Weekend Wrap-Up Plus Final Day of Sparkly Soul Discount Code!

Why must weekends pass so quickly and the weekdays drag on and on? I know I am starting your Monday off with the hard-hitting questions! ;) But once again I had a fabulous weekend that ended too soon.

I was ready for a fresh start on Friday after a very emotionally driven week. I was all over the place with my food choices and just not in the game.

As always my #FaceItFriday weigh-in gave me the chance to bid adios to the prior week and it's baggage and say hello to a new slate.

And it even greeted me with a shocking loss. Thanks scale gods.

For those that don't know that is my lowest weight since 6th grade. Yes you read that right - since junior high/1993(ish).

In total I have shed 65.8 lbs with Weight Watchers (started November 2009) and 83 overall from my highest.

2004 vs. 2015

After a surprising weigh-in, I had some amazing Personal Coaching calls with my WW members before having a kick ass mail day! Both my Sparkly Soul and Sparkle Athletic orders arrived at the same time. :)

Yes I totally had a Treat Yo Self moment when feeling down in the dumps the week prior. Retail Therapy FTW? ;)

With a 20-miler on tap for Saturday, I took it easy Friday night with a little shakeout run on the treadmill then followed it up with a nice evening in bed (Zensah compression, boboli pizza and a little vino)!

Perfect Friday night, right?

Now if you haven't done a long run before, I can tell you it takes up pretty much the entire day between the run itself, follow-up brunch and then recovery time. ;) Or that might just be my plan. :P

We had a great 20-mile run on the Boston Marathon course despite it snowing the entire time and a delicious lunch at Bertucci's after. Once I got home it was time to face the dreaded ice bath. Thankfully I talked my wife into sitting with me to distract me!

Yes it was painful 6 minutes! I know only 6 minutes, but it felt like 60. And the wine didn't help as much as I wanted it to... but it was still a delicious addition.

With no real desire to do anything much the rest of the day, the wife and I used the rest of the day to catch up on some Netflix and blogging.

Oh and puppy snuggles!!

It was awesome to sleep in until 7:30am on Sunday. Boy I remember the days in college when you would sleep in until like 11 or 12 then do a hungover brunch.

Now I sleep in until 7:30 and head to a Spin class. What happened to me? Oh lifestyle changes. #WorthIt

On Sunday I tested out a new Boston Spin Studio - Velo City - which is just off Boylston St on Fairfield.

Love that they offer complimentary Spin shoes!

Velo City had a great vibe and Matt (the instructor) had one sweet playlist with awesome remixes.

I was worried about tackling a 60-min Spin class the day after the 20-miler, but my legs felt amazing after!

If you are in the area, definitely check them out!!

The rest of Sunday was spent catching up on work, getting in a recovery 5k and soaking up the sun and "warmer" weather!!

It felt great coming into Monday feeling refreshed and recharged! It didn't hurt that I had a 60-min massage on tap for Monday morning as well.

***

Now to help you help me! ;) Today (3/30) is the FINAL DAY of my Sparkly Soul discount code.

Use code DANIRUNSBOSTON to receive 10% off your order AND have 10% of your order come back to my 2015 Boston Marathon fundraising efforts for Tedy's Team!! #FightStroke

Code expires tonight (3/30) at 11:5pm PT!!

***

How did you recharge this weekend?

Tedy's Team Group Run: 20-Miler (3/28/15)

It is one of the BEST days in Boston - the 20-mile training run before the Boston Marathon! This is like a holiday here in the Boston area. And now just Boston itself. It is a holiday for all of the cities along the Boston Marathon course. You're probably wondering what the heck I mean. Wellll it's like Marathon Monday, but three weeks early! The towns do an AMAZING job of making the marathon course safe for teams to train on. It is an extremely motivating, inspiring and humbling run as most of the folks out on the course on this day are charity runners and/or first-timers. The water stops are all sponsored by charity groups/run clubs. And the vibe is just unbelievable.

It's truly one day I really look forward to!!

