Weekly Workout Recap: 4/23-4/29

Weekly Workout Recap: 4/23-4/29

This week I had a goal: maximum mileage in 1 week. I've hit a 39 mile week before, so that meant I was going for 40+.

Monday, 4/23: 16 miles in 2:39:33 (9:58 pace)
Tuesday, 4/24: 62 minutes on Elliptical (5.8 miles covered) & 4 miles in 40:00 (10:00 pace) & 8-Minute Abs and 8-Minute Arms
Wednesday, 4/25: 60 minute Spinning class & 2 miles in 17:46 (8:52 pace) & 3 miles in 27:36 (9:12 pace)
Thursday, 4/26: 1 mile warm up in 9:11 & "Little 2 1/2" Race in 21:48 (8:43 pace) & 3 miles in 30:48 (10:16 pace)
Friday, 4/27: 40 minutes on Elliptical (4 miles)
Saturday, 4/28: 2.5 miles on TM in 24:10 (9:40 pace), 60 minute Spinning class, & 8-Minute Abs and 8-Minute Arms
Sunday, 4/29: 13.1 miles in 2:14:43 (10:17 pace), 1/2 mile walk cool down, & 8-Minute Abs and 8-Minute Arms

Totals:
44.1 miles ran (new weekly mileage high!!) & .5 mile walk
9.8 miles on Elliptical
2 spinning class
8-Minute Abs (x 3) and 8-Minute Arms (x 3)


“Spend at least some of your training time, and other parts of your day, concentrating on what you are doing in training and visualizing your success." -Grete Waitz

Weekend in Review: Bacon Cupcake Style

Wowza! It was a crazy weekend for many personal, family reasons I won’t go too much into here. I did get some good workouts AND some really good FOOD in, though! J

Quick recaps:

Friday—Still CRAZY sore. Just did 40 minutes on the Elliptical. I got to leave work early (woowoo!), so I treated myself to this:

LOVE slurpees. I haven't had one in MONTHS. Maybe even more than a year. 1/2 cherry, 1/2 coke. YUM.

Before doing this:

Usually the Hubs and I grocery shop together. He HATES grocery shopping, so since I got off work early, I did it so we wouldn't have to do it later. Best wife ever? For sure.

The Hubs and I then had (another) date night. We went to our favorite Italian restaurant. OMG. So good. Of course, we started with DELICIOUS bread and olive oil.

YUUUUUUM!!!!

Then, we shared an appetizer of baked goat cheese in marinara sauce. Maybe my new favorite food. I am addicted. SO good. I just got a bowl of Minestrone soup, since I knew I’d eat my weight in bread, olive oil, and cheese. Mission accomplished. The Hubs got a shrimp ravioli dish that was outta control good. I stole several bites.

After dinner, we stopped for a Rebox (Mission Impossible 3, 4? Whatever the latest one is.) and we made a pit-stop to cash in a Groupon deal we got for a local cupcake place. We made it 10 minutes before close, so their stock was low. The Hubs got the only one he really wanted to try, though.

The bacon cupcake. Yes, that is actual bacon on the top of that cupcake. I tried a small bite... it was good, but I'd never want a whole one. The Hubs loved it. Loved. I got a carrot cake cupcake, simply because it was the only other kind they had. It was good. I'd never normally order carrot cake, but it was definitely tasty. And, it's healthier than regular cupcakes because it's made with carrots, right? Come on.

Saturday—Rain and wind destroyed my plan for a long run, so I gym-ed it instead. I started with 2 ½ SLOW miles on the TM to see how my legs were feeling. I’d be lying if I said it was pain-free… but, not too bad. I kept the pace slow and made myself stop at 2 1/2, so I think I played it pretty safe/smart. For me, at least. Then, I did a 60-minute CRAZY intense spinning class. Felt great! Loved every sweaty second. I did 8-minute Abs and 8-minute Arms when I got back before showering super quick and then heading outta town for the rest of the day for some quality family-in-law time. That night we, again, went to a fabulous Italian restaurant. This time I got the spinach ravioli and this time I could call it “Carb Loading” instead of “EATING!” Either way, it was damn good.

