“I have been running strong since I started working with Maureen two
years ago. I do her “pilates for runners” class once a week and work
with her on the reformer once a week. My balance has improved
tremendously. The exercises for hips and glutes have kept my form
solid mile after mile. In my last two marathons, I did not notice any
single muscle breakdowns like I have in the past.”

I had never tried Pilates before but  was very excited to try something new that could be beneficial to me and the runners I coach.

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to go to Flow Pilates Studio in Lincoln Park and take Maureen’s class. The class provides a full body challenge geared to endurance athletes with particular attention to muscles needed for good form, and efficiency for long runs. Maureen, being a runner herself, understands that being sidelined with an injury so she combines the principles of mat Pilates with exercises to increase range of motion and prevent injury.

Benefits you’ll discover from Pilates for Runners:

• Strong core (abs & back)
• Muscular balance
• Strength and flexibility
• Body awareness and mind-body connection
• Improved posture

I really enjoyed Maureen’s class. She has enthusiasm and passion for both Pilates and Running that is contagious. I never felt self-conscious about being a newbie and the hour class flew by. It is clear that Maureen has put the time and research in her work to create the best combination of movements to increase strength and fight imbalances in runners.

I highly recommend Maureen’s Pilates for Runners class to anyone that is interested in Pilates, staying injury free, looking for a new workout routine, or wants to find a fast-paced, fun workout.

If you’re interested in learning more about Maureen, you can check out her website, Ryan Wellness Coaching and try out her class at Flow on Thursdays at 6AM.

Have you ever taken a Pilates class? What did you think? 

Since it’s a holiday weekend I thought I would write a fun post about the things I’m loving lately.

Bachelorette Weekend in Lake Geneva

My bridesmaids are the best! Last weekend I had my bachelorette weekend in Lake Geneva. Everything about the weekend was perfect. We had a great mix of girls, a few who haven’t seen each other in years, but instantly felt like nothing had changed and we were back in high school again. Saturday started at the pool, we were then pampered at the nail salon, ate downtown Lake Geneva and danced the night away. We were all careful not to drink too much because we had a full day of boating on Sunday. It was nice to get some R&R in before all the wedding craziness begins.

Bridesmaid Gifts

I ordered these totes for my bridesmaids months ago with the plan to give them to the girls at the rehearsal dinner. I realized I had bought too many gifts so I decided to spread them out and turn the totes into Bachelorette survival weekend bags.

New Favorite Yogurt

I was lucky enough to receive a box of samples from Chobani. I usually eat Dannon’s plain yogurt so this was a nice change. Chobani Greek Yogurt is richer, higher in protein, all-natural and made with hormone-free milk. I am a big fan of the Orange & Vanilla Blend. It’s got just the right balance of sweetness and creaminess and I love that it has 13g of protein!

New Favorite Bar

Have you guys heard of Picky Bars? Well, I eat a lot of bars and these are awesome! I saw people talking about them on twitter a couple of weeks ago and finally bought a few at Fleet Feet Sports grand opening on Monday.

Picky Bars is a company that was started by Lauren Fleshman who is two-time USA Champion for the 5k and five time NCAA Champion. Lauren, her husband and Stephanie Rothstien wanted to make something that was athletically balanced with a delicious taste that could help fuel their training.

Lauren’s Mega Nuts is my favorite flavor. I love how filling these bars are, but they don’t feel as dense as some of the other bars on the market. Oh yeah, and they taste amazing!

Quotes I’m loving

What are you loving lately? What is your favorite energy bar?

Dave Zimmer, the owner of Fleet Feet Sports Chicago said the south loop store has been in the works for over 10 years. The new store is located in the Roosevelt Collection on Roosevelt Road just west of State Street and less than half of a mile from the Lakefront Path.

It was really cool to see so many new faces. The new store will give everyone in the South Loop and South Side of Chicago an opportunity to get involved with the Chicago running community. The store will have the same weekly fun runs, seminars and special events that the Old Town and Lincoln Square stores offer.

