Tag: Friday Five

Friday Five: Day in the Life

March 12, 2015November 1, 2015 · 20 Comments ·

Happy Friday! I’m out of town and am excited for the race on Sunday. I will be heading to the NYC Half Expo today. But I am linking up once again with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for their Friday Five Linkup. This week’s theme is “Day in the Life”. Here are five things about my usual day.

1. After I wake up and I get to the kitchen, first thing I try to do is drink about 16 oz of water. There are so many benefits to drinking water in the morning.2. I go for a run or do a DVD workout.

3. I drink the healthiest meal of my day, Vegan Chocolate Shakeology. I usually drink it after I run or workout. 4. Help my eldest with his homework.

5. Do laundry. The laundry never ends….
What’s a part of your usual day? Hope you have a great weekend!

Be sure to check out the other blogs!

Friday Five: Favorites

March 5, 2015March 5, 2015 · 28 Comments ·

It’s Friday once again! I am linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for their Friday Five Linkup. This week’s theme is “Favorites”. Here are some of my favorite things:

1. Sushi – I didn’t always love sushi but I was missing out before. Sushi is yummy!2. Pizza – I’ve always loved pizza. It’s not the healthiest food but I’m loving MOD pizza. This is the Dillon James with added spinach, mushrooms, green peppers, chicken, and chicken sausage.

3. CogniTea – This tea is so good. It has a sweet taste and I don’t know what it is but it really seems to give me some added energy. I’m glad I got to try it after winning it in a giveaway. I’ll have to buy some more soon. 4. Brookside Dark Chocolate Crunchy Clusters – These make for a great dessert or guilty snack. I have too much of a sweet tooth lol.5. Quest Bars – These are great for a snack with lots of protein. I love the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor and usually heat it up a little bit in the microwave.

What are some of your favorite things right now?

Have a great weekend! Be sure to check out the other great blogs!

Friday Five: Free Friday

February 26, 2015February 26, 2015 · 14 Comments ·

Happy Friday! I am linking up once again with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for their Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to link up a post about five things on their theme or you can write five things about your own topic. This weeks theme is “Free Friday” so we can write about anything. I’ve chosen to write about five things that have been on my mind this week.

1. Have you heard of the Earthathon Relay? It’s not too late to join in on this fun virtual relay around the Earth. My team #RunderfulRunners is currently in third place and we’d love to add more runners to catch up to second place! 🙂

Earthathon was created by @GoRunHappy last year as a way to motivate others to exercise regularly. It’s picked up and for 2015, he set up ten teams to run a relay around the earth. The teams will combine and complete a total of 250,000 miles, which is the approximate distance to the moon. There will be ten teams but they are just a part of the bigger picture of “One Team, One Planet.” Once a team finishes their leg of the relay, they will help the other teams. When all teams have finished, they will have accomplished finishing a 250,000 mile relay. How cool is that?

All you need is a Twitter account. Learn more here http://earthathonrelay.com/.

Just log your runs/walks/hikes on this form after you sign up: http://earthathonrelay.com/run. The password is: run. We’re a fun, motivating and supportive group! Would love it if you’d join us! 🙂

2. Today’s the last workout (Friday Fight: Round 2) of the two month long program, Insanity Max:30. I can’t believe it’s the last day. It’s been tough and challenging but I’ve seen great improvement in my times. I like the concept of maxing out (the time when you have to take a break for the first time) and you’re pushing to beat your own time each week. It’s a great way to see how far you’ve gone. I feel more stronger and feel it’s helped with my endurance. I like this insane program and will continue to do workouts from it.

3. Saturday will be my first race of the year. I’m excited! I’ll be doing the Mommathon 5k race that’s being put on by my local Mom’s Run This Town group and Uberthons. I blogged about this race previously and it should be a fun one.

4. We bought Big Hero 6 from Target and this is a pic from the back of the case. It’s so cute! The kiddos and I loved the movie!

5. Some really big news, I recently got a job offer and will be starting work again in April. This will be a big change since I haven’t worked since my eldest son was born, six years ago. I’ll be going back to the tech company I had w0rked for previously and will be working a compressed work week schedule. It will be 12 hour shifts and I’d work three days a week every other week and four days the other weeks. The thing I’m not looking forward to is that it will be on night shift. I felt it was time to go back to work but we’ll see how the night shift goes. I used to work nights so I’m familiar with it. I still plan to do all my scheduled races and pace for Uberthons.

Have you ever worked a night shift? Any big weekend plans? Be sure to check out the other blogs in the linkup! Hope you have a great weekend!

Friday Five: Five Races to Run in 2015

February 19, 2015February 20, 2015 · 30 Comments ·

Happy Friday! I am linking up once again with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for their Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to link up a post about five things on their theme or you can write five things about your own topic. This week’s theme is “5 Races to Run in 2015”. Here are five races that I think are awesome and I’m running this year:

1. Mommathon 5k 10k Fitness Festival – 2/28/15. This one’s coming up soon! It’s being put on by my local Mom’s Run This Town group and Uberthons. What’s cool about this one is that it’s not just a 5k or 10k race, it’s also a fitness festival where there are fitness challenges. There will be fitness stations which include tests like how many burpees can you do in a minute, or how long can you hold plank? They also have a virtual option. You can learn more HERE. Check out the cool medal!

2. NYC Half Marathon – 3/15/15. I was lucky to get into this one since it is a lottery event. I’m so happy both my sister and I got in! This one should be fun since I’ll be traveling to the East Coast. I’ll get to run through Times Square and Central Park. It’ll be a nice running tour. I’m excited! Here’s a link to their official page for more info: HERE.

3. Rock’n’Roll Portland Half Marathon – 5/17/15. I love all the Rock’n’Roll Races I’ve done so far. This will be the fourth time doing the Portland race. It looks like they’ve changed the course this year, so I’m excited for that! Improvements include:

No stopping for trains or traffic relief! (glad this never happened to me)
New bridges, new streets
Run through the historic Irvington neighborhood.

Here’s a link to the official Rock’n’Roll Portland page: HERE.

4. Rock’n’Roll Seattle Half Marathon – 6/13/15. I did this race for the first time last year and loved the scenic course! I remember getting a great view of Mt. Rainier, running on the freeway seeing the Great Wheel and Seattle’s sport stadiums. Also, it was nice running along Lake Washington, and there was a sea of blue, military tributes and American flags to remember the honor and sacrifice of our service men and women. It was great!

Looks like they changed the course this year too and they will have a new start and finish line under the Space Needle. Here’s a link to the official page: HERE.

5. Portland Marathon – 10/4/15. This will be my first marathon. It’s listed to be one of the best marathons for first timers in this Runner’s World Article- HERE, in Fitness Magazine- HERE, Fitbie -as one of the 10 Best Beginner Marathons- HERE, and one of the 15 Best Fall Marathon’s in the U.S. from daily Burn- HERE. I’m glad this race is local. Here’s the official Portland Marathon site for more info: HERE.

What is your favorite race for 2015?

Friday Five: Five Running Items I’m Loving Right Now

February 12, 2015February 15, 2015 · 33 Comments ·

It’s Friday the 13th! I am linking up once again with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for their Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to link up a post about five things or write on their own theme. This week’s theme is “Love”. So I decided to write about five running related items I’m loving right now.

1. Wireless Headphones. I love listening to music when I run and I am loving wireless headphones! I just got these a couple of weeks ago. I usually like to whip out my phone and take pictures and not having to deal with the headphone cord is AWESOME! I’m using the Yurbuds Liberty Wireless Secure Fit Earphones and they work great. They don’t fall out when I run. I tried a different brand’s headphones and they just kept falling out after a while. Yurbuds are still my go to brand. I was lucky these were on sale and my hubby had a gift card. Since I’ve tried wireless, I’m not going back.

2. Injinji Socks. I love these socks! I won a pair in a giveaway a long time ago and I keep going back to these socks when I run. I just bought a new pair a couple of days ago. I dunno, my feet are comfortable in toe socks. I like how they’re lightweight and I don’t get blisters using them.

3. Strava. I just recently started using this App that tracks running or other activities like cycling. It’s a great way to keep track of your runs and look at your running data. I love how the GPS seems to be more accurate than Runkeeper since I’ve compared it with my Garmin. While running it’s great because you can setup audio notifications for every mile or half mile. It also syncs with Instagram so you can see your pics associated with your runs. Another neat feature is that it compares the same distance runs you’ve ran in the same location, or matched runs as they call it, and you can see the data on a chart. Pretty cool!

4. Beachbody’s Results and Recovery Formula. I’m really loving taking this recovery drink, especially on the days I do double workouts, where I run and then do an Insanity Max:30 workout. I think it’s really helping with having less soreness. I like how it has the 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio and tastes like an orange creamsicle.

5. Race-Kred runner charms. I’m loving the Race-Kred 13.1 runner charm I got to review. It’s a cool reminder of my accomplishment of running a half marathon. Love how it looks on my shoe! Full review and giveaway coming soon. Stay tuned.

What running item are you loving right now? Hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Be sure to check out the other blogs in the linkup!

Friday Five: Fitness Snapshots – Things That Will Keep You Healthy & Fit

February 5, 2015February 6, 2015 · 18 Comments ·

It’s Friday! I am linking up once again with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for their Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to link up a post about five things or write on their own theme. This week’s theme is “Fitness Snapshots”. I always post pics of me working out. But what exactly is fitness? Here is the first definition I got from Google.

Fitness is the condition of being physically fit and healthy. So here are five snapshots of things I do that keep me physically fit and healthy:

1. Running. Running is a great way to get fit and healthy. The benefits of running goes on and include improved cardio and respiratory health, reduced cholesterol, and strengthens the immune system. Here’s a pic from Wednesday’s run.

2. Strength Training. Strength training makes you stronger, builds stronger bones, and improves athletic performance. Also, gaining more muscle is great since muscle burns more calories than fat. This is an older workout pic from when I was doing Insanity the Asylum – Strength.3. Hiking/Walking. Here’s a pic from when I hiked the Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs a couple of years ago.

I haven’t done much hiking lately. The last time was in November, when I was in Colorado again. Just like walking, hiking improves your cardio fitness, bone density, and reduces risk of breast and colon cancer.

4. Yoga. There are many benefits of yoga that include improved flexibility, strength, and better posture. I need to keep working on doing more yoga. Here I am doing the crow pose. This pic is from March when I was doing P90X3.5. Drinking Water. We all know that drinking water is good for us. I always try to drink at least half my body weight in ounces of water. Some benefits of drinking water include healthier skin, helps carry nutrients and oxygen to our cells, and aids in digestion.

What do you like to do to stay physically fit and healthy?

Have a great weekend! Be sure to check out the other great blogs!

Five Favorite Home Indoor Workouts

January 29, 2015May 21, 2016 · 16 Comments ·

I have to say I’ve had a lot of experience working out indoors especially at home. I like the convenience of working out at home. You don’t have to drive anywhere, don’t have to wait to use equipment, or wait for a class. Working out at home is especially convenient for me because I have two kiddos. I can’t just go out for a run since there’s no one to watch them, but I can get in my workout indoors.

Here are my five favorite indoor workouts/programs right now:

1. Insanity Max:30. I’m currently doing this workout program and it’s insane but gives such a great workout. I love how they’ve incorporated Tabata style workouts into the program, which is when you do a move for 20 seconds and then rest/jog in place for 10 seconds. Here’s a video with some moves from Tabata Strength.

Also, here’s a recent instagram post of my little guy working out with me for a little bit doing Max:30 Sweat Intervals. Love it when he joins in! 🙂

View this post on Instagram

2. PiYo. PiYo is a great program that works great while running. It’s low impact but still high in intensity. It has pilates and yoga inspired moves. I think my favorite workout from PiYo is PiYo Sweat. Here’s a video with some of the moves:

3. Focus T25. Here’s another Shaun T program. I like how these workouts were only 25 minutes long. This is the program that got me more into Beachbody. I had done the original Insanity a while back but I loved how this one was much shorter in length. I love the Speed workouts. These ones are fast paced and always had me dripping sweat at the end. Here’s videos of Speed 2.0 and Speed 3.0.

4. P90X3. This was my first time doing a P90X program. I had heard about P90X but saw how long the workouts were and that put me off. But when I heard there was a 30 minute P90, I thought I’d try it out and I’d say it’s a great program. It was 90 days and I liked the variety of workouts. I could not do pull ups for the life of me or do the crow pose. By the end I was doing real unassisted pull-ups and nailed the crow pose. Here’s a video of some of the moves from P90X3 Accelerator. This ones a great total body workout with lots of leg and plank work.

5. Insanity the Asylum. This is a tough program but I liked how this was only a month long. I liked how it incorporated the Agility ladder. I think my favorite workout from this program was Speed & Agility. Here’s some moves from that workout.

As you can see, I’m showing my love for Beachbody programs. These workouts have really kept me in shape. What are your favorite indoor workouts or programs?

Have a great weekend! Be sure to check out the other great blogs!

Friday Five – What’s in my Gym/Fitness Bag?

January 15, 2015January 18, 2015 · 34 Comments ·

Happy Friday!! I am linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for the Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to link up a post about five things or write on their theme. This week’s theme is “What’s in my gym bag?”. I don’t currently go to the gym so there’s nothing haha. I like to work out in the comfort of my own home or go running outside. It’s easier for me since I have two kiddos and a bit easier on the budget. But I’ll do a post on what I bring in my bag or fitness bag when I’m traveling to get my running/workouts in. Here’s what I bring:

1. Garmin GPS Watch – I currently have the Garmin Forerunner 220 and love it! I love how it fits on my wrist. It’s pretty light and thinner than my previous GPS watch. It works great and I probably rely on it too much. I like knowing the distance I’ve gone and my pace to see if I’m running too fast or slow depending on the workout. This one’s cool because it has live tracking and my hubby can follow me at home. It also tells me when I run a personal record.

