Training Tuesday: Birthday Week!

January 31, 2017January 29, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

It was another great week of running- it started off warm with an outdoor run, but then quickly got cold (and I got lazy and decided to stay inside). Even with 2 days off and a lot of treadmill action, I still got my goal- 20+ miles!

But first, some non-mileage highlights of the week!!

I found out I’m a Sparkly Soul Ambassador!! I’m beyond excited – ever since I was introduced to their headbands, I’ve been a fan. They’re so cute and stay up on my head, which isn’t easy 🙂

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rocking my sparkly soul!

Also, this week the Cleveland Marathon introduced their shirts – they are GREAT! I am seriously excited to see these in person. Such a great color and design!

Now, onto the runs for this week. In terms of mileage, this week was 23.1 miles– appropriate, since my b-day (which was Monday)and lucky # is 23! The runs included:

Sunday: 6.25 miles outside!! Sunday was so warm – in the 50s, and I went for a run all by myself outside. It was the first time in forever (since before Christmas) that I had gone for a run outside without the stroller and felt GREAT.

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Monday: 5.3 miles on the treadmill. Birthday run! I intended to run 3.2 miles, but ended up feeling pretty good and kept going! It was the best day to start my birthday (followed by breakfast out with B and FW).

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Tuesday: 3.25 miles on the treadmill.

Wednesday: 4.65 miles on the treadmill. 4.25 running and then a .4 mile cool down.

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Thursday: 3.65 miles on the treadmill.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: We had a busy day and I was not home from 8:30 until late that night so it became an unintended rest day.

Total- 23ish miles!

Cheers to another great week of training and running!
Disclosure: As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I receive complimentary race entry AND a free race entry to give away! I also get a cool t-shirt (should be here soon!) and invited to some special events. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Busy Winter Weekends (One Sentence Per Photo)

January 29, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 8 Comments

Phew, what a weekend! From a Cavs game to a wedding shower to hanging out with cousins to an ice festival to running to dinner with friends, let’s just say it was a pretty busy weekend.

But – it was fun, that’s for sure! And since I’ve already written too much, this is going to be a one-sentence-per-phot-style blog post. Ready? Go!

Date night at the Cavs game! 20170127_205542

Guess who won? 20170127_214129

One of my contributions to the shower – cheese and bread and crackers! 20170128_104222

Amazingly beautiful cookies my MIL made. 20170128_104256

Congrats Katie & David! 20170128_110644

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Family photo pat the shower! 20170128_151711

Hanging out with cousins. 20170128_152929

Baby cousins! 20170128_183959

Not sure if he likes apple … 20170129_093039

I also got in some miles – 6.1 on a treadmill, in a skirt. 20170129_095851

We walked over to Ice Fest in Public Square.

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Yes, I toasted a marshmallow and checked out the cool sculptures. 20170129_144926 We ended the weekend with a Chinese New Year celebratory diner (hello year of the Rooster!) with friends. And that about sums up our weekend. Some questions for you:

What are you the year of in Lunar New Year? I thought I was an ox for the first 25 years of my life and then learned I’m actually a rat!
When was the last time you had a s’more?

Per usual, I’m linking up with Erin, Katie and the weekly wraps.

WIAW: Birthday Treats!

January 25, 2017January 24, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Happy Birthday to ME! That’s right, my birthday was this week and B, FW and I had fun celebrating this weekend and enjoying some great weather, going for runs, spending time with friends, and more.

I also had some TREATS on Monday to celebrate my BIG DAY – so that’s what today’s What I Ate Wednesday is from!

The day started with going out to breakfast with B and FW! We went to Yours Truly (I know, I went there last week!) and this time I got the Eggs Bruschetta. They were so good! Two sunny side up eggs on top of spinach, tomato, parmesan and toast!

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Lunch was a leftover veggie burger, kale salad and a sweet potato. And La Croix 🙂

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Snacks during the day (in no certain order) included some energy bites! 20170123_095616

And mixed nuts … 20170123_104724

Some tea and kombucha … 20170123_095440

And an apple. Yup. I was snacky. 20170123_131547

And for my birthday dinner I chose sushi! It was so good – I got veggie roll, a rainbow roll and mackerel sashimi. And B and I shared this seaweed salad! 20170123_191317

And with our dinner – some champagne. Because it was my birthday 🙂 20170123_193001

Oh and some treats, of course! I made cookies and enjoyed these soft M&M cookies and some new Hershey’s Kisses. 20170123_173623 20170123_153658

And that was it! Happy birthday to ME! Some questions for you:

Do you like bubbly? I used to not be able to drink it but love it now!
What’s your go-to sushi order?

