Marathon Mom

After a few weeks of poor meal planning resulting in last minute frozen pizzas, dinners out and less than healthy foods  we are back! The past week coach Nichole has also upped me to running 6 days per week. which I haven't done in years. I need to focus on recovery after the tough days and having the right fuel will be key along with gentle yoga on day 7. Meals Sunday Lentil Tamales with black beans and fajita veggies (Hosting Christmas Eve) and of course plenty of cookies: Almond crescents, molasses and I healthified (is that a word?) my grandma's toffee bar recipe! Monday Vegan GF Lasagna with garlic green beans Tuesday Turning Sunday leftovers into fajitas Wednesday Christmas with Matt's family Thursday Tofu curry or Jambalaya (can't decide yet!) Friday "Fried" cauliflower rice Saturday Dinner out? Workouts This past week started my 6 days of running, plus got to kick off the holiday weekend with a family Crossftit workout and last weekend...

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...

2 weeks ago (sorry for the delay!) I ran my 4th Ragnar with an awesome group of running friends, most new to Ragnar! We headed down on Thursday evening, van packed and excited for our adventure. I was so happy that they added Thursday night pick up and safety training which allowed us extra sleep on Friday. We checked in on Thursday night to find the hotel room with 2 beds and a sofa sleeper really didn't exist! Instead offered 2 double beds or a king bed and couch, we opted for the first and had a pretty packed room with 6! Oh well it was more comfortable than any sleeping we'd find for the next 48 hours! Ready to go... Friday morning we were off with runner 1 at 7:00... Waiting for Runner 1! I was runner so plenty of time for coffee, food and the weather to get even hotter! I took off around noon and already the temperature was in low 90s with heat index near 100! Yuck, combine this with no shade after mile 2 and asphalt and it was rough. I took off in the shade...

Life has gotten crazy the last couple weeks, work is extra busy because part of my team is out plus I've been working longer days and weekends. Trauma season hit early this year! The consequence of an early spring,, oh well I'd rather have the nice weather. My hip has been achy so last week I got back in with my sports chiro for some work. I needed that! I also needed new shoes and thanks to Adidas for changing shoe names I was way too confused to order online like I usually do! Luckily I love my local running store and headed for a much needed visit on Monday and came home with these pretty purple guys! Finally after nearly 15 years running I get purple shoes :) Cooper made sure they were kept safe... But I did find out that I had unkowingly switched shoes and that was probably contributing to my current issues. Although he kept the shoes safe, my flash drive was a different story! The dog truly did eat my homework!! I have parts of my thesis saved on here, luckily most...

We all have our ups and downs in running, in life, in everything but it is still tough when things don't go how we plan. Last week went great, running was wonderful despite being all on the treadmill thanks to cold and wind. Even with a busy weekend I managed to get in my workouts. Now fast forward to this week. Monday: sleep won but I lifted after work Tuesday: 1 mile repeats turned into a sluggish easy 6.5 mile run Wednesday: lifted in morning and afternoon gave up on running after 3 miles which included 3 walk breaks. Yoga instead in hopes of refreshing. Thursday: morning 10 mile tempo run turned into 7.5 miles at MP, started awful and got slightly better last 4 miles. Friday: no running today, leg day What now? Shake it off and learn, right? The good news this is a cutback week so lower mileage but after such a great week mentally this is tough. I know my body is telling me something but what? Am I eating enough and the right foods Am I sleeping enough Am I resting...

After a frustrating mid week I think I am back to where I need to be. Some weird foot pain caused me some anxiety and moments of panic but it seems gotten a little better. Still mildly aches with barefoot walking but feels fine running so I’m thinking maybe a mild PF? My calf is super tight so I think it is all related to that. Monday:  P90X Back/Chest/Abs and Spin 30 min Kickboxing Tuesday:  AM- Plyometrics Sleep and PM-Intervals: 10 min easy, 4x1200 at 6:35 6:35-6:45 pace, 10 min easy 6.5 miles total Wednesday:  P90X Legs/Back/Abs and kickboxing Thursday:  Tempo Run : Skipped due to foot pain and 1 hour elliptical instead Friday:  P90X Shoulders/Arms/Abs and easy 3 mile run in 40 degree weather! Saturday:  Long Run: 12.5 miles 1:46:14 Sunday:  Yoga/Abs Remember last week's sunny long run, well what difference being home makes! Week 3 of marathon training is here and the warmer weather is sticking around a few more days. O...

