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Friday Favorites – April Edition

High five gang – it’s officially Friday, even for my Pacific Coast readers!

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Over here our only plans include an eight mile long run tomorrow and lots of relaxation. Our perfect Spring weather is supposed to continue this weekend – 65 and sunny. You’ll find me reading by the lake and sipping a crisp, cold wine tomorrow afternoon.

And now, here are a few of my favorite articles, blog posts and things making me smile this week!

YOU GUYS – I never expected the response last night’s post received. In fact, I went back and forth about even sharing it because I didn’t want to come off as someone who uses the blog as a place to rant. But, I realized shortly after hitting publish that it clearly struck a chord with you all and if my experience can help even one reader than I’m glad I wrote it. I smiled this morning when I read each and every one of your comments. Since my WordPress iPhone application isn’t working, I’ll be responding one by one this weekend!

I’ve only used the Nike+ iPhone App for 15 runs but so far I really like it! I’ve used it with my Garmin three times to check how accurate it is and each time it is PERFECTLY accurate. The interface and accuracy is far better than MapMyRun. While I haven’t leveraged Nike+ music or social media features, a number of my friends use Nike+ to support each other and complete challenges. 

Every blogger can learn something from my girl Katy Widrick’s latest post. She preaches the truth in that FTC disclosure is important and something we shouldn’t joke about. Therefore, you’ll find that moving forward I will clearly let you guys know when I receive any compensation for a post, sponsored or affiliate links.

Nuun All Day Hydration Tablets – I haven’t had a single s oda, including my beloved Diet Coke, since December 31st. While I drink water 90% of the time, sometimes it’s nice to have a little extra something added to the water to give it some flavor. Each afternoon around 4pm, I toss a NUUN All Day tablet into my water. Right now I’m really enjoying the grapefruit orange flavor.

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Contigo Autoseal Travel Mug – Since Bo moved to Geneva, I started bringing my own coffee to the office since we make French Press together each morning. Not only does this mug leave my hot coffee warm for at least four or five hours but it also has never leaked in my purse. <Knock on wood I didn’t just curse myself!>

Nine times out of ten I find myself saving Anne’s post for later reference as each one has so much great information whether workouts, recipes or tips for healthier living. This week’s roundup of healthier living tips included more than 30 easy to implement tips from she and other health and wellness bloggers! I implemented the “Turn off all the pop up notifications on your phone (aka email, social media, etc.)” on Wednesday and am finding that I check my phone screen far less now.

If you’re looking for some Spring and Summer fashion inspiration, look no further than Hallie’s Island Time post which features 3 adorable outfits! I especially love this bright romper though I find it hard to spend that much on a romper.

I had no idea that Target carries so many healthy foods these days such as KIND bars and Almond Butter! I definitely need to stock up next time we’re in the United States.

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I have a huge crush on OPI’s new colors in their Hawaii collection! If someone could deliver the gel version of That’s Hula-rious, Is Mai Tai Crooked, Go With the Lava Flow and Aloha from OPI on my doorstep I’d be quite grateful. Unfortunately most nail salons in Geneva only carry the classic colors.

Your turn? What is making you smile this week? What should I order to my doorstep immediately?

Friday Favorite posts often include at least a few affiliate links. These links provide me with compensation for each click.

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ashleyd /

Not Every Trainer Speaks The Truth

Tonight’s post wasn’t planned.

In fact, until 6:10pm I thought tonight’s blog would be my recap of the Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon.

But, unfortunately, a personal trainer at our office gym inspired a very different post.

Like many runners, I find it hard to balance running with strength work. I start each training period with good intentions but rarely make strength training a priority for more than a week or two before falling off the band wagon.

I have read many posts about the benefits of strength training for runners.  I’ve followed and supported friends and fellow bloggers as they became stronger through CrossFit and strength training. This strength has helped many of them run faster and with fewer injuries than before.

Jess is doing her best to ensure that strength training becomes a habit and therefore typically has it on my schedule at least once or twice a week. After a long day of sitting at my desk, lifting weights while enjoying a great new playlist sounded like the perfect way to relax before heading home. Heck, I even found a new workout for the occasion – PopSugar’s Arm Plan.

Bent-Over Reverse Fly

Within minutes of starting, one of the trainers tapped me on the shoulder, letting me know that I was not using proper form for the bent-over reverse fly. I was looking at myself in the mirror, trying to ensure I was keeping my back straight, but he taught me that this tweaks my neck which can lead to injuries.

