Reston Style

Runners {half} Marathon of Reston: a two year review - by Liz

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 20:33:00 +0000

my finishes in 2017 and 2018 - take a look at my crazy leg muscles in the 2018 photo!

A two year review of the Runners Marathon of Reston - by Liz Badley

Six years ago, when the Reston Runners designed the Runners Marathon of Reston, I thought they were insane. Sure, Reston has 55 miles of paved walking paths within it's 17 square mile jurisdiction, but it's literally up hill in every direction. Why on earth would anyone want to run even a HALF marathon in Reston!? The first few years, they held the race mid-March and dealt with some of the worst weather conditions. A freezing cold, hilly run in Reston that you had to pay for, no thank you! But, when they moved the race to April in 2016, I thought 'next year I'll give it a shot...'

I'm so glad that I've come around to the idea of running this race, as it's a race like no other! It really has a wonderful hometown feel that you just can't get with a race in DC, even the smaller ones. So here we go, the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Runner's Marathon of Reston!

The Good: First and foremost, the course! Reston Runners could have designed a course that was all road in Reston. BORING! They also could have put all 13.1/26.2 miles on the narrow, twisty, up and down (but mostly up) hill, paths of Reston. Instead, they designed a course that truly showcased the beauty of running in Reston. The first 4 miles are on mostly flat and down hill sections of road, without any technical trail, which is perfect for the start of the race because it thins down the crowd! By the time you get to the trails, it's easy to pass and you can really enjoy the beauty of south Reston. You're back on the road for the middle section of climbing, but it's a straight away, so it's not too bad. Then you're right back on the pretty trails through mile 11, then you get two fast road miles to finish out the half. It's really a great course!

The atmosphere of the race is also pretty amazing! It's a party from start to finish, literally. I haven't attended, but they host a pasta dinner the night before the race and the post race party is stocked with so much food, it's incredible. Finally, the swag is awesome! Not only do you get a race shirt, and this year they updated it with a really nice hoodie, pull over, tee shirt that I'll actually wear! But last year I got a pint glass, some years they have gloves, and best of all, a themed Hoo-Rag! It's the best race swag! And a final plus, Fairfax County Police do an amazing job of making sure all of the course crossings are super safe. It's one of those things that I really appreciate as a tax paying runner!

The Bad: Did I mention the course? Oh yeah, it gets talked about in the 'bad' category too. South Reston is full of hills and the Reston Runners made sure to showcase them! I've only run the half, and even though I love a low key marathon, I don't think I'll ever end up running the two loop Runner's Marathon Course. In 2017, there was a break off around mile 7, which made it tough for friends who were trying to run the first half together. They fixed that this year, but I still wouldn't want to run the Lawyer's Road section more than once... The only other bad I can think of is the weather. But no one has any control over that and they've done a good job of moving the race date to try to avoid rain and snow!

The Ugly: This is something most people wouldn't even think about, but because I've witnessed so many deaths at races, I've got to point out the lack of medical support and the difficulty EMS would have if there were to be an emergency on the paths. Reston is super lucky, our EMS response time is around three minutes! But if something were to happen on the trails, it would probably increase response time by about 10 minutes. My suggestion would be to post up some stations with AEDs (RA has them already for the pools, and since the pools aren't open in April, it would be a zero cost thing to do!) along the trails. Chances are, they'd never be needed, but having an AED accessible can help prevent death in the event of cardiac arrest.

Bottom Line: The swag and atmosphere makes this race WELL worth the entry fee! I personally wouldn't choose this for my first half marathon, though I know a TON of runners who did! I think it was Naomi's second ever, and she's run all 6 years! I also wouldn't try to PR on this course, but again, Naomi did and in 2018's my second fastest time to date. As for the marathon distance, I don't think this one is one that I'll do (but never say never!), but for an experienced marathoner looking for a challenge or just a training run with a medal, I'd say go for it! Newbie marathoners - stick to the classics: Marine Coprs and Richmond are my two faves to recommend to first timers!

2018 - Naomi and I made it over JUST IN TIME for the MRTT pre-race photo!

When I went into this race in 2017, I was literally just thinking of it as a training run. I was on my 'negative split' kick, and I remember just playing with intervals and keeping the entire run at an easy effort, both physically and mentally. This year, I knew it was supposed to just be a training run, but I had it in my head that I should try to average 8:08, for a marathon goal pace run. But I hadn't been feeling great (and still have the beginning of a cold that just won't manifest!), and something just felt off right from the beginning of the race. Naomi and I were hitting great paces and my sense of doom was about to lift when BOOM, I tripped and went down just before the third mile marker. That was it for me mentally. I was done. I told Naomi to go ahead and I did everything I could to keep myself from walking off the course at the shopping center and just going home. I felt like I'd already lost the race and I wasn't even 1/3 of the way through it yet.

I walked for about a minute and the pulled myself together and decided I'd at least run through the glade. I had my sleeve pulled down over my watch, but I later discovered that even with the fall and the extra walking, I was an 8:01 for the third mile and under 8 for the 4th.

2018 - right after my fall. I'm actually putting my glove back on after inspecting my hand for cuts.

I pushed through the Glade, thinking about how easily it would be to turn off the course and go home when I got to Soapstone Dr, when I made the decision to ease up on the throttle and just complete the race. 'It's not going to be a PR, I fell, and I have a bad attitude right now. Let's just finish this' is literally what went through my head. So I eased up on the hills on Lawyers Road when Scott, Naomi's husband caught up to me. We ran together for a bit and I had actually caught sight of Naomi a bit ahead, but put the thought out of my mind that I could try to catch her. Maybe on a day when I was mentally more IN it or on an easier course, but not today. I thought Scott would leave me after running with me for a bit, but when I took my walk break, he decided to give intervals a try! So he ran the rest of the race with me. I was really grateful to have him running and chatting with me. It was just the distraction that I needed from my bad mood and the soul sucking hills of Reston! Believe it or not, I almost fell again when we turned from Lawyers onto the paths. Luckily, I only wobbled and dropped my bottle, but seriously, it was not a good day for my balance!

The fact that this race is in my home town, means that right at mile 7, we run by my parents neighborhood and they've come out to the trail both years to cheer me on. It's really nice to have them come watch me race! Another highlight was the MRTT water stop at mile 9! It's always amazing when your friends volunteer and shout your name at the TOP of their lungs {I'm looking at you, Stacy} as you approach! It was the BEST!! Especially since you're in the woods for the majority of Miles 7-11. That's when you need all the cheers you can get!

You can see just how happy and care free I was in 2017, running the trails about midway through the race.

The best part of running through the woods with Scott was his attitude that it was just "one more hill" until we got to the road. Then it was "downhill" to the finish! That positive thinking really helped me kick it into the next gear for mile 12; clocking a quick 7:32! I wish I had been able to bring a little more intensity into the last mile, but I was spent - physically and emotionally. I remember saying how relieved I was when we turned the corner into the school that we didn't have to go up and down Seahawk Drive.

Scott and I took our last walk break as we headed towards the track and I looked at my watch and was surprised to see that I was right at my PR with less than 1/4 of a mile to go. We started running as we entered the track and I dropped my bottle, deciding to really push the final 300. I built descended my run until the final 100 meters and then took off. Both Scott and another runner finishing with us commented on my finishing kick! I think it's the thing that I'm most proud of in my running. Sure, my PRs have all gotten faster in the last two years, but no one can finish a race like I can! It's the sprinter in me.

I remember before the 2017 race, texting with Stacy about just running easy. Turns out my version of "easy" in 2017 was 1:55:36. I remember not really pushing any step of the race, just enjoying the run alone through Reston. It was a very, very different mental attitude. This year, none of my running really felt hard, I just couldn't really find the joy - probably due to the left over adrenaline from the fall. I do feel like the effort was about the same though, considering my poor attitude this year, which bodes well for the fitness I've gained. Below you can see my paces for 2017 and 2018 (in 2017 the race was just a bit short, so I kept going on the track to finish out 13.1). You can easily see where the hills are, just on pace alone!

Me, Naomi, and Scott at the finish of the Runners {half} Marathon of Reston in 2018 - I know, we look like a goodr ad!

Clocking a second best ever half time of 1:47:39 on this course definitely helped lift my spirits! I was even more impressed with Naomi's new PR of 1:44:29! When we checked the results, they had only posted the first 10 women, and wouldn't you know, Naomi was the 10th woman and 1st place in the 30-34 age group!!! Seeing that, I had hopes of at least placing in my age group, but what I didn't expect was coming in 14th overall and placing 1st in the 35-39 age group! Naomi and I have another month and a half until we start competing in the same bracket again, so I love that we were both able to be first at this race!

Again, the Runners know just how to do awards, check out these sweet age group winner photos by Jim Kirby!

All in all, the past two years of running the Runners {half} Marathon of Reston has taught me that some races are easy, effortless, and fun, and some races are mentally more of a challenge than even the worse Reston hills. But I'm so glad to have added this run to my repertoire. I think I'll continue to run it as long as I live in Reston. Especially since I'm sure that Naomi want's to keep her streak alive!!

I'm so lucky to get to train with this girl! She and I complement each others strengths and weaknesses. It's training partner perfection!

Naomi's amazing 2017 and 2018 finishes

Subscribe to Reston Style

Like Reston Style on Facebook

A Weekend in VA Wine (and Cider) Country - with Amanda

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 17:55:00 +0000

A Weekend in VA Wine (and Cider) Country by Amanda Kertz

A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to Cobbler Mountain Cellars and Barrel Oak Winery near Delaplane, Virginia, which were both decked out beautifully for the holidays. Both places were kid and dog friendly and there were plenty of places outdoors for them to run around. Personally, I love places where you can take the whole family, including your fur babies. There were even a few cats outside at Barrel Oak!

Cobbler Mountain

I LOVE the cider at Cobbler Mountain. They are ALL GLUTEN-FREE and have something for everyone, including several hopped varieties, which are delicious for those of us who can’t drink beer. They also had seasonal flavors including pumpkin, cran-ginger and cinnamon (as of last week, they have this one at Craft House in Reston). The tasting room manager told me their cider should be available at most area Wegmans and they might be at Total Wine. They also have a great growler program that I would definitely do if it were a little further east!

There were also sweet ciders, including honey and maple stout. I thought the maple stout was the most interesting, because it had a sort of savory/sweet combo.

Following the tasting and a pint with our late lunch, we drove to Barrel Oak Winery.

Barrel Oak Winery

Barrel Oak did not disappoint with their wine tasting. You can choose from BOW or a WOW tasting, one of which has more sweet wines (I don’t remember which was which, but I had the sweeter one). The tasting had a good variety of reds, whites and dessert wines. My favorite wine was the Chocolate Lab dessert wine, which is a part of the tastings—it has real chocolate in it!

