Saturday, January 7, 2017

BibRave Pro Product Review: Brilliant Reflective Safety Strips

Disclaimer: I was recently Brilliant Reflective Safety Strips to review as part of being a BibRave Pro.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador) and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

“Be Brilliant!”

Did you know that according to the National Safety Council the chances of being struck and killed as a pedestrian increase 1100% after dark?  That’s crazy, right?  I was lectured last week by a patient who asked me if I was one of those stupid people that ran at night in all black?  Absolutely not!

True Life: I’m a sucker for anything reflective.  For real. 

Last year I started night running with Georgie and found that she is way more focused running in the dark with way less distractions.  The biggest problem we ran into was how DARK my neighbor hood is.  I started spending a ton of money on all kinds of reflective gear—both for me and the dog—and my friend hooked me up with a pair of Knuckle Lights but I never feel like it’s enough.  So when BibRave offered the opportunity to try out Brilliant Reflective Safety Strips, I was all about it!

   
Make Your Favorite Gear Reflective

So the cool thing about Brilliant Reflective is that you don’t have to go out and buy expensive reflective gear like I did because you can apply the strips to your favorite running gear.  When I got the strips in the mail, I immediately put them on Georgie’s running backpack and running leash.  Her fur covers her flashing LED collar and the hands-free leash we run with is all black so even if I am highly visible, I never feel like cars can see her.

 
Iron-On vs. Stick-On

Brilliant Reflective Safety Strips are packaged and sold 2 ways: Stick-On or Iron-On.  They are sold in 4 colors: Black, Blue, Purple and Red.  I personally prefer the Stick-On version and I’ll tell you why. 

First of all, the Iron-On versions are permanent and made for clothing.  By permanent, Brilliant Reflective says they won’t come off for at least 50 washes.  Second of all, you need an iron to apply the strips.  And lastly, I’m a 30 year old homeowner that doesn’t own an iron.

The Stick-On strips are much easier to apply and can be used on clothing and gear including water bottles, helmets, bikes, strollers, running belts and dog leashes.  I have the Stick-On strips on my winter running jacket and a pair of thermal tights—both of which has survived about a half dozen washes with no signs of them falling off.  If for some reason you do change your mind after applying, they are easily removable.


Other bonuses:

·      Made from 3M Scotchlite Reflective Material, it provides optimal visibility in low-light conditions and is 200x brighter than a white t-shirt.
·      Brilliant encourages you to create your own biomotion.  “When you outline the human form with Brilliant Reflective, the light reflecting back to a driver will be in the shape of a human.  Studies have shown that drivers react more quickly when they know they’re approaching a human rather than un unknown object.”  Pretty cool concept.

Cons:

·      Washing will shorten the life of the strips but they recommend washing the garment inside out with cool water.
·      I didn’t take any pictures of me in my updated reflective gear because I was too busy playing paparazzi to my photogenic pup.  I swear, I’m Brilliant too.

Can anyone really have too much reflective gear?  I think not.  And Brilliant Reflective is a perfect option to keep you safe without spending a lot of money on new, reflective gear.

Join us on Twitter for the Brilliant sponsored #BibChat on January 10th at 9pm EST!

And don’t forget to use code BIBRAVE25 for 25% off your order!  Order soon because the discount code expired at 11:59pm on Tuesday January 10th.

Happy running!

P.S. Georgie gives Brilliant Reflective “2 paws up!”

Run Jen Run’s Favorite Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Here I go, here I go, here I go. I said girls what’s my weakness? 

SOUP.


Does anyone remember the SNL skit “Give it on up to Homelessville” with Justin Timberlake?

But really—I’ve been eating SO MUCH soup lately.  This one in particular I’ve made about a dozen times since marathon training began and since I’m pretty superstition and training has been going well, I keep making it.  It’s a slow cooker recipe that originally came from Southern Living but I’ve altered a bit to my liking.  I love that it ends up being about 6 or 7 meals for me and I can heat it up quick on the stove on lunch break while out throwing rocks for G.

Ingredients
8 oz chopped celery
12 oz chopped onion and bell pepper mix
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic
16 oz package frozen mixed vegetables (I use carrots, corn, green beans, peas, baby lima beans)
32 oz chicken broth
1/2 tsp pepper
Fresh garlic (optional)
1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini

Directions

Optional Step! Before putting into the slow cooker, sauté celery, onion and bell pepper mix for 5 minutes or until tender.  If I’m short on time, I skip this step which leaves a little crunch to your soup.

