What I'm Currently......

Happy Friday! We finally made it to the weekend and I’m kicking off a new Friday Series—> What I’m Currently….! It will encompass all things that I’m eating/ reading/ loving/ current events/ confused by/ wishing I had/ excited about etc.

So here we go!

Currently loving….

That I got into the Beach 2 Beacon 10k! My training runs. Working on my mental fitness while on the run. This podcast episode. This planner. Carbs.

Currently excited for…..

SPRING RUNS. Running a MARATHON in 44 days. Traveling to the PNW for the first time!! So many things.

Currently reading……

THIS book. So good. Go order it right now. I’ve been limiting my books purchases (by going to the library), but I will be buying this one. I can’t fall asleep after reading it because I’m so inspired.

Currently watching……

THIS documentary during yesterday morning’s treadmill run. There may be nothing more entertaining to watch while running than someone on the run (and kicking butt at their goals)!

Currently wishing…….

That it could get both lighter in the morning AND the evening rather than just one during Daylight Savings Time. I love that it’s lighter out later, but I REALLY love when it gets lighter in the morning as well. Running with a headlamp in the AM is just not appeasing to me anymore. Ready for Summer.

Currently thinking………..

I should definitely try to put my name in for the London Marathon lottery for 2020 because my race lottery streak just keeps improving (got into this one, this one, AND this one). Or maybe Berlin 2020? Or maybe NYC 2020? What do you think? Probably all three is a bit aggressive…..

Currently wondering……

If the snow will ever melt or if it will just morph from ‘Spring’ to ‘Fall’ snow without any Summer in the middle? What are the best shoes to do a 50 mile trail run in when it’s muddy (because they snow may not be melted by then at the rate we’re going!)? Is duct-taping my feet pre-50 miler the best plan?

Currently planning…….

My mom and mine’s trip post-Eugene marathon! We’re planning a trip up the coast of Oregon (I’ve heard it’s BEAUTIFUL) and need suggestions! Anyone have anything they’ve absolutely loved along the coast? Must-sees? Must-dos? TELL ME EVERYTHING.

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What are some things that are on your ‘currently’ list? Loving? Watching? Reading? Planning? Wishing?

TIP Thursday: 5 Workouts To Work Some SPEED Into Your Run

*Disclaimer: Remember that I am NOT a certified running coach/ personal trainer and to please consult your doctor before beginning a new training regimen. I’m just sharing what has worked for me in the past, along with my knowledge from the undergraduate bachelor of science degree in Health & Exercise Science*

Happy Friday-eve! How’s this week going for you? I think I’ve finally gotten over the hump of my training slump and am SO excited to see if I can continue my race lottery entry streak by seeing if I’ll get into the Beach 2 Beacon 10k! I’ve got to be up and on my computer BEFORE 5am (my time- 7am EST) —> so I’m setting my alarm nice and early (and then heading into Steamboat to get in 11 easy miles before work!)

I’ve been reading this book and it is amazing. Honestly life-changing. There are so many lines that I want to highlight (basically the entire book). This one in particular.

Also we got yet another giant snowstorm yesterday. Now since it’s warmer, it’s super heavy snow and there is just slush everywhere. My easy 5 miles yesterday was interesting on the Core Trail with it being covered in several inches of snow/ slush. Good training for my ultra- I think running through mud feels similar! Spring is right around the corner right? I think our 100”+ of snow will melt by the time we hit Summer maybe….

Also obsessed with Chia pudding recently. I make mine with a mix of greek yogurt/ coconut-almond milk and then add some homemade granola, berries, and almond or peanut butter. YUM. Also super high in protein!

Here are 5 Workouts To Work Some SPEED Into Your Run.

I’ve created these workouts to be done outside or on the treadmill. When you increase your speed to all-out think about it in terms of how you’re breathing. You want to be breathing pretty heavily and shouldn’t be able to maintain this pace more than a few minutes. Doing short speed sessions (along with switching up my strength training routine every 6-8 weeks) was the biggest factor when I broke through a huge marathon (and half marathon) PRs!

The Speedster

The Flash

The Popper

The Hill

The Roller

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What are some of your favorite speed workouts?

Any other race lotteries I should enter?!?

Eugene Marathon/50 Miler Training Week 11 RUNdown: 3/3-3/10

Happy Humpday! Last week’s training went really well! I felt strong and while my long runs were definitely at a super conservative easy pace (there were MANY hills!), I never gave up. I’m still focusing on getting 3 strength training exercises a week and at least one at-home yoga session a week. Nutrition will start to be even more of a focus (we’re less than 50 days out now from Eugene)! I have to keep reminding myself that even though maybe my paces have slowed, I’ve gained SO much elevation AND am training at a crazy-high altitude (where we live is at ~7,300’ and Steamboat is around ~6,300’). Very excited to see what I can do when I’m down at lower elevation!

