Book Review: Eat & Run By Scott Jurek

Happy Tuesday! Only one more work day for me this week- YAY! Does anyone else have a long weekend? Anyone traveling? I’m definitely missing my family this time of year, but also happy to not have to have the stress of traveling this time of year. Let’s recap my yesterday, shall we?

Back in the pool yesterday for the first time in over a month! 30 minutes and almost 3/4 of a mile swam!

They’re patently waiting for Alex to get home from Salt Lake today….

Grown-up grilled cheese (I added spinach & avocado so it’s grown up now ; ) …) for dinner because I’m an adult and that’s all that sounded good.

Yoga & Coffee to kickstart my Tuesday morning (followed by an epsom salt soak)!

I recently finished Scott Jurek’s Eat & Run and I really LOVED it. I actually devoured it in less than 2 weeks. This book was so enlightening on his chidhood (I really enjoyed the section on where he talks about his motivation to start running & also on his mother’s MS diagnosis/ treatment & his journey towards obtaining his Physical Therapy degree).

I felt like I could relate to Scott a lot throughout this book and it was also amazing to read his journey with food and how it affected him. It really got me thinking about trying to go heavier on certain food groups and less on others (dairy mainly I think) to see how it helps my athletic performance. I also really enjoyed to read about ultra marathons through his eyes. He’s super open and honest throughout this book and I’m definitely thinking about adding a 50-miler to my race calendar next year!!

​I really enjoyed his book that came out earlier this year (North) and glad that I read them in this sequence- although I think either way the books really mesh together nicely. I’m not a huge fan of anything in really “diet” terms, but the book is so much more than just food-related. Highly recommend if you’re interested in running, ultras, veganism, or Scott himself.

———————————————————————​

​Ever read any of Scott Jureks books?​

​Are you able to swim outside in the winter?​

​Grilled cheese- yay or nay and favorite way to eat them? ​

Half Race Recap & Photos From Our Weekend!

Happy Monday! Knowing that it’s a short week, waking up this morning didn’t seem too bad. Anyone else feel this way?

I’ve got my Rock n Roll Half Marathon Recap HERE for you today!

Let’s recap the weekend shall we?

Still no running, but still getting outdoors when I can for some walks!

THIS. Anyone else tried this? I’m OBSESSED and am trying to convince Alex that we need to move close to a Trader Joe’s tomorrow.

Maybe they do actually love eachother (‘s butt)?

Kitty cuddles.

MORE snow on Sunday.

—————————————————

Favorite Trader Joe’s item?

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?! Anyone running a Turkey Trot?

Do you have anyone animals? Do they love eachother?

5k Race Recap!

Happy Friday! It’s slightly unusual, but I’m really enjoying this downtime from not running. Sure, I absolutely cannot wait to get back out there and run some new (and old, familiar) routes; but it’s also pretty nice to just relax for a bit. I’ve still been on-again off-again dealing with some inner knee pain and plantar fasciitis, so I’ve got a Physical Therapy screening this morning at a new place (crossing my fingers & toes that I get a good PT that can heal me up in my downtime).

Let’s recap the 5k on Saturday! This was my 2nd year doing the 5k (and using it as a shakeout run) so I knew what to expect (which was really nice). It also starts at 6pm, so you’ve got all day to either walk a bunch (we did not do that) or relax (we did this).

In the morning, we walked to breakfast and then to CVS to pick up just some miscellaneous things (snacks/ coconut water/ mucinex/ body wash) before sitting outside at Cesar’s Palace for a while. I was a terrible blogger this day and barely took one photo, so I’m sorry in advance! I also did some light strength/ stretching at the hotel that morning.

5k race ready!

Last year, we got so lucky to get on a Monorail to get to the start of the 5k (which is at the last stop of the monorail) and it was so crowded! So this year, we decided to leave extra early and eat dinner at the SLS Las Vegas (where 5k start/finish is). We also skipped lunch, so we were ready for an early dinner (i.e. eating at 4pm I think?). Hardly anyone was on the monorail, so it was a great decision (also dinner was really quiet as well)!

We ate at the BEST pizza place I’ve literally had since I studied abroad in Italy (no joke). If you’re in Vegas, you MUST eat at 800 Degrees Neapolitan PIzzeria. We split one pizza (it’s around ~2 servings per pizza) and got the Cesear salad. The pizza also cooks in 90 seconds in the brick oven, so it takes no time at all.

After dinner, we walked over to the 5k start around 5:15 (the hotel is directly across the street from the start/finish area).

You can read my 5k race recap HERE.

Since my mom & grandma wouldn’t be finished for another hour or so after me, I decided I would meet them back at the PIzzeria (they have gelato)! I remember getting pretty cold waiting outside for them last year and it was difficult to find eachother, so this way I stayed warm and they knew exactly where I would be post-race. Plus, gelato as a post-run treat? YES PLEASE!

I got a mix of salted caramel, french vanilla, and coconut snickers and it was amazing. It was also huge and I only ate about half of it.

