2 compliments, a fab. run, and fuel

I wasnt going to recap anymore of my workouts this week, but I had such a blast last night I just have to give a shout out to the totally rad interval workout that I had :)  Hope you dont mind....and if you do, well you're clearly reading the wrong blog

Wednesday - 1.5 mi. WU&CD
                     10x400m R pace (1:32-1:36) with 400m recovery
                     4 striders to start
                     8 miles total

I did this on the t-mill (incline 1%).  I know I know, I really need to suck it up and do these outside but the track is still gross and the idea of running back and forth on the street isnt appealing - like staring at a wall on the t-mill is better, but somehow it doesnt bug me,  Anyway, I brought my Garmin along to use as an old fashioned stop watch to get my lap times.  The idea of trying to do the math in my head to figure out splits is NOT something I care to do.  So here's how it went down,
1.)1:33  2.)1:33  3.)1:34  4.)1:33  5.)1:33

6.)1:32  7.)1:31  8.)1:31  9.)1:32  10.)1:27!!!

I totally forgot about the striders until a mile into my warm up, whoops, so I quick got those in, then started the intervals.  The first 5 felt good, took a little bit for my legs to loosen up, but I stayed pretty consistant during the first half so I'm happy with that. The second half was great.  I really wanted to see what I could push myself to do.  My legs were feeling it at this point, but I knew I was almost done.  I did the best I could and to have my last one be under 1:30 is awesome for me :)  I ended this workout with a smile on my face for sure.

Enter compliment #1.  There was an older guy running next to my basically my entire workout.  After he was done, he came around in front and told me he could only dream of going that fast and he was impressed.  I was flattered.  I tend to just do my thing and I dont think anyone really pays attention to me, so it was nice.
Compliment #2.  Another older guy, who I always see in the free weight area comes up to me as I was stretching and said "the running machine is here!"  Ha!  I had to laugh.  He asked how far I went, I said "just 8 today", he told me he's lucky if he goes 8 miles in his car!  He gave me a thumbs up and told me to keep up the good work.


I dont write this stuff to boost my ego or anything, its just nice to finally get comments that support my hard work.  Its nice to hear things other than I need to eat a sandwich, I'm obsessed, or that I workout to much.  Days like this make me even more excited for Fargo and my goals.


clearly I need more attention... and people to tell me good job all the time



Oh, and also, I'm experimenting with different things to eat during my long runs in prep for Fargo. I know I probably dont need anything for only 13 miles, but I tend to not eat much before runs because of my turd (no pun intended) of a digestive system. So the idea of getting some fuel during the run is something I think would work for me.  Last Saturday I tried Shot Blocks and found them to be ok (didnt upset my stomach), but they were really hard to eat while I was running (super thick and chewy).  Anyone have any ideas on what might be good?  I'm thinking of getting some Sport Beans for this weekends long run, but am not sure.....thoughts please!!  Oh, and I wont do Gu's, I want to barf just thinking about them...

12 weeks to go!

Hiya and happy Wednesday!  I took Monday off and now I'm all mixed up on my days - this week is going by fast as a result!  I will recap our fun weekend up north in a different post, but I wanted to throw down my plan for the week first.

I cant believe in 12 short weeks I will be getting ready to race.  These training weeks seem to go by faster and faster.  I'm not complaining, I just hope come May 18th that I'm ready to race, and now that this week is half over, I suppose I should get my plan up.

Monday - 1.5 mi. WU&CD
                 3 miles T (7:25-7:35), 2 miles T (7:25), 1 mile T (7:15 or as fast as I can go)
                 9 miles total

Tuesday - 5 miles easy
Wednesday - 1.5 mi. WU&CD
                      10x400m R pace (1:32-1:36), 400m recovery, 4 striders to start
                      8 miles total

Thursday - REST
Friday - 6 miles easy
Saturday - 12 miles easy (no faster than 8:30 pace)
Sunday - 5 miles easy

Week total = 45 miles

Monday was my tempo run.  I really wasnt sure how my legs would feel after the weekend.  Last Sat. I had my first 12 miler (avg. 8:23 pace), that was full of hills.  It was fun, but trashed my legs pretty good.  Sun. was 6 miles, and man it was tough.  My legs felt dead.  So I was nervous about Mondays run.  Nichole gave my the green light to either do an easy 5-6 miles or take the day off, but that afternoon I was feeling ok, so I decided to give it a go.  Surprisingly my legs felt good!  Its almost like they knew it was the beginning of a new week and that I needed them to be fresh.  For the 3 miles I started at 7:35 and sped up 5 sec. each mile to end at 7:25.  For the 2 miles I started at 7:25 and sped up 5 sec. each 3/4 miles to end at 7:15.  For  my last mile I started at the 7:15 but kept speeding up and finished that with an avg. pace of 6:50.  I was really happy with how this went.  I wasnt sure what to expect from my legs and I'm glad they pulled through.  The rest of the week is pretty easy with the exception of Wednesday - lets hope they are still good for that!