Barrel Oak also just opened a brewery next to the wine tasting room, which—in addition to several beers you can taste—has Bold Rock cider. I had already ordered a glass of wine, but if you are a cider fan—and have been living under a (bold) rock, hahaha!—I would definitely try Bold Rock, especially because it's made in Virginia.

We had a great time and both places are definitely worth a visit the next time you’re in Virginia wine (and cider!) country.

Subscribe to Reston Style

Like Reston Style on Facebook

Cocktails with Erin - The Cosmopolitan

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:50:00 +0000

Erin circa 2010 sipping on champs

Cocktails with Erin: The Cosmpolitan by Erin Lancione

It’s cocktail time again! In case you missed it, last month I wrote about the Salty Dog and why every adult should know the recipes for a few good cocktails by heart.

I was going to devote the second installment of Cocktails with Erin to the Sidecar, but my friend Elizabeth convinced me otherwise. She said that my first post brought her back to the days of gin club and immediately I knew the perfect drink to profile: the cosmopolitan.

Yes, really.

When’s the last time you had a cosmo? The name probably conjures of images of Sex and the City and sense memories of syrupy sweet dreck made with mixer from a plastic bottle. Hardly appealing, but stay with me here.

The cosmopolitan is a modified version of a sour, a category of drinks that also includes margaritas, whisky sours, sidecars, daiquiris, and caipirinhas. Sours follow the template of liquor + citrus juice + sweetener (either sugar, simple syrup, or a liqueur). The cosmo takes this format and brightens it up with the addition of cranberry juice. Made fresh, the cosmo contains three parts vodka, one part cranberry juice, one part triple sec, and 1/2 part lime juice.

The origins of the drink are somewhat unclear, but it’s safe to say that the cosmo has been around for at least thirty years. In its early days, the cosmo was viewed as a prestige drink, the sort of thing people ordered to seem in the know and sophisticated. But, as with most trends, the drink hit its inevitable zenith and by the early aughts it was regarded as clichéd, shorthand for girly excess and middlebrow taste.

And that, my friends, is a terrible shame. Because a well-executed cosmo — one prepared with fresh ingredients — is actually quite delightful. Pretty to look at, perfectly sweet-tart, and surprisingly potent.

Potent enough to make a roomful of grown ladies giggle like teenagers, leading a certain husband to shush them because of the very real risk that they would wake the kids. Which brings me to gin club.

For nearly four years, I lived in Qatar with my husband and our children. While there, I developed friendships with ladies from all over the world, many of whom lived in my apartment building. I cannot overstate how lucky I felt to have a community of friends right at my doorstep. In many regards, it was kind of like college all over again — except instead of bumping into each other in the dining hall or hanging out until the wee hours in each other’s dorm rooms, we had Teeny Tunes music class in the multipurpose room and mid-morning play dates by the pool.

From time to time we would take turns hosting dinner and drinks at one of our apartments. It was a chance to relax and enjoy each other’s company without our kids around. We affectionately dubbed these gatherings “gin club” and the name stuck. On one of the occasions that it was my turn to host, I made cosmos. Suffice to say that we all got a little silly that night.

If you’re lucky, you pick up a few forever friends at each stage of your life*; I’m thankful to have found a whole group of them in Doha. (And not just my gin club lovelies — I’m thinking of all you ladies who either didn’t live in our tower or who had already moved on to new adventures by that point!)
For me, the cosmo doesn’t bring to mind Carrie Bradshaw or the Rainbow Room. Instead, it reminds me of good friends, fun times, and finding family in unexpected places. And I will happily toast to that.

Cosmopolitan
Makes one serving

Combine one shot (1.5 ounces) of vodka**, one tablespoon (0.5 ounces) triple sec, one tablespoon (0.5 ounces) of cranberry juice, and 1.5 teaspoons (0.25 ounces) of lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake to blend, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of citrus peel.

__________________
*Another stellar insight from Trista.
**Some versions of the recipe specify citrus vodka; use whatever floats your boat.

Subscribe to Reston Style

Like Reston Style on Facebook

running multiple marathons per training cycle - by Liz

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 20:55:00 +0000

The best way to train for a marathon is to run a marathon. I'm pretty sure I'm quoting Jeff Galloway there, but I can't quite remember the source. It's totally true though, nothing prepares you for the marathon distance like running the marathon distance. It would make sense that it was Jeff, since even his beginner marathon plan takes you up to 26 miles before race day! But as any runner knows, training miles and racing miles are very, very different things, even if you are using a race as just a training run.

I'll be dividing this up into a couple of posts, because, let's face it, there is a lot to know about running just ONE marathon, let alone balancing multiple in a season. In both 2016 and 2017 I ran a Ragnar Ultra and three marathons within about 7 weeks. I'll share what I did, what I learned, and my plans for 2018. First up, some advice for heading into your multiple marathon season!

Prepare:

Plan Your Season

This is one of the best takeaways from Coach Jenny's column about running multiple races per training season. Planning is really critical to success here. In both 2016 and 2017 I ran multiple marathon/ultra distance events during the fall season. Sure, I wasn't a newbie to the marathon distance. I started the 2016 fall season with marathon #6 and the 2017 fall season with marathon #10, but I think that any runner that has been running for at least 12 months prior to beginning marathon training can run multiple marathons within a season, if they plan accordingly.

I like to start fall marathon training on May 1. It gives you FIVE FULL MONTHS of training for your early fall marathons {like Steamtown - or as Dale and Naomi will tell you, the downhill marathon that's uphill the last 10k - and Chicago}, and SIX+ MONTHS for later favorites like Marine Corps and Richmond. While it is possible for a non-runner to start on May 1 with a goal of a first marathon in the fall, I would personally have newbies start no later than March 1. Those two months of base building can make all the difference!

Set Realistic Goals

The marathon distance is not something to be taken lightly. It seems like most newbie runners go into the marathon expecting it to be easier than it is. Even experienced runners fall into that trap sometimes too. But the one thing to remember is that ANYTHING can happen over the course of 26.2 miles. By setting realistic goals and managing expectations, you'll be MUCH more pleased with yourself at the end of the race, than if you set a lofty goal and miss it.

There are some great marathon pace calculators out there now (I have always used this one from Slate, but I think Runner's World has one now too), that give you a more accurate prediction of what the average recreational runner can do for a marathon. When I was training for my first marathon I was told to double my half time and add 5-10%. I can tell you from my own person experience and my years of helping people through their first marathon training cycle, this does not work. It artificially makes you think you can run faster than you can, which just leads to disappointment, when you should be super excited that you FINISHED a marathon!

Do The Work, but ENJOY Yourself

Marathon training is hard and stressful on your body all on it's own. Sure, you need to put the work in and run the miles in your plan, but don't beat yourself up over your training. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but you have to relax and not take your training so seriously, even if you're a newbie, and especially if you're experienced going for a lofty {realistic} time goal. Yes, you need to train, but you don't have to run every single run exactly the way your training plan tell you to. Sometimes, you just get time on your feet in, and that has to be enough. Sometimes, resting a nagging pre-injury is more important than running. Listen to your body, train smart, and relax.

LB and Liz at "The Bean" the day after the 2017 Chicago Marathon

Preparation is really the key to success in any endeavor. I'm excited to expand upon this topic as well as provide my tips when it comes to run/walk intervals, since I believe that they are part of the key to my success.

Have you ever done multiple marathons in a training cycle?
Is it something you're interested in trying?
What are your 2018 running goals?

We love learning what you find interesting and what more you'd like to know! Make sure to leave us comments here and on facebook!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

taking care of my 'spots' - by Liz

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:00:00 +0000

No filter selfie after about 4 weeks of consistent skincare. My "spots" are healing, fading, and coming less frequently!
Though I am wearing the touch-up concealer pen in this photo.

Acne. It sucks. Anyone who's ever had to deal with a breakout knows that acne can be a total confidence killer. But imagine being someone that sells skin care and still suffers from acne! It's not just a confidence killer, but it makes me wonder how seriously I'm being taken when it comes to the products I wholeheartedly believe in! I know, I know, in 2014 I posted about how Beautycounter cleared my skin right up (you can read that post here), but after going off OCPs (aka "the pill") in January of this year, I've been struggling with more breakouts that I have had in my adult life. In fact, it was acne that led me to taking OCPs in the first place! So what should do you when you're struggling with your skin?

1) Take Inventory

Honestly, when I first started with Beautycounter, I was REALLY GOOD about washing my face morning and night. As the years went on, with the best skin of my life, I got out of habit. Add bad skincare habits with the removal of OCPs, well... it was a recipe for disaster for my skin!

2) Develop a Plan of Attack

For me, I knew that I had to be better about washing my face both morning and night. I wrongly assumed that going to bed with my makeup on wasn't really that big of a deal. Especially since I use safe products. And while the products sitting on my skin, probably wouldn't do any harm if I slept in them (in fact, there's one that I sometimes apply at night, but I'll get to that!), it's the dirt and grime of everyday life that you want to wash off. It's even more important when you touch your face during the day, which is another horrible habit that I am trying to break!

3) Recruit the Troops

I have every Beautycounter product available to me in my "stash", but I knew that I needed to focus on a simple, gentle skincare routine, and that I might need to bring in some safe acne fighters from another company if I didn't get the results I want. Here's what I started with:
=Morning and Evening=

Rejuvenating Face Wash
Rejuvenating Eye Cream
Rejuvenating Daily Cream with 2 drops of the #1 Face Oil

I decided that I would stick with simple and re-evaluate and add in products on a two week cycle until I figure out the perfect routine for my skin. I have since tested the charcoal mask #3 1-2 times a week, the rejuvenating toner pads, the countermatch sleeping cream, the countermatch adaptive moisture lotion, the countermatch hydration serum, and the countermatch eye cream, all with great success! Here is my current routine:
=Morning=

Rejuvenating Face Wash
Rejuvenating Toner Pads
Countermatch Eye Rescue Cream
Countermatch Hydration Serum
Rejuvenating Daily Cream with 2 drops of the #1 Face Oil

=Evening=

Disclosure: I make a commission if you chose to shop through the links above. If you choose to shop, please confirm that you are shopping with Liz Badley :)

4) Give it Time

This might be the hardest step in the whole process. You'll see immediate benefits from a moisturizer, with full results in as little as two weeks. But for problems like acne - an inflammatory skin condition - it can take as long as six weeks to see the full benefit. For me, I knew going into this that I was building a "forever" skincare habit and that it might be a while before I got everything perfect. Also, being in the skincare/cosmetics industry, I also knew I might have set backs here and there when trying out new products. For me, this really has been about building a routine.

