Beginning of trip recap- 2, 225 miles to Maine

We left Steamboat at around 5:30 (later than expected) and had to get to Maine by Friday evening (or Saturday morning at the latest). We definitely had a bit of a time-crunch to get there! 

Stealthy photo taken of Stella spying on us while on the road! The first night we drove until somewhere in Nebraska until around 11pm and stopped for the night at a hotel. 

We were up and out of the hotel by 7 and back on the road the next morning! Hello extra caffeine! Within 40 minutes of leaving the hotel, we crossed the Central Time Zone and added an hour onto our drive (bummer). Driving through Iowa seemed to take forever (it's really really flat there), but we finally hit Illinois and started feeling like we were actually getting somewhere!

We arrived in Indiana in the late afternoon and decided to stop there for the evening. That left us about 11 hours (12 with the time change) left to drive on Friday to get to Maine! 

The hotel that we stayed at (hellllo Quality Inn #2 - also never staying at another one again because we somehow only got these hotels through our priceline deals) had a gym hotel so I got in a quick 3.25 miles before we left around 7:30. 

Also Indiana has REALLY nice rest stops. They had Panera and we couldn't resist not stopping for some healthy eats while on the road. Fuji Apple Chicken Salad #1 please!

We hit the Eastern Time Zone again within an hour of leaving the hotel (definitely a pattern that followed throughout our entire trip) and soon enough we were in New York!

Driving through New York brought back so many fun college memories (I went to Syracuse in upstate NY) and we drove right by the exit that I would get off at when I drove to school after vacation breaks! I wanted to stop, but when we hit it at 6pm and knew we had 7 hours left to go, Alex wasn't all for it...ha ha. 

We arrived in Vermont around 9pm and drove right past Alex's parents house (so of course we had to stop there at 10pm at night and surprise them)! They were pretty surprised especially when we told them several times that there was "no way that we could stop there". 

We finally arrived in Maine at 2am on Saturday morning (pure adrenaline keeping us going at this point) and crashed until 10am! 

It was a really long trip and I think if we could have left a bit earlier on Wednesday, that would have made the last leg of the drive easier, but we really didn't hit much traffic and kept our stops to around 10-15 minutes (but would stop every 2-3 hours keeping our minds/bodies refreshed). The weather on Friday was pretty terrible as well (pouring rain almost the entire day), which slowed us down too- driving on the highway with hail/wind/rain= not so much fun. 

Back from Vacation & Thoughts on June Mileage!

Phew! We are FINALLY back from vacation after 13 days away! I had the full intention of continuing to do posts while away, but we only had about ~5 days where we had internet and believe it or not, we were actually really busy the entire time. I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing?!?

Currently working on my vacation posts, but I'll recap my back from vacation mode now and put up the vacation recaps shortly!

Getting back on track after vacations are REALLY hard. All my body wants to do is sleep for eternity, but after not having much structure with my workouts for 3 weeks (including 2 weeks of vacation and 1 week of post-marathon goodness) I was seriously craving some good sweat sessions.

Endorphins from working out is definitely a thing because even though I'm still sleep-deprived my body is happier with being back into the work-out routine! We got back home Tuesday evening at 8pm (and still stuck on East Coast time, so it felt like 10pm) and unpacked the majority of our things and went straight to bed. I got up at 5 and still managed to get in an easy 4 miles and 30 minutes of a full body strength training. The rest of the day was spent at work catching up on everything I missed and teaching two skating lessons yesterday afternoon! Our internet has still been down since we arrived back (I swear this ALWAYS happens to us!), so we cooked up some chicken and topped our baby spinach salads with it (along with cucumbers, chopped carrots, and a bit of Parmesan). Super happy to be eating healthy again! 

This morning I was surpisingly pretty sore from my workout yesterday, so tried to take it a bit easier on my run. I did 5 miles, but probably should've slowed down my pace even more- live and learn, am i right?!

I tallied up my June mileage and was pretty disappointed with it. I ran a total of 81.7 miles, which doesn't seem like much, but June was a pretty scattered running month for me! It included 1.5 weeks of taper for the marathon, 26.2 miles for the race, a week totally off of running, and then 2 weeks of short runs (while on vacation). So all in all, I'm pretty happy that I even got over 80 miles this month- plus I got a shiny new PR for the marathon, so that counts for quite a bit!

This thought pattern also just brings me back to the thought of why are we so concerned with all the numbers and comparing ourselves to others? What's a high number for one person may not be considered high for another. This is SO true not just to running, but to others weights, how many races you've run, what your race PR is, how far you have or have not traveled, etc. 

