2014 Road Races

January 1 - 1st Run 5k - 23:43 (7:39 min/mile pace) - RECAP

January 9 - Disney Family Fun Run 5k - 32:05 (10:21 min/mile pace) - RECAP

January 10 - Walt Disney World 10k - 1:05:40 (10:35 min/mile pace) - RECAP

January 11 - Walt Disney World Half Marathon - 2:22:31 (10:53 min/mile pace) - RECAP

January 12 - Walt Disney World Marathon - 4:45:57 (10:55 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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February 2 - Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon - 1:55:43 (8:50 min/mile pace) - RECAP

February 14 - Stop Stroke Shuffle 5k *Virtual* - 26:18 (8:29 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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March 1 - Black Cat 20-Miler - 2:57:59 (8:54 min/mile pace) - RECAP

March 16 - Craicfest 5k - 24:17 (7:49 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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April 19 - BAA 5k - 25:08 (8:06 min/mile pace) - RECAP

April 21 - 118th Boston Marathon - 5:31:18 (12:39 min/mile pace) - RECAP

April 26 - Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon - 4:42:12 (10:46 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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May 11 - M.O.M.'s Run 5k - 24:14 (7:48 min/mile pace) - RECAP

May 13 - Strides Against Stroke 5k *Virtual* - 26:16 (8:28 min/mile pace) - RECAP

May 18 - 18th Annual Mystic River Herring Run & Paddle 5k - 24:39 (7:57 min/mile pace) - RECAP

May 25 - Boston's Run To Remember Half Marathon - 1:50:58 (8:28 min/mile pace) - RECAP

May 29 - Boston 5k Summer Series Race #1 - 23:29 (7:34 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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June 1 - Freedom Run 5k - 23:55 (7:43 min/mile pace) - RECAP

June 7 - Runner's World 5k - 28:28 (9:11 min/mile pace) - RECAP

June 7 - Runner's World 10k - 58:49 (9:29 min/mile pace) - RECAP

June 8 - Runner's World Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon - 2:08:52 (9:50 min/mile pace) - RECAP

June 21 - Rock and Run Boston (Obstacle 5k) - 45:32 (14:38 min/mile pace) - RECAP

June 22 - BAA 10k - 51:37 (8:19 min/mile pace) - RECAP

June 30 - Summer Sizzler *Virtual* 5k - 25:21 (8:10 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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July 3 - Finish At The 50 (10k for me) - 53:01 (8:32 min/mile pace) - RECAP

July 13 - Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon - 1:57:44 (8:59 min/mile pace) - RECAP

July 17 - Boston 5k Summer Series Race #3 - 24:19 (7:50 min/mile pace) - RECAP

July 20 - Iron GirlWebster Sprint Triathlon - 1:26:54 - RECAP

July 30 - F.A.S.T. (Fighting Against Stroke Together) *Virtual* 5k -27:44 (8:57 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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August 14 - Boston 5k Summer Series Race #4 - 24:57 (8:03 min/mile pace) - RECAP

August 17 - Falmouth Road Race (7 miles) -1:00:49 (8:41 min/mile pace) - RECAP

August 24 - Race To The Row 5k - 23:46 (7:39 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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September 4 - Boston 5k Summer Series Race #5 - 22:39 (7:18 min/mile) - RECAP

September 7 - Pumpkinman Half Ironman - 6:06:03 - RECAP

September 13 - Big Bad Wolf 5 Mile Trail Race - 41:41 (8:21 min/mile pace) - RECAP

September 14 - Buzzards Bay Sprint Triathlon - 1:27:01.3 - RECAP

September 17 - The Dani Ryan Holmes-Kirk 3rd Annual 30th Birthday 5k Run-Walk Ramble *VIRTUAL* - 26:03 (8:24 min/mile pace) - RECAP