5) Ingredients Matter

This is not a post about safer products. Yes, I truly believe that reducing your exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals matters both in general and when dealing with acne, but what I mean by this is paying attention to ingredients that could help with skin healing. One of those ingredients is Zinc Oxide. Our Dew Skin tinted moisturizer uses zinc as the physical barrier sunscreen, and more than a few consultants have commented on the improved appearance in their skin with consistent Dew Skin use, so I decided that I would slather on the Dew Skin daily as part of my routine. I noticed such a change in my skin on days that I didn't put it on, that I tested the Dew Skin out as a spot treatment overnight. What I found is that I have less redness and pain when I do that. I have since been testing out the calming diaper rash cream in the same way. I find that I am getting even better results with the diaper cream! There are some mixed reviews online as to using a diaper cream with zinc for acne, but most of the warnings from skin professionals have to do with the other ingredients - like petroleum jelly and mineral oil - which are both on our 'Never List'.

A little demonstration on how the charcoal mask pulls imperfections out of the pores!
I'm always SHOCKED when the mask dries!
(the lipstick I have on is Little Black Dress from the holiday intense set!)

So there's my 5 skincare steps to clearer, healthier skin, but that's really only where fighting acne begins. The longer I am going through this, the more I am convinced that diet can really make or break your skin! My skin has never been better than about 2-3 weeks into the Whole30. For me, personally, I think that dairy and soy are the culprits. It has me very tempted to reduce the amount of both that I consume drastically, but I just really love dairy and pre-made food (which is usually full of soy!).

Have you tried cleaning up your diet to help improve your skin?

What about the zinc diaper rash cream trick?

Leave us a comment with your tips, tricks, feedback, and suggestions for what you'd like to see on this blog!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Cocktails with Erin - the Salty Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 20:20:00 +0000

Meet Erin! You've seen her on here before too (here) and I'm incredibly excited that she agreed to contribute. Erin is an actual writer and editor who has lived all over the world after growing up in Reston. She's based in Seattle now - I totally can't wait to visit! - and has agreed to flex her writing muscles for us here while she works to find her perfect professional writing gig. We are seriously lucky! Not only is she an amazing writer, but she's my bestie and favorite person to share a drink with! So without further ado, our first post in the series I'll unofficially refer to as 'Getting Drunk with Erin', Cocktails with Erin!

Cocktails with Erin: The Salty Dog - by Erin Lancione follow her on Twitter @erinlancione

There are certain things that all adults should know how to do. How to navigate public transportation in an unknown city. How to patch drywall. Where and how to vote. And every grownup should definitely have two or three cocktails that they know how to prepare from memory and which can be made using standard pantry and bar ingredients. Preferably, they should be cocktails that don’t involve a lot of sugary froufrou or have “and tonic” in their name.

Why cocktails? The act of making and drinking a cocktail combines mastery, ritual, and pleasure in one. Cocktails require recipes and recipes require proficiency. Knowing a few cocktails by heart will make you feel accomplished. And preparing a cocktail is as enjoyable as drinking it: measuring, shaking, stirring, muddling, and garnishing all contribute to an experience that is way more special than just pouring a glass of screw-top wine or cracking open a beer. Last, cocktails are a treat for the senses. They’re often fragrant with muddled herbs, studded with briny olives or sweet cherries, and intense in flavor.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be introducing you to three of my favorite cocktails. Who knows - maybe one of them will end up in your regular rotation!

We’ll start with the Salty Dog. In its basic form, the Salty Dog consists of a two-to-one ratio of grapefruit juice and gin, shaken with ice and served in a highball glass with a salt rim. Simple but elegant. If you’re feeling fancy, you can add embellishments, such as a few dashes of bitters, a twist of grapefruit peel, a stem of crushed rosemary, or my favorite, a bit of powdered chili pepper added to the salt (the fruity flavor of ancho chile works well here).

Real talk - this cocktail is easy to make, bonkers good, and super soothing when you have a cold. How do I know? My kids have made it their mission to bring home every bug possible from school this fall. In the spirit of scientific inquiry, I have field tested this recipe’s efficacy as a cold remedy on several occasions. The vitamin C in the juice is good for reducing the inflammation of a sore throat and the gin and the salt both help thin out post-nasal drip. Plus, it’s a pretty pink color. Who doesn’t love a pick-me-up that’s pretty, too?

Side note: whenever I hear the phrase “real talk,” I think of my friend Trista, who is an ER nurse and an all-around lovely person. No matter what is going on in your life, her life, or really anyone else’s life, she has the most refreshing, non-hysterical take on it. Because when you deal with actual emergencies on a daily basis, you tend not to sweat the small stuff so much. A while ago, I suggested that she start her own podcast, “Real Talk with Trista,” where she deals out get-a-grip advice to people in the throes of unnecessary drama. She just laughed.

And so, in the absence of life advice from an ER nurse, I give you the Salty Dog. It won’t solve your problems, but it might alleviate your cold symptoms and make you feel a bit more grownup, at least temporarily.

Salty Dog
Makes one serving

Lightly moisten the rim of a highball glass and dip it in a plate covered in salt. Combine one shot (1.5 ounces) of gin with two shots (3 ounces) of grapefruit juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake to blend, then strain into prepared highball glass.

Optional:

Garnish glass with a twist of grapefruit peel or a crushed stem of rosemary.
Use coarse sea salt or Kosher salt in lieu of table salt.
Add two dashes of bitters to the gin and grapefruit juice.
Mix powdered chile pepper with the salt.

Cheers!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

from runner to injured runner and back again - with Amanda

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 21:42:00 +0000

You guys! I'm so excited to introduce Amanda as one of the very first, Reston Style contributors! She's been one of my best friends for years and can be found in mentions and pictures all over the blog (here). As we transition to a collaborative format, I'll be writing some intros for now, then... those may fade away! But I figured, why wait until it's perfect!? As they say in the temporal mechanics department - there's no time like the present! And now my nerd is showing full force - here's Amanda with her long road to recovery!

How recovering from injury is like training for a marathon - by Amanda Kertz, follow her on instagram at @manda_k_runs

I love the certainty of training for a marathon. You have your weekday runs, cross training, and weekend long runs planned out weeks or months in advance. I follow Jeff Galloway’s run/walk training plans and I love how his plans support runners of all abilities.

Meg, Liz, and Amanda during the Reston 10 Miler in 2015

By following Jeff’s training plan and his tips for avoiding injuries [http://www.jeffgalloway.com/learn/injuries/], I have been lucky enough to avoid major injury during my 15 years or so of running for the most part. That is, until I started feeling pain in my ankle and foot.

It took nearly two years to fully recover from my foot injury. It was beyond frustrating to have to spend so much time not doing the sport I love. My source of stress relief and my social outlet was gone. I went from training for a marathon to barely being able to stand. I was miserable.

How did I get through it? Now I’m normally an all or nothing girl when it comes to exercising – my modes are either “couch potato” or “run all the miles.” But when you can barely stand, let alone run, you have to find another way. I started with finding alternative exercises to running - swimming and cycling. I found friends and family to go to the gym with me. This led to walking without the boot, which led to walking, and adding in some running gradually. After all this time off, I was still able to finish the Marine Corps 10K in October.

The path you take in recovery is the same you take in marathon training. You set a goal for yourself, and take slow, gradual steps to get there. Whether it’s building up mileage before a run or just building up the strength to walk without crutches, the approach is the same. Map out your path to recovery on the calendar and try to get excited about what you are able to do, rather than focusing on what you cannot do. Buy an “I’d Rather Be Running” tee shirt from Sarah Marie Design Studio and wear it proudly!

If you are currently battling an injury right now, I am so sorry! Injuries suck!! Just know that you are not alone. Somewhere between 65-80% of all runners get injured during the year according to active.com.

But runners are mentally tough, and if we can train and race long distances, we can get through our injuries, even really lengthy ones. There will be setbacks, changes in your plan, and times when you need to ask for help. But treating your recovery like you treat your training puts you back in control, and gives you both a goal to achieve and a path to get there.

Amanda at the end of the 2014 Rock'n'Roll DC Half Marathon
Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Reston Style Reboot

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 18:21:00 +0000

In the past few months I have started post after post, trying to get back to blogging, but last night, my new friend Julie gave me the key - I need a process. I need a plan of attack and something repeatable to keep quality content being published with some sort of regularity. Seems simple, right? But in the past when I focused on creating content just to get something published, I really didn't like how empty my posting became... so here's my solution: contributors! You're going to see more activity on this blog, but you'll also start to see posts by some of my friends!

Here's what you can expect to see us post about:

clothes
planners and office supplies
gluten free food
beauty tips and tricks
running
social media - since I get a LOT of questions about how I use it for business
and anything else that strikes our fancy!

Want to make sure you're keeping up with everything fun? Follow Reston Style on Facebook and leave me some comments here! You'll be meeting the contributors shortly!!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Copycat Recipe: Bartaco's Cauliflower Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 19:04:00 +0000

Bartaco is one of my very favorite restaurants. It's so easy for a celiac girl, like myself, to eat there, since nearly everything on the menu is gluten free. In fact, they mark the items that contain gluten with a * rather than marking the GF items (hint: it's the quesadilla, and the desserts) . It's a taco loving, celiac's dream! Surprisingly, even though I'm totally a carnivore, the cauliflower taco there is my absolute favorite. It's really, really simple, so I decided to recreate it at home!

Step 1: Roasted Cauliflower

two heads of cauliflower
2-3 tablespoons of avocado oil
salt, pepper
hot hungarian paprika (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450. Break down the cauliflower into bit sized pieces and discard the leaves and stems. Place the cauliflower on a baking sheet and toss with the avocado oil. Then season generously with salt, pepper, and paprika. Bake for 20-35 minutes, tossing after 15 minutes.

Step 2: EASY Romesco Sauce

1 jar of roasted red peppers
1/2 cup of slivered almonds
1 teaspoon chopped garlic (I buy jarred, but you could sub 3 cloves, minced)
2 teaspoons of sriracha sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
cilantro

Toast the almonds over medium heat in a dry frying pan for about 10 minutes. I use my pampered chef food chopper to make this, but you could also use a food processor. Chop the peppers, garlic, cilantro with the food chopper then combine in a bowl with the vinegar and sriracha. When the almonds are toasted, chop those and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Then slowly add the oil while stirring. This sauce should be tart and just bit spicy, so adjust the vinegar and sriracha to taste. It's best second day, so make it ahead if you can!

