VO2 max & Jumpboard class!

Hi friends! Happy May! I am almost always training for a marathon in the month of May, so when it hits I know that 1. my race is right around the corner (41 days to be exact) 2. that these next few weeks will be my peak weeks until I begin to taper and 3. I will be hungry all.the.time and it is acceptable to eat all the things!

I was pretty groggy when I woke-up this morning and it was sleeting, but I was determined to not let the weather push me indoors and I am so glad I was persistent! When I finished foam-rolling at the gym, it was just overcast outside and absolutely perfect out. 

I think I maybe met one car the entire 5 miles and really tried to keep my easy run "easy". Does anyone else struggle with this? Since taking iron supplements (I've been on them for a little over 4 weeks), I've noticed that I've been able to run at a significantly faster pace (we're talking 30-50 seconds faster) without feeling like I'm struggling or have any sort of labored breathing and each run FEELS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Thinking I'll make my post about my anemia and kidney infection coming up real soon. Also- I hit a new VO2 max threshold this morning- score! 

Another amazing feeling is finishing a truly easy run and having your Garmin tell you that you have a recovery timeline of less than 24 hours. Does anyone else get super pumped when they see this? It must mean we're doing something right...right?

After my run, I per-usual showed up to work with still wet-hair and heated up my breakfast (2 egg muffins, 1/2 baked sweet potato, and 1 Murray's breakfast sausage). Fast-forward to lunch and I got to go back to Jumpboard class at Steamboat Pilates and Fitness! I LOVE this studio. I mean really LOVE it. They just did a remodel and it looks amazing. The instructors are all awesome and I have learned so much from them about how to engage my core (and hello- I actually have "abs" for the first time). 

I had some of my thai coconut peanut sauce with soba noodles & veggies for lunch along with a side of carrots & spelt pretzels after coming back from class. Hoping to take it easy tonight and have some leftover minestrone soup, find HGTV's Fixer Upper on (hopefully! I am slightly obsessed with Chip & Joanne Gaines), and foam roll! 

Here is a link to a great sight that I used to look up where my VO2 max stands for my age and gender. Running for Fitness also does a great job at explaining what factors go into predicting your VO2 max and what it is exactly. 

Do you have any big Monday night plans?

Do you use any VO2 max calculators or rely on your running watch for any other stats?

What's your favorite cross-training running workout?