How I filled my Weekend with No Running

No running this weekend meant extra time to catch up on my sleep, relax, and enjoy the outdoors! Saturday was spent by pampering myself with a mani/pedi, farmers market, and checking out the Mustang Round-Up to get my dad a gift for Father's Day.

After getting my nails done and running a few errands, I headed to the gym to do a quick strength session and 30 minutes on the elliptical. 

The gym that I go to also has a hot springs/pool area outside (Old Town Hot Springs if you're ever in Steamboat area) and it's so nice/distracting to be in the elliptical room. Unfortunately the treadmills are facing mirrors, but they do have tv so that's a bonus! After the gym, I headed home and we watched The Jungle Book. It was SO good if you haven't watched it before (the newer release, not the cartoon). 

Sunday was spent getting 10 HOURS of sleep then eggs and heading out for a hike out the Sarvis Creek Wilderness.

We hiked out 2.5 miles to Sarvis Creek, where there's a few different spots with small beaches/ rocks to relax on. We were the only ones here and it was so gorgeous out! We ended up meeting 20+ people on our hike back down, so we timed it just right. Stella found a GIANT stick and loved launching herself into the water to retrieve it (water was just a tad too cool to swim in).

She's really very skinny when she doesn't have all that fur! 

After the hike, we headed home to make lunch (pb 'n banana with popcorn for me) and finish up packing before we leave Wednesday afternoon! We are driving to Maine and are hoping to arrive there very late Friday night. So excited to have some r 'n r and see our fam!

How was your weekend?

Running or no running?

Anyone taking any fun vacations anywhere?!

Life Unstructured

Finally it is Friday! This week was really long/ also kinda felt like it flew by (if that makes any sense at all)?? I did my first TRX Strength training class at Steamboat Pilates studio and it was HARD! It also reminded me that I definitely still ran a marathon last week since I was still kinda sore in my legs. My arms are pretty sore from it too, which is awesome because I have always wanted nothing more than super strong/toned arms! Someday maybe...

I caught a ride in to town yesterday with Alex and brought my bike! Oh how I've missed being able to bike commute to work- it's so peaceful and lovely (especially when the weather is nice out).  

I made this amazing salad for lunch with sunshine raspberries (got them at Trader Joes- I've never even seen raspberries this color before!), candied pecans, and baby spinach. It was delicious, but I was hungry for something else and followed it up with siggi's mixed berry & acai yogurt. 

Rewind to breakfast this morning, where I made this deconstructed smoothie bowl with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, almond butter, siggi's yogurt, cinnamon, honey, and chia seeds. IT WAS AMAZING! 

I'm kinda really loving the non-structured feel of this week. Don't get me wrong I really love training plans and schedules, but sometimes it's nice to take a step back and do whatever feels good in the moment. Want to go to a work-out class, then go! Feel like taking the dog for a long walk by the river rather than going to the gym, totally fine! 

It's refreshing and a little crazy (for me) to just do whatever I want! I don't have to work 50 hours a week right now between 3 different jobs and can sleep-in if I want rather than only having one time where I need to get my sweat on. 

I'm definitely missing running right now, but know my body and mind need at least a week off from it before picking it back up again. Running 26.2 miles is no joke and should be taken seriously. 

Probably lying low this weekend, packing, getting my manicure/pedicure (treat to myself after the race), enjoying the beautiful sunshine, farmers market, hiking one day, and possibly renting a SUP to go on the lake one day- typical Steamboat things! Happy (almost) weekend!

Enjoy a training plan or live life unstructured?

Do you jump right into another training plan after finishing one or take some time to reboot?

Any fun plans for the weekend?!

Importance of SLEEP & all the food

Hi Friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was two beautiful, sunny, cloudless days here and I did.not.want.it.to.end. On Sunday, we went into town to do some sightseeing and visit a few of the shops. The Steamboat Marathon was still going on and I felt both sad (this was the first year that I haven't done it since I moved to town) and excited (the energy was contagious and got me pretty pumped for my race next weekend)! It definitely is a small-town race (I did the marathon one year and half-marathon the next two years) and gets to be pretty hot with not a lot of shade along the course, but the scenery is fantastic. HIGHLY recommend if you're looking for an early-June race next year! 