Monday, 3/3: 5.02 mi easy @ 9:48 382’ & yoga.

Tuesday, 3/4: 11 miles (1.5 mi warm up / 8 miles @ 8:37 / 1.5 mi cool down) & 30 minutes strength. I had trouble (mentally) getting into this run, but I never gave up (which I’m super proud of).

Wednesday, 3/5: 7.01 miles easy 10:39 114’ So wet. So slushy. Pretty cold.

Thursday, 3/6: 8.05 mi 918’ up (20 min E / 3 x 7 min Hike @ 12% 3.7 mph (3 min Recovery run) / 10 min E / 5 x :30 hard (60 sec Recovery)/ 15 min E. 30 minutes of strength. I felt WORKED after this run!

Friday, 3/7: Rest Day!

Saturday, 3/8: 10.15 miles 1, 235’ 11:23 / Wasn’t in to this run from the start and kept slipping on the icy loose-packed snow on the roads. 30 minutes of strength

Sunday, 3/9: 18.06 miles 1, 384’ up at 11:12 / Epsom Salt Bath to recover & lots of foam rolling! This run felt surprisingly good. Albeight, it was slow and certainly hilly, but my mental state was sooo much stronger than it has been before. I really want to focus on keeping these hilly runs at a lower heart rate (building up that cardio endurance)!

Total Mileage: 59.29 miles

Total Elevation: 4, 033’

Also how cute are they?!

Training Tuesday: Shady Rays Product Review!

"Disclaimer: I received an XYZ to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

SO CUTE.

Happy Tuesday! I’ll be stepping back from my blog for a bit to focus on life priorities. I’m stepping back actually from most social-media related things. I’ve got a lot going and finally realized on Friday that it’s kinda zapping my love for running. I LOVE to run, but when it starts to feel like a task to post about my run and having certain expectations to meet on my runs, then that’s not so fun anymore. I want to continue to ignite that fire and honestly platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook just aren’t doing it for me at the moment (and feeling like I HAVE to post on my blog versus I WANT to post are two very different things). I’m not sure how long I’ll take (maybe I’ll feel ‘back to normal’ tomorrow or maybe I’ll decide ‘hey, this is pretty nice too..’), but I’ll still post my weekly training recaps & I have another Training Tuesday prewritten that’s scheduled next week (it’s a GOOD one!).

Now, let’s get to my review of Shady Rays- I got their Pink Sunset Ice Polarized. First, let’s chat about how CUTE that name is?! They kinda had me just from that title.

I’m really particular about my running sunglasses. I want something that is really cute, affordable (because honestly they’re just running sunglasses), fits my teeny-tiny face/head (yes, I CAN fit into child’s size small hats), lightweight, and durable. I really dislike the typical ‘running sunglass look’ where you kinda look like the terminator.

SOURCE

They also come in a cute color, then well that’s even better (a color that makes me feel fast is obviously what I want and need in life at ALL times). Something that really impressed me about the Shady Rays website is the sheer amount of sunglasses they offer! I also love that they offer free replacements. As someone who’s previously worked for small independent businesses, I really appreciate when other businesses also offer free warranty replacements. I think it says A LOT about how much they believe in their product.

When I first took mine out for a test run, I put them in my running jacket pocket because it was that ‘in-between raining/ cloudiness’. I normally wear sunglasses when it’s raining or snowing hard because my poor eyes DO NOT like to be blinded by it. In my pocket, they were so light that they didn’t move around at all! I was so impressed that I could just keep them in there and not feel them. I think that if I had a pocket big enough to hold them while racing (i.e. in my Honey Stinger Race Jersey), I could do that and not even notice that they were there! Side note: I’m excited to race with them in Moab Canyonlands 1/2 on Saturday!

While they’re light, they are sturdy. They certainly won’t be broken easily (which is saying something because I’m TOUGH on my running gear —> I need them withstand a lot when I’m packing them in my backpack for my 50 miler this Spring).

I love that they don’t fog-up on you either (a serious need when you’re a sweaty racer like I am). I’ve tested them out on sunny, rainy, snowy, and overcast runs (because I live in Colorado and honestly our weather lately has been INSANE) - they are magical. The price-point is great, especially when you consider how they feel real expensive.