Sunday—Kicked the day off with a good, quality long run. I took it nice and slow and didn’t pay attention to pace at all. I was still not pain-free, so I didn’t want to push it.  13.1 miles is NOT pushing it, right?? J I did 8-minute Abs and 8-minute Arms with the Hubs when I got back to wrap up the weeks workouts.

The rest of Sunday was spent dealing with a fro yo trip (duh), a bunch of family stuff, eating some Mexican food, laundry, and icing & sticking the legs.

I WON!

I WON!

Ok… I didn’t exactly WIN… but, I did get 1^st female AND 2^nd overall!!! And, ok… so, this was only a verrrrry small (30 participants MAX) “race” the college I work at holds as a “stress reliever” for students/staff/faculty before finals week. No chips, a chalk start and finish line, no medals or port-a-potties or lines or Gu’s handed out or anything really “race” like. Still. I’ll take it. I WOOOOON!!!

Yes, a 8:43 average pace in a 2 ½ mile race did infact make me the first female finisher. No, that is not “fast” by many most people’s definitions. So what?!?! It’s fast for me! In fact, it’s the fastest I’ve ever ran outside. So, while in the past I would have disregarded this and say it’s not fast, there weren’t many other runners, I got lucky, etc.—today, I choose to be proud. I ran. 1^st place, last place, fast, slow—whatever. I ran. So, I’m proud. Simple as that.]

(I also did a 1 mile warm up before the race started in 9:11, totalling for 3.5 miles before lunch.)

The race was free to particiapte in and as such, we didn't get t-shirts or medals or anything. Buuuut, I won! So, I got a lil' sumthin', sumthin'.

My “prize”—the coveted Intramural champtions t-shirt. I’ll take it—and wear it with pride! And, yes—I did then use this shirt to run in again later that day, so it didn’t even make it 5 hours sweated-in-less. Classic Meagan.

Post-race I treated myself to lunch out at a local grocery store’s salad bar. One my favorite places to grab a quick, healthy lunch. YUM!

Romanie lettuce, LOTS of cumcumbers, 4 small grilled chicken strips, and a litttttle bit of egg with FF Ranch. Fruit (pineapple, grapes, strawberries, and watermelon) on the side. YUM!!

The rest of the day was uneventful. I finished up my work day and then ran another, slooooow, WINDY (OMG!) 3 miles (30:48) after work. I tried to keep the pace intentionally slow. I was shooting for 10:30s. I averaged 10:16s, so pretty close. I was honestly the most surprised how intentional I had to be to stay that slow, even against some craaaazy winds. Kinda a nice feeling.

I had every intention of then waking up this morning and going to the gym before work for a few TM miles and some quality Elliptical time. But, when I woke up to pee in the middle of the time and I got outta bed my legs immediately SCREAMED. Like, OMG. They haven’t been this sore in a long, long time. WAY, WAAAY more sore than after Monday’s 16 miler. No clue why. But, I veto-ed the morning workout. Look at me, being all smart-Meagan. I iced my shins this morning and am wearing compression leg-sleeves all day today. Hopefully the rest (hey—a few hours off counts as rest, right?), ice, and compression will do wonders. I’m debating doing some ellipticalling later this afternoon… we’ll see.

Tonight the Hubs and I are going to our FAVORITE Italian place and I could not be more excited! Whether I get to run today or not (likely not), nothing can spoil how excited I am gorge on some bread, pasta, and all other things Italian. And there will likely be some fro-yo post-carb loading session. I mean, I'm just being honest. Come on 6pm… J

Tomorrow I’m HOPING to do a long run. Mother Nature seems to have other things on her mind—rain, wind, and cold. We’ll see. I don’t have any plans Sunday, so I might just gym-it tomorrow and LR it Sunday. Decisions, decisions.

If this and what kinda pasta to order tonight are the hardest decision I have to make today, I’m gonna go ahead and call this day a win.  