We visited a few of the local springs in town (the one above is Steamboat Spring)- we have a total of 7 natural hot springs in the center of town (only one you can actually go soak in). Unfortunately, the riverfest that we planned on going to wasn't happening, but we made the best of it and walked the town then headed to lunch before relaxing back home! One of Alexs' close friends also had his parent visiting (him & his friend grew up together) from Maine, so we took them all out to eat at the Ore House--> a MUST visit if you are ever remotely close to Steamboat. They have a sunset happy hour menu (5-6pm) and all entrees are typically ~$2 off regular price. I had the green chile chicken and off-course filled up on their all you can eat salad bar and dinner rolls (they have a cinnamon roll flavored one and it's amazing). 

On our drive home, Alex's dad had us stop to get a picture of the pelicans that we have at the lake by our home. They're always there every morning and the gray swan (alittle to the right of the pelican group) is also in this photo! 

Who knew that there were pelicans in Colorado?! This ended our weekend and it was so great. 

I bought some rustic sourdough bread this week and had to have some for my breakfast this morning! Half had a smashed avocado, red pepper flakes, and a egg and the other half had butter & raspberry jam with a side of oj :) Is it just me or does anyone else get even more hungry when they're tapering?? I think it's because our metabolism is still really high from all the miles we've put it through and is trying to play catch-up. Definitely not complaining and I'm trying to eat as much healthy light food that I can!

Met Alex & his dad for one final meal together before he left and of course we had to go to CREEKSIDE! I was torn between breakfast or lunch (they serve both all-day), but wanted to try something new so I got the falafel salad and it was so amazing! After about two hours, I was hungry again so had some fresh watermelon that we got this weekend.

Watermelon- definitely one of my favorite summertime treats. I also managed to squeeze in a short run before lunch (on my lunch break from work) and a few strength moves (did some dips on the assisted pull-up machine and calf raises on the side of a stair). I don't like to completely cut-out strength training the week of my marathon, but do stay away from any leg exercises and focus on just a few core/upper-body exercises to keep myself feeling fresh and strong, but not over-worked. I'll do one more day of a few strength training moves on Wednesday or Thursday, then that will be all before race day on Sunday! I've already started to pack a few things for my race and create a list. Tonight I'll work on  my playlist and packing some food/ more clothes. The more I plan ahead and pre-pack, I've found the less-likely I am to either 1. forget something or 2. stress about the race. I will probably finalize my race-day plan on Wednesday, so I can start visualizing it and feeling confident leading up to the race. We will leave Saturday late-morning for Denver (about 3 hour drive) to allow enough time to go to the expo, do a short shake-out run, drive along a portion of the course, check-in to our hotel, and get some dinner!

Anyone race this weekend? How'd you do?

Any big races scheduled this Summer?

What are some necessary things you do the week of a race?

Snow & last 20 mile training run!

Thursday started off in an unexpected way...SNOW! We got over a foot of snow by Friday evening (thankfully it's almost all melted as of tonight). 

It was not fun to clean off my car again, have freezing fingers since I had put away all my winter essentials, and wear boots instead of cute spring shoes to work. 

Since it was so cold out, I took my easy 4-mile run on the treadmill at a super conservative pace. When it gets this close to race day (3 WEEKS!), I try to take my easy runs slower than I may usually to recover and try to get more sleep. I was also still pretty sore from my speed workout on Tuesday & strength training session Wednesday morning- lots of stretching & foam rolling for me post-run!

I started carbo-loading for my 20-mile run on Thursday night with a delicious pizza from Against the Grain Gourmet (the pesto one is AMAZING)

Friday was Alex's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAE)! So, I started our morning with some cinnamon rolls & bacon (best of both sweet & salty worlds). We met-up for a lunch date at our favorite lunch spot in Steamboat- Winona's (seriously the most amazing Buffalo Chicken Salad EVER) and a walk with Stella. 