So how did my run start? Well with a nice early alarm...

... before getting a ride from Page and heading in to Joint Ventures in Kenmore Square. Our busses departed at 7:30 to take the 30-40 minute ride to Framingham.

We unloaded in a church parking lot in Framingham and ran the last 20 miles of the course.

So with the snow falling and the wind howling, we headed out for a little jaunt. ;) I vowed to stay in the mile we were in and not think about the daunting 20 we would be doing. :)

Page and I started out and immediately got into a nice rhythm.

Mile 1: 8:55 Mile 2: 8:48 Mile 3: 8:56

We hit the first water stop and it was there at the right time. It was nice to check in with each other and the Tedy's Team coach.

Mile 4: 8:57 Mile 5: 8:42

The weather wasn't ideal, but we were making the most of it. PLUS we knew Tedy would be at the Mile 5 water stop... and our good friend and teammate Dan.

So bring on the pics!

Yeah Dan had some fun before returning my phone! ;)

Just after a fun water stop visit, we made the entry to Wellesley. Wellesley marks the halfway point during the Boston Marathon.

Mile 6: 8:34 Mile 7: 8:40

While out trip through Wellesley wasn't quite the same without the Scream Tunnel produced by the ladies of Wellesley College, we still had a great trip through. We enjoyed a Tedy's Team water stop before seeing the folks of Saucony and taking advantage of their port-o-potty... and snacks!

After another perfectly timed water stop we continued our journey to Comm Ave and Heartbreak Hill.

Mile 8: 9:08 Mile 9: 9:03 Mile 10: 8:54 Mile 11: 8:51

Since we were trying to keep the pace in check today, I continued to check in on our average pace, but didn't look at the mileage. Until I realized we were at Mile 11 when both Page and I expected to be at Mile 9. Yay! Winning at being farther into the run than expected.

Aaannnddd we finally hit the amazingly motivating guys of the Newton Firehouse. The Newton Firehouse is the start of the 3-mile stretch of Heartbreak Hill. The guys are out every week of Boston Marathon training to cheer on the runners!

Why yes I did make Dennis, Tedy's Team teammate and Stroke Survivor, pose for a selfie with us! He was loving it. :P

Mile 12: 8:47 Mile 13: 8:34

The fine folks of Joint Ventures had a nice water stop at Mile 13 where we took a quick break before snapping a much-needed pic with Heartbreak Bill (Gorilla mascot of Heartbreak Hill Running Company).

Mile 14: 8:49 Mile 15: 8:51

After dominating Heartbreak Hill I felt the need for Page and I to share our run thoughts to that point via video.

[embedplusvideo height="283" width="450" editlink="http://bit.ly/1xodFor" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/YYkbsXy4aVU?fs=1" vars="ytid=YYkbsXy4aVU&width=450&height=283&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep5974" /]

Did you see the snow and hear the wind? ;) Not bad for being able to formulate sentences once delirium had set in. :P

So on race day the spot behind us - BC - has a huge inflatable arch that says:

Without the toughest miles behind us, we vowed to take the final 5 in stride. We did a great job of checking in with each other along the run making sure we were both fueled (Gu for Page and KIND bar for me). I actually found breaking up 2 Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt KIND bars was the perfect fuel for me!!

I felt really strong on the hills. Now my hamstrings were still sore, but nothing unbearable. The same pain that has been kicking around since May 2014.

Mile 16: 8:51 Mile 17: 8:52

We were not in familiar territory with less than 3 miles to go. We stopped for a fantastic water stop with a wonderful layout - thanks Melanoma Society!

Mile 18: 8:54 Mile 19: 9:02 Mile 20: 8:58

We hit Mile 19 when we entered Kenmore Square, so we did an exaggerated loop around Kenmore Square to end right in front of Dunkin Donuts. Yes folks - priorities!! Much of the team made their way towards the Boston Marathon Finish Line to hit 21, but I vowed not to look at the line during any of the training runs this year.

I touched it at the end of last year's 20-miler and felt a curse over my race. ;) Yes I am superstitious.