(Source)

100% Not Running Related & The Vow

Warning: This post has absolutely, 100% NOTHING to do with working out or running or sweat of any kind. It’s super important for me to have balance in life. Newsflash, there is more to life than JUST running. I know. SHOCKING!

So, last Night the Hubs and I had a date night. And, let me assure you—I’m a cheap date. ;)

We went to see “The Vow” with Rachel McAdams (I love her!) at our local cheap theatre. 

LOVE her. He's kinda meh. I don't get the appeal.

You know—one that shows past-theatre/pre-renting movies for mega cheap. Usually tickets are $1.50/each, but on Wednesday it’s SUPER cheap and tix are only a buck a piece. Score!  

We stopped by a gas station on the way to the theatre to get some to-be-sneaked-in snacks. We also snuck in soda's from our fridge. Diet Sprite for the Hubs. Diet Pepsi for me. I warned him if I didn't have caffeine and LOTS o' sugar there was a very, very real chance I'd pass out mid-movie. It's happened before. Numerous times. 

Reese Pieces and Sour Patch Kids. Perfection.

We got to the movie theatre about 10 minutes before our show started and walked into this:

That's the Hubs. And, only the Hubs. In the whooooole place.

The theatre showing “The Vow” was completely, 100% empty except us. LOVE that. I could do this:

Feet up=Check! Compression socks on date night= Double check (One check for each leg. Duh.)!!

Another couple people did end up showing up seconds before the show started, but it was definitely ghost town. I guess with a random Wednesday evening showing of a movie that’s been out forever I should have expected that.

The Hubs has been working late a lot lately and I’ve been working out like a maniac, so it’s really nice to have a completely low-key, just-us date night now and then. And, for less than $5 total! Can’t beat that!!

We Are Young

Yesterdays second work out (yes, I realize how that sounds) was pretty non-eventful. 4 easy, slow miles on the indoor track at work. I still got good n’ sweaty, though. My co-workers LOVED me when I came back. ;) Oh, and I somehow convinced the Hubs to do 8-Minute Abs and 8-Minute Arms with me after work while dinner was in the oven. I could definitely get used to working out together… we’ll see if it’ll become a habit.

Today’s workout was also pretty low-key. Spinning class where the instructor actually played GOOD music—gasp! It’s amazing, really, how big of a difference the music can make a spinning class. I feel the same way about music when running. Once I forgot my iPod at a friend’s house so she had to mail it to me (THANK YOU, L!!). However, I knew I wouldn’t get it via mail for a few days and I PANICKED. I literally made the Hubs go to Wal-Mart with me THAT DAY to get a new pair of head phones so I could use my iPhone during the next days run, which I promptly dropped in the first 30 seconds of the run… this is why I can’t have nice things. I cannot run without music. After spinning I did 2 quick miles on the treadmill in 17:46. In honor of all this music talk, here’s a few of the songs that I’ve been obsessed with during runs lately…

-“E.T.” – Katy Perry featuring Kayne West (best version—for sure)

-“’Til I Collapse” – Eminem

-“Do Somthin’” – Britney Spears

-“Enchanted” – Taylor Swift

-“Girlfriend” – Daniel Bedingfield

-“Good Life” – Kayne West

-“Dog Days Are Over” – Florence and the Machine

-“Sweetness” – Jimmy Eat World

-“Faster” – Third Eye Blind

-“King of Anything” – Sara Bareilles

-“I Forgive You” – Kelly Clarkson

And, my biggest most recent obsession song:

“We Are Young” by Fun. (featuring Janelle Monae)

I could listen to this song over and over and over and over. Obsessed.

What I Ate Wednesday

 What I Ate Wednesday was started by this girl. It's a way to track one days eats/drinks in its entirety. It's a great way to reflect on my average weekday diet and eating habits. I'm going to try to do this every Wednesday, so here goes week 1!

(To clarify: These is actually what I ate on Tuesday, so I could post it on Wednesday. I'm so clever.)

