April Review

Week 1 : 4/2 - 4/8 : run 35.2 miles
I finally got my 20 mile run done!  Exactly 4 weeks before the marathon.  I was rather sluggish for the whole run, but I was able to stay in good spirits throughout.  I ended up with an 8:41 average pace, which is not great, but at least it was under 9:00!

Week 2 : 4/9 - 4/15 : run 18.3 miles
I started off the week easy with a 3.7 mile shakeout run, then took 2 days off to let my legs recover from the 20 miler.  Thursday I expected to do an easy 4 miles with the guys but they apparently changed their minds about going easy...I ended up with a 7:19 average pace.  Probably faster than I should have been going, but it was a relief to know that after weeks of sluggishness I could get my legs to move faster!  Friday was another easy short run, and then on Saturday I ran the Chocolate Chase 10k in Lewisburg.  I did a good job of keeping it at a tempo pace instead of race pace, and was pleased with how it felt.

Week 3 : 4/16 - 4/22 : run 30.7 miles
Blue Ridge week! Monday was a short and easy but super windy run.  On Tuesday I skipped run club in favor of a solo 7 miler to see how my legs were doing.  I enjoy running with others, but have missed running alone, and I find that I need to really run my own pace once in awhile.  I find it impossible not to be influenced by others when running in a group.  On Wednesday I did a long overdue hip strengthening yoga practice, and on Thursday I did a short track workout with Corey to make sure my legs were ready to go for Saturday's race.  We did 2 sets of 600/400/200.

Saturday was my 8th running of the Blue Ridge 1/2 marathon and despite my misgivings going into it, it went super well!  I didn't start pushing the pace at all until the 2nd half of the race, and it paid off big time.


Week 4 : 4/23 - 4/29 : run 22 miles
Easy shakeout on Monday, followed by Tuesday on the couch. Easy 4 mile group run on Wednesday, slightly faster group run on Thursday, Friday off to pack for a 5 day field trip in GA plus a few days in PA.  On Saturday I ran a point to point 10 miler, for my last real mileage before the Pittsburgh Marathon.  Hoping to get in a short run or two while in GA, but not sure if the schedule will allow for it.  At least I will be getting exercise with kayaking and paddle boarding and canoeing! 

Workout Wednesday : Circuit Training

New this week : Single-Leg Row

3 sets, 15 seconds rest between exercises and 2 minutes rest between sets.  

Finish up with a 5 minute walk and some stretching. 

Meal Prep Monday : 4/23/18

Pork Roast, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans

Pork Roast 4.7 lb : $11.68

Sweet Potatoes 2.75 lb : $3.84

Green Beans, Frozen 48 oz : $4.00

Vidalia Onion  : $0.49

total cost : $20.01

16 meals 

Pork Roast : Place pork in a large glass baking dish, cover top (to taste) with garlic powder.  Bake at 400 until an internal temp of 145+ is reached.  (approx 60-75 minutes)

Sweet Potatoes : Chop into 2-3 inch pieces, put in a large pot, cover with water, boil til soft.  Mash with just a bit of milk and some garlic powder.  

Green Beans : Chop 1/2 onion and saute in bacon grease.  When the onion begins to brown, add green beans.  Cover and cook til beans are done. 

(I also cooked a few carrots, they ended up only being enough for about 7 meals.) 

Blue Ridge 1/2 Marathon 4/21/2018

My 8th time running this race!  It has been my favorite ever since the first year.  I'll never understand how I decided to come back after that miserable experience in the rain, but I guess the course was just that awesome.  And it's even more awesome since they added extra hills a few years ago.

I wasn't really looking forward to the race this year, since my training has seemed like nothing more than one setback after another since November.  However, there is no way I was going to skip my favorite race, so I showed up hoping for the best.  I hoped to run a good race and hold my own out there, but knew that I couldn't push too hard for a fast time since I have the Pittsburgh Marathon coming up in 2 weeks.

As always, this was a superb event!  The Blue Ridge Marathon always does a top-notch job of putting on the race.  Packet pick-up was a bit confusing in the new location (Patrick Henry Hotel) this year, but I figured it out.  Everything went smoothly on race day, the volunteers were great, and there were plenty of aid stations with volunteers at the ready (though I personally did not take advantage of any of them).