Instead of walking away, he decided it was time to chat. He asked me my name and what my purpose was in the gym. I laughed and told him that I’m a half marathon runner who knows I need to be more diligent about lifting. My goal this month is to lift twice a week.

The words that came out of his mouth next left me pissed, upset and plain baffled.

You shouldn’t be lifting heavy weights. It’s going to bulk you up and add even more weight to your body.

He proceeded this question with a quick glance over of my body and quickly assessed that my weight must be around 155 pounds. I laughed, in amazement that he could guess so easily.

You shouldn’t be running distance at your weight. It’s too hard on your body.

So let met get this straight. First you tell me that lifting 15 pound dumb bells is going to bulk me up and then you tell me that I’m carrying too much weight to run half marathons?

After venting to both the world of Twitter and Bo, I took thirty minutes to finish my workout with more energy and vigor than I thought possible.

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Next, I collected myself and calmly let him know that he was inaccurate as my body has crossed many finish lines at the weight of 155 and higher. In addition, his comments were out of line and just plain wrong. Then, I vented in the best way possible – I screamed in the bathroom and let out the emotion I was really feeling.

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Excuse me?

So, the moral of this story is two fold.

1) According to the EXPERTS at Runner’s World and a multitude of other personal trainers, athletic trainers and professionals lifting weights is beneficial cross-training for runners.

How Strength Training Benefits Runners

Why Runners Need to Strength Train

3 Reasons Strength Training Will Benefit Your Run

The Benefits of Strength Training for Distance Runners

Why All Runners Should Strength Train 

2) Never let an ignorant person, regardless of what their title may be, intimidate you or feed you lies. If you question their advice, do your own research and ALWAYS get a second opinion.

While I am not skinny, nor do I have the build of many distance runners, I am a runner who enjoys running half marathons. I am strong. I am healthy. I will not let someone like this guy make me feel otherwise.

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Your turn: How would you have handled the situation? Has your running benefited from strength training?

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Barcelona Running Tour

Hands down, my favorite memory in Barcelona was our sunrise running tour with Robin, the owner of Running Tours Barcelona.

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As soon as we booked our trip to Barcelona, I started researching running tours. In large cities such as Paris, Barcelona and London running tours are a great way to remove the intimidation factor, learn a great deal and squeeze in a great workout.  While we’ve had a tough time finding running tours in smaller cities during the off-season, we thoroughly enjoyed our Paris running tour last November.

Running Tours Barcelona offers 7 private to semi-private tour options as well as 4 group tour options for those who are looking for less expensive options. Since each of our three days in Barcelona would be quite full, we booked the Early Bird 10km tour which starts before sunrise, at 7am and finishes by 8:30. The early hour of the tour allowed us to experience Barcelona in a whole new way – without the distraction of people.

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We met Robin, our guide, outside our hotel at 7am, just before the sun rose, ready for an hour of exploration. He quickly explained that the tour would lead us through many parts of Barcelona including many of the top sights but also including smaller, lesser explored areas such as the Olympic athletes village and Parc de la Ciutadella.  

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As you can see from the pictures, the streets were empty of people except the stragglers leaving the late night clubs when we started and a few people walking their dogs as we ended. As we ran through the streets, Robin shared history and facts with us, many of which we didn’t learn the previous day during our walking tour. While that tour focused more on Barcelona’s history and Gaudi, our running tour focused on modern Barcelona such as the impacts of tourism, government changes, the future of Barcelona’s port, the impact the 1992 Olympics had on Barcelona, as well as what it is like to live in Barcelona.

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We sprinted to the beach to ensure we made it in time to watch the sunrise.

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We were able to learn about the increasing demand for mega yacht space in the Barcelona harbor while ogling the huge, gorgeous boats.

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We followed the beach front path through Barcoleneta towards Port Olimpic while enjoying views of Frank Gehry’s Golden Fish and Peix Hotel d’Arts.

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We marveled in the now empty Place del Rei, as we learned about Christopher Columbus ties to Barcelona.

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We enjoyed the beauty of Ciutadella Park, home to the Barcelona Zoo, Parliament of Catalonia, and a large fountain designed by Josep Fontsere.

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The 12 kilometer or 7.5 mile run flew by and before we knew it we were entering Las Ramblas and stopping for a final selfie at our hotel.

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While the running tour wasn’t cheap, at 75 euros, it allowed us to see new parts of the city and as well as enjoy the gorgeous sunrise views and Robin’s extensive knowledge. Thank you Robin and Running Tours Barcelona for the amazing start to our day!

I was not compensated or provided a complimentary tour in exchange for this post. All opinions are our own; we really just LOVED the tour and love supporting small companies!

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