Training Tuesday: Getting Outside Again!

January 24, 2017January 24, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Woohoo – what a great week for running. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep it up, but I met my informal goal of getting in at least 20 miles. Before I get to the mileage- first, the fun stuff.

Congrats to Caryn, who won my giveaway last week! Caryn wins entry to the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. AND congrats to Cari, who won my Instagram giveaway – the book, Running with the Police Escort, by local Cleveland runner and fellow marathon ambassador Jill.

Okay, onto the miles. I rounded out the week with 22.25 miles:

Sunday: 2.5 miles on the treadmill while FW slept. He only slept for 20ish minutes, thus the short run.

Monday: 3.2 miles on the treadmill.

Tuesday: 6 miles on the treadmill. Ran for about 5 and had a .75 mile warmup and .25 mile cool down.

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Wednesday: 3.85 miles on the treadmill (sensing a pattern?).

Thursday: 2.5 miles on the treadmill. Legs felt pretty heavy so I ended up hitting up the elliptical after the short run.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: 4.2 miles OUTSIDE. That’s right – OUTSIDE!

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B, FW and I went to the park to run because it was 60 degrees and it was GREAT. It felt so great to run outside and AND B pushed the stroller through all the uphills so that helped 🙂 FW didn’t put up a fuss until the last .5 miles or so. You can see he’s not happy in the above picture B took.

And that was it for the week – almost 23 miles!

It’s supposed to get cold again this week, so we’ll see if I am able to get outdoors at all. I’m so glad I was able to enjoy the warmer January weather this past weekend! It makes all the difference.

I haven’t started officially training for the Cleveland half yet, but I probably should soon. The longest run I’ve done post-pregnancy has been 6 or 7 miles so I still have a ways to go!

Cheers to a great week of training and running!
Disclosure: As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I receive complimentary race entry AND a free race entry to give away! I also get a cool t-shirt (should be here soon!) and invited to some special events. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Perfect Birthday Weekend! (A March, Some Runs, Good Food and Beer)

January 22, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

I guess this past weekend was my birthday weekend. My birthday falls on a Monday this year so I was happy to celebrate it with a WARM weekend in CLE doing tons of fun things.

Seriously, I couldn’t have planned the weekend better – it was not only in the 50s-60s but I also got to do so many things I enjoy!

Like ….

Stroller running. Outside. With B and of course FW. And it was in the mid-50s!!

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Attending the Cleveland Women’s March. We got there too late to march but we were able to take in the crowd and see all the people! FW slept through most of it.

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Continue the theme of celebrating women with Ladies Craft Beer Society. This month’s craft? Herbed butters! I made a sweet butter (cinnamon/sugar butter) and a garlic basil butter, oregano butter and a chive butter.

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Naturally we had to make something for dinner with our butters. B found a recipe from Lidia for homemade ravioli with shrimp and tomatoes – they were SO GOOD.

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The finished product … 20170121_211028

Another outdoor run. This time, just me. And it was actually great! As much as I prefer running with people, it was nice to have no planned route, not have to push a stroller and just enjoy the (again!) warm weather. 6.25 miles at just under 9 min/mile pace. I felt so alive!

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A great veggie burger for lunch.

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A walk with B, FW and the cousins.

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And – not pictured – a great Sunday night meal and MORE ICE CREAM CAKE!!

Some questions for you:

Did you participate in a Women’s March?
Was it seasonably warm near you also?

I’m linking up with Erin, Katie and the weekly wraps.

TOL: Random Running Thoughts

January 19, 2017January 15, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

It’s Thursday – woo woo! What a week. My brain = mush. Which is why I’m grateful today for the Thinking Out Loud linkup, where I can just share a few semi-random thoughts with you today.

Today’s edition? RUNNING.

SHOES.

First, shoes. What kind of shoes do you wear? I tend to wear a neutral shoe with orthotics and I am LOVING my new Saucony’s. They are so cushiony! And I think they’re cute 🙂

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SOCKS.

I have a new brightly colored running sock obsession. It just happened within the past month. I went from owning all white running socks to a bunch of fun colors. And I love it!

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LEGGINGS.

I am so so so excited for my new running leggings!!! I ordered these Cleveland Marathon leggings before the holidays and they finally came. I ordered the 3/4 length, because that’s what I typically wear, but now I’m wondering if I should’ve gotten the full.

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RUNNING IN GROUPS.

