Tag Archives: morning run

To Split or Not to Split?

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Running, , , , ,

Happy Friday everyone! I’m so ready for the weekend. It’s been gloomy and rainy here, but I don’t even care. The weather won’t drag down my spirits before Superbowl weekend!!

But before I start rambling, look at this super attractive photo my coworker took of me this morning!

IMG_3196We have a new glass panel in our office that is perfect for standing behind and drawing funny faces on people. So that’s what we did for a good chunk of the morning. Don’t judge. It’s Friday.

So yesterday I started pondering my running plans for the weekend… I checked my Little Rock marathon training schedule to make sure I wasn’t crazy. 20 Miles. 20. Miles. Holy cow. That one’s gonna hurt. I decided a mini carbload could only help the situation, so I started today with brown rice and Greek yogurt.

IMG_3192Does anyone else like their rice hot with milk, cinnamon and sugar? Nick thinks I’m absolutely insane when I put this concoction together, but it’s a total comfort food that my mom used to make for us with leftover rice. He believes rice is meant to only be salty/savory. And I feel it can awesome sweet or salty. 🙂

Then for lunch I had some tortilla chips and cottage cheese followed by an open-faced bagel sandwich.

IMG_3194Disregard the cheese….I was craving it and decided the one piece would be worth the pain. So far so good. 🙂  I had half a bagel leftover from carb loading last week, so I microwaved it with some chicken deli meat + Gouda cheese. It was delish!

To Split or Not to Split?

With my long runs for the next 2 weeks being so long, right at or exceeding 3 hours, I started wondering if this is really good for me. And is it really necessary to do it all at once? Well Google only confused me on the subject of splitting up long runs (darn those other running blogs!), but I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to shoot to do it all at once. BUT, if I have to split it up due to social events, weather, etc, it won’t be the end of the world. Many people mentioned that running longer than 3 hours can set you up for more injuries and will take longer to recuperate before your next run.

I was happy to hear this as we are forecasted to have lots of rain tonight and into tomorrow morning that could mess up my 3 hour running plan. You’re thinking – just run after it stops?! Right?! I know. But I’m so OCD about when and where I run. I want to get out early while it’s still dark. I want to run on some roads that get too busy later in the day. And I just want to the rain to go away so I can do these things on Saturday morning! But you’re right. I could just wait it out as the rain is supposed to subside late morning. And Sunday is always an option as well – working around Jazzercise and the Super Bowl, of course!

So the main point of these ramblings? I realize I need to be flexible with my weekend training schedule. And if my run has to be split into 2 sessions, then that’s okay too!  And just to throw in one more curveball…we have lots of snow in the forecast for next week! Holy smokes!

Superbowl Plans

Do you guys have any? Nick and I are being little hermits this year and decided to party it up at home with Mac for the Super Bowl. We’re awesome….we know. 🙂

I’m a horrible sports fan. I rarely even know the teams that are playing in these major games, unless it’s a team from Missouri of course! But I’m the sucker that still gives into the ‘hype’ of the game. I will watch the pregame show, the puppy bowl, the whole game, commercials, and the half-time show. And I will eat chicken wings and chips and be excited for whichever team wins. And I will go back to not really caring Monday morning. Nothing against the game or sport – I’m just not that attached to it!

If you do have plans, I hope you have tons of fun! Have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you all soon!

500 Miles

Daily Life!, Running, , , , ,

Happy Thursday! Hope it’s been a good one for you. Sorry I never checked in last night. I had a completely lazy night at home, and it was fabulous. I got home from work, had a snack, and took Mac for a long overdue evening walk. And it must have really tuckered him out because this morning he just could not wake up.

IMG_3089
This is how he sleeps while I shower in the mornings. We have a large master bathroom, so I just pull his little bed in there while I shower and get ready so he doesn’t whine at the door. He’s usually pretty alert and talks to me as I do my makeup, but not this morning.

IMG_3086He hid behind that toy and tried to keep sleeping as long as possible. Sleepy puppy = adorable.

And on a side note, I found this on Facebook last night.