We gave ourselves a pat on the back, grabbed our drinks and headed back to Joint Ventures to do a little stretching and foam rolling.

FINAL: 2:57:04

Now we definitely ran a little faster than anticipated, but both of us felt in a groove and neither felt like we pushed it - which is KEY with just 22 days until the Big Show.

Overall the body felt good, fueling plans were executed properly and the snow/wind didn't hold us or our spirits back!

After the foam rolling and stretching, some of the team headed to Bertucci's (next door) for much-needed pizza and beer. Oohh it was a delicious feast complete with lots of hugs, smiles and high-fives. There is just something about being with a group of people all fighting for the same cause that invigorates you!

Once home, I took the plunge into the ice bath. I didn't want to do it, but the Tedy's Team coach kept telling me to do it to help recovery time. He swore I only needed 5-7 minutes in there.

Well my wine and I lasted 6 and I was DONE. I will report in tomorrow how it worked.

But for now, I am in bed, watching some TV, snuggling some puppies, rocking some compression and getting ready for tomorrow's Spin class at Velo City in Back Bay!

***

Special thanks to all who tweeted to me during the run using #DaniRuns20ForFun!! I loved the messages and support!

***

Oh oh oh and last but not least I loved using my Timex ONEGPS+ watch on a portion of today's run! The screen was easy to reach, the touchscreen was a breeze (except when the run was terminated after I used that hand to fix my skirt) and it was light weight!

Dani Dishes: #30DaysOfPositivity Challenge... Are You In?

On this episode of #DaniDishes, I'm charging you all to join me on a 30-day positivity challenge. Each day you look in the mirror and say 3 positives about yourself! Are you in?

Discount Code/Link Round-Up: Products & Races I Love!

I am lucky enough to partner with some AMAZING products and races. Now I'm able to pay it forward by offering you fine folks some sweet discounts!! So let's get right to it!

PRODUCTS

Sparkly Soul headbands

Use code DANIRUNSBOSTON between 3/23-30 and receive 10% off your order. PLUS 10% of your order will be donated BACK to my 2015 Boston Marathon fundraising efforts to Fight Stroke with Tedy's Team.

^There is also a special Tedy's Team headband, where 10% of those orders also come back to my fundraising efforts!! So you should clearly check that band out too!

***

Momentum Jewelry 

Use THIS LINK to receive 10% off your order.

***

ENERGYBits

What are ENERGYbits you may ask?

Made from 100% organicallly grown spirulina algae and loaded with 40 nutrients, ENERGYbits® algae tabs have the highest concentration of protein in the world (64%) all for just one calorie per tab. Endorsed by the United Nations as the most nutritious food on earth, spirulina algae has been a favorite of Olympic gold medalists for decades and is a super food in every sense of the word, delivering instant and enduring energy to your brain and body.

Use code WEIGHTOFFMYSHOULDERS to receive 25% off your order!

***

RACES

Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series

***

Max Performance Triathlon Series

Save $12 on registration for the two triathlons that I will be participating in!!

Escape the Cape Triathlon on June 13

Distance: 1/3 Mile Swim, 10 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run

Use code: WOMSESCAPE15 (expires May 2)

Title IX Women Only Sprint Triathlon on September 13

Distance: 1/4 Mile Swim, 10 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run Use code: WOMST915 (expires June 1)

***

ZOOMA Women's Race Series (Cape Cod)

Race has a Half Marathon and 10k option and takes place September 16.

Use my discount code DANI15 for 10% off.

***

Happy Shopping and Registering! :)

Face It Friday: Fighting To Positive, Breaking Even & Losing While Marathon Training

Did you know that you can train for a marathon and still lose weight? It's true! I'm living proof! :) Since we kicked off marathon training at the beginning of December I am happy to report I am down 7.8 lbs. Wahoo!

How do I do it?

Well I don't do anything crazy or out of the norm. I keep everything balanced and in check with my Weight Watchers tracking. Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I find I need to use more of my extra Points (WPs and APs) to make sure my body fuels enough to train and shed weight.

