Marathon Training Week 9

You guys, how is it already August? I'm pretty sure it was just March, so that can't be right.

I'm halfway through my training plan now, since I'm doing a longer (18 week) plan this time around. I'm glad I opted for the longer plan, especially since my first few weeks were spent just trying to get my running groove back. My pace is still not where I would really like it to be, but at least I'm running and able to stick to my training plan distances at least.

Here's how this week went:

Monday - Cross Training

I actually did some yoga on Monday! I have been a lot better about stretching in general this week, but also spent 45 minutes of quality time with Adriene. She's still the best.

Tuesday - 4 miles

My stride rate was back up to 180! I was really excited to see that number, since I feel like I haven't been able to get my legs moving very quickly lately. It was pretty humid out, but it pretty much always is at this point in the summer.

4.02 miles @ 9:49 pace

Wednesday - 9 miles

My mid-week run is getting long! I think the longest one I'll have is going to be 10 miles, which just takes a bit more planning on my part. It wasn't super hot out, but for some reason I was really struggling on this run.

9 miles @ 10:36 pace

Thursday - 4 miles

This turned into a rest day. I was really tired and just not feeling it.

Friday - Rest day

I ran Thursday's miles on Friday. I actually felt stronger/faster than I have been lately. My pace wasn't anything to cheer about, but it was nice to feel like I'm making progress. Summer running post-injury is not the best for my confidence.

4.01 miles @ 9:42 pace

Saturday - Rest day

My training plan wanted me to take an extra rest day and then race a half marathon on Sunday. I did neither.

I drove down and ran with my weekend running group. The people I usually run with were in the middle of their long runs when they met up with the group, so we ran a little slower than usual. I was totally ok with that since the humidity was out of control. Miles always go so much faster with friends.

6.24 miles @ 10:26 pace

Sunday - Half Marathon

I ran the half marathon distance, but it was definitely not a race. I left from the house (much later than I should have), and listened to my audiobook (I'm re-listening to The Hunger Games) as I trudged around the neighborhood in my snazzy LEGEND compression sleeves. (This is an affiliate link - also, use promo code AmbFriend2016 to save 15%!)

Ok, that's not entirely fair. I actually felt really strong for a lot of this run, but by the end I was too hot and tired to feel positive about it. My watch informed me that the total elevation of my run was 1328 feet, which makes me feel a little better about how hard it felt.

Also, my long run pace has been improving overall, so that's promising!

13.12 miles @ 11:29 pace

Weekly Mileage - 36.39

And as usual, bonus dog pictures:

:)

Moov NOW Review (Finally!)

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Oh man, remember when I got my Moov NOW and I was all like, "Yeah, I'll totally get a review up for you guys"? Yeah, that was a while ago. I'll go ahead and blame the holidays even though ours was pretty low-stress.

The Moov is super cool.

What? You wanted more than that?

Ok, fine.

The Moov NOW is part activity/sleep tracker, and part personal coach. It is NOT a pedometer. That is one of the main complaints I have seen about it. But it also doesn't claim to be a pedometer, so really people just need to do a little research before they buy things. Other people have somehow lost the pebble/sensor out of the band, which baffles me because I've been wearing mine for weeks and it has never once fallen out.

Here's an example of the activity screen. I was clearly a sleep glutton the other day.

The Moov comes with 2 bands, because you wear it on either your wrist or your ankle, depending on the workout.

Wearing it on your ankle will cause your friends to crack jokes about house arrest. Just a heads up.

It keeps track of most activity, though things like yoga don't register as "active minutes." What I really like are the running features. There are different interval options to work on speed and cadence and you can also just set it to "open training" and check out your stats after the fact.

You do have to have your phone (and their app, which is free) with you for running workouts, which is sometimes a pain for me, but definitely not a deal breaker.

The little coach chimes in with pace and distance from time to time, and lets you know if your impact is too high. Mine always is on the downhills, I haven't figured out how to run downhill gracefully yet.

Here's my (slow) run from Sunday:

If you're doing one of the interval workouts, the coach lets you know when to start, stop, if you are off pace, and it even gives little updates so you know how far into an interval you are. This is really nice when doing the speed endurance training because the intervals are just long enough for me to start wishing they were over. Knowing how much more I have to do definitely helps. Also there's no way I do intervals on my own out on the road, so this is really handy.

I have also used the 7 minute+ workout, which runs you through 3 sets of jumping jacks, squats, planks, lunges, push ups and crunches.