September 27 - ZOOMA Women's Half Marathon (Cape Cod) - 1:54:17 (8:43 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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October 5 - Oktoberfest 5k - 24:16 (7:49 min/mile pace) - RECAP

October 12 - BAA Half Marathon - 1:52:58 (8:37 min/mile pace) - RECAP

October 18 - Runner's World 5k - 30:29 (9:50 min/mile pace) - RECAP

October 18- Runner's World 10k - 1:01:11 (9:52 min/mile pace) - RECAP

October 19 - Runner's World Half Marathon - 2:10:35 (9:58 min/mile pace) - RECAP

October 25 - *Virtual* Pug Run 5k - 25:29 (8:13 min/mile pace)

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November 9 - Boston River Run 5k - 24:12 (7:47 min/mile pace) - RECAP

November 15 - Spartan Sprint Fenway Park - 58:54 - RECAP

November 16 - South Shore Half Marathon - 1:54:00 (8:42 min/mile pace) - RECAP

November 23 - Santa Hustle New England Half Marathon - 1:52:28 (8:36 min/mile pace) - RECAP

November 27 - Gobble Gobble Gobble 4-Miler - Garmin Time: 42:24 & Mass Start Time: 43:09 - RECAP

November 29 - The Ugly Sweater Run (2.5 miles) - *NOT TIMED* - Garmin: 20:43 (8:16 min/mile pace) - RECAP

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December 6 - Jingle Bell Half Marathon - 1:51:37.2 (8:32 min/mile pace) - RECAP

December 14 - Yulefest 5k - 23:08 (7:27 min/mile pace) - RECAP

race

REVIEW: Misfit Shine - Activity Tracker & Cute Accessory

"Oh hey I can see your activity monitor attached to your bra through your shirt?" "Well I can tell you are tracking those steps with that tracker bulging out of your pocket?"

"Wow! You really make that activity tracker match the fancy outfit of yours ... or not!"

Has anyone thought or said any of these comments to you?

Well I have had one or all of them mentioned to me in passing.

So sorry that even at a wedding I want to track my activity! You know I can get some serious steps with my dance moves. ;)

What is a fashionable girl to do? C'mon folks let me pretend I am fashionable for at least one post. M'kay!

Misfit heard my pleas and produced the Shine (value $99.99).

(Note: I received the Shine free for this review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own - ain't nobody got time for lying!)

The Shine is an activity monitor that tracks movement and sleep: calories burned, steps, distance and sleep quality and duration.

The Shine can be worn anywhere. This is a HUGE help when trying to wear a tracker and not have it seen by the world.

Since the Shine is so thin it doesn't look bulky when on your bra or waistband (or your underwear band if you are wearing a dress ;).

The small size of the Shine can unfortunately backfire as well. I lost mine transitioning it from my shoe to my sports bra after a Spin class. It must've slid off my bra while I was putting my backpack on and I didn't notice.

It stays on by magnet - one on the clasp and one in the Shine.

Luckily, Misfit has great customer service and they sent me a new one.

Syncing your Shine is simple. You just place the device on your iPhone/Android and tap the sync button.

Quick and easy. Hello instant gratification! I hate having to wait until I get home to sync a tracker. I want to know right after the run happens where I am at.

Additionally, you can double tap the Shine to see what sort of progress you are making by a series of lights lighting up.

Activity Tracking

Use points to easily measure all your activities, such as walking, running, swimming and cycling.

While the Shine sets your goal at 1,000 points a day, you can change that to whatever you want whenever you want. I love how it breaks your goal down for you via walking, running or swimming. Those are definitely just examples and suggestions if you are wondering how to hit your goal for the day.

But the Shine tracks more than points as I mentioned: steps, calories burned and distance are also noted.

Now I don't know how accurate the information is as I do not track/record calories burned, but I like using it as a guide from day-to-day. I can compare a rest day to a day where I was constantly moving. 

I appreciate the graphs broken down by hours of the day so I can see when I was most active and when I hit my points goal for the day!

