7 Things

Happy Monday! I had a great week of running last week and am getting excited for my first 20 miler of the training cycle with a half marathon in there on Saturday. This past weekend we had planned to go camping, but the weather was super rainy and gross on Saturday so we hung around the house instead. I got a bunch of reading done, including this one that’s part of one of my classes.

We got hot cocoa on Saturday at The Met in town. Stella was a fan of the whipped cream!

We took some photos for my social media pages & to update the blog!

We visited another wedding venue option. This one was pretty great and it fit within our budget. Hopefully we can get something finalized shortly!

Brady has been naughtier than ever.

I’ve been rocking my newest Oofos to recover faster post-run!

And I’ve also been slowing down a bit more on my easy runs! It’s been nice to just enjoy the miles & I think it’s also helped cure my Plantar Fasciitis flare that I had around April/May!

————————————————————————-

How was your weekend?

Whipped cream- how much do you like on your cocoa?!

Favorite recovery things post-run?

7 THINGS

We did a whole lot of New England Fall things last weekend. Apple picking was PERFECT. I have never been so early in the season and it was the BEST.

Still completely in love with our new wall color (grey). It’s got this great ‘old home’ vibe to the color as well.

Saw this at the Apple Orchard (we went to Pietree Orchard in Sweden, ME for local folks!) and now I want to make one.

Cortlands or Macintosh… I had to taste-test both on-scene to decide. Verdict: undecided!

Really loving Frontside Grind in North Conway, NH lately. Their patio is perfect to sit outside and get some work done (plus…their cold brew is DELICIOUS!).

Also another normal view lately. Kitty, doing homework while wearing running clothes, and enjoying my newest OOFOS (thanks BibRave!).

Saw this lady recently. Gotta love New England things!

——————————————————————————————-

Anyone else a fan of Fall? What’s your favorite fall activity?

Apples- favorite type?!

Anyone else crafty? What’s something you made OR WANT TO MAKE?!

7 THINGS & Marathon Goals Update?

I was so distracted/ excited for the Boston Marathon that I totally forgot to do my 7 things yesterday! It was so unbelievably inspiring to watch the race and that men’s finish?!? Incredible. I also really enjoyed this entire article from Boston.com.

And those finishers who selflessly helped other runners cross the finish line when they couldn’t by themselves? Or crawling across the finish line. It really brings tears to my eyes. Runners are just so wonderful and selfless human beings. Our community is amazing.

SOURCE

In other news, we spent our weekend NOT doing the dishes (clearly). I’d really love it if we could have a working dishwasher. Is that so much to ask?

Brady climbed to new heights. His balance is really truly remarkable.

More snow/ ice on Saturday meant for a VERY long drive to Fort Collins & back.

I had to renew my CPR certification through the American Heart Association, so I drove down there and back in one day. It ended up taking over 9 1/2 hours of driving (and 4 in the classroom) because the roads were pretty awful/scary Saturday morning. Also, did you know that baby’s diapers apparently have power buttons on them? Yeah, me neither!

Easiest meal plan ever for this week. Ha.

And a whole ‘lotta wall squats on Friday! Gotta get these legs nice and strong to get me through my 50 miler AND up Mt. Washington!

————————————————————————————————-

So, I skipped my long runs this weekend. I actually skipped ALL of my runs this weekend. Saturday took its toll on me and Sunday, I was so exhausted from being in the car all day/ having to skip lunch because I had no time before my class began/ and honestly- I just did not feel like running. It was cold and windy out and running just sounded awful. So, I didn’t run. Also- my marathon tempos have been all over the place. I haven’t actually ‘hit’ my goal pace since the end of March and this is leaving me feeling a bit well, uncertain of what I can expect at Eugene.

I know that I can fairly easily ‘hit’ the 26.2 miles, but I also really really wanted to see that 3:3x on the clock when I crossed the finish line. All of my tempos leading up until the end of March told me that it was possible, but now with so many really irregular (and well dare I say, crappy) tempo runs I’m not so sure. It’s also really unlike me to NOT want to run. The last time I felt like this, I was anemic so I have already made an appointment with my doc to get some blood tests. Maybe it’s all in my head? Maybe it’s hormones? IDK, but I want to feel like myself again and hit those runs feeling amazing! I’ll keep you posted, but right now- I think and truly believe that a PR is within me. I just need to keep on mentally visualizing the race (I’ve been doing that a BUNCH), reading all the inspiring books, and recovering like a champ during these next 12 DAYS!

