Day 65 – April, is that you?

Tuesday is a