We are all individuals and that is what makes us UNIQUE- be true to yourself and proud of your accomplishments because the person next to you probably thinks you're a ROCKSTAR (and you should probably think the same thing about yourself ((and them too))). 

I came across this quote last week and fell in love with it. Isn't love all that matters in the world?! 

Maybe I'm just being sentimental or all mushy from my stress-free vacation, but this really stuck with me and I'm going to try to center my thoughts more towards love and peace, rather than focusing on others. 

So enough of the mushy stuff! How's your dreaming beyond your comfort zone going?!

I'm still a work in progress on this (aren't we all?), but continuing to work towards improving myself and breaking down the barriers that I put up for myself. 

Three things that I am thankful for today:

• My Health
• My Family
• Green Tea with Honey <- currently fueling me through the afternoon slump!

How did you spend your Fourth of July?

Getting back to training/running/work-outs after a vacation- any tips?

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?

Tapering.

I always block how terrible the last few days of tapering for a marathon really are. I think I get so caught up in the excitement of the expo, the race, traveling, sightseeing, etc. that they become so miniscule compared to the race and finish itself; BUT DON'T LET THAT FOOL YOU! The taper-crazies are real and they suck. 

Accurate.

I'm cranky for no reason at all (well besides the fact that I'm not running very much and I'm *twitchy bitchy* to want to run). I'm really hungry all the time. I honestly feel like I could chow down on a steak dinner for LUNCH, but these feelings will just make my post-race meal that much better. Weird parts of my body just ache and 3 miles seems like it took forever to finish. Did I mention that I'm cranky and hungry? Ugh. 2 more days!

I slept in again yesterday morning and opted to do my run later in the day. So, I runched instead. What is runching? Running on your lunch break! I don't get to do this very often, so when I'm able to enjoy the bright sunshine and see other runners out it's truly something special. 

Did an easy 3 miles followed by some foam rolling/ stretching/ 30 second plank/ 2 x 10 dips. I wanted to do a few light strength exercises to help keep my body feeling strong going into the race, but definitely didn't want to do my usual full-body 30 minute strength session. I figured a few dips and plank were a good compromise.

I still am not feeling super nervous about the race, but mainly excited! I've basically got my race-day strategy done, but don't want to set it in stone (since you never know exactly how you will feel the day of the race). It looks like the high could get up into the mid-90s! Luckily the race starts at 6AM and I should be done by 10ish, although I definitely remember the race being super hot in the sun by the time I finished last year! Already prepping myself for the hot sun and the rolling hills in miles 12-17!

The first 12 miles are super downhill, so I don't have a time specific in mind (ultimately under 9:00 min/mi would be great), but will go by feel (not straining myself and keeping in touch with my form and easy breathing more than anything else). In the rolling hills miles 12-17, I ideally just want to push through them and know that this will be my slowest section. I know I have a few mantras that I'd like to repeat to myself during this time. 

If I stay right around goal pace (9:10ish min/mi), I'll be happy. The next section, miles 17-22 are pretty flat and fast (with some shade), so I'll try to stay at goal pace or slightly below (depending on how I feel). From miles 22-26, it is another steep downhill so I'll try to utilize this to power through near 9:00 min/mi or slightly faster if I can muster it. There is no shade in this section, so it'll be tough. But you're already feeling exhausted in a marathon after somewhere between miles 18+, so just propelling yourself forwards is all you can really do (and knowing that the faster you go, the quicker you'll be done).

Miles 18+ is where I have always struggled, so I am going to try to change my music at this point (possibly put in an uplifting podcast or music) to get my mind off the pain since it's inevitable anyways. 

I've been super focused on my nutrition this entire week and will focus on it even more today and tomorrow! More light meals, less fiber-rich foods, more iron-rich foods, and light carb meals & electrolytes/water throughout the day. 

Had this as my lunch yesterday (Spicy Sausage and Beans Minestrone Soup):

I'll also continue to have light snacks throughout the day like this one!

The race has a few pacers (one at 3:55 and one at 4:00). I kind of want to try to stick with the 3:55 and see how long I can hold onto it with them. I've never stuck with a pace group (since time-goals are still pretty new to me), so I guess I'll leave that up to the morning of! It would be kind of nice not to worry about my watch time so much, but that's also how I trained....hmmm.. decisions! decisions!

Still have plenty of time to decide and will be working on my race day playlist tonight and tomorrow!

Have any good race day songs?

Pace groups? yay or nay?

How do you deal with tapering? Do you love it or not a fan?

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?