Week 1 of marathon training was interesting on a few levels; mentally I’m having a tough time with the lower mileage but am convincing myself that I need it, I ran on vacation in weather that was 60 degrees warmer than I’m used to (sorry that’s why I was pretty scarce last week) and I managed to injure myself during my long run on dry ground! Run views Despite being on vacation I think I managed to get my workouts in and eat pretty healthy, just forget about those glasses of wine, mojitos and margaritas! I also had no GPS so all runs were by time which I have a tough time mentally with. Monday:  P90X Back/Chest/Abs and 1 hour hiking Tuesday:  Intervals: 10 min easy, 8x 1:30 hard run 0:45 easy 10 min easy and Yoga Wednesday:  P90X Shoulder/Arms/Abs and 1 hour hiking Thursday:  Tempo run: 10 min easy 25 min harder 10 min easy and P90X Plyometrics (just 30 min) Friday:  P90X Legs/Back/Abs and hiking Saturday:  Long Run: 1:30:00 complete ...

I have talked before about my love of compression but this past week I tried it out for more than assistance with leg fatigue and recovery. Since traveling my left calf has been strange: tight, achy and after I was tortured by Graston wow! I decided to run with one compression sleeve for a hill workout. This was 24 hours after I hobbled out after my Graston/acupuncture session wondering why I decided to mention that new issue! Immediately I knew I was happy! My calf felt much better, the achiness (okay at this point pain from Graston) was gone, it was looser and I could run without issue! Nice, another great use for my ProCompression! As usual the socks were my staple on the weekend long run! I love how much they help with leg fatigue, tightness, muscle cramps and support. I typically continue to wear my socks post run while I drink my post-run shake (Shakeology of course) and foam roll. A successful 16 Miler on Saturday after months of injury was wonderful. Legs felt great, com...

Vacation is over (so is vacation relaxation and eating mode)! I'm still in the midst of catching up from 11 days away from email, work, life, etc. but am on my way to "normal".  After 4 days of running (more on that later), little sleep and theme parks we spent a week relaxing on a cruise. Along with that went wine and lots of great food, thank you Royal Caribbean for making so many wonderful gluten free options! It was wonderful to travel for the first time in years and not worry abot the safety of the food! When I asked what was gluten free, I was given many options and told with advance notice they would adapt almost anything on the menu. I think I ate more bread last week than I have in years. I did manage a workout most days but nothing to make up for the eating. It was a great relaxing, refueling week after running Dopey! Now we are back, refrigerator is fully stocked with healthy food again and I am less than 3 months from Boston Marathon, so time to get seriou...

November was my month to start rebuilding for next running season. It was a stressful month with work, school and life in general. Fitnesswise the month was fine and I made a smart decision to not take on more in my schedule. November Recap PR at the 10 Mile race- No, not feeling great  Pass NASM CPT- No but finally regsitered Find one new recipe each week to make- For the most part Continue with spin and strength, add in weekly swims- No swims yet Start dance class- I decided against this since it is at the end of my 3 busy days and I need a break Stop ignoring my messy house and organize one room each week- Not even close! Run Turkey Day 5K- Crazy busy, but perfect weather I ran 165.3 miles (over my goal of 150)! After our stretch of little sleep we are back to sleeping in! December Goals Continue to rebuild and fully heal to be in full running strength for next year Start Swimming (at least 2x in December) Pass NASM, 2 weeks (any tips for the test?) Survive f...

