Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday! I had a GREAT weekend and will have a full race recap for you tomorrow and a recap of Capitol Reef National Park for you on Thursday, but here’s some photos from our weekend!  

Race ready!  

Campsite all set up at Lake Powell

14.1 miles, 2 medals, a new race state, and a new half PR - check!  

Made it to Capitol Reef National Park! 

Nice evening walk around  the park!

Easy 4 mile Sunday run and made some new furry friends! 

Now I’m out getting in some more easy miles (5-6) and hitting up a Pilates Reformer class at lunch! 

How was your weekend?!  

Favorite place you’ve ever run? 

Ever done a Vacation Races event!?!? 

Feature Friday: On The Road & Songs On My Running Playlist!

Happy Friday! I’m so excited to check off a new state off my half marathon race bucket list tomorrow morning. I’m also really excited to visit the Expo later today (Vacation Races are seriously one of my favorite race series- they have some of the best swag and absolutely incredible views). I’m also pretty pumped for how many cupcakes I can consume post-race.

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My goal for the half tomorrow morning is to do the first 6 miles easy (which will be challenging to hold back on my pace!), next 6 cutting back to half marathon race pace, final 2 miles all-out. I’m also planning to do a mile warm-up before the race to shake-out my legs.

I’m still in the process of putting together my playlist for the morning, but here are some songs that I’ve been really LOVING right now.

Also I literally CANNOT stop watching this dance video. Obsessed.

Also a little Friday Funny video from The Ellen Show because we all need a reason to laugh today. I love Ellen so much. Go watch it right meow.

What are some songs that are on your race-day playlist?

Favorite race series?

Cupcakes or cake?

Trail Thursday: Lake Winnipesaukee & Castle In The Clouds

Happy Friday-eve! It’s finally warmer out in the mornings so dressing for my run isn’t as much of a production as it was at the beginning of this week (i.e. wear a billion layers and compression gear that is so skin-clinging that you almost knock yourself out putting it on). Also this:

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We’re planning to leave early tomorrow morning (~6am) to drive to Lake Powell (it’s around a 9 hour drive) with Stella. Hoping to get there by 4pm (which will really be 3pm since AZ —> Pacific time, yay!) and check out the expo before setting up our campsite/ exploring Powell a bit. I put tomorrow as a rest day (and have 8 easy miles on-tap this morning) since we’ll be traveling a lot and hope to get in some miles in Capitol Reef Nat’l Park on Sunday.

Now let’s go back to a great vacation that we had a few years ago visiting Lake Winnipesaukee (we did the M/S Mount Washington boat tour around the lake starting in Wolfeboro). The cruise was so great and they provide all sorts of fun trivia (like who owns which home and the famous celebrities that are often seen visiting). We did it during the Fall mid-week, so it was a quiet time and perfect to really soak it all in! It was a bit rainy and windy, so we spent most of the time inside the boat but that didn’t damper the mood at all.

The views seen throughout the cruise (I think it last around 45 minutes?) were spectacular.

We also visited Castle In The Clouds, which I had always wanted to see! I loved the drive up to the top (although it was a bit pricey, $17 per person) and there were several lookout spots (overlooking the lake) along the way for us to stop at.

The history of the castle was incredible and the structure still looked great (both inside and out).

Hi! Younger-looking Alex!

It was a great way to spend the day and we also ate lunch at the Carriage House Restaurant. It was SO tasty and so cool to be actually dining in the original stables.

We also hiked to the Falls of Song, which was a really easy (and short) hike to the 40 foot Falls.

Despite the pricey admission fee, it was a great day-trip to visit the rich history of the mansion and the hiking trails (along with the scenic overlooks). I certainly wouldn’t pay to visit there again (one time I think was enough), but it is worthwhile if you haven’t visited yet or are in the area looking for more indoor sites to see.

Ever been to Lake Winnipesaukee? What’s your favorite location?

What’s your take on admission fees? What do you think is too much to charge?

Long drives- give me some podcast recommendations to download!

Las Vegas HALF Marathon RUNdown Week 13: 10/8-10/14

Happy Humpday! I’ve got 7 easy miles on tap with strides and hoping to squeeze in a swim/ hot springs soak afterwards. I can’t believe that we’re almost to our Powell trip! Yay! Cannot wait for warmer weather and camping and exploring (all of my favorite things all in one) in the desert.

Monday, 10/8: 20 minutes of strength/ 6.01 miles easy @ 10:09 694’ up

Tuesday, 10/9: 7 miles 1 mi warm-up/ 2 x 2mi @10k 7:22 (actual: 7:26 / 7:34) 3 min recovery jog/ 2 x 1/2 mi @ 5k 7:04 (actual: 7:15 / 7:10) 2 min recovery jog/ 1 mi cool down 120’ up. I didn’t hit my paces, but I did get faster every time which I’m calling as a win. I also never gave up, so working on that mental strength!

Wednesday, 10/10: Rest day!

Thursday, 10/11: 20 minutes strength/ 7.65 miles @ 9:23 397’ up—> 7.25 miles easy with 3 x :60 strides. I ran out of time, but originally planned for 4-5 x :60 strides. Some is better than nothing!

Friday, 10/12: 13.1 miles at a steady pace 9:01 438’ up —> first 6.5 miles @ 9:45 / second half 6.6 miles @ 8:47 (last two miles were below 8:15 pace). I’m definitely negative-split this run and pretty excited that my fueling strategy seemed to help (before/ during the run). Also running an 8:05 pace towards the end felt relatively ~easy~.

Saturday, 10/13: 6.13 miles @ 9:48 432’ up. ​Took advantage of the warmer weather and got a nice little run down by the lake. ​25 minutes of strength

Sunday, 10/14: 6 miles @ 10:30 pace on the treadmill

Total Mileage: 45.86 miles

Total Elevation: 2,081’ up

Our Engagement Photos Sneak Peek!

I couldn’t WAIT to share with you some sneak-peeks of our engagement photos, so here’s a second post for the day! It was FREEZING (..maybe slight exaggeration, but it definitely hovered around 30*) by the the end of our photo shoot. She got some of the cutest photos of Stella and us..she is such a photogenic dog it’s not even right! Also the amount of times I changed my mind on what to wear for the photos was ridiculous- I was still even questioning what to wear as we were driving to Fishcreek Falls?!? So indecisive!

Here’s a few sneak-peeks! Katie was amazing! I need to find her website and I’ll link it here when we get a few more of our photos done.

I can’t wait to see more!!!