Training Update!

Its been a couple weeks since my last update, and I wanted to fill you in on how things have been going!  So aside from my crap-tastic week last week. this week has been pretty good.  Here's what I've been up to so far...

Monday - 1 hour easy XT. Strength

Nothing super exciting to note.  Nichole had me switch some things because of my lack of training last week, and my bugger of a hip was bothering me.  Did this on the bike with a strength DVD afterwards.

Tuesday - 2 mi. WU&CD, 10x45 sec. hill w/equal distance jog down (jog immediately down, no resting).  7 miles total

Did this inside on the t-mill since our roads are awful.  This went well.  I felt strong and focused on the hills and the time flew by.  My WU & CD felt good too.  Sometimes they can feel much harder than they should, but today it felt easy and relaxed.  Legs felt good too.

Wednesday - 6 miles easy

Stayed at a really slow, easy pace, and avg. around an 8:45.  Legs felt a little more tired today but my hip/knee still feel good.

Thursday - 2 mi. WU&CD. 5x1mi. Tempo (7:10), w/1 min. recovery.  9.25 miles total.

Nichole mentioned for me to try and stick with the 7:10 and 1 min. recovery for as many as I could, but then to feel free to slow down or take more rest if I'm struggling, and struggle I did!  Woof!  Since when did these times become hard?!  I had a hard time after the first one, and that was the only one I was able to do at a 7:10 average.  My next two averaged about a 7:15, my fourth about a 7:20, and my last one around a 7:25.  I stuck with the minute rest for the first 3 repeats, then bumped it to 2 minutes rest for the last couple.  Not sure if I just psyched myself out or what, but I felt like I was working hard to keep these paces.  I was breathing heavy after each one, and it took a good 30-40 seconds to catch my breath.  I havent done a tempo workout in a long time, so I'm hoping that with the speedwork I have coming that it wont take long for my times to go down.

Friday - REST DAY! Thank goodness!
Saturday - 13 miles easy with 2 miles FF (fast finish)
Sunday - 5 miles easy

Looking forward to my long run Saturday.  I'm just crossing my fingers and toes that the road conditions and termps are better so I can run outside this time.

my first turkey trot!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! 

Can I just say how happy I am its almost the weekend?  I have some fun festive plans this weekend and cant wait to get them started :)



Ok, but first things first.  I want to recap my turkey trot race that Jake and I ran on Thanksgiving.  Every year I would always tell myself I would run our local trot, but each year would come up with some excuse not to do it. So this year I finally did, and as an added bonus, Nichole had me use this race a a guage to see where my speed is at.  Not sure if thats a bonus because it was hard, and hurt.

The race started at 8:15, and I had a couple miles of warm up to get in, so Jake and I got to the start early to get that done.  There were a ton of people that showed up to race, and we saw a bunch of friends.  The race had a few distance options (1k,3k, and 5k), so there was an opportunity for anyone/everyone to do it.  Very inclusive and family friendly, which is nice for a race like this.

Jake and I lined up, and I told Jake to keep an eye on the pace, and I would just hang on.  I knew going into this that is wouldnt be a PR race - far from it, but I was at least hoping for 22-23 minutes.  Remember, paces and times are all relative, so what may be slow/fast for me, might be different for you.

Jake and I took off and I tried to distract myself by looking and smiling at everyone running/walking, all the kids and the people in turkey hats (which Jake and I totally had but forgot at home!).  I started to struggle early on ( like mile 1.5!), and my breathing was labored the whole time.  I honestly felt like I kept slowing down and couldnt speed up - I was afraid to even know my pace.  We got to the final 800m and I did my best to pick it up and at least finish strong, and crossed the line at 22:24.  So, my slowest 5k (race) time this year by far, but I was pleased to know where I'm starting from.  When I first started working with Nichole in January, I was running paces set for a 25-26 minute 5k, so all things considered, I'm ahead of where I was last time by quite a bit.

I did mention to Jake while we were running our cooldown, that even though my effort today felt the same as when I ran my PR in July, I could tell how much strength I've lost in my upper body and the ability to really push myself.  I know it will come back, but it was just crazy how noticable it was.

post-trot blurry iphone pic



All in all it was a good, day, and I did a total of 8 miles for the day.  I also plan on doing a training recap later.  Things have been going well this week and I also got my next months plan - hellooooo long runs!

Oh, and as another bonus  to racing, is that I didnt feel bad eating this giant plate that afternoon :)

YUMMM - can I eat this all the time?!

Things that make me happy

Good afternoon and happy Monday!

Ok, so I've been MIA lately.  I had these grand plans of posting all about my Thanksgiving break and the fun stuff that we did, but I'm going to be honest, last week was one of the most stressful weeks I think I've ever had.  I'm not going to go into details, but the combination of being sick the first part of the week, and some personl stuff that was going on, it was one of the worst, yay!

But I'm feeling back to normal, and instead of a long, drawn out post, I wanted to share some thing that have made me happy over this past week.

1. My dog.  Seriously, its like dogs know when something isnt right, and all she wanted to do was snuggle with me all week long....it was the best :)

2. My Christmas tree!

its much more festive now since we added our ornaments, but I love how sparkly it is!