Overall, I can’t wait to wear these out and about not just on my runs, but in everyday life because they are stylish! When I put together my race recap next week, I’ll let you guys know how they perform in race situations! I’m sure they’ll be amazing like they have been throughout my training runs : )

Don’t forget to get yourself a pair! —> "RAVE" good for 50% off 2+ pairs from the Shade Shop!

Feature Friday: GUEST Post & Happy International Women's Day!

Happy FRIYAY! I’ve got my long run this morning (18 miles) and then 10 miles Saturday before a FULL rest day on Sunday! This week has been really busy, but I’m happy to see the finish line. I always feel as though March goes by way too fast and then it’s Spring before we know it. I’m not really sure what we’ve got going on this weekend, but hoping to make it out skiing one of the two days. I’d also really like to work on my crocheting a bit this weekend, but reading has taken over my free time (because my book is SO good).

I know I’ve already done a blog post to celebrate International Women’s Day (find it here), but thought it would be fun to share my mom’s experience with her first Triathlon (why is that word so difficult to spell)?!? She’s turned into a total bada** triathlete and I can’t wait to see her crush some more of her goals this summer!

Guest Post from my mom on her Triathlete!

After a couple of people raved about a local Tri-for-a-Cure Triathlon (women-only) that raises money for the Maine Cancer Foundation, I thought I would put my name in the raffle and if I got drawn…I would have to figure it out. Well, guess what? My name came up and the triathlon training/education began. I read everything I found on triathlon trying to figure out what to wear, what the transition area situation was all about and how far was 1/3 of a mile in open water anyway?

Can’t see the fear on my face here but I was terrified!!!

Fast forward to my first event. I signed up for a couple of practice sprint triathlons in my area so I could figure things out and be prepared for the upcoming main event of the summer. Well, my first open water swim was scary! First time in a new wetsuit, never really practiced in one before. If there hadn’t been some friends that just happened to be there watching, I might have backed out. I got into the water fine and swam with the group about 20 feet and started having a mini-panic attack. I was able to side-stroke/back stroke/freestyle my way through the 1/3 swim! Onto the transition area, where I miscalculated what to wear for the bike ride and had to put my bike shorts on over my swimsuit (very hard to do since you’re still soaking wet). Onto 15 mile bike ride, I opted for the trusty road bike and running shoe combo since I was still afraid to clip-in on the bike. Oh so slow! Wow, the hills almost did me in I thought I was going to tip over I was going so slow. Finished up the event and went away feeling like I learned so much.

The big day came for my Tri-For-a-Cure event, it was going to be raining and I was so worried about biking in the rain. Before the event started, they gathered everyone together by the water to recognize the cancer survivors in the group. It was pretty emotional, I remember the tears coming partly because I was terrified and partly because I had wanted to be a part of this event so badly and here I was doing it! The waves of swimmers started shortly after that and being one of the older competitors I was near the final waves to go, just enough time to get more nervous. It was an ocean swim, so wetsuits needed, luckily they had “Wetsuit Strippers” when you came out of the water. They basically peel off your wetsuit for you so you can move on to your transition area. It was pouring buckets on the bike course and I know I was going to much slower than I was capable of going but I was worried about sliding on those skinny bike tires and wiping out. Finished back into the transition area and headed out for the 5k portion, my feet were so wet they were squishing on every step and the puddles took up the whole trail. But, the view made me forget all of the discomfort. We were running alongside the ocean and a beautiful park, I remember thinking that I was so proud of myself for completing the event that the tears started before I even got to the finish line. This was the hardest thing I had ever done! I was scared and I conquered my fear by taking one step at a time and moving onto the next step, not thinking of the whole event.  

What I learned over that summer was that I was stronger than I thought I was and I was capable of doing so much more than I gave myself credit for! Everything is now based on surviving that first open water swim. I often tell myself, if I can do that, I can do anything! I am a triathlete!

I have a few triathlon events for the upcoming summer and I was drawn to compete in the Tri-for-a-Cure again this year. Redemption time, I hope to beat last years’ time in every event. I will be clipping into a bike for the first time this year! Stay tuned, hopefully there won’t be any injury updates to report.

Happy Swim, Bike, Run---Enjoy!

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Swimming in open water completely TERRIFIES ME so I don’t think I’ll be catching the Tri-bug anytime soon, but such a fun perspective don’t you think?

Have a GREAT weekend!

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Tell me about someone STRONG in your life that’s altered your journey?!?

Three things you’re doing this weekend? —> finishing my book, baking some homemade bread, trying to convince Alex that we need to go to the movies & see the newest Avengers!