Tracking allows me to keep the RUNGRY HORRORS at bay and give me a rude wake-up call when I pull out the excuse of:

Well I ran today I can have lots of XXXXXX.

Anyone else get that way?

Well the thing about always training for long distances is my body has a HIGH baseline on the Activelink. Soooo a 3 mile run isn't what it used to be on old Activity Point barometer. You feel me?

With tracking and the Good Health Guidelines I try to keep my splurges in check. To be 100% honest (as I always am with you folks), my week starts on Friday and I tend to be in the negative by Monday morning. That means I go through DPT, WPs and any APs earned.

I then spend Monday-Thursday trying my best to earn enough APs to get back into the positive.

Is this ideal? Hellz No.

BUT I find that it allows me to indulge when I want to with friends (which tends to be on the weekend) and bring it back on track during the weekdays (when I am more boring).

NOW I always listen to my body. Fueling for the race is my highest priority so I do track everything I eat during runs/workouts.

I could cut out wine, beer and fries and be set, but that isn't what I am about. And hey! I didn't lose the 83 pounds to give those up completely. That's just not how MY plan works.

So last week I had the big shocking loss which meant I FULLY expected a huge gain this week to balance it out. I mean I was sick last week so I figured that had to be it.

Well I ended up breaking even on the scale. Weighed in again at 152.

Still my lowest weight since 6th grade.

This past weekend was challenging as I was feeling healthier so I did more socializing. This meant I was in the hole Points-wise by Monday morning. So for accountability I posted my tracker each day to Facebook and Twitter for support. I didn't even care if anyone commented on it. I had to put it out there for me.

And it worked!

How about that? I even went out and splurged on St. Patrick's Day with my friend and fellow WW Leader Susan.

And there was some estimating! I didn't bring my travel food scale to the bar so we both did the best we could to put something in!

So going back to weekly weigh-ins and sharing more with friends and social media has helped me shed about 8 lbs in 2015.

For awhile I tried just weighing in once a month (minimum requirement as a WW Employee and Lifetime Member), but it didn't work for me. I wasn't keeping the balance and consistency I needed.

***

Pro Tip: When I need a little self-confidence boost during the day, I'll randomly set an alarm with a motivating message! Perks up my mood and puts a smile on my face!!

***

Have you ever had to fight out of the negative during a Weight Watchers week?

Tedy's Team Group Run: 12 Miles (3/21/15)

I've been slacking in the weekly long run updates. I know you are all losing sleep over these so I apologize for calling you all insomnia by constantly hitting refresh on the blog and not seeing an update. Please know you can always follow my adventures on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! ;)

The past two weeks have been trying as I was sick with bronchitis. This resulted in being sent home from March 7's 10-mile run after 5 miles and tackling last week's 18-miler on my treadmill.

I took the 18 miler in 5 separate chunks on the treadmill. 4 sets of 4 miles and 1 set of 2 miles. I did this for a couple of reasons: 1) I would be BORED if I tried to run for almost three hours on the treadmill consecutively and 2) With bronchitis still looming I wanted to check on my health in between each set. I set out to run with 18 as the goal, but made sure to let the body dictate what would actually happen. I was proud to see if hold up for all 18.

So this week I really looked forward of getting back outside for the 12-mile long run with Tedy's Team. With some problems with my contacts this week, I had to run in my glasses, which I am not a fan of. Pair glasses with snowfall lead to a grumpy me pre-run. I was really hoping the grumpiness would cease once I started running, but unfortunately it was still lingering.

Mile 1: 8:48

The grumpiness went to the next level when my Garmin stopped locating satellites just after mile 1. Ummm I was outside in the street and not near a bridge or anything so I was perplexed. I kept running and the mile total didn't budge. I decided to stop, text the wife my annoyance and shut the Garmin off. Thankfully when it turned back on it was back to functioning.

So I soldiered on.