I’m happy to acknowledge what my body is feeling and actually ACT on it (normally I don’t!). So, I guess this is what adulting feels like? IDK. Do you? And I’m not sharing this for anyone to feel SORRY for me- I like to keep it honest here and share my thoughts because I honestly feel like there are way too many people other sharing with ‘rose gold glasses’. Maybe you’ve felt like this too? Maybe you haven’t, but maybe it might make you feel better to know that you’re not alone- so I hope this helps YOU!

—————————————————————————————

-Ever have to adjust your race plans? How’d it go? Any suggestions?

-Favorite thing about Boston yesterday? Anyone RUN it? How’d it go?!?

-Cats- how do they balance so well like that?!?

-Meal planners —> favorite ‘leftovers’ recipes?

5 Photos From Our Weekend & What I'm Doing On My Runs To Help With Knee Pain!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend! We started our weekend off (is it just me or doesn't it always feel like the weekend really starts on Saturday morning versus Friday night?) Saturday morning with Blueberry pancakes and then I headed out for an easy 6 mile run down by the lake. IT WAS HOT! Even with just a sports bra, I could still feel the heat (it was already over 80* before 11am?!). 

We headed to Fort Collins shortly after I finished my run. It's around a 3 hour drive from us. We originally planned to camp along our drive, but the high was expected to be around 100* (!!) and the low in the 70s so we decided that was just too hot to camp and booked a hotel in Fort Collins. It was so nice to just relax Sunday morning and not worry about looking put-together after a night of camping (what we originally planning on doing!). We went out to an awesome brewery Saturday night at Black Bottle Brewery and it was REALLY good! A few of their beers stood out to us, so we decided to get a flight to test them all and the verdict was their red beer was the best (it had hints of raspberry)! We also got their artichoke appetizer to start and it was delicious. 

Sunday morning started pretty early (before I had to head to the ice rink) with a Dunkin Donuts stop! My skater took both of her tests and passed (yay!) and we were done by 10am to finish up a few more errands before we headed home. We stopped at Sierra Trading Post and I got the cutest pullover (sometimes that place has great finds and other times I feel like there's nothing) top. We also went to Trader Joe's to stock up on Joe Joe's, Pretzel bagels (SOOO good), and Orange Chicken! 

Yummm...also Kite Hill cream cheeses ---> so good!

We got home by 3:30 and I headed out for my run shortly after that (had to wait for a thunderstorm to pass by)! 

The one thing that I've started working on while I'm running is ENGAGING my GLUTES more (anyone else doing this)?!? I read on Janae's blog how she think about holding a $100 bill between her butt cheeks and I've found that helps A LOT! I did this yesterday on my run during my (unintentional) hill repeats and had ZERO knee pain! I really feel like if we focus on our form, we'll not only be able to stay injury-free, but decrease any current pains we have going on. 

How was your weekend?!?

Favorite thing at Trader Joe's?

What do you think about (in regards to your running form) when running?

5 Non-Running-Related Photos From Our Weekend!

You may think that I only run and eat and sleep (and you'd mainly be right), but I do also do other things as well ; ) So here's 5 photos that are NOT running related from our relaxing weekend at home. Also last two photos are an AH-MAZING onion soup recipe from The Runner's World Meals on The Run Cookbook (you can find it here). I cannot speak highly enough about this cookbook. Every single recipe we've had from it has been exceptional and so easy. I don't think there has been a recipe that's taken us longer than 30 minutes to cook! 

Hiding or scheming....Brady would be really great at Poker

Strength Training in comfy socks. Check!

Found them like this after my run on Sunday...I'm not really sure if they could get any cuter?!

SO GOOD. SO EASY. YOU MUST MAKE THIS!

Added another piece of bread after the photo was taken....Alex may have had 4 pieces of bread in his soup?!? Boys are crazy. 

What's your favorite flavor of homemade soup? --> I really love chicken noodle or a good sausage minestrone

Strength training at home yay or nay? --> I used LOVE doing strength training at the gym and never at home, but honestly I've been doing it more at home later in the day after work (or after a run on the weekends) and it's been pretty great to have a show going and get my strength in then. Gilmore Girls is a great working out buddy ; )

Shows you're loving right? --> We just started back up on House of Cards (we're in the midst of Season 3) and always love the Office / Gilmore Girls/ Friends/ Greys Anatomy.