Marathon Mom

How did the holidays sneak up on us?! I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) or Happy Holidays. We have been busy with life: work, dance, gymnastics, school, family and running. But we managed to get in a little Christmas fun... Fun at friends' Ugly Sweater Party Sorry, can't really see our great sweaters! The Nutcracker with O on the coldest day in many years, temps of -20! I got to volunteer at O's school party before winter break. It is always fun meeting her friends and seeing the kids interact. She has a great teacher this year who is so calm with her, I need lessons! Pre Holiday CrossFit killer workout on Friday. O is loving CrossFit kids too. She even decided to "help" and I managed 30 push ups (although not too pretty) with her on my back, then she jumped on for the tank pushes to add her extra weight! Woke up Christmas Eve for a great 10 mile run with friends before doing lots of cooking (and later eating!). We ...

Yikes, has it really been almost 2 months since I posted?! I have so much to share but to ease back into blog fun and to celebrate the holidays I am doing a quick giveaway (and will share about my fun November and December adventures starting tomorrow). Here's a little on my missing time: Disney, CIM, guiding a blind runner, back to marathon training, sub 6, holiday fun!   What have you been up too? I can't believe Christmas is just 3 days away and marathon training is about to start full force again. Let's combine these two and I'm giving away a UCAN Gift Pack with a sampling of their great products. 2 packets UCAN Drink Mix (Orange & Cocoa) 2 packets UCAN with Protein Drink Mix (Vanilla Cream) 2 UCAN Snack Bars (Cinnamon, Chocolate) 2 sticks UCAN Hydrate (Berry, Lemon-Lime) All products are naturally sweetened & gluten-free a Rafflecopter giveaway

It has now been 3 weeks since the marathon and I am still in the let’s sleep in mode, maybe workout later mode, indulge a little (okay a lot) mode. Don’t get me wrong my workouts have happened I’m just more likely to sleep a little later and do less now without a race on the horizon. This week I need to get back to normal with a workout schedule and meal plan, especially with some travel ahead and the holidays coming. Sunday Run 7-8 miles hoping for trails if not closed from rain and upper strength/core Monday Kickboxing Tuesday CrossFit and short run Wednesday Run with some short speed intervals and Pilates or Yoga Thursday CrossFit and Walk Friday Short run Saturday CrossFit and Run I plan to start adding in a little harder runs this week instead of all easy running. I have 2 more months until training starts again but want to get back to a good base by then. This past week I went back to the doctor about the leg/knee and came away even more frustrated. The “kne...

Since the start of my running adventures I've set my goals on marathons, achieving certain times, paces, qualifying for Boston. The last few years have been rough ending with a mentally tough TCM that has really taken a toll on me. I keep thinking back to how relaxed I felt running the 50K in April and wonder if trails and ultra running is more my style (at least for awhile). Aside from the relaxed nature of trails I'm getting my butt kicked at the CrossFit gym again and loving the not so relaxed feel tough side of that! Luckily with out a goal race in the near future I'm back out on the trails with a few easy runs the past couple weeks. The weather is perfect and colors are gorgeous. On my last run we came face to face with this guy! Luckily he stopped and walked off into the woods watching us from a little further as we passed. So much is running through my mind right now... Do I sign up for Chicago 2017 (I still have a guaranteed entry time) I'm alr...

All runners know that post marathon week(s) are filled with the fight to keep eating healthy yet indulge a little. I try to carry healthy snacks wherever I go to avoid the munchies. Needing gluten free makes finding healthy foods quick even tougher. I have my go to foods but love finding new options with such variety. I think my only complaint is the carb to protein ratio which for each bar is 3 or 4:1. I prefer a snack more along the 2:1 carb to protein ratio. To help this I add a few extra nuts to the bars when I have them for a snack, problem solved! Like all GoMacro products, Thrive are USDA-Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Kosher, Gluten-Free certified, 100% Vegan, and soy-free. Thrive is currently available to purchase online and will become available to Whole Foods this month! GoMacro is offering 30% off to all my readers with code Thrive30 for online purchases Here The Thrive Bars come in 6 flavors: Caramel Coconut, Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Blueberry ...

Now 8 days post the marathon that got away the emotions have settled and I have become much more rational. I've gone through everything from I'm done with marathons to when can I sign up for the next one and I need to race as soon as possible. Last Thursday I had a talk with coach Nichole and looked a little into training and running. Here are my thoughts on the past year and training... The past year in pictures! The Good I kept lower mileage I took rest days from running and high impact cardio work Increased speedwork, tempo pace of long runs,  Easy runs were just that...easy! I stopped being afraid of running slower on long runs Strength training at least 3x per week and good core work I started the marathon slower than goal pace The hamstring gave me no issues! The Bad I never really took a break since TCM last October. In the past year I ran TCM in October 2015, New Orleans in February, 50K in April and then right back to TCM last week I started feeling...

After a rough September I was thrilled that I was able to bet to the start line of TCM but part of me was panicking inside with all the what ifs of missed training. My final "long run" of training went great, I headed out for 8 but met a friend with 1 mile left and ran 10, oops. I figured after missing my last 9 mile tempo I could handle this. Two days before marathon day Nichole and I talked strategy and I was convinced to try a new approach instead of my crash and burn marathons of the past. Our plan was to start with 3:35 pacer and run 8:10s until mile 5-6 then creep down to 8:00 pace and slowly ease into 7:50s. My nutrition plan was in place, Nichole was meeting me around mile 12-13 with UCAN and we had high hopes for the day. I spent Saturday working at the expo with UCAN, sharing this great product with other runners, chatting with friends and then relaxing. This was the coolest weekend we've had in months so clothing was a huge decision and debated for hours un...