Workout Wednesday & Marathon Naps?

Started out the morning with a nice 30 minute total body strength training session, 10 minutes of foam rolling, and 20 minutes on the bike! 

My work-out this morning included:

• 2 sets of 15 squats on the bosu ball with 10 Ib free weights (with bicep curls transitioning to tricep extensions overhead)
• 2 sets of 15 curtsies on the bosu ball (15 on each side)
• 2 sets of 15 single leg deadlifts with 10 Ib free weights (15 on each side)
• 2 sets of 10 reverse v-ups (not sure what these are exactly called) with feet on the stability ball
• 2 sets of 20 mountain climbers with forearms on the stability ball
• 2 sets of 45 second side planks with side crunch (45 seconds on each side; about 12 crunches)
• 2 sets of 10 v-ups with alternating rotations with a 10 Ib medicine ball

Can we talk about how stunning my drives into work have been lately?! I love this time of year! Spring running is always amazing, I can leave my headlamp at home, and never need to stress about not being seen on the roads. 

The weather for us over the next few days is seriously bumming me out. It was SNOWING on-and-off here all day and higher elevations may get 3-9 inches of snow tonight! I want spring weather, Colorado! My skis have already been tucked away until next season...

This entire week I have seriously been SO exhausted. I always feel this way the last few training weeks of a marathon training cycle- anyone else feel this way too? I'm trying to keep myself well-hydrated and am determined to get more shut-eye the last three weeks before race day to help ease the marathon taper-craziness!

Some other things that I like to do to keep the taper-crazies at bay: 

Schedule some time to pamper yourself (new haircut or mani/pedi?), try out some new recipes that you pinned (curb the rungriness), take an extra nap (or three), craft time, spring cleaning, or take a day-trip to a National or State Park near you!

Hopefully these ideas will help you take advantage of all the free-time that you have now that you are tapering and stop those taper-crazies before they start!

Also how cute is she?! This is her "im sitting down like you wanted me to, now give me the food humans". Happy HUMPDAY

Setting BIG Goals & Embracing the Scary

Goal setting. Sometimes our favorite thing to do and sometimes really intimidating, scary, and nerve-racking. Talking today about how actually writing down those goals makes it seem 'real' and that scary goals can sometimes be the best ones!

Please forgive that super long piece of grass right in the middle of my photo....

I am a huge dreamer and believer, but it takes me a LONG time to actually come to terms with my goals and embrace them. Sometimes the journey to achieve our goals can be scary, intimidating, and come with big change/sacrifices/set-backs etc. I set some pretty big goals for myself this year including breaking 2 hours in the half-marathon, breaking 4 hours in the marathon, and taking charge of my career path. 

I was honestly SO scared that I won't achieve my goal of a sub-4 marathon this year, however I'm slowly starting to realize that it's OK to be scared/nervous/anxious/excited (all of the above & more) and that this 'scary' goal of mine is good and it means that I'm pushing myself. Sure, I may not achieve it at this marathon next month, but I've got another one planned for in November and if I don't achieve it then? It's ok, I know I'll get there and I'll come out stronger in the end. 

Scary goals are OK. They mean that we're able to look past what we're currently capable of and believe that we can achieve so much more. 

I finally realized that I could very well be ready to break that 4 hour marathon goal on my biggest interval training cycle this morning. 10 miles with 4 mile repeats at 7:50-8:00min/mi pace. I honestly almost passed-out the first time I read this plan and thought there was no way I would EVER run a mile under 8 minutes, let alone 4! However, I continued to persevere through my training plan and the workout came on the docket this morning (I may have lost some sleep last night stressing about it...). I woke up and 4:45am to fit it in before work this morning and was determined to do this ENTIRE work-out outside. I absolutely love the treadmill for speed workouts, but have recently started switching them to outside as I know my mental toughness needs some work before reaching my sub 4-hour goal. 