You can also set an activity: running, swimming or biking. When you set the activity to say biking, if you tap on the Shine three times it will you know you are beginning a session on your bike cycling and will record the activity appropriately. You can change the activity (out of those three options) at any time.

Track your progress

Tap your Misfit Shine to see how close you are to reaching your goal.

You can set activity, sleep and weight goals on the app.

Have fun with friends

Find your friends and view each other's accomplishments.

You know I have a little competitive side so this feeds right into that. :P Who doesn't love a friendly little competition?

Sleep Tracking

This is something I was VERY interested in since I never feel like I get a good night sleep... Ever!

You know what. I was right. I consistently see gaps in my sleep tracker. I figure I am either tossing/turning or taking bathroom breaks during those times.

It is upsetting to see, but I am happy I now have the proof. Next step becomes figuring out how to fix it.

Weight Tracker/Food Journal

You do have the option of hooking up your MyFitnessPal to your Shine. I do not use that site so I don't have it connected. But I do update my weekly weigh-ins in my account.

So for those that do count calories this seems like a great feature for you.

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But what sets it apart from other activity trackers that offer the same information?

It is waterproof (aka I can safely wear it while swimming) AND it is stylish. That's right. I can wear it to a wedding without anyone being the wiser.

How?

Also Misfit offers some cool accessories including necklace, metal mesh band, leather band, sport band or metal band.

Bloom Necklace Holder

Deceiving right? You wouldn't even recognize it.

Now the accessories are great they can be quite pricey. The Bloom Necklace Holder rings in at $79.99, while the metal band is $49.99. So if you want more than the sport band and clasp that come with the Shine, you will be forking over some $$$.

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Overall the Shine is a great deal for $99.99 in my opinion.

Wins

^ Runs on a battery (lasts 6 months), which means no waiting to charge the device

^ Waterproof so I can wear it swimming

^ Able to adjust to wear it all over my body

^ Offers graphs for both activity and sleep breakdown

^ Coin sized so unnoticeable to people

^ Stylish and comes in many color options in case you do want to show it off

^ Easy to sync while on the go

Losses

^ Not sure how accurate the step/calories burned feature is

^ Accessories are quite pricey

^ Slips off easily from my tank top when I am sleeping

^ Offers a watch feature, but is confusing to read/understand

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Have you tried the Misfit Shine yet? What is your favorite feature?

Monday Musings: Weekend of Workouts & Wedding Wonder

Weekends this summer have been full of workouts, laughs, love, friends and family ...but not a ton of rest! So you can imagine this past weekend was right along those same lines. ;) My wife actually got up early on Sunday to get her 4 mile run in before we walked over to my 5k race and she quipped later that day: "Wow, I don't know how you do this getting up early to workout thing all the time."

It made me smile to myself. Now she appreciates the early mornings I put in so that we can have more time to spend together. :)

Sunday marked just two weeks until the Pumpkinman Half Ironman. Wow September 7 will be here before I know it. This weekend I needed to really buckle down and focus.

The workouts started bright and early Friday after a great weigh-in. Did you hear I am happily back in the 150s?

My goal on Friday was to get 4 hours in on the bike, but that didn't happen. Between a Recycle Studio Spin workout and a bike tide out to Bedford from Somerville - I spent about 3 hours in the saddle.

But I still haven't gotten 56 miles in on the bike and I need to do that before the race just to show myself I can do it. So guess what is on the docket for this upcoming week?

The bike is so mental for me. My body knows it can do it, but the mind gets nervous and overwhelmed. Time to shut the brain down.

The rest of the Friday called for relaxation and blogging. Isn't that what all the cool kids do on a Friday night? :)

I had an early morning on Saturday. I wanted to hit up the 8am Weight Watchers meeting and claim my Ace Your Summer Challenge bling for having attended 10 of the last 11 weeks of meetings. Woo!