The South Loop store will also feature Chicago Endurance Sports training programs. The programs are available to everyone from beginner with No Boundaries 5k & 10k training to Winter Warriors half marathon training + Triathlon training. I am very excited to be one of the coaches for the Winter Warriors half marathon training!

The South Loop store has a bunch of grand opening events going on this week. I’ll be back there tonight for the Chicago Endurance Sports Meet & Run.

Do you shop or run out of a local running store?

Indianapolis is a beautiful city! I’m here for work and the weather couldn’t be better to explore a new city. The first thing I do when I’m traveling is talk to the concierge at the hotel to find out if there are any local running trails. I was excited to find the Indianapolis Cultural Trail right outside my hotel.

This morning I had some time before a meeting so I decided to check it out. The trail is 7.5 miles and connects the five downtown cultural districts; Fountain Square, Indiana Avenue, Mass Ave, the Canal & White River State Park and the Wholesale District.

A nice feature of the trail is the two separate paths; one for bikers and one for runners/walkers. This is something Chicago has been looking into for the Lakefront Trail to prevent conflict between bikers and runners. I don’t think the two separate paths can be enforced, but I think most people would follow the rules because the paths are clearly marked.

The trail wasn’t too busy, but I could feel the energy from all the students coming back to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and moving into the dorms.

There’s a reason the Cultural Trail has caught the attention of urban planners around the country. The wide paths are lined with distinctive lighting and landscaping and beautiful large-scale art.

The trail passes within one block of every major arts, culture, heritage and sports venue in the city. While running I was making mental notes of the places I would like to go if we have extra time. The cultural trail wasn’t just a regular run, but an experience to explore Indy and see all that it has to offer. I’m looking forward to running it again tomorrow.

I only have two minor gripes. The Fountain Square didn’t have well-marked signs so I could see how pedestrians could get turned around and end up off the trail. Also, I don’t think I saw one water fountain. I’m definitely spoiled with all the water fountains along the Lakefront Trail in Chicago.

Have you been to Indianapolis? How do you find running routes when you travel?

Of course, the first thing I did after I heard from my doctor was sign up for a race. I will be running the Madison Half Marathon on November 10. I have 12 weeks to train for the race and I’m really excited to start doing speed workouts again. The plan is to run 4 times a week: 1 interval workout, 1 easy run, 1 tempo run and 1 long run a week.

I really enjoy intervals because they offer a lot of variety and flexibility and you can do them on a track, the road or the treadmill. I’m planning on mixing it up with longer intervals (anywhere from 800 meters to 1-2 miles) and shorter intervals (200, 400 or 600 meter repeats). The recovery time between each interval will be slow and allow my heart rate to return to normal.

My second favorite speed workout is the tempo run. Typically tempo runs are run at 30 to 45 seconds slower than your 5k pace. I aim to be around 80 to 90 percent of my maximum heart race. The purpose of the tempo run is to be able to sustain a hard pace for a long period of time without slowing down.

For my long runs I will be using two different types of long runs: the long, steady run and the fast finish long run. For the long, steady run I will run easy the entire run and speed will not be important. For the fast finish long run I will start at my normal run pace and then run my goal half marathon pace for the last 30 to 60 minutes of the run.

I don’t have a specific goal time in mind and I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself. I’m going to train smart and enjoy the journey.

Do you incorporate speed workouts into your training? What is your favorite speed workout? 

I went to the Rock n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon Expo on Saturday morning to pick up my bib and race packet. I have a new found-love for Sweatybands so I bought a cute green one to wear during the race. It was great to see Britt at the Protein Bar booth and I had a lovely talk with Sarah from eat2run.com. Sarah has a coaching and nutrition business so I took the opportunity to pick her brain and ask a few questions. She gave me some great business advice.

My alarm went off at 4AM and for a few seconds I had no idea what I was doing and why my alarm was set so early. I quickly realized it was RACE DAY so I jumped out of bed and rushed out the door to make sure I had plenty of time to park before the race. Of course, I was there super early and had some time to kill. Anyone else get nervous about being late so they end up 1-2 hours early for everything?

