Weekly Recap: Lots of Running and Some Cabin Hills!

Hi there! I'm just one day behind on my weekly recap, but that's because I was at the cabin for a long weekend with my husband's family. Internet service there is questionable at best (though I did a short post on Saturday HERE). It was a great weekend of family and fun, but now its back to reality.

Let me fill you in on what happened last week in Fitness, Fashion, and Fitness Fashion!

Here's what happened in fitness last week:
Monday: 7.75 mile run in the AM
Tuesday: 8 mile run in the AM with Kelly, with a few miles at a faster effort or "marathon pace"
Wednesday: 1 hour strength conditioning at Calhoun Beach Club
Here is the workout:

Thursday: 4 mile run easy with Matilda
Friday: 15 mile long run before heading to the cabin. I started at 6 am and ran a unique route with my friend Abby. It felt great, and I was so grateful to have a decent long run with great company.
Saturday: 6 miles with Dustin's family, lots of SUP (stand up paddleboarding) on the lake
Sunday: 6 miles with Dustin's brother, (just Collin and me- so fun!) more SUP on the lake
Monday: A little over 8.5 miles with hill repeats...at the cabin! Dustin and I ran 3 miles together as a warmup to a hill by the cabin that is about 1/4 mile long. We did 6 repeats for 2.5 miles of hard effort, following by 3 mile cool down back to the cabin (which still included lots of hills)

Like always, a long weekend at the cabin resulted a lot more running than normal, but that's just the way it goes. I prefer to start the day with a little exercise before all the cabin fun begins, and running is just the easiest thing to do there. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who wanted to start the day with a run! In fact, I always had a good looking man to accompany me.

What is happening in fashion?
In fashion this past week, I received another Stitch Fix (Check out previous fixes HERE, HERE, and HERE)  Guess what? I didn't like any of it...that hasn't ever happened before. Usually, I keep at least one or two things, but this time none of it worked. I'll share pictures later this week, but I am going to have to provide better feedback to the stylist so I get better items next time.

What is happening in fitness fashion?
Brooks Ravennas! These are my shoe- I have blabbed on and on about them, especially HERE, but I didn't know that my sister Erin also runs in them. Great minds think alike!

I still owe you a race recap of the Urban Wildland Half Marathon, which I'll get to this week.

But for now, I'll leave you with a bunch of pictures from the family reunion at the cabin!

The whole crew!

Our little family.

The FUN STATION!

Keeping an eye on things..

Come sail away...

Our 45 pound lap dog...

We also spent some time recreating an old family photo from eleven years ago. I'm holding the original picture on the right...Pretty close, right? Fun stuff!

Weekly Recap: 4th of July, #cabinliving2k14, and How to Wear a Soft Pant!

I'm back online after an extended leave of absence from the internet.... #cabinliving2k14, right? 

I hope you also had a lovely holiday weekend! Of course, I will tell you ALL about ours, but first let me share a quick Weekly Recap of the past week:

Monday: 1 hour barre class at the Barre at 6 am, 7 mile run with the Calhoun Beach Running Club

Tuesday: Hot power fusion at Corepower Yoga, 7 mile run with the Calhoun Beach Running Club (<--twice in one week, I'm so proud!)

Wednesday: 1 hour strength class at the Calhoun Beach Club. One of the trainers at the gym is leading a 10 week strength training class just for runners. The first class was a little slow...I understand the importance of form, but I still want to get in a workout. However, I am sure that it will get more challenging as we progress. Its not too late to join if this something you'd be interested in.

Thursday: I was running by 5 am to get in 11 miles before work. I was pretty proud of myself for squeezing in my "long" run before work!

Friday: 10k at the cabin (6.1 miles) with Kelly. Lots of paddle boarding, and 1 mile swim across the lake (we called this the "Cabin Triathlon."- more on that later!)

Saturday: 1 mile warmup + 3.1 miles Gordon Good Neighbor Days 5k. Dustin got first place in his age group! I'll share more on this race in a race recap.

Sunday: 10k at the cabin (6.1 miles) with Kelly and Abby, paddle boarding, and 1 mile swim across 

the lake

Total: about 42 miles, 2 strength days, 1 yoga, cross training: swimming and paddle boarding

My mileage increased a bit this week, but I felt pretty good overall. I was happy to still have time for a barre class AND a yoga class during a week with 4 nights away at the cabin.

What's happening in Fashion this week?

In fashion this week, its all about the "soft pant!" Remember THIS POST when I told you I participated in a fashion shoot with Carly at A la Mode Wardrobe Consulting? The article was finally published yesterday in the "StylePoints" section of the Star Tribune. You can read the whole article HERE.

