ashleyd /

Reach the Beach: Thank You

I am currently coming off the best runner’s high I’ve felt since November of 2010 when I finished my first marathon! Send me to the back roads of Massachusetts with 11 other health and wellness bloggers who also love running and there is no way I can’t leave the weekend feeling inspired.

Team Off Balance

Before

After

Van 1

Van 2

Going into the weekend I had a lot on my mind.

  • I had to miss the New Balance tour on Thursday due to work. Would I miss all the team bonding?
  • Will my lack of speed annoy or upset my other teammates?
  • How will my legs handle the 17 miles within a 32 hour time period?
  • Will we get on each others nerves due to the tight space and lack of sleep?

Luckily, my nerves didn’t get the best of me and tonight I’m lying on the couch with my compression sleeves on, water and champagne both within arm’s reach, texting my van mates, and still smiling at the fact that I feel that my running brain and muscles are stronger than ever.

Thanks to some awesome mental and hill coaching in Van 2 and the enthusiasm of my support network, I rocked 3 hilly legs this weekend and kept an average pace of 9:47 which is a wonderful way to enter marathon training.

So, let’s work backwards and start this recap with officially thanking the people who made this weekend possible. Come back tomorrow and Tuesday for my recap of Day 1 and Day 2!

Lovely ladies of Van 1 & 2: Thank you for cheering me through each of the legs, motivating me to stay strong, introducing me to the Harvard baseball team, and for cheering for me in the heat and sun last night at 5pm when the beach and beer beckoned you!

Monica & Nicole: Thank you for serving not only as our New Balance resources over the past few weeks but also as our inspirations and coaches this weekend. You kept us strong during the wee hours of the night, donned banana costumes to scare away the monsters in the dark, kept us on track and at the right place at the right time, and allowed us to enjoy the weekend virtually stress free!

Kristen: None of us can believe that you not only organized this partnership between Reach the Beach, New Balance and the bloggers but also rocked out the relay yourself! Thank your for being such a huge cheerleader and organizing everything from A to Z. You really thought of everything!

Martin: We were each elated to partner with you and your passion, Reach the Beach. It is hands down the most well organized race I’ve ever run. Your awesome race left me dreaming of next year and the New Hampshire one as well!

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Ready Runners Workshop

 Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with a delightful group of thirteen New York runners, readers, and bloggers along with my personal trainer, Lauren. As part of our partnership, Equinox and I are working to plan a few events throughout the year that can help area readers get in touch with their bodies and improve their workouts. 

This month’s event, Ready Runners Workshop, was focused on an aspect of running that many of us don’t focus enough time on: repair and adjustment. Lauren broke the class up into four parts:

  • foam rolling
  • adjustment and stretching work
  • agility
  • body part specific relaxation

The great thing about the class was that each person was able to spend the time doing each exercise on their own with their personal foam roller and mat while Lauren and I helped with adjustments.

 This meant that when they get home hopefully there will be some muscle memory that will help ensure these are exercises become a regular part of their workout routine. In addition, Lauren took time to answer questions during the workshop and provided helpful handouts!

 Foam Rolling General Tips

  • Foam rollers are inexpensive and can be stored in almost any size apartment or home and can quickly become one of your most important pieces of workout equipment or gear. (Here is the one Equinox uses in their gyms.)
  • Foam rollers aren’t just for your legs. They can be used for the entire body.
  • When you find a tender spot in the area you are working on, don’t fear. Keep the roller on this spot and wait to feel a release or diminished discomfort.
  • Foam rolling can be used before and after exercise, both weight bearing workouts and cardio to help activate the muscles and release tension.
  • The most common areas to work are the thorasic spine, piriformis, itBand, hamstrings, and qauds. However, yesterday many of us found that the calves and adductors were the most painful.

You can find more information regarding foam rolling here. In addition, Lauren highly recommends this site for great exercise information and low price gear.

Adjustments and Stretching

During the stretching and adjustments portion Lauren led us through a few workouts to help stretch our tight hip flexors and strengthen and engage our glute muscles for more balanced running.

We started with multi plane hip stretches as you can see below. There are three which help stretch all aspects of your hip muscles and allow you to get deeper than a static stretch.

We moved from the hips to the glutes focusing on bridge work both one legged and two legged to strengthen these muscles which tend to be weak for female runners. Due to our anatomy, women naturally engage their quads more than their glutes when running which can lead to injury.

