Weekend Winter Workouts

This past weekend was a busy one.  I worked the Catalyst booth (HERE) with Gail at the Free to Breathe Yogathon.  What a fun event.  We met a lot of wonderful, active women from the Madison-area.  It was a lot of fun getting the word out about the store and the Run Like a Diva Retreat (HERE) that we are hosting this spring.

 

 

I went home and enjoyed the sunny afternoon - on foot.  I got in a nice little eight miler around town, before my girlfriends came over for taco night.  A former couch to 5k participant let me try out her Yaktrax (HERE).  This was my first experience with Yaktrax.  Sadly, I tried them out on one of the nicest days we've had this winter and the roads and paths were pretty clear of snow and ice.  So, it didn't get to test them out fully.  But, they helped with the sketchy patches that I ran into.  I tried them again in a blizzard-of-a-run with a couch to 5k group later on and they worked like a charm.  It's nice to have some extra traction - especially in the dark, when you can't see what's beneath your feet.  I would highly recommend Yaktrax to anyone running outdoors with covered paths and slippery roads.  They are a little difficult on the feet and ankles when the paths are clear and you don't need the extra traction.

 

 

On Sunday, The Boyfriend and I traveled to The Pettit National Ice Center (HERE) in the Milwaukee-area.  We met up with my bloggy-buddy Amy from Running is Cheaper than Therapy (HERE), to run some indoor laps.  We all ran the 47ish laps last month during the Icebreaker Indoor Half Marathon at the same ice arena.  There, I finished the 13.1 miles 2:00:02.  Our goal was run about two hours on Sunday morning.  Amy and I ran together the entire time and chatted for the first hour.  Caught up on our families, our training and our upcoming races and goals.  Then at the one hour mark, I said, "OK, I have to put on some tunes".  The next hour passed quickly, as we both cranked our tunes and rarely said a word.  My pace sped up quite a bit over the second half of our training run.  The tunes were keeping a great beat and I was enjoying it. 

 

 

We never stopped - lap after lap.  We saw The Boyfriend a few times during our endless circle of running.  Amy's Garmin was keeping track of our distance and she told me when we hit 13.1 miles - and we cooled down with a nice walk.  I was absolutely thrilled to finish the indoor half marathon in just over 1:54 - almost six minutes off of my race day time.  It was a great training run - with a great friend.  Afterwards, the three of us hopped on over to Saz's (HERE) and indulged in my favorite sampler platter from Summerfest and the best grilled cheese I've ever had.  We then headed over to Amy's house to enjoy her hubby's home brewery - reverse carb loading.