Tuesday was an easy 5 miles, nothing exciting to note here.  Jake ran with me and we kind of meandered through different neighborhoods and through downtown so that was fun.  I'm getting a little bored with my usual routes, so this was a nice change of scenery.

So far thats my week.  We'll see how tonights intervals go.  I havent done straight 400's in awhile so hopefully I can keep up!

Hope everyone is having a great week!  I keep telling myself Spring is right around the corner, its starting to warm up here (30 degrees!), so its nice not to completely freeze to death outside. Hope you all have been able to get outside and enjoy it too!

Although, I'm not sure if I'm ready for warm weather quite yet...

I have a good feeling about this week...

Holy smokes it's been awhile!   Let me just jump right back into it and let you know what's on tap for the week.  Last week was a recovery week, so I am more than ready to get back to it!

Nichole also sent me new paces for the week.  Lets just say that if my legs don't fall off, I will be surprised :)

200m - no specific pace for these this week, just to go FAST!  Last week I was at :45-:50 sec. (which is a 6:00min. pace)
400m - 1:32-1:36  (Last week I was at 1:35-1:40)
800m - 3:12-3:22  (Last week was 3:30-3:40)
Tempo pace - 7:10-7:25 (Last week was 7:45)
*lord help me...

Monday - 4x(200m with equal rest, 400m with equal rest, 800m with 400m rest)
                9 miles total
Tuesday - 6 miles easy
Wednesday - 2 mi. WU&CD
                     3x2mi. at T pace, 2 min. recovery
                     10 miles total
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 7 miles easy
Saturday - 12 miles easy (longest run I've EVER done!)
Sunday - 6 miles easy

So this is going to be an interresting week.  But also it could be really crazy/fun.  I know these paces are fast (for me), so if I can even come close it will be awesome.  I have a feeling the theme of this week is going to be to try and push myself as much as I can.  Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself with what I can do, you never know unless you try right?  I have my fastest paces, my longest run and my highest weekly mileage of 50 this week, so I'm just going to go with it and see what happens!  I'm excited :)

Also, this weekend Jake and I are going up to Nichole and her husband's family cabin.  Her husband Nathan is racing the Birkebeiner cross country ski race.  I have never seen a ski race before, and neither has Jake so I'm really excited. You might also remember that we went to their cabin for Musky Fest last June.  It will be nice to get out of town for a while, I can run in a new area, and watch some awesome ski racing.  Should be a blast!

*Wow, lots of links there - click on 'em!

So there you have it, hope everyone had a great weekend!  I'll be back to let you know if I survived.  But if you don't hear from me for a few weeks - send help...

this week's running menu

I forgot to write this up over the weekend, but better late than never.  Turns out, life goes on even if I dont post it on the blog - crazy right?!  I had to switch a few things around (roads/track still being a bit icy early in the week, and a work function on Wednesday), and Nichole gave me some new times to shoot for, so here's what's on the menu for the week.

Paces:
I pace = 800m @ 3:30-3:40, 400m @ 1:35-1:40, 200m @ :45-:50
T pace = 7:45

Monday - 1.5 mi WU&CD
                 5x1 mile at T pace, 1:30 recovery
                 8 miles total

Tuesday - 6.5 miles easy ( 9+ pace)

Wednesday - REST (usually on Thurs. but needed to switch for a work function)

Thursday - 2 mi. WU&CD
                  4x200m, 2x400m, 1x800m, 2x400m, 4x200m.  Equal rest. I pace.

