Eugene Marathon/ 50 Miler Training RUNdown Week 6: 1/28-2/3

Happy Humpday! Another week almost halfway gone ; ) Last week was a recovery/rest week (I’m blending together a plan from this book and this one for both my marathon goals (sub 3:40!) and to complete my first 50 miler)- the recovery week is built into the Ultra Training and I’m all for it to help my muscles recover after the last few weeks of high mileage/ long back-to-back runs and then it will also help sustain me (mentally) for the next few months of training. I did do one hard workout (marathon training schedule)- with 7 goal marathon paced miles, but then everything else was super easy or else just lots of sleep/rest/yoga/ cross training. It was exactly what I needed to feel rejuvenated for the next 3 weeks before I get my next one!

Monday, 1/28: REST DAY! Wanted to swim, but I forgot something very important when you want to swim (AKA my swimsuit). Did some nice yoga to stretch out at the end of the day.

Tuesday, 1/29: 1.5 mi warm-up/ 7 miles at goal marathon effort (8:23)/ 1.5 mi cool down & 30 minutes of strength. My legs felt absolutely terrible at the beginning of this run and I got on the treadmill that feels “off” so I’m super happy to have mentally pushed through it!

Wednesday, 1/30: REST DAY! Yoga using this video. One of my favorites!

Thursday, 1/31: 5.31 miles easy to finish out January!

Friday, 2/1: 3/4 mile swim!

Saturday, 2/2: 8 miles easy with 446’ up at 9:55 pace & recovery yoga

Sunday, 2/3: 7 miles easy in crazy wind, but warmth! Strength afterwards

Total Mileage: 30.35 for recovery week!

Total Elevation gain: 1,534’ up

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What are you training for right now?

Favorite run of the week? —> I’m really loving the challenge (both mental and physical) of goal marathon paced miles. After I finish those runs, I feel INVINCIBLE!

Training Tuesday: My Favorite MANTRAS When Things Get Tough!

When I’m running a marathon or doing a really TOUGH speedworkout/ marathon-paced miles- I truly rely on mantras. Words/ Phrases/ Thoughts that I come back to that make me feel tough and fierce. I’m continuing to work on my mental stamina (you NEED to practice it if you want it to show up on race day) and have found that the marathon-paced miles are the best time to do so. I rely on those workouts to get me out of any funks I’m feeling and internally own my run so I can outwardly project it come race day. Anytime that I can remind myself how grateful and lucky I am to be able to push my body to its limits and get stronger —> I take it.

Here are some of my favorite mantras that get me going and help me ‘refocus’ when my mind begins to get bogged down with negative thoughts:

Dig Deep.

Grateful and strong.

You got this.

Believe and Achieve.

Attitude of Gratitude.

You are tough.

Prove them wrong.

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I want to know what YOUR favorite mantras/ words/ phrases are when things get tough!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! Wow I REALLY needed this weekend and last weeks training of recovery was amazing. At first, it was a bit odd to NOT be running all the miles, but come Saturday- I couldn’t have been more thankful for it. Let’s flashback to Friday afternoon where after having a completely crazy week at work, it felt so amazing to be able to get a nice 30 minute swim in (even though I also really wanted to get some strength in, but the universe was telling me not to since I brought two pairs of right-footed sneakers with me?!?!? - in my defense they are literally the same color/style Brooks Ghosts, but wow I had never done THAT before!)  

First day of my February vegan diet before I re-introduce food groups went well! Had this for dinner and so far, I’ve only craved a meatball sub once!  

Also had a Pinterest -fail Saturday morning trying out a Banana Oatmeal Vegan pancake recipe. Ha they were a complete blob.  

My planned 5-7 miles easy Saturday got switched with my Sunday easy 8 mile run because it was 32* outside and just SO BEAUTIFUL! I didn’t want to stop running, but good thing I have some self-control ; )  

Sunday was ALOT of meal-prepping for the week ahead (I think it’s the name-of-the-game when it comes to this months diet)  

Also had a way better attempt at a different recipe of Vegan pancakes (they even had Chia seeds in them!)  

Easy 7 miles in the crazy 20mph winds (but it was almost 40* out?!?) . Anytime I wanted to cop-out when the wind got really strong-> I reminded myself of all those brave soles who finished Boston last year.  