I did a 2 mile warm-up then settled into a half-mile stretch of road that is pretty quiet with traffic (and no homes so less people to see me run by them 10+ times...) and flat. I settled into my first mile and was surprised with how easy it felt at 7:59 pace. 800 recovery then pushed into the second one (7:55), 800 recovery, third one (7:57), 800 recovery, and last one (7:58). I couldn't believe it- I had reached my goal and TOTALLY ROCKED IT. I basically felt like I was on cloud nine and still can't believe how easy it felt. 2 mile easy cool-down to follow.

I still have 26 days until my race, but I will be riding this cloud nine feeling for quiet some time! Despite the results that race day brings, I know that my big goal will be obtained whether it is in the cards for next month, November, or 5 years from now!

So embrace those crazy-scary dreams with open arms and know that you're badass for pushing yourself beyond your current limits. The journey to your destination will always teach you a thing or two and make you stronger, no matter the outcome. 

Do you have any big, scary goals for 2017?

What's your tactic for overcoming those nerves and embracing the scary? 

First Backpacking trip & Just Another Manic Monday

First backpacking trip of the season was a success! We wanted to head out to Silver Creek (which should have been about 3.5 miles in), however we got 3 miles in and the trail was completely socked in with SNOW! We were able to find a nice campsite a little ways off the trail and we didn't meet any other hikers until we were leaving the next morning! 

I managed to get in my tempo long run on Saturday morning before we headed out to the trailhead! It was 75 degrees out and so beautiful. I did 11 miles (was supposed to do 12, but with my colonoscopy the day before I didn't feel like I wanted to push my body anymore & really my fueling was not the best on Friday to push it) and 6 miles at tempo (8:34min/mi) split between outdoors & in (to get away from the heat for a bit). We slept in until 8:30!! So my run was done later than I wanted, but I'm working on trying to listen to my body more! 

We had a Good To-Go 3-bean chili for dinner and it was amazing! When we go out for just a night, we try not to bring in too much food (easier said than done). We were both pretty exhausted and headed to bed well-before hiker midnight (normally 9pm; but we were in bed by 8pm). It got down into the low-30's at night and I was so thankful that I brought my extra heavy-weight wool socks and hat for the next morning! 

We had a Mountain House Freeze Dried Skillet Scramble, which was super good, but really spicy! Definitely helped warm us up (along with our coffee thanks to my trusty Jet Boil). We headed out around 8:30 and were off the trail by 10! 

The rest of Sunday was spent grocery shopping, meal planning, and I fit in a 20 minute swim! I'm trying to add in some more cross-training as my training comes to an end to prevent injury and/or burn-out. 

First watermelon of the season for the Sunday Afternoon win!

Monday morning came around way too sun, but luckily I was able to witness this BEAUTIFUL sunrise on my drive into town for my stretching & run session! 

I did 30 minutes of foam rolling & stretching before heading out for my run this morning. I felt a little tightness in my left glute, but luckily it loosened up after my run and stretching. 

4 easy morning miles to kick-start the week! I headed to my Jumpboard Reformer class during my lunchbreak and that was HARD. Taking a week off always seriously kicks my butt (in a good way though....)

During my meal-prep yesterday, I roasted a whole chicken that we will use for two different dinners this week! Buying & roasting a whole chicken is one of my favorite ways to save $ and time! I chopped it all up yesterday and we used it in our chicken tacos tonight and will use it later this week for a Mediterranean Chicken Pasta dish for Alex's birthday! Things we added to our tacos: chili seasoning & red pepper flakes on the chicken as I reheated it, taco shells (that I can't remember the brand- sorry!), sliced onion, red pepper, avocado, jalapeños, maple valley plain greek yogurt, mexican blend shredded cheese, and hatch green chile salsa!

How's the weather in your area? 

Favorite backpacking spots or do you prefer camping at campgrounds instead?

Do you include more cross-training in the final weeks of your training cycle?

Staple meal prep ingredients?

Spring has sprung & 30 days!