Step 3: Toasted Corn Tortillas

Pampered Chef again has the perfect tool for heating up corn tortillas to perfection.... The pizza stone!! Simply pop your pizza stone into the warm oven for the last 10 minutes that your cauliflower roasts and place 4 tortillas on the pizza stone and flip them after 2 1/2 minutes. If you're making more than 4 tacos, place the warmed tortillas, wrapped in a cloth napkin, in the microwave to stay warm. Wait? I'm not the only one that uses their microwave as an insulator, am I?

And Now, TACOS

This part should be common sense, now that everything is done, build your tacos! Just fill each tortilla with cauliflower, top with romesco sauce (be generous!), and garnish with cilantro. You could also add chopped onion on top, but it's just a bonus! Bartaco also has some amazing hot sauces that you can buy to take home that take these tacos to the next level. But they're so yummy on their own that I always gobble them up before I remember to top them with hot sauce! Let me know what you think of my Bartaco copycat recipe!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

did you know that I like tacos?

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 18:35:00 +0000

Tacos are the new basic food du jour. They're right up there with pumpkin spice everything (gross), Starbucks, leggings, North Face jackets, and outfit of the day blogs. But are tacos really a new thing, or are we just taco-bouting tacos more? Bad puns. So fun! Seriously though, if you know me at all - through social media or IRL - you know that my taco game is strong. Tacos are literally my favorite food, and I've embraced my love of tacos as part of my identity. And that is why I am writing this post and planning on sharing a couple of taco recipes and restaurants with you.

I've wanted to resurrect this blog, but I haven't really found the passion to write. I've tried a few times to craft posts, leaving them as drafts, and then again with my post about my break up, but it's not worth it to me to write fluff. Quality is much more important to me. And so here I am, posting photos of tacos and planning to share the recipes as a way to jump back into blogging.

Diablo Shrimp Tacos from Sunbasket and Fish Tacos at the Hilton Anatole

Taco Bamaba Tacos and homemade Bartaco copycat cauliflower tacos with romesco sauce

And since I'm now responsible for making my own drinks too... You may see a cocktail recipe on the blog as well. Like these tasty spicy watermelon margaritas from Bartaco.

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

June Beautycounter News

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 19:30:00 +0000

All sunscreen is back in stock and ready for you to take to the beach or pool! Feel free to message me or comment here and I can help with ordering or order through my site: beautycounter.com/lizbadley

Beautycounter June 2017

To view this email as a web page, click here.

Liz Badley

Director

Beautycounter

lizbadley@yahoo.com

liz.badley@gmail.com

www.beautycounter.com/lizbadley

www.facebook.com/LizBeautycounter

571-238-6682

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please email me
at liz.badley@gmail.com.

the only constant is change

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Tue, 16 May 2017 18:17:00 +0000

I guess I have to begin where this all begins, at the end. After what feels like a lifetime, though officially dating was more like 5 or 6 years, my relationship with Reid ended.

That's a really hard sentence to write because as much as we both want to continue a friendship, at the moment, it feels as though our entire relationship has ended. No matter how many times we tried to discuss the future, our plans, what we wanted from the other - nothing changed. Our relationship was frozen; we were stuck in a loop. Neither one of us really getting what we wanted, but neither one of us wanted to let go either.

And then I did let go. It wasn't planned and it wasn't pretty. And, while I miss everything about actually being with Reid, and am mourning the loss of that, and the loss of what I thought our future would eventually hold, I'm finally feeling hopeful again. This massive change, opened my eyes to other areas of my life where I was letting things happen instead of taking control and making them happen. It felt like being a kid and getting a new pair of shoes that were just a bit bigger to grow into. At first, the new shoes, the the larger size, felt awkward and big. Maybe they even caused a tumble or two. But then after wearing them for a week, when you try to put on the smaller sized shoes again, you notice just how tight and restrictive they were. Your tolerance for that feeling goes away, and suddenly, you crave the extra room, that change that felt uncomfortable at first, in all aspects of your life/pairs of shoes.

Clumsy as that metaphor is, it's the only way I know to explain how I suddenly couldn't tolerate other aspects of my life that I had been putting up with for a long time. I realized that I have to take responsibility for the situations I'm in. After all, if you don't like where you are, move - you're not a tree!

I posted this when I bought myself this necklace, but I wasn't really ready to put it into action until the about a week before Leadership Summit. Nothing in my life was feeling right, but I didn't want to make the classic "break up" mistakes of cutting my hair, dying it a funny color, or even moving (which I still think about). But I was ready to start closing some chapters of my life in order to start new ones. And, more importantly, I was ready to start investing in myself. I realized that I was truly the only person responsible for my own happiness.

Leadership Summit came and went, faster than a hurricane! I can't even begin to explain how motivating it was to be there. It renewed my passion for my company's mission and has given me the confidence to believe that anything, yes ANYTHING is possible. And the possible becomes probable with a good plan and a little work!

And while I am hopeful, I can't say that I quite feel good yet. I still have a ball of anxiety in my chest that I can't seem to shake, but I'm working through it. I'm practicing gratitude and surrounding myself with friends and other people that lift me up. I'm also asking for what I want in a way that I haven't before. I'm doing it fearlessly, willing to give up what I have in order to design the life I want. It's something that I really wasn't practiced in before.

I have always been one of those people that wants to take the load off for others. Sure, from the outside I must seem like a "go-getter", but it's always with caution. I am very much a creature of habit. I'm loyal to a fault and like to stay within known situations. But with this change, this major disruption, I'm bravely seeking out the next step. That includes coaching a new summer swim team this year - The Herndon Hammerheads, the heart wrenching decision to leave my home at the Herndon Aquatic Club and search for a new swim club that can accommodate my availability, going back to school, and working to grow my Beautycounter business and spread our mission wider.

It's such a paradigm shift from being stuck to living in the midst of change. (that probably explains the feeling in my chest :) ) But, as one of my amazing swim moms said to me "the only constant is change."

(And tacos. Tacos are a constant!)

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

May Beautycounter Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 15 May 2017 19:25:00 +0000

Read more for everything that's coming from Beautycounter this May!

Beautycounter May 2017

To view this email as a web page, click here.

Liz Badley

Director

Beautycounter

lizbadley@yahoo.com

liz.badley@gmail.com

www.beautycounter.com/lizbadley

www.facebook.com/LizBeautycounter

571-238-6682

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please email me
at liz.badley@gmail.com.

Take the Job

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 20:57:00 +0000

Raise your hand if you always thought direct sales looked like a cute little hobby, but didn't believe that there was actually money to be made.

*raises hand and types one handed*

Seriously, my hand is totally up here! In fact, I had proof in not one, but three tries at it. No matter how much I loved the products, how many trainings I went to, I just never felt driven to go into peoples homes with a bunch of stuff and pitch it. (Now, with two of those businesses, I was lucky enough to break even, but one was a major loss...)

So when I heard about Beautycounter, I was super interested, but my past experience made me say "thank you, but no thank you" when Jen, now my managing director, told me she thought I'd be great at Beautycounter and asked me if I would be interested in learning more. She accepted my answer and seven months later, I decided, on my own, without ever being asked again, that it was worth a shot.

But what she should have said is "take the job, Liz, you have nothing to lose."

Why Beautycounter? Why did I think it would be different?

Well, over those seven months I kept thinking about what I had learned during that very first social. How the US hadn't passed a law governing the industry since 1938. I kept thinking about how, when I ran out of everything, I wanted to buy Beautycounter. And here's the biggest one: I kept telling people about Beautycounter. I wasn't even using the products and I would chime into normal conversations about product recommendations with information about Beautycounter.

I made my first purchase as a birthday present to myself - 4 products: Nourishing Cream Cleanser, Nourishing Day Cream, Hydrating Face Oil, and Nourishing Eye Cream. And actually the day that I placed my order, I contacted my friend who I was ordering under and told her that I thought I wanted to sign up. She dropped off her set, so I actually got to start using the products that night!

The skincare blew me away. It was amazing and luxurious to use. But I felt good using it too. Knowing that it was safer for me.

And that was when it hit me.

I wasn't drawn to Beautycounter because I'm passionate about skincare. Honestly, I'm not. I like it, but sometimes I go to bed with my makeup still on.
I wasn't hooked by the business opportunity. Yes, I loved the idea of direct sales and working for myself. But I had tried and failed at that.
It was the mission. It was the fact that the company was focused on doing good as means to do well as a business.

It's still work, but it's worth it

Some people pitch direct sales as a way to make extra money without adding in that it does take some effort. It is work. But, you know how they say when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life? Well, that's mostly true with Beautycounter.

If you love building and maintaining your current friendships, making new friends, and being a trusted resource in an important conversation about product safety, then you should Take the Job.
If you're looking for a flexible way to make some extra money while sharing an important mission, then you should Take the Job.
If you love skincare and makeup, then this is the perfect high end brand for you and you should Take the Job.
If you're unsure you'd be good at the job, but are curious, and think a discount would be nice, you should Take the Job.
If the only thing that is holding you back is that you don't think you have the time, then Take the Job and you'll make the time.

There really isn't anything to lose with Beautycounter. It's $85 for a full year, no hidden fees like website or back end system. You get a 44% savings(up to 53% savings right now with our current team specials) when you start with the products you need anyway. You're supported so that you start off strong and can build and grow a successful business, or just work enough to pay for your own products. And if you decide it's not for you, well, then you'll be turned into a member and get all the amazing perks of that program! 15% back in product credit on purchases, special sales, and free shipping on orders over $100! So... is it time for you to Take the Job?

Subscribe to Reston Style Like Reston Style on Facebook

Whole30 - Round 2 - Days 8-14 (the slip)

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:33:00 +0000

Do you know how awful it is to rope a bunch of people into doing their first Whole30 with you, only to get to the END of day 14 and CHOOSE to slip! Yes, I CHOSE to slip up. I can't even tell you how bad I felt about it, and I'm not trying to make excuses, but I want to just write how it happened. But let's talk about the first part of week two first, since it was unremarkable and somewhat easy!

So week 2, according to the Whole30 Timeline is the "why are my pants tighter!?"/boundless energy stage. I definitely had some stomach discomfort this time around, but no bloating/pants tighter moments. In fact, I already notice how trim my waist is looking! I also didn't get too much extra energy, but that could be because I'm only getting about 6 hours and 20 minutes of sleep a night these days! I have been working really hard to keep up with running 3-4 times a week and swimming twice a week. The plan is to phase in 2-3 strength sessions a week as well, but after two the first week in January, zero happened last week.

