Anticipating the Disney Princess Half 2016!

Long time no see! Unfortunately for me it hasn't all been good times since I last posted. Right now I'm spending some time on the couch with a behind-the-knee pain in my left leg. However, my awesome, amazing, handsome husband recently promised me that we can run the Disney Princess Half Marathon next year!! I've been obsessing over everyone's photos on Instagram and I absolutely cannot wait! This has been one of my top bucket list races since I started running two years ago and am so excited at the thought of it. Is it next February yet??

View from Fort Wilderness Campground in 2007

So what have I been up to since I last posted? Well, I went skiing for the first time yesterday and am totally wiped out today! I spent a lot of time on the ground so got a good full body workout pushing myself up all the time. I had a fun time though and would definitely go again!

I also have been really really on point with my diet! I've been following the Tone It Up nutrition plan and I really love it. They focus a lot on a whole foods, "lean, clean, and green" approach and it seems to work great for me. I feel fantastic on the days that I eat appropriately and the recipes in the plan that I've tried so far are delicious. Would definitely recommend! 

As far as running, before this recent issue, I had been doing pretty well. I was starting to get my speed back up a little bit during training for the Scranton Half and am so frustrated that I'm derailed yet again. After some thought, I think that the training plan that I'm using might be too much for me. The Hal Higdon plan has me running four days a week and increases mileage pretty fast, so I think I'm going to cut down a bit once I rest a week or so and see how it goes. (Also super sick of snow!!)

My plan is to take a week off and hopefully next weekend I can start running again slowly. I also want to post a little more frequently over here, so I'm going to work on that! :)

Where did that come from??

My plan for my long run last weekend was 11 miles. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out an unexpected half marathon PR... by 7 minutes! Every mile I hit starting with mile 9 was under a 9:40 average. I just got into a groove and decided to ride it as far as I could; my watch kept beeping every mile and I'd just look at it and laugh because I couldn't believe how fast I was running and how awesome I felt!

I have two possible explanations for this. The first is that eating half a pizza the night before a long run is the perfect carb-loading (this is kind of a joke, but I think also kind of true). The second, and more probable, explanation is that my cross training must actually be paying off and helping me run faster. I've started noticing changes in my body since I started taking cross training seriously about a month ago, so this is great stuff.

I am so freaking sick of winter, but I thought this photo was so beautiful with the snow and the reflection in the water. We'll be kayaking here in four weeks and I'm seriously hoping that it will be a lot warmer by then!

Along with cross training, I've also been really serious about eating better the past few months and I think it's making a huge difference in how I feel. I almost always feel full and satisfied without feeling bloated and stuffed. Five small meals a day seem to work out perfectly for me, which wasn't possible this past three weeks while I was doing work training at a different branch, so I'm really excited to be back to my normal routine/schedule this week. This mix of roasted green beans, sweet potatoes, and quinoa and a salad have been my lunch staples lately and I'm still not sick of it. So good!

My sister joined me for yoga yesterday morning and then we had a Panera and shopping date afterwards. I'm pretty sore today but I've actually come to love being sore after a workout. It lets you know that it's working!

The asian sesame salad was incredible, but I was disappointed with the turkey avocado BLT. First of all, I was expecting it to be warm (like a panini I guess), and secondly, I expected the avocado to be a mashed replacement for mayo but it was just slices of not-fully-ripe avocado. Next time I'll definitely just go with the full size salad.

I also realized this weekend that our local YMCA is only a 15 minute drive from my house, so now I'm seriously considering getting a membership there. They have an awesome schedule of classes and I'd love to be able to start swimming, but I'm not sure how often I could realistically get there during the week.

We're exactly three weeks out from the Scranton Half and I'm so ready and excited! I have high hopes for this race since the organization and social media presence seem to be top notch so far.

I'm baaaaaaack!

I feel like I have a lot to catch up on here, but I also feel like I haven't done much of anything the past few months. After the Hershey Half Marathon, I had shin issues and ended up only running nine miles in the entire month of November. I spent a lot of time on the couch and eventually in December I decided it was time to stop being lazy and get my butt back in gear. Not surprisingly, I had to take it really easy since my shin splints came back as soon as I started running again. I ran through them though and they got better pretty quickly (with lots of ice, stretching, and compression as well). My biggest goal for 2014 is to run 1000 miles, so I've been trying to run 20 miles a week and have been successful so far.

The Scranton Half Marathon is in twelve weeks, so that means training starts now! I had plans to stick with the training plan that I used for my first half, but I honestly think I'm just going to wing it and try to get at least 20 miles in per week. I'm willing to cut it back if I end up feeling overly fatigued or injured, but I think I'll be able to swing it.

It's sucky that all my runs have been on the treadmill lately but I just can't force myself outside to run when it's less than 30º. I know people run in much colder weather, but I'm just a wuss. All I want is for it to warm up, but I guess I have to whine for two more months until spring arrives. :(

So other than getting back on the running wagon, I've also gotten on the healthy eating wagon. We were able to snag a juicer for less than $50 from Bed Bath and Beyond, so I've been venturing into that territory and I love it! We've been cooking a lot more from scratch lately too and that feels like an accomplishment in itself, besides the fact that we've been making healthy food.

 

On the wedding front, we've been kicking ass and taking names. We did our menu tasting (FANTASTIC!), started a registry, booked our honeymoon, and ordered save the dates! We are officially less than six months away and I'm starting to seriously get things done.

In totally random news, another leaf just unfurled on my very favorite plant and now I'm thinking I want one of these for every room in my house.

