Thursday Things & What I'm Currently Reading!

You know when you sometimes just aren't in the mood to do something? For me, it was not wanting to run this morning. Or well, let me rephrase that. I WANTED to run, but my stomach was definitely not feeling it and that altered my mood. I knew that if my stomach could hold it together during my run, at least my mind would feel more clear (even if my stomach didn't). So, I slept in a bit (trying to get as much sleep as possible leading up to the race next weekend) and then headed out 30 minutes later than normal for my run. It was stunning outside!

Let's back up a little though and talk about my amazing snack that I had last night before bed. Whole wheat toast with crunchy PB, honey drizzle, and a few chocolate chips. 

So, now fast forward to my run. I managed to get out 4 miles- felt better overall, but my stomach still felt all funky. Chocking it up to something I ate yesterday and hope it makes a turn for the better today!

Also totally loving my momentum bracelet that I got at a local running store the other day! Perfect reminder for me to dig deep when things get tough and the bracelet material is breathable and I don't even notice it's there on my run (unless I look at it to remind me to keep pushing). I had another bracelet that I somehow misplaced over the summer and it was customized to a motivational saying that I picked out (and custom band color too). Still on the search for it and hope to come across it sometime soon....

I grabbed breakfast from Starbucks this morning since my stomach wasn't liking the idea of yogurt and got a sprouted bagel and iced tea. Put some peanut butter and banana on it and boom. happy runner breakfast (slightly less angry stomach).

Switching topics!: What I'm Currently Reading

Lost on the Appalachian Trail by Kyle Rohrig (you can find it here). I've got about 150 pages left of the book and it is definitely a big novel! I absolutely love any thru-hiking related books and typically devour them quickly, however this one is a large book and small print so it's taken me over a month to get 200 pages into it (I normally read before going to sleep and sometimes can only make it through a page or two before I'm OUT). It's a really detailed account and I think it would be a great read for anyone currently thru-hiking the AT or getting ready to. I'm mainly excited to get to his recaps of hiking through the White Mountains & Maine (since that's where I grew up and absolutely love hiking when I visit)! 

Leaving you with this stunning early morning shot of my run this morning!

What kind of books do you like to read? Any good recommendations?

What's the weather like where you are? Anything fun planned for the weekend?

Favorite night-time snack?

Workout Wednesday & Monthly Mileage

Todays the last day of May and you know what that means! Calculating up your monthly running mileage! 

This is honestly the first training cycle that I've 1. kept track of my mileage each week and month and 2. kept a running training journal. I know, I know. I'm behind the times, but I'm finally caught up and doing these two things have been SO helpful! I've been able to know when I should cut-back my mileage based on how much weekly mileage I've been doing/will do (and compare it to what I've done in past weeks), as well as be honest about how I felt after certain runs (and when things felt bad, go over what I did (and ate) the day before. If you aren't keeping a training journal and keeping track of your mileage- definitely start! Even if you aren't training for anything specific, it's super helpful to know where you are when you do start training for a race.

Started off my morning with a little over strength workout that included:

• 2 x 30 lateral band squat-walks (not sure the exact term on this one, so I just made it up!)
• 2 x 15 single leg deadlifts with 10 Ib dumbbells
• 2 x 15 squats with 10 Ib dumbbell overhead extensions
• 3 x 10 single leg calf raises on the seated leg press (10 Ib weight)
• 2 x 10 dips on the assisted weight machine (20 Ib weight)
• 2 x 20 medicine ball (10 Ib) twists in a seated v-up position
• 2 x 45 second side planks (45 seconds on each side) with 10 side crunches in plank position

Then did a few easy miles on the treadmill to round off my May mileage to 155 miles!

After work, Stella and I headed out to get a quick walk in before a thunderstorm rolled in. 

Stella's really only excited about eating grass, sniffing everything in sight, and cooling off in the water. It was an exceptionally beautiful day out and finally feels like summer here in Colorado! Let's hope it stays this way!!

We stopped at the store to grab some fresh flowers and a few other groceries before heading home. I got some kodiak cake mix for pancakes & waffles- anyone tried this? It's 100% whole grains, oats, and honey mix and you can even use it for making muffins! I've wanted to try it for a while and will let you know what I think!