My schedule has been jam packed with training, coaching, working, more coaching, teaching, and Beautycounter most nights, so Whole 30 was sort of at the back of my mind this week. I guess that's a good thing, since I was sort of an autopilot. I forgot to photograph and even document on here all the food I ate, so that's why my chart has some blank spaces. I was totally compliant until Sunday night.

The week kind of flew by. On Friday night I had about an hour to kill before I had to get to the pool for our high school meet, so I went to Target to pick up "packaged paleo" for my trip to UMBC for the weekend. I got dried and dehydrated fruits, apple sauce, sparkling water, and larabars for in a pinch. Then after the meet, I hit up another grocery store and picked up the ingredients to make One Lovely Life's chicken zucchini poppers. I made them as soon as I got home, thinking they would be good to bring with me for lunches over the weekend. Good? No. They were AMAZING! I'm so happy to have them in my line up! But it meant a super late night for me, and an early morning run to squeeze in 16 miles before heading to take the kids to the meet.

Day	Breakfast	AM Snack	Lunch	PM Snack	Dinner

Day 8:
Monday
venti black coffee and a banana
Dragon Eye Oolong Tea
taco meat stuffed poblano pepper with guacamole and a clementine
a banana
shrimp, sweetpotato hash, and sliced avocados and tomatoes
Day 9:
Tuesday
grande black coffee and a clementine
3 clementines
6 Nom Nom Paleo Asian Meatballs, an avocado, an orange, and an apple with almond butter
Deer Park Sparkling Black Cherry Water
beef stuffed poblano pepper with a side of lemon garlic roasted red potatoes
Day 10:
Wednesday
coffee
Asian meatballs and potato wedges with smoked paprika
Day 11:
Thursday
coffee
an avocado, an orange, and left over potato wedges with smoked paprika
beef stuffed poblano pepper, sauteed zucchini, paprika potato wedges, and strawberries with almond butter
Day 12:
Friday
coffee and peeled snacks post swim
Asian meatballs, sauteed zucchini, paprika potato wedges, and pomegranate seeds
sauteed zucchini, chicken zucchini poppers (from One Lovely Life), and chopped avocado.
Day 13:
Saturday
during my run: coconut water, post run: coffee and 3 clemintines
grilled chicken, plain burger with yellow mustard, tomatoes and a pickle at the swim meet (coaches consessions)
salmon and broccoli at Olive Garden (gluten free, requested no butter)
Day 14:
Sunday
hard boiled egg, scrambled eggs, sausage*, apple with almond butter, and coffee
chicken zucchini poppers on a salad of butter lettuce and tomato with tessamae's balsamic dressing
THE SLIP: Red Robin - bacon guac burger (with mayo and cheese - a BIG NO-NO), and french fries with ranch

For the weekend I think I both under and over packed on food. I over packed fruit, so I under ate my veggies. I also was feeling a bit cocky. Up to this point, my Whole30 had been pretty perfect (not that there is such a thing - Perfect Whole30) and I was feeling really good. Post run I just ate some fruit, but I demolished my burger and chicken breast at the meet, and felt pretty great about traveling.

Then Olive Garden happened. See, here's the thing about chain places with gluten free menus. One will be super good, or you'll have an amazing experience with a caring server at one location, and then the other makes you feel like you should turn and run. I got the "turn and run" vibe from the one that we went to on Saturday night. I looked online at their allergy menu - which I should say is fairly extensive - but if you want to avoid gluten, dairy, and soy, you can't also avoid grains. The only gluten, dairy, and soy free options were GF pasta with meat sauce. So here I was, faced with my first stressful food/celiac/Whole30 dilemma of the weekend. First things first, Whole30 is a choice, celiac is not. I had to make it clear to my server that my meal had to be gluten free. Period. I ordered the salmon with broccoli and asked for her to mark it as a gluten allergy in the computer or whatever she needed to do to make sure it would be gluten free, and I requested no butter as a preference. My head coach also ordered the salmon with no special requests. They came out looking exactly the same with nothing to differentiate between mine and his. I prayed that meant they were both gluten free, ate my food, and haven't had any outward symptoms... I think... (I should probably do a post on how I didn't notice the majority of my celiac symptoms and how many are silent... another day) I also had salad with oil and vinegar.

Okay, so I did the best I could... right? Maybe. So the next day was actually spectacular. The 12 and under girls, though prepared to eat there, were so happy when there was a grocery store across the street from the hotel, and we didn't have to do Subway for lunch! We go up and got them sandwich fixings (so these girls, all three of them only eat turkey and cheese on bread - no condiments! Can you believe it!?), fruit, some salad for me, and some milk. The girls did a wonderful job choosing healthy things and making their own lunches. On Sunday I didn't even go up to the coaches concessions and stuck with my salad with chicken poppers and tessamae's dressing. But despite all the fruit I was eating, I was feeling somewhat low on energy. I can only chalk it up to my macro nutrients being out of balance. And let's face it, I'm a starch girl! I had run another 3.1 miles that morning and was really feeling it. So I decided at 5pm, that when we went to Red Robin, I was going to eat french fries.

But then I thought about the rules... You have to start over if you mess up... I couldn't justify the fries and move on, so I figured, if I was going to mess up, I was going to mess up big!! I ordered my burger (in a lettuce bun) with cheese and mayo (the way it came - holla guacamole bacon burger!) and my fries with ranch dressing. That's 4 violations of the Whole30 - 1)comfort food - the fries, 2)soy - the fries and mayo 3)dairy - cheese and ranch 4)SWYPO - because I would have liked ketchup and sweet relish as well!

I've gone back and forth a million times between feeling horrible guilt, being okay with slipping (and choosing to slip), wanting to outright quit, back to just being bored with eating well and wanting to climb back into the comforting arms of my sugar dragon. Since my slip, I have been numbering my photos with both my "should be" day and my "start over" day - because I'm not sure if I have the energy to start completely over. I have been thinking about adding 5 days, adding a full week, and just letting it go. I really would like to keep my diet 90% Whole30 even when I finish, I just am mentally really struggling with the disappointment. It's very much like how I felt when I looked back on my running year last year and how I didn't really run for myself.

The upside to this is that I truly believe that you get to choose how you feel. I am choosing to let my slip go and move forward, even if I don't yet know how exactly that is going to look.

My advice to other Whole30-ers: Though the rules say - 100%, no excuses. This is supposed to be something that makes you feel empowered. So choose to feel that way, and if you slip, pick yourself up and move forward.

And now I'm going to take my own advice.

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Whole30 - Round 2 - Days 1-7

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 01:20:00 +0000

Okay, so here we are, at the end of day 7 of my 2016 Whole30. This round has been both harder and easier than last year's round. First, I know that I can do it. So that's actually really nice! I also know what to expect. I know that the first week and a half is hard, but that it gets better. I also remember running really, really well. Like out of my mind good. So I am excited for my running to feel that good again. The other difference is, this time I am training for a full marathon, not just a half.

Just like last time, I am documenting my food on instagram. It's nice to have people comment and ask about what I'm eating. I am so part of a larger group that is doing the Whole30 together. Six of us started together on the 4th, and another 2-3 are starting on the 11th, and yet another group is starting on the 18th! It's nice that people will still be in it when I finish, because HOPEFULLY, I can stick to a mostly Whole30/paleo diet! Though I am REALLY looking forward to a cocktail at Bartaco when I am done!

I want to do a whole separate post about running 20 miles, just for fun, but I do want to mention that when you are adjusting to a lower carb diet, your muscles sure do feel it! I was absolutely amazed at how much easier it felt to run after I switched from water to coconut water in my water bottle. Of course, it could have felt hard because I was still super sore from adding some weight training last week. But that's another post too!

I have to say that the best thing that you can do to ensure success with the Whole30 is have food ready all the time. Since I'm not much of a breakfast person, but don't take lunch until 1pm, I am usually pretty hungry by the time I get home for lunch. So I will eat a meatball or two cold while I cook everything else. I also spent day zero and day seven cooking for the week. Each time it meant meatballs, but at least they were different flavors. (last year I made pineapple jalepeno meatballs multiple times!)

So here's a chart and photos of what I ate in week one. I will update with recipes as I post them!

Day	Breakfast	AM Snack	Lunch	PM Snack	Dinner	Dessert
Day 1: Monday	tall black coffee + banana (from Starbucks)	2 meatballs (while walking the puppy)	Meatballs, zoodles, 1/2 Avocado, small baked potato	Dragon Eye Oolong Tea	lemon chive braised potatoes rainbow chard, steak with chimichurri sauce	a spoonfull of almond butter and strawberries
Day 2: Tuesday	pre run: 1 beet, post run: grande black coffee (from Starbucks)	three meatballs and 5 beets with balsamic vinegar, salt, and olive oil	leftover lemon chive potatoes, rainbow chard, and meatballs with chimichurri sauce	Dragon Eye Oolong Tea	leftover steak with chimichurri sauce, a baked potatoe with ghee, and roasted broccoli with lemon and garlic	a spoonfull of almond butter and 3 strawberries
Day 3: Wednesday	grande coffee + banana (from Starbucks)	3 meatballs and some leftover roasted broccoli	more meatballs (like 10 more), more broccoli, and some beets	Dragon Eye Oolong Tea	beats and avocado with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, paprika homefries made in ghee, and the last of the roasted broccoli	nothing
Day 4: Thursday	Grande Starbucks Coffee	a cup of Lipton Tea	2 meatballs while I cooked, 4 pieces of bacon, 5 mushrooms sliced and cooked in bacon fat, a bunch of spinach and baby kale sauteed with the mushrooms, and half an avocado. Followed by a cup of strawberries! (I was hungry)	nothing	baked potato and meatballs	nothing
Day 5: Friday	apple and almond butter before practice, coffee and peeled berry apples after practice	nothing	baked potatoe and half an avocado	Tevana Joy Tea	bacon, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, baked potato, and avocado	nothing
Day 6: Saturday	half a banana before 8 miles, half a banana and some coconut water after 8, apple sauce packet and more coconut water after 6 more, black coffee after the final 6 (total of 21.49 miles!)	nothing	roasted broccoli and cauliflower with bacon, half an avocado, and a banana	raw veggies at a swim meet	roasted broccoli and cauliflower with bacon, pepper "nachos" stuffed with ground beef, and guacamole	apple sauce packet
Day 7: Sunday	big English breakfast of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, hashbrowns (with homemade ketchup!), and bacon with some orange slices and black coffee	black coffee	nothing	raw veggies at the swim meet and an apple with almond butter	stuffed poblano pepper (with meat from pepper "nachos") and some Asian meatballs with sauteed spinach and kale

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Recap of Running in 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 14:30:00 +0000

My #2015bestnine were all running photos, so it makes a great header for this post! 2015 was an interesting running year for me. I raced a LOT, but I didn't really run for myself. I was just running. I'm not really sure why, but every time I showed up at a race, I decided to run with someone. Sometimes it was decided way in advance, but sometimes it was just me deciding to run with someone instead of running on my own and pushing. I just didn't feel like pushing.

