How I went from focusing on the entire run to just one mile at a time

I truly believe that if you only see a run as the total numbers of miles you have to run, it'll seem daunting and intimidating. I think this is my biggest advice to those just starting to run or going from training for a half marathon to a full marathon. Take one mile at a time, very similar to taking it one step at a time.

I also really like this strategy when running a race. Just focus on the mile that you're in, you can't change the past, and thinking about the future will only help you go so far. Stay in the moment and enjoy it! 

I also definitely think this can be applied to anything in life. If you worry about the things/items that may come about the next day, you may never sleep. I've heard a lot of people say that it's good to be nervous/stressed about a race or big interview the next day because that means you care, which I agree to a certain extent, but worrying doesn't get you very far- it certainly won't provide a fantastic race day for you or get you the job. 

SO, worry less and enjoy the ride. As we're finishing up packing and getting ready to head onto the road tomorrow back to New England, I feel like I've needed to remind myself to stay in the moment every ten minutes. It is pretty stressful trying to get everything done before vacation! But, you know what? So what if not everything gets done or something gets forgotten? It really isn't the end of the world and definitely isn't worth the immense stress that we put on our bodies. **I need to try to remember this when those difficult workouts come on my training schedule again**

Onto my day recap! Tuesday was spent doing the usual work (I attempted to get up at 5 to run before work, but getting up early has been really HARD lately) and went for my 3.6 (supposed to be 4 originally) mile run in-between the end of work and before coaching. 

It was in the mid-80s out and super warm. My garmin said that I had 61 hours of recovery time afterwards, I guess that's what I get for 1. trying to fit in a certain amount of mileage in a short period of time 2. going faster than my post-marathon body was ready for 3. running in the HEAT with no water bottle with me

I also came across this sign on a section of my run:

I've seen moose in this area before, but no luck today! Probably for the best, since the trail was pretty busy!

After work, I grabbed us a pizza for dinner and a few snacks for the road trip before heading home. We finally finished up packing (at least I THINK so) and are ready to hit the road tomorrow evening!

It's always a bit of bummer to know how quickly vacations go by and I know this one is no exception, but just take it one day (or mile) at a time! 

I had this Siggi's Yogurt before my run for a snack and it was super delicious! Siggi's really is the best yogurt out there- I'm convinced.

That's all for me today and maybe by the time you're reading this we'll be out of Colorado and on our way headed back East! 

Favorite way to visualize a run?

Favorite snack pre-run?

Favorite way to make sure everything gets done before a vacation?

Life Unstructured

Finally it is Friday! This week was really long/ also kinda felt like it flew by (if that makes any sense at all)?? I did my first TRX Strength training class at Steamboat Pilates studio and it was HARD! It also reminded me that I definitely still ran a marathon last week since I was still kinda sore in my legs. My arms are pretty sore from it too, which is awesome because I have always wanted nothing more than super strong/toned arms! Someday maybe...

I caught a ride in to town yesterday with Alex and brought my bike! Oh how I've missed being able to bike commute to work- it's so peaceful and lovely (especially when the weather is nice out).  

I made this amazing salad for lunch with sunshine raspberries (got them at Trader Joes- I've never even seen raspberries this color before!), candied pecans, and baby spinach. It was delicious, but I was hungry for something else and followed it up with siggi's mixed berry & acai yogurt. 

Rewind to breakfast this morning, where I made this deconstructed smoothie bowl with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, almond butter, siggi's yogurt, cinnamon, honey, and chia seeds. IT WAS AMAZING! 

I'm kinda really loving the non-structured feel of this week. Don't get me wrong I really love training plans and schedules, but sometimes it's nice to take a step back and do whatever feels good in the moment. Want to go to a work-out class, then go! Feel like taking the dog for a long walk by the river rather than going to the gym, totally fine! 

It's refreshing and a little crazy (for me) to just do whatever I want! I don't have to work 50 hours a week right now between 3 different jobs and can sleep-in if I want rather than only having one time where I need to get my sweat on. 

I'm definitely missing running right now, but know my body and mind need at least a week off from it before picking it back up again. Running 26.2 miles is no joke and should be taken seriously. 

Probably lying low this weekend, packing, getting my manicure/pedicure (treat to myself after the race), enjoying the beautiful sunshine, farmers market, hiking one day, and possibly renting a SUP to go on the lake one day- typical Steamboat things! Happy (almost) weekend!

Enjoy a training plan or live life unstructured?

Do you jump right into another training plan after finishing one or take some time to reboot?

Any fun plans for the weekend?!

Revel Rockies Recap & How Many Days do you Take Off After a Marathon?