IMG_3092
Hilarious! And what’s even funnier is that my parents had a baby carrier for my old pug, Molly. She would sit in it for rides on the motorcycle with my parents. Yes, this is completely real, I’m not making it up. And no, I sadly don’t have photos or I would definitely share them. 🙂

500 Miles

This morning I went on my usual Thursday morning run of 4ish miles. After I completed my miles and saved the activity on my Runkeeper app, I got this fun little email.

IMG_3095
I hit 500 miles! How crazy is that?! I know I have logged a lot of miles since I started really running/training in October, but I had no idea it would add up this fast. Surely with this many miles under my belt I can be ready for my first half and full marathons this year.

And speaking of my upcoming races, this weekend will be my last long run effort before my half marathon. You’re not really supposed to do a long run this close to a race, but I have to take into account that my full marathon is 7 weeks away, and I’ll be tapering for that one before I know it. SO, I solemnly swear that after my run on Saturday morning, I will take it easy and rest as much as possible before my race the next weekend!

My week next week will consist of teaching a few Jazzercise classes and running a couple times but at a slower, easier pace. I need to keep my endurance in check without doing anymore tissue damage to my muscles. And also, I’ll be focusing on eating as healthy as possible through the first part of the week and then low-fat carb-loading towards the end of the week. Since this is my first major race, this is all trial-and-error. Yes, I’ve tried to prepare for all of this with my long runs, but races always feel so much different to me! Let’s hope that it’s all in my head and my body just acts like the half-marathon is a normal Saturday morning long run in Springfield. 🙂

I’m off to teach a 6:45 Jazzercise class. Have a great evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow! We’re almost to the weekend! Woot!!

Run Around Sunday

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, , , ,

Happy Monday! It was a beautiful weekend, and I’m happy to say that the snow is finally all gone! I was not the least bit sad to see it go. Snow days are only fun if you are a kid and can stay home and hibernate. 🙂

It was in the mid-60’s yesterday, so I did lots of running around (literally!). I started my day with a 4-mile easy run before I headed off to teach Jazzercise. Immediately after class, I headed to Target to get a baby shower gift for my girlfriend, Levie, who’s having her shower next Saturday morning. When I arrived, the store was dead! And it was fantastic! So I spent way too much time and money in there. But I did walk away with a cute gift for the baby-to-come. Success!

I headed back home to shower and have some lunch when Nick decided that we needed to drop his car off at Pep Boys to be worked on. Funny noises + a burning smell = a Sunday trip to the mechanic. Woot. But the trip ended with some awesome sandwiches at Which Wich.

IMG_3074I had the toasted chicken pesto with spinach, and I was in heaven! It was amazing and was definitely worth the multiple trips across town to take Nick back and forth. 🙂 Mac was pretty enthused with all the car rides too.

IMG_3076IMG_3078HA! That little guy could be content hanging his head out the car window for hours and hours.

Breakfast

So breakfast this morning was fun – I got to try Chobani’s new 100 Cal yogurt!

IMG_3082This excites me because the high calorie count in the regular Chobani is what steers me away from this brand usually. BUT, I always feel the need to buy it because it is made with more natural ingredients than my typical stuff. Needless to say, my fridge is stocked with this stuff after my grocery trip yesterday!

IMG_3083I love the inside of the lid “Finally a 100 calories yogurt worth counting.” I loved this black cherry flavor, so tomorrow I’ll be brave and try the pineapple flavor.

IMG_3081I had my yogurt with some oatmeal and a banana + lots of coffee. And I’m happy to say that this mix kept me full all morning!

Jazzercise Run

This morning started with a 3-mile run with Mac. I usually teach Jazzercise on Monday mornings, but I switched today with the 6:45 pm teacher. And I’m an idiot and didn’t write this down in my phone calendar. So I pulled into Jazzercise this morning at 5:30 a.m. and immediately remembered the switch. Oops! I didn’t want the other instructor to know I’m an idiot (or to feel bad for that matter!), so I just headed back home and leashed up Mac for a run instead.

We made it 3.4 miles with a 9:29 pace, which is pretty good for a tiny dog that makes frequent potty stops! I was thankful to get in a good sweat regardless of my poor scheduling skills. 🙂

This evening will now be spent teaching a class followed by an early bed time. I’ve almost got my marathon training plan put together, so hopefully I’ll be able to share that soon! The Little Rock Marathon is only 7 weeks away!

Have a great day, everyone!