All year I was focused on my marathon. Scared that I couldn't duplicate a sub 4 hour finish, and also wanting to make sure that my entire team hit their goals. Only once in 2015 did I feel like I was really racing, and that was the Firecracker 5k on the 4th of July, but it was totally unintentional. I was tired and sore from a 5 day run streak and a 10.7 mile long run the day before, so Reid and I were just going to run. But I was feeling good, so I set the pace with two miles under 7:30. We eased up on the third mile and I still PRed by 13 seconds with a 24:18. It was also my only sub 25 5k in 2015.

I was pretty pumped after that, really ready to tackle my marathon training, but then... I got injured! Doesn't that always seem to happen?! It started as a small twinge in my adductor muscle. But it went away after I warmed up, or maybe I was better able to tolerate it after I warmed up, or maybe I was lying to myself because I didn't want to be injured. I ran injured for a month. I didn't just run though, I ran a lot! Finally, when I was having trouble walking, I took 21 days off. Luckily it was enough to ease back into running with much less pain, and no pain after a week! BUT mentally it took everything. It shook me and I didn't think I'd be able to chase a marathon PR after being so injured.

Luckily my 20 miler with TNT helped boost my confidence, but it still didn't make me chase after a marathon PR. I rounded out 2015 with three 5ks, one with Reid, one pacing one of my 10 year old buddies, and another pacing her mom, and with a PR for Amanda at the Fairfax 4 Miler. While it wasn't a year that I raced for myself, I had a really consistent year of training. Below, you can see my monthly graph, but to show my consistency, I've shared my weekly graph too. You can see that I only missed those weeks in August that I took to recovery from my injury.

Here are all of the races that I did (and planned) for 2015:

1/1/2015 - New Year's Day 5k - 26:02
2/8/2015 - Run Your Heart Out 5k - 26:40
2/14/2015 - For the Love of it 10k - 52:51
3/1/2015 - Reston 10 Miler - 1:42:58
3/14/2015 - Rock'n'Roll USA 1/2 Marathon - 2:08:47
~~3/22/2015 - Run for Haiti 5k~~
~~3/29/2015 - Reston 1/2 Marathon~~
4/12/2015 - Rock'n'Roll Raleigh 1/2 Marathon - 1:57:21
4/26/2015 - GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler - 1:24:55
~~(5/9/2015 - Lake Anna 1/2 Iron Triathlon)~~
5/10/2015 - Mother's Day 4 Miler - 36:50
~~5/17/2015 - Marine Corps 1/2 Marathon~~
5/30/2015 - We've Got Your Back 5k - 26:46
5/31/2015 - Reston Sprint Triathlon - 1:23:59
6/13/2015 - Twilight 4 Miler - 33:52
~~6/14/2015 - Eagleman 70.3 Half Ironman Triathlon~~
~~(6/21/2015 - Run with Dad 5k)~~
7/4/2015 - Firecracker 5k - 24:18 **PR**
8/23/2015 - South Lakes 10k - 53:21
9/13/2015 - Nation's Triathlon, Sprint -
9/20/2015 - Navy/Air Force Half Marathon - 2:28:20
9/26/2015 - Diva's Half Marathon - 1:57:11
~~9/27/2015 - Perfect 10 (miler)~~ - DNF
10/11/2015 - Army 10 Miler - 1:34:40
10/25/2015 - Marine Corps Marathon - 4:10:06
11/26/2015 - Turkey Day 5k - 26:27
12/6/2015 - Run with Santa 5k - 29:26
12/13/2015 - Frosty 5k - 31:02
12/31/2015 - Fairfax 4 Miler - 35:09

I re-read my goals post from last year (here) and I totally missed the mark. I talked about running with intensity and I think I mistook that for volume, which lead to my injury, and then lead to my loss of mental focus.

Here were my 2015 goals:

Goal 1: 1 race per month - CHECK! I remember the first time I made this goal, it seemed tough! Now I am actually looking at doing less racing in 2016. But I'll get to that!
Goal 2: 30+ miles per month - DOUBLE CHECK! In fact, my lowest mileage month was February. I even it 30+ miles in August taking 21 days off!
Goal 3: two speed sessions per month - maybe...? I should have better identified what I meant by a speed session.
Goal 4: PR the 10k - nope. I didn't even try... but... I PRed the 5k, which I didn't think I'd be able to do, let alone without really trying!

So now what?! Well, my mom gifted me e-coaching with Jeff Galloway for Christmas! I am so excited! It's 6 months of coaching, and I just sent in my initial information with the races that are already on my calendar and some time goals. I am going to let him lead me toward which distance I should focus on and what I should do to run better.

I love CONSISTENCY, and while INTENSITY didn't really work out, it's still a pretty good idea, but this year's word is FEARLESS. I want to fearlessly chase after my running goals. I want to fearlessly put in the work and attack 2016 fearlessly, even if it means I fail at first and fearlessly have to try again. :)

Running Log powered by RunningAHEAD

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Whole30 - Round 2 - meal prep, day 0

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 00:01:00 +0000

I love calling the day before something, day zero. It's just fun to think of the day before the first day as day zero. So here we are, day zero of my second Whole 30 and I am both confident and nervous.

I started the day with a 15.3 mile run with Lauren. I only had 10 on my schedule for the day, but since Amanda had decided not to run, I asked Lauren if she wanted to try for 15 today. We waited until 9am to get started, but it was still pretty chilly. Luckily the dogs needed to go out as well, so we took them for the first 2.5 miles, then dropped them, as well as a layer, off at the house. I felt great during our run, but was exhausted after!

I pushed through my exhaustion and spent the afternoon doing a kitchen clean-up. I threw away every sauce/dressing in my fridge that isn't compliant, because I figure they're at least a month (but probably more like 4 months) old, and after 30 more days I might as well buy new ones! I also put away all of my spices and rubs that aren't compliant and inventoried all of the one that I have.

Then I shopped. I didn't want to go over to Trader Joe's to pick up ghee, so I bought some unsalted european style butter and made it! Never again! It wasn't hard, but it was time consuming. It's much easier to just buy it!

I also got everything to make my favorite meatballs, lemon chive potatoes, mayo, and deviled eggs!

My first Whole 30 meal - zoodle-ghetti and meatballs!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

New Year's Day 5k - 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 15:30:00 +0000

The New Year's Day 5k has been a tradition since 2013. I haven't really gone out for New Year's Eve since then, aside from stopping by the Melting Pot for New Year's kiss with Reid, but with a 10am start time, I think I could do the New Year's Day 5k, even if I did go out the night before.

I woke up late, especially for me, on New Year's Day, took Penny and Otto out, and then headed out to pick Amanda up around 9:30 for the race. I had been thinking the day before about how I didn't really run any of my own races in 2015, and the last time I really ran for myself was in 2014. 2014 also started with a surprise sub 25 New Year's Day 5k (24:59), so I kind of got it in my head that I wanted to go sub 25 this year and get my running started off on the right foot!

One thing that I wasn't really prepared for was the fact that they ran the course in reverse from previous years. It worked out SO WELL! It was way less crowded going down to the trail! I felt pretty strong during the first part of the race, but started my intervals about 5 minutes in. I ended up splitting a 7:07 first mile. I eased up on purpose for the rest of the race, not feeling super great, realizing at that point that I had forgotten to take my pre-race gu, and the chips and salsa I had for dinner were not enough for my muscles to recover from the night before. The course change also kind of threw me for a loop because it felt like we were on the trail longer than usual, when in fact, we were just on the trail later in the race. I'm not used to being on the trail for so long after the second mile marker!

I decided to run the last quarter mile of the race, after coming up the hill exiting the W&OD trail. When I took my split at the 3rd miler marker I was in just over 24 minutes. I knew that I would be under 25, as long as I pushed. It made me think that maybe I should have pushed a little more through out the whole race, because my legs were sore and I didn't have my final kick that I usually do. I crossed the line at 24:58, just squeaking by under 25 minutes and one second faster than in 2014.

It has me excited to really focus on myself and my own running this year, but I am working on a separate goals post, since I have a lot to organize!

All in all, I am super happy to kick off 2016 with a great run! Later that day Reid and I went to see Star Wars for the second time and then out to lunch. It was an absolutely perfect start to a new year! Happy 2016!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Fairfax Four Miler - 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 20:51:00 +0000

So here we are, another year, and another year of running, in the books! It's a lot to think about actually, so I'm gonna start with the race and go from there.

First, Amanda actually signed up for a pacers race that got cancelled earlier this year. To make it up to her, they gave her two free entries, so I actually got to run the Fairfax Four Miler for free! It's always fun to get to run a race for free!! So she and I signed up for it, but she actually wasn't sure she was going to be able to run with the rest of her New Year's Eve plans up in the air. Luckily everything worked out.

And talk about luck, everyone at my office was leaving at 3pm on NYE, so I asked if we could close early, saying that I would take PTO for my last two hours, and my boss said YES! It was so nice to get some extra time to get ready for the race (and rearrange all the furniture in my upstairs, but that is another post).

Amanda went the day before and picked up our numbers. Pacers assigns numbers when you pick up, so that's why our numbers are sequential, and it turn, I picked up our numbers for the New Year's Day 5k. I picked up Amanda at 5 to head to down town Fairfax for the race. I guess its been a while since I've been there (a year, in fact!), but I was amazed by the cute little courtyard that they have next to the town hall now! They had the splash pad fountain on and Pacers had a photographer doing a photobooth in front of it! I was hoping that they would have the photos up, but they only had a sneak peek, luckily though, one of the thirteen photos they choose was of me!

After Manda and I did the photobooth we were just waiting around, enjoying the DJ, when the Cupid Shuffle came on!! I was kinda dancing by myself, bobbing around in one place when Manda and I just started doing the whole dance. About one round in and we had 2 more people dancing with us. By the end of the song, there were at least 20 people dancing! It was so much fun, and a great way to warm up for the run!

Then, just as we were going to line up, Manda spotted Dale! We said quick hellos to her and lined up for the race. I knew that I wanted to push the 5k the next day, so I decided to run with Amanda. We agreed on doing 90:30 second intervals and "taking it easy"... Well... sort of!

