A Day In The Life

Happiest Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to kick off the week ahead. Alex's parents are still here so we'll be spending more time with them and doing lots of touristy things (which I love). 

I decided to document my Wednesday last week, so here ya go!

5:00AM My Alarm Goes Off. I hit snooze. Brady is cuddling on my chest and I'm definitely NOT ready to get up yet. 

5:09AM My alarm goes off again. Still not ready to get up, but feeling a bit more wide awake after having a VERY vivid dream of birthing a child. Yeah that seems really painful and so glad I don't need to worry about that for a few more years. Mommas out there- I don't know how you do it! 

5:17AM Ok, Ok, I'm ready to get up now (just before my snooze alarm comes on again). I tip-toe around the bed and into the bathroom. Alex is still asleep so I try to get ready quickly (and quietly). Brady hops onto the Vanity and keeps distracting me from getting ready. I've got my running clothes ready to go and my Garmin is charged. I wash my face, pull my hair up, unplug and put on my Garmin, and sneak downstairs. 

5:21AM Wow it'd be really cool to do a blog post about my day. So I start jotting down my day from here. 

5:25AM My bags are already ready to go for the day (along with my breakfast & lunch), so I pour my coffee and creamer into my travel mug, feed the cats , put Stella's food in a travel cup (she's coming to work with me today), and do a few light stretches. I think I'm going to be out the door on time at 5:30. Yes!

5:30AM I wake Stella and let her outside and attempt to carry my gym backpack, lunch box, and coffee in one trip. Brady tries to sneak out the door (I successfully block his escape), but then I remember the hall light is still on so I stretch to turn that off (success. also I should probably win some type of balancing award for these things). Then I remember that I forgot to grab my car keys *just before I close the door* phew! Good save. 

5:37AM After the multiple leaving mishaps I'm now of course running late. Oh well. Stella is along for the ride so that makes it less stressful. On route to the gym!

6:03AM I *swear* I didn't speed, but got to the gym roughly around the time that I wanted to. YAY! I collect what I need for my run and have an internal debate whether or not I should wear my Noxgear reflective vest (it'll get light out in ~20 minutes). I decide to take it. 

6:07AM I head out for my run and leave Stella in the car. Since she's getting older, running isn't her favorite activity. Sleeping or eating is definitely her top choice. 

6:25AM Wow, what a beautiful sunrise! I'm so glad I didn't hit snooze for the third time. Everything is so quiet first thing in the morning!

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6:30AM I think that was the fifth raccoon I've seen beside the road dead. I wonder if we should police this section of the road more. Maybe I can alert the police or animal shelter about all the dead raccoons. 

6:35AM Wow, these new hokas really are pretty great. No foot pain. No knee pain. And they're so light! 

6:45AM I return back to the car after running 4.01 easy miles. My pace was much speedier today. Must have been the fantastic 47* weather or those shoes. I feel GREAT! I let Stella outside to pee and walk around for a minute. She sniffs a bunch, but no pee. Oh well, she missed her opportunity!

6:47AM I go into the Old Town Hot Springs and change into my swimsuit. This is my new Wednesday morning routine. I like to think of it as Wellness Wednesday. My run was without music too! 

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6:55AM I snap a quick photo for the Runners Love Yoga 10-day challenge by the pool and jump in. I give myself 20 minutes of non-stop swimming. There is only one other swimmer in the lap pool so it's so peaceful.

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7:15AM I swam 18 laps (~1/2 mile of swimming) and am now ready to soak in the hot springs!

7:16AM I enter the Heart Pool (the Natural Hot Spring-Fed Pool) with my currently reading book and bliss out. 

7:31AM Out of the pool and ready to get showered and head to work!

7:40AM Showered and trying to decide what to do with my hair. It really is a disaster. Guess I'll give it a quick blow dry and be done with it. 

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7:45AM A quick brush of BareMinerals Mineral Veil (I normally use foundation too, but I'm out and have been pretty lazy), eyeshadow, and liner. Good enough- I'm running late! 

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7:50AM I'm on the way to Starbucks, but when I get there the drivethru line is crazy. I take it as a sign and head to work. Oh well, maybe I'll treat myself later today!

7:55AM I get to work early so I take Stella for a short walk to stretch our legs and get ready for a day of (mostly) sitting. I multi-task and post a photo of my Yoga Challenge on Instagram.

7:59AM I arrive into the office and heat up my breakfast (Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow Frittata) in the microwave. Soooo tasty! 