Friday - 5 mi. easy, 6 striders

Saturday - 11 mi. easy ( no faster than 8:30 pace)

Sunday - 5 mi. easy


I did the tempo run yesterday at the gym since it was still a bit slick out and the track was most likely still covered in ice.  It is supposed to warm up this week (heat wave of 30 degrees!), so I bumped the track workout to Thursday.  The workout went really well yesterday though.  Nichole told me to try and do the first 3 repeats at T pace, and after that if I need to bump it down I could.  Well after the 3, I knew I could do 2 more, so I did :).  The 4th mile started at 7:45 then went to 7:30 after 1/2 mile, and the 5th mile I started at 7:45 and took it down to end at 7:20.  The warm up was a little rough, and I wondered if I had it in me to do the new pace (previous pace for this week was set at 7:52).  Once I got going I took it one at a time and surprised myself that I was able to stick with it. 

I really needed this run.  After last week, I was feeling a little defeated.  So to have a strong run and give a good effort was awesome, a real confidence booster.  This week will have the highest mileage I've done at 45 miles, and I'm looking forward to it.  I'm also excited about my long run.  I havent done 11 miles since last September, so I'm curious to see how I feel.

So with that, I hope everyone is having a great start to the week!  I will also have another recipe coming up soon for you all to try :)




I did get the recipe off Pinterest, unfortunately no cream cheese was involved



Grilled Kibbe Kabobs and Lime-Cilantro Vinagrette

I made this recipe last Saturday night for dinner.  I love this book because its full of interesting, healthy recipes.  I always forget I have it and should really use it more.  Jake and I both agreed we would make this recipe again - it was good!

makes 10 servings, but I cut it in half and had some extra

Ingredients:
Glaze
1 T molasses
1 T reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T olive oil


Step 1, with the help of my little chicken whisk!

4 oz. fine-grind bulghur wheat
1 lb. ground turkey meat
6 1/2 oz. onion - diced
2 oz. jalapeno - minced
1/2 oz. non fat yogurt ( I used non fat Greek)
2 T olive oil
2 T chopped parsley
2 T chopped cilantro
2  cumin
1 T chopped mint ( I used dried mint flakes)
1 t. allspice
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cayenne



I even went to the co-op to get my bulghur, how "healthy-living-blogger" of me


Directions:
1.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients and reserve until needed

2.  Thoroughly rinse the bulghur and soak in warm water for 10 min.  Drain in a strainer for 20 min.  Squeeze excess moisture from the bulghur

3.  In a food processor ( I used a blender), combine the bulghur with all the remaining ingredients.  Pulse to fully incorporate.

4.  Mold 3 oz. of the meat mixture onto each of the 10 skewers that have been soaked in water for 1 hour (this prevents the skewers from burning).  Refrigerate until needed.

5.  For each serving: Brush 1 kebab with the glaze and grill until cooked through, about 3 min. on each side.


grill time!

Nutrition Analysis per serving

Calories: 180, total fat (g): 9, saturated fat (g): 1.5, cholesterol (mg): 35, sodium (mg): 180, total carbohydrate (g): 13, dietary fiber (g): 3, sugars (g): 3, protein (g): 11





Makes 1 pint (16 servings).  I ended up cutting this down to make 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 t. arrowroot (I used cornstarch)
8 fluid oz. vvegetable stock
4 fluid oz. lime juice
1/2 t. sugar
2 fluid oz. peanut oil
2 T sesame oil
2 T. safflower oil
1 t. chopped cilantro
1/4 t. salt

Directions:
1.  Combine the arrowroot and enough cold stock to form a slurry (thin, paste-like consistency)

2.  Bring the remaining stock to a boil and stir in the slurry/  Return to a boil and stir constantly until the stock thickens.  Remove from the heat, stir in the lime juice and sugar, and cool completely.


lime juice and stock

3.  Gradually whisk in the oils. Season with cilantro and salt.  Refrigerate until needed.

oils



Nutrition Analysis per serving

Calories:70, total fat (g): 7, saturated fat (g): 1, cholesterol (mg): 0, sodium (mg): 40, total carbohydtrate (g): 1, dietary fiber (g): 0, sugars (g): 1, protein (g), 0



All together now!





I know this seems like a lot of steps and ingredients, but its actually really simple and easy to make, plus its totally worth it because its delicious!  Also, I weighed all of the ingredients on my kitchen scale, which is probably the best tool in my kitchen - everyone should have one :)

Happy eating!