I tried to put it all into perspective and remember why I was running to begin with. Each attempt to turn the mood around was squashed. Hey sometimes you just have those days/runs.

Mile 2: 8:55 Mile 3: 8:47

The plan for the day was an out and back on Heartbreak Hill. This would be my first hill work in two weeks thanks to that bronchitis. And let's just say I was feeling it. Which is why...

#RunningMakesMeFEEL ... HUMBLED!

Oh boy! I felt like I had never run a hill before. And we were running Heartbreak backwards first which meant it was mainly downhill. Oof!

Mile 4: 9:07 Mile 5: 8:24 Mile 6: 8:27

At the halfway mark, I stopped and chatted with the Tedy's Team coach about my training and goals for Boston. It was great to catch up, but I realized I needed to stop talking and start running back! I didn't need to just sit out and talk with the snowfall increasing.

The snow was more of a hail situation. My glasses were completely fogged over and covered so I tried to run little spurts without them (when safe). But the hail was stinging my eyes. Again nothing that would make the world stop spinning, but frustrating when trying to focus on not slipping on the snow and being able to actually see the road.

So my return running Heartbreak the normal way was tough, but I was too busy worrying about everything else that I didn't really pay attention at all to pace or how I was really feeling on the hill. Good thing? Yes in this instance. All of a sudden I snapped out of the "focus on the ground mode," looked up and realized I had made it over the worst part. Woo! It would be all smooth sailing after that. High five to myself! And yes I really did high-five myself at the top. You know, because I'm cool like that. :P

Mile 7: 8:30 Mile 8: 8:19 Mile 9: 8:07

Not really sure where the speed came from today. It could be from being cooped up inside on the treadmill for the past couple of weeks or just the anger/grumpiness. But either way I felt good the entire run.

And then there were cupcakes. That's right! Margaret from Tedy's Team had leftover homemade cupcakes from her family's fundraiser the night before. Some folks thanked her and asked for one post-run.

Me? I dug right in to a chocolate/salted caramel cupcake.

It was AWESOME!! I immediately put it in my Weight Watchers tracker and moved on. Worth it? Absolutely. Plus how many people can say they ate a cupcake mid run?

The final three miles of the run was more of the same with a fight between hail, fogged glasses and stingy eyes. You just have to roll with the punches. BUT it did take my mind off the run itself.

Note to self: Never wear glasses during a snow run again!!

Mile 10: 8:23 Mile 11: 8:10 Mile 12: 8:09

Well it looks like that cupcake was good fuel for the final 2.5 miles of the run. Huh? ;)

I ended my run right at Dunkin Donuts and enjoyed an iced coffee while waiting for the wife to pick me up.

So yes the run made me feel humbled and grateful! While it wasn't the run I wanted, I am thankful to be healthy enough to run.

Plus this extended my run streak (#WOMSStreak) to 148 days! Cah-razy!!

***

Now I pushed through a tough run, how about a special donation to Tedy's Team?? My three-year fundraising total is at: $22,585.

Let's try to round that number up to $23k with a donation here - $415 to go. :)

You can also purchase a special Tedy's Team Sparkly Soul headband ($17) & 10% of the purchase also goes to my fundraising campaign!!

Three Things Thursday: Paint Nite, Boston Marathon Text Updates & A Thank You

Three Things Thursday? Hollah! Okay okay just using the alliteration as an excuse to post about three random thoughts in the same space. Not sure why I need alliteration to make that happen, but I'm going with it. I mean technically this is my blog and I can put whatever topics I want in the same post and no one can do anything about it. So there. So maybe I will. Okay. Here I go.

Wow! Not sure what sort of tangent I took there... but I digress!

***

My friends and I are hitting up a local Paint Night on Sunday and I am stoked! Now I am no artist as I proved last Spring when I attended the Paint Bar for my friend's birthday. The Paint Bar is a studio on Newbury Street that solely hosts Paint parties.

But I tried. And I had a blast with folks and drank some yummy wine. Sooo overall it was a big win!

