New Shoes and Girls on the Run

And here you thought I was almost back to posting on a semi-regular basis!

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time stuck on my couch the last few weeks. First it was the high fever for days, and after finally getting back to my training plan and feeling normal for a few days, I was back on the couch. This second illness was shorter lived and less intense (thank goodness).

In non-sick news, I have two pairs of new running shoes. Why two? Because after I got the first new pair, I realized just how broken down pretty much all of my other shoes are.

I track mileage on my shoes, but most of my miles are on the road and I think they break down much sooner than the expected 300-500 miles that shoe companies claim they should last for.

I had a 20% off coupon from the running store that is closest to me (still a 45 minute drive), so I picked up a pair of the new Saucony Freedom ISO. They're spendy, like ridiculously so, but holy cow they are SO comfortable.

Seriously, if Saucony generally works for you, you need to check these out. Go somewhere and try them on though, the sizing is a bit off. I had to go up a half size.

I have really been liking Saucony (my marathon shoes the last 2 years have been the Saucony Zealot), so I snagged a pair of Triumph ISO from a discount site. I have only gotten one run in them so far with all my couch time, but I like them so far.

Last weekend I spent most of my Saturday driving to and from a Girls on the Run coach training. I'm really excited to be helping coach a team of 3rd and 4th graders this year.

It is such an amazing program, and I can't wait for our season to start later this month. The trick is going to be time management when I start marathon training later this spring. I may have to *gasp* wake up early to get some of my workouts in during the week. 

We'll see how that goes. 

Painting Madness and New Shoes

I've been on a mission to get the rest of the addition painted this week. I painted the master bathroom and ALL the white in the last few days.

Today I taped and painted the accent wall in our new bedroom. It still needs another coat, but it's starting to look really nice!

I decided it probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world to be teaching classes in my retired running shoes. My calves/shins have been unhappy with me lately, even with my zero week, so I'm wondering if that's a contributing factor. I ordered a new pair of work shoes while I was stuck on the couch last week.

I also got new running shoes and promptly realized that my pink Saucony Zealots might be on their last leg, even though they only have about 300 miles on them. Comparing the new ones to the old ones really shows how much they've broken down.

New shoes are so pretty!

And because no post is complete without Buddy:

Rocks and New Shoes

The days have really been sneaking by lately!

I haven't been reading my usual blogs, and I haven't been posting. I don't really know what has been keeping me away, but I just haven't been spending too much time on my computer this week.

A few highlights (and lowlights) for you:

I ran my long run solo on Saturday. I have been running with people for long runs lately, and let me tell you, 11 miles go a lot faster with friends. My watch randomly had a GPS glitch that it mostly corrected. At about 7 miles it said 5.8, a couple of minutes later it jumped up to 7.3. One of my mile splits was under two minutes. Yeah, that seems right...

We ran out of oil for the furnace on Saturday. I discovered this fact when I went to take a shower after my run. We were having dinner with our neighbor so I couldn't not shower. I took the coldest shower ever and tried to keep most of my body away from the water while I washed my hair.

On Sunday I was randomly possessed by a yard work maniac and spent at least 5 hours digging up rocks and cleaning random bits of glass and other trash out of one of the giant rock piles in the yard. Now it's a smaller giant rock pile and it isn't full of garbage.

It was a nice night, so we had a little fire in the fire pit.

Buddy has been loving the warmer weather we've been having, because it means we hang out in the yard when I get home from running.

I got new shoes today. I ordered them the other day and I was delaying my run until the mailman came. They're Brooks Launch 2s - the 3s are out now, so the 2s are on sale - they were really comfortable right out of the box and I didn't have to adjust them at all on my run today. We'll see how they do on some longer runs.

What are your favorite shoes right now?

New Year, New Hair, New Shoes!

Buddy was extra stressed out this morning. It's a really rough life. 

I got some end of the year bookkeeping done this morning and then I was off to get my hair cut. It's been driving me crazy for about a month, so I finally made an appointment. I like making hair stylists a little nervous by having them cut 7+ inches off my hair. I'm sure they've had people freak out before.

