berlin marathon training: week 12

Week 12 went extremely well! It was a solid week that included a trip to Florida to meet my new niece and hang out with my nephews!

Highlights

All the Family time relaxation in Florida!!

Adeline Luna is so cute!

My Hurricane Harvey fanatic!

"I don't like it!" - as Calvin consumes the entire smoothie. Pretty sure we all thought it was tasty!

Adeline is very serious about rest. We could all learn from her!

Lowlights

Just some GI issues during speedwork but really not the worst. 

Still in love with this decor!!!

Strong Runs

Strong, strong tempo run on Thursday! 10 miles at 8:10 pace (goal was 8:23 pace)

It also helps that this was at 6:45a and the weather was cool.

Then the long run in the middle of the day Sunday went way better than expected. 15 miles, and only 3 seconds over goal pace!

Lessons Learned

Yes, I need to carb up the night before before long tempo runs. What a difference!

Delicious ramen from Heinen's!

And sometimes you may actually like the lightest beer of the bunch.

berlin marathon training: weeks 10 + 11

I'm still here - training smart and hard! 

And really digging my new denim jacket and new iPhone.

This will be a quick post, I am not going to go through every workout, but I will just cover some of the highlights, lowlights, and random moments from the last two weeks.

Highlight

7 mile Tempo Run / 8:18 pace

This run was kind of spotaneous. I didn't feel like running on the Towpath yet again - I was actually really in the mood to run on the treadmill. But once I got home, running out downtown seemed like a good idea and it was! It felt like I was flying effortlessly! This needs to happen more often. 

Lowlight

15 mile Long Run / 9:14 pace

This run took place in Michigan - I was up there for a wedding.

I felt like a mastodon.

The rehearsal dinner for the wedding was the night prior and I think the combination of that food (just not quality italian food) and then apparently my time of the month coming on board on Sunday made this run completely miserable. I woke up Saturday like I was hung over (I was not), feeling weak all over, and with a headache. Pretty much none of that subsided during the run or after. I stopped for 10 minutes total, and even had to sit down in the middle of the run at one point. 

Of course, Sunday, the morning after the wedding, I felt fine and probably could have gotten in a higher quality run. Oh well!

Speaking of Quality...

I have been loving Sunbasket lately. This is a chilaquile dish and it's pretty much my favorite thing.

We also went to Vegan Night at Town Hall (restaurant in Ohio City) and oh my goodness these chimichangas were incredible!!! 

And now for something a little sweet..

I am in love with these new Energy GUs. They would be perfect if they had caffeine :)

Keeping the Creative Juices Flowing!

I am loving all the street art around town for my Project 365. 

And the sunsets have been wonderful too!

I struggle with lighting though. This turned out much better on my iPhone...

Giving Back

We had an afternoon for volunteering and I was one of our Captains for our Boys and Girls Club activity.

My team helped the kids make terrariums - I think they turned out fantastic!

Oh, since I know you wanted to see me be a fool on video... I haven't actually watched this (there's a longer version out there) so let me know what you think, lol.

I also signed up to volunteer for the local Girls on the Run 5k on November 12th. Pretty excited to finally have some time off from racing after October! But in the meantime, keeping at it!

berlin marathon training: week 9, ups and downs

Come with me on this adventure of Week 9...

Monday

Rowing
Upper Body Strength

Having run the 18 miles the day prior, this was a rather easy day.

Tuesday

5.83mi / 8:50ish pace

I woke on Tuesday morning to happy news - Adeline Luna, my new niece, had arrived in the world!! Definitely not a blonde like her big brothers! Can't wait to meet her in a few weeks!!

My run was..not great. So, I ran out of my typical amino acid caffeine drink so on Tuesday and Wednesday I had to make coffee in the morning since the coffee at work is terrible. I use a french press and all, no big deal. Or so I thought. I had stomach issues all throughout this day and basically until Thursday. 

My paces, looking back for this run, actually weren't the worst considering the circumstances but I stopped many times.  I really shouldn't have gotten food from a new restaurant after that, but I did. It was very good though. Ate it all..

Then rushed to the grocery store to get Kombucha.

Wednesday

Spinning + Upper Body



Remember I made coffee this morning.. then of course I loaded the veggies on my salad for lunch, so all that fiber really helped out. I just could feel my insides bouncing around during spinning and it was not good. Had soup for dinner (Mrs. Grass, holla!)

Thursday

6 mi / 9:06 pace
Lower Body Strength



I *really* thought my stomach was going to be settled down for an after work tempo run, but it definitely wasn't. Let's just say this is the worst I've ever felt during a run and almost couldn't even make it to the bathroom. TMI. Probably trying new hummus didn't help either. 

Looking back at my training journal for Week 9 of Milan Marathon training, I actually had the same issues during my tempo run that week. I actually didn't even run the last 3 miles of that run. So, I was happy to see that hey, I had the same setback during the same time of training then and I clearly got through it just fine.

Friday

Rest



I know what you're thinking. You had stomach issues all week and then you have ice cream even though you know that sometimes your body hates lactose. But guys, it just sounded so good. And I basically have dessert once or twice a week if I'm lucky..

Went out to explore the town for a little bit that evening...

The Public Library has a cute outdoor reading garden!

Saturday

20 mi / 8:53 pace



And....then I nailed my long run. Lol. My goal pace was 8:53 and I hit the nail on the head. I also ran the last 10 faster than the first 10. And guys I only stopped the watch for 7 seconds. I think my favorite part about this was that I survived when I had knowingly prepared by eating ice cream the day prior. This could be the start of something good.

I then rushed home to make protein pancakes, shower, and then go to photography class. I ultimately brought the pancakes to the class ..

Then, I went back to the Public Library since they had a really cool exhibit about Superman. The two guys who created Superman are from Cleveland and you can see Cleveland inspiration throughout the series.. 

Then my weekly alcoholic drink of choice. This was so good! I thought I would hate it because of the blood orange taste but it worked.

Sunday

Upper Body Strength + Hips + Core

Yoga



Spent the first hour of consciousness outside my bed getting a workout out in the confines of my apartment. Made an awesome smoothie after with Fair Life Milk, Mint Chocolate Protein Powder, Banana, Frozen Raspberries and Flax seeds.



Then meal prepped for the rest of the week, thanks again for this recipe Jenny! Capped off the night with yoga and FaceTime with the fam :)

Overall, kind of a crazy week. Hoping this next week is a bit more consistent !