Fleet Fleet Chicago was nice enough to give me a Brooks VIP Porta Potty pass. To get our race off to the best possible start, they had climate-controlled restroom trailers set up at the starting line. There was running water, flushing toliets and some treats for the runners.

I then met up with a couple of #RunChi friends and met some new Chicago Running Bloggers by gear check. Soon enough Charlyn and I headed over the start line. We have a similar half marathon pace so we decided to run the race together. My race strategy was to run for fun, Garmin-less and enjoy the race with Charlyn. Pete ran most of the race with us too and it was so much fun. I absolutely love running with other people who have the same positive outlook as I do. We chatted about running and life, enjoyed the beautiful Chicago views and laughed throughout the entire race.

The course support was incredible. The bands through out the course were awesome, there were plenty of water stops and tons of spectators and volunteers along the streets.

My finish time was 1:47:20, top 6.8% overall. Not bad for not much training and running for fun!

My Mom and Step-dad came to cheer for me during the race. I didn’t think Tony was going to come but he surprised me at the finish line. He rode his Tri bike from Wilmette and met us at the finish line. I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw him and my Mom after the race. Their support means the world to me!

After the wedding I’ll start training, doing speed work and running with a Garmin again, but for right now I’m enjoying running for fun. It was a great race!

Have you ever run a Rock n’Roll Series Race? 

How was your weekend?

I won a free race entry for the Bastille Day 5k & 8k from Chicago Runner Girl and I’ll be running the Chinatown 5k on Saturday as part of my friends bachelorette party.

I’m going to run both of these races without a Garmin and I’ll run them by feel. I’m excited to let go of the “I’m racing” concept and just go run for fun.

Have you ever run a race just for fun?

Tony, my Mom and I saw the fireworks at Gillson Park in Wilmette on July 3rd and then Tony and I woke up early to cheer on the Wilmette Fun Run the next day. It was fun to watch them run right past our apartment and made it super convenient. It was a small race, but I think our cheers were appreciated. We didn’t have any big plans for the 4th, but I wanted to do something festive so I made Tony walk to the Evanston Parade with me. He didn’t want to go at first, but we had a great time people watching. Have you been to a small local parade lately? The people are hysterical! We saw a lot of young cute kids and older people decked out in some great 4th of July gear.

I drove up to Woodstock to see my pup, Maxie and spend some time with my Mom. I went on a great run with Max and got a few wedding items checked off my to-do list. BTW…there’s only 75 days until our wedding! Eek! We went to Lake Geneva on Saturday to see my friend Caitlin and her baby girl, Olivia. The temperature was in the 80′s and I was in heaven. Most people think that’s too hot, but I’m one of the few people who actually loves to sweat and would much rather be hot than cold.

I have some big news! I am extremely excited to announce that I am studying to be a Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This is a one year program that is essentially a year in college. I have been looking into this program for the last few years and I finally decided to sign up last month and I begin the program on July 15. I am very excited about this new adventure and can’t wait to learn and share as I go. I will definitely keep you updated on my journey.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend!

Anyone have any big announcements or go back to school recently? 

I bounced out of bed at 5:00AM! Tony might have been a little whiny about the early wake up call and cold weather, but I think my excitement rubbed off on him.

We were running a little late so I missed the big #runchi photo, but I was able to find a few of the other Cheer Team members to get a small group shot.

I had two main goals for this race; have fun and cross the finish line with Tony. Both goals were accomplished!

We finished the race in 1:23:39 with an average pace of 8:22. Definitely NOT my fasted time, but the most fun I’ve had racing!

At the end of the race you run into Soldier Field and cross the finish line on the 50 yard line. Tony and I ran through holding hands with smiles on our faces. The best part was getting our finisher medals from the active duty Sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Station. It was an honor receiving the medal from them. Fleet Feet Sports sure knows how to put on a great event! I’m extremely impressed by the Solider Field 10 mile race! So well organized, my favorite medal I’ve ever received, the staff and volunteers were so helpful & the extra goodie bag at the end was such a nice surprise! Great job, Fleet Feet! This was my first time running this race, but definitely won’t be my last.