#HUNG4THEHOLIDAYS Reveal

Posted by SeeBriRun on Dec 20, 2012 in Running | 3 comments

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, besides my birthday of course , so when I heard that Carlyn was organizing a “Hung for the Holiday’s ornament swap I was SO down.

Here’s how it worked:

• You let Carlyn know you wanted to be involved
• She pairs you up
• You find an ornament that you think suits your partner
• Send your ornament out in time for Christams

And BAM a pretty little Christmas ornament shows up on your door step and you meet another personal in the fitness community! So much fun.

Lora over at Crazy Running Girl (cute name right?) was my secret ornament swapper.Jingle bells!! How fun!!!

A cupcake ornament. How freakin’ perfect. I love cupcakes so so much. This pretty much resembles my favorite cupcake, RED VELVET.

My tree isn’t up yet because my younger brother is JUST getting home from college & he cuts down the tree for us.  I know this will look absolutely perfect, and yummy, on my tree!

Thanks again Lora!

ALSO since my ornament partner, Jenn,  doesn’t have a blog here is a pic of the ornament I got her! You can also follow her on Twitter @Jenflo3

That is one cute ornament if I don’t say so myself.  I purchased it from my local running company, Sayville Running Company. You can also follow them @SayvilleRunning Jenn is also a runner who likes the color red so I KNEW this would be perfect for her!

Are you participating in any swaps this year OR have you raced in any holiday themed runs?

A look back on half marathon training

Posted by SeeBriRun on Oct 10, 2012 in half marathon, Running | 1 comment

This past Sunday marked one year from my first and only half marathon.  As much as I would have liked to run it again this year, it just wasn’t in my deck of cards.  When I first started running I was chomping at the bit to try racing every distance.  Now it’s a different story.  I don’t want to just race a distance to say I ran a half marathon I want to race it and know that I was fully capable of pushing myself to the limit. Don’t get me wrong,  I don’t regret racing the half marathon it was a great experience, but it taught me a lot too.

Such a great idea for a race.

I really don’t think I was ready.  Yes I could run the distance physically but mentally I wasn’t.  Running was still SO new to me.  I wasn’t used to racing, I had only done one 5K prior, and I just wasn’t used to the mental blocks the come with running either.  Running a 13 mile run around the comfort of my own neighborhood vs. a race in a new locations is completely different! I was not expecting the huge adrenaline rush, how to pace myself, how to deal with mental insecurities, and having people sprint past me.  It was intense, but nonetheless a learning experience.

I wanted to come back in 2012 and kill it, but hey maybe next year.

Diva Brianna.

For now, I’m focusing on shorter distances and trying to get over my race anxiety! I gotta start small and work my way up so that they next time I race a half, I’ll be ready!

Congratulations to everyone who raced “Run like a Diva Long Island” this year! It’s a great and super fun race.

SO tell me… have you ever looked back on your races and felt unprepared?

The Simply Bar Review

Posted by SeeBriRun on Oct 9, 2012 in Food, Running | 0 comments

A few weeks ago  a rep from The Simply Bar reached out to me and asked if they could send me some of their popular bars to review.  After researching the company, I decided YES! Not only will I possibly find the perfect protein bar, but I can also help you all out too!

Oh hey, delicious.

What is it?: The Simply Bar is a high protein bar that is vegan and gluten free.  They actually have a great product comparison to other similar bars on their website here: http://d4463839.u39.c14.ixinstant.com/compare.

What’s in it?: According to their website, each Simply Bar has 16g of protein, more fiber than sugar, and all under 160 calories. The perfect convenient snack for dieting, athletes, vegans, diabetics, and healthy eating. Our bars are gluten-free, all natural, vegan, kosher, low in fat and sugar, and under 12 ingredients (including non-GMO soy).

They sent me a variety pack of Cinnamon Pecan, Lemon Coconut, Peanut Butter and Caramel Peanut.  My favorite was Caramel Peanut and I’m not even a Peanut fan!  They others were pretty good too except for the Lemon Coconut, it was to lemon-y for me.

I ate the bars before and after a work out and I honestly felt great.  I had one after a killer speed workout and didn’t have an upset stomach afterwords, which I normally do.   I have such a sensitive stomach that it’s so hard for me to find something that works.  The bars are light and slightly dry, but in a good way.  I can’t eat protein bars that are too moist or dense, they KILL my stomach so these were perfect.  Also, they’re pretty cheap too! You can get a 4 pack for only $10!.

Would I recommend them to a friend? YES! Already have

A Fresh Start

Posted by SeeBriRun on Oct 8, 2012 in 5k, Running | 0 comments

New week, New training.

In 8 weeks I will hopefully be kicking some major butt at a local 5K.  My goal? Breaking 30minutes.  My lofty, sorta think I can do it goal? 24 minutes.  Sub 30 is goal I wanted to reach before 2012 ends.  The race is on December 2^nd. I guess I’m cutting it close? Oops.

Can you tell that I’m a foot model for Brooks & Sugoi? Compression socks really do wonders for my legs. Wait, nope.

I’m finally pushing myself and sticking with a training plan.  I think I finally found one that works for me.  I’m going to be mixing between Hal Higdons intermediate & advanced training plans.  Honestly, I am SO excited.  I never stick to a training plan.  How horrible is that? I truly just like going out and doing whatever I want.  Running make me feel free but recently I started thinking I need to push myself.  I feel like I lost that “spark” to see how far I can test my limits.

It’s time for me to Dream Big .  I have my training plan and training paces printed out and ready to go! I’ve been fooling around with the Mcmillan Calculator.  It’s fun to see what kind of paces I need to be doing to get a sub 21 minute 5K or a 4 min mile.  A girl can dream right?

