Last long run & Saturday Wrap-Up

My last "long" run was Saturday and it was beautiful out! I slept in and got out for 8 miles around my 'hood (normally it's pretty hilly/ mix of trails, so I try not to do my longer runs on this). Not a cloud in the sky yesterday!

The trail winds around the lake for a total of 10 miles, so I managed to get about 5 miles in on the trails. It's crazy to think that this was my last 8 miler and that I started my training cycle with 8 miles. 

The rest of the day was spent cooking up some goodies and enjoying the beautiful sunshine! 

Alex's dad is here visiting, so we are heading off to the Riverfest today and hitting up some local shops! Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Long sun Saturday or Sunday?

Favorite things to do on the weekend?

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

Beginning the taper

Alright. I am determined to not let the taper-crazies get to me this training cycle! I have officially begun tapering and have less than 3 weeks until race day. Today I slept in until 8:30- I can't remember the last time I slept that late, but it was definitely needed! We made breakfast (avocado smash on a sesame bagel & egg on top) then I went to work meal prepping for the week. Chicken & Rice Soup for lunches, roasted a whole chicken for use in both the soup & chicken tacos we'll have this week, baked sweet potatoes for breakfasts, and green egg frittatas for breakfast!

The chicken was possibly the best one I've ever done- melted 3-4 tablespoons in the pan & brushed it onto the chicken. Topped the chicken with thyme, garlic, oregano, rosemary, and fennel seeds. Recipe for the green egg fritata will be posted up on the recipe page shortly!

After cooking and had a small window where the rain let-up (it's been overcast and rainy all weekend), we headed down to the lake (about a mile from where we live) and did a 3 mile easy run! It was a great way to shake out my legs from yesterdays long run and recover. 

Stella was pretty angry (hangry maybe?) at us towards the end and we kinda had to drag her back (seen in the photo above). Sorry Stells....

After our run, I headed to the skating club's ice show- it was super cute and concluded the end of our season until summer! Then I saw this fantastic bald eagle on my drive home. It really is the little things in life you guys....

Just left Alex in charge of the feta spinach stuffed chicken and maple roasted brussel sprouts for dinner and it kinda smells like something may be burning...gotta go! Have a great Sunday eve!

Favorite recovery methods the day after a long run? 

Any good meal prep recipes you care to share?

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?

April mileage and family run day!

And just like that our weekend comes to a close and it's Sunday night- I really wish we included Fridays as part of the weekend... it would make a huge difference! Started off the day with Alex making us banana protein pancakes and bacon- YUM. They were so delicious and then we went about some Sunday morning chores (re-potting some plants, hanging photos in our new place, meal-prep, laundry, etc.). It was finally SUNNY out again so we ventured outside with Stella and went for a short run together down by the lake. 

It was around 41 degrees out, but felt amazing since this was the first run this week that I did outside. It's looking like it may snow again the first part of the week, but I am determined to only run on the treadmill ONCE this whole week- beat that mother nature! I prepped dinner for the night (sweet potato salmon cakes from Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook) and finished prepping my breakfast & lunches for the week (egg muffins, sausage, & sweet potatos for breakfast / coconut peanut butter noodle salads for lunch). Our afternoon consisted of a nap, some reading, and then I headed off to my last Sunday afternoon teaching ice skating until the Fall (YAY- I get full Sundays off for a while). 

Frying up some sweet potato salmon cakes in coconut oil!

Now time for some relaxing before a quick 4-day week of work. I am SO excited for the Run for the Zoo 1/2 in Albuquerque next Sunday and thinking that this could be a PR for me, but depends on how I'm feeling and the weather- having fun is the most important! :) 

April Mileage- 130.15 miles! 

I am SO PUMPED about this mileage for the month of April. I never felt like I was pushing myself or have felt burned out at any point during this training cycle thus far (which I normally always feel at some point). This also includes the first week of April where I was only doing 3 or 4 milers coming back from being in the hospital the last week of March for my kidney infection and anemia (hoping to do a post on this real soon!). I am feeling strong and ready to see what the month of May has in store for me!

Do you keep track of your mileage each month?

Prefer to do your easy runs with others or by yourself?

How's the weather in your corner of the world?!

Cooking Saturday & 4 easy miles

Today was one of those perfect Saturdays where I felt relaxed, slept in, got everything done that I wanted to, and had the perfect dinner with my bae and wine! YUM!

Fuel before my workout! Sourdough bread, Justin's Peanut Butter, Bananas, Chia Seeds, and Honey Stinger Honey

After sleeping in and turning off my alarm (no hot yoga for me...whoops!), I made it to the gym and did an easy 4 miles on simulated hills (it was 20 degrees out- I'm definitely over running outside with all the layers, mittens, and a hat!) then did a few rounds of strength work of weighted leg extensions, tricep extensions, and curtises with rotations on the pulley cords. Then I moved over to the barbell and did some squats (first started with just the bar then added on 50 Ibs. weights- two sets) and finished with 2 rounds of dips!

Alex met me at the hot springs and we soaked for a bit- best way to end any hard workout! I then headed home and began cooking up a storm!

I started with making some Ginger-Molasses Quick Bread from Run Fast Eat Slow's cookbook (OBSESSED with this recipe!). Molasses is really great at improving iron levels (which I definitely need right now as I am struggling with Anemia)- I'll take any excuse to have bread as a snack! I added in a few mini chocolate chips because why not :)

Then I made some Sweet Cinnamon Tahini Butter and started by toasting some raw sesame seeds (made a double-batch of this stuff and it was SUPER easy to do!). I then made my way to making some peanut butter coconut sauce for my lunches for the next week and prepped some Teff Double Chocolate Cookies (they're cooling now- can't wait to test those out!). I'm also hoping that there will be a few cookies left by the end of the week to fuel me through my half marathon on Sunday :) Then I made some Minestrone Soup with Chorizo & Kidney Beans- YUM YUM YUM! This recipe was amazing and I used up one of the parmesan rinds that I had been saving to use in a simmering soup. Paired this soup tonight with a glass of wine and that caps off a perfect Saturday night!

Lately Saturday afternoons have been our movie dates- we watched Fantastic Beasts today and it was pretty good! Definitely doesn't stand a chance against any Harry Potter, but still entertaining! Last week we watched Hidden Figures and it was AMAZING!

Any other good movies we should watch?

How was your Saturday? Do you prefer to get some chores done today or save them all for tomorrow?

Favorite running cookbook suggestions?

Happy weekend!