I miss running with people. My two morning running buddies no longer live near me and with the bebe it’s been hard (aka I’m lazy) to schedule runs with them on weekends, etc. This past weekend, I participated in the Cleveland Marathon kickoff run and it was SO great to run with a group of people again! I forgot how much I love it. (and check out our leggings :))

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SLEEP.

Ok this isn’t REALLY about running, but it’s related. I think I need more sleep. Scratch that. I know I do. This whole being a working mom thing with a 6-month-old baby plus trying to wake up at 5 a.m. to run thing is TIRING. I need some help in figuring out how to make it all work and how to get more sleep … or figure out how to run on significantly less than usual. Any tips? Hints?

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AND A GIVEAWAY!!!

Anyway, speaking of running, I have a giveaway going on for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon – you can win race entry to the 5k, 8k, 10k, half OR FULL! Enter here.

Thanks for Running with Spoons for hosting this great linkup and helping me get some of this out there! Some questions for you:

Any tips for running on little sleep?
Are you a fan of colorful socks or white ones?

WIAW: 36 Cent Brownie Sundaes

January 18, 2017January 17, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

AND we’re finally at Wednesday. I’m not going to lie – I thought most of yesterday was Wednesday. But it wasn’t. I no longer have any sense of days of the week … does that ever happen to you? But I digress. TODAY is Wednesday. And that means it’s a good day to share my eats and see what you are all up to and eating as well. Yup, it’s another What I Ate Wednesday!

My day started with some egg white oats. Egg whites, oats, flaxseed, brewer’s yeast and some dried fruit. Yum!

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And I had some boobie / energy bites for a snack/mid-morning dessert. 20170117_094133

And a handful of nuts. What can I say – I ran 6 miles in the morning and was HUNGRY! 20170117_105930

For lunch, we had a meeting out of the office at the new Yours Truly restaurant downtown. I had never been to a YT before, but it’s like a diner with tons of breakfast and other options. I debated heavily getting breakfast for a while, but finally decided on their Envelope – it’s a ginormous pita (it’s bigger than my fork!) stuffed with tons of veggies and dressing on the side. It was actually just what I was looking for and I’d definitely get it again! 20170117_125811

After the Envelope, I got dessert. We don’t typically get dessert after lunch meetings, but in honor of YT’s 36th anniversary, their dessert was only 36 cents!! That’s right – 36 CENTS FOR THIS GINORMOUS BROWNIE SUNDAE. How could I say no? 20170117_132250

I should’ve been stuffed after lunch, but I ended up snacking on another energy ball and some kombucha. I LOVE this flavor.

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I made B and I dinner after feeding FW some carrots (he’s not a fan). What was for dinner? Some sauerkraut, grilled pork loin, and whole roasted cauliflower and potatoes. 20170117_194137

And that, my folks, was my day. Not a bad one – after all, a 36 cents sundae in the middle of the day is a pretty good day in my book 🙂

Some questions for you:

If you’re at a diner-type place, would you get breakfast for lunch?
What’s your favorite breakfast-for-lunch or breakfast-for-dinner meal?

GIVEAWAY: Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Race Registration!

January 17, 2017January 17, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 47 Comments

It’s GIVEAWAY time!

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I’m excited to share that as a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I get to give away a race entry! You could receive one complimentary race code for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon 10K, Half-Marathon or Full Marathon events that will be the weekend of May 20! (If you want to just head to the giveaway, scroll to the bottom of this post – I won’t judge)

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I admit that I’ve been slacking in the racing/training area. Why? I am blaming it on the baby.

my running buddy/excuse

Getting little sleep at night and only 3-4 hours of uninterrupted sleep (sometimes less…sometimes more?) at a time and often less than 7 hours of sleep total at night has played its toll. And my free time is much more limited. Between work, existing after-work activities (work events, book club, board meetings and events, my lovely ladies craft beer society), and life – running is not always a priority.

representing CLE on a stroller run in Columbus!

I’m not going to lie – I still run multiple times a week. But I’ve been enjoying NOT training for anything and just enjoying my sleepy runs when I get them in! Anyway – that’s why I’ve decided that I’M GOING TO RUN THE HALF MARATHON. And you should join me! If you’re planning on getting in shape or being more active in 2017, here’s your chance – you can win entry to any one of the Cleveland Marathon races!

What’s so great about the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon – and why register?

The history: The Cleveland Marathon is one of the 50 oldest marathons in the country – while I’m sure the course (and scenery) has changed throughout the years, it’s great to run in a race that you know has so much history. And this year is its 40th anniversary!!