Yesterday I was asked how I planned to celebrate my birthday which is today. My reply was something that sounded perfect to me but got some strange reactions...so here it my plans for the day 5:30am Hill workout with a great group of runners 1 mile warm up run 20 Lunges, 20 High Knee Skips, 20 Speed striders Repeat until up hill Easy 1/4 mile downhill Repeat x 5 1 mile cool down run Followed by my 1st free coffee of the day from Caribou which I quickly grabbed on my way home.     I arrived home to hear "Happy Birthday Mommy" from a very smiley little girl and my great birthday card       And now I head off to work for a few hours and more free coffee from Dunn Bros. Folowled by an afternoon strength session with my trainer. As gacgirl who knows me so well posted on Facebook...   "H appy birthday Jen! Enjoy some sushi, wine, and a run!" My evening plans are sushi and wine, what a great way to enjoy my birthday. What is y...

Weekly Chase How did I do last week? Goal #1 Boot Camp goal for the week is to eat more leafy greens (at least 2 servings daily). I am on a salad kick right now so thins shouldn't be too hard. I did fine but worse then then at home when I ate salad lunch daily. Goal #2 Plan meals and snacks, this will be important as I return to work this week. I don't want to get in the quick food habit again. Meals good, snacks need work! Goal #3 Plan my workouts and stick with them: Speedwork and Hill run, boot camp and strength. Got them all in, with a little switching of days! Goal #4 Spend at least 30 min each day focusing on what my daughter wants to do. Not so great, we made it to the park a couple times, read books and colored but I need to be better on days I have a lot I need to get done. Now for this week... Goal #1 Plan and stick with workouts and other work/school tasks...Time for daily to do lists. Mon: Strength Tues: AM Boot Camp PM: Run Wed: AM Spee...

After 6 weeks at home I survived my first week back to the work world which explains my lack of writing and reading other blogs, hoping to catch up over the weekend. I am happy to be back to working, I was not cut out for the SAHM thing but stressed with the reality of it all, I know once I settle in things will be easier since my schedule will be flexible and allow working from home. And now I get to enjoy my Friday at home :-) I survived getting back in the pool, my first swim in a month and it almost didn't suck! (That is great for me). I even figured something out and improved my stroke, I am starting to feel like I could get to the point of tolerating this swimming thing. I can run for hours but can barely swim one lap without getting tired and out of breath, but I think I fixed the issue...I kick too much, use too much power and energy and still don't go faster so I relaxed and bam! I felt so much better. Any other advice? Now if I had one of these and the associated ...

I know I have been slacking on my own blog this week but you can find my running advice on Just Me Plus My Trainer , I was happy to write a guest post for Tara who is training for her 2nd half marathon this fall. Wednesday was a long, but very productive day beginning with intervals at sunrise, what could be better?! Okay maybe sipping coffee at sunrise, but not for a group of crazy runners... 1 mile warm up 1/4 mile speed 1/4 mile easy Repeat x 6 1 mile cool down My realization after the intervals, push harder! Well duh! I was able to run faster on my final repeat and it still felt like I had more, so why not give it all that first through fifth intervals too? Then a very productive day at work where I finally feel like I am chipping away at my new responsibilities. After work I finished the day with 1 hour with my trainer who had some fun planned for me: TRX Suspension work...  Source Wow, what a workout! No wonder it was first done by Navy SEALS. There is no co...

Weekly Chase How did I do last week? Goal #1 Register to take NASM CPT exam. Nope, well I tried and I guess I am missing some clearance code that I can't get until next week when the office opens Goal #2 Cook at least 1 new meal this week. Yes, actually 2 new things the 1st was enchiladas (recipe below) and 2nd Zucchini noodle bake Goal #3 Swim at least once. That fell apart, my plan was to swim this morning but I woke up with a headache and needed more sleep. Goal #4 Drink 100+ ounces of water daily. Yes, did great! My days ranged from 108-120oz Goals for this week... Goal #1 Boot Camp goal for the week is to eat more leafy greens (at least 2 servings daily). I am on a salad kick right now so thins shouldn't be too hard. Goal #2 Plan meals and snacks, this will be important as I return to work this week. I don't want to get in the quick food habit again. Goal #3 Plan my workouts and stick with them: Speedwork and Hill run, boot camp and strength. M...