This view was from our deck yesterday morning just before I headed out for a run! I slept in a bit again and ended up leaving 20 minutes later than usual (thank you race-cation), but being able to witness this sunrise was worth it! I did an easy 4 miles on the treadmill since it was too cold out and I didn't bring any extra layers with me to the gym then I headed into work to have a quick bowl of yogurt & granola! I had to prep for my colonoscopy (that was this morning and went fine) yesterday, so couldn't have any food all day after breakfast! My colonoscopy was routine in my anemia diagnosis (to rule-out any internal bleeding), however it was definitely super difficult to not eat all day and my hangriness was in full-effect last night. 

After my procedure today, Alex grabbed me and bagel and dropped Stella and I off at home to recover. We napped for a few hours then headed out to enjoy this beautiful day!

This sweatshirt from Sarah Marie Design Studio is one of my favorites. Also I just noticed that she's having a spring sale, so head over there now to score some cute things! 

We took a 45 minute walk up our road (which is at the base of an old ski mountain) and were treated with some fantastic views. 68 degrees out and I don't think it could be any better! 

The lilacs are starting to bloom (one of my favorite flowers) and they definitely make it seem like Summer is just around the corner! Along with summer around the corner, so is my marathon! It is just 30 DAYS away! I'm getting excited and last week is my final peak week of training before I start to taper. 

Now onto recovering some more, waiting for my Run Fast Eat Slow's Ginger-Molasses Quick Bread to finish cooking, Alex to bring home some Chinese, and watch The Secret Life of Pets on Netflix! I have 12 miles (with 6 tempo miles) on the schedule tomorrow morning then we are probably off to either backpacking for the night or going for a hike. Happy weekend!

Any big races coming up for you this summer?

Favorite Spring flower?

Race-cation hangover

Good morning friends! Do you ever feel completely exhausted after coming back from a race that you traveled to? I honestly feel like I've been 'hungover' of sorts after getting back from Albuquerque late on Sunday. I slept in on both Monday & Tuesday and struggled to get back to my morning work-out routine today! Since Alex headed off to Salt Lake for work this week (he left an hour after we arrived home on Sunday night- yikes!), I've been on Stella-duty 24/7. Watching a dog full-time with no help is pretty challenging! Yesterday I planned to take her on my speedwork run outside at the track, but mother nature had other plans and it started pouring rain and didn't let up until late last night. I ended up switching my Tuesday & Wednesday workouts and did an easy 4 miles on the treadmill last night. This morning, I did 30 minutes of strength training and then began my speed work sesh.

The plan was to do half this workout this morning (since I was crunched for time before work) and finish the other half this afternoon- all outside on the track, but it started raining a mile into our run! I dropped Stella off and did the rest of the AM portion on the treadmill.

I did: 

AM:

- 1 mile w/u

-800 in 3:55; 400 recover

-1 mile @ 7:53; 800 recover

PM to be done (hopefully outside): 

- 1 mile w/u

-800 in 3:55; 400 recover

-1 mile @ 7:53; 800 recover

-400 in 1:56; 200 recover

-1200 in 5:52; 400 recover

-1-2 miles easy cool down

10-11 miles total

I fueled up after my run with this amazing deconstructed smoothie bowl. 

I added in some whole-milk plain yogurt, chia seeds, 1 banana, purely elizabeth maple walnut granola, my sweet cinnamon tahini butter, and added a dash of cinnamon. It was delicious and perfect refuel!

I'm trying to add in a few extra snacks today to refuel for my workout later today (and stay off my feet to recover) as well as get prepped for my 24 hours of no-eating (I have to have a procedure on Friday morning as a follow-up to my anemia and have to fast 24 hours prior to it)-definitely going to have a very big breakfast early tomorrow morning after my run! Not sure how I'm going to survive with no food for so long....help.

I snacked on some Trader Joes Sesame Honey Almonds (YUM) and a kiwi this morning and am already dreaming of digging into my Veggie & Turkey Mix-Up for lunch today and top it with some salsa! You can find the recipe here. 

Happy Wednesday!

Do you ever split-up your workouts or runs?

Ever had to fast for 24 hours? How'd it go? Any tips?

Speedwork on the track, road, treadmill, or a mix?