Training update

Hi everyone! I am sitting here on another frigid day thinking about how I am super excited that there will be some warmer days this week. This means I will do my best to get some miles outside. I am so thankful to have a treadmill to use, but I do definitely need to get some fresh air.

My running is going well and I am excited. I have felt like I have been in a rut for a bit. I think the reason for the rut was that I was struggling in my workouts. Paces that should have felt easy were feeling hard. I think part of it was just getting my health back. Part of it could be boredom on the treadmill. Part of if could be just not having a running plan to follow. Which ever it was, I am going to focus on the fact that this week I feel great. I realize I am going to have ups and downs along the way. The downs will make me stronger and will make me appreciate the ups that much more.

Wow, that was deep.

Since it has been frigid here, I have chosen to make the most of the treadmill. I tried a half marathon pace workout that I got from Runner's World that was awesome. I am going to start incorporating it into my routine. I have also been focusing more on how much time I am running on the treadmill, rather than miles on the treadmill. I am getting my body used to running for longer periods of time. My plan is to do speed work twice a week, a long run or two, and easy running in between. I am going to do this until my marathon training starts which will be early to mid February.

Here is what one of my runs looked like this week.

My half marathon pace workout

Visitors to keep my company for a while during my run.

 Have a great week!

My first race recap!

So last Saturday I ran a 5k. It is part of a 5k series at one of the health clubs near us. You paid one entry fee and it allows you to run about all the series they have through the year. My oldest Jakob and I were both going to be running. Here's how it went down.....

We got to the gym and got our race bibs. Took a brief look at the map of the course and got my Yak Traks on and we were ready to go. There were between 40-50 people in the race (small race), but pretty good turnout considering the weather. It was in the lower teens for a temp, with some wind.

The race started and I held back a bit for the first part and then worked my way into the first place spot. It was here that I had wished I had looked a little closer at the map. It would have been a better way to gage how much distance was left. The course was a loop course on the streets, some areas were plowed and others there was some deeper snow and icy spots. Footing was definitely something to be careful with, was definitely happy to have my Yak Traks. Was cruising along and a guy ended up out kicking me in the end. I finished 2nd overall. My time was 24:17, not my fastest but considering the conditions it was pretty good.

Overall this race was very nicely organize and very low key. I felt it was a great way to get some more 5k races under my belt. Hopefully, the next one will have some better conditions. 

Five things Friday

Here it is, it is Friday again. It has been super cold here this week. The kids school was cancelled a day because of the cold this week. I would really love a week of warmer days to get outside and run. I am truly thankful I have the opportunity to run on a treadmill during the winter, but I am missing the outside and fresh air. So I am going to be positive about this cold weather and tell you about the 5 good things about the cold weather.
1. Cross Country Skiing. Not only is this great cross training, it is also something that we are able to do as a family. My super crafty hubby created a sled so that we could pull the younger two kiddos behind us while we ski. Our oldest is able to ski really well on his own and our 6 year old is learning.

2. Running in the snow builds strength. It is a much harder run when you have snow to deal with. It is similar to running in sand, in which you have to adjust your footing and balance while running. Thus, running in the snow = improved strength. Improved strength = faster running.

3. Snow really is beautiful in the morning, especially when the trees are covered.

4. Sledding. It really is fun to get out with the kids sled. Running up the hill and going fast down them is exhilarating. Plus, pulling a 3 year old up the hill in a sled is a super great strength workout for your quads

5. Working out inside does have some benefits. I am taking advantage of being inside to focus on building my strength. Plus, I feel that running on the treadmill does build some mental toughness with learning to stick to finishing a workout even when it get mentally tough (due to boredom).

There is my five things, i feel they may be a stretch but I am choosing to be positive about the weather, It just makes me appreciate the warm weather when it comes.

What do you love about winter?

Five things Friday #2

Happy Friday friends! I thought I would do a another 5 things post. This week I have been getting over a cold so I couldn't do the mileage I had wanted to do. However, I feel that I did do 5 things this week that helped to improve my health and running. I hope you are ready!

1. Knowing when to take it easy. I had wanted to run a lot of miles last weekend, but I started having symptoms on Saturday. I knew I couldn't do the ten miles I wanted to, so I did one mile. I actually feel like that endorphins from that mile helped to give my immune system a boost without over doing it.

2. Sleep. I feel that rest really helps my body get over things faster. There was one night this week I went to bed at 8:30pm and I was absolutely happy about it.

3. Water. I drank water, water, and more water. I feel that drinking more water and fluids helps allow your body to flush your system out.

4. Taking my vitamins and especially Vitamin C. Vitamin C is great for your immune system as well as muscle recovery. I ate a lot of mandarin oranges! I also made sure to take my vitamins this week. I feel the more nutrients my body has the better it can fight off viruses.