3. Good chats and fun times with friends.  I dont have any pics to document this, but there were quite a few hilarious and awkward moments.

4. Planning my cookie list for this year.  Every year around Christmas I take a day off work to bake all my Christmas cookies.  I get up really early, turn on every single Christmas movie I own, and bake all day.  I usually have everything packaged up by that evening, and its the best time ever :)

5. My long run.  13.1, which I did after not running all week ( for said above reasons), on the treadmill.  I got to the gym and it was packed, and by the time I was done there werent many people left - pretty sure people thought I was crazy.  I felt pretty good, except when I was done and my legs hurt, and I now have a sweet blister on the toe - yay running feet!

6. Baking.  I made some festive winter cupcakes for a friend's daughter's birthday on Saturday.  I think they are pretty darn cute.

per request they were gluten-free vanilla

6.  Last but not least, this guy, and this picture.  Makes me laugh every time :)

an oldie but a goodie picture, taken many moons ago, but never fails to make me bust a gut!  I'm sure Jake really appreciates this...

 

I also ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  I'll get that race report up asap!  So hope you are all have a great start to your week, talk later!

Williams Sonoma Spiced Pumpkin Cake

As promised I'm back with the cake recipe that I made on Sunday.  So if you needed a last minute dessert idea, this is perfect.  You can make this as either a sheet cake, cupcakes, or a round layer cake like I did.  The recipe calls for a special "jack o lantern" pan, but I'm not fancy enough to have one of those.  Ok, on with it!

Pumpkin Spice cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Cake:
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour (I used cake flour)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp., ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
10 Tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/4 granulated sugar
3 eggs
2/3 c. milk
1 1/4 c. pumpkin puree
2/3 c. chopped, toasted walnuts (I did not add these to mine)
1/2 c. diced, crystalized ginger (my favorite!)

Frosting: (I doubled this since I was making a layer cake and would need more)
8 oz. cream cheese
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. pumpkin puree (I only added this to 1/4 of the frosting and used it for the filling)

Make sure all your ingredients are room temp. Pre-heat oven to 325. Grease and line preferred cake pans.

To make the cake, combine all the dry ingredients and sift into a bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices), and set side

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy and smooth (a couple minutes).  Add in both sugars and continue to beat until fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time and mix well.

Reduce speed and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk (begin and end with flour).  Scrape down the sides as needed.  Beat until just incorporated, then with a spatula fold in the walnuts (optional) and crystallized ginger.

Divide the batter into preferred pans and bake until done (when a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the center, or when you touch the top lightly and it "springs" back).  Set on a rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting/filling. With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add in the butter and beat until combined.  Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. 

If making a layer cake, set aside about 1 c. of the plain icing, and add in your pumpkin puree and use that for the filling (see picture below).

Once the cake is cooled, remove from the pan, and frost with your cream cheese icing.

pumpkin cream cheese in the middle, yum!

I also should note, that this recipe made enough for two 6 inch cake pans, and about 9 cupcakes, and since I doubled my frosting, I had plenty for both the cake and cupcakes as well.  Also, despite the long ingredient list, this is actually really easy/simple to make :)


Enjoy!

the BEST movie, a tasty treat, and the best decision I've made in a long time

Hey guys, happy Tuesday!  I’m in an extra good mood this week because it’s a short work week (off tomorrow at 1pm yea!), and it happens to be my favorite “food” holiday ever!  I have always said, if I could choose my last meal, it would be Thanksgiving food.  There is no moderation folks, bring on the turkey and stuffing!  At least I’ll be running a turkey trot that morning so I wont feel like a complete slob :)

 Ok, I know I’m late to this party, because I’m pretty sure everyone in the world saw it on opening day, but you guys, have you seen the new Hunger Games movie??  Jake and I went last Saturday and whoa, I love it!  I loved the first movie, but Catching Fire was awesome.  Everyone should go see it…and take me with you so I can watch it again. 

life is too short not to eat movie theatre popcorn....but I did have a salad for dinner, that cancels it out right?!

Sunday some friends got together for dinner, and I was in charge of dessert.  We have 3 friends who celebrate their birthdays in November so I made a cake.  You don’t have to twist my arm too much to get me to bake something, and I made a Spiced Pumpkin cake with pumpkin cream cheese filling and cream cheese frosting.  It was so good!  I’m going to post up the recipe tomorrow, because it would be the perfect Thanksgiving dessert (or anytime dessert), so if you need a last minute idea, come back tomorrow for the recipe.

3 candles for 3 birthdays

  

This post is super random, so if you’ve made it this far, thanks.  I’ll end it with this, I’m just going to tell you that you must go buy this.  It’s a new-to-me item I found at the grocery store and holy smokes is it good.  I’m trying to pace myself so I don’t eat it by the spoonful, but it’s getting tough….I might need a new jar by the end of the week 

Alright friends, have a great evening - talk to you tomorrow!

Recipe Friday!

It's Friday!!!!

and to celebrate I'm going to post up my recipes from last weekend.  So if you're looking for something tasty to make this weekend, may I suggest this soup and pie?

Black Bean and Sausage Soup (via Spark Recipes)

*I made a few adjustments, but the original is in the link above.  Double the recipe if you want leftovers.

1 med. onion, chopped (Slapchop optional - thanks Nichole! :)

2 large carrots - peeled and chopped

2 stalks of celery - chopped

2 garlic cloves (which I forgot!  oops!)

1/2 tsp dried herbs (oregano, basil, whatever you want)

2 medium sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped

2 cups beef or chicken broth (I used Swanson Organic Chicken broth, plus added 1 cup of water)

1 can diced tomatoes (don't drain!)

4-6 oz lean kielbasa sausage - cubed (I used Jenny O Turkey sausage)

2 cans beans (I used a combo of black and kidney beans because I'm an idiot and forgot mine at home and used whatever Nichole and Nathan had, but you can use whatever beans you want)

1. Heat a large soup pot with cooking spray.  Add onion, carrot and celery; cook on med. heat until the veggies start to soften.

2. Add in garlic, herbs, potatoes, broth and tomatoes; heat until boiling.  Stir in the sausage and simmer for a half hour.

3. Drain and rinse the beans.  Add to soup and heat until hot (or however long you want, it gets better as it sits)

4. Serve!  Preferably with homemade bread, salad and a side of friends :)....wait, that makes me sound like a cannibal....

French Apple Pie (via King Arthur Flour )

I technically got this recipe from my King Arthur cookbook, but wanted to link so you can make it too!  I got this cookbook for Christmas a few years ago from my brother and its one of the best gifts I've received.  I love all the recipes I've tried from it - it never fails and is my go-to cookbook for pretty much everything!

Crust - I was lazy and for the sake of convenience I didn't make the crust (gasp!), and used a premade one, but if you have the time I highly suggest a homemade crust to a store bought.

Filling

8 c. peeled, cored, and sliced apples ( I used Cortlands, but any baking apple works)

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1t. cinnamon & 1/4t. nutmeg (use your on taste here, I never measure these things, I just add what I want)

Topping

1 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 cup cold butter (hey, I never said this was healthy!)

1. To make the crust - click the link and follow the directions :)  Or just roll out your pre-made crust and lay it in your pie pan

2. To make the filling, mix your apples, sugar, flour and spices in a large bowl; pour them into prepared pie pan.

3. For the topping, cut up the cold butter into small cubes and mix it into the flour and sugar with a fork or your hands until it forms small, pea-size lumps. Spread the mixture evenly over the apples.

4. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) in a 425 degrees for 15 min. then reduce the heat to 35 degrees and bake for an additional 30 min.   Let the pie cool down a bit then serve!

training update

So even though I’m going to make an effort to talk about other things, this is still a running blog so I wanted to write a quick training update.

Things have been plugging along.  I guess I haven’t seen/felt any big improvements, so I kind of feel like I’m just slogging along at the moment.  All my workouts have felt hard.  Even my easy runs, my effort feels harder than my pace reflects.  Because of this, I am still not wearing my watch unless I have to.  I have about 1-2 hard effort days in my schedule, but nothing has pace times attached to it, which is good.  I think if there was, I would end up really beating myself up about it.  Instead I’m going on effort, which is nice.

As I mentioned is my last post, my legs felt pretty beat up on last Saturdays easy run, so Nichole edited my plan a little, and I had a rest day Sunday and Monday.  The only thing that makes me feel better is that I was warned that around this time I would start to feel like this.  So going with that, I’m right on target, and am hoping things start to turn around a little now.  I have a few easy runs this week, and harder effort of 6x600m (which I think I will do at the track, yippee!), and a long run of 13 with some hill bursts.  I’m really excited about the 13 miler, and I’ll probably do 13.1 just because J . I haven’t run that distance since July, so if I can get it done and feel good, I’ll be pretty happy. 

I didn’t tell Nichole this, but I had a hidden goal of wanting to get up to 13 miles in November.  No real reason, just for my own peace of mind really.  So I’m really happy to have this kind of distance base going into the winter.

I really can’t wait for that “yea I nailed that workout” feeling though – I miss that.  But for now, I’ll be happy just putting in the time, and I know each time I lace up my shoes it’s bringing me close to my goals.

Another thing, let me know if you appreciate these training updates (although they probably won’t be as “wordy” as this one).  It’s nice for me to have a record to look back on, but if you peeps like ‘em it might become a weekly post, if not, maybe I’ll keep my mouth shut…maybe.

I didnt fall!, a fun game, and LOTS of pics.

Heyo! Happy Tuesday! 

Ok, so elephant in the room, you may have noticed a few changes to the ol’ blog.  I’m going to be working on some new things this week, so just bear with me as I have absolutely NO idea what I’m doing, and my skills with computers and technology are pretty slim.  When I’m done I’m hoping things are a little more organized, fun and make your time spent reading a little more enjoyable :).  Also, if any of you (all 5 of you that read this thing), have anything you would like to see me add, talk about, or whatever, comment or let me know!