Also, I’m going to totally clean up my diet.  I bought two sports nutrition books so hopefully that will help! It’s not that I eat crap, I mostly eat organic, it’s when I eat! I forget to eat breakfast, have a big lunch, and then normally snack/graze for dinner.  This leaves me feeling tired and sluggish on runs and it’s time to change that!

Today marks day one, wish me luck!

So tell me, what are your big goals before 2012 ends?

Until next time,

Run Hard. Run Long. Run Strong.

Running Naked

Posted by SeeBriRun on Sep 27, 2012 in 5k, Running | 1 comment

No not literally, get your mind out of the gutter.

Appropriate.

For the past few months I’ve been running Garmin-less.  I was SO excited when I got my Garmin but shortly after I realized it freaked me out.  I became obsessed with looking at my watch.  I know we’ve all been there, running and staring at your wrist.  I decided to give it up. Whenever I saw how fast I was running I would freak out and think “How can I possibly be running that fast??”. So I stopped wearing it and listened to my body.  For the most part, I think I got faster because I wasn’t thinking and worrying about how fast I was going.  I listened to my body, I knew what felt easy and when I need to push.

Now I’m starting to rethink my decision.  The past weekends 5K I went in with a “I don’t care I’m just going to run” type of attitude.  No specific training, no speed work, just running. I hit mile 1 at 8:15 and it felt easy. Why did I pull out my earbud to hear the callers time? Because I wanted to know.  I needed to know… but was it the right decision? I immediately went into panic mode, even though it felt easy.  I reverted back to beginner running mode and told myself “too fast, slow down”, which I did… and it leaded to a stomach cramp, which I think I created from freaking out.  The whole “running naked” has been fun, but it’s now time to whole myself accountable.  I freaked out because I didn’t think I could how out that pace, even though I probably do during regular runs when I’m Garmin-less.

Pretty watch, stop makin’ me crazy.

So, from now on I will be wearing my Garmin and PUSHING myself to believe that I can do it.  If I know the exact times that I’m running during my normal run than I’ll know when to push and what is normal during a race, right?

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with my post BUT it was too pretty not to share. A Long Island sunset.

Do you always run with your Garmin? Or do you go through periods without your watch?

Also, don’t forget to vote for me in the Face of Fitness contest!

Until next time,

Run Hard, Run Long, Run Strong.

Face of Fitness

Posted by SeeBriRun on Sep 26, 2012 in Running, Uncategorized | 0 comments

I’ve been harrassing you through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and now my blog!

Recently I entered in Fitness Magazine’s “Face of Fitness” contest.  When I first heard about the contest I was unsure if I should enter.  So many thoughts entered in my head, do I have a chance? Should I do it? What if no one votes for me.  But then I said SCREW IT.  I’ll never know if I don’t try.  I think Prefontaine said it best ” To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

My favorite.

I really wanted to enter this contest not only because of its obviously awesome possibility of having a Fitness photo shoot but because it reminded me of why I wanted to start blogging.  After overcoming the narcissistic feeling of right down my thoughts I realized I don’t just do it for myself I do it for others.  When I first started running I really looked at other bloggers for advice and to answer questions and I too wanted to be that portal of information.  To show that other side of fitness, the hardships of a normal person.  I may not be Kara Goucher and have phenomenal times and body but I can offer what its like to go from never being a runner to pushing myself and trying to fit in working out around a full time job.  Nothing would make me happier than knowing I inspired someone to get out and run, that truly makes me so happy.

You can vote once a day, everyday and I would truly appreciate it if you could vote for me!

Please vote!

 How have you dreamed big lately?

Until next time,

Run Hard. Run Long. Run Strong.

Sometimes it’s not always about a PR

Posted by SeeBriRun on Sep 24, 2012 in 5k, Running | 0 comments

This past Saturday I decided to race…. which is something I haven’t done since December… YIKES.

All up in the front!

I went back and forth decided if I wanted to do the race, considering I haven’t done much training for a 5K let alone any speed work since April. I know, I’m a bad runner, but honestly I don’t care.  I’ve just been enjoying running, listening to my body, and having fun.  Sometimes I think when I first started running I just wanted to rush and do the next longest run and push and push & push.  All the ended up was me being burnt out and injured. No fun.

So, I figured what the hell I’ll race.  What do I have to lose? The weather has been perfect, I know I can finish a 5K and it’ll not only give me a good indication of where I’m at BUT it’ll help me get over my fear of racing aka stage fright.

Prior to Saturday I research all the local races and finally made up my mind at 10pm Friday. Can you say last minute? Out of the four possible races I chose Liz’s Run for the Sun 5K, not only because of its amazingly late start time (10:30) but because of who the race was for.  The race was in dedication to a teenager who passed away in 2010 to a rare form of cancer and all of the proceeds were going to the local hospitals pediatric cancer research fund.  How could you NOT want to race this after reading that which is what got me thinking.  Sometimes as runners I think we get so sidetracked by trying to find the perfect race course, time, weather, and location that we forget there are other reasons to race besides getting a PR.  I mean of course who doesn’t want to race their ass off and kill it race day, but sometimes a race is just more than that.  Since I’ve become a runner, I’ve noticed that the general population are so giving and are generally nice & helpful people.  We race not only to better ourselves, but to better the world around us.  Why not help yourself while helping a cause as well?

I’m SO fast that there was NO ONE by me. Speed demon.

All in all, the race was great. Good people and a good time.  It was well run and had a great breakfast buffet after with raffles.  I just wish they had fruit after because my stomach tends to be too sensitive after I run to handle a hearty breakfast.

So tell me, do you guys ever research a races benefit prior to signing up? If so, did whichever cause it was for persuade you to sign up?

Also, it would mean the world to me if you could vote for me in the “Face of Fitness” magazine contest!

Until next time,

Run Hard. Run Long. Run Strong.