Amanda has been practicing pacing and taking splits with her watch, but we didn't see any mile markers on the course until mile 3! I think we were both looking for white "A-frames" like PR uses, but Pacers has switched to the flags. Theirs happen to be dark blue, and at night, they were not very noticeable at ALL! Looking at my Nike today, we split 9:35, 7:59, 9:03, 9:08. Our final mile we did 60:25 second intervals and I picked it up a little when I saw the finish, hoping Amanda would follow. But then a guy I ran up on picked it up a little, and I can't hold my self back from a challenge... so I took off! I finished in 35:09 and Amanda came in behind me at 35:20, a 1:23 PR for her! It was a great way for her to end a year of PRs! According to Athlinks she PRed EVERY DISTANCE this year!

distance	race	previous PR	2015 race	New PR	time drop
5k	2012 Firecracker 5k	27:24	Run Your Heart Out	26:40	-0:44
4 miler	2014 Twilight 4 Miler	36:43	Fairfax 4 Miler	35:20	-1:23
10k	2014 Herndon Festival 10k	1:04:52	South Lakes 10k	58:39	-6:13
10 miler	2012 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler	1:46:02	Reston 10 Miler	1:42:58	-3:04
half marathon	2012 VA Wine Country half	2:29:22	Rock'n'Roll DC half	2:08:47	-20:35
marathon	2012 Marine Corps Marathon	5:10:15	Marine Corps Marathon	4:55:42	-15:33

The only one that I am not totally sure about for Manda is her 10k. I know that she ran a couple before 2011, but I can't seem to find any results online. Also, technically, she PRed the 10k TWICE in 2015, I just listed the faster of the two times. Since we're both doing the GW Parkway 10 Miler this year, I suggested she go after a 10 mile PR this year!

So that was the Fairfax 4 Miler. It was a quick little race, and a great way to end the year! I'm so glad that I have done it every year since 2010. You can read about the past years here: 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Planning for the Whole 30 - 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 20:33:00 +0000

Last January I did the Whole 30 for the first time! I feel like I was incredibly successful, especially for where I was starting. You see, I am a junk food-a-holic. And while celiac disease is awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, it's silver lining is that I can't just go through a drive through and get fast food any time I wish. And I can't indulge on packaged party mix, every appetizer on TGI Friday's menu, and even worse, all of the frozen versions in the grocery store! But it doesn't mean I don't still eat junk food... I have certainly found gluten free fake foods to satisfy almost every junk food craving. Almost. There's no gluten free Burger King Whopper, but I digress.

Recently I discovered Lance Gluten Free Sandwich Crackers.I bought 4 boxes of each flavor, each with eight 1oz packages, and ate them inside of a week. Yes, it satisfied a 3 year craving, but it really was ridiculous. I have also slipped back into stopping by 7-11 for snacks. 7-11 and gas station convenience stores are a strange weakness of mine. They have delicious chips and snacks that you can't find anywhere else. My current favorite: Chester's Fries.So you see, I have work to do!

Luckily, I can eat these horrible, awful, fake food items, and it doesn't really effect my body on the outside. I won the genetic lottery and, like my dad, can eat pretty much anything and stay around the same size. But just because my BMW CAN run on regular gas, doesn't mean it should; it's designed for premium fuel. And that is what the Whole 30 is about for me. It's about re-setting my body so that I can optimize it. Because, I'm fairly certain that I could feel way better than I do currently. And I'm sure that my diet plays a large role in how I feel. In fact, I went to an acupuncturist and pretty much had that confirmed, but that's a story for another post!

Never heard of the Whole 30? Start at their site with the program rules: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/, it will give you a quick gist of the program. Basically it is a 30 day way of eating that can reset your body, change your relationship with food, and give you an over all health boost. There are rules, like no sugar and no comfort foods, but the meat and bones of it is eat... well... meat, veggies, and fruit. Eat healthy whole foods.

In order to stay accountable last year, I insta'd the crap out of everything I ate. Not that anyone called me out for not posting a meal, but it felt fun to post everything that went on my plate and into my belly. It also got people commenting, asking for recipes, and kept me talking about the fact that I was doing the Whole 30, why, how I felt about it, and that helped me stay accountable.

Not to tangent too much, but I really like sharing what I am doing, even if it means I'll have to share how I failed at it later. See, if I say "Oh, I'm going to do this thing." Then later people ask me about it, I can a)tell them my progress, what I am learning, and how its going. b)thank them for reminding me that I was going to do that and it inspires me to get back to the plan. Or c)it gives me a chance to say "yeah, I changed my mind, but now I'm doing..." So that's one of the reasons why I love sharing what I am going to do, what I'm doing, and what I've done.

Here's a recap of last year's Whole 30. You can click on each image to see the post:

I think the key to my success last year was meal prep and planning. This year it will be a little tougher, because I'm not doing the program with Lauren living in my house. It was nice to have someone to share the cooking and meal planning with. But I certainly won't use that as an excuse to fail!

Here's a little list of things I will be repeating for 2016:

Meatballs - these were awesome to have in the fridge ready to go for quick meals!
Breaking the bacon rule - you'll notice that I have bacon. That is my one rule that I am breaking. There is a tiny bit of sugar in my bacon, but I need it.
flavors and sauces - my meatballs were different flavors, I made chimichurry sauce, mayos, ketchup, and salsas to keep things interesting
Avocado - This healthy fat is a staple of my diet during the Whole 30, let's hope they're 10 for $10 again this January!
Success

And here's a list of things I will be doing this year:

I will make a whole chicken in my crock pot and make my own bone broth
less fruit
less almond butter (I had almond butter and bananas nearly every night for desert)
more foods - I feel like I ate the same old things every week, so I plan on more variety this time around
more cooked veggies

I am so excited to dive into this again in 2016!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Gluten Free, Chicken Zoodle Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 10:30:00 +0000

I would love to say that this is a totally new recipe, but I'd be lying. It's just a variation on my tortilla-less tortilla soup that I have made here and here. Only this version is even lazier and easier, but it's just a yummy!

Ingredients:

1 64 oz box Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock
1 can fire roasted tomatoes (I use Safeway's kitchen brand)
Juice of one lime
teaspoon dried cilantro
3 frozen chicken breasts (or one pack of breast or thighs)
4 zucchini
2 cloves smashed/pressed garlic
optional - jalepeno peppers
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Dump everything in your crock pot except the zucchini and cook on low for 7 hours. I even put my chicken in mostly frozen because I didn't have time to fully thaw it. Shred chicken with fork after 7 hours and add zucchini sliced or zoodled (I use this Pampered Chef Veggie Strip Maker to make zoodles!) and cook on low for another 20 min to an hour. Personally, I like my zoodles just a bit warm, but still firm,so I just let them get warm in the broth and served myself up a bowl. :)

I have read different opinions about whether or not you need to thaw chicken before you crock pot it, but I have to say that every time I have the intention to thaw my chicken, I end up throwing frozen chicken in the pot and it cooks up just fine! So be lazy, put that frozen chicken in and just let it cook away!

I also always have a slight freak out when I open the pot lid after 7 hours and look at the delicious smelling soup. You see, it looks like boiled chicken breasts in broth with tomatoes. Just trust me that it's gonna be awesome and shred that chicken up with two forks! (But this is the reason the other versions of this soup that are linked have pre-cooked chicken. That, and I like instant gratification!)

Another variation would be to braise the chicken in just the tomatoes, lime, seasoning, and garlic for 7 hours on low and then, pull the chicken, add the broth and zoodles, and call it soup! Basically, you can't mess this soup up!

Other Variations:
click on the image for the link to the post!

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Army Ten Miler 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 17:03:00 +0000

Me, Lisa, Kristin, Amanda, Tess, Erin, and Lauren

We had quite a turn out for my 9th consecutive (8 on the books), Army Ten Miler! The ATM in 2007 was my very first race over a 5k distance (and I had only done two of those before!). I went to the expo with Diana, picked up my mom's bib, showed up for the race, and ran with no training. I could barely walk for the next two days, but I was hooked and determined to run the following year and ROCK it, and I did!

The Army sure knows how to throw a race! One of my favorite things about this race is seeing all the military teams from all the bases that come to compete. It really is an Army event that they let civilians participate in!

The Good: Organization, inspiration, and spirit! This race does all of this so well! The Expo is so well organized that it's super easy to get your bibs and t-shirts! They didn't even have a limit on how many bibs you could get, so I ended up picking up 8 in total!! I know people rag on the armed services, but man does the Army put on a good race! And 10 miles is the BEST race distance there is! It's long enough to be a huge accomplishment, but it doesn't take all day. My absolute favorite part of the ATM is the DJ that comes to the expo and is at the finish area.
The Bad: The only bad thing about this race is how crowded and congested the course gets. They do use a wave start, but the waves are so large that the crowd doesn't really thin out. Its much easier if you are running with your same pace, like I have in years past, but this year was tough because we were trying to do around 9:30s and had to weave through the crowd to maintain, even though we were lined up in that pace group. Its possible that they need to go to a provable time system, not an honor system, for waves.
The Ugly: Gatorade. What do I mean? Well, they had PLENTY of water (yay! They ran out of water in 2009 and I have been telling everyone slower than 10 minute miles to carry their own water in the ATM every since), but they only had 2 table of gatorade and they weren't well marked, at each stop. That's not a huge deal, but I missed them. But they also RAN OUT of gatorade later in the race. But, for an ugly, that's a pretty okay one to have.

After rocking my 20 miler, I wanted to take it easy for the ATM. Usually I race the ATM hard, but with the up and down marathon training season that I have been having, I just didn't want to push anything. It's really been a roller-coaster of feeling invincible and feeling unable to ever run easily again. At this point, I had also decided to try to pace a group to a 4:20 marathon, so practicing an easy 9:30 pace was the plan for the ATM.

We, me, Kristin, Lauren, Amanda, Erin, Tess, and Lisa, all lined up together at the back of the blue wave, right about where a 9:45-9:30 pace should be. Kristin, Amanda, and Tess all stayed together for the most part, while Lauren, Erin, and I ran together.

I paced Erin and Lauren at an easy run speed, running a bit more than usual, and pacing around 9:40 at the start of the race. We did a lot of course based running - running down hills and through flat sections, and taking walks during natural slow downs, like congested areas and up hills. I go back and forth on taking walk breaks from the beginning or starting them a mile into the race. I am leaning towards working on a longer run interval, and hopefully a faster per/mile average as I work on my training for the spring season!

We ran into Cecily at the start of the race and again about 3 miles in. She was running with a friend of hers, but it wasn't going well for him, so we passed them around that point. It stayed congested on the course in a way that was unexpected to me. I had to constantly check behind to make sure that Lauren and Erin were with me. I am sure that it's been as congested in years past, but running alone, I just focused on my intervals and my tangents. It was very different to focus on a group.

