I even ran without a vest and gloves.   Wednesday - 7 miles.  We had another (last??? please!) snowstorm come rolling in Wednesday. The forecast was calling for a pretty bad afternoon, which resulted in an early dismissal.  I took advantage of my "extra" time and hit the gym.   Thursday - 6 miles.  No school today, but the gym didn't close.  I was scheduled to work so I went in a little early and got in my speed workout.  Nailed it.  Warm up/7:30/recovery/7:20/recovery/7:00/cooldown.  Felt fantastic!!! Friday - 3.3 miles.  Easy after school

At 6:45 am, I got to school, got my laptop ready, pulled out my credit card and pulled up the website.   I was ready to go.  And it was only 6:48.  12 more minutes!    I decided I would do a little planning/organizing on my desk.  And then I saw 6:58.    Call Ward make sure he was up and ready to go.  Check.   Now....  Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.  GO!   Type as fast and accurately as I can.   Wait for that confirmation screen and done.   I'm in! Then I sit back and watch Facebook light up with the "I'm in" status updates and some "I didn't make it" updates.   Yes, this is what happens on the morning of Beach to Beacon registration.  This morning, 4000 people registered for this 10K in 4 minutes and 32 seconds.   That's insane.  And this year, I'll be one of those crazy ass people.  Along with many of my friends, and Ward.   Now, Monday morning we register for the LL Bean 10K.  That one isn't as

Another snowstorm = another snow day.   I have got to admit.  I really do enjoy seeing this text in the morning.  I seriously have lost count of how many times I've seen it.  4? 5?  It's been quite a bit this winter..  While I LOVE the day off, I'm not really looking forward to spending more time in school in June.   The bonus of having today off?   Ward has the day off too!  I kept Izzy home from daycare so we'll hang out all day - and get the kids outside for some fun.  And of course I'll get in a run too.  I haven't decided if it will be an outside run or a treadmill run yet.  But I will run!   Compression I am really loving these compression sleeves.   Crazy Compression has created a super affordable compression sock/sleeve line that has some fun colors and designs.  I love that I can wear these all day long without experiencing tightness and make my calves happy.   I am finding sleeves work best for me.  My feet only sometimes enj

Well hello, Monday.  You came awfully fast didn't you?  That's okay.  6 more weeks until April break.  Which means more weeks until Patriots Day and Ward's 3rd Boston Marathon.   Although I'm not the one running Boston, I'm still nervous and excited for Ward and what it's going to be like spectating this year.   Last week was another spectacular training week.  So spectacular, my legs told me today they were TIRED.   I actually did something I don't do a lot.  I sat down and watched a movie with the kids.  I should do this more often.  It was glorious.   Here's my week recap.... Monday -  6.6 miles Tuesday - 7.03 miles Wednesday - 5.79 miles Thursday - 3 miles  Friday - 4 miles Saturday -11.01 miles It wasn't enough that I ran 10 miles on the treadmill.  While I was making the kids lunch, I saw Happy Fit Mama post her 1 mile picture for her Happy Fit March challenge and I said "s