How to Wear Soft Pants from the Star Tribune:

"One of our favorite trends of the season is the soft, loosefitting trouser. The new “soft pant” is more wearable than its predecessor, the harem pant, ever was. Loosefitting trousers, which look like glorified pajama pants, can be dressed up and worn to the office. How could you argue with that?

The only problem is that they can be tricky to style. Carly Gatzlaff, stylist and owner of À La Mode Wardrobe Consulting, shows us how.

1. If your soft pant has a wide leg, choose fitted items for the rest of your outfit and tuck in your shirt.

2. For a more casual look, play with color and pattern. For a work-appropriate look, stick to darker patterns or solids.

3. While they’re designed to have a loose fit, avoid a dated look (think harem or MC Hammer) by choosing pants that fit well through the waist and rear. The length should hit just above the ankle.

4. If you’re nervous to try this look, start with a wide-leg soft pant in a print for a summer classic look.

5. Finish with heels or wedges.

Unfortunately, my picture isn't in the online version, but a friend was nice enough to send me a text with the picture while we were at the cabin. Another friend was kind enough to pick up a few hard copies for me to give to my family.

What's happening in Fitness Fashion?

In fitness fashion, its all about red, white, and blue this week! 

Red, White, and Blue themed compression socks from Pro Compression. Find them HERE.

There's a lot of crazy things happening in this picture, but you can see the socks pretty well, so there you go.

Happy 4th of July to you! Did you run a fun holiday race? Please share in the comments!

Fits on the Road: Another Cabin Weekend!

By Jess in Minneapolis

I'm back from another long weekend at the cabin. These Fits on the Road At The Cabin posts are all pretty similar, I apologize. But this trip was different for a special reason: this time, we were joined by Dustin's mom and stepdad, as well as his brother, wife, and two nephews. His brother has been living in Tokyo, Japan for nearly fifteen years. He met his wife there, and they now have two little boys, age three and five.

They come back to the states a few times a year, and this summer, we were happy to be able to take a four day weekend to join them 'up north.'

Running: My long training run for Berlin was eighteen miles this weekend, and that was just too long to do on the lonely country roads. Instead, I took Friday off of work, and my friend Theresa joined me at seven am Friday morning to get our long runs out of the way. We were able to run on the Minneapolis trails with water fountains and bathrooms as necessary. It was perfect!

After the eighteen miler and a quick shower, Dustin, Matilda, and I hit the road. Matilda is really well-behaved on road trips. She usually settles right in for a nap.

We arrived at the cabin around three pm. It was so great to see Dustin's nephews. They had grown up so much since the last time we saw them!

It wasn't long after our arrival before we headed to dinner at the Enchanted Inn. I was starving from the eighteen mile run, and the thin-crust pizzas as this historic little restaurant definitely hit the spot!

Fitness at the Cabin: I was able to run six miles on Saturday morning before spending the day outside with the family. There was plenty of paddle-boarding, as usual. Even Dustin's brother gave it a try. Once he got the hang of it, he was zipping around the lake!

Dustin probably had the biggest balance challenge, with both nephews riding along on the board at the same time.  He never tipped over though!

On Sunday, Dustin and Matilda joined me again for the same six mile run. I think Matilda was definitely exhausted after running the hills, though she still had plenty of energy to protect us from the dragonflies!

Monday's training schedule called for eight to ten miles with hill repeats. I wanted to get this out of the way at the cabin rather than waiting until the evening to join the Calhoun Beach Running Club. I knew we'd be tired after the drive home, so instead, I sucked it up and got it done on the country roads. I ran the three miles into the town (on hilly country roads) and then did eight repeats of a steep-ish hill that was 1/4 mile long.  Three mile warmup, eight repeats on a 1/4 mile hill, plus three mile cool-down equals ten miles total.

Whew! It kicked my booty, that's for sure :-)

There was lots of running at the cabin but we also had plenty of time for some wine drinking, scrumptious food eating, swimming, fishing, and plenty of relaxing.

In fact, the relaxation station was back out on the lake, and Dustin's nephews loved it!

We also did some fishing during the evenings, and everyone caught a fish! At night, there were a few fireworks. Matilda did not like the fireworks at all, but she did love the fish!

It was a lovely weekend with lots of memories and good times had by all! 

Weekly Fitness Recap:

Monday: 9 miles, with 5 miles at marathon pace

Tuesday: a morning 10k with Abby

Wednesday: 1 hour bootcamp class at the YMCA with Abby and her husband, with a mix of strength and cardio

Thursday: 5.5 easy miles with Matilda

Friday: 18 miles with Theresa

Saturday: 6 miles at the cabin

Sunday: 6 miles at the cabin

Total:  over 50 miles of running, but no yoga & only one day of cross training, and zero days of complete rest..fail on two counts!