Breakfast: 8:45am 

~3-4 egg whites (made in microwave at work) with a handful of shredded fat-free Kraft mozzarella cheese (& loooots of pepper!!), 1 cup of coffee (w/ 1 equal packet and a splash of sugar-free vanilla creamer) & a bottle of water


Lunch: 12:15pm

~2 tbsp red pepper hummus, ~1.5 servings of pretzel thins, loooots of baby carrots, a small apple, and a diet pepsi 

Snack: 3:15pm 

Blueberry Chobani Greek yogurt


Dinner: 5:45pm

3 homemade chicken tenders (bonless chicken breast tenders-- dip in egg whites, coat in panko bread crumbs, sprinkle w/ Lawry's seasoning salt, bake, eat!) with BBQ sauce, peas and 1/2 serving of Trader Joe's reduced guilt mac and cheese (that I added a bit of breadcrumbs to the top of just before it was done baking-- soooo good!!), and a diet pepsi


Dessert: 6:30pm

1...ok, 2 pieces.... S'more pie

And, for the record-- I did not eat it right out of the pie pan... I was just FAR too impatient to take a pic before eating my pieces, so I took a pic post pieces. And, yes-- this is all that's left of the WHOLE PIE that the Hubs baked Sunday. To be fair, I only had 1 piece Sunday and 2 pieces then. This is what's left after our dessert and packing some for the Hubs for lunch the next day.


Unpictured: LOTS of water throughout the day and 2 scoops of benefiber (added to water). My doc suggested I start taking 2 scoops of benefiber throughout day to see if it helps w/ my oh-so-hot tummy issues. It's been about a week and it has been helping-- and, if DEFINITELY helps keep me more full throughout the day.

Weekend and a BIG Body Glide Fail

This weekend was great! Lots of friend (“school fries”—not sure how we got that name, but that’s what my undergrad friends and I call each other) time complete with margaritas, trashy TV, bridesmaid dress shopping, and lots and lots of food. Perfection in weekend form.

Oh! And, the weekend in Ohio ended on a bright note because I got to make a pit stop by my meca.

Oh Trader Joes... please open closer to our apartment? Please? I'll give you LOTS of business. Promise!

Heaven, in grocery store form.

After my pit stop, the 5 hour drive commenced and was made much more enjoyable by the red vines and by these:

SO good. Not as good as Red Vines, but definitely good.

I got back home Sunday night and walked into a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. The Hubs was… BAKING.

 Yes, 95% of our kitchen cabinets were wide open during this baking adventure.

He made a pie. A s’mores pie from a link I emailed him months ago with the subject line “YUM!”. Best. Husband. Ever. I was honestly speechless.

Boys baking has got to be one of the cutest things ever. He said he planned to be done baking before I got back, but it was "more complicated" than he originally thought. So cute. He was covered in marshmallow and chocolate and there was graham cracker dust all over, but it was so worth it especially since he cleaned up too! And, for the record-- the pie is SO good. 

I enjoyed the rest of the quiet Sunday night with the Hubs and our pie. He even did 8-minute Abs and Arms with me so I could get a little sweat-action in.

I (again) took Monday off for the sole purpose of getting a quality long run in. I had my sights set on a PDR—16 big ones. I’ve done 16 in one day before, but it was split into 2 runs. This time, I wanted them all at once (does that sound kinda dirty to anyone else?). I was on the road by 8am and felt great the first 8 miles. Starting at mile 9, I started feeling fatigued, but still OK. It definitely went downhill from there. I hit THE WALL hard at mile 14. The last 2 miles I had to walk a bit. I honestly don’t even remember the last time I HAD to walk during a run, but OMG—I really had to this time. 

Regardless, I got them done. For 16 miles, I was pretty happy with under a 10:00 average pace. Not thrilled, but happy. Especially seeing as how I had to walk (and let the Garmin run) a couple times the last 2 miles. I’ll take it. Done and done.