Around mile 5 we switched from 90:30 intervals with a lot of course based running to 60:30 intervals with a push every other run. But it was nearly impossible to do the pushed with the crowd along independence. We did, however, run into Cecily again around mile 8 and she ended up finishing the race with us.

I still love the Army Ten Miler, and while it was fun to run with the girls, I think next year I'll run it as my own race again. 10 miles just seems to be my perfect distance and with the crowd, I think it's just easier to focus on your own race.

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Out for Blood's 20 Miler

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 19:26:00 +0000

LB, Kelli, Jackie, me, Amanda, Lauren, Kristin, Joanna, and Jess

Talk about an emotional weekend. Hurricane Joaquin sent a precursor rain event to the DC area on Wednesday that lasted through Saturday morning and left the weekend's weather as a HUGE unknown for all of us scheduled to run our longest training run of the season. We were all checking for weather updates, debating about running with the team on Saturday morning, or switching to Sunday, and remembering the last time we skipped a Saturday run for "better weather" on Sunday (post linked).

But as Hurricane Joaquin's trajectory was unknown as of midday Friday, we were alerted that most of the area's race organizers canceled their events for the weekend (including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, where LB and I were set to volunteer at the expo that evening, and several of our TNT teammates were scheduled to run on Sunday), AND that our coaches had decided to change our 20 mile run day and time from 6:45am on Saturday, to 8:45am on Sunday. And then, the storm turned out to sea. I certainly don't fault anyone for having a cautious attitude about the unknown weather, but I was a little bit of a nervous wreck on Saturday, and from 5am on Sunday morning, just waiting for it to be time to run. I also felt really bad for the people who missed out on their event.

But the TNT coaches MADE UP for everyone who missed out AND made the MCM team's 20 miler AMAZINGLY special!! When we arrived at training, they had bibs for everyone, they sent the 20 milers out, and then set up race corrals for the half marathoners.

I had a plan for my 20 miles. I was going to take the first 5 out easy, around 10 minute miles, then descend to 9:30s for 5, descend again to 9:00 for 5 miles, then run 5 more miles easy. The coaches had set up the course to be 5 out, 5 back, 5 out the other direction, and 5 back. It was a nice way to run and never be too far from support! I started out running with Amanda, Lauren, and Jess, but there was a little bit of grumbling about pace (even though we were right around 10 minute miles), so I decided to just run on my own and leave them. I picked up mile 5 to a 9:00, cooled my jets a little on mile 6, then caught sight of Jackie, who was straight running, and decided to pick it up to catch her.

I didn't really know how the 20 miler would feel, and I wasn't expecting anything great out of myself, so I decided to just run on feel. The W&OD trail is marked every 1/2 mile, so I took manual splits on my watch and tried to keep my half miles around 4:25, but I wasn't holding myself back at all. Here are my mile splits:

Mile	Split
7	8'40"
8	8'51"
9	8'44"
10	8'09"
11	8'18"
12	8'25"
13	8'05"
14	8'36"
15	8'58"
16	8'52"
17	8'29"
18	8'29"
19	8'58"
20	8'59"

It might look like I started to die at mile 15, but I actually made the conscious decision to slow down, as per the plan, but then I saw the girls on their way out and sped up to around 8'30" again, then caught some of the guys that started a head of me, and finished in with them. It was crazy how amazing I was feeling. I don't think I have ever felt that good in a long run at that pace, ever! In fact, I hit 20 miles at 3:00:14 on the clock, 6 minutes faster than I did 20 miles in my 4:09 marathon.

I ran 60:30 second intervals for most of the long run, dropping to 45:30 at mile 14.5, so my run pace probably stayed pretty consistent, even when I changed my intervals! (I LOVE 30 second walk intervals!!! Here's Galloway's info about them)

After refilling my water, I headed back out with coach Craig to get the girls. I was feeling pretty good and I know he runs straight through, so we did half mile run repeats with 30 second walk breaks until I caught up with Lauren, Jess, and Amanda, about 2 miles in. Wouldn't you know, those miles were 8'17" and 8'45"! Once I finished up with that group, I went back out to get Kristin and Joanna. All in all, I added another 7.31 miles at a 10'40" average to my 20.58 miles at a 9'00" average. It was seriously my best long training run ever!

This marathon training season has been one of the most up and down training seasons of my life. First, I felt invincible, training more days than I ever have before and PRing the 5k! Then I was injured, with the worst leg pain I have ever had, yet I was still able to run amazing paces through the pain. Then I took 3 weeks off and was uncertain about everything! Slowly I got back to my training, making sure to take it easy, only running 3 days a week. And then I run the most boss 20 miles of my life! In fact, if you swap out my three slowest in my 20 for my 3 fastest in my 7, I was ahead of my 20 mile time from last year's marathon!

It's been a wild ride of confidence and uncertainty. :)

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook

Diva's Wine Country Half Marathon - Pacing Allison for her Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Reston Style) — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 15:31:00 +0000

Posing with the MRTT Reston/Herndon Chapter - yes, the let non-moms join!

After swearing that I would never do another race out in wine country, I signed up for the Diva's DC Wine Counrty Half Marathon since Allison (of Life's a Bowl) wanted to do it for her birthday! All in all, I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But then again, I knew what to expect from 1)a race in VA wine country (I ran the Destination Races Virginia Wine Country Half in 2012 and it was a horrible experience), and 2)reports from last year's Diva's race. I was however, pleasantly surprised by some of the things about this race company, and while I won't do this particular Diva's race again, but I wouldn't rule out the organization all together.

The Good: The support. Diva's had at TON of water and a TON of medic support on the course. It was awesome how well stocked each water stop was. I also really liked the idea of a mostly female race and can see why a lot of people might choose a Diva's race for their first (either 5k or half). The course was well marked and fairly well staffed.

The Bad: The price. Not only was this race expensive, but I felt like they nickel and dime you along the way as well. You pay a pretty steep price for the entry fee (over $120) and then they want you to pay extra for VIP parking (which we did). So it was essentially more than $10 a mile for this race. And while the expo had plenty of clothing and cutesy stuff to offer, there wasn't anyone there selling gu or sport beans. I usually like to be able to pick up last minute race day nutrition at expos... so there's that. This is basically a race/expo/experience for women looking for a one and done race. Not an experienced runner.

The Ugly: The course. UGH! This was one of the most challenging half marathon courses I have ever run (and it was my 18th half). I feel really bad for the women that pick this Diva's race as their first half marathon. While I said I wouldn't rule out Diva's as and organization, I DO NOT recommend this race to anyone. In addition to the challenging hills, non-scenic scenery, and uneven terrain, it was an impossible course for spectators! Sure, there were some people out in the neighborhoods, but there were long stretches with nothing. I don't run for cheers, but they sure are nice towards the end of a half.

Bottom Line: Pick another race. Unless you're looking for a very expensive, well stocked, hill training run, then by all means - pick this race.

me and Allison before the start

Poor Allison! The entire week leading up to her birthday race I bugged her with texts like "what pace do you want to run?" and "what were you thinking you wanted to finish in?" While she maintained the entire time that she just wanted to "stay injury free and have fun." Which is actually the perfect way to go into ANY race!! From texting back and forth we decided we'd go for around a 9:30 average pace to hit right around 2:05, unless it felt really good or really bad, then we'd re-evaluate. I had originally said that I'd pace her to a PR (sub 1:55) for her birthday, but after hearing about the course, Allison's bad experience with the Leesburg 20k, and my own injury, I didn't want to risk anything bad happening just 4 weeks out from the Marine Corps Marathon.

Basically, if a race happens out side of Reston, I'm a stressball about it. I'm worried about being late, about making sure I have enough time to hit up the portapotty several times, and about the course. So, when they said that we had to be parked by 6:15 (for a 7:30am start time), I took that to mean that we needed to leave Reston at 4 am. Crazy, right? I forced myself to calm down and say 4:30, but then Allison needed a ride, so Jackie met me at my house at 4:30 and then we went to get Allison. It put us right behind the MRTT girls that left Herndon at 5:30, so for all my worrying, things were fine!

We spent about 45 minutes in the car, taking walk breaks to go back and forth to the potties twice, then headed to the start area around 7am. Of course, once we got to the starting area, I had to jump in the potty line again. I don't know what it is about a race, but it makes me have to pee every 10 minutes before it starts!

Then it was time to join the girls of MRTT (Mom's Run This Town - a FREE running club of all women that are AMAZING and welcoming, even though I'm not a mom! It's awesome!!) for some group photos! (like the one at the top of the post). When we lined up in the starting waves, I think a lot of us were anxious to get started. They did a count down to the start several times, and then had us all do the cupid shuffle (which you know I LOVE!!), then counted us down again and we were off!

me and Allison in front of the start

Allison snapped these within the first mile or so of the race

The second the race started our "take it out easy and run a 2:05" flew out the window. Allison and I ran a lot of the first mile, hitting it just under 9 minutes. Since it felt relatively good, we changed to our intervals of 90:30 seconds and kept our run pace quick. Even with the challenging hills of the course, we stayed under an 8:45 pace for the next 5 miles.

Those hills though! My ankle was really tight and quite painful through mile 2 or 3. I remember really feeling it, wondering if I could even finish the race, and then all of a sudden it was gone and I was feeling pretty good. I also made the mistake of not taking a gu before the race started, so about 2 1/2-3 miles in I had my first one of the day and it was magical! It's amazing how nutrition can make or break a run! I am not a morning eater at all, but I know I should start trying to eat something before I run.

At mile 7, Allison and I switched our intervals to 60:30 and it was at this point that we started passing women who had passed us in the early miles. We had slowed down a bit too, alternating hilly miles around 9:00, and running down hill miles around 8:45. I don't know if Allison was nervous at all, but around mile 8 I started to check in with her about her knee every few minutes. I was so worried because in previous races she'd run around this pace, she's run into her knee locking up right around this point. BUT this was her first interval race, and she kept assuring me she was absolutely fine! It was exciting to hear!

I was feeling a lot of exhaustion within the last mile, sure that we were going to be sub 2, I stuck with my intervals and let Allison run ahead once we neared the finish line. We finished in 1:57:08 (Allison) and 1:57:11 (me)! It was a great effort on a really great day to run! I'm so happy that I got to run with Allison for her birthday race and pace her to a second best half marathon time and a postpartum PR! She was great company and I enjoyed running with her so much that I've decided I'm going to run the Marine Corps Marathon with her as well.

After the race, I chilled out the rest of the day and then headed to Il Fornaio in Reston Town Center to celebrate Allison's birthday a little more. It was such a fun day/night! :)

Subscribe to Reston Style
Like Reston Style on Facebook