I may have gotten new shoe envy when Tom was looking at/ordering shoes the other day and ordered a pair of my own.

They were on sale! And my pink Wave Riders are just about at the end of their life anyway. I can validate new running shoe purchases all day long.

But seriously, look how pretty they are!

So pretty.

Somehow, Tom's shoes haven't made it here yet, even though he ordered his first and we ended up ordering them from the same site. Sad.

George, one of my Insta-friends (what I just decided to call my Instagram friends, is that a thing?) and fellow Nuun enthusiasts, decided to host a new years 100 days of fitness challenge and invited me to participate. The goal is to keep each other accountable and get at least 30 minutes of some kind of activity every day. Most days my training plan will easily have this under control, but it will help keep me from being a running couch potato.

He's also throwing in a few 30 day challenges as part of the bigger challenge. Our first 30 days will be a plank challenge, which will probably be good for me since I hate any and all core work.

Aaaaand Yoga Camp starts tomorrow too! I'm going to do all the things. It's totally going to work.

Probably.

I hope you have a wonderful New Years (but not so wonderful that you don't feel good tomorrow)!

What are/were your New Years plans?

Do you make New Years resolutions?

My Marathon Training Must Haves

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Now that I've (mostly) made it through my marathon training, I thought I would share a few things that helped me make it through this training cycle.

Shoes (duh) - I used to do most of my running on trails and the treadmill. This time around I was 100% on the roads, which meant that some of my favorite shoes didn't work as well for me as they had in the past. I used to do most of my running in Brooks PureFlows, but for most of this training cycle I have run in Mizuno Wave Riders and Saucony Zealots.

I have mixed things up shoe-wise for shorter runs, but for long runs, those are my go-tos.

Calf sleeves - This is the first training cycle I have run with calf sleeves.

I love the compression and support of PRO Compression Marathon socks (and wear them for post-run recovery), but the foot part doesn't work for me when I'm running. I need more cushion. I have had problems with my calves cramping during half marathons before, so I figured these couldn't hurt. I wore them for all of my long runs and I really feel like they have helped me. It's possible that it's all in my head, but either way works for me!

Shorts - Until this summer I pretty much always ran in capris. I could do that because I had my treadmill in our air conditioned basement. I haven't used my treadmill since we moved because it's currently in the garage, which is definitely not air conditioned. Every single run has been outside, which means I had to find some shorts that worked for me. Loose shorts ride up, move around and generally drive me insane, so I ended up finding a couple of pairs from Oiselle (the Long Flyte and Vela shorts). They have perfectly respectable inseams, so I don't feel like things are exposed. They're also super comfortable and don't ride up.

Body Glide - No matter how in shape I get or how thin I am, my thighs will always touch. That's just life. Body Glide has saved me from some serious pain this summer. It's cheap, it's easy, and it makes it so you can run chafe-free for hours. Necessary.

TomTom Runner Cardio - I'm addicted to the data. I need to know how fast, how far, the elevation, my heart rate (with no chest strap!) and anything else my watch cares to tell me. I have gotten better about not checking my pace every three seconds, but I love having the stats to check out after my run. Plus I'm terrible at planning my runs, so I'm a big fan of running out until my watch tells me I'm halfway, and then I turn around and head home!

Road ID - Especially if you're like me and you don't usually run with your phone (I pretty much only take it on long runs), a Road ID is a great idea. Mine has my name, birth year, Tom and my mom's phone numbers, my blood type, and the fact that I don't have any known allergies. All great information to have readily available just in case. You can personalize them however you want, and there's even space to add a motivational quote if you want. I keep mine with my watch so I actually remember to wear it on my runs.

Sunscreen - You don't need me to tell you to wear sunscreen, right? I'm a fan of the spray kind for my body because I'm lazy, and I absolutely love the Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF for my face. If you read the reviews, you'll see that some of the bristles fall out, and that if you don't follow the directions you can make a big mess with it. Neither of these things is a big deal to me, and I love not putting goopy sunscreen on my face. I somehow made it through summer marathon training without getting a sunburn this year - gold star for me! The only sunburn I've gotten is when I was spectating at Tom's adventure race and completely failed to put sunscreen on my legs.

