These two midweek runs were rather uneventful. Some days running is just running. It always feels great once I get out there and I’m done like all types of exercise. However, midweek runs are where the work happens. They aren’t glamorous or have beautiful scenery or fun routes. They are miles on my feet, air in my lungs and endurance building workouts. They are the bread and vegan butter to any marathon training plan. Midweek…
I am counting down the days to when I no longer need to run this big a$$ hills every week. Running hills makes you stronger. I get this. However, I have come to the conclusion that I am just not going to be a fan of hills…ever. Changing it up Rather than listening to a podcast or Big Bang Theory audiobook, I decided to listen to my Spotify music playlist that I use when I…
Sunday cross training day got off to a bumpy start. I woke up to a dead phone that had been on the charger all night. It’s a fairly new phone so it was a real shock. The screen was black and it would not turn on no matter how many buttons I pushed or how many times I tapped (really hard) on the screen. I plugged the phone into a different charger and took the…
I’ll start by saying, what an incredible run today. Not only was it my longest training run to date at 14 miles, it was my longest run ever! Bonus, I didn’t die! As a matter of fact, I feel like I thrived during it. The long run strategy I had a plan for today’s run but I was not confident as I started out that I would be able to execute it. To start off,…
Double hill day! Mileage has bumped up to 4 miles on shorter days so that means repeating the ½ mile hill twice. Monday’s are also kettlebell strength days but I did not make it back to the house in time to get that part done. I’d hoped to have time in the evening after work but no such luck. I knew that was a longshot anyway. That’s why I workout in the mornings. If I…
Eating was not on plan last night and it carried over to Sunday’s cross training. My sister came over on Saturday evening and we both had our own takeout meals. Let’s just say that I did not make good choices when it came to nutrition. I went for walnut shrimp (vegan) over brown rice with Veganaise. I’ve eaten this many times before without a problem. However, I’ve been eating much cleaner for many months now…
I normally look forward to my long runs on Saturdays. Today, I was grateful it was a cut-back week long run of 9 miles; down from 12 last week. Some days are just mentally harder than others I know that part of my mental block had to do with the temperatures again. I decided to start my run about an hour later to allow the temps to warm up out of the low 40’s. I…
The cold morning air may have assisted me in accomplishing my pace goals on today’s 6 mile marathon goal pace run. Although I dreaded going out in the cold, at least it was not dark. I didn’t even wear my Noxgear light vest because it was already starting to look sunny. However, sun or not, 41 degrees is still cold in this SoCal girl’s mind. Cold temp running gear I realize that cold temperatures are…
I needed a reprieve from the cold mornings so I set up my short, three mile conversational pace run for the treadmill. To make it more interesting I mapped out three miles from my upcoming half marathon tune-up race in Laughlin, Nevada. iFit Google mapping feature One of the features I love about my treadmill is the ability to map out runs. Since my treadmill inclines and declines with the terrain, I can get a…
How nice it is to run in the daylight! I’m really enjoying watching the sun rise in the morning; not to mention the ability to see obstacles in my way on the road. I really thought today would be the day that I would run in the rain. The forecast called for about a quarter of an inch and there was a 70% chance of rain during my running time. I wore my rain jacket,…