Weekly Workout Recap #15

April 10 - 16

So apparently last week, I never actually implemented the actual link up! Super fail - apologies to anyone that tried to be sure to get in on the fun and couldn't because I'm just super quick like that. My bad!

So the last full week of heavy marathon training is DONE - I'm entering two weeks of taper fun and then it's freaking GO TIME! Holy cow - where have the last eight weeks gone? I really can't believe it's been that long since Phoenix already, but am really stoked with all the mileage, distances and work I've done these last eight weeks and am feeling more ready than I did for Phoenix for sure (which was the whole goal, anyway!). Ready to see if I can make some goals come to life in Costa Mesa in TWO WEEKS.

Sunday | 5 miles
Since we did the Angels 5K on Saturday, and I had no desire to be out in the (forecasted) rain for 15 miles, I pushed my long run to Sunday. I rolled out about 8 am, expecting drizzle and clouds still but instead found big white puffy clouds, some sun, and a really nice day. There were tons of people out on the trail, so it didn't make these mile seem so lonely, which is always a plus! I was super nervous about getting in 15 on my own, so it was nice seeing so many families, puppies and people out everywhere!

As you can see, that is definitely not 15. About 10.5, my stomach flared up to the point where I was scared to keep running, but I knew there was a gast station nearby so I ran as fast as I could without pushing myself and then the last mile is to the grocery store to meet Doug to get some breakfast essentials and a ride home. Disappointed I didn't make it to the full 15, but I felt great overall, am stoked with my pacing, and knew that had I give myself more time that morning, 15 would have been a cinch.

11.28 miles, 1:45:30, 9:21 pace

Monday | 5 miles + strength
After Sunday's run, I was a little tired come Monday. I was ready to get my run in after work, but instead laid on my bed and did nothing for about half hour before heading out to go bowling - a totally random Monday night adventure, but you know? I didn't feel bad about skipping that run. Hello, taper time, please. I think I know I'm ready for it at this point!

Rest. 

Tuesday | 8 miles
After work, I bolted home and got to my mileage on a gloriously warm evening that was pretty much perfect and all I could have asked for for knocking out 8 miles on a Tuesday afternoon. I ran three miles uphill to the dog park (I've never made it to the top without walking), three miles back down and then the last two miles through the neighborhood across the street from our complex and wound my way down and around the streets in our complex to round it all out. Awesome. So awesome.

8.04 miles, 1:13:47, 9:11 pace

Wednesday | 5 miles + yoga
I've fallen back into the routine of running after work - thank you, extended daylight - but I wish I could get my act together in the morning to get it done before work. Maybe these last two weeks I will, since they're shorter distances and easier to knock out on the 'mill.

At any rate, I headed out for miles after work, before yoga. and not even a half-mile in, started fighting a nasty side stitch that almost sent me right home again, but I decided I needed to fight through it. It came back on strong at mile 3 or so, so I booked it home and called it a day at 4.25 - not everything I needed, but my legs were definitely feeling the 8 from the night before, so I figured that mileage and a little yoga action, and I'd be good to go. Aaaaah, yoga. Yoga was hard - I couldn't find my balance, no core, just a total lack of focus, but my legs! Oof. Deep stretching works wonders but I booked home and foam rolled pretty much immediately.

4.25 miles, 38:04, 8:58 pace
Yoga, 60 minutes + Foam roll/stretch, 10 minutes 

Thursday | 6 x 800 hill repeats
Two months later, I finally got to drop off my engagement ring to get re-sized. While that took longer than expected, I finally got home about 6:30, started some pieces for dinner and then headed over to the treadmill to get this workout in. I figured speedwork would be some quick and easy miles would still allow me to get home, get dinner done and ready for Doug to get home after football. Domestic goddess in the works, people. Or at least I'm pretending. Doug got home the same time I did (darn!) but I got my workout in and called it an awesome day.

Warm up mile @ 9:40, 6 x 800 at 4:11, 4:08, 4:04, 3:56, 3:49, and 3:44 (booyah!) and 5 minutes cool down. Last OC speedwork day in the books and all I can say is hell yeah!

