Accountability Monday: 12/11/2017 + StrideBox Giveaway!

Good morning, friends!

It's quite chilly here in the mid-Atlantic this week so grab a cup of coffee- or hot chocolate if that's more your style- settle in, and check out all that happened this past week, plus, the awesome folks at StrideBox are giving away a cool prize to one of my readers- how cool is that?!

Training
Tuesday: 3.1 treadmill run, 37:59 overall time
Wednesday: strength training (10 reps x 2)- push-ups, squats, clam shells, glute bridges, side-steps with resistance band, crunches, superman
Saturday: 5 miles, 11:58 overall pace
Sunday: 13.1 miles, 12:46 overall pace + strength training (10 reps x 2)- clam shells, glute bridges, crunches, superman, side steps with resistance band, hip extenders with resistance band

21.2 total miles

Positives of this week- completed two strength sessions and got in the mileage I wanted (20+ miles). Room for improvement from this week- fueling. My long run on Sunday was miserable from mile 4.5 on. I was hungry, cold, and tired. I thought I'd eaten enough before I started running but I clearly did not as the later miles were ugly. This will be something I work in the next few weeks before WDW Marathon Weekend.

It might look pretty, but it was an ugly training run.

Best Run
Saturday's 5 miler felt great, even though the temperature was in the 30's! Being able to maintain a sub-12 minute mile pace for anything over 3 miles is a reason to celebrate in my book. 😍

Bravo Moment
Ever since I attended Altra's Run Better Clinic as part of the Runner's World Half & Festival Weekend, I have been working on incorporating all the techniques I learned to improve my running form. Seeing some pictures from this weekend's run gave me some photographic evidence that my form is indeed getting better! I can definitely feel a difference when I'm running and using the techniques so it's cool to actually see a difference. I still have some room to grow but overall, I'm very happy with my progress.

Heel strike? What heel strike?!

Runner Gift Wishlist Items of the Week
Yaktrax has another great offer for you this week, this time on the Yaktrax Run (35% off until 12/16/17)- these feature actual cleats that attach to the bottom of your running shoes that assist with traction in ice and snow. I used these a ton last winter when we had significant amounts of snow and was able to get all my miles in without sacrificing any safety concerns.

Please note that by purchasing through the link above, not only will you get a sweet discount but I may also earn a small commission through the Amazon Associates Program: Sparkly Runner is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. [If you aren't comfortable with that, you can always head over to amazon and search for "yaktrax run" instead. 😊]
Looking to purchase a gift for the runner in your life that keeps giving all year long?

No, no, it's not the Jelly of the Month Club- it's a membership to StrideBox!  StrideBox is a "monthly subscription box to fuel your running adventures." Each box is filled with runner nutrition and accessories, curated for a wide variety of runners. The best part? Each month is a fun surprise! I love getting my box each month and discovering what's inside- it's usually super cool. 
Especially for blog readers, StrideBox has some awesome discount codes for you to use this holiday season!
Use the code SPARKLYRUNNER10 for 10% off 3 or 6 month gift subscriptions. 
Use the code SPARKLYRUNNER5 for $5 off your first purchase. 
Both discount codes are valid until 12/24/2017. 
And because StrideBox is especially awesome, they've partnered with me to give away a prize to a lucky blog reader! 

Wanna win this? Read on below.

To enter: 1. Follow @StrideBox and @SparklyRunner on instagram. 2. Leave a comment on this instagram post with what running product keeps you running. 3. Winner will be drawn randomly. - This giveaway will run from 12/11/17 to 11:59 pm EST on 12/17/17.  - Winner will be direct messaged on instagram on 12/17/17. - Winner must live in continental US.  Winner will be announced here on next week's Accountability Monday post. Good luck! 
Quote of the Week Here's hoping the crappy training runs set up an awesome unofficial Goofy Challenge in a few weeks! 

Have a great week!