The course! I’ve only run the half and the 10k, but in my opinion, it’s a good view. Cleveland is a city of many neighborhoods and running the race (half, full and 10K) allows you to get a glimpse at some of these. The course is relatively flat and offers a variety of scenes. I also personally love races where I can be in an urban environment, so I’m biased and love that this offers that. (Disclaimer: the only part of the race I don’t like is the end. The dreaded shoreway. It’s hot (or freezing – like last year!) and long and boring and hilly!)

on one of the said “hills” – the Lorain Carnegie bridge!

The fans! Just as our neighborhoods are diverse, so are the spectators – but they’re cheering you on, excited to see you, holding signs, water, snacks and even beer for the runners. Even last year when it was SLEETING there ended up still being some people out to cheer us on. 20160515_082336_001

The challenge series! Last year I was pregnant so I did the 5k/10k series. It’s fun to do a two-day event and also get a special medal. I’m leaning toward the 8k/half marathon this year! The 5k and 8k run at Edgewater Park on the near west side of downtown so you can get in some beach AND downtown views!

Here’s how to enter to win the GIVEAWAY – these are all worthy of separate entries so – please leave a separate comment for each way you choose to participate!

Leave a comment on this post. You can explain why you want to run the race OR if you’ve run before, your favorite part of the race. OR just tell me your favorite running mantra. What keeps you going?
Follow @koskim (me!) on Twitter and leave comment telling me you did.
Follow @koskim (me!) on Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.
Follow @clevemarathon on Twitter or Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.

The giveaway will run through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, Friday January 20. I’ll connect with a winner on January 21.

Disclosure: As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I receive complimentary race entry AND a free race entry to give to you! I also get a cool t-shirt (should be here soon!) and invited to some special events. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Winter Weekends Aren’t All Bad

January 15, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

I’ll be the first to admit it – I don’t really like winter.

I don’t like the cold weather. I don’t like snow and ice. I don’t like the dark days and nights. I prefer warmth and the ability to hang out outside, enjoy some sunshine and run when it’s light in the morning and at night.

BUT – I have to admit it. Not all winter weekends are bad. And I had a pretty good one this past weekend! Some of the highlights:

A flight of beers at Hansa House. My first time going to this new brewery and it did not disappoint. Especially since FW slept while we were there 🙂

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A trip to the West Side Market for some ham hocks. B made me one for dinner (to continue our Germany theme) with some piergoi and sauerkraut. And spicy German mustard.

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A walk around Ohio City with FW in tow. I love wearing him, even though he’s getting too big to be in this baby k’tan much longer! 20170114_152727

A group run! Fleet Feet hosted a kickoff run for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon and I got a chance to wear my new Cleveland leggings AND meet up with some fellow marathon ambassadors for 4 miles. (check out the photobomber in the back !)

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A birthday party! It was another weekend with a first birthday party for fellow LCBS baby Jack.

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And then a short walk around some lakes. It was somewhat a beautiful (but cold) day. 20170115_165618

And finally, dinner with B’s family and BIRTHDAY ICE CREAM cake for dessert! I love ice cream cake. We celebrated our nephew’s birthday – I can’t believe he’s turning 7 – and my almost birthday!

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See? Not an entirely bad weekend 🙂

Some questions for you:

Do you like winter?
What flavors of ice cream would you have in your ice cream cake?

I’m linking up with Katie and the weekly wraps.

WIAW: Lunch Mishmash

January 11, 2017January 8, 2017 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

Cheers to Wednesday! I don’t know about you – but being back after the holidays has been rough. I’ve been tired and getting over being sick – so I’m definitely happy it’s finally Wednesday – and time for What I Ate Wednesday!

Egg white oats to start my day. I mix in some flaxseed and brewer’s yeast too!

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Morning snacks included some mixed nuts and boobie balls (aka energy balls for all you non-breastfeeding folks. 20170105_121815

I love leftovers for lunch. I had leftover spicy chicken burger, peppers/onions and a bite of a salmon burger. Random? Yes I know – but that’s what I love. A mishmash! 20170105_131231

Snacktime included another apple and some cashews…yummmmmm – I love that mix of sweet and salty. 20170105_153201

And dinner was mostly a freezer meal! It was turkey chili I had made a few weeks ago, along with some new cornbread. I attempted to make cornbread without any milk (because I didn’t have any) – my usual recipe calls for buttermilk – and it turned out pretty good! It was a little more crumbly than usual but I managed to eat a few pieces (not pictured). 20170105_194123
And that was it. A great meal for a snowy evening and I then passed out before dessert (okay, who am I kidding – I had a few pieces of cornbread for dessert, too).