Place all ingredients into the slow cooker EXCEPT the tortellini.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours.

Add tortellini and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes.

SOUP there it is!  Enjoy!!


Monday, January 2, 2017

Weekly Roundup 12.26-1.1

Week 12 of 16

Happy New Year!  I’m pumped to end the year with 985 total miles.  I’ve never been a high mileage runner—I ran 815 miles in 2015, 564 miles in 2014 and 807 miles in 2013—so this was a good year for me.

Monday was a short work day so I took G out for a bit then finished up on my own.  I woke up feeling pretty crappy on Tuesday and felt even worse after spin class so I didn’t make it to Run Club but had major FOMO as like everyone was there!

I had one of my hardest workouts of marathon training scheduled for Wednesday (4x1mi) and opted indoors to tackle it on the treadmill.  I actually felt great.  A lot better than I expected and nailed it with 8.5, 8.8, 9.0, 9.3 mph or roughly 7:00, 6:50, 6:40, 6:30 pace.  I was even called a “Majestic Neon Gazelle” which totally made my day.

The highlight of the week had to be my run with Georgie on Friday.  We ran 4.25 miles!  Her longest ever, ever.  Most runs G stop about every 2 minutes to sniff or poop but I think we only stopped 3 maybe 4 times total—I couldn’t believe how content and focused she was running.  It was pretty chilly and we ventured out of the neighborhood a bit.  We even encountered 2 off leash dogs in the middle of the road that she totally ignored!  I was floored!


Then on Saturday I head out for another really cold long run with my dad on the bike.  He thought this was the coldest so far but I didn’t think it was quite as bad as the first 16-miler we went on a few weeks ago.  Either way, it was cold.  A little breezy.  I was excited to have 14 as my long run and I wanted to push the pace a little bit with a goal of 7:40-7:45.  I went out strong and maintained a 7:31 average.  Again, I’d say I nailed it.

I guess I do wear a lot of neon...
I originally planned to finish up the week with another run with Georgie but my parents came over Saturday night for New Year’s Eve lasagna (our 2nd annual!) and guess who developed a little limp after playing outside with grandpaw?  Seriously.  It’s always something.  She seemed ok the next day but I didn’t want to risk it so I left her home to rest.

Other highlights:

·      The Buffalo Marathon delayed their price increase until 1/3 (that’s tomorrow!) so sign up TONIGHT and use code 2017-BibRave-JS for an extra $5 off!  I’ll be running the half… www.buffalomarathon.com

Upcoming events:

·      4 weeks until the Miami Marathon!

Monday 12.26.16
1.89 miles with G (18:18)
3.10 miles (22:25)
15,926 steps

Tuesday 12.27.16
Taught spin class
8,695 steps

Wednesday 12.28.16
8 treadmill miles (58:56) with 4x1mi <--8.5, 8.8, 9.0, 9.3 mph
21,982 steps

Thursday 12.29.16
Taught spin class x2
11,855 steps

Friday 12.30.16
4.25 miles with G (36:38)
13,662 steps

Saturday 12.31.16
14 miles with daddo on the bike (1:45:09)
33,431 steps

Sunday 1.1.17
Happy New Year!
2.80 miles (21:10)
14,805 steps


ICYMI
Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16             Week 9 of 16
Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16             Week 10 of 16
Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16             Week 11 of 16
Week 4 of 16             Week 8 of 16

This week’s mileage: 34 miles
This week’s G mileage: 6 miles
December Totals: 162 miles
January Totals: 3 miles
2016 Totals: 985 miles
2017 Totals: 3 miles

Saturday, December 31, 2016

See Ya 2016!

2016 hasn’t been my best year.  There were ups and there were downs but I like to think I am ending the year on a high note—I mean I did just win my Fantasy Football League after 5 unsuccessful years with my friends.


I kicked off 2016 on injured reserve (hamstring) and ran the first 18.6 miles of the Houston Marathon then walked the final 7.6 miles.  I was so proud of my cousin for running her first half marathon and the post-race burritos and guac never tasted so good.

I took some time off after Houston but traded in my Nike GPS watch for a Garmin Forerunner 230 in February to re-motivate.

I turned the big 3-0 on March 18th.  It was pretty traumatic for me and to top it all off, my Papa passed away on my birthday.


April was a pretty good month.  I got the chance to interview Meb Keflezighi, ran a 10k PR at the Cape Cod Beer Race to the Pint and took Georgie out for her longest run ever—4 miles!