5. Not speaking that I was sick. I never during this past week sad "I am so sick" or "I don't feel good." I either said "I am overcoming" or "I am catching a healing." Words are powerful. If I were to say I feel terrible then I would feel terrible and it would probably take longer to feel better. So, I say I am getting better and I focus on the things that will help my body fight the illness rather than how my body feels.

I am definitely glad I did these things to help get over this cold. I had a great 7+ mile run on the treadmill today followed by some strength training. I am excited to start to slowly put the miles back on, my body definitely feels stronger during longer workouts.

What do you do to help get over illness?

What's your favorite vitamin C food source?

Five things friday

Happy, Happy Friday! I thought I would attempt something of a routine with my blogging. I may play around a bit with it but to start I am thinking every Friday will be "Five things Friday." What are the five things? The five things are anything I want them to be. So here it is, the first of my Five Things Friday!

Five things that made me happy this week!

1. S'more's Hot Cocoa. Yes, I realize this is not the healthiest of treats but, I was leaving work late Wednesday, it was really cold (-8) and I had rolled my car window down to swipe my badge to get out of the parking lot, and it wouldn't go back up. Because I needed gas as well, I drove 10 miles with the window down before the car was warm enough for the window to go back up. Once I got to the gas station I went inside to get some Hot Cocoa. There was a flavor called S'more's Hot Cocoa and it was as heavenly as it sounds.

2. Spending time watching "Fast and the Furious 6" with my Hubs. Love this movie series and Love Dan-o

3. Dinner and watching the Packer game at my parents house. Love dinners at their house. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

4. New workout clothes. Old Navy had $10 compression Capri running tights. Also, got a lime green running top, it's so bright you won't miss me!

5. This girl. I used to do the same thing with black olives.

What made you happy this week?

Resolutions so far

Hello my friends! So it is about a week or so into our new year. I love the start of the year because I feel like so many of us are embracing change and taking new steps towards goals. So, since it is a week into  the new year, I thought I'd share how my goals and resolutions are going....

It has been freezing, literally like below zero temps for over a week which has made for A LOT of treadmill running. Some people will call it the DREADMILL, but I choose to focus on the good running it has been allowing me to have even on the coldest of days. We did have a little warm up one day so, I took full advantage and got some miles outside. Even though the winds were 20mph and it was single digits for temps, it was GLORIOUS!

Loving that I got these Yak traks for Christmas and loving the new running tights, super warm

I am also proud to say that I have gotten two strength workouts in this past week. It is really showing me how week my core is right now. I am excited to get super strong this winter. Woot, woot!


On the whole eating clean thing.....well this is where I am not doing so hot. I think that I had tried really hard to not over indulge during the holidays that I am now over indulging on sweets. However, this is something that I will be working on this whole year so I am going to focus more on this. That's the thing about resolutions you may not be prefect at them right away, but as long as you (I) don't give up on them I will hit those goals. 

How are your resolutions going?

2014!

It is a new year! I look back and I can't believe another year has gone by. It has been a great year. I really found out a lot about my self this year. The reason for this self discovery was started with a resolution. A resolution to run at least a mile everyday. I am so happy to say that I accomplished that. I feel so proud of my accomplishments over the past year. I feel that setting a goal and keeping to it definitely made me a more confident person. I feel that this confidence rubs off on the people around them. I am so happy about where my life is right now and where it is going. I feel this happiness is contagious. I do hope that my running will inspire others to chase whatever dreams and goals they are hoping for. It has made me realize that resolutions are important and keeping those resolutions are just as important for a good self image.
 

 So, what are my goals and resolutions for this year? I have decided I may keep this running streak going. I had a lot of anxiety/ it felt weird not to run. So, yesterday I ran. It would have been cool to run 14 miles for 2014, but lack of planning didn't allow that to happen. The hubs came up with the idea of run for 20 minutes and 14 seconds. So I said, I will see how far i can run on the treadmill in that amount of time. I was hoping I could get a 5k in, almost made it.

After that run. I felt that I am going to have a speedy running year. So, my running goals are as follows:

1. Run two marathons this year, thinking Grandma's Marathon and Twin Cities, but we will see which ones for sure in the next month or so,
2. Run a 3:15 marathon by the end of this year
3. Break 1:30 in the half marathon
4. Break 20 minutes in a 5k
5. Keep going with the streak, see how long I can go.
6. Incorporate strength training twice a week.
7. Focus on nutrition, my goal is to eat cleaner, may try the Paleo diet

I am excited about this upcoming year, it is going to be an amazing year. I feel it is like a fresh start. I have some non running resolutions as well, and I may share those in a future post. Happy 2014!

What are your New Years resolutions?

Have you every tried the Paleo diet?