Love using growlers for vases! Anyone else do this? Had to get some fresh flowers before Alex's dad arrives on Saturday (I always feel like it is more welcoming with fresh flowers). Also love the mixture of yellow & green flowers (yellow roses- one of my favorites).

Also, how CUTE are these salt and pepper shakers I got at wal-mart? They were less than 5 dollars! What a steal. 

Now, off to relax for a bit with compression socks before going to bed super early (feeling a bit sleep-deprived the last two nights) and sleep in a bit since I've only got 4 miles to do in the morning! Happy humpday!

Favorite work-out exercises? Do you still do some strength training while tapering for a race?

Favorite flower?

Do you keep a training log? If so, any tricks or suggestions to those just beginning?

Long weekend fun!

Hellloooo Tuesday! Going back to work after a long weekend is SO tough. Luckily, my weekend included lots of rest, relaxation, and running. Friday (rest day for me) started off with a lunch date with my person at our favorite spot (Winonas - a MUST if you are ever in Steamboat) for some buffalo chicken salads!

Then we made homemade pizza for dinner (perfect for carbo-loading for my long run in the morning) and it was amazing! Forgot to take a picture (I think I devoured it too quickly ;) ).

Saturday morning I woke up at 4:45 to get my 16 miles in and it was pouring out. I started with 6 easy outside then headed on the treadmill for 7 at just under marathon goal pace (8:57 with some downhill training) and finished it up with 3 outside (in-between showers finally). 

Since it was a total wash of a day, we relaxed at home (luckily there was a Harry Potter marathon on and we mayyyy have watched 2 or 3 of them!). I made the most AMAZING lasagna from Run Fast, Eat Slow and even made homemade marinara sauce (definitely a game-changer; also added in a parmesan rind that I had lying around and it made the sauce extra cheesy). 

On Sunday, the weather finally felt like Spring (mid-60s) and we headed out to camp! We half-expected to arrive to the campsite (about 30 minutes away from home) and for it to be full because of the Holiday weekend, but only 2 of the 11 sites were filled (and stayed that way the entire night)!

I got in a 3-mile run between leaving our place before Alex left in the car (got in 1.15 miles with Stella) until he picked us up on our way out there and then finished up my run after we set-up our site. It was SO peaceful out there!

We did a short hike out Teepee Creek and ended up hitting snow (I wish more trails were dry)! The part that we did hike was beautiful and with no one else around- so serene. 

Since it's still mud-season here, Stella's paws turned into a dark brown mess. Luckily, she found a snow pile to plop down and cool-off in!

I think one of my favorite parts of camping has to be how good food tastes out here! We had some chopped up corn on the cob and sausage for dinner and had to follow that up with smores! They were soooo good. I'm cutting out sugar now until after my race in 12 days and can't wait until I can have another smore. 

The temperatures Sunday night dropped down into the low 30's and it was COLD! I think I wore my hat all night and luckily had mittens on the next morning until it started warming up.

We got home early Monday morning and after cleaning for a bit (Alex's dad is visiting this coming weekend, so we had to clean everything and make sure his room was good to go), I headed out to get a run and strength training session in. 

One sneaker on, one sneaker off- it's how I do.

I did an easy 3 miles (the taper is kinda really nice in the beginning) then 25 minutes of a full-body strength session before grabbing some flowers and running a few other errands in town. 

I got straight to gardening when I got home (first ever garden by myself #adulting) and added in some rocks that we got on our hike Sunday! Hopefully, they stay alive for most of the summer....

I need to add-in a few more rocks when I find them, but I think it looks pretty cute! 

For dinner, I made Paleomg's Bacon Chorizo Chipotle Smothered Meatloaf (one of Alex's favorite meals) and it was amazing!

That's my long weekend recap! Now back to work and looking forward to next weekend already :)

Do you normally like to get your long runs done in one shot or break them up?

Favorite home-cooked meal?

Ever tried making your own marinara sauce? What are some things you like to add in it?

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?