After gelato, we took the monorail back (and while it was still busy, it was really well organized and maybe took us 10 minutes to wait to get on one).

Don’t forget to check back on Monday for my Half Marathon recap!

—————————————————————

Favorite flavors of gelato?

Night races- what would/ did you do during the day?!

Best place you’ve ever had pizza? Favorite flavor?

Pre-Race Vegas Recap & WHICH IS BETTER?!?!?

Friday is tomorrow and I cannot wait for the weekend. It was a short week for me, but it honestly felt like those 3 days were actually more like 10 or more… Saturday will be a complete lazy day for me. I actually aspire to not change out of my sweats the entire day. I also will be reading more of my new Library book Shoe Dawg by Phil Knight and I’m completely obsessed with this book.

SOURCE

I figured the next best way to get me through the rest of this week (besides staying on vacation) was to recap my trip for you! So here’s recap of what we did leading up to the 5k. I’ll have a 5k recap for you tomorrow and 13.1 recap for you on Monday. I flew into Las Vegas Wednesday morning and got there around 10:30. My mom & gram flew into the airport around 11:30 that morning so I did a lot of people-watching at the baggage claim waiting for them to arrive. Then it was straight to get the rental car & then the nearest In-N-Out.

YUM. So tasty. I’m not sure if it’s better than Five Guys, but it certainly tasted really good. We then drove 4 hours to Grand Canyon- South Rim and thanks to the time-change (daylight savings + Grand Canyon being in AZ), we arrived there after dark around 5:30. Boo. We were all pretty exhausted so we went to bed early and then got up the next morning for a run (my mom & I did).

Running in the Grand Canyon (we did the Rim Trail, which spans over 7 miles one way?!?) was SO beautiful. It was not a pancake-flat run, but oh so beautiful. I cannot get over these run views!

Our stay at the Kachina Lodge was perfect (the Rim is literally out the front door of the lodge), but parking for it was really challenging (especially arriving there in the dark). We drove around several times before we found where we needed to check-in and then drove around some more to find a parking spot.

After our run, we walked over the Canyon edge and saw a baby fox just curled up on the ledge! How cute is he?!?

We also did the Desert View Drive, which I can’t recommend enough. So many great viewpoints and also apparently you may see a Mountain Lion?!?

I had never been to the Watchtower on Desert View Drive and it was so beautiful! Not just the views, but really the history itself really interested me.

We drove back to Vegas Thursday late afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Flamingo. At first I was a bit hesitant on switching to a different hotel this year, but I really liked the Flamingo. The casino itself didn’t smell as cigarette-smoky as others and the rooms had recently been renovated. They had a great flat screen TV, shower was awesome, and the location itself along the strip was great (especially close to the finish line of the 10k/half/full marathon).

On Friday, we went to the Expo (I’ll include the recap of that tomorrow with 5k recap), returned the rental car, went to the Premium North Outlets (didn’t see much to purchase), and then went to see Celine Dion in concert!

I’ve been a HUGE fan of Celine since I was maybe 9 or 10 so it was amazing to see her perform live. I was so excited that I actually TEARED UP when she started singing?!? Anyone else ever get emotional when they heard their childhood favorite artist (or just favorite artist in general) perform?!

Also sporting my $10 jacket that I scored at the Gap Outlet that morning!

Also my mom looks like she isn’t a day over 40?!?!

We slept in on Saturday and prepped for the 5k!

—————————————————————————————-

In-N-Out or Five Guys?

Favorite childhood singer or artist?

What are you currently reading?

Las Vegas HALF Rundown Week 17: 11/5-11/11

​Happy Humpday! I’m heading back to work today and the post vacation blues are hitting me big time. Luckily, Thanksgiving is next Thursday so I can’t wait! I’m cooking a full dinner (turkey included this year ), so I’m excited. Anyone else cooking Thanksgiving this year?!? What traditions do you love to celebrate? The holidays are my favorite! Another thing I’m doing these next two weeks when I’m not running? Leaving my Garmin at home. No need to count my steps- I’m in full relaxation mode! 

Lets recap last week of training! ​

Monday, 11/4: 4.27 miles easy on the treadmill at 10:31 pace & Jumpboard Pilates class at lunch 

Tuesday, 11/5: 4.47 miles with .6 mile warm-up, 3 x 1/2 mile at 10k pace (2 min recovery), 3 x 1/2 mile at 5k pace (2 min recovery), .6 mile cool down. I only hit one of my paces for this workout and the roads were completely icy/snowy so I did take it easier than I would have (and still wasn’t feeling 100% better). Still happy to have pushed through! 

Wednesday, 11/6: REST DAY/ Travel day!  

Thursday, 11/7: 4.05 easy miles at 10:12 pace 1,022’ up at the Grand Canyon! 

Friday, 11/8: REST DAY 

Saturday, 11/9: 3.12 miles with 4 x :30 pick ups at the 5k  

 Sunday, 11/10: 13.12 miles Race Day! 155’ up

Total Elevation: 1,044’ up 

Total Mileage: 29.05 miles