It is such a nice and welcoming group. I am happy to attend their meetings and occasionally sub before I return to long run Saturdays this Fall.

I was smiling from ear to ear as members of the group talked about the fun they had attending the Nike Run & Walk Club that I have been helping to host. They talked about feeling welcome without thought of pace or fitness level. Exactly the kind of group I have been trying to create. :)

Full of motivation and inspiration, I headed to the pool to get my 1.2 mile time trial swim done.

During the entire swim I felt strong and like I could keep swimming for days. :) I guess that training is paying off. :P It was a great morning in the pool full of entertainment from the kids' swim classes going on on the opposite side of the pool from me.

Once I was out of the pool, I had to race home, quickly change and head to my cousin's wedding dress appointment. How cute are the cards our friend Lauren made to judge the dresses?

They are so my cousin. :)

Since I never did the wedding dress shopping thing myself (maybe some day), it was a complete learning experience. It really is a live version of Say Yes To The Dress. My cousin found a style she liked, but didn't say yes to a dress at the first location.

My cousin & I working the duck lips

She inevitably found her dress at appointment #2 of the day, which I wasn't able to make.

While my Saturday afternoons were canceled last minute, I wouldn't waste the time by getting in my BRICK workout with my #1 supporter the wife by my side.

She humored me while I blabbered on about nothing for two hours on the bike trainer and then jumped on her bike while I knocked out a quick 5k (26:34) to shake the legs out.

She also listened to me curse out the wind for blowing in my face for the entire run. Not sure I could've said: "Are you serious wind?" any more than I did. Haha.

We decided to cook in on Saturday night and enjoy a lovely meal outside in the backyard, while the pups played.

Please note: it is the wife who is drinking Pumpkin beer in August. #TheShame 

The wife made Skinnytaste's Weeknight Skillet Sazon Chicken Tenders and it was delicious!! We paired it with our once a month treat of yellow rice (yum) and steamed broccoli.

After a fantastic dinner outside, we finally watched Muppets Most Wanted. It was cute but not nearly as good as the Muppet Movie from 2011.

Now while the wife got up early on Sunday to run I slept in until 7:15am - woah! Late I know. ;) But it was great to lounge around and snuggle some pups until she came home.

The Race To The Row 5k I was running on Sunday didn't start until 9:30am AND was located across the street from my house which meant a late departure time. Boy I wish all of my races were that close.

It was a fun morning with lots of friends. I will post a recap of that race shortly.

I wasn't sure how my body would handle the race since I had done a 1.5 mile swim, 30 mile bike and 5k run the day before.

But as you can see it was pretty speedy. I ended up 79th overall and 10th in my division. Woo! I never reach the top 10 in my division so that was exciting.

Following the race I had a couple of hours of downtime before we headed to a wedding celebration for my friend Nicole and her partner Melsen. It was a lovely afternoon in Brookline with friends.

They had a great spread and a make your own burritos area, which totally was up the wife's alley. I ate most of the large salad they had available. :P

Our crew has gotten older and maybe more mature? Okay not at all more mature, but it was fun to come together to celebrate love and friendship.

With a busy weekend in the books, it was great to come home and just vet out for the rest of the evening.

I went to bed Sunday night with a happy heart, a complete Weight Watchers food tracker and renewed energy for the week ahead.

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Since we know I am - for now - just enjoying adult beverages on the weekend, here are a couple of the local brews I tried:

Berkshire Brewing Company

Tap Brewing Company (Haverhill, MA)

Both were full of hoppy goodness...

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Two other notes for this week:

1) I have a $10 off discount code for the Max Performance Buzzards Bay Sprint Triathlon on September 14.

Use code: WOMSBUZZ14 (code expires Friday, August 29)

2) I am holding a giveaway for a free entry into the inaugural South Shore Half Marathon in Norwell, MA on November 2.

Feel free to enter here.

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How did you stay active this weekend?