4.3 miles, 40:18, 9:21 pace (including warm up and cool down)

Friday | Rest
Happy end of the week! Yay rest day! No lie though, I was nervous about Saturday's run...

Rest 

Saturday | 20 miles 

A friend of mine from the running club said he'd help me get in my long run since all my girls are doing their thing at Walt Disney World this weekend. We met up before the club and got in 4 miles + 15 miles with the club, but he took me on some extra loops to hit 20 by the time we got back to the club's starting point. Only apparently he lied some more and took me to 21! 

I honestly have never felt that good, that long - AND that makes for my longest training run ever! I am so beyond pleased and stoked and felt pretty damn badass after that run. Proof that running with people makes you forget if something hurts or if you don't feel good or something's hard... many thanks to Eric for getting me through   powering me through that run! OC Marathon, here I come!

21.0 miles, 3:12:02, 9:09 pace <--- WHAT IS THAT. 

That's a total of  48.9 on the week and I call that a successful last week of training. Ready for two easy weeks (25 and 16 miles a piece, that's cake!) and ready to get myself to the start line, ready to roll. I got this! 

How was your week? Make sure you link up below!

100 Things, 100 Ways

One of my big focuses with OC training wasn't only getting in the long distance mileage (though that was certainly top of the list), but it was also being a little better about my eating, fueling, and diet choices. I'm not overweight by any means, but it's been a little bit about dropping a few pounds to get down to a more comfortable race weight - and eating better in the process.

I've had a few tools here and there, but one of the big issues I've faced is snacking. My snack choices are usually what's within reach and sometimes, that's not always the best of choices (hello, sweet tooth!). At the office, I keep fruit snacks nearby so I can get some of the sweet taste but not binge on entirely sugar-based products. We actually just got a fridge not too long ago also (!), so I've been able to get some fruit and yogurt in here too, so I have even more healthier choices to grab and go between meetings or at my desk while I work on projects.

One of my favorites has become Chobani's new Simply 100 packs - yogurt with a side of crunch (and sometimes a sweet-tooth's every wish!). Simply 100 is a guilt-free way to delicious crunchy snack but still getting some of the health and diet benefits of yogurt (I'm totally guilty of needing 'crunchy' things to munch on).

My favorite by far is the strawberry chocolate truffle (see, told you with that sweet tooth business) but the blueberry is high up there too. I haven't tried mango, as that's not normally a go-to for me, but we'll see!

Part of one of the other great tools I've been using is my new Garmin. Honestly, it's so cheesy but one of my favorite features is that if I'm sedentary for too long, it yells at me and tells me to MOVE! It's gotten me to be better about taking breaks - even if it means taking a lap around the building just to shake out my legs and keep moving throughout the day!

BUT did you know there's tons of easy ways to burn 100 calories to supplement that deliciousness you've just consumed, and I realize that I do a number of these almost daily in my routine anyway - walking the dog, cleaning up/tidying the house, and in my dreams, shopping on the regular.

How true are these though? While training hasn't necessaribly been about counting calories, it's been about watching them, even if only a rough estimate. These have been some of the best snacks and mind tricks I've played on myself the last six weeks - sweet tooth, solved. Health snack, solved.

What's your favorite way to burn 100 calories?

Many thanks to Chobani for inviting me to share in the Simply 100 goodness! I can't get enough! 

Race Report: Angels 5K

Angels 5K and Fun Run

Anaheim, CA | April 9, 2016

Doug and I did this race last year with a whole crew, but this year, it was just the two of us. It was a gray and drizzly weekend all weekend anyway, so it left me curious for how many people would actually show up this year. Spoiler: 3,676 people still showed up! 

