VO2 max & Jumpboard class!

Hi friends! Happy May! I am almost always training for a marathon in the month of May, so when it hits I know that 1. my race is right around the corner (41 days to be exact) 2. that these next few weeks will be my peak weeks until I begin to taper and 3. I will be hungry all.the.time and it is acceptable to eat all the things!

I was pretty groggy when I woke-up this morning and it was sleeting, but I was determined to not let the weather push me indoors and I am so glad I was persistent! When I finished foam-rolling at the gym, it was just overcast outside and absolutely perfect out. 

I think I maybe met one car the entire 5 miles and really tried to keep my easy run "easy". Does anyone else struggle with this? Since taking iron supplements (I've been on them for a little over 4 weeks), I've noticed that I've been able to run at a significantly faster pace (we're talking 30-50 seconds faster) without feeling like I'm struggling or have any sort of labored breathing and each run FEELS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Thinking I'll make my post about my anemia and kidney infection coming up real soon. Also- I hit a new VO2 max threshold this morning- score! 

Another amazing feeling is finishing a truly easy run and having your Garmin tell you that you have a recovery timeline of less than 24 hours. Does anyone else get super pumped when they see this? It must mean we're doing something right...right?

After my run, I per-usual showed up to work with still wet-hair and heated up my breakfast (2 egg muffins, 1/2 baked sweet potato, and 1 Murray's breakfast sausage). Fast-forward to lunch and I got to go back to Jumpboard class at Steamboat Pilates and Fitness! I LOVE this studio. I mean really LOVE it. They just did a remodel and it looks amazing. The instructors are all awesome and I have learned so much from them about how to engage my core (and hello- I actually have "abs" for the first time). 

I had some of my thai coconut peanut sauce with soba noodles & veggies for lunch along with a side of carrots & spelt pretzels after coming back from class. Hoping to take it easy tonight and have some leftover minestrone soup, find HGTV's Fixer Upper on (hopefully! I am slightly obsessed with Chip & Joanne Gaines), and foam roll! 

Here is a link to a great sight that I used to look up where my VO2 max stands for my age and gender. Running for Fitness also does a great job at explaining what factors go into predicting your VO2 max and what it is exactly. 

 

Do you have any big Monday night plans?

Do you use any VO2 max calculators or rely on your running watch for any other stats?

What's your favorite cross-training running workout? 

Snow in April & first post!

Well hello there! Welcome to my blog- I am so excited to start this journey with you. I hope to entertain you, bring a little joyfulness into your life, and share my corner of the world with you! It is April 27th and it has been snowing ALL week here. Can you believe it? We are expected to get up to 20" of snow by Saturday night- so much for the flowers blooming & green grass... oh mother nature how much you love to torment us runners!

Spring & Winter collided in Colorado this week. Goodbye green grass for a bit longer!

Spring & Winter collided in Colorado this week. Goodbye green grass for a bit longer!

I did my fourth run on the treadmill this week seeing how it's been freezing rain/ sleeting/ snowing early in the mornings when I normally do my runs. Switched up my long run on Saturday and did that today since the weather is supposed to be pretty terrible and I also want my legs to have enough time to rest between now and my half in Albuquerque next weekend (eeek!). 

BEAUTIFUL drive into work the other morning...alright snow, you win this time!

BEAUTIFUL drive into work the other morning...alright snow, you win this time!

 

My next week and a half will consist mainly of easier runs (with some speedwork) building up to my half. I also have a 20-miler scheduled for that day (running the Run Revel Rockies Marathon in June! 45 days away!), so I'll see how I feel and add in some warm-up miles and take it from there. I've already done one of three 20-milers on my training schedule, so feeling pretty confident in my training to take me into my final stretches of this marathon training cycle.

 

Enough about me! How are YOU? Any exciting plans to look forward to this Spring? Any races you are working towards? How's the weather in your corner of the world?