Marathon Mom

How did you tackle the miles? Was it on a treadmill or outside in beautiful weather. Did you brave the elements and cold? Did you grab some friends and share the fun? The important part is you did it and each day we reach to do more. On Super Bowl Sunday I headed out and ran my Tackle the Miles Half but decided not to write about that. For me it was a run, it was cold and I finished. Instead I wanted to share how I helped others Tackle their first miles this week. The goal was a 5K to mark the start of a 3 month challenge which will be repeated at the end for comparison. For us runners we were thrilled with the 20 degree weather and moonlight but as a new runners this can be discouraging.  With much concerns of finishing and talk of the difficulty we started but this is what I love about running. We all set out with our own goals and strive to meet those. 1 mile was done and everyone was still smiling, now the halfway point and the big excitement of knowing they had run more...

Over the past year I have written about my afternoon energy slump and subsequent turn to carbs and caffeine without much improvement. This is also the time when I tend to mindlessly eat. I tried all the good options: regular sleep, exercise, healthy eating, etc but was having issues many afternoons starting with my drive home, not safe!  Last fall I was introduced to ENERGYbits® but was a little skeptical that algae would somehow wake me up. I will admit I don't regularly but kept the tin in my work bag and often grabbed a few throughout the afternoon and in the car. I never took the full 30 they suggest but can say the small amount was enough to keep me moving and usually gave me that kick to the gym which was often my greatest fix. As someone who eats healthy (mostly), exercises and sleeps well this was the extra boost I needed to avoid the caffeine in the afternoon. What are  ENERGYbits®? E NERGYbits® and SKINNYbits® are 100% organically grown spirulina a...

Week 3 of marathon training and finally some better weather! Now on to week 4 and 12 weeks until marathon week! I have 4 days left of the 30 day yoga challenge and happy to say I have made it! Most days are a short 15 minute workout but I feel like my legs are looser then before. I can tell I am back marathon training, I am a hungry! It is amazing what those few extra miles can do. I still remember back to my nearly 2 years of marathon training while breastfeeding and I'm no where near that, pretty sure I ate more then a teenage boy at that point! I was thrilled this week to see the new trailer for the 2 nd Spirit of the Marathon Movie… The original Spirit of the Marathon is my go to motivation and I love to watch it the night before a race for a little extra inspiration. I am very happy with this week considering it began with a trip to the doctor and a questionable diagnosis. I no longer have foot pain and actually received a message from the radiologist that...

Linking up with  Jill  and  Laura  for menu planning as we get back on track with staying accountable to our plans. I am recycling a few from last week’s menu since I never used them. Still working to try new meals. Last week we added in an enchilada recipe I haven’t made in a long time and the coconut lentil soup recipe below. Sunday: A version of these  Cabbage Rolls Monday:  Kung Pao Tofu/Chicken Tuesday:  Sandwich pre-run Wednesday: Polenta Enchiladas Thursday:  Grilled veggies/potatoes & ? (Might change and do something for Valentine's Day) Friday: Spaghetti (per O’s request) Saturday: Black Bean Quesadilla During cold months I love soup and was looking for a way to use up some red lentils. I found a few different soup recipes and combined to make this…O loved it and had leftovers for days. Yes it makes a lot! Coconut Lentil Soup 1 onion diced 1 cup carrots chopped 2 cloves garlic 1 cup red lentils ...

Last week I was part of a Facebook discussion with running friends and treadmills and long runs was the topic, the occurrence of injury from treadmill training was brought up so I started thinking about this as well as other aspects of that contraption we runners have a love hate relationship with. I have been known to run a few 20 milers on the treadmill during winter training due to blizzard conditions and lack of other run options. This is the toughest mental run but is a great way to get in marathon pace running. I also relied heavily on the treadmill for naptime workouts but would have taken outside over this any day. We evolved as runners for our survival and immediate gratification, our minds don’t deal well with this lack of change and waiting months to reach a goal. While at the same time we often tune out during a treadmill run not paying attention to our body and rely on outside distractions. According the evolutionary psychology the key to better treadmill running i...

Isn't it usually "Can I run when I leave?" I did it, 22 days after the initial injury I finally went to have my foot looked at. The deciding factor: it hurt during my run on Monday. Up until this point it had only been sore to the touch and after a run (or lunges & squats if I wore the wrong shoes). With the busy week ahead I knew I had minimal time to fit in an appointment so I was thrilled to fill a last minute spot on Monday afternoon. I was not necessarily thrilled about seeing a family practice doctor (no offense to anyone in this area of medicine) but I often feel they dismiss runners or have the simple answer to stop running. I knew he could order an x-ray and that’s really all I needed at this point. I pack up O and grab the iPad and her yogurt pretzels (her treat for a great first dentist visit that morning, yes she chose yogurt pretzels and yogurt!) and we wait. After explaining my stupid story to the medical assistant and waiting more the doctor ...

This is week 1 of Marathon Monday  (although week 3 or training) I am partnering with Ashley at The Preppy Runner for a weekly link up of training post. Share you week in training, your frustrations and revelations. What is going great and what needs work? Whether you are training for a marathon, triathlon, 5K or anything in between join us every Monday and share your week of training. I finally feel like I am back to training, long runs & speed intervals make me happy! Yes I know I am crazy!  Goals: Here I go writing it down for all to see My race goal: In a perfect world 3:15 (but I will be happy with anything under 3:30) So far training has been going well, I found my motivation and hope it sticks. The issues now are the weather: seriously if I need to do another treadmill run I will scream! and my foot which I honestly think I broke 3 weeks ago, yes while in Costa Rica and it was stupid. I was showering the first night there and the dinner plate ...