Reminiscing on that time when I used to....

....make my own training plans after coming back from an injury that sidelined me for 3 months! I'm thinking back to the Star Wars 1/2 Marathon that I did in April 2016 after coming back from Achilles Tendonitis and having a PRP injection 8 months prior. This was back when I didn't really follow training plans, ran just for fun (nothing wrong with this!), had no expectations for myself, and really never thought that training for a race would improve my time (ohhh I was SO wrong!).

This was my first race that I traveled to and really wanted to have a PR, but most importantly have fun! I was really excited to be back at Disney after having not been since I was 11 and was training for my second marathon at the time (I was using the Jeff Galloway's marathon training plan and only running 3 days a week). 

After having been in a boot for 3 weeks after my PRP injection (more on this in a future post), I was OK'd to begin a run-walk method and this kept me busy until late October when I could finally run for 3 miles+ at a time! I thought that the Jeff Galloway training plan really suited me where I was in my training cycle (it's longer than other training plans- maybe 18 or 20 weeks?), so I began training for my June race in January. I had two 45 minute runs a week and one long run. I did cross-training the other days. It was a great plan to get me back into running (and I ended up getting a PR in my marathon in June), however I still had absolutely NO clue that you needed to have 'easy' run days vs 'speedwork' vs 'tempo' run days. So needless to say, I was not in shape to PR in the half in April at Disney and they also had a heat advisory that weekend, so even if I was in great running shape, a PR probably wouldn't have been in the cards anyways. 

Here are some things I took away from using the Jeff Galloway Training plan:

• It was a great 'introductory' plan for beginning any race distance or coming back from an injury. I got to the starting line with just one expectation- to finish and stay healthy during training. I did both and got a PR!
• It's really easy to fit in 3 runs/ run-walks a week. This was so great when I was working 50+ hours a week!
• If you are just wanting to finish and have fun with a race, this is a great plan for you
• If you are not new to running or coming back from an injury, I would either adopt this plan with some speedwork/tempo runs or mesh this plan with another training plan to suite your style
• Do not expect to PR at a half marathon when you are training for another race distance PR OR when there is a heat advisory OR when you are traveling to a race OR when you coming off an injury
• Adjust your expectations based on your fitness level and current training schedule

YELLOWSTONE - America's First National Park

I took SO MANY PHOTOS from our long weekend in Yellowstone and wanted to share them with you! It was pretty hazy in the park from all of the wildfires out west, so some of the photos didn't come out great, but this park is really beautiful and must-see. Alex and I both agree that we love the nature and all of its natural geysers in this park and camping here is also a must. This was our second time visiting Yellowstone and it was still just as marvelous as we last remembered it. It's definitely worth taking 4-5 days to fully see the park (it's really BIG) and there is a lot of driving to be done. We also highly recommend getting up early (think 5 am) to go see some of the hot springs and geysers when the morning sun is coming up and there are few people. The more crowded the park gets later in the day, the less enjoyable it really is. This was our 9th National Park that we've visited together and one of our favorites (rivals Yosemite for the top spot). 

Resident Elk that visited our campsite! We stayed at Bridge Bay Campground and stayed at Jenny Lake during our last visit. 

If you haven't seen buffalo before, Yellowstone is your park to see them. They are everywhere! This one was right next to the road just munching away on some grass and could care less that we were stopped taking pictures of it. We saw maybe 5 buffalo walking along the roadways during our trip. 

Yellowstone Falls from Artists Point. The light was pretty terrible and it was hazy out, so the photo does NOT do this one justice. It's my favorite part of the park by far. 

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!

Backpacking on the CDT

Last weekend we went backpacking on the Continental Divide Trail to the 6 Fishing Lakes in Routt National Forest and it was amazing! We had previously done this hike (but camped on a different lake this time) and last year, it was raining/lightning almost the entire time. We got lucky and had spectacular weather the entire time! 

We decided to begin our hike earlier than we normally do backpacking (we typically don't start our hike until 2 or 3pm, but went out at around noon) and this gave us so much time in the afternoon to just relax and read and fish. We set-up our camp 3.5 miles into the trail at the 3rd lake we came to (Lake Elmo) and were the only ones there the entire time. The trail passes by our campsite a bit, but it was nice to have some passersby once and a while and still feel like we had the entire place to ourselves. 

At first, I was a little skeptical towards backpacking as being out in the woods by yourself and far enough away from anything & everything is a bit scary, but this trip was SO wonderful it really began to change my outlook towards backpacking. I also think this is a great trail for beginning backpackers (I've gone on maybe 10 backpacking trips & still consider myself a beginner) because it's not so remote that you feel helpless if something were to go wrong, but it's also a good distance from anything. 

We arrived to our campsite by 2 and cooked up some lunch (we typically just pack along some snacks and a few mountain houses to make clean up easy and keep our packs light) then set up our tent and relaxed! I think I probably read about 100 pages in my book on the trip and we saw maybe 30 fish jump (but sadly caught nothing...I'm beginning to think that there's some consensus between all the fish to not latch onto just our pole because others around us ALWAYS catch something). We also saw a giant moose pass about 200 meters by our campsite- it was so out of the blue that I didn't even have my camera on me to take a picture!

Sunset views from our tent

The views were so wonderful and my photos definitely do NOT do it justice! We got up the next morning around 7:30 and I headed out for my solo trail run shortly afterwards. I ended up getting stung by a bee on the top of my ankle about a mile in, but luckily I had my compression socks and that really kept the swelling down and I managed to get in 4.5 miles and reach the final 6th fishing lake, Long Lake (the biggest one) at an altitude around 9,200 feet (we camped at an altitude of just over 10,000 feet). 

The wildflowers were in bloom throughout our entire hike and the trails were really well maintained (it's a popular mountain biking trail as well). I'm so glad I was able to fit in some trail running because that's been on my wishlist to do for a while. This trial is also part of both a 10k that our local running series puts on (I'm thinking about signing up) and their annual 50/100 mile trail run! It's pretty cool to say that my training run was along these routes, as well as on the CDT. 

Overall, this was a perfect backpacking weekend. We got back to our car around noon on Sunday and that gave us the afternoon to do (what seemed like) a million loads of laundry and meal prep for the week ahead. HIGHLY recommend doing this as a backpacking trip if you're ever in Northwest Colorado- you can tie it into a loop hike for higher mileage (10 mile or 20+ mile round trip) if you want to. Happy hiking and trail running!

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?