And the Winner is. . .

Congratulations to Ron, the winner of a race entry to the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon Series!

Want an entry of your very own? You have two choices:

1. Register here
2. Follow the Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors (info linked here). We each host a giveaway every week.  

May the odds be ever in your favor!

This week I finally got my mileage up past 30--33.5, to be exact. It helped that the weather is turning nicer. On Friday the weather wasn't so great (at 4:30 AM), so I ran on the treadmill. I decided to do intervals, something I haven't done in a while, and I FREAKING NAILED them! I have 12 sets scheduled in my watch, and after running the Akron Marathon, I lost my motivation to complete the sets, often punking out around set 8.  This time I did ALL 12 LIKE A BOSS!  So proud of myself.

Sunday Shelby and I ran 14 miles, and it was a beautiful day for a run.

Me before the run, rocking the Cleveland Marathon capris. I love these pants!

Shelby and me, post 14-miles. So glad it's over.

I feel really good about my training this week. I feel like I incorporated the right combinations of strength training, speedwork, and lsd running.  This week was a win!

Will the weather motivate you in your training? Will you join me in Cleveland in May?  I hope so. Until then, run happy, Peeps!

Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @itibrout!

A Giveaway!

This week I get to give away one entry to any one race in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon series!  I am so excited, Peeps.

As many of you already know, I am an ambassador for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. The lovely people in charge gave me a free entry and one to give to you, and that is exactly what I want to do this week. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I want to spread the love, Peeps.

I only say this because I am still on a runner's high after 12 miles this morning.

In the spirit of the season, I'd like to make LOVE the theme of this post.  Whom do you love?

I love. . .

1. My husband. He is a dufus, but he is MY dufus. And he bought me a phone charging cord today because I mentioned that mine is toast.

My husband: the Kabyle Chef

2. My kids. They are awesome even though they make me want to stick a screwdriver through my brain pan most days.

My son

My daughter

3.  Shelby. She runs with me on Sundays. She handles the long runs. When I tell her to f--ck off, she doesn't even blink.  She listens to me complain about my family, and she alternates between indulging me and telling me to get a grip on myself. I love you, Man.

One of our many pictures together. I have to run on Sundays because Shelby will be there.

Peeps, I love you, too. I love your comments, and I love your private messages. I love when you say that you read my blog (I have a huge ego, you know), and I feel like you are my friends.

Ok, that is enough. I can't take any more sweetness; I need to clean my teeth as it is. Let's get down to business. This giveaway opens at midnight, 2/14, and it closes at midnight, 2/21. Here are the rules:

1. If you already registered, don't enter. I can't reimburse you.
2. Entry is good for ONE race, not the series.
3. I received an entry (and some other swag) in exchange for writing about the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. Nobody buys my opinions, however. Any thoughts on the race series are my own and do not represent the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.
4. I will contact the winner by email.


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Don't feel lucky today? You can register here for the race(s) of your choice.  Hurry, kids! Join me while you can! I don't want to be the only person complaining about training in the cold. Until then, run happy, Peeps!

Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter  @itibrout!

Dial It Back

Not gonna lie, Peeps. I'm exhausted.

This is one of those weeks where I haven't wanted to do anything, but I had to do everything. I didn't want to go to work (although this was one of the funnest weeks I had planned this year), I didn't want to come home from work, I didn't want to shuttle my kids around, I didn't want to shop for, plan, or prepare meals of any kind, and I CERTAINLY didn't want to run.

My motto for the week

Of course I DID do all of those things, including running, but it was a struggle every. damned. step. of. the. way. Normally, I love to run; I look forward to it, and even when I don't immediately love it, I'm always happy after the second mile.  Not this week.  It seemed like I spent every second trying to talk myself out of running. Of course I did the other workouts in my weekly routine: weights and strength training, yoga, Zumba--but I didn't even really want to do those either.

People often say to me, "I would love to run, but I don't have time." We all know this is bullshit. What you don't have is motivation to make time. My running time (and all workout time, really) has to happen around the needs of everyone in my house, so guess what? I run at 4:30 in the morning.  It wasn't easy for me to decide to run so early, and there were times I wanted to cheat and tell myself I'd get it done after work, but I pushed on. Now my morning workout time is a habit, so even if I want to skip it (and OH BOY did I want to skip it this week), my body goes on autopilot and gets out of bed before the alarm. Most days this sets me up for a fabulous, energetic workday (until about 3:00).

This is EXACTLY how I look when I set myself up for a fabulous, energetic workday.
Today, I am the gravedigger from  Hamlet.

Here I am excited to play Horatio. I kind of wanted  to be the king or queen so I could die.
Then I could just lay on the floor for a long time. It was not "to be." See what I did there? 😜

The point of this post is this: Sometimes you've got to fake it 'til you make it. . .and sometimes you just have to keep fakin' it.

Don't want to run on the dreadmill?  Me neither.  Let's dial it back together, like I did on Friday and Saturday. On Friday I couldn't bring myself to go down into the cold basement to run on the treadmill, even with the promise of the 9th season of Dr. Who on DVD, so I stayed in the living room and popped in a Leslie Sansone walking DVD. I ran while she walked and talked (boy, does she talk), and I carried 2 lb. weights while I ran around the living room. On Saturday, I allowed myself to walk the first and last mile of my treadmill run.  Both workouts were less than optimal, but at least I got it done.

Today, luckily, was a dial-back week in the long run, too.  Shelby, Joy, and I ran the Covered Bridge Loop, which is eight miles of really pretty scenery around Hale Farm and Village.  I took our traditional pics:

The church in the Valley at Hale Farm

Our Covered Bridge selfie

I thought the run would be a breeze, but it wasn't.  You know what? I still made that run my bitch.

Sometimes a run is hard, and sometimes ALL the runs are hard, but perserverance is a cool thing. I know that I will feel better (with some rest and maybe pizza and wine), so I'm going to look forward to the next run.  Join me.

Have you registered yet for an event in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon series? Are you checking out the Cleveland Marathon Ambassadors' pages?  Who has a giveaway this week?  How is the training going for you?  Feel free to gloat comment about your awesome runs.

Until then, run happy, Peeps!

Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @itibrout!