The Moov keeps track of your reps for you, and most of the time, I've found it to be pretty accurate. There have been a few times that it randomly decides not to count some of my jumping jacks (as though I am somehow doing them wrong - they're jumping jacks for crying out loud!), but it's right most of the time.

Here's an example of the details it gives at the end of the workout from a few weeks ago:

I actually built up some arm strength when I was doing this workout consistently for a few weeks, but started slacking off right before Christmas. Oops!

One thing I love about the Moov is that it doesn't have to be charged. My Fitbit was constantly dying on me, and don't even get me started on their screwy charger! The Moov takes a little coin battery and is supposed to last about 6 months. I haven't had to replace mine yet.

There are other features that are totally wasted on me, like swim and cycle "coaching," and cardio boxing. The swim and cycle are just open workouts, not guided coaching, that's why I used quotes. The cardio boxing pretty much requires that you have two Moovs (one for each wrist), and that just seems excessive to me.

The Moov is very cool overall, and you get what you put into it. It can be a passive activity tracker, or you can use it to its full potential, and use the coaching features. It doesn't remind you to work out, or set a schedule for you, but we're all big kids, we don't need that much hand holding, right?

New Yoga Gear and House Updates

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This is super weird for me, but I am still liking yoga!

I actually bought myself a new yoga mat (my old one was from college...they last decades, right?), block and strap the other day.

I'm still going strong with my 30 day challenge,  I did day 18 this afternoon. But then I wanted a little more, and I found another video that looked interesting. It turned out to be part of another 30 day challenge. I'm not planning on doing both at the same time, but I may do extra videos here and there.

Runner friends: ignore the 30 day challenge part of this video (or don't) - it's a really great hip-opening sequence. Holy cow my hips are tight!

I was a little disturbed when I got my Women's Running magazine today. This gorgeous woman is apparently a "plus sized" model.

I'm sorry, what?

And in house news: the windows are here! They're getting put in this weekend, which is pretty exciting. The electrician is coming next week, and we're working on getting a plumber so the new bathrooms will have exciting things like running water.

I have plans to turn the area by the attic windows into my yoga area. It has an amazing view!

Oh, and the patio was poured last week - no more cooking on the grill on the front porch! Now we cook on the grill on the patio! :) One of these days we'll do something about our lack of a kitchen. One thing at a time.

Marathon Training Week 2

I'm still here! I've been alternately really busy and relaxing, neither of which was really conducive to blogging.

We spent the long weekend up at the lake house with Tom's family for the 4th of July. The water in the lake was warmer than when we were up there in May, so we had a lot of fun tubing. Tom even convinced me to try kneeboarding - it's hard! It was fun once I actually made it up to my knees, but it took a few tries!

So here's a look at my second week of marathon training - it sort of veered off course...

Monday: Cross training. Check it out - I actually did Piyo! The amount of pain I was in is evidence that I really need to cross train more often.

Tuesday: 3 miles. Done and done. I ran around the neighborhood at a pretty leisurely 9:55 pace.

Wednesday: 6 miles. Ok, so here's where things got tricky. Wednesday was supposed to be 6 miles and Thursday was supposed to be 3, but we were leaving for the lake house on Thursday afternoon, so instead I ran 9.25 miles (10:05 pace) on Wednesday and took a rest day on Thursday. It was hot and hilly around the neighborhood, but I managed to run all the hills. I was also smart and carried water with me.

Thursday: 3 miles. Like I said, not so much with the running on Thursday. A lot of time in the car instead.

Friday: Rest day. We spent a lot of time out on the lake, tubing and just cruising and enjoying the sunshine.

Saturday: 6 mile pace run. Nuun  put on a virtual run for its ambassadors/team Nuun over the weekend, it lined up perfectly to help motivate me to run while we were in vacation mode. So on Saturday morning I headed out for a 10k on the hilly roads around the lake house. Why are there hills everywhere I go?

It was decently warm and disgustingly buggy (one flew in my mouth - not ok), but I kept telling myself it was supposed to be a race, so I managed to finish my 10k in 55:43, an 8:58 pace! I'm pretty happy with that.

Sunday: 6 miles. Yeah...that didn't happen. I wasn't on the ball enough to run before we left the lake house, and it was after 10pm by the time we got home. Oh well.

I tried this InstaBoost from my RunnerBox the other day. It's basically energy pop rocks. Buddy was not a fan of the sound.

He's so cute.

Are you training for anything right now?

Yard Work and a RunnerBox

One thing I will say about our yard - any work makes a big difference.