Happy HUMP DAY! It's finally Wednesday- we made it! I think one of the best decisions that I made when planning post-marathon was scheduling a vacation 10 days afterwards! It's just the right amount of time to recover, rest, and pack. Alex, Stella, and I will be driving back to Maine (yes all 33 hours) to visit family, play in the ocean/mountains, and go to my dad's wedding (he's getting remarried). It's pretty convenient to have grown up so close to each other- we can spend a few days with each others family and then spend some time just relaxing too. I've begun packing and cleaning up the house a bit and will continue to do so until we leave ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!

Another really great thing that I planned post-marathon was treating myself to a manicure/pedicure. I have it scheduled for this weekend and I cannot wait to be pampered! 

PS you can find my Revel Rockies Recap here! They've just started to post some of the free race photos (they're all free and able to download directly from online) and I've got some pretty good ones so far!

Also does anyone else ever block out the few days after a marathon where the pain going downstairs is ROUGH and your body just hurts everywhere? I always seem to forget just how painful it really is...

After seriously indulging the past few days, I am planning on heading back to the gym tomorrow (took 3 total days off) and do some light biking/ellipticaling then getting back into some yoga and strength training on Friday. I want to utilize this time between training cycles to rest (no running for a week after my race), recover, and begin building an even STRONGER body! 

Here's to hella strong glutes when I toe the next start line! 

How many days do you take off (of running) after a marathon?

Any special treats that you like after finishing 26.2 or vacations you schedule?

Any tricks to avoiding downhill stairs until 5 days post-marathon?

Importance of SLEEP & all the food

Hi Friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was two beautiful, sunny, cloudless days here and I did.not.want.it.to.end. On Sunday, we went into town to do some sightseeing and visit a few of the shops. The Steamboat Marathon was still going on and I felt both sad (this was the first year that I haven't done it since I moved to town) and excited (the energy was contagious and got me pretty pumped for my race next weekend)! It definitely is a small-town race (I did the marathon one year and half-marathon the next two years) and gets to be pretty hot with not a lot of shade along the course, but the scenery is fantastic. HIGHLY recommend if you're looking for an early-June race next year! 

We visited a few of the local springs in town (the one above is Steamboat Spring)- we have a total of 7 natural hot springs in the center of town (only one you can actually go soak in). Unfortunately, the riverfest that we planned on going to wasn't happening, but we made the best of it and walked the town then headed to lunch before relaxing back home! One of Alexs' close friends also had his parent visiting (him & his friend grew up together) from Maine, so we took them all out to eat at the Ore House--> a MUST visit if you are ever remotely close to Steamboat. They have a sunset happy hour menu (5-6pm) and all entrees are typically ~$2 off regular price. I had the green chile chicken and off-course filled up on their all you can eat salad bar and dinner rolls (they have a cinnamon roll flavored one and it's amazing). 

On our drive home, Alex's dad had us stop to get a picture of the pelicans that we have at the lake by our home. They're always there every morning and the gray swan (alittle to the right of the pelican group) is also in this photo! 

Who knew that there were pelicans in Colorado?! This ended our weekend and it was so great. 

I bought some rustic sourdough bread this week and had to have some for my breakfast this morning! Half had a smashed avocado, red pepper flakes, and a egg and the other half had butter & raspberry jam with a side of oj :) Is it just me or does anyone else get even more hungry when they're tapering?? I think it's because our metabolism is still really high from all the miles we've put it through and is trying to play catch-up. Definitely not complaining and I'm trying to eat as much healthy light food that I can!

Met Alex & his dad for one final meal together before he left and of course we had to go to CREEKSIDE! I was torn between breakfast or lunch (they serve both all-day), but wanted to try something new so I got the falafel salad and it was so amazing! After about two hours, I was hungry again so had some fresh watermelon that we got this weekend.

Watermelon- definitely one of my favorite summertime treats. I also managed to squeeze in a short run before lunch (on my lunch break from work) and a few strength moves (did some dips on the assisted pull-up machine and calf raises on the side of a stair). I don't like to completely cut-out strength training the week of my marathon, but do stay away from any leg exercises and focus on just a few core/upper-body exercises to keep myself feeling fresh and strong, but not over-worked. I'll do one more day of a few strength training moves on Wednesday or Thursday, then that will be all before race day on Sunday! I've already started to pack a few things for my race and create a list. Tonight I'll work on  my playlist and packing some food/ more clothes. The more I plan ahead and pre-pack, I've found the less-likely I am to either 1. forget something or 2. stress about the race. I will probably finalize my race-day plan on Wednesday, so I can start visualizing it and feeling confident leading up to the race. We will leave Saturday late-morning for Denver (about 3 hour drive) to allow enough time to go to the expo, do a short shake-out run, drive along a portion of the course, check-in to our hotel, and get some dinner!

Anyone race this weekend? How'd you do?

Any big races scheduled this Summer?

What are some necessary things you do the week of a race?

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?