Hole Half Marathon Recap & Life Updates

My HOLE HALF MARATHON RECAP is here! Shimmy on over to my Race Recap page to check it out- you definitely don't want to miss how amazing the finish venue looked and where I finished in my age group!

I'm sharing some of my favorite photos that I took over the weekend from Yellowstone up on the blog tomorrow, so make sure to check back. Here's a little sneak-peek ; ) 

I finally feel like I'm starting to get back into a groove-again after our vacation in July. It's so crazy to me how long it takes to get back on track! No wonder why so many of those who suffer from addictions or weight loss or irregular workout plans struggle so much- it's really HARD to get used to a schedule and stick to it. After 8 weeks of marathon training, I finally feel like I've gotten adjusted to it and am not nearly as exhausted as I was when I first began training. 

Hanson's Marathon Method definitely takes a lot out of you and is a really big time commitment compared to other training plans! I'm just hoping all this running pays off on race day (it's only 66 DAYS AWAY!!!!- that's only a little over TWO MONTHS!). 

We've been so busy trying to fit in camping and hiking and backpacking on the weekends and squeezing-in as much fun summer activities as we can. We just got our second kayak fixed, so hopefully we can take both out on the lake this weekend!

The weather (despite the current wildfires that is creating a constant smokey, haziness that is unfit for any extended outdoor activities) has been so beautiful with mid-80s during the day and low 40s at night. Perfect for early morning or late afternoon runs : )

September is a VERY busy month for us and we only have one weekend free (which I'm sure we're going to fill-up with a camping or backpacking trip). Alex is working at the Telluride Blues and Brews festival next weekend (hoping I can go down and camp there/ spend time with him, but still up in the air) and I will be going back to Maine at the end of the month for my grandfathers service. This weekend is a bit crazy as well because I am volunteering at the Run Rabbit Run 50 & 100 mile races from 4-10am (sleep will definitely be off) on early Saturday morning. 

That's all that's been going on with me, what about you?! Any fun plans for September? 

Favorite season? Mine is definitely Fall- bring on all the apples and layers!

Hanson's Marathon Method Week 8 Run down

What a week it was! This week was pretty low mileage since I had a headcold come on and wanted to get rested up for my half marathon on Saturday. I originally had wanted to race my half, but with my head still staying pretty congested I decided to just have fun and not push myself into a deeper sickness (plus I wanted to enjoy our weekend full of camping!). I still ended up getting fourth in my age group (!!!) at my race and honestly had SO MUCH FUN! It was by far the best half marathon I can ever remember having (race recap to come soon). 

Besides getting sick, I did hit my mile repeats on Tuesday so that was a huge bonus and I just ultimately took the rest of the week off from any hard runs and just focused on recovery and easy paces. 

Monday: 6 miles Easy @ 10:20 on the treadmill

Tuesday: 1.5 warm-up; 3 @ 7:20 (600 R) ; 1.5 cool-down- 7 miles total

Wednesday: Sick- took a rest day

Watching Sheep Herders because what else are you supposed to do when you're sick?! 

Thursday: 3 miles easy on the trails @ 9:54

Friday: 3.25 miles easy @ 10:00

Saturday: RACE DAY! 13.2 miles @ 9:17 - 2:01:37- I turned off my auto alerts for mile splits on my Garmin and just went by feel. I negative-split my race time by over 2 and a half minutes and kept my heart rate under 160. I never pushed myself too hard and felt super recovered after I finished. I also got 4th in my age group!

Sunday: Rest Day

Sunshine Goods:

• Kept my health and rest a priority
• Fitness is still there!
• 4th in my age group
• Negative-split by a huge amount!!
• Kept positive the entire race and never felt like I had 'hit the wall'
• Hit my mile repeats

Gloomy Goods:

• Got sick (bummer!)
• Didn't hit my mileage for the week 
• Didn't get a PR for the half like originally planned
• Took an extra rest day
• So much running = so much laundry!!!

Smith Lake

On Sunday, we hiked to Smith Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness and it was so beautiful! This was a very gentle hike (less than a mile out), but very remote- we were the only ones out there. I think next time we definitely need to do a picnic at the lake or carry out a blow-up paddle board. We came across two small bogs and it had minimal elevation gain. I would HIGHLY suggest doing this hike with either small children or those older relatives. 

The Half Marathon I'm doing in 3 WEEKS & Unplugging

Alright, so I FINALLY pulled the plug on a half marathon that I'm racing during this training cycle and it's in 3 WEEKS! I'm so excited (especially after seeing the awesome race swag (you have to check out their facebook page) that they've done in past years and because it's in another state that I can check off) and will be running the Jackson Hole Half Marathon during Labor Day weekend! 

The race looks like it gains little elevation overall and honestly looks like an amazingly organized event. I'm so excited to go there with Alex and Stella and since it's early Saturday morning, we'll have the rest of the weekend to explore Yellowstone some more (we went there about 2 years ago) and just relax. It always makes it easier when a race is at the beginning of a vacation/ weekend away. 

We are camping for the weekend (one night in Grand Tetons Nat'l Park & the other two nights in Yellowstone) and the course is run mainly on their bike paths (which are seriously so amazing). I CAN'T WAIT! I'd like to try to get in under 1:55 (and utilize some miles as my marathon pace). I'm still thinking about my race strategy, but thinking my first 3 miles will be a warm-up (around 9:00 pace), then 7 miles at marathon goal pace (8:46ish), and if I'm feeling good bump it up to around 8:30ish pace for the last 3 miles (finishing under 1:55)! That's obviously a 'goal race time/paces', so I'm open to whatever and would just really like to enjoy the race. 