I trained for the Buffalo Half Marathon in May and was pumped for the chance to run a PR in my favorite city with my cousins but I got injured 2 weeks before the race (posterior tib) and we experienced record high temps for Memorial Day Weekend in Buffalo.  Side note: I WILL be back in 2017 for redemption and another PR attempt.


In June, I healed up then Georgie got injured.  The vet diagnosed her with a shoulder sprain and was on strict rest for about 2 weeks.  She also had a giant open wound on her head so the vet shaved her head like Britney Spears circa 2007 and she rocked the cone for a while.  


July was really hot.  Like really hot.  I ran the Runner’s World Classic with some of my best running buddies and had a fun girls weekend off cape.


I got injured again in August (Achilles) and had to miss the Falmouth Road Race.  I did attend the mile and had a blast crashing the after party with some of old office staff and Anchor Boothed with some Olympians.


September I celebrated my 3 year blogiversary and shared 25 Things About Me.  Georgie chipped a bunch of teeth, cut up her lip and re-sprained her shoulder. 

I started training for the Miami Marathon in October and also started running with Georgie again because for the first time in months we were injury free at the same time!

I traveled to Durham, NC for my cousin’s wedding in November and really started to rack up my mileage.


December was filled with lots of holiday cheer and many miles including an 18-miler on the treadmill at Mashpee Fitness.

985 total miles in 2016.



2017, let’s go!

Monday, December 26, 2016

Weekly Roundup 12.19-12.25

Week 11 of 16

Merry Christmas!  I just LOVE this time of the year!  So much joy and holiday cheer—and a big week of running!

I went on an awesome run on Monday which included 3x1 mile repeats.  I got out of work early and wanted to take advantage with some extra miles so I headed to New Seabury.  2 mile warm up, 2.5 mile cool down and 0.5 miles in between repeats.  It was cold and starting to rain/snow/wintery mix but I was happy to get it done outside before the snow really started to cover the ground. 

 
Tuesday I made it back to Run Club for 2 weeks in a row!  Just about the whole crew was there and it was fun catching up and gossiping—mostly about a fellow (well, former) Run Clubber that recently got arrested in Florida.  Horrible, horrible, horrible!  I even stayed after and got something to eat and drink at the Lanes.  So wild, I know.


Wednesday’s run felt awful.  I felt so sluggish but I took it easy and got it done.  This feeling of tired, heavy legs carried over into my long run but let me tell you… 20 miles outside was SO MUCH BETTER than 18 miles on a treadmill.  I was loving every minute of it even though I was struggling to keep progressing forward.  Ideally I would have run long on Saturday but the weather wasn’t looking as good as Friday so luckily my dad had the day off and was able to join me for support.  It was pretty chilly but not as bad as our last 16 miler as we made many, many loops around Falmouth past the beaches.

I had 4 miles left for the week and I wasn’t sure how I’d break it up between Christmas Eve Saturday and Christmas Sunday.  G woke me up on Saturday and I was happy to see it wasn’t raining yet so I quickly changed and got her out the door.  I wasn’t planning on taking her all 4 miles in one day BUT she did it!  She ran 4 miles only once before and it was back in April.  She kind of dragged me to keep going after 2 miles so I figured, why not?  It was nice to not have to worry about running on Christmas and also totally wiped her out for the rest of the day, even when my guests arrived for Christmas Eve dinner.


Other highlights:

·      Christmas present from Georgie… “My running partner is a real bitch” coffee mug!

Upcoming events:

·      5 weeks until the Miami Marathon!

Monday 12.19.16
8.5 miles (1:03:31) with 3x1mi <--6:46, 6:27, 6:34
23,176 steps

Tuesday 12.20.16
Taught spin class
Marathon Sports Run Club! 3.38 miles with Allison and Stacey (32:04)
16,295 steps

Wednesday 12.21.16
4 miles (32:04)
16,529 steps

Thursday 12.22.16
Taught spin class x2
11,411 steps

Friday 12.23.16
20 miles with daddo on the bike (2:42:46)
44,511 steps

Saturday 12.24.16
Merry Christmas Eve!
3.94 miles with G (37:09)
15,731 steps

Sunday 12.25.16
Merry Christmas!
6,739 steps


ICYMI
Week 1 of 16             Week 5 of 16             Week 9 of 16
Week 2 of 16             Week 6 of 16             Week 10 of 16
Week 3 of 16             Week 7 of 16
Week 4 of 16             Week 8 of 16

This week’s mileage: 40 miles
This week’s G mileage: 4 miles
December Totals: 131 miles
2016 Totals: 954 miles