Next we used bands to help build these muscles further through simple side step exercises which can be taken to the next level by adding squats in between. These bands, which can also be purchased on her favorite site, Perform Better, are only $2 and can be great tools to bring with you anywhere! Yesterday we used yellow (light) and green (medium) resistance bands due to the upcoming MORE Half Marathon many of the ladies were running today. 

Agility

For our final movement portion, we broke into groups to go through agility drills which can be used the day before or of a race to help loosen and shakeout leg muscles. The cone drill was a sidestep and sprinting exercise which forced you to move in all directions. The ladder exercise is a traditional agility drill combined with quick movements. The last station combines a hip opener exercise with a follow through movement.

 After all this movement we ended with relaxation. Lauren led us through guided progressive muscle relaxation which allowed us to focus on individual areas of our body while laying in a dark room. Similar to the savasana in yoga, this ten minute exercise left each of us completely relaxed and calm. By focusing on certain areas (clench and release your hands, then clench your feet, followed by your face, etc) it is easier to stay in the practice and not find your mind wandering. While she suggested this for right before bed or a big race, I think this can be a great exercise to use anywhere at anytime, even if you’re not lying down.

After the relaxation portion, the Equinox spa manager, Tim, joined us for some massage therapy education. While some of us, ahem Emily, were lucky enough to enjoy his touch during the demonstration, he reminded us that there is no point in pushing your muscles through constant workouts and training if you don’t allow time for repair. He should know as he is a former football and baseball athlete! His portion left me craving a massage even though I know I won’t be having one anytime soon since I just had one down at Sea Island.

Question: Are you a foam roller? Stick user? None of the above?

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Some Semblance of Normalcy

This week has been a whirlwind. I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting more but right now the most important thing is that I’m here for my family as a daughter. Thank you for your feedback thus far on the new blog design. It’s been a long work in progress but I’m so excited to see how far it’s come!

In order to keep some sort of semblance of normalcy in my day, I’ve been running each morning from 8-9am. While my runs have only been 3-4 miles each day due to timing, it’s been a wonderful way for me to just get out and have time to think and process everything taking place this week. Two of my runs were sans music which allowed me to focus on breathing. It has also been a nice practice run before the summer heat as my body is slowly getting adjusted to the Savannah heat and humidity again. Yesterday’s high was 90 degrees with humidity of near 80%!

 

In addition to working out, my mom and I have tried to ensure that we continue to eat healthy. During mourning, Southerners love to bring food. It’s there way of helping the family out. But thus far we’ve received delicious, rich food from more people than you could imagine. We’re balancing this out with healthy breakfast and lunch each day.

 

I forgot how much fun it is to sit around a kitchen table enjoying a meal with others. We’ve been talking, reflecting, and laughing during every meal together! Every family and person deals with death in a different way but for us, we’ve dealt with it by talking and being open about our feelings. Hey, it’s okay if you break down during a pedicure- you have a great excuse!

In addition, we’re enjoying the time with family members who are in town for the funeral. Last night my aunt arrived from North Caroline and provided us with a wonderful excuse to enjoy rooftop happy hour drinks and then a delicious dinner downtown.

If you ever make it down to Savannah, I highly recommend getting drinks at the Bohemian Hotel’s bar, Rocks on the Rooftop. The prices are reasonable and the views are gorgeous.

 

 

 

Best Friends!

For dinner, we walked down the block to Vic’s on the River. Located along historic Savannah’s River Street, their food is always reliable and the service is even better. Their specialties include the freshest crab cakes I’ve ever enjoyed and a filet mignon that leaves my dad and brother raving. Last night especially, I can’t say enough about the service. We were waiting on my brother to arrive and therefore wanted to make dinner last longer. My personal favorites last night were the fried green tomato appetizers we shared and my crab cake entrée. I didn’t touch the risotto as it was just too rich but the crab cakes were made from lump crab and seasoned perfectly!

 

Our waitress coursed our appetizers and kept our wine glasses full so we never realized that it had been an hour by the time Ryan arrived. Two hours later we left satiated by the Southern food and thankful for the amazing family we have.

As you can tell from the breakfast picture above, my parents and I are in the midst of planning our trip to Maui. Are there any places you’d recommend or things we can’t miss while we’re there in April?

 

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