Hydration Pack - I hate carrying things when I run. I will do everything in my power to not hold anything. I have a Nathan Trail Mix fuel belt that has worked alright for me in the past, but the water bottles are tiny, and I knew they weren't going to cut it for my longer runs this summer. Enter the Teton Trailrunner 2.0 - you can't escape the sloshing sound no matter how you carry your water, and there is a slight plastic taste, but this pack does the trick.

It has a small mesh pocket on the front where I keep everything from my fuel to my phone (in separate ziplock bags). It is open at the top, but I never once had anything fall out. The only thing I really wish this pack had is a place to clip my house key.

Race day is officially a week away - I can't believe it's already here!

Curiosity and My Marathon Shoes

I'm linking up with Jill for Fitness Friday this week - go check out some of the other great bloggers that take part!

Can we take a minute to think about the fact that Steamtown is only 15 days away?

I'm in a weird place about the whole thing because, when I actually stop to think about the fact that I will be running 26 miles and 385 yards in 15 days, I start to get a little freaked out. The thing is, I don't really think about it as often as I think most first-time marathoners do. There are a lot of things going on right now between work and the house, so I actually find that there are entire days where I don't think about the challenge I have ahead of me.

There are more runners out and about in our neighborhood these days. This summer I hardly saw any other runners while I was out, trudging through the humidity. Where have they been? Have they been holed up at a gym on a treadmill? Are they just fair weather runners? Are they training for anything?

I'm very curious about these people.

Most of them are not super friendly. For the most part they give me a weird look when I give them a little wave and say hi as we pass. Don't they know that's what runners do? Apparently these fair weather runners are also anti-social.

I'm so excited that the weather is finally turning! I had more than enough of the heat and humidity this year.

The cooler temps and the lower humidity has really made a difference in my last few runs. My cruising speed is faster than it has been, which gives me hope that I won't end up taking half the day to get to the finish line at Steamtown.

I decided that my Saucony Zealots are going to be my marathon shoes. I decided this right after a really fun run in the rain a couple of weeks ago. They were completely soaked when I took them off and I left them in the kitchen. They haven't moved since.

I miss running in them, but I don't want to add any more miles to them before the marathon. I have plenty of other shoes I can wear, but isn't it always the case? I want what I can't have. 

Blanket Forts and Insulation

I'm trying to add a little variety to my diet. Generally I eat two English muffins for breakfast, one with butter and jam, one with peanut butter. The last couple days I have been mixing things up by only eating one English muffin and adding some Greek yogurt and a banana. I know you were all dying to know about what I've been eating lately. 

We're trying to figure out how to attach Buddy's blanket to his bed in a way that he would be able to crawl into it on his own. He gets up in the middle of the night and knocks his blanket off and then we wake up to a tightly curled up pooch in the morning.

Basically, I want to make a blanket fort for my dog.

Tom spent some time pulling the insulation out of the crawl space in the basement this afternoon so the plumber can get in there to do some work tomorrow.

I have some super important reading to do.

I go through phases with magazines where I don't read any for months, and then I randomly decide I want to read them again. One of those crazy $5 for 6 issues of Women's Running popped up back in August and I finally got my first issue today - the day after I decided I needed to buy an issue of Runner's World.

My shoes somehow came untied 3 times on my run today. Once after I had double knotted them. I was both annoyed and a little impressed.

The bulk of the lumber for the addition was delivered today. That's one step closer to our new master bedroom/bathroom being finished (and started...).

What was for breakfast at your house? I need inspiration!

Do you subscribe to any magazines? I know most of it is online now, but sometimes I just want to read an actual print copy.

I'm Cut Off and Exciting News

I'm declaring myself cut off from buying any more running stuff for a while. I went a little crazy when I started making money again, and I had no summer running gear. I'm officially well stocked with all manner of gear/clothes/shoes, and now I need to knock it off.