Ok, now that’s out of the way, let talk about this past weekend!  It was a fun one.  As I mentioned earlier, Jake and I were heading down to Northfield, MN for the MN State Gravel Championships.  This was the inaugural race, but I have to say, after this weekend, I will definitely do it again, it was such a blast!  I was racing in a 10 mile Time Trial on Saturday morning, along with Nichole, Nathan, and our friend Craig.  Jake and I drove down that morning and met them to get our numbers and packets, then we made our way to the start.  The way a time trial works is that instead of everyone starting at the same time, you go in 30 second increments.  We took our places and one by one we took off.  The gravel roads were really nice, and I a pretty sweet bike to ride thanks to a friend (THANKS JOB!!).  I got passed by a lot of people, but I was just out there to have fun so I really didn’t care, I gave a thumbs up to everyone that flew past me (Looking at you Nathan and Craig!).  I finished in about 40 min. which I have NO clue if that’s even good or not, and I didn’t get lost or fall off my bike – win!.  Nichole came in a little bit after me – yea!  Sorry Nichole, but I need to take this one, probably the ONLY time I will ever beat you :)

waiting in the warm car before the start



how cute is Nichole?! 





action shot!


 We hung around at the finish for a bit, before heading back to Nichole and Nathan’s house.  They let us stay there for the weekend, since Jake’s race was on Sunday.  We got to their house, had some burgers for lunch, then got our cow suits on to be the designated “cheer herd” for the second race in the series that afternoon.  After we got back from that, I had a 4 mile run to do, so Jake and I went out for that.  I’m going to do you all a favor and not talk about this run, it was ugly.  A combination of doing my long run (12 miles) the previous day, and the bike race, my quads felt shredded.  I got it done, but it definitely wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had.  We got back, cleaned up, then I got to work making dinner for the evening.  I’ll post the recipes this week, but I made sausage and black bean soup and French apple pie.  Nichole put together a tasty salad and Craig brought over homemade bread, and our other friend, Jeff (who also raced on Sunday), brought some snacks.  I would say we ate well that evening.  We also drank well too, which was helpful for me because of the game we played after dinner.


soup and salad - yum!



SO GOOD!

Ok, has anyone played or heard of Cards Against Humanity?? 

Oh, good Lord.  I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a long time.  It is the most inappropriate, hysterical game I’ve ever played, and I was in tears more than once.  My face hurt from laughing so much.  Word of advice, play this game, just not with children, and preferably after you’ve had a few drinks :).

 Sunday morning we got up, and headed over to Craig’s house to have breakfast.  Let me tell you, he makes some mean French toast.  The guys (Jake, Craig, and Jeff) got their stuff ready for their race, and we went to the start to see them off.  Their race was 88 miles….woof.  Nichole and I watched them start then went back to the house. I got in a strength workout while she did some work, and we waited for Nathan to get home (he was roller-skiing that morning).  Once he was home we drove to the finish and waited for the guys to get there.  We hung around at the finish area for a bit, they had hot soup for all the riders which was nice, and handed out prizes.

We packed up our stuff, and headed home.  It was so nice to get out of town for the weekend, even if it was only an hour away.  I already can’t wait until next year, maybe I’ll try and beat my time!



This is Stella about 10 minuted after we got home - she was pooped!



a (non running) race, and thanks :)

First off, I just wanna say thanks for the great comments and messages I got after my last post.  It's nice to know there are plenty of folks who "get it".  I'm hoping I didnt come across like "poor me poor me", so I appreciate the kind words and motivation.  I know not many people read this thing, but those of you who do, you're the best!

there, you're motivation for the day

Ok, so a couple weeks ago, this happened.....

I still dont know how I was talked into this.  It happened on the drive home from Chicago, and since I'm a pretty easy sell, I guess I agreed to it!  The race this weekend is made up of three different gravel biking events.  I am doing one on Saturday which is a 10 mile time trial.  Sounds easy enough right?  Well I just realized last night that the only directions we get are on cue sheets and we are responsible for getting ourselves from point A to (hopefully) point B.  I dont have the best track record with directions (i.e. I get lost a lot, and rely HEAVILY on my phone's GPS for directions).  So this should be interesting.  Its only 10 miles, so how lost could I possibly get?  I guess I'll find out! I'm just hoping not to fall off my bike onto the gravel roads, or just chased by a random farm dog.

Jake and our friend Craig are doing the race held on Sunday.  Its 88 miles. WHAT?! Thats just crazy.

So wish us luck, should be a fun weekend of biking, with some running thrown in at some point too.  I'll post a recap after the weekend.  Maybe there will be a prize for dead last.....

I may or may not be in denial...

And I’m not talking about the river in Egypt.  Alright kids, we’re friends right? I can be honest with you all right? It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, and I feel like this happens a lot.  I also feel like it happens for the same reasons, so when I  do chime in to ‘splain myself, I sounds like a broken record.  Trust me, if you think it’s annoying to read the same stuff from me, try being inside my brain going over the same things all the time.  I’m getting to the point where I’m getting sick and tired of myself!

But seeing as I have this handy little corner of the internets, I can use it as I please, and dang it, I just gotta purge some of these no-good thoughts rolling around in my brain.

