Training Tuesday

Last week my left shin was bothering me.  In fact it was so bothersome during my hill repeats last Tuesday that I took an ice bath when I got home.

It’s feeling much better now and didn’t give me much grief after that icing session on Tuesday.  But, I still had a pretty blah running week.  My legs felt tired all week, often like they were encased in bags of cement.  Luckily I was feeling better by the end of the week but I was still sluggish during my half marathon race on Sunday.

Last week:

Even though I was having an “off” week, I still completed each of my planned runs.  Cross training has gone by the way side, temporarily, since my shin was acting up. 

Our “hill” for hill repeats

Tuesday = hill repeats.  They are not getting easier; do they ever?  Wednesday = easy run with my buddy Kat.  Friday = tempo run with the husband in the early pre-dawn hours (3 tempo miles = 10:26, 10:27, 9:59).  Saturday = pre-race shake out 5k run with my buddy Kat (10:24 avg) and post run coffee.  Sunday = Avenue of the Vines Half Marathon!  This was my 6th half marathon.

Once I finish my Big Sur Weekend recap then I’ll post a race recap from the half marathon last week.  It was a good race, though I’m not sure I would run it again.  Official finishing time = 2:34:31. 

This week is much of the same.  Though this weekend the husband and I will be running trails in my hometown.  We are both looking forward to it. 

10 weeks till SFM.

Meal Plan Monday {May 21}

Good morning internets.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Yesterday I ran my 6th half marathon, finishing in 2:34 alongside my running buddy Kat and the husband.  I also spent the weekend continuing to #eatallthethings (as Heather would say) in the extremist way possible.  Lately I’ve discovered that I’m being less and less mindful of the food I’m putting in my body and I’m binging on food that is not necessarily the healthiest or the best fuel for my body or my running lifestyle.  The first step is accepting there is a problem … right?!? 

Today is the husband’s last day of instruction and tomorrow his summer vacation begins.  Though once I show him the honey-do list I have for him I’m not sure he’ll be calling it “vacation”.  This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend and I’m looking forward to the long weekend.

 
Monday ~ Spinach & Feta Pasta 

Tuesday ~ Chicken & Rice Bowls with Corn-on-the-cob

Wednesday ~ Tofu Tacos

Thursday ~ Sloppy Jose Supper on kaiser rolls

Friday-Sunday ~ Memorial Day Weekend

What’s on your menu this week?
Do you meal plan?
Got a favorite recipe that I’ve got to try? Please share :)
Don’t forget to check out the links … you never know what you might discover! There are some GREAT food blogs & recipe websites out there :)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Weigh in {05.21.12} = 140.4
Loss/Gain from previous week = +1.04

Thankful – Wk20

It’s all the little every day things that make life so extraordinary and this year I want to make sure I am appreciating and focusing more on them. In an effort to remember to slow down, let the little things go, and enjoy every moment of this life I am going to share what I’ve been thankful for each week.

{Source}

This week I’m thankful for …

• Acts of unconditional love
• Friendships
• Spending time with family
• Inspirational quotes
• Mid-week runs with my buddy Kat
• Lucy is okay after getting attacked on Wednesday
• That the weekend is here!

What makes you feel thankful today?

Three Things Thursday

1.  The husband was taking our dog, Lucy, for a walk last night and a loose dog attacked Lucy and bit her!  She is OK with a few shallow wounds and some scratches.  The husband said he did everything he could to get the dog away from Lucy including trying to sprint away from it but the other dog caught up to them.  Eventually the husband started yelling for help and someone came to help from a nearby house and they finally got away.  He doesn’t know where the other dog came from exactly, only the general vicinity.  Thankfully Lucy’s wounds are not worse and the husband didn’t get injured at all.  We are treating Lucy at home and watching the wounds for infection.  So scary.

