Gretch Runs

Hi everyone!  This week I started following an official training plan again, and it feels so great.  I haven't been following a plan since my last half marathon in October, and I'm really excited!  I think having a bit of a break from racing and strict running was the perfect cure for my burnout and I'm ready to go. I'm going to be talking about my racing schedule (and training plan) later this week, but I decided to run the Gettysburg Marathon this year.  This will be a redemption race since I dropped out of it last year, and I'm excited to be training for another full marathon (my first since I started blogging!). Here's a look at how week one went: Monday 3.25 miles / 28:47 / 8:51 pace Easy run to start off training!  I don't know if it was the weather or the excitement about starting a new training plan, but I was flying on this run!  I felt great and could not get myself to slow down.  Great start! In my training plan, I do a ...

Happy Friday to everyone!  This has been quite a hectic week and I'm happy it's finally the weekend.  As always, I'll be sharing my favorite things from the week.  I hope you enjoy, and tell me what you're currently loving! 24/7 Christmas Radio Station I always like to listen to music when I'm working, and lately I've been loving listening to Christmas music.  Instead of having to choose a playlist or album every few hours, I started listening to the 24/7 Christmas Radio Station on Youtube .  This is constantly playing festive music in a variety of styles and eras, and I love it! SNL with Emma Stone I've been watching SNL on and off this season (mostly because I was tired of the constant election jokes) but I have to say last week's episode was one of my favorites of all time.  Emma Stone hosted for the third time and was absolutely amazing.  Even though there was a bit of political talk (duh), most of the skits were fresh and hilarious....

Hi everyone!  Today I'm going to be joining in the Thinking Out Loud linkup fun.  I'm going to be sharing some things that are going on in my life and interesting things I've been reading about- but it's kind of random.  I would love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments! Amazon Go Has anyone heard about this?  Basically  it's a grocery store with no check out lines- just scan an app to get in, pick up your stuff and go.  In some ways, this concept is really interesting to me.  I work in mobile payments, so it's encouraging to me that the future looks promising for my career, plus who likes to wait in really long lines? On the other hand, it seems like machines are replacing people more and more, which is a terrifying thought.  This seems like the first step in eliminating service jobs which is really going to hurt the economy and unemployment rate.  What do you all think? Side note- if any of you have a ...

Hi everyone!  Last week was a fantastic week of workouts, and I'm ready to start training again.  I have my race schedule planned out for the first half of next year, and I have some pretty big goals for myself.  I'll be sharing more later, but for today I'm going to recap my week of workouts. Monday 3.1 miles / 30:05 / 9:42 pace #NeverMissAMonday.  I ran around the stadiums and also got to see some of the holiday lights downtown.  Nice way to kick off my week! Tuesday PiYo I had to miss my regular yoga class, so I went to PiYo instead.  I love this class and I'm thinking of permanently replacing my Tuesday yoga class to switch things up. Wednesday Rest Day! Thursday 3 miles I had to do this run on the treadmill because I had an issue with my eye and couldn't wear contacts.  I have pretty bad vision so I thought it would be safer to run inside!  Kept it nice and easy.  Today also started the 30 d...

Happy Weekend everyone!  This has been a long week, so I'm more than ready to sleep in and relax for the next few days.  I have a few plans, but otherwise I'm going to spend the weekend decorating for Christmas and getting in the holiday spirit! Here are some of my favorites from this week: Gilmore Girls I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but I got to watch half of the Gilmore Girls revival, and so far I'm happy with it!  I like how each episode feels like a movie, and all of my favorite characters are back.  I do think some things are a little weird and not what I expected to happen, but we'll see how the second half plays out.  (PS- if you're interested in learning about all of the guest stars that pop up, check out this article) Big Ten Championship What an amazing season this has been!  It's been a tough few years to be a Penn State fan, but I've stuck by my college and team through it all.  It hasn't been easy, and this y...

Happy December!  This month always flies by for me with holiday parties, vacation days, traveling, and spending time with family.  Before I know it, I'll be wishing you all a happy 2017! Since it's a new month, it's time to talk about what's been going on and do some catching up.  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 In November, I was signed up for the Pittsburgh 10 Miler, but ended up not running it.  I talked about it here , and a bit about burnout here .  I've been feeling a lot better since then, and have gotten my love for running back!  It doesn't really feel like an obligation anymore, but something that I want  to do. I'm starting to plan out my racing schedule for next year, and my big goal is to run a full marathon!  I've never really trained for one (but I've finished two..very painfully), bu...

I made it!  I blogged every day in November (this being my final post) and I survived.  It was tough at times, but really fun to challenge myself.  Here's a look back at all of the posts that I wrote, in case you missed any: ( 1 ) October Favorites ( 2 ) Let's Get Personal ( 3 ) What's New With You ( 4 ) Top Five Friday ( 5 ) Oprah's Favorite Things ( 6 ) Race Week ( 7 ) Let's Talk About Burnout ( 8 ) Dips ( 9 ) WIAW Election Day ( 10 ) Belize Part 4 ( 11 ) Top Five Friday ( 12 ) Currently ( 13 ) Week in Workouts ( 14 ) Weekend Highlights ( 15 ) Battle of the Stuffing ( 16 ) Getting Back to Running ( 17 ) Scrapbook Memories ( 18 ) Top Five Friday ( 19 ) Netflix Favorites ( 20 ) Week in Workouts ( 21 ) Veg Feast ( 22 ) Vegan Thanksgiving Menu ( 23 ) Lululemon Reviews ( 24 ) Happy Thanksgiving ( 25 ) Top Five Friday ( 26 ) Favorite Christmas Songs ( 27 ) Week in Workouts ( 28 ) Mental Health Helps ( 29 ) November Favorites ( 30 ) Wrap...