Splits for run:

Mile 1: 9:30 (first mile is ALWAYS my fastest... psssh! I nevvver go out too fast!)

Mile 2: 9:37

Mile 3: 9:38

Mile 4: 9:56 (Had to stop at a light and forgot to pause Garmin.)

Mile 5: 9:45

Mile 6: 9:47

Mile 7: 9:47

Mile 8: 9:47

Mile 9: 9:45

Mile 10: 9:57

Mile 11: 9:57

Mile 12: 10:19

Mile 13: 10:12

Mile 14: 10:06

Mile 15: 10:31

Mile 16: 10:51

Average Pace: 9:58

After the run, I enjoyed suffered through a 20-minute ice bath. Hate those, but man do they make a world of difference. Then, I showered and OMG! PAIN! Searing pain on my chest. OUCH! HUGE chaffing marks. And, yes—that is PLURAL. Body glide FAIL. Somehow I missed SEVERAL spots and have HUGE chafed areas on not-suitable-for-PG-rated blogs. Here’s one on a PG-rates spot that I didn’t notice til this morning.

Noticed this because it was BLEEDING before I got in the shower. Awessssome. Let me tell you just how AWESOME that felt in the shower. With soap. UGH.

And trust me, that might not look that bad-- but, it is. It's the size of my thumb and it's the SMALLEST chaffing area of the 5 I have now. I'm telling ya-- BODY. GLIDE. FAIL.

I had to rush back to my apartment after the gym because the shirt I brought for work to the gym (where I did an easy 60 minutes on the elliptical as a recovery workout to loosen the legs up again) definitely would have shown this sucker off and I did not want to look like I had a hickey in the middle of my chest all day. Pass on that.

So, yeah—those hurt. And, I’m decently sore. But, overall—I’d say I’m doing well and ready to hit the road again! The ice, compression, and the quality time with the good ol’ stick last night definitely paid off. I’m shooting for a weekly max mileage this week which would mean hitting 40 miles this week and being able to get a few in at lunch today will definitely help me reach that goal. Here goes nothing…

Weekly Workout Recap: 4/16-4/22

Weekly Workout Recap: 4/16-4/22

This was kinda an off week… I was outta town Saturday-Sunday, so I waited til then to take a rest day and didn’t get an official long run in.

Monday, 4/16: 60 minute Spinning Class & 2 miles in 18:47 (9:23 pace) & 4 miles in 40:00 (10:00 pace)

Tuesday, 4/17: 60 minute Signature Strength Class & 30 minutes on Elliptical (covered about 2.5 miles)

Wednesday, 4/18: 7 miles in 1:06:24 (9:28 pace) & 4.5 miles in 43:30 (9:39 pace)

Thursday, 4/19: 60 minute Signature Strength Class & 2 miles in 20:00 (10:00 pace)

Friday, 4/20: 5.5 miles in 47:45 (8:41 pace) & 15 minutes on Elliptical (covered about 1.25 miles)

Saturday, 4/21: Rest (out of town)

Sunday, 4/22: 8-Minute Abs and 8-Minute Arms (out of town)

Totals:

25 miles ran

3.75 miles on Elliptical

1 spinning class

2 signature strength classes & 8-Minute Abs and 8-Minute Arms

“Every day is a good day when you run.”- Kevin Nelson

Ramen Noodle Hair

Thanks, Cely, for helping me waste a solid 15 minutes today at work with this. 15 minutes later and now I can’t get “MmmBop” and “I Thought She Knew” out of my head. #32 is beyond my favorite. I literally laughed out loud. Great way to start a Friday.

(Source) 

Come on. Admit it. That's just funny.

In other news, I ran this morning. Fast. My fastest, actually. 5.5 miles in 47:45 on the treadmill. That’s a 8:41 average pace. Did you see that number? It starts with a freaking EIGHT. Damn. To be fair, I did 3.5 miles in 30 minutes, then did the elliptical for 15 minutes, then did 2 more miles in 17:45. Still. I’m pretty freaking stoaked about that. Runners high—definitely here to stay for the day. 