This morning, I had my Track Tuesday workout (5 x 1 km repeats @ 7:12 min/mi with 400m repeats) and did it on the treadmill since I really didn't feel like going to the Track again and having it being used. I think next week the track schedule should change (getting ready for school to start) and I'll be able to use it again!

8 miles total (1.65 mi warm-up & 2 mile cool-down). I felt pretty strong and while the last 1 k repeat was hard, I could definitely still do another one or two before really struggling (which I'm taking as a good sign).

I'm really focusing on fueling properly after my runs, so I had some of the Superhero Muffins I made from Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook and their Can't Beet Me Smoothie. YUM! Also, definitely needed some Iced Coffee to wash it down. I'm also a bit disappointed because our temperatures are already starting to feel cooler and Fall-ish which means I will need to switch back to hot coffee here shortly. 

I slept better last night (normally I don't sleep as well before my speedworkouts) and I really think it was because I didn't overthink my workout that I had on the schedule the next morning! I actually totally forgot what my paces were supposed to be when I was getting ready to leave the house this morning and had to go back and double check it!

I'm going to try to NOT overthink my workouts for the rest of this training cycle because really, what's the point? We overthink things, stress about them, lose sleep, adjust our eating habits (maybe), and all for what? We typically don't gain much from overstressing situations, expect negative habits. Having confidence in yourself and these situations can be difficult to gain (especially in the beginning of a new endeavor), but it helps you tackle situations SO much easier (even IF they don't go exactly as planned). While it's definitely still a work-in-progress for me to have confidence going into each training run or difficult personal/work situation, I notice a large difference when I am able to really 'own' it and believe in myself. 

I saw this quote on my Facebook Timehop the other day and was really moved by it again. Maybe if we are able to 'unplug' ourselves from our destructive habits and thoughts, we'll be able to see the other side of each situation and believe in ourselves? Before tearing yourself apart, unplug. think. reset. and plug yourself back in. 

Weekend Activities

Does anyone else ever feel like the weekend went by so fast that it actually didn't happen? We were relaxing on the couch Sunday night after a crazy weekend and I felt like it was still Friday night and we had 2 full days to fill with so many great activities (boy oh boy was I WRONG!). 

Friday I started off with an 8 mile run on the treadmill binge-watching Gilmore Girls (definitely a #guiltypleasure of mine) and then had a serious craving for a bagel and cranberry juice. Luckily we have ONE bagel shop in all of Steamboat that could cure me of my hangriness. 

The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly and we got out early (wohoo) so the weekend was here! We had leftovers (so glamorous, I know) and got some chores done (hellooo endless amounts of laundry- does it ever stop? and cleaning out the car). 

Saturday we originally planned to go for a hike, but the weather showed a pretty good chance of storms so we put that on the backburner. I had 8 miles to do, so I headed into town and did a little over a mile before my Power Barre class at Steamboat Pilates Studio and then did the remaining 6.85 miles afterwards! Talk about a seriously long work-out session. The class was really challenging and I knew that I would need to push through the rest of my miles (luckily I just had an easy pace scheduled so I could take it as slow as I needed and just get the miles under my belt). It didn't go as bad as expected and I met up with Alex & Stella afterwards to go check out the Farmers Market! We both got Falafels for lunch and shared a lemonade. 

The rest of the day was spent doing some grocery shopping and cooking! I made the mustard-glazed chicken thighs from Practical Paleo and twice-baked stuffed jalepeno sweet potatoes (find the recipe on my Recipe Pinterest page!). Both things were seriously SO good.

Photo was taken before they went in for their second bake!

I also made some homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies (those were gone by Sunday night), Superhero Muffins from Run Fast Eat Slow (for breakfasts this week), and roasted some beets for smoothies!

On Sunday (rest day), we finished up chores in the morning (lots and lots of cleaning!) and then headed out for a short hike with a few friends. I can't believe I didn't take any photos the entire time! So unlike me, I know.. Just take my word for it- the view of the lake below was beautiful! 

I did some meal-prepping for the week ahead and for dinner and made up this lovely salad for lunches for the week and dinner Sunday night with Salmon. Super easy and it had: Spinach, Arugula, Onions, Strawberries, Sesame Seeds, Feta, Broccoli, Thyme, Salt, Pepper, and basil. 

We headed out Sunday afternoon to the lake! We live less than 2 miles away from it and this was our first time being out on the lake. We just got a kayak so we wanted to test it out and rented a paddleboard (since the kayak was a one-person). I ofcourse ended up falling in the water on the paddleboard after getting a bit toooo cocky in my abilities and trying some warrior 2 yoga poses... I held it for a good minute and while waiting for Alex to retrieve the camera, fell in. It was pretty funny though and luckily the water wasn't TOO chilly.

That was our weekend full of chores, activities, and a little bit of rest! I'm excited to get back to a week of training and another long run on the schedule this coming weekend. 

How was your weekend?

Thoughts on splitting up a run between a work-out class?

Ever tried yoga on a paddleboard or paddleboarding?