Urban Herd and National Running Day !!!!!!!!!!!!

National Running Day 

Who is Celebrating National Running Day (6/6/2018) are you going for a Run ?  

         I got my run in this morning with some friends. 

Urban Herd
Gazelle Sports Urban Herd, A FREE Group run Downtown Holland on Tuesdays at 5:45 PM.  How far do they run ? 3.1-3.8 Miles they usually run a 5k. They have people running all sorts of different paces. They are all SUPER Nice :)  They get drinks at Big Lake Brewery post run (optional). 

I decided that since it was National Running day this week it was a good opportunity for me to try out the Urban Herd. In Holland they meet behind the store, tell you the route, and you are off and running, pretty simple. The group was pretty friendly... being a newbie I had to work a little to make conversation because most everyone there knew each other already.  The group had a few guys that were going a little quicker at the front of the pack, a scattered middle pack and a pretty solid group in the back that were chatting and having a great time enjoying their run. 

If you are looking for a shorter, planned, easy pace run after work/on your way home this is the group to join. 

 https://gazellesports.com/pages/urban-herd-running-groups/

Clean Water

Happy Friday Morning,

So just last weekend had the opportunity to run the Dirty Duel and Support 20 Liters and Clean water initiative.

Here is another opportunity to support Clean Water. Check out my Friend Heidi's Blog and her Goal of running 17 races in 2017 to support Blood Water Mission.

Check out this Blog
https://faithfullytraining.wordpress.com/2017/11/16/run-with-purpose/

Support #17in17
https://fundraise.bloodwatermission.com/checkout/donation?fcid=887645

Dirty Duel 2017

Greetings,

Last week Saturday was the Dirty Duel. It took place at Robinettes Apple Haus in Grand Rapids. So far our fall weather has not been to bad but Saturday morning the COLD decided to move in and it was a whopping 25 degree at the start of the race. EEKS !!! So Cold. We were bundled up into so many layers.

At the Dirty Duel you can choose which course you want to run. The Short and Brutal or the Long and Difficult. We ran the Long and Difficult but we did go back at the end for our cool down to check out parts of the Short and Brutal as well.

For the event I had to opportunity to do a Instagram take over for 20 liters . They are a Non-Profit based right here in West Michigan who's goal is to make water CLEAN for those that do not have access to clean water on a daily basis.

https://www.instagram.com/20liters/

What is something that all runners and athletes need? That’s right water. Check out my Instagram takeover @20liters #20liters #gazellesportsactivator

A post shared by Melissa Jo Schrotenboer (@lovetomovemi) on Nov 11, 2017 at 12:01pm PST

It was a Fun event regardless of the cold and it was fun to do the Intagram take over for 20 Liters. Looking forward to more running and finding some new fun races.

A Great Weekend

Greetings, 

It's been a while since I have posted here, mostly b/c I have been posting on the Cross Country Blog so much. It has been a busy few weeks. We went from the All Conference Meet to the Regional Meet and then on to the State meet.. PHEW !!! So much Running :) We WON Conference, we WON The Regional Meet and we placed 6th at the State meet this past Saturday. SUPER Exciting !!!! 

Posts from The Cross Country Blog
http://hollandchristiancrosscountry.blogspot.com/2017/11/state-cross-country-meet.html

http://hollandchristiancrosscountry.blogspot.com/2017/11/i-am-speed.html

Holland Haven Marathon-Race Recap

Sunday September 10, 2017

First Let me just start by saying we could not have had a better day for running. The weather was absolutely fantastic. Cool and comfortable all morning. This was my sisters first Marathon and my 10th 1/2 Marathon. We LOVE local runs/races so we were super excited to be participating in this event for the first time this year.

This was in the Last Mile over the Bridge and too the Finish !!! 

Yes Mile 13 was a 7:00 min Mile. I don't even know how that happened

The Finish !!!! Deb and I Finished together. 

We ran the entire race together chatting and enjoying the route. 

I had such good company I completely forgot about about the pace.

Post Race Selfie !!

The Cheering Squad/Biker Gang

I have the Best FRIENDS!!!!

Jessica Jumped in at Mile 11 to help pace me to the finish and 

Whitney tracked us on her bike making sure we were well taken care of 

with water and snacks.  

Are you sure this was me ?!? 

I am so happy with how this race went :) 

Training - Run4Prs and the Lydiard Foundation

Race Bling 

Following the 1/2 Marathon we all jumped on our bikes 

and went to find Sara running the Marathon. 

Yep All of Us... Myself, Chris, Jessica & Carl, Whitney & Brandon

Sara had her very own mobile cheering squad !!!! 

The Last Mile !!! Run Brag... she passed a lot of people in those last two miles. 

Pretty sure she was ready to be done with running 

and lets be honest her cheering squad helped as well. :) 

Showing off our race hardware !! 

We both met our running goals at the Holland Haven

Me: Sub 1:40 in the 1/2

Sara: Sub 4:00 for her 1st Marathon

#RunMiWestCoast

So how did we like the Holland Haven over all!!  We Loved it. The Race was very organized and very spectator friendly. There were plenty of aid stations, water and restrooms on the route, and all the stations were super friendly. We will for sure be adding this one to our list or races to run again. 

So Hows the Lydiard Method/Foundation Going ?

Greetings, 

So Training is going well so far. I am not going to say that have been sticking to the plan 100%. I have definitely slowed down in the foundation portion of the plan which hasn't been too bad, learning to make some runs truly easy/recovery is a good thing and has allowed me more miles in a week. The Saturday long run I usually go further then what the plan suggests. I am not trying to do this on purpose it just kind of happens with the group that I run with on Saturday Mornings. We get to running and talking and the next thing you know 13 miles. 

Lets Chat for a moment about part of the plan that is a little different for me "The Hill Set"  I can't really explain it without the videos so here they are for your enjoyment. I want to know what you think.

Hill Set

1. Spring up the hill

2. Jog until recovered at the top

3. Stride down fast but in control

http://lydiardfoundation.org/hill-training-the-lydiard-way/

http://lydiardfoundation.org/steep-hill-running-toshihiko-seko/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VgxsEfeDqk



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fn2Kyf_DyQ

Important Points- From the Lydiard Training Plan

Proceed cautiously as these drills are very demanding on your legs. If you are not used to this kind of exercise proceed slowly by doing just one hill bound on the last hill initially.

On your first session always do one hill set only or about 20-minutes. Add one hill each session until you reach a maximum of 4 or total duration of about an hour. Make sure that you include a good warm-up and cool-down on the top of the suggested time duration.

Don't concentrate on the number of repeats; do as many repeats as the time allows. On your first session, it may be just one uphill in 20-minutes but that's okay. Add one hill each session until you reach 3 or 4; or total time of about an hour.

Hill springing and bounding are forms of plyometric exercise; therefore, the slower you go up, the more resistance will be felt and obtain better results. On the downhill learn to use gravity efficiently by increasing your leg turnover while keeping your chest forward. 

Relaxation is key here.

So What do you think ?

#GazellesportsActivator

#GazellesportsHolland

*disclaimer. 

This is not a sponsored post. 

All opinions are my own 

Oh yes this if FOR REAL !!!!

I hope that your week is going well so far !!!! Now that the Cross Country Season has started life is all about running !!!! Practices, Speed Workouts, Hills, Tempos, Etc.... 

If you are looking for new shoes for your fall races make sure to check out Gazelle Sports. I cant say enough GOOD things about how helpful they are when it comes to finding the perfect pair of running shoes and making sure that work for you!!!!