8:01AM- 11:57AM I'm in full work mode at this point. Nothing really to record. Just a bunch of answering telephones, emails, entering sales orders. Pretty boring. 

11:57AM I take Stella out for a short walk and head back inside to get my lunch ready (Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow Superfoods Soup & Pretzels & a banana). Wow taking down everything you do for a day is exhausting!  

12:45PM I head out to my therapy appointment. This is something *new to me* and I'll be sharing all of my reflections with it soon! My therapist is actually a counselor and I got really lucky that I liked her on my first try. I know it can sometimes be really difficult to find one that works well for you. 

1:55PM I got out early (yay) and always like to treat myself with a little something afterwards. I really dislike going (similar to going to the dentist), but know how important it is so I like to have something fun to look forward to afterwards. Today, I was feeling like a small passion tea lemonade & a chocolate chip cookie from Starbucks. She also gave me a bunch of things to work on for the next week, so homework it is!

2:10PM-4:55PM I get back to work and back to the grind. Answering emails, getting the mail out, and organizing fills most of my afternoon. 

4:56PM I gather up my tote & Stella and we head home. I call my mom on my drive home because I haven't heard from her in a few days. 

5:27PM-7:04PM I'm home! Brady & Maple are all over me and I really need to pee. I'm also starving so I open the bag of Newman's Own pretzels and snack on a few while I prep my lunch & coffeemaker for tomorrow. I begin to clean up the kitchen (Alex's parents arrive tomorrow and things are still a mess) which then flows into cleaning up the house, cleaning the litterboxes, feeding the animals, watering the plants, putting clean sheets on the guest bed, vaccuuming everything, setting out my clothes for tomorrow's run & workday. 

7:05PM Alex arrives home and I realize I STILL haven't gone pee. I've been so busy cleaning everything up that I totally forgot. We chat about our day for a bit and he calls his parents to check in about their arrival for tomorrow while I finally make it to the bathroom then begin my strength work.

7:15-7:35PM I'm tired, but still power through my strength stuff. Normally I would have added in 3 rounds of each exercise, but I still haven't eaten dinner and I'm just ready to relax. I do 2 rounds of: 10 x Plank Crunches, 20 x Planks with moving 8 Ib weight from side to side, 5 x bicycles held for 10 seconds on each side, 20 x monster squats & steps with band, 10 x push-up to burpees, 10 x single-leg bridges, 15 x single leg calf raises. 

7:37PM I head downstairs to see what we have for dinner tonight (it was a "leftovers" night), but quickly realize that we somehow ate all of the pasta that went with the meatballs (this never happens) so I improvise and make the rest of the Trader Joe's Black Bean Rotini.

7:45PM We have it with some butter, leftover Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow Trot Meatballs (made with red meat rather than Turkey) and a slice of bread. 

7:50PM - 8:45PM We relax and watch a few episodes of Friends. We're on season 7 (one of my favorites!)

8:46PM-8:55PM Alex does the dishes and I take Stella out and close the shades to get ready for bed. The cats are going crazy (this is honestly their favorite time of the day) sprinting from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor and then back down. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and change into my pajamas

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8:56PM-9:15PM In bed finally. I jot down three things that happened to me today in my journal and cuddle up in bed with my book. Alex joins me a few minutes later. Reading at the end of the night before we fall asleep is our favorite way to relax. Sometimes the cats are still going crazy at this point and tonight is no exception. Brady entertains us for a few minutes bounding from one side of our bed to the other and using Alex's stomach as a trampoline. After several giggles, lights are out and I'm asleep within 5 minutes. It's been a busy day!

What's a typical day look like for you? 

Anyone else have any cats that love nighttime?!

 

What Training Differences I'm Making NOW For That BQ in 2020??

Happy Friday EVE! What's everyones plans for the weekend?? Alex will be away (he's "casually" hiking a section of the CDT with his co-workers as part of their Border to Backyard Rally project...they're trying to clean up the colorado section of the CDT) and I've got my first official "long run" of my Vegas Marathon Training Cycle on Saturday (a 10 mile progression run)! But other than that, I'm not really sure! I'd really love to make it to the pool to swim either Saturday or Sunday because I haven't been in a few weeks and maybe baking something delicious (thinking something smores-related sounds pretty amazing)? Any tasty dessert recommendations you have for me to make? I'd really also like to get in a hike this weekend, but not really sure where. 