Then Stella and I went out for a little snowshoe later on before watching the pats at the super bowl!  

Don’t worry- Brady rested up the whole day for the game.  

Alex’s two friends from High School (who love back in Maine) are visiting this week, so I was mainly solo this weekend and will be this week as they head off for a few days to ski at Park City!  

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How was your weekend?!? 

Favorite Pinterest recipe you’ve found?! 

Any Super Bowl fans out there ? I just love how amazing the commercials are every year.  

Feature Friday: Running With The Kenyans Book Review, Trying Something New-To-Me

Happy Friday! Finally we are out of January and into a MUCH shorter (hopefully less cold) month. I’m also trying something new-to-me diet-wise for the month: going vegan. NOW before you get all judgmental and say things like ‘how do you plan get to all your iron’ or ‘why would you want to do a thing like that?’ - hear me out. Whenever I find myself either in a food-making slump, having stomach issues (I had some major cramps on my long run last Sunday), or just in general not excited about my breakfast/lunch/dinner options —> I look to switch things up. I would really love to find out what types of foods agree with my gut and which ones don’t and eliminating everything besides fruit/ vegetables/ beans/ grains (gluten-free) seems like the way to go at the moment. I don’t forsee it as lasting longer than a month because I truly love pizza, burgers, steaks, chicken, BACON all that goodness. I also love cheese. But if I’m able to find out which foods make my body feel great and which ones do not- I think that worth it for the month. I have so many recipes I can’t wait to make and will be absolutely loading up on things like Molasses (in my granola), Tempeh (I’ve never tried it, but honestly it is so good for you- it’s made from fermented soybeans and has loads of B vitamins, calcium, iron), Chickpeas, lots of nuts. I am most certainly NOT doing it for “losing weight” “getting stronger” or to potentially boost my running performance (unlike this article mentions Scott Jurek did it for). I would love to just cut down (or maybe out?) the digestive issues that sometimes wreak havoc on me throughout the day.

SOURCE

ON other news- let’s do another book review!

I recently finished Running With The Kenyans by Adharanand Finn. This book was a bit slow to start for me, but then I couldn’t put it down when he started to go into more detail about his training for his first marathon. Finn & his family packs up from London and moves to Kenya to study the Kenyan running way it Iten (one of the most popular (if not, most popular) running/training destination in the world). While there, he decides to sign-up and train for his first marathon and recruit several local runners to train with him. I love how he recaps their long run sessions (how mentally he felt through the run- I could totally relate) and the community that he describes there.

While he never truely uncovers the ‘secret’ to why Kenyans are such exceptional runners, they are all so humble and he does an excellent job of describing each individual that he meets (even Mary Keitany!). If you’re interested in an insight into training for your first marathon, Kenyan running, or just travel in general- I highly recommend this book.

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I’d love to know your thoughts on the book if you’ve read it?

Any books you can recommend to me?!?

If you are a Vegan + runner —> send me your favorite recipe!

End of The Month Check-In!

Finally January is nearly behind us! How was your month? Are you a big ‘new years resolution person’ or not so much? I think they say that most people it takes 3 weeks before something starts to become a habit, so if you almost made it there don’t give up! Begin again and give yourself grace. Implementing new schedules, new goals, new sleep patterns take time (i.e. why the first few weeks of marathon training ALWAYS seems impossible to me and then I get past the hump and it feels like I could continue this schedule forever).

I didn’t set a ton of January goals- mainly because I knew how busy I would be- but was able to do some really fun things!

• Ski at 1 new-to-me mountain- CHECK!

• Save a lot of $$ - I got a decent amount saved, but could be better!

• Yoga 1x per week

• Plank hold for 4 minutes- CHECK!

• Read 2 books- CHECK!

Now, let’s make some goals for next month!

• Read 2 books

• Ski @ one new-to-me mountain

• Save $$

• Do 1 Pull-Up

• Yoga 1 x per week

• Meditate 1 x per week

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What are some things you’ve achieved this month? —> I keep a gratitude journal and write down a few things every night that I’m grateful for. This really helps me celebrate even the smallest achievements!