How is it even possible that I have made it over 10 years a distance runner and have never used a foam roller until today? After a weekend of long running, a tough strength workout, speed work (followed by an attempted second run at night) and then boot camp tormenting my legs I decided today was the day. Foam rolling is a form of self myofascial release that releases tension from muscles and causes relaxation leading to increased flexibility and improved range of motion, more information about Foam Rolling here.  I found this article on the benefits of Foam Rolling  with a lot of great information and exercises. And in case you really want to read more  here is a great literature review showing the self-myofascial release improves flexibility and isometric strength. I have resorted to using wooden cylinder blocks in the past to roll my calf but now am the owner of a shiny new foam roller and yikes it works! I positioned my hamstring on the roller and immed...

What was I thinking this past weekend? It is amazing how with such great planning that lack of sleep can make all rational thought away. I Was a little nervous travelling and being at others mercy during the relay with all my food needs so I packed nearly a suitcase full of homemade granola, dried fruit, Lara Bars, Kind Bars and roasted edamame. Knowing there would be places to stop and that others were grabbing fruit and yogurt for me I figured I would be fine for a couple days. Not too bad here, but you should have seen it Monday! Wrong! I was fine until being awake nearly 20 hours on Thursday resulted in grabbing an old favorite of mine: Trader Joe's PB Pretzels. Lack of sleep on Friday ended up with me eating a wonderful homemade bagel and a lemon bar followed by 2 large slices of pizza after the race. As a result of this glutenful eating I was once again sporting the 6 month pregnant look (and there is a picture to prove it, yuck!). I also spent all of Monday in awful pa...

Life just keeps throwing me new things to push me outside my comfort zone. Awhile back I had been asked to join a group to run Ragnar Northwest  Passage but wasn't able to commit. Now fast forward to yesterday, and email arrives asking me to step in for a team member who had a family emergency with everything covered (flight, race, etc). Wow what a deal from some women I don't see very often! Part of the 2008 Ragnar group Even with such a great offer and remembering the fun I had 4 years ago with many of this same group I was tempted to back down. I spent a car ride telling Matt (something he already knew) that I hate being in new situation especially those where I lack control. Part of the reason parenting a todddler is so tough for me! He convinced me otherwise, his support along with the many other recent times I have done new and crazy things I decided to say "yes"! I can't wait to fly to Washington later this week and run 24.4 miles over 24 hour...

I just realized I haven't even thought about the goals I set last month and decided it was time to see where I was at and make the changes to reach them. Meal/Snack Planning and stick with it: Doing okay, still looking for more snack ideas, what are your go to healthy snacks?  Register for NASM test: Still need to do this, my studying has taken a backseat to what I don't know! I will register today Complete VO2 max testing and find HR monitor: Done this week and plan in place Start swimming: 1 swim done on Sunday ~800m and even contemplating a tri in August  Make 1 new meal each week: So far I have made Quinoa lasagna with eggplant and the kale quesadillas (below) Kale Black Bean Quesadilla 2 green onions (both white and green) chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 1 bunch (~1 cup shredded) Kale destemmed 1 15oz can black beans rinsed/drained 1 cup sweet corn 1 tsp cumin Sea Salt/Pepper to taste 2 tsp (or more/less) hot sauce 4 brown rice tortillas 2 cups shre...

Yesterday I completed a metabolic test to set my heart rate zones to improve efficiency and training. I last completed this about 6 or 7 years ago and after only a short time gave up on heart rate training but this time be different. I need (okay want) to get faster and feel this combined with my new strength training is the best way to do it. The Test  Everything I needed to start (+ a treadmill)  There were a few requirements I needed to work with: no strenuous exercise the day before (easy Tuesday run) no alcohol the day before no coffee that morning (cheated a little on this) eat a small meal not be sick (finally feeling better) We started with a short walking warm up and progressed to my comfortable run pace (7 mph) at no incline and based on exertion and physiologic factors increased speed and incline to push me with a max at 7.5 mph at 6.0 incline. This was followed by a short walking cool down to return my heart rate to baseline. The Results Con...