I'm going to try to do weekly training recaps again because I feel like it really helped keep me on track and accountable during the week. After the Scranton 1/2, I'm hoping we can get into the Broad Street Run, and I also signed up for the Oddyssey Half Marathon in Philly on June 8th! :)

Half Marathon Training: Week 8

This update is late but I feel like I really don't have much to say honestly. Right now I'm home sick from work, so that really sucks. Hoping I'll feel better tomorrow and can run, but if not, I might have to skip a day.

None of these runs really stick out to me except for how awful the 10 miler was. That was my own fault for going out to run right in the middle of an 80º day though and not bringing enough water. I've already had a pep talk with myself that the 11 miler will be better. I can't believe how close I'm getting: only 4 more weeks!

My running outfits have been getting consistently more obnoxious and yes, I love it. It also makes me feel a little safer, because not getting hit by a car while running is a good thing.

And our local county fair was running this week, so that means eating this entire plate of pumpkin funnel cake by myself and washing it down with a root beer float. I don't even know the meaning of the word moderation.

 See you next week!

Half Marathon Training: Week 7

This was a great week! I had to work a lot which sucked at the time, but will be awesome come pay day. I got all my runs in and felt pretty good about them.

My pace has been much slower than I wish it was, but I've been tired from standing at work all day, so it's whatever. I'm more concerned about the distance than the pace at this point anyway. I'm thinking over the winter I'll try working on my speed.

We did some incredible eating this week. Finally made it to the What the Fork food truck in Scranton and had some AMAZING crab sliders and pork tacos with thinly sliced sweet potato fries. I die. Cheat meal at it's finest. 

I got lots of cuddles after my long run on Sunday morning, which I was actually nervous about. I got it done, but it was a little painful towards the end. I wore my compression socks for the rest of day, to bed, and to work today so I definitely think that helped. I also tried an ice bath right after the run and I'm not sure I'll be attempting that again. So not fun!

Joe and I went to check out a possible rehearsal dinner restaurant with my parents and brothers last night and it was fantastic! I'm so in love with my Ellie running pants that I tried to make a casual outfit out of them to wear to dinner. ;)

I tried some Angry Orchard Apple at the restaurant and forced my dad to stop at the beer store on the way home so I could buy a variety pack. Cinnful Apple is the PERFECT adult beverage for fall. Mmmm.

 

What kind of awesome stuff did you eat this week?

A lot of eating and not enough running...

Good evening everyone! I come bearing good news: I finished the 500 nail designs for my book! All I have left to do now is the short captions and I'm totally done. It's such a relief to have that huge amount of work behind me and I'm beyond excited to see the final result.

Besides my stress level being lowered, the other great thing about finishing up the book is that I have time to work out again! Today I had an interview for a local bank teller position in morning, so I came home and did the Bridal Babe Workout from Tone It Up and went for a short run after that. I got really out of control with my meals this week, so I'm working on reeling it in. I'm grazing on some amazing raspberries at the moment!

Yesterday was my birthday, so my fiancé and I went to La Tonalteca for dinner and it was perfect. Their fish tacos are to die for! They come with a delicious cilantro sauce and pico de gallo that is just so fresh and amazing. 

And did you know that Dairy Queen has a new s'mores Blizzard?? It's a limited edition flavor for the summer, so I'm taking that to mean I should grab one every time I have the chance. So yummy!

I'll leave you with this little gem. Luna loves going for car rides but hates when she gets left in the car while we run into the store. She usually just curls up on the driver's seat looking all sad and pouty until we get back.

Do you have a dog? Does he/she loves car rides? What's your stance on fish tacos, love 'em or hate 'em?

What's Been Goin' On

My training schedule worked for all of 9 days. I got too overwhelmed working on the book and now I feel like I need to focus all my attention on that and let running just be a stress-relieving activity until that project is finished. But I haven't written in a while, so I know you're dying to know what I've been doing besides slaving away over nail art.

Well, I graduated college. And stuffed some awesome food into my face.

I went wedding dress shopping (no pics of that, sorry!) and put more food in my face.

Joe and I went to our first Run Around Scranton 5k, which actually ended up being 3.7 miles but who's counting?

Even though it was over 80º and hilly, I ended up running the 5k under 30 minutes, which was really super considering I ran in a convenient mart for a quick bathroom break not even one mile in! I discovered another awesome thing when I was checking out my splits after the race: I ran the second mile in 8:19. Hello, fastest mile ever. No, but seriously.

We don't have another race until June 2nd, so Luna and I have just been doing some walking and barking at horses lately. She only goes on short runs with me anymore since she can't hang with the big dogs for longer than 2 miles and I end up having to give her words of encouragement the whole way home.

I think we might be going to get analyzed/fitted for proper running shoes this weekend, so I'm looking forward to that! I'm also working on convincing Joe that we need more sushi and froyo in our lives. ;)

The (Wo)man With a Plan

For the past couple of days, I've been thinking about how it would probably be really beneficial for me to have some kind of training plan written out to stick to. So last night I finally sat down and came up with something that I hope will work. I'm planning on doing PulseTread workouts on the treadmill two or three times a week, as well as a long-ish run (45 minutes for now) early in the week and another long run (5 miles this week, adding a mile each week) on Saturdays.

Since it was beautiful out this morning, I decided to do my 45 minute run outside instead of on the tredmill. My allergies made me regret this decision pretty early on but I suffered through and did the full 45 minutes with only three one-minute walking breaks.

It's amazing to me how much slower I am running outside than on the treadmill and it's kind of disappointing. I'm planning to do my two long runs each week outside because of this (unless it's raining because let's be real, me and precipitation aren't simpatico).

I finally got home and felt like crap so I curled up on the futon with some blankets for a while and had some dark chocolate almond milk and a Luna bar. If you haven't tried the Silk dark chocolate almond milk, you are missing out! I wasn't a big fan of the regular almond milk, but this stuff is so delicious. Plus, chocolate milk is supposed to be great after a work out (or so my little brother tells me).