ashleyd /

10 Tips for Squeezing in Workouts

It’s Friday! I’m so looking forward to a fun London weekend. So far this weekend’s agenda includes another “proper footie”, yoga, a 10 mile long run with some lovely Team Naturally Run ladies, and some fun with Emily who is staying with us this weekend.

Last time Emily stayed with us we saw Crystal Palace vs Chelsea and this weekend we’re heading to the Fulham Football Club to see Fulham vs Southampton. Based on last time, I’m sure there will be some beer and loud cheering involved! 

245

This morning I want to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart – squeezing in workouts. These days, for me working out isn’t about weight loss but instead stress management and happiness. There are few things in life that make me feel more energized and balanced then a good workout, regardless the length. Finding time to workout isn’t always easy. For some people, it is family and work that get in the way. For others it is a demanding travel schedule. When I read about ladies like Katy Widrick, my current “recreational runner” hero, throwing down 1:50 half marathons I know that anything is possible with hard work and positive energy.  (source)

image

When I see all that she continues to accomplish even with the demands of a young daughter, husband and career I am inspired. This inspiration fueled my workouts this week. It also caused me to reassess any workout barriers and do everything possible to make quality workouts possible.

Yesterday, as I enjoyed a quick 40 minute trail run with Renaud, I thought about the fact that I was literally squeezing this run in between back to back meetings and a flight to London. It wasn’t easy to make it work in my schedule but it was well worth it when we finished – endorphin happy and sweaty from a challenging run. It isn’t always easy to fit in a workout and many days it would be easier to just forget about it. But hopefully these 10 tips will help you squeeze in a workout and make finding excuses to quit before you start 10 times harder!

Squeezing in workouts Your turn – How do you find time to squeeze in a workout? Or, if you have issues with it, what is your biggest barrier?

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Silverstone Half Marathon Training: Week 4

I can’t believe that it’s almost time for bed. Today was one of those brilliant days I wish I could repeat over and over! It started with 8 hours of sleep, a seamless commute filled with 20 minutes of Duolingo French practice, a few productive meetings, an awesome 4.5 mile run during lunch, a field trip into town with my French teacher where I practiced my direction and restaurant French, followed by a homemade dinner and a relaxing night catching up on blogs and chatting with my mom via text.

2014-01-27 18.39.35

While this week’s training is already off to a positive start after today’s solid run, I want to take some time to reflect on last week’s training. It was my best week of training thus far even though I didn’t end up squeezing in a long run. I know it seems weird that I can say it was a great week of training when I missed one of the pivotal workouts but sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Each of my workouts felt solid and energized. I felt like I was working towards a goal last week which really motivated me to get to the gym and squeeze in workouts even on busy days.

Silverstone Half Marathon Training week 4

Monday: 20 minutes yoga for runners

Tuesday: 4.5 miles of speed intervals on the treadmill before work

Wednesday: 4.1 miles outside before work followed by a 500 meter piece on the rowing machine

Thursday: 4 speedy lunchtime miles on the treadmill followed by a 550 meter piece on the rowing machine

Friday: 4 lunchtime miles on the treadmill followed by 600 meters on the rowing machine

Saturday: This was a “lightbulb moment” day of skiing. Things clicked from the second run of the day and the 3 hours of private lessons led me up my first black run and down many others by lunch time. I was able to enjoy an afternoon of skiing with the whole group – a huge accomplishment! The 7 hours of skiing flew by and I didn’t want the day to end!

2014-01-25 10.49.06

Sunday: Three of us decided to head back up the mountain on Sunday for three hours of skiing. The visibility was horrible and it was my first time skiing in less than ideal conditions at Verbier. This caused me to second guess my ability and have some lovely falls. But, overall it was still a strong day of skiing and my quads and calves could feel every minute of skiing by the end of the day.

2014-01-26 12.44.47

My goal for this week is simple – focus on the goal of each workout. When it’s speed, make sure I push my body as hard as possible and when it’s an easy pace make sure I give my body the room to slow down.

What is your favorite type of running workout? Zoning out and running long? Hill repeats? Speed?

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Paris Running Tour

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a few pictures from our weekend in Paris.

image

It was an absolutely perfect weekend which Bo and I are both so thankful to have enjoyed together. Living in Europe definitely has some benefits and the ease of travel is one that we are taking full advantage of each month!

I tried to consolidate our Paris weekend into one overview post, similar to what I did for Brussels, but I found it impossible. Therefore, I will share one overview post later this week in addition to sharing the details of our Paris Running Tour in today’s post!

When Bo and I started planning our weekend in Paris, I requested that we invest in a running tour. A New York Times article, Paris at the Speed of Sneakers, had inspired me earlier in the week.  While we often run through a city we are visiting, I knew that both Bo and I would love learning the history behind the magical city first hand from a local. We are both history buffs so having the opportunity to combine exercise with a sightseeing tour of Paris seemed like the best way to make use of our time!

When we searched for Paris running tours on Google we quickly discovered a company by the same name, Paris Running Tours. Featured in a number of different magazines including Travel & Leisure and Elle magazine, Paris Running Tours boasts personalized tours led by knowledgeable tour guides who can design tours through Paris based on your previous experiences. For those people who want to keep things simple and plan nothing, they have 7 pre-planned tours as well

  • Right Bank tour (less than an hour in length)
  • Left Bank tour (less than an hour in length)
  • Most Beautiful Palaces tour (less than an hour in length)
  • Banks of the Seine Tour (less than an hour in length)
  • French Revolution Tour (more than an hour in length)
  • Paris Marathon Tour (more than an hour in length)

When working with our run guide, Jean-Charles, we let him know that we wanted to do a run ranging from 7-9 miles in length and focus on the big sights as this was Bo’s first trip to Paris. He also let us know that the run would start and end at our hotel, making the run even more convenient!

TourRobertAshley14,2km8.84Mi_ZOOM

The tour, which covered 8.84 miles in total, was absolutely incredible! Though we were caught off guard by the weather which was 10 degrees colder than predicted and quite windy, we were smiling the entire time and soaked up every piece of trivia he shared!

PRT2013-11-23_01_EsplanadeDuTrocaderoPRT2013-11-23_04_PontDuCarrouselPRT2013-11-23_05_PontDesArtsPRT2013-11-23_06_NotreDamePRT2013-11-23_07_LaCourCarreeDuLouvrePRT2013-11-23_09_LeLouvre

As you can tell from the above, one of the added bonus’ of the tour was the fact that he brought along a camera to capture the experience. We stopped 10-12 times during the run to hear history and stories but the rest of the time we were keeping around a 9:30 pace through the streets of Paris.

While the personalized private tour was not cheap it was well worth the investment in our opinion. We saw more of Paris in 2.5 hours than we would have seen on foot in a full day. While there are most likely less expensive tour groups, there is something to be said for a tour guide who goes at your pace and builds the tour to meet your needs.

Your turn: If you could take a guided running tour through any city, where would you choose?

Share Button
Follow: