Figuring out this whole blogging thing & 6 mile days

6 mile days seem to be the theme of the next two weeks of marathon training for me. 

I'm really determined to work on making my easy days really 'easy' so I can hit my paces on my harder workouts when they come along. SO that may mean paces over 10:00 min/mi and I'm slowly accepting that. It takes longer than what I could do which is a bummer, but I think it's an integral part to keeping myself injury free and not burning out through the training cycle. 

I'm not really sure how accurate the Forerunner's heart rate monitor and recovery time predictions are. Anyone have a good experience with either of these two functions? I've been keeping watch on my breathing (easy) during my easy runs and still get this same recovery time notification when I'm done. It's a little frustrating, but I think I'll just stick to working on keeping an eye on my breathing and always take it down a notch slower to make sure I'm recovering well. 

I also recently uploaded the link to my pinterest page (link is at the bottom of the page/homepage) and have put up a lot of fun things that I've either made or will be interested in doing/making, so make sure to check it out! I have a skater competing at the Vail Figure Skating Competition this morning, so I fit in my run Friday (6 miles), took today off, and will do my other run on the schedule on Sunday (8 miles). We don't have many other plans this weekend, except hoping to get out paddle boarding on the lake either this afternoon or tomorrow (depending on whichever day has better weather). I also know that I want to bake a lot (is it just me or is anyone else already getting excited for the Fall baking and running season?!)- including the Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (you can find them here). 

This week is also the first week of Marathon #5 training! I'm planning to post a weekly review of the Hanson's Marathon Method and do a more in-depth review of my marathon plan in the next few days so stay posted! I've love to hear if you've ever followed Hanson's training plan before and your experience. 

I also ordered this Running Vest from Ultimate Direction and can't wait to test it out when I start hitting more trails to do my runs on! It got awesome reviews and I'm excited to go explore more hiking trails with my running shoes. 

Also I wanted to say THANK YOU to all who are currently reading and following along on my blog. I'm still in the process of figuring it all out and the direction in which I want to take my posts. I'm really inspired by both Miles To The Trials and The Running Wife's blogs and how they approach posts (something of substance posts), but also still love The Hungry Runner Girl's everyday posts; so, bear with me while I still figure out the best fit for my lifestyle and the perfect fit for Just Keep Running! I'd love to hear your thoughts if there's something you really want to see in a running/fitness blog or a different perspective that you'd enjoy. 

I've definitely been struggling with getting up early to get my runs in this week, but it's been pretty nice to have the option to fit them in later as well. I managed to get my run in early Thursday morning and was greeted to this beautiful view in the valley. Does anyone else feel like a beautiful sunrise brings about so much possibility and opportunity? I instantly feel empowered when I'm able to witness the fog lifting off the mountains and sun awakening the valley below. 

Any good suggestions on blog topics or thoughts on posting everyday or would you rather see a once a week SoS (something of substance) post?

Running in the morning, afternoon, or night during the summer? 

Plans for the weekend? 

Running on a Road Trip

I managed to get a run in on 8 of the 13 days that we traveled and it definitely wasn't always easy (is anything on vacation ever easy?). I do have some tips/tricks that I found helpful to keep me accountable for my runs even when I wasn't on a 'structured' training plan yet. 

• Plan before your vacation: I had a rough schedule of how many runs I wanted to get in/ mileage, but knew that listening to my body and meeting with family comes first. I kept my mileage goals pretty short (planning to only run 30 or 40 minutes) so it was easy to fit them in when I could.

• Have only one goal for your run per day: Typically my goals were to keep my runs at an easy pace, but other days it was simply to do a ladder on the treadmill (to prevent boredom) or hit a certain mileage. Having only one goal made it seem attainable and really helped get me out the door. 

• Have a rough idea of what your next day plans look like. This one is REALLY important to fitting in a run. I only had one day where I wasn't sure when/if a run would fit into my schedule. Most days, I ended up not sleeping in so long and got my run in before 8am. While getting sleep is important, I always weigh the either hour or so of sleep that I could get if I didn't set my alarm or the feeling of accomplishment that I'll get when I wake up and get my run in. This also really helped keep me accountable during our road tripping days. I got up early and ran (half asleep sometimes..) either outside (and had a general plan of where I would run the night before/if it was safe) or booked a hotel that I knew would have a treadmill. 

• Use your runs as a way to get in your exercise/steps and 'zen-out': I felt SO good about my fitness on the days where we were in the car for over 12 hours and I still managed to hit my step goals (thanks to getting up early and getting my run/steps in). My runs also really helped keep me full of energy and awake during those evening driving hours when the sun is setting.

My runs were also the one time throughout the day where I could focus on myself and check-in. They gave me time to 'zen-out' and either process everything that we've done during the vacation or think of nothing at all. 

• Utilize down-time as a reason to get out for your run: I did this trick twice and seriously felt ten-times better when I came back from my run. This is a great trick when you really want to sleep-in or enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning. When others were showering or had errands to do, I opted to head out for a quick 30 minute run. You're not missing anything in those 30 minutes and trust me, your mind and body (and maybe others around you will thank you too if you're a little cranky) will thank you for that run!

• Scout out a local gym or class to try: Take advantage of being in somewhere different! Find a gym that you can get a day pass to or an amazing yoga studio to try out. It's always fun to see what other gyms/classes do and you can always bring back a new experience/suggestion to your community! I'm determined to go to the Heartbreak Hill Studio in Boston one day and try out one of their running classes!

• Be OK with not getting your run in that day: Know that it's not a do-or-die situation during your vacation if your run doesn't happen. You're on vacation anyways! Relax and enjoy the unstructured life of running for a bit. When it doesn't happen, I like to think of the times when I'm training hard for a marathon and I have to do a run that I'm just not into it and be thankful that I can miss a run and my body may actually thank me for it. 

First Speed Workout & Vegas Marathon Training Begins!

Good morning! I've been pretty determined to get back into the swing of working out and getting my fitness back after vacation and yesterday did both a CoreBarre class and CoreRunning class at Steamboat Pilates Studio! 

I saw this meme and just had to laugh. I hadn't done a  Barre class in forever and it was definitely an awesome workout! Definitely will try to go to them more often throughout this marathon training cycle. It's similar to a combination class of ballet, yoga, and pilates = all of my favorite things wrapped into one neat little package. 

I did the workout class during my lunchbreak and then headed back to the studio after work to do my first speed work session since Revel 4 weeks ago!

This week was my first week of my marathon training cycle, so I didn't want to do anything too crazy with speed, but wanted to get my feet 'wet'. While I could definitely have done a good speed work session on my own, there's something really great about going to a class and having others there also suffer alongside you to good music! This is what the end of my workout totaled:

It really wasn't too bad, but I was SUPER sweaty by the end! I'm trying to get in more nighttime runs since the Vegas Marathon doesn't start until 4:30pm (which is both a good and bad thing when training- it means I get to sleep in, but also sometimes have to run when i'm either really tired or it's hot out). 

My body definitely was tired last night because I slept in until 6:50 this morning (normally I get up between 5 & 6) and seriously could NOT get out of bed! Sleep=recovery, so I won't fight it. I have 6 miles on the docket today and will split it up into two runs so I can take Stella for a run and also squeeze some in on my lunch break today and do the remaining miles tonight. 

Also I saw this meme when looking for a good speedwork one and had to chuckle. Because does no-one else think of deadlifts being similar to the bend and snap?!?

Happy Humpday!

How do you like to do your speedwork sessions?

Any good workout classes you've taken lately?

Road Trip Recap Part 4- Canada & Upper Michigan!

We got to our first campsite in Canada around 7:30pm (after driving since 7 that morning) and we were exhausted! We grabbed some fresh pasta, chicken sausage, and marinara sauce at the local store nearby and got right to cooking dinner!

We got super lucky and our campsite only had one neighbor and we were completely surrounded by water! The unlucky part was that we had to leave our campsite the next morning at 5 to catch our Ferry at 6am (the only time that we could reserve it), so we couldn't spend too much time enjoying the site!

We made the best of the situation and got in some much needed r-n-r while there though.

Verrryyy tired in that photo clearly. haha. We got to bed pretty early (maybe 9:30 or 10), but it was Canada Day and those Canadians seriously LOVE their fireworks! They kept shooting them off for the next 2+ hours....Which meant a VERY early wake-up call and also a beautiful sunrise.

We took the MS Chee Cheemaun Ferry from Manitoulin Island to Tobermory (both in Ontario). It was probably the favorite part of our trip! The Ferry takes up to 150 cars and has 4 different shuttle times throughout the day. It took us 1 hour 45 minutes from the time our car got on the ferry to us being able to drive off. There was also a TRACTOR TRAILER on the ferry with us! We parked on the bottom deck and were able to bring Stella up to the outer observation deck to hang out with us during the trip. 

We saw this one lighthouse on our trip and the ferry also had a cute little gift shop and cafeteria, so we got breakfast & coffee there. I also met a fellow runner on the ferry who was wearing her Boston Jacket and it turns out she lives in Canada, but her and her husband have traveled all over the US (and she's currently trying to get into the Big Sur lottery)- including Colorado! What a great world where runners can unite to the most unexpected places!

Once we got off the Ferry, we were on our drive again and it immediately started down pouring (and proceeded to downpour until we got to the Canada-US Border.

We arrived at our next campsite around 1pm, but decided to keep on going further since it was still super early (a decision that we would later regret). We ended up not being able to find any other campsites in MI and had to continue to drive until 8pm and could only find an Econolodge to stay in...

I hadn't been on a run in 2 days and had the serious itch! The hotel was directly across from the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds and I ended up doing my run Monday morning around the grounds!

I think we both definitely learned how beautiful Michigan was on this trip! It is seriously magical. I ran a total of 3.55 miles and started my run a little after 6 in the morning.

I couldn't resist getting a few action shots in front of some of the fun displays in the fair grounds before we left..

We were on the road again by 7 and per usual, hit the Central Time Zone within an hour of us leaving....Onto our last night of trip- South Dakota!

Weekend Things!

Last week felt like it went by so slow (and it was only a 3-day week) and then when the weekend hits, it goes by in a blink of an eye! Anyone else feel this way?? We were blessed with BEAUTIFUL weather here and it was hot. 

We slept in Saturday morning and didn't even get up until 8:30! I can't even remember the last time I slept in that late- we got over 10 hours of sleep Friday night. Definitely finally feel well-rested from our trip. 

I got out for an easy 7 miles (at the gym because sleeping in + over 80 degrees + no cloud cover= too hot to run outside) then 20 minutes of arms/abs. Here's a photo of my run on Thursday because it's too pretty not to share!

After getting home, we just relaxed for the evening! I finished reading up on the Hanson's Marathon Method (training plan I'm starting this week for the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon in November) and it really is an interesting/unique perspective on marathon training! I'm starting to follow the 3:50 marathon training plan, but will alter it later on if I feel like the work-outs are either too hard/ easy.

On Sunday, I worked on putting their work-out plan into my own homemade calendars!

The calendars are now up on our fridge and I love that I also added in the paces that I need to hit for each work-out and think this training plan will be both fun/a challenge. 

Rewind to Sunday morning and this view with my coffee:

We took Stella out for a walk around the lake Sunday afternoon and she just had to get in a swim too. 

We came back and I started doing some meal prep for the week. Hoping to also fit in a run later this afternoon/early evening when it cools down a bit, but we'll see! I'm trying to relish in the last few days of an unstructured training plan before mine starts on Wednesday. 

Also totally obsessed with How To Get Away With Murder right now- anyone else watch this?! So happy that I can watch Netflix at the gym again, since I'll need to start doing more afternoon training runs to prep for the late start that Rock 'n Roll Vegas has (the marathon starts at 4:30pm). 

Finishing up my recap on our Hello Fresh experience and I'll post it over here in the next few days so be sure to check back! We weren't too impressed with Blue Apron, but decided to give this one a chance.

Ever tried HelloFresh?

Favorite training plan?

Are you currently training for anything?

Favorite Netflix show you're watching right now?