TBT to hiking in Dinosaur National Monument a few years ago!

TBT to hiking in Dinosaur National Monument a few years ago!

SO, I've previously put it out there that I'm going for a BQ in 2020 ((to run the Boston Marathon in 2020, so I'd need to qualify before September 2019) because that's right before my 30th Birthday) and I wanted to share with you some of the changes that I'm making during THIS marathon training cycle to set me up for success come 2019! I think that qualifying (for me) will not happen overnight and It won't happen if I just train for a 3:30 marathon, I've got to make some other SMALLER changes to help bring some BIG results.

Coming for you Boston Marathon in 2020!

Coming for you Boston Marathon in 2020!

  • Incorporating Yoga 1 x a week --> Yoga helps stretch me out, release stress, and prevent injuries when your muscles get too tight from running so many miles
  • Strength Training 3 x a week --> When my mileage ramps up, I want to still be consistent with my strength training because you can't just expect to run more and still gain muscle
  • Intuitive eating --> This is a new one for me, but I'm already seeing big differences in how I feel each day! I let my cravings guide my choices and eat more often (on the regular), so I never have the feeling that I need to "overeat" because I always know I'll be eating again in another 2-3 hours. If I'm craving salt --> I eat something salty (normally I find that that's our bodies way of telling us that it needs something)
  • Progression Long Runs --> focusing on getting those negative-splits come race day
  • Tempo Runs in the early evening --> to help prepare for and simulate race day (this also includes eating (relatively) the same thing that I would be on race day!

What's your favorite type of cookie? -->probably chocolate chip right from the oven! yummm...

What are somethings you're doing different in your next training plan?

Ever done a thru-hike or section of one? --> I never have, but I LOVE reading thru-hiker books

Catching Up & I'm Feeling *TWITCHY*

Happy Friday-eve! I hope you have some fun plans this weekend!! I'm traveling solo down to Copper tomorrow afternoon. My 50k begins at 7am Saturday morning! I cannot believe that it's already HERE! Also, I'm excited to start getting back into the swing of things as far as a training plan/ schedule/ looking forward to Fall adventures (is it OK to look forward to Fall/ cooler weather when we're still in the midst of Summer?!?...maybe I just jinxed us and winter weather will be unusually terrible this year)! I'll post my goals for the 50k tomorrow, so make sure to check back!

I've been packing for my race/ putting together a playlist/ updating my garmin/ will be getting my race day nails ready tonight! What are your race day necessities?!? Alex is backpacking with the boys this weekend and taking Stella, so I'm honestly super looking forward to Sunday morning (I'll drive back home Saturday after the race) when I don't need to worry about taking Stella out super early and can literally sleep the entire morning away (if I want). I have NO IDEA how I'll be feeling after my race (thinking super sore, but who knows), so I've scheduled next week to either include all rest days/ a few rest days just depends on what my body needs! 

I'm also feeling pretty twitchy this week. My runs feel a bit stiff and I've really had to hold back on my paces --> this is my nice little sweet twitchy spot that lets me know I'm ready to RACE! When my legs want to go fast and my body feels a bit tight --> race-ready!

Sunrise views from my run yesterday morning!

Sunrise views from my run yesterday morning!

Alright, so I've been feeling just ugh lately. I'm not sure if it's a delayed post- MS Run The US blues, raging hormones that won't go away for weeks, or just stressed/bored/ etc.? I've felt bloaty for weeks and just a bit blue. I know I've gained back some of the weight I lost during my relay week (which was good because honestly I was too thin by day 7) so that could be contributing to the bloaty feeling, but I've also had no real desire to eat healthy foods (normally I always do) so I'm eating more sugary things and also just running way less so I have no real outlet to relieve my stress/anxiety and have more time on my hands to do...something? IDK. Maybe I need a new hobby? I'm trying to add in more yoga and meditation into my life, but they haven't really left me feeling "full" and "complete" as they normally do.  

I'm trying to be less strict with myself on following a training plan/ diet because I know taking a break is good, but honestly I feel like it's gotten me down into a rabbit hole of sorts. Maybe I'm just one of those people who needs structure in their life, but all I really know is that I'm so looking forward to training for the Vegas Marathon after this 50k and having some real scheduled things again.

Maybe this is TMI or maybe you've struggled with something similar when transitioning from one goal to the next? Any thoughts/ recommendations/ insights?

How do you know you're "race ready"??