I’m heading to Ohio for the weekend to see my college bff’s and could not be more excited! One of them is getting married next summer, so it’s bridesmaid dress search weekend!!! I’ve never been a bridesmaid before, so I’m WAY excited. Oh, and you know—the bride is one of my best friends, so that makes me a bit excited too.

What else am I excited for? DRIVING SNACKS! It’s a 5 hour drive to Ohio. Maybe normal people could make it thought that with just stopping once for dinner or maybe not even stopping… but, I am not normal. Not even a little bit. So, I made homemade trail mix (almonds, chocolate chips and raisins), packed a banana and a single-serving of Justin’s Maple Peanut Butter (YUM!), and these:

OMG. Good doesn’t even being to describe these. I'm obsessed with them. Best driving snack ever. Give me these, a fountain diet pepsi, a good mixed CD or playlist if you have one of those fancy iPod connectors in your car and I am good to go. Best part? They're only 90 calories for 7 pieces! So, I can (and will, let’s be honest) eat the whole pack for 270 calories. Sign. Me. Up. And, yes—you do see a second pack hiding behind the first. Hey—I have the drive back on Sunday too!

Have a great weekend!!



A Bad Case of the What-Ifs

Yesterday I had a two-a-day running day—no time for a long run this week, so that was the closest thing to it I could manage. The first run was great. One of those runs that reminds you why you love to run. The second run was… a run. Not a bad run. Not a great run. Probably more “junk miles” than anything else really. Didn’t feel great, but didn’t feel terrible. I only had time for 4.5 miles because I was meeting the Hubs for fro-yo (he had the name of the day and got 50% off his!! We couldn’t NOT go! I mean—seriously!) before he had a movie man-date with one of his friends. I did them in 43:30 for a 9:39 pace. Again, not great, but not bad. Definitely felt tired and my legs were screaming a tad, but nothing substantial. Sounds like an uneventful run, huh? Well, it was—physically. Mentally, however, not so much. I had a case of the “What Ifs”. A baaad case. For 43 minutes and 30 seconds I mentally berated myself with every running-what-if you can imagine.

What if I get hurt before the marathon?

What if it’s Boston-hot and I don’t even get to start?

What if I fall?

What if I don't even come close to finishing?

What if I come in dead last?

What if I eat too much? What if I don’t eat enough?

What if I drink too much? What if I don’t drink enough?

What if I eat crappy food the night before and have a tummy-freak out?

What if it doesn’t matter what I eat the night before and I have a tummy freak out?

What if I run really, really slow?

What if I hit “the wall”?

What if I hit “the wall” and can’t push through?

What if I can’t finish the marathon and all my friends and family will be there and see me fail?

I think you get it.

That word—FAIL. Gets me every time. It kept popping up, over and over and over.

WHAT IF I FAIL? Definitely the scariest part of setting a goal and really reaching for something you never thought you could do and making it an extremely PUBLIC goal.  

Eventually (after said fro yo which was most definitely eat BEFORE dinner) I calmed down and reminded myself it’ll all work out and it will be whatever it will be. But, I couldn’t shake the idea about all these negative nancy what ifs. Why do we never have a case of the POSITIVE what ifs?

What if I ROCK the marathon and run super fast and hard the whole time?

Or even a case of the REALISTIC what ifs?

What if all my hard work and training pays off and I have a really solid run and finish the marathon successfully?

Why do they always have to be NEGATIVE what ifs?

I’m going to make a conscious effort to STOP myself the next time I find myself in the middle of a what-if episode and try to remind myself that the odds of everything under the sun going WRONG are just as high as everything going RIGHT. I’m sure it’s not going to be an easy process to try to cure these what-ifs… but, it’s definitely worth a shot.

After my fro-yo induced what-if recovery I decided a $2 chesse pizza at the place next door to fro-yo sounded like the worlds best idea for dinner.

Pizza + icing my shins + a little Restaurant Impossible + reading other running blogs = Perfect end to the night.