I went to the closest running store the other day (which, fortunately for my bank account is 40 minutes away) to pick up some new fuel options to try out for my long runs, and accidentally-on-purpose tried on some shoes.

Long story short - I bought new shoes.

They are Saucony Zealot ISOs - my first Saucony shoe. They're SO comfortable! The upper just hugs your foot and pretty much feels like you're wearing slippers. The guy at the store said they are very similar to PureFlows, but they are a little sturdier and will withstand a lot more mileage (PureFlows are only expected to last 250-300 miles).

I took them on my 8 miles on Wednesday and for another 5 on Thursday, and I am really liking them so far! They are a nice balance of cushion and support, and man are they comfortable!

I also picked up a bunch of new fuel to try out. I have definitely not been taking in enough calories during my long runs. 

In other exciting news, I found out I was accepted as a FitFluential Ambassador today! 

FitFluential is a super inspiring community of people who are passionate about fitness, food, health and wellness. The community includes everyone from experts to weekend warriors. There are so many people I "know" on social media and blogs who are FitFluential ambassadors and I can't wait to work with FitFluential and hopefully do some inspiring of my own. :)

What's your go-to fuel for long runs/race?

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Marathon Training Week 5

This was my highest mileage week so far this year. I managed to get in all of my scheduled workouts, though I wasn't really happy about some of them.

Monday: Cross Training. Yep! I did PiYo Define: Upper Body and Lower Body. I also bought a yoga app, because I'm determined to actually stretch sometimes.

Tuesday: 4 miles. This was a terrible run. I felt horrible the entire time and actually wished I had never signed up for a marathon. I was even still grumpy about it when I was done running, which pretty much never happens. I also had a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulders over the weekend and it was still not back to normal. It was just not a good day. 4 miles at 9:45 pace.

Wednesday: 7 miles. I ran this without looking at my pace the entire time. I set my watch to distance, and just ran by feel. I needed it after Tuesday. I was hoping to run faster than I did, but I was infinitely happier than I was on Tuesday. 7.07 miles at 9:47 pace.

Thursday: 4 miles. First run in my new Wave Sayonara 2s! I ended up running in the evening, which I almost never do, and it was actually a cool run with low humidity. 4.04 at 8:42 pace.

Friday: Rest day. Tom had a Warrior Dash to run on Saturday, so I swapped my workouts for Friday and Saturday. I really didn't want to run, and I was the queen of procrastination, so I ended up running in the heat. 7.05 miles at 9:17 pace.

Saturday: 7 miles. Nope, rest day! I spent a lot of time driving and spectating. The race had Tom running up and down a ski mountain on top of all the obstacles - he had a lot of fun! I can't get any of the pictures off Tom's camera right now, so please enjoy the one picture I took with my phone of this guy in a cat unitard.

Sunday: 14 miles. I woke up early so I could get out the door before the heat and humidity took hold. Unfortunately, just as I was getting ready to go, and for a while afterwards, the radar looked a bit like this:

I finally got out the door around 8 (I was hoping for more like 6:30 or 7) and made it 2 miles before another downpour hit. I stood under a tree for a few minutes until it lightened up a little. I started listening to The Pillars of the Earth on audiobook to pass the time (so far, it's depressing). 14 miles is far, you guys! And, I don't know if I've mentioned this enough, but it is NOT flat around here. Check out that elevation:

I was hoping to be around 10:30 pace, but the hills just about killed me. Plus humidity...and heat. Why am I running a fall marathon again?

Miles this week: 36.4

Seen On My Run

I thought of you today. No, really, I did! I was about to head out for my run and decided to throw my phone into my fuel belt (I almost never bring it with me) so I could take some pictures for you guys.

Most of these were taken while running, so kudos to my phone for making them not look like I took them while running.

This tree has problems.

There are usually a bunch of cows by the lake, too. It's a pretty place to run if you don't mind the hills.

I also got fun mail today - new shoes! I have a couple of pairs that either already need to be retired, or are almost there, so these were definitely necessary.

I'm already excited to run tomorrow!