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! :)

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! :)