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.

(Not)Pancakes, Running and Reading

If you're on Pinterest, I'm sure you've seen those "pancakes" made out of a banana and a couple of eggs. It seems wrong, but people apparently like them. In case you, like me, were curious about these two-ingredient "pancakes," let me save you some trouble.

They taste exactly like you would expect them to: like eggs and banana. Nothing about this resembles a pancake, and I seriously question the tastebuds of those who claim to like them. I ended up adding some flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla, which made my "pancakes" closer to what a pancake should actually look/taste like. I ate part of a couple of "pancakes" before I decided to scrap the small remainder of my experiment and made myself an English muffin with peanut butter and banana, which was delicious.

Next time, I'm not messing around with any weirdo Pinterest recommendations - I will have actual pancakes!

I took Monday as a rest day (I hear those are good for you), and did my best to not go outside.

It was a little brisk.

This week is a cut back week on my training plan. No speedwork, and lower mileage. I'll take it! I ran an easy 4 miles on the treadmill and discovered that if I increase the font size on my Kindle, I can totally read while I run. I wouldn't attempt it doing anything faster, but it was a nice change from clicking around on Netflix for 20 minutes.

After my run, I did a Piyo workout (define: lower body), and did some balance work on my BOSU ball.

This is blurry, but cute, so I had to share. Buddy was getting so hot laying in the sun (inside the house) that he was panting - crazy dog.

Have you had any Pinterest fails? Successes?

ALL the salads!

I had a salad for breakfast. It just sounded good, and yes, I ate it out of the greens container.

Why make dishes if I don't need to?

Check it out: I actually went somewhere today!

Since I'm not working right now, I've been trying to be good about not spending money when I don't need to. This has resulted in me pretty much only going to the grocery store that's a half mile from our house and nowhere else. I'm starting to go stir crazy.

So this morning I went for a drive and spent some time wandering Target. I may have found some new yoga (pajama) pants, but I'm not sure yet. The tag is still on, so I'm not committed yet. I had no idea I was so picky about yoga pants.

Lunch was yet another salad - they're just so good!

I'm on a giveaway winning streak lately. I won this last month, but they just sent it to me this week.

The box was a little smooshed, but everything inside was fine.

It's a bundle from real food. real life. - their big thing is fermented foods and probiotics.

I'm interested to see if I notice any difference taking these. My body is generally pretty indifferent about my healthy choices (which is why I usually don't worry too much about them).

I got in a 2 mile treadmill run and did a Piyo core workout this afternoon. Core work is never my favorite (I once yelled "I have no core!" during a roller derby practice), but at least this workout had some different moves to keep things interesting.

Dinner was pretty healthy today, too. Roasted broccoli, baked sweet potato and steak. Considering I had chips and salsa for dinner a couple of nights ago (on accident, it was an out of control snack-a-thon), this is a big improvement.

And since no post is complete without a picture of Buddy, here's him tangled in the curtain earlier today.

Do you get on food kicks where you eat the same thing all the time?

This salad kick is much healthier than when all I want is sour patch kids. ;)

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!