The Cherry Blossoms with the snow and blue skies made for a perfect backdrop on our walk! I made my Meditteranean Pasta Dish for dinner & a homemade cookie skillet (topped with vanilla ice cream) for Bday dessert! YUM! I was in bed by 9 and ready to wake up at 4:45 to tackle my last 20 mile training run! 

I like to start out the mornings of my longer runs with Nuun Energy to give me that extra caffeine boost (along with the cup of coffee I have). I also had a half of a banana and some oatmeal before starting my run by 5:45. It was still cold when I started (32 degrees) and overcast. I planned to mix-up my run with atleast half outside and the remaining middle miles on the treadmill to utilize the decline (to mimic the Downhill at Revel Rockies) at goal marathon pace.

My plan for this run included:

• 7 miles outside at an easy pace (10:00min/mi)
  • actual: 7 miles outside at 9:23 min/mi pace
• 10 miles treadmill at goal marathon pace (9:05-9:09min/mi) varying decline (-1% to -3%)
  • actual: 10 miles at 9:00min/mi ; -1% 25 minutes ; -2% 25 minutes ; -3% 25 minutes ; remaining 15 minutes spent climbing the ladder up from -3 to -1 % (each 5 minute intervals)
• 3-5 miles outside at an easy cool-down pace (10:00 min/mi)
  • actual: 4.01 miles at 9:20 min/mi

TOTAL: 21.01 miles at 9:10 min/mi pace

Overall, this run felt so strong and I have no doubt that I could've pushed through the last five miles at just above goal marathon pace. I finished it just a hare off my goal marathon pace and really feel like finishing in under 4 hours is definitely within reach at this race! 

The feeling that you get when you really nail a workout and finish strong is like nothing else. 

I finished the week with 39.01 miles and spent the rest of Saturday napping, recovery with my favorite fuels and foods, grocery shopping, and doing an endless amount of laundry (I honestly feel like it never ends). When I have a family- I can't even imagine when I'll have time to run with the heaps of laundry there will surely be! 

Happy Saturday friends! Off to enjoy some dessert and to bed early :) 

Workout Wednesday

Took the morning off of running (to keep my legs fresh for the race on Sunday), but got in a quality strength training sesh. I started a new strength training routine this morning since it's the beginning of May and I had been doing my past one since the middle of March. I try to switch up my routines (by keeping track in my running journal) every 4-6 weeks, especially during a marathon training cycle since I feel like it helps keep me strong and injury-free.

planks to push-ups

I started out my new routine on the bosu ball- 2 sets of 10 of squats (with 10 Ib free-weights) to vertical arm raises (added in a twist in each direction above my head) & 2 sets of 15 balanced skaters (these are sooo good for us runners, but they are HARD). Then moved to the stability ball and did 2 sets of: 20 mountain climbers with forearms on the ball, 10 pikes with hands on the floor & feet on the ball (SO difficult), and 20 sit-ups with 10 russian twists and 10 vertical arm raises (both done with a 10 Ib medicine ball- above my head). Then I moved onto the 10 assisted Dip machine (I am still struggling with these and it may be my most-hated/hard fitness routine ever) and followed that up with 30 rubber band lateral walking squats. Then did some of my pt exercises on the tension cord pulleys! 

tension cord pt exercises

Then onto some rolling with my R8! Love this thing so much. It is pretty painful (especially if I hit a certain spot), but I 100% notice a difference the next day when I wake up and am not as tight as I would be if I were just using a foam roller. Also just tried this new Kevita Sparkling probiotic- the hibiscus berry was decent. It had a little too much fizz for me personally, but if you like fizzy drinks, I'd highly recommend it!

That's all for me today! Happy humpday!

Do you like to switch-up your strength training routines?

Whats your favorite go-to drink besides water?