2.  In other news … my left shin has been feeling twinge-y lately.  Boo.  Last night it was aching after my run so I got out my trusty 5 gallon bucket and did an ice bath.  It’s feeling better and I’m hoping it stays that way.  I think all the jumping around while doing the 30 Day Shred videos last week aggravated it.  I’ll be having none of that so no more 30 Day Shred for me.  I’ll have to find a different alternative for some cross training at home.

3.  I just registered me and the husband for a trail half marathon in October.  This is one of two half marathons that we are doing back-to-back on my birthday weekend with our running friends.  Friday I’ll be turning 32, Saturday we’ll run 13.1 on trails in Napa, and Sunday we’ll run another 13.1 on the bike path in Folsom.  I’m so excited.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.  Bonus – we’ll qualify for Half Fanatics :)

 

How about some fun stats:

I love this feature on Daily Mile.  Since I started tracking my activities in January 2010 I’ve burned over 1200 donuts.  Booyah! 

 

Do you use Daily Mile?  If so, how many donuts have you burned? 

Anyone a Half Fanatic?

Wordless Wednesday

Training Tuesday

Another week of SFM training complete!  And what a great (running) week it was.

11 weeks to go!

Last week:

I nailed all my workouts last week, including two “cross training” workouts (Monday & Thursday).  I did Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred on Monday and Level 2 on Thursday.  Tuesday was hill repeats.  The temps have started to rise and it was warm out which made this workout even harder.  Wednesday was my new 4.55 mile loop from my house to the park and back.  My buddy Kat joined me and we had a good run, even though it was warm again.  We've got an unspoken ability to push each other just when we need it.  Friday was a 5 mile tempo run with the husband.  It was warm, again, but we got ‘er done.  I love our Friday runs together, just the two of us, where we get to talk about our week and pound out any leftover work stress from the week :)

Long Run Map (from my Garmin)

“Mountain Lion Running Club”

Saturday’s long run was a little different than we’ve been doing.  I planned out a point-to-point run for us to do.  We were up early and dropped one car off at the end of our route and then drove back down to where we planned to start.  We did 16 miles, starting at Sacramento State University (my alma matar) and ran on the American River Bike Trail all the way to Nimbus Dam on Hazel Avenue.  The bike trail has some rolling hills, though nothing like the hills we usually run in Folsom.  It’s mostly shaded but we did have a few stretches where we were in the direct sun for a while.  We started early (just after 6 a.m.) and beat the heat but it was still warm out and the sun left me drained for the rest of the day.  We drove up to my hometown on Saturday night (to spend Mother’s Day with my mom) so I did a recovery run on Sunday morning around the neighborhood I grew up in.  I ended up over at my high school so I ran a mile around the track there. 

This week will be a bit of a step back week.  I’m running a half marathon on Sunday (#6).  The week didn’t start off too great … I already skipped a workout (cross training on Monday) but after a long weekend and some insomnia I was exhausted and opted to sleep in instead.  I’m looking forward to the race on Sunday --- I’ll be running with the husband and my running buddy Kat.  We plan to keep the pace easy like a training run and have fun.  The race starts & ends at a local winery that we love so I think we are going to have a lot of fun :)

Meal Plan Monday {May 14}

My weekend was filled with lots of running (just the way I like it), a trip home to my hometown to spend Mother’s Day with my mom, and a visit to the church I attended growing up.  Last week was rough (at times) and I’m hopeful that this week will be better.  I’m looking forward to running a new-to-me half marathon this Sunday :)

 
Monday ~ Enchiladas

Tuesday ~ leftovers

Wednesday ~ BBQ’d Turkey Burgers

Thursday ~ Black Bean & Corn Skillet Nachos

Friday ~ Pasta with semi-homemade marinara sauce 

Saturday ~ leftovers

Sunday ~ Take-n-Bake Pizza

What’s on your menu this week?
Do you meal plan?
Got a favorite recipe that I’ve got to try? Please share :)
Don’t forget to check out the links … you never know what you might discover! There are some GREAT food blogs & recipe websites out there :)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Weigh in {05.14.12} = 139
Loss/Gain from previous week = +1