This time we are going to JJ Grimsby and Co (a restaurant) in Stoneham through the mobile company Paint Nite ($25 per person through Living Social). There are about 10 of us going show it should be a great time. If nothing else there will be a lot of laughs.

Our picture is titled: CHERRY BLOSSOM BRANCHES

And looks like something I can work with. :) I'll be sure to take progress pictures along the way so I can turn it into a nice Flipogram. ;)

***

Do you want to receive text message updates during my 2015 Boston Marathon run? If so,

Text 26786 (my bib number) to 234567

and you will be set!!!

GOAL? No med tent visits!! I don't want to share any med tent selfies this year!

***

I wanted to take a moment to thank each of you that watched my #DaniDishes vlog this week (which you can watch here). I always kept my dealings with depression under lock and key until I was one day faced by friends who had caught on to me. Well they started to notice that I was wearing bracelets on my wrists to hide the cutting. I thank them (they know who they are) for helping turn the first page towards dealing with depression and cutting.

Now it is a long and winding road, but as I said I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I thank all of you for helping me find that. I thank this blog for giving me a place to share those feelings instead of hiding them deep inside or shoving them down further with food.

So thank you again for watching, texting, writing emails, sending DMs and just being there in general - even if you didn't physically reach out.

And remember you are not alone!

***

How was that for a mish mash of topics? ;)

Order Your Tedy's Team Sparkly Soul Headband TODAY!

I love Tedy’s Team. I love Sparkly Soul.

And now I love that Sparkly Soul is helping me support Tedy’s Team!

How you may ask?

With a special Tedy’s Team headband!

YAY!!!

How awesome is that?

It has OFFICIALLY hit the Sparkly Soul website and be $17 each.

ORDER HERE

^^10% of each Tedy’s Team headband purchased from 3/17-4/20 will go to my fundraising effort for the Boston Marathon.

***

ORDER HERE!

Which cities will I be Rockin' & Rollin' through in 2015?

Recently I was asked: "What goes into your decision to choose a particular race to participate in?"

Well, I would say my Top Five criteria would be:

1) Bling ... race swag in general can be considered!

2) Location ... especially if I'm considering a destination race (aka racecation)!

3) Post-race celebration ... aka beer selection (from race itself or the city)!

4) Friends ... who can I potentially run with or hang out with at the run! Oh and who will let me crash on their couch to save $$$! ;)

5) Race Atmosphere ... including race organizers, entertainment during the race, etc!

***

So which race series fills each of my criteria?

The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, which is why I am honored to be an official ambassador for the race for the second-straight year. Heeyy-oo to my fellow #RockNBlog members.

I've been participating in RnR races since I rekindled the love of running after back surgery in 2011.

You're probably wondering which cities I've Rocked and Rolled through. Well I'm happy to share. ;) If you click on the year below, you will be taken directly to the recap for that race.

*Brooklyn (10k) - 2013 - a one time race

*Chicago (Half) - 2011 and 2012

*Los Angeles (Half) - 2013

*Nashville (Full) - 2014

*New Orleans (Half) - 2014

*Philadelphia (Half) - 2013 - where I set my current Half PR (1:44:12)

*Providence (Half) - 2012 and 2013 - no longer in existence :(

*Savannah (Full) - 2012 - where I set my current Full PR (3:58:49)

***

Wow! I have really taken advantage of the RnR Series to see some of the best cities in the US.

So where will 2015 take me?

*San Diego - May 30-31 - for the 5k and the Full

*Philadelphia - October 31 - possibly. This is still a wild card. I would love to return to the city of my PR if $$ can work out!

*Brooklyn - October 10 - for the all-new half marathon!!!

*Savannah - November 7-8 - for the Full and the 5k. Excited to try and go for a new marathon PR! The city was absolutely a BLAST when we went in 2012 and I can't wait to go back.

***

If you are thinking about signing up for a Rock 'n' Roll race, be sure to use my discount code to help save some $$ for the post-race beer! ;)

And now the big question... which city will I see you in during the 2015 season?