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Berlin Marathon Race Recap!
TL DR: Berlin was awesome and I highly recommend running this marathon! Berlin Berlin Berlin! I am slowly coming down from my marathon high. Berlin was everything I hoped it would be. It was a long journey to get to the start line because of Covid. It wasn’t until the night before the race that I was certain it was going to happen. It was always on my mind that the race could be cancelled. My head wasn’t fully in it this go around. It made for a tough training cycle. When I would be getting ready for a long training run, I would question if I should keep training…
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My favorite summer smoothie!
A strawberry banana smoothie will always be my favorite smoothie. However, I like to sneak in a few extra vegetables into this classic smoothie to give me a few more vitamins and minerals. Did you know that you can add zucchini to a smoothie and it barely alters the taste?! It adds a little bit of thickness to your smoothie which is always a nice touch! The same goes with carrots! Carrots will add some sweetness to it, but nothing like fruit. Zucchini and Carrots are always on my shopping list. I add about half of a zucchini to my smoothies (or a whole one if I really need it!).…
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Running with a pup!
It’s been a little over 6 months since Miss Mieke came into our lives. She has been the perfect addition to our little family. 75% of the time she is adorable and the 25% of the time we have no idea what is going on. She is a little ball of energy that likes to play by her own rules, but still be a part of the team. To combat all of her energy, we either take to the dog park to run around (ie full sprints from one end to the other) or I take her on my runs with me, if it isn’t too hot. I love running…
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Favorite Spots to Run in Pittsburgh: Summer 2018
After living in the same neighborhood for 5 years, my go to post work running route has become a little repetitive for me. I hate to say that because I love running along the water and having a trail that seems like it never ends. This trail also starts 2 blocks from my house- perfect for when I am in a time crunch. This summer, I finally branched out and explored more areas in the city to run in. Here are my top 5 running trails in the city! Three Rivers Heritage Trail/Great Allegheny Passage Location: Downtown, Southside, North Shore This is my go to running trail. You can start…
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Utah Part 2: Canyonlands
The second park we visited on our Utah excursion was Canyonlands. We decided to spend only one day (we needed to leave a little bit to explore for future trips). We hiked Horseshoe Canyon to the Great Gallery, which is located in the northern part of the park. One of the reasons we chose this hike is because of the petroglyphs and dinosaur prints along the trail. The trailhead is about 2.5 hours away from Moab and was added to Canyonlands in the 70s. I loved driving in Utah. The scenery is so different from what we have out east. We were glued to the windows. The miles went by…
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Hiking Through Utah Part 1: Arches
In May, my fiance and I travelled to southern Utah to explore the National Parks. This area has been on my travel list for the last couple of years and I’m so excited we were able to go on this trip. Here is a park by park recap to help you plan your trip to Utah! We flew into Salt Lake City. While we explored Arches and Canyonlands, we stayed in Moab (about 3.5 hours south of SLC). After we picked up the rental car and made our way south, it was about 3pm when we reached the park. We had 2 options: enter Arches via the main entrance near…
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Post Race! Now what?!
Congrats!! You finished your race! I love the feeling when you cross the finish line. But usually the next day feeling is much worse. After running a handful of races I have found a couple tricks to help ease the soreness and make getting up for work on Monday not as bad as it could be. Cool down/stretch. After you cross the finish line, walk for a little bit. I know you are tired, but letting your legs go from running> walking> relaxing will help prevent them from stiffening up. Once your body has cooled down a little bit, it is a good time to start stretching with both dynamic…
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5 Race Week Tips!
With my big 35 mile race on Saturday, I have compiled a list of my Race Week Must Do’s. Now, everyone is different. So, what works for me, might not work for you. But this will give you something to think about it. Light exercise. Even with a race a few days away, I try and keep my steps up (my goal is 10k a day) and get my heart rate up. I will run 3-5 miles 3 days next week and workout on the bike or elliptical 2 times next week. Carbs and Protein. A no brainer. My favorite pre race dinner is Chicken Parmesan. It is important…
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Trail Running!
I ran my first trail race last month and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. I have ran 4 marathons, so I figured an 18 mile race wouldn’t be that bad. Boy was I wrong! Trailing running is basically running up and down hills the entire time. And by hills, I mean steep hills! So steep, that I couldn’t even run down them because it was rocky and I had a fear of tumbling down the hill face first. But after 18 grueling miles in the woods north of Pittsburgh, I finished my first trail race! This tough experience was just what I needed. It brought me…