It was around 40 degrees at the start of the race, I believe.  It did warm up to the high 50s or low 60s later in the day, but it was pretty chilly for most of the race.

I chose not to warm up, so that I would be forced to use the first mile or 2 as my warm-up.  I started out at a comfortable pace, not too slow, but not at all pushing the pace either.  I didn't concern myself with who was passing me or who I was passing.  The first mile marker comes at the beginning of Mill Mountain, (the first climb) and I let myself open up just a little bit on the hill, as uphills are where I am most comfortable.  I still didn't let myself push too hard, but I did let myself work a bit, and start to pass people one by one.  I passed Coby around mile 2.7 where the half marathon splits from the full, and he got some great photos of me as I passed by.  There was about one more mile of climbing left, and then I headed down the back side of Mill Mountain.  The road is pretty steep there, with several switchbacks.  I took it pretty easy, knowing I would get passed by quite a few people, but I know it's not worth the risk to my knees and hips to pound down the mountain.  When I reached the Greenway after the descent I picked the pace back up.  I didn't really gain on the 2 women I could see ahead of me, but I don't think they were growing the distance either.  When I reached the bottom of the next hill - a long, mostly gradual one, I started pushing harder.  I think this hill has become the place I generally pass most people.  It is the perfect hill for my strengths.  I passed two women on the long gradual part, and then as I went up the steep part of Peakwood, I gained on another woman, who was alternately walking and running.  I was unable to catch her, but I could tell I was much stronger on the hill, so I knew there was a still a chance I could catch her before the finish line.

My lungs were feeling pretty tight after Peakwood, so I used the downhill coast to use my inhaler.  And then I was headed up the last steep hill.  I continued to gain on the woman ahead of me, but still couldn't catch her.  I started to really push myself on the last long downhill, knowing there was less than 3 miles to go, and most of it downhill.  There were 2 bridges in the last 1.5 miles or so, and I dug into my reserves of strength to push them and to finally catch up to the woman in front of me.  By then, I knew that she was in 2nd place, and I could see 1st place in the distance, though she was too far to catch.

There was a time clock shortly after the 12th mile marker, and I was surprised to see that it read 1:33, which meant I actually had a chance to beat my time from last year, which I had thought would be impossible.  That plus the woman in front of me gave me the final edge I needed to dig deep, and I caught up to her.  We traded back and forth and ran side by side for a bit, and then on the final bridge I finally pulled ahead.  With a quarter mile to go, I pushed as hard as I could, sprinting to the finish and just hoping to come in 2nd place and under 1:39.  I held on to my 2nd place, and finished with an official time of 1:39:01.  (last year was 1:39:27).

I could not believe how well this race went, and that I was able to beat last year's time despite a much worse training cycle, and not actually trying to race until somewhere in the second half of the race. It is confirmation of something I have been picking up on for awhile now--I run best when I am not trying so hard.  It's hard not to try to train hard and race hard, but clearly it's not what my body wants right now.  As I'm getting older, I'm slowly learning to let go and just see what happens.  I'm still going to have races where I try too hard and crash and burn (because let's be honest, I'm a total control-freak...), but hopefully I'll manage to mostly just let the races run themselves...!

1st place : 1:38: 37

2nd place : 1:39:01

3rd place : 1:39:08

It was a close year for the top 3!

I couldn't believe how good I felt after this race!  I'm usually hurting pretty bad afterwards, and this time I wasn't hurting at all.  I didn't do a cool down like I normally do, and maybe it really was better for me to stop first.  I probably should have done a cool down after a brief rest instead of skipping it entirely, but oh well.  

Check out those splits!  Fastest two miles were the last two!  I usually don't have enough energy left to pull that off... I looked back at splits from the past 2 years and my last mile was around 7:20 for both of them.  

This is the Strava segment for the 1.5 mile Peakwood climb, the toughest part of the race. Nice improvement this year!

Meal Prep Monday : 4/16/18

Chicken, Risotto, Broccoli & Carrots

14 boneless chicken thighs : $10.81

1 lb arborio rice : $2.49

2 lbs fresh broccoli florets : $4.74

2 lbs carrots : $1.79

8 oz mushrooms : $2.49

1 vidalia onion : $0.49

chicken broth : homemade

total cost : $22.81

14 meals 

Chicken : Bake in a glass dish at 425 for 25-30 minutes (until an internal temperature of 160+ is reached).  I did not put any seasonings on the chicken this time, it was baked as-is.

Risotto : Chop 1/4 onion and saute in olive oil until it begins to brown, then add rice, and stir to coat with oil.  Add enough chicken broth to cover, and simmer.  Add more broth as needed, until the rice is cooked.  When the rice was about done, I added about 6 chopped radishes and 4 oz chopped mushrooms.  I also added a dash of salt and a generous amount of garlic powder.

The veggies : Steam the broccoli with some olive oil and garlic powder.  Remove the broccoli from the pan to cool, then chop the carrots and steam them with olive oil and garlic powder. 

Chocolate Festival 2018

I had been on the fence about whether or not to run the 10k this year, but in the end I decided that it would be beneficial for me to run it as a tempo run, since I haven't had much speedwork lately.  I knew that it would absolutely not be a smart idea for me to all-out race it, and thankfully I was able to keep my competitive side in check and keep myself to tempo effort rather than race effort.  I ended up coming in 2nd place female. 

Pre-race chat with my former running buddy Jim and the female winner of the day.

and we're off!

My finish.  Coby and the girls got there just in time to snap this pic!

After a quick post-race shower, we headed back downtown for the Chocolate Festival.  It was fun to do it with the kids.  I think our favorite was the chocolate-covered bacon.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and once we had spent all our chocolate tickets, we headed out to the barn for a picnic lunch and time spent with Pony.  

Ready to eat some chocolate!

Pony was loving all the attention!

It was too nice out not to take some photos!

Gray Kitty photobombed us, and Pony was not very cooperative about joining us...because she just wanted to devour grass.  

Workout Wednesday : Circuit Training

New this week : Bar hangs! 

As usual, do 3 sets with 15 seconds rest between each exercise and 2 minutes rest between each set. 

My workout class switched back to Monday's this week, and I ran 20 miles on Sunday, so I took it pretty easy on this one.  I also tried not to put in too many leg-strength exercises so as not to overburden my legs any more than they already were!  

Meal Prep : 4/9/18

Pasta, Meatballs, Brussels Sprouts, & Cauliflower

1 lb ground beef 93/7 : $5.99

1 lb ground beef 90/10 : $5.49

1 lb ground pork : $2.99

2 lbs rigatoni : $2.00

24 oz brussels sprouts : $3.99

36 oz frozen cauliflower : $3.57

64 oz Prego fresh mushroom sauce : $5.49

8 oz mushrooms : $1.29

total cost : $30.81

(pasta & meatballs : 19 meals, veggies : 15 meals)

Meatballs : Mix the beef and pork with 2 eggs and a few tbsp of bread crumbs.  Shape into 1-1.5 inch balls, place in a large pot, and pour the sauce over them.  Cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours.  

Pasta : Wait until the meatballs are done, Boil in salted water for 10-12 minutes, then mix with some of the sauce from the meatballs.  

Brussels Sprouts : Chop and steam/saute with olive oil, garlic powder, and a bit of water, until it's not too hard to pierce them with a fork. 

Cauliflower : Steam/saute with olive oil and garlic powder.  Add chopped mushrooms when the cauliflower is almost done.  

Workout Wednesday : Circuit Training

This week I introduced resistance bands and exercise sliders to the workout line-up.  We used the resistance bands for the tricep pull-downs and the sliders for pikes. 

March Review

I'm a little late with my March review...but there have been other things on my mind the last few days with getting engaged, Easter, and trying to catch up on housework over the 4 day weekend!

I'm still having to take training one day at a time, since getting hit with a head cold towards the end of the month.  I've thought a lot about not going to Pittsburgh, but I hate to back out of a race I've already signed up for, and so I mostly keep reminding myself that I don't have to "race" it, I can just use it as a long run and try to have fun out there!

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Week 1 : 3/1 - 3/4 : run 16.5

A successful 10 miler!  I took Coby along for his first long run...slowly turning him into a distance runner like me.  He'll never like running more than biking, but that won't stop me from pretending to try and turn him to the light side. 

Week 2 : 3/5 - 3/11 : run 30.9

On Tuesday I returned to the track for a workout : 6x800.  I didn't try to run them too fast, but was pleased with my consistency at 3:07, 4x 3:04, 3:01. They were consistently faster than the last time I did 800s way back in June, which was also pleasing.  On Wednesday we were hit with more cold snowy nastiness, but I still ended up with a successful 11.6 mile run. 

Week 3 : 3/12 - 3/18 : run 32.3

Spring Break this week!  I passed my NASM CPT test on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I got back to marathon mode with a successful 16 mile run. On Saturday Coby and I ran the Celtic Knot 5k in Lewisburg, with him finishing in 21:00 and me hot on his heels 1 second behind.  (He outsprinted me in the finishing stretch...)

Week 4 : 3/19 - 3/25 : run 25.1 

On Tuesday the weather was chilly with freezing rain, and I did not dress properly for the run.  2 miles in my head was hurting from being cold and wet, and I called it quits when we passed my house at 3 miles.  By Thursday, I was feeling pretty sick (and I wasn't the only one who ended up sick from running in that stupid weather...).  I took the weekend off to try and recover. 

Week 5 : 3/26 - 3/31 run 23.2

Had to start out running pretty slow this week to not anger my lungs which were weakened by a bad cough.  Still managed a good 8 mile run on Tuesday though, which replaced the speedwork we had planned.  My legs felt pretty dead on Wednesday and Thursday so I didn't run again for the rest of the week, though I did hike on Saturday and bike on Sunday. 

This month has been a constant back and forth of snowy cold weather and warm springtime weather.

Meal Prep Monday : 4/2/18

Pot Roast, Barley, Peas & Carrots

2.81 lb pot roast ($7.78)

12 oz beer (Sam Adams Boston Lager)

1 lb pearled barley ($1.29)

2 lbs carrots ($1.79)

24 oz frozen peas ($2.00)

1/2 large sweet onion (1 @ $0.71)

5 oz mushrooms (8 oz @ $1.99)

1/4 c whole weat flour

1/4 c brown sugar

salt

garlic powder

($15.56)

=15 lunches @ <$1.04 ea

Pot Roast :  Mix flour & sugar in the bottom of a crock pot, then add the roast and roll around to coat with flour/sugar mixture.  Pour beer around the roast, then cook on high for 5.5-6 hours.  Once done, shred the roast into the liquid, then remove the meat and divide up into lunch containers.

The barley : Add 6 cups of water to a large pot along with barley and approx 1/2 tsp salt. Cover, bring to a boil, then simmer with lid off until soft.  The package said 45 minutes...I forgot to watch the clock so I have no idea how long I cooked it for.  

The veggies : Chop the carrots and steam/saute with some olive oil and garlic powder.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Chop the onion and put it in the pan with olive oil.  When browned, add the peas and steam til peas are almost done.  Add chopped mushrooms, cook til done.  

The meal : Approx. 3/8 cup cooked barley, 2 spoonfuls carrots, 1.5 spoonfuls peas, a few pieces of shredded roast. I would normally put a bit more meat in each meal, but the roast wasn't quite big enough.  These meals are vegetable-heavy instead...probably healthier that way!

I started with 1/4 c each, but had some left over, so added another 1/8 to each meal.  Double meal containers got 1/2 c total. 

Flint Mill Trail : 3/31/2018

The weather was looking warm and dry (finally) on Saturday so we were looking forward to this hike all week.  Coby had done it before, but it was my first time on this particular trail.  He told me it was a tough hike...he wasn't joking!  It was quite the challenge for my worn-out chacos and my tired lungs (I'm getting over a cold).  The trail seemed pretty nearly vertical for a good portion of the hike, and the mud was slick. I slid several times on the way back down but thankfully never fell.  I'll be buying new chacos in preparation for this summer's hiking!

I huffed and puffed my way to the top where we enjoyed the gorgeous view out over Holston Lake.  I took some photos, and then Coby proposed!  I said yes of course and am looking forward to spending my life adventuring with him!  It was pretty special enjoying the view from the top of Flint Mill Rock and talking about the future.  We were lucky and there was no one else around to distract from our moment.