We left home about 6:45 to get down to the stadium in a decent amount of time to park, get our bibs and shirts, walk stuff back to the car and chill for a bit before the 8 am start time. We remembered last year that despite there being two "waves," tons of folks with strollers and dogs still shove their way to the first wave, so you're definitely wasting your first mile just dodging around people and trying to find some kinda groove. By mile 2, you've mostly passed the walkers and strollers and can find some kind of rhythm, just to catch yourself in your tracks as you enter the stadium.

It's not a super exciting course by any means, but they lighten it up with having some of the team player cutouts to take photos with and with the Angels' Stike Force Squad. They definitely lighten up the course as much as they can, given that the highlight (running the warning track) isn't until 2.7 or so. 

Like I said, it was gray and cool out but we didn't get hit by any light rain until almost about the 1.5 mile mark, and it was only a drizzle at that, so it was kind of nice. We caught it again about 2.5, just before we made our way into the stadium, but it didn't last long. The nice part about the weather was that it certainly cleared people out quicker and the post-race expo was pretty dang empty by the time we were done walking through it! 

Last year, I was coming off some post-LA tendonitis and Doug hasn't really run since Surf City due to some lingering knee issues, so we figured that the combination of his injury and a massive crowd, we'd cruise through this run and just have fun. A 34-minute finish isn't something I've seen a while, but seriously, we had such a great time, who cares? Sometimes it's all about the fun run and having a blast with your guy while you're doing it, right? Right.

My only real beef with this race is how congested it is - there needs to be staff controlling that anyone with strollers, dogs, etc. needs to start in the second wave at least, so that folks who plan to just run the 5K aren't caught up in a huge crowd and/or risking injury trying to get around them by running straight into potholes or jumping on curbs to get up to the sidewalks to get around them. It's annoying as all get out, but I think speaks to safety, too, when you have a 5K of over 3,000 people. 

Otherwise, the race itself is great, medal is awesome (this year it's a spinning jersey!) and it's just a fun day to have supporting one of our favorite teams! 

Have you ever done a run through a sports team's stadium? What's your bucket list stadium run?

Weekly Workout Recap #14

April 3 - 9

Well, we all know it was marathon week (because who didn't know, right?) and despite feeling super great on Sunday and Monday post-race, I didn't want to schedule anything during this week so I could enjoy a true recovery. Aside from yoga, nothing was scheduled and I did as I pleased. Isn't that what recovery is all about? Thus why all the days were scheduled for "rest" and then I sort of did as I felt able throughout the week leading up to Saturday's 5K.

My Phoenix Marathon race recap is here if you'd like to check it out! It's a strange feeling to be happy with not meeting A or B goals, but trust me, it does a world of wonder for your psyche and mental state heading into another (better) cycle of marathon training!

Sunday | 5 miles 
After getting home super late from Ragnar (like 11 pm) on Saturday night, and after those 22 miles from Ragnar, I decided Sunday was a totally worthy rest day. I woke up and headed back down to where our vans were to get them cleaned and returned, came home, did Ragnar laundry (the worst, right?) and later in the afternoon we headed down to Doug's parents' house for Easter, Part 2. A totally lazy, totally awesome Sunday.

Monday | 5 miles + strength
5 miles after work. My legs were tired, but not terribly so, but I recall nothing special about this run whatsoever! I ran up to the dog park while waiting for Doug to make his way home; he picked up Molly and brought her up to the park. As it was getting just dark enough, I finished my last two miles running around the "track" at the conjoining park. Pretty easy, pretty wonderful.

5.01 miles, 48:13, 9:37 pace

Tuesday | 10 miles
I allowed myself a little sleeping in on Tuesday but then got really disappointed when I realized it was a #tenmiletuesday kinda day - otherwise, I would have gotten up and done some miles before work because ten miles on a Tuesday evening is hard. So by the time I got home (never mind that it was like 90 degrees at 6 pm), the last thing I wanted to do was get this run in. But weekly mileage makes marathon mileage all the better, right? Right. I mapped out a route and got to work - I knew it was hot, I knew it'd be slower than normal, but time on your feet still counts.