The yard right by the street was lined in pricker bushes. They suck. There were also some giant bushes and a little tree blocking the front of the house.

After a long afternoon of work, it now looks like this:

It's starting to look like an actual house! I love how much more open it is now. Some of those bushes on the right will be coming out too. And just wait until the fence is up - it's going to be so cute!

I actually managed to do some Piyo this afternoon - I know, I'm proud of me too :)

I also got my first RunnerBox in months (I stopped it for a while when I wasn't working), and had fun looking through it.

I love new snacks!

I'll let you know if there are any stand out winners in the box.

And Buddy wanted you to know that he is a lap dog, even if he doesn't really fit.

You're Welcome

I did another solo run around the neighborhood yesterday. It really is much nicer than the basement has been lately. Ever since it started getting warm out, the basement has been super hot, even with the fan. Now if only the neighborhood was a little less hilly...

I'm starting to develop a freckle line where my watch sits. I don't actually tan, so there are just lighter and darker freckles instead.

Today's run was a tempo. I did a 1 mile warm up, ran 5 miles @ 8:34 and a 1 mile cool down. The basement was ridiculously hot, but I got it done.

I am still doing the lunge matrix and leg swings before my runs, and I've done the myrtl routine after every run this week. After last week's race, I'm determined to finish faster at my next half. If a little strength/cross training helps, then I will absolutely do some.

In other news: here's a picture of a dog butt. You're welcome.

I hope you're having a great week!

Movies and Training Changes

We had a relaxing post-race weekend. Mostly we lounged at home and watched movies.

First up was Interstellar - long, but infinitely more interesting than Gravity. Plus we only made Matthew McConaughey/Lincoln jokes for the first half hour or so ;)

Last night was Night at the Museum 3 - super cute, like all the Night at the Museum movies, but sad to watch Robin Williams.

I'm trying to get myself to run outside more. I'm getting the miles in, but running outside is so different from the treadmill. Changes in weather, hills and running surface just can't be properly simulated on the treadmill. I've made a few changes in my training too, so hopefully when race day rolls around again I'll be able to keep up the pace I know I should be able to maintain.

Before each run I am doing the lunge matrix and leg swings  and I have started following Coach Jay Johnson's 8 week general strength training plan. These extra steps only add about 10-15 minutes to my workout, and hopefully they'll help my overall fitness. Fingers crossed!

I ran a few easy miles around the neighborhood this afternoon. They weren't fast by any means, but they were easier than I expected them to be this soon after the race this weekend. Plus I went into a different neighborhood than I usually run in, and it was much nicer - less traffic, and better views!

Have you seen any good movies lately?

Running Outside and a Buddy Selfie

I have spent so many runs on my treadmill lately that it feels weird to run outside. It was really pretty out Monday afternoon, so after I dragged my feet for a while, I ran a few miles around the neighborhood. 

It felt hot!

My legs were still a little sore from the trail race on Saturday (mostly the outside of my right shin, which is random), so I wasn't breaking any speed records, but it was a decent run. It always feels like a bigger accomplishment to actually run outside on my own. My laziness is really impressive, and it's much easier to just run on the treadmill.

The yard is getting green again, and the flowers are starting to bloom!

Today was cloudy, so I didn't feel guilty about running on the treadmill. 3 easy miles followed by some Post-Run Power Exercises from the Foodie Runner (she has a half marathon PR of 1:21:23, so I feel like she knows what she's talking about). I've been trying to do these exercises after easy runs lately, and I have lofty goals of trying to actually do some strength training/cross training again (this is a never ending goal, as I have not found a way to actually stick to it).

This is as close to a Buddy selfie as I've managed. He always turns away from the camera or tries to lick my face.

Some Early Thoughts on PiYo

There was a decent amount of snow falling this morning. Buddy and I felt that it was much too early to have snow blowing in our faces.

I made a super delicious breakfast with an English muffin, guacamole, greens and eggs.

It was a good way to start the morning. Much better than the snow in my face.

I did two PiYo workouts today. The first one was Define: Upper Body. It was a short one, about 20 minutes, and honestly, it didn't feel like it even counted as working out for the day. Next up was Sweat. This one meant business. It was about 35 minutes and I was definitely sweating! I liked the variety of moves, and the fact that it has a countdown on the screen so if you're in a tough segment you can check it and decide that yes, you can actually do that for another 30 seconds. The two combined made for a good workout!