Paging Debbie Downer........its been a tough week

Woof, am I glad it's Friday! I have been a bit quiet on the running-front this week.  Granted I had other things to talk about, but I also have been having a tough week with my workouts mentally.  I was going into this week thinking "great!  its a low mileage week (only 30 miles with 1 day of cross training), this should be easy-peasy and I will feel awesome".  Well, this hasn't been the case at all.  I cant tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting back to 40+ mile weeks!  I'm not sure if its been the complete lack of sun, the fact that I am SO over the cold/winter, and the icy streets, but I struggled to stay positive during my workouts.  I'll do a quick recap and try to end this on a high note!

Monday - 8.5 miles total
                1.5 WU&CD
               5x800 I pace ( 2:30 recovery jog)
               4x400 R pace ( 3:00 recovery jog)

Paces:
800's                                     400's
1. 3:22                                  1. 1:39
2. 3:40                                  2. 1:42
3. 3:38                                  3. 1:38
4. 3:40                                  4. 1:36
5. 3:39                                  

I am super happy that I hit my new paces that Nichole set for me, but this was such a stressful run.  I had planned to do this at the track, but when Jake and I drove up there it was iced over, so we went to a flat stretch of road to do them on.  We did our warm up and my stomach was feeling off ( no surprise since I are pizza and cheesecake for my b-day the night before!), so I had to make a bathroom stop right away, not good.  Then we started the repeats.  The road was super slick, so we pretty much had to run in the middle of the road, and there were spots where I had NO traction with my shoes.  It was also getting dark and the cars didn't seem to see us ( there were street lights and I was wearing bright blue clothes).  I was freaked out and stressed out the whole time.  I was basically just trying to get the workout over with so I could get off the street.  I was frustrated and mad at myself for getting so worked up.  Needless to say, there was no "runner's high" on this one.

Tuesday - Cross Training
                 20 min. elliptical, 10 min. row, 15 min. bike
                30 min. strength circuit

Cross training is boring.  I thought it would be nice to have a break, but all I wanted to do was run!  I got so stir crazy so I just jumped around to different machines.  How people can workout for an hour on an elliptical is beyond me.  I also don't get that super accomplished feeling like I do after a run when I have to do a different type of work out, so again, it put me in a mentally negative place.

Wednesday - 4 miles easy (9+pace)
                     avg. pace 8:50  TM run, incline 1%

Easy run, but it felt hard, especially for that slow of a pace.  I did this on the t-mill cause I didn't want to bother with going outside.  My legs felt dead on this run, and my shins continued to bother me.  Nothing too bad, but enough to make me annoyed.  I'm planning on getting some compression sleeves/socks this weekend so hopefully those will help my calves/shins. Some people swear by them others cant tell a difference so we will see how they work for me.  If anyone has an opinion on them PLEASE chime in :)

Thursday - 6 miles total
                  1 WU&CD
                  sets of (2 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard, 30 sec. easy, 30 sec hard)
                  ran on TM, incline 1%
                  30 min. strength circut
With the way the week has been going, I knew I wanted to be conservative on this run.  Nichole gave me the option to skip it and do a 3-4 mile hard effort run instead, but I really wanted to do this again since last time it didn't go so great.  Jake joined me, we got the warm up done and then got to work.  I started out probably a little to slow for the first set at 8 min. pace, but then continued to bump up the pace each set and ended with my last 2 sets sub 7 min pace, with my last one being 6:40-6:30.  Like I said, I know I could have gone faster at the beginning, but this was finally a good run.  I felt strong during my sets and excited that I can probably go faster than what I think - I just need to push myself.  It was a nice mental boost.  So even though it wasn't as fast as I should have gone, it was good for the ol' noggin :)

Today is a rest day, and even though I am itching to run some higher miles, I know this week is a learning experience.  I need to work on getting out of my head and staying positive especially when things are out of my control.  On a happy note, I did get a chance to see a chiropractor on Tuesday about my knee.  He concluded that its due to  my left foot ( I guess it pronates pretty bad), and my hips are out of alignment, so its causing my left side to put pressure on the inside of that knee.  He cracked and popped some things and let me tell you, the different I felt was SO COOL!  I don't know a lot about the human body, but this guy sure does, plus he's neat to talk to.  He gave me some exercises to work on and to see him again next week.  Since then I haven't had trouble with my knee (knock on wood), so he could really be a lifesaver.  I had never been to a chiropractor before, but if it keeps me healthy, I'm definitely a believer :)

So, sorry for the sad-sack post, but I'm just telling it like it is.  Some days/weeks arent going to be so great, and I'm sure this isnt the last one.  I'm looking forward to my runs this weekend and then getting back at it next week. 15 weeks to Fargo!