At the end, it was quite wonderful as it felt like I was out at Ragnar again, chasing the sunset near some secluded vineyards. Pretty fantastic. I planned my course to end at Doug's high school so I met him after football practice and got a ride home. Total win! I was disappointed in not hitting all ten, and at the same time... totally okay.

9.11 miles, 1:31:11, 10:00 pace

Wednesday | 5 miles + yoga
After Tuesday's run, I was totally drained. I felt the heat and felt just totally blah, and even ended up leaving work an hour early to get home and pass out. I almost didn't get to yoga, but I knew I'd need the stretch after Ragnar. You only regret the workouts you never do, right? Right.

Yoga, 60 minutes 

Photo credit: Veronica, our instructor! 

Thursday | 8 x 800
I made it from work actually really amped up about getting this run in - I wanted to get outside but I'm still working on finding a track to get some speedwork in on and since it was on and off raining, I figured that a treadmill would at least get me consistent paces and I could build that way. I love speedwork and miss it so much from when I did every week in Georgia - but this is as best as it got! 1 mile warm up at 9:30, 8 x 800 at 4:14, 4:19, 4:11, 4:09, 4:01, 4:01, 3:59, 3:52 and 1 cool down mile at 9:49. Heck freaking yes.

6 miles, 53:42, 8:57 pace 

Friday | Rest
Happy end of the week! I was going to get in some easy miles to make up for not running on Wednesday... but opted for a later alarm clock and a casual dinner with my parents after work and some family friends in from Canada. Happy Friday!

Saturday | 15 miles 

I ended up moving my log run to Sunday this week, because Doug and I ended up signing up for the Angels 5K again earlier in the week. Despite some gray and drizzly weather, there was still a huge turnout and we had a blast - easy 5K, done. Productive Saturday around the house... bring it on, 15 miles. I'm probably out running as you read this, so send some positive vibes!

Angels 5K, 3.11 miles, 34:29, 11:05 pace

How was your week? Make sure you link up below!

Join the link up each week and join in the fun! I'm hoping to hold myself more accountable to my training plan and I know that putting it out there each week is going to help me do that! Join in, link your recap and connect with other friends to hold us all accountable too!

Oh! And we have a winner from Monday's Convertible HDL prize pack giveaway! Kasey, you've been sent an email and have 48 hours to respond with the information requested. If I do not hear back, I will select the next winner! Good luck! 

Friday Favorites #16

1. #StripatNight
Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas registration opened on Monday!

Both the half and full marathons are on an early bird rate of $125, so you better jump now if you're going to! Register today and let me know if you're going to be running the #StripatNight in 2016. I'm registered thanks to the Rock 'n Blog crew, but will need to make decisions on travel (and/or doing the 5K on Saturday?!) over the summer and figure out a plan. Wanna be roomies?

2. New Sparkly Things 
I told you a few weeks ago that Sparkly Soul had just released the bridal collection of their headbands (seriously, they're so good, what timing!) and even better, they sent me a special engagement present! Thanks, Dari! I love being an ambassador for Sparkly Soul and the company Dari and Pamela have started! Now to see if I can get the other two passed off... ;)

3. RAGNAR!
I'm cranking out these Ragnar recaps as quick as I can and hope to have the full recap done next week! For now, revel in this year's new bling: 

I love the Ragnar cutout logo, LOVE the new shirts. When's the next one, y'all? Kidding - Ragnars are a once-a-year adventure, but seriously can't wait to add a 2017 sticker to my collection!

4. Lexus Lace Up Series
I am way super excited to be able to announce that I've been asked to return to the 2016 Lexus Lace Up series ambassador team. I absolutely love this four-part series, all throughout Southern California and cannot wait to begin spreading the Lace Up love! A great race crew, and though they're small productions, they go BIG with amenities and offerings to runners! Their races are in Irvine, Ventura, Palos Verdes and Riverside again this year; check the website for details and dates and let me know where I'll see you this fall! You can check out my recaps from Irvine and Palos Verdes from 2015 and see why this race series is one of my growing faves around the area.

What are you loving this Friday?