So as you all know when I posted a few weeks ago, I was SUPERPSYCHED about my new training plan, and don’t get me wrong, those totally awesome cant-wait-to-kick-butt-feelings were real.  I started to clean up my eating habits (which had gotten SO off track since I was injured it wasn’t even funny), and I was feeling like I was moving in the right direction.  I’m not sure what happened, but at the end of week two, my motivation dropped….like plummeted.  I had a lack-luster workout that Sunday, and when I woke up Monday morning, I was feeling down in the dumps.  I didn’t want to do anything, and when I allow myself to get like this, my mind plays some pretty mean tricks on me.  I did my work out that day, but the entire time I was defeated.  Telling myself I was slow, out of shape, that I would never be able to run fast again, and that the 15 extra pounds I’d put on since Fargo weren’t ever going to come off.

The problem with this is that each time I get so down on myself, all things “healthy” go out the window, and my eating was complete rubbish.  I don’t think I ate a green vegetable more than a couple times last week, which in turn makes me feel worse….it’s just a nasty cycle, and it’s what led to my years of inactivity and unhealthy living.  It’s scary knowing how easy it is for me to slip back into that, and frustrating that after all this time, I still don’t have it all together.

So just repeat that for the rest of the week, and you can imagine that I’m not in the greatest place mentally.  I am bound and determined to get things right, even if I just take it one workout, one meal, and one day at a time. I did do something I’m pretty proud of (it was one of my 2013 “resolutions”/goals) and I threw away my scale a week ago.  I would step on that thing 3 times a day, and depending on the number I saw, would determine if I would be in a good mood or not…..umm HELLO RED FLAG! You don’t need to be an expert to tell me that wasn’t healthy.

So, if anyone has anything motivational to say, maybe tell me I’m not alone and other people are as crazy as I am, PLEASE chime in.  Or send me some inspirational quotes, movies, nothing is too cheesy.  Or maybe just tell me to stop being a whiner and suck it up, that nobody is going to do the work for me, and the only person to blame is myself….yea, a good kick in the a$$ might work too :)

It’s a new month, and I think I just need to wipe the slate.

Quick Chicago weekend recap

Happy Monday friendlies!  I know I said I would have this up a few days ago, but lets be honest, I'm not the most reliable person you'll ever meet....hmmm, probably shouldn't broadcast that.  But, since I had an absolute blastie I still wanted to share a few details about our weekend in Chicago.

That Friday we loaded up the vehicle and hit the road.  It worked out pretty well that we were able to carpool down with some friends.  Made the time go be pretty fast, which is a good thing, especially on a 6 hour drive.

ridin' low!

We pulled up the apartment where we were all staying and got our stuff settled.  It was so great to finally be there, see Nate and Nichole (who had arrived the day before), and to get this weekend running-party started!  We stayed up and hung out for a while, before hitting the hay.

Saturday morning myself, Jake, Craig and Rael got up early to get a few miles in before joining Nichole and Nate for her quick shake-out run.  Ok, can I just say that I LOVED running along Lakeshore!  I know if I lived there I would probably get tired of it, but man was it great.  So many people were up early too, running, biking, walking.  Definitely a change from good ol' Red Wing, where you usually don't see a soul if you run before 8am.

seriously, beach, waves, sun....how could you not love this!

We got about 5 miles in before we picked up Nichole and Nate for her run.  I ended with about 7 miles for that day, which I thought was pretty good.  The time flew by and my hip felt great.  I wish all runs could be with a group of friends!

After we all got back, we took our bikes out and traveled to the expo to check it out.  Nichole stayed back to keep rested - need the legs fresh for the race!  The expo was great, tons of vendors (aka - lots of free stuff!), well organized and I came home it a shiny new pair of shoes - success.


yeah buddy!



on the way to the expo


We got back to the apartment, made an early pasta dinner, and discussed out spectating plans for the next day.  Once we got everything organized, we relaxed and played games the rest of the night.


Sunday morning started bright an early.  Jake, myself, Nate and Craig rode our bikes down the the hotel Nichole stayed at (Rael had gotten a room, and since it was so close to the start, Nichole stayed there for convenience sake).  We met them at the hotel, helped ourselves to some continental breakfast, and I did my best to lighten the mood and keep things stress-free.  I mean, who doesn't love dancing to "Get Low" in the elevator at 6:30 am?!  We made our way to the start to see Nichole off.  Got our costumes on, took one last pic, and she was off.

As soon as Nichole made her way to the start, we hopped on our biked and made our way to our first spectating spot, but of course, nothing is easy and we ran into a very surly police woman who clearly was upset to have the early shift for the marathon.

we even made it in the Chicago Tribune!

Thankfully, after that all the security guards and police people were pretty nice, and we were able to move around to a lot of different spots.  We cheered for Nichole the best we could, we screamed, hooted and hollered, and rang our cowbells like crazy.  Also Craig pulled out some sweet dance moves that still make me laugh :)  If you've read Nichole's recap by now, you know how her race went.  But for me, personally, seeing her work her hardest and smile throughout the whole thing despite things just not going her way, was seriously inspirational.  Add in the fact that I've never been to a race this huge before, it's hard not to be in awe of everyone out there achieving their own dreams -pretty great :)

action shot!  a little blurry - they were just going so fast!



after the race....i look ridiculous

We hung around at the finish for a while, before making our way back to the hotel, and then made our way to the real reason we came to Chicago...

so good!

