OrthoCarolina 10k Training Series

Check out my first post in my ScoopCharlotte Training Series for the OrthoCarolina 10k Classic here!

Charlotte 5ks for Good Causes

Check out my guide to the best 5ks for local charities coming up in Charlotte! I personally can't wait for the Komen Race for the Cure in October (hello excuse to wear my pink tutu again!) and maybe, MAYBE the Thunder Road Half... because 2 half marathons officially makes you a 100% loon.

5ks for Good Causes

CharlotteFive

Check me out! Remember that time I was talking about what a poser I felt like when I called myself a blogger? We'll now I'm a freelance writer for CharlotteFive, a local daily email newsletter/blog that caters to millennials in the Queen City! So far, I've had a few stories published and a few more in the pipeline:

Ultimate Guide to Local Fun Runs

Get Swole with ClassPass

Ladies Honored at 50 Most Influential Women Awards

I've been MIA (again) from CLTrunning, but for good reason and I hope y'all will forgive me (again). Enjoy my stories on CharlotteFive and check back here for new posts here too!  

Run For It 5k

"To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery." 

Join me on Saturday, April 18th for the virtual Run For It 5k hosted by TWLOHA in honor of those who have lost and those who are still fighting the battle against suicide and depression. 

Although the Run For It 5k at the "live" race in FL begins at 8am, I like to sleep and I also like brunch... so let's sleep in a smidgen, start a little later, then get brunch at Draught (601 S. Cedar St.)​. Draught is also our starting and ending point in the route below. This will be a fun time to unite in the name of a great cause rather than a true race... but still bring your racin' shoes. :)

Since this is a virtual race, there's not a lot of organization involved (no timing chips, etc.), so please be prepared to track your own time. Don't have time to register as a virtual runner? No worries, I'd still love to see you! Not in Charlotte? You can still race virtually with us! Post your time in a comment here or on the Facebook event page after your run. 

This is an event I'd love to do annually and watch grow so I hope you'll join!

Our race route is 3.23 miles:

Link Roundup:

• RSVP on Facebook here- all are welcome!
• More information on the Run For It 5k and TWLOHA​ can be found here.
• While I love the TWLOHA mission, I would rather donate funds to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). My fundraising page from the AFSP's 2014 Out of the Darkness Walk is closed, but I'll be creating another one for the 2015 walk in a week or two- look out for that! 
• Find my blog post on World Suicide Prevention Day here.

As always- for Nolan​!

Things That Make You Go "Dang"

Officially the worst. I'm almost embarrassed to post again after going a month, then TWO without a peep. From day one of writing these posts (and generally in "real life") I have been an open book, no secrets girl. I'm comfortable saying that I truly planned to post 2-3 times weekly (even had MANY posts lined up) and keep an excellent diary of my training journey while sharing some tips and tricks for being active, healthy, and still juggling everything that life tosses your way. In that aspect, I have failed miserably and in a pretty public way. BUT- I have chosen for a long time to give even the ugliest storm clouds a silver lining no matter how hard it is to attach. As a blogger (God, that even feels pretentious to type) I am a zero, but as a runner I feel like a superstar. I've never been the fastest, nor have I had the best form, but tomorrow is my first half marathon and I could cry tears of pride... and I haven't even started the race. This feels a little like counting my chickens before they hatch, but it also shows me that, even without crossing a finish line yet, I've accomplished something. Regardless of my time tomorrow, I feel like a winner and know that my brother- one of the biggest motivators for me in my training- is looking down and smiling for his big sister. 
As a runner and a person, this process has been a tremendous learning and growing experience so I'm excited to keep this blog going after my race and share more, learn more, and grow more with this crazy community of people willing to push themselves beyond their first wind.

Look for a post-race post (PROMISE) with tips on what to eat, wear, and do the week, day, and hours before a big race. Wish me luck! :)

On Sucking | Interval Training

We are just going to ignore the fact that I haven't posted in over a month and chalk it up to an insane schedule for which you have already forgiven me. Great! Glad we got that out of the way. Thanks for understanding! :)

Now, let's talk intervals. Before I go any further, I will tell you that intervals SUCK (they suck worse than a blogger that doesn't post for over a month). But, remember that time I said you had to vary your workout to continue to get results? Well, here is a version of that variety and, let me tell you, sometimes your own advice is a hard pill to swallow. When I started my half marathon training schedule, I decided to do some shorter distance interval runs to help me increase my speed. So far it has worked wonderfully and I have set multiple new PR's for my quickest mile... so intervals aren't all bad. I GUESS.

It's no secret that the right playlist/music can get you in a great mood and maintain motivation during your workout (see my post on running music here), so make sure that your tune game is strong before you hit the pavement. Next, it can be pretty easy to start with the best of intentions for an interval run and then fall victim to disinterest, distractions, or an extreme level of dislike for the nasty little bursts of speed peppered into your usually pleasurable run. I highly recommend not tracking your intervals yourself, but using a timer or interval training app to do the thinking for you. My personal favorite is super user-friendly and runs as a background app so you can run it, your music, and Nike+ simultaneously from your iPhone if you so choose. Score! It's called Interval Timer from Deltaworks and looks like this in the Apple App Store:

You can create multiple interval workouts and save them within the app with varying warm-ups, cool-downs, high intensity intervals, and low intensity intervals. Each time your activity level is supposed to change, you'll hear a beep and know to shift gears. I've tried other similar interval apps, and this one is by far my favorite. Enjoy! 
 

Half Marathon Training Schedule

With my first half marathon a few months away (holy cow), I'm trying to buckle down and adhere to a set training schedule. That being said, I have decided that I'm also not going to beat myself up if I have to skip a day or cut a run short. Also, if I feel like running a little farther than planned, then I'm going to do what I damn well please. So there. This is about working your way up to the half marathon mileage range, not an exact science as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks to Vanessa at See Vanessa Craft, I found a training plan that I think will be manageable for someone like me with a schedule so busy it's just silly (hello training, Junior League Provisional year, Ronald McDonald House Young Professionals Society, blogging, modeling, babysitting, dog mom-ing, and Etsy crafting... oh yeah, and I work). It's also a great plan for beginners. If you're running in the Disney Princess Half, today is week 1, day 3 (Wednesday) for us.

Don't forget to add strength training! I'll be posting my strength routine/tips shortly. Happy Hump Day!

Vanessa adapted her schedule from this one at halfmarathons.net. This is hanging on my fridge to keep me honest!