Gretch Runs

Hi everyone!  To all of my Canadian readers- I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  And to my American readers- I hope you all had a great Columbus Day!  I luckily had the day off work, which should always be the case after a race.  It felt great to relax and rest all day! This weekend, I ran one of my favorite races, the Towpath Half Marathon.  If you've followed my training, you know that I spent the last few weeks training (after having a disappointing Seawheeze Half back in August).  Just like last year, this race had perfect weather and was organized really well.  I had a pretty good race and improved on my time last year (but missed a PR by a few minutes), so overall I'm satisfied with how I did. Here's how the race went down: Miles 1 : 2 : 3 Splits : 9:35, 9:06, 8:51 I almost missed the start of the race because I was in line for the bathroom!  I left my car at 7:30 to make one last stop at the bathroom before the 8:00 star...

Hey guys, happy Friday.  This has been one of those weeks for me, when I just feel in a funk.  Anyone else ever get that?  I don't know if it's taper madness or what, but I am so  ready for the weekend and holiday (thank goodness for banking holidays!).  Instead of keeping this cloud of gloom around me, I'm going to talk about five things that are making me very happy right now.  I hope you all had a great week and have an even better weekend! Linking up with  Mar ,  Cynthia  and  Court  as well as  Heather  and  Momfessionals Hairspray Live! Live musicals on network TV have become pretty popular lately (see- Greece, Sound of Music and Peter Pan).  The latest one has been announced and it's Hairspray!  I'm SO  excited, because Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals and movies.  The music is so catchy and the story line is enthralling.  I can't wait to watch it, especially bec...

Can you believe it's October already?  It's definitely starting to feel like fall in Pittsburgh, and before we know it, it'll be winter and Christmas time!  Since it's a new month and it's been a while since we caught up on life, it's the perfect time for What's New With You linkup!  I'm joined, as always, by my co-host Kristen .  Make sure you go over and say HI! and link up below.  Let's get to some life updates! Exercise I have my next race on Sunday, and training has been great lately (you can see all of my training recaps here )!  I shared some of my goals on Tuesday , and I'm really excited to be back at the race where I got my first sub 2:00 half.  I'm a little worried about the weather, just because the race is on a crushed limestone trail with lots of lakes and creeks.  I love to run in the rain, but running a muddy and flooded race does not sound fun to me! I'm finally in a workout routine that works for ...

I can't believe it, but it's less than a week until my next half marathon.  It seems like just yesterday that I crossed the finish line at Seawheeze , and just last week that I was running last year's Towpath Half !  I'm so excited to be doing it again, and I'm starting to prep for race day. I've been running and racing since I was 8 years old, so I consider myself somewhat of a race day pro.  While I'll never be a REAL pro runner, I have my routine down pat.  Today I'm going to be sharing my tried and true tips (try saying that 10 times fast) for having the best race morning.  Be sure to share your best tips in the comments! Listen to a podcast for the first half On race day, the adrenaline is pumping, your legs are fresh, there's so much excitement, and inevitably you start out too fast and your entire race plan is out the window.  This happened to me all the time, until I made a small tweak and switched to a podcast for the first half of m...

I did it- made it through another training cycle!  This one was a little shorter than normal, but I'm ready to race.  I have a few days of taper and the race is on Sunday.  I can't wait!  Let's take a look at this week in workouts: Monday Rest Day I was really tired from my long run the day before as well as all the house work I did, so I took an extra day off!  I did some stretching and a few yoga flows just to get the soreness out, but mostly just snuggled with Selma! Tuesday 3 miles Easy three miles on the treadmill to get the day started!  I felt completely recovered from the weekend and my legs felt good again. Yoga / 45:00 Went to my normal Tuesday yoga class. Wednesday Rest Day Dan and I went to a free concert by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra after work, so I took an extra day off! Thursday 3.1 miles / 26:50 / 8:39 pace This was such a good run!  I didn't really look at my watch ...

Hey guys!  Is it really Friday already?  And the last day of the month?  I swear, it feels like September didn't even happen.  This month just flew by and was really busy!  I'll be sure to update you more next Thursday in the " What's New With You " linkup- make sure you join Kristen and me! For now, I have a bunch of favorites to share with you today.  Let's get to it! Empties Caress Adore Forever - 9/10 - I love this line of body washes.  The scent actually stays on you all day, and I always feel really clean after using it! Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo - 8/10 - I use this shampoo about once a week to get rid of any build up from dry shampoo or other hair products.  This one is cheap and does the trick. Ban Refresh Cloths - 10/10 - These are so great to have in a gym bag or in the car to make yourself feel refreshed and a bit more clean when you have to rush after a workout! elf Lip Exfoliator - 7/10 - This is a great and ...

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've done a Wednesday Review post, and I'm excited to bring it back.  Today I'm going to be talking about one of my favorite beauty and food products- coconut oil.  If you read any beauty, health, or fitness blog you've probably seen this product all over the place, because it's pretty much magical.  You can eat it, feed it to your pets, use it in your hair, clean your face....pretty much everything! I was lucky enough to get to sample a few different coconut oil products from the brand Skinny and Co , and I'm excited to share my thoughts!  I've been using all of the products for a few weeks now, and have a pretty good idea of what works and what isn't for me. Just a disclaimer- I was sent these products for review, but I'm not being paid at all for this post!  All of the thoughts are 100% honest :)  If you're interested in trying anything from Skinny and Co, you can save 15% by using the code SKINNYC...