Because even though the rest of us didn't run a marathon, we can still eat like we did, but we did do about 30+ miles of biking that day, so we earned it right??

So a huge congratulations to Nichole for staying tough and making the most out of the race.  It is still a huge accomplishment, and the thought of running that far still scares the crap out of me.  It was a fast but fun weekend!

BEST EMAIL EVER!

Ok, I'm apologizing in advance because there will probably be two posts from me today, but think of it this way, if you read them now, you dont have to worry about hearing from me this weekend, lucky you :).

I still have to recap our time in Chicago (spoiler alert - it was a total blast!), but first I have some *exciting news...

*I realize this is probably only exciting for me :)

I was so excited to see this in my inbox Monday evening.  Although, I have been warned that these first 5 weeks are going to be pretty aggresive.  Lots of double-days, XT (crosstraining), and strength work.  The purpose of these weeks as of now is to work on my mileage and getting my strength back up - I have lost SO much during the weeks I was injured and trying to recover.  I'm just glad that I can enjoy the fall weather with some nice runs outside since I missed a good chuck of summer running.

I have a lot to think about going forward and lots of thoughts and questions I need to back to Nichole about, but I'm sure once I get things figured out I'll share more of the details here.

So, although this feel a bit like deja vu, I'm hoping this time turns out a little bit different.  I will do whatever it takes to stay healthy and if that means my workouts are longer to fit in lots of stretching/icing/rolling so be it.  There were too many times where I would end a run and not bother to stretch for more than 5 minutes.  I have goals to chase down and I'll do what I can to make them happen.  I'm fired up and ready to go and I cant wait to make some good progress in the coming weeks.


oh, also, I got new shoes...again.  The Asics just werent cutting it and were hurting my feet so I decided I will use them for crosstraining, and I went back to my first love...

The beautiful Wave Elixer 8

I decided to go with the Elixers because they are listed as a support shoe and the Wave Riders that I usually wear are more neutral, and I have to say, the second I tried them on it was love (ask Jake, he was with when I put them on).  They fit awesome, and feel great on my feet - yeah no more hot spots or tingly/numb toes!

So thats all for now....I'll be back to recap our weekend in the windy city.  If you follow Nichole at all she's got a couple recaps up on her blog, so go check 'em out!

update!

Happy Friday friends!  Just a quick update today since you probably wont hear from me this weekend because we will be in CHICAGO!  Yahoo!  I'm so pumped.  We are carpooling it down with a few peeps and meeting up with Nate and Nichole tonight. I cant wait to get there and cheer on Nichole.  I just KNOW shes going to get that PR and who knows, maybe in 2016 there will be another road trip for us to the Olympic Trials :)

Its going to be a whirlwind trip, but it will be so fun, plus I kind of cant wait to ride around on our bikes wearing these

I think its the barefeet and thumbs up that makes this so hilarious!

So if anyone reading is going to be running/spectating the Chicago Marathon on Sunday - look for a "herd" of cattle on bikes :)


One last exciting piece of information was that I RAN 11 MILES YESTERDAY!  Yes, that deserves all caps because holy crap it felt good.  I have been feeling pretty down about my running/fitness the past couple weeks and this was the confidence boost that I desperately needed.  It was the farthest I've run since July and I am so happy to know that I can still run double digits after all this time.  I sent this picture to Nichole right after my run,



I texted something along the lines of "I'm back!"

I wasnt breaking any land-speed records on this run but I dont care, it was pain free and thats all that matters.  Its funny, I was nervous about this run all day, I was afraid I would have to stop and walk, afraid my hip/knee would hurt, afraid I am too out of shape to do it, and afraid that it would seem to take forever.  Now dont get me wrong, 11 miles is still a LONG ways to run, but I dont know if its because I've done a few 13-14 miles runs before, or that things just went really well, but mentally, it didnt seem long at all.  In fact, when I was at about mile 9, I couldnt believe I was almost done, I was ready to be done, but it just seemend to go by so fast.  I guess thats a good thing, and that I still do have some mental strength left after all. 

I am hoping that I am able to start some sort for formal trainig plan in the coming weeks, which makes me really excited.  I've got just a few goals to chase down :)

So with that, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures this weekend and report back next week, have a great weekend!

An alarm that goes off before 6am should be illegal and I broke the elliptical

I started my day with this ugly sight....



I added the "Go Run!" as motivation, it worked



This time of day should not be allowed and I forbid all of you from waking up at that time - its no fun for anybody.  But the reason I rolled myself out of bed at that hour was because today I have a double workout!! (no that isnt sarcasm, I'm actually pumped about 2 workouts today).  Today I have 6 miles easy and 35 min XT (cross training) + strength.  I decided to get my run out of the way this morning, because I figured my XT and strength would take a little over an hour and my run would be under an hour and I would rather do less in the morning :) So I got to the gym (with the 3 other people who decided to get up at that God-forsaken hour), and got my butt on the treadmill.  I got new shoes yesterday too so I was excited to test them out.  Unfortunately there is only one word to describe this morning run, UGLY.  From a hip/knee standpoint it was great - no pain.  But my stupid shins decided to be really tight again, and I got really bad "hot spots" on the balls of the feet - mostly my left, but my right joined in at about mile 4.  I ended up having to stop at mile 3 to wriggle my feet and try to get them to be normal but it didnt really work.  So I probably ran really awkwardly as I tried to adjust my feet in my shoes every 2 seconds.  I'm hoping it's because of my new shoes, and I'm just breaking them in, but has anyone else dealt with "hot spots" on their feet while running?  Anything I can do about it?  and what the heck causes it?!

For XT today I'm going to head out for a nice and easy bike ride.  It's just too nice here to workout inside again, I need the fresh air!  I also plan on doing a good 30 min. of strength too.  I have a feeling I'll be going to bed early tonight :)

_________________________________________________

Oh, and here's some advice, next time you (i.e ME!) want to do a hard heart rate workout on the elliptical machine, I would suggest either buying your own to use in the comforts of your own home, or going to the gym when there isnt a soul around.  The looks I got and as I busted my hump on it yesterday were priceless.  I'm sure I looked like a crazy person, and I kid you not, I swore I smelled the gears burning.  Guess that means I worked hard right?

Also, the last time I willingly used the elliptical to workout was when I was in high school, and the only reason I went to the gym back them was to try and look cute in short gym shorts and a too-small tank top, not actually exercise.....oh how times have changed, there was nothing cute about how I probably looked yesterday, although my shorts were still short (laundry day).

thankfully it hasn't come to this....yet

recent happenings

Happy Wednesday folks!  Just popping in to keep ya'll up to speed on the goings-on in my life.  This past weekend was a fun one.  We got the chance to go back up north to stay with Nathan and Nichole for the weekend. Nathan was doing the Birkie Marathon and Jake was doing the Chequamegon 100 bike race, and they both happened to land on the same day, so it was a perfect opportunity to hang out, and cheer on the fellas.

is there a better view than this?!

  We got up there Friday evening and had a pasta dinner, figured out logistics for racing/spectating (which Nichole and I came to find out, isnt as easy as it looks :), then we all hit the hay since the boys had an early wakeup call.

Saturday both races started at 8am so the guys went to their respective starts, and Nichole and I made our way a little later to the half way mark of the marathon to had off new bottles and gels to Nate.  We got to our meeting spot with time to kill, so we sat in the car and chatted until it was time to go cheer on Nate, all we had to do was grab his bag of stuff from the car.....that I SWORE we packed.  Except, whoops, we couldnt find it.  It had dry shoes/socks in it, along with his extra bottles and gels.  We scrounged for anything we could and we ended up finding a gel in the car, and I had one randomly in my gym bag, and Nichole had an extra bottle that she brought for herself.  So it could have been worse, and luckily Nate didnt seem too mad :)  He looked great at the 13.1 mark, we handed off our random assortment of fuel to him, and he took off for the last half of the marathon.


Also, lets keep in mind that Nichole was dressed like this the whole time...

even a cow costume for their dog Mesa!

The cow suit is a running joke with their family for spectating/cheering on a race.  Jake and I are getting some for Chicago :)


We jumped back in the car, and made a plan to try and see him at another point.  Here's the thing, neither one of us claim to be great with directions or a map, so it was pretty amusing trying to find our way around.  After some time of driving, we decided to just head to the finish.

*note, we didnt really try to see Jake, since he was biking through the woods on trails, trying to find him was next to impossible, we were just hoping that by some dumb luck we would see him somehow

We got to the marathon finish and watched everyone come in.  Nate did a great job!  A regular road marathon is hard enough, but for these folks to do one on trails is awesome.  We hung around the finish tent for a bit so Nate could relax and eat, then we all made our way to the finish of Jakes race.  Since his was a 100k race (about 62 miles), we knew we would have some time to kill, and Nichole and I also needed to get a run in.  So we got the Jakes finish, and her and I took off.  We ran out and caught up with a gravel road and decided to just do an out and back.  Heres the thing, while trying to come back to running, I have been taking it easy, and turns out, I havent been running many hills.  I have been sticking with flat trails because it feels safe and I'm a giant baby.  So this run kind of kicked my butt in a bad way (I was super slow!)  Not a great feeling.  We turned around at about 3.85 miles and made our way back, and as luck would have it we ended up seeing Jake!  He was about a mile or so from finishing, and it was really fun to see him :).  We got back to the car, and Nichole took off for a few more miles to make it an even 10, but I was done.  I was a little disappointed I couldnt do the full 10 miles, and I know if I was on the road or my trusty flat trail then I could have, but this was a good kick in the pants to start running some dang hills!

We went back to the cabin, and hung out for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  Sunday I got up and ran again.  I knew I wanted to try 2 days in a row again, so I did an easy 4 miles that morning.  Surprisingly I felt a lot better than the day before.  My hip/knee felt fine, and it felt much "easier" than the day before.  This was a good sign and made me feel better about Saturdays run.  We hung around some more, and I was able to talk with Nichole about my future plans and where to go from here.  I will go into more detail in another post, but I'm excited to have some focus back and things to look forward too - it makes this "in-between" phase easier to deal with.

Jake and I took off a little after lunch time and got home at about 6pm.  Whenever I get the chance to talk with Nichole I always come back with a new sense of purpose and motivation, so I'm thankful we got the chance to figure some things out.  Wasnt that one of my resolutions to "Run with Purpose"??  I should re-visit those one of these days....

Oh, also, Nathan even convinced Jake to sign up for the Birkie Ski Race next February.  Yikes!  Looks like this winter will be a major training season for both of us!

I'm back.....kind of

Hey hey friends!  So I wanted to catch you all up on how things have been going over in my neck of the woods.  It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about running….or really anything in general, but for today, let’s get up to speed on what’s been going on with me and my Mizuno’s

 I have been pretty conservative and careful getting back into running.  I attempted my first run on August 10^th (yes I do remember the exact date, it might as well be a national holiday).  I had ZERO expectations going into it, all I wanted to do was be able to run pain free, if I could only do a mile, so be it.  Well I ran a mile, got a happy-tear in my eye, and gave a fist pump (I’m dramatic, but we already know this).  So I kept going, and ran 4 miles that day.  I felt good, no pain, and knew things were on their way back.  The next couple weeks after that, things weren’t quite so happy.  I was nervous before each run (still am), and was only able to do once a week – my hip/knee would be sore for a few days after.  The runs I did do weren’t that great, I felt slow, and heavy and awkward.  I try not to get discouraged, and I knew the only way to get stronger was to keep at it. 

After the first couple weeks back, things seem to take a turn for the better.  I’m feeling less clumsy and awkward (it’s weird having to remind your legs how to run again!), and the last 2 weeks I’ve been able to run 3 days/week (last week I ran a whopping 18 total miles – is that sad?).  Last week I was also able to do my longest run since being injured and I ran 8 miles last Saturday.  It was slow and steady, but it was the best I’ve felt so far.  I am still stiff when I start out, but the time it takes for my leg to warm up is getting shorter, and I’m almost at the point where I have no soreness the next day.  Things are definitely looking up, and I have some new found motivation to really hit my cross training hard, so I can go into a training plan strong.

But, there will be no training plan for a little bit.  Now that I can run a little more consistently, it’s all about getting healthy, and being smart.  In talking with Nichole, we want to get to where I can run 3-4 days in a row.   This week I’m attempting my first back to back days, so I’m crossing my fingers it goes well.  I’ve been thinking about some future goals, and what kind of base I want going into the late fall/winter.  I still need to talk it out with Nichole, but once I get things figured out, you’ll be the first to know J.

Speaking of, can I just say how awesome Nichole is?!  Seriously, the last couple emails I’ve gotten from her have really lit a new fire in me.  If you don’t follow or read her blog already, DO IT!  She is such a motivation, and I can’t wait to cheer her on in Chicago.

Ok, off my soapbox now, sorry for the lack of fluffy pictures and for making you read so many words, go stare at the TV for 5 hours to make up for it.

It feels good to be back-ish J

Happy campers!

Hi guys happy Thursday!  Jake and I were out of town for a long weekend and took Monday off so my whole week is out of whack.  But instead of bore you with my stories  I'm just going to tell the tale of my weekend with pictures!  Plus lets be honest, I'm just way to lazy, I mean I haven't posted for like 3 weeks, clearly my motivation is lacking...

We went Camping at Sakatah State Park this past weekend, but before we set up camp, we met up with our friend Tony and cheered on my friend Emily and her friend Heidi at the Mankato Mud Run.

nice job ladies!

We went for lunch afterwards with them, then Jake and I headed on to our home away from home for the weekend.

yes, that is a blow-up liger, dont ask me where we got it, but it protected our tent from wild animals

our lovely "dining room" and "living room"

hooray for campfire!  from the first night

Our mornings were spent like this

and our afternoons and evenings like this

morning bike trip on the Sakatah State Trail

ice cream cone stop at 10:30am??  ok :)  *to be fair it was sherbet - thats not as bad right?

afternoon kayaking!

kale chips with lunch - to balance out the ice cream :)

another bike ride in the evening

and we found a new house!  I'll make sure to invite everyone to the housewarming party

Dinners were cooked over the fire, and breakfasts were good ol' granola.  Although we did try to make pancakes one morning but it was a HUGE fail I  someone forgot to pack cooking spray so they stuck to the pan and ended up in little dough blobs - Jake still ate them, he'll eat anything as long as it's got syrup on it.

It was so nice to get out of town, even if it was just for a few days.  I think I like this whole camping thing :)

We've got some fun events coming up this weekend so I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and will be back with those.








Oh, and spoiler alert, I've been running :) Dont alert the media, it hasnt been much but I'll be back with that another time.