Some things I like about PiYo so far (as I have done 3 workouts I am now clearly an expert):

• The pace: it uses a lot of yoga moves that I was already familiar with, but is more up tempo. Plus, the variety of moves makes time go pretty quickly. 
• It's low impact strength and stretching. The style of workout is so different from what I'm used to, but that's why I think it's a good complement to my running. I already feel like my muscles are less tight than they have been.
• The feeling I have when I'm finished. It's a relaxed soreness that kind of reminds me of how I feel after a massage.
• I like the instructor. She doesn't yell at me or want me to throw up (I'm looking at you Jillian Michaels). She wants you to work hard, but is more worried about keeping correct form than killing yourself.

Some things I don't like:

• Every workout ends with an ad for Shakeology (a Beachbody meal replacement shake) or some skincare product. I paid for workout program, not the home shopping network on dvd.
• The cost of the program. I actually found my PiYo on Ebay for about $30 (please don't hate me if you're a Beachbody coach), but if you buy it through Beachbody it's around $73. That just seems insane to me (and this is one of their cheaper programs), especially since they're still trying to sell you more things even after you buy the program. 
• There is such a thing as PiYo burpees. Need I say more?

If you do decide to poke around on Ebay (or another site) just be aware that there are a LOT of fake copies of Beachbody programs floating around. 

I managed to convince myself to do some laundry and the dishes this afternoon, but otherwise have had a pretty mellow day. 

And if anyone has control over these things: Buddy would like the snow to please go away now. Thanks!

 What's your least-favorite workout move? Mine is burpees, hands down.

A Good Run, Finally!

Weekends always go by so quickly, don't they?

I didn't run with the group again on Saturday. Between my ankle and the weather, it's been a month since I ran with them. As much as I don't like waking up early (ever), I really miss running with them. Hopefully I'll make it next weekend.

I did try one of the PiYo workouts on Saturday called Define: Lower Body. It's a shorter workout, about 20 minutes, but I enjoyed it. I liked the pace of it (yoga is always so slooooow, this was faster) and while it was definitely work while I was doing it, I felt really good when I was finished. There are about 11 other workouts for me to try, so I'll keep you posted!

Today was long run day - 12 miles. I watched the movie The Family while I ran - I don't recommend it, it wasn't very good. My leg was a little tight during the first few miles, but felt great for the other nine, so I'm counting that as a win.

It was really nice to have a good run after so many not so good ones.

And now I'm starving, so excuse me while I go eat everything in the kitchen.

My Mind Goes Weird Places

Buddy was very tired this morning from all the sleeping he does. 

I had an easy three miles on the plan for today. I felt great for the first mile or so and then things tightened up a bit. My leg is definitely improving (for real this time!), I just have to wait a little bit longer to get back to normal. Right, patience, I'll work on that...

Apparently, I magically won a giveaway that I didn't enter:

Because this appeared on my front step this afternoon.

Not quite sure how that works, but hey, I like olives. And free things.

The first thing I thought of was that the lunch box is exactly the right size to carry ice cream in. You know, for all the times I need to carry my ice cream with me.

My mind goes weird places.

I also got this in the mail today:

PiYo is a combination of pilates and yoga that is geared at improving strength and flexibility - both of which I want to work on. I've heard good things, so I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

I Really Like Food

Buddy and I had a pretty typical day today.

I made myself a really delicious breakfast of roasted sweet potato, broccoli and cauliflower topped with eggs and hot sauce. After putzing around reading blogs and watching the Today show, I did the dishes and hit the grocery store before lunch.

I made some really good life decisions at the store. And by that I mean I bought some really delicious things.

I knew these were coming out - I've been keeping my eyes out for them. For some reason they only come in a weird small package.

We haven't tried them yet, but I'll keep you posted :)

And I couldn't pass this up:

It's mocha ice cream with cookies and cookie dough - it's really good. Don't be like me. I am not a healthy living blogger.

I'm a total spaz and left my groceries on the counter for longer than I care to admit when I got home. I was headed to the basement to workout and noticed my space cadet moment.

I did a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout today. Then I remembered that I really don't like HIIT workouts. I'm still trying to find a workout for my non-running days that I actually like. I'm open to suggestions.

Then I got a surprise in the mail!

Apparently, I won a giveaway from FitFluential and didn't know it - hooray snacks! I've had the coconut chips Bare Fruit makes (amazing), and who doesn't like apple chips? I was actually trying to find apple chips at the store the other day and after going up and down pretty much every aisle, I don't think our grocery store has any, which I thought was weird.

I'm pretty sure I need this tank

What's your favorite healthy snack? Less-than-healthy snack?

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