2. FlipBelt – I need to have my FlipBelt. I always bring my phone with me and this keeps it nice and snug on my waist. I can hardly tell it’s there sometimes. It also carries my fuel on long runs and works great with my Simple Hydration Bottle. Here’s my review of the FlipBelt I did a while back.

3. Running Shoes/Workout shoes – I need my running shoes or workout shoes. Right now I love my Brooks Pure Flows when I run. I also love my Vibram Fivefingers KMD Sport Shoes when I do the DVD workouts like Insanity Max:30. They’re comfortable and don’t hurt my feet when I’m jumping around or what not. They also prevent me from slipping on the carpet.

4. Workout DVDs – If I’m not running, I like to do work out with DVDs like Focus T25 and PiYo. I’m currently doing Insanity Max:30 and it’s a challenging but an awesome program!

5. Yurbuds – These are the only earbuds that have stayed in my ears while running so far. I like listening to music when I run. I’ve been using Yurbuds since 2009 when I saw them at the Seattle Half Marathon Expo. They don’t fall out and fit nicely in my ears.

Well, those are five things that I make to sure to bring when I run or workout away from home. What’s in your gym bag?

Be sure to check out the other great blogs!

5 Things I Like About My Favorite City

January 8, 2015January 8, 2015 · 26 Comments ·

Happy Friday!! I am linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for the Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to Link up a post about five things or write on their theme. This week’s theme is 5 Things I Like About My Favorite City.

I would say my favorite city is Seattle. I grew up just north of the city and have had some great memories in Seattle. Here are five things I like about Seattle:

1. It’s a beautiful city, especially in the Summer. The skyline is gorgeous and distinguishable with the Space Needle and Mt. Rainer. This is the view from Kerry Park. I remember going to Kerry Park after my wedding for pictures…oh the memories.

2. There’s lots to do. You can watch the flying fish at Pike’s Place Market as well as shop the many other businesses there that include crafts and farmer market type goods. The first Starbucks is at Pike’s Place too. There’s also lots of restaurants to try. I like walking by the waterfront. The Great Wheel is along there and Ivars, a great Fish and Chips restaurant.

Photo taken by S. Hanks

This is by Ivars, the Fish and Chips restaurant where many people have fun feeding the seagulls. 2015/01/img_1943.jpg

3. Seattle is an active city. There are many parks and lots of races you can sign up for. I did the Hot Chocolate 5k and Seattle Rock’n’Roll Half marathon last year. My first half marathon was the Seattle Half Marathon in 2009. Other races I’ve done in the past in Seattle were the See Jane Run Half, St. Patrick’s Day Dash, and Seattle Jingle Bell Run.

4. Home of the Seattle Seahawks. Love the Seahawks! The Seahawks won the Superbowl last year and are currently in the playoffs this year. I can’t wait to watch the next game! I love the fan support. We went up to Seattle over the holidays and everyone seemed to have a jersey on, especially on game day. It’s awesome!! 2015/01/img_1946.jpg

5. My last favorite thing about Seattle is that it’s close to family and friends. It’s always great to visit family and friends.

I’m happy that I don’t live too far from Seattle. It’s only about a 3.5 hour drive.

What is your favorite city?

Be sure to check out the other great blogs!

Friday Five: Fitness Goals/Resolutions for 2015

January 1, 2015January 2, 2015 · 26 Comments ·

Happy New Year everyone! I am linking up with Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run for the Friday Five Linkup. Every Friday they have a linkup for bloggers to Link up a post about five things or write on their theme. This week’s theme is Fitness Goals/Resolutions. Here are my five goals/resolutions for 2015:

1. Run and finish a marathon. I will sign up soon and hope to run my first marathon, the Portland Marathon in October. I will no longer be half crazy but full crazy lol. I just want to finish a marathon.

2. I want to cook more and change it up with new recipes. I want to cut down on eating out and overall eat more healthy.

3. I want to run more miles than I did in 2014. According to Smashrun, I ran 712 miles. It’s a huge difference from 2013, with just 254 miles. I want to get at least 800 miles this year.

4. I want to PR in any of my races in 2015.

5. Lastly, I want to continue to cross train. I did three Beachbody programs that helped my running last year. I recently got Insanity Max:30 and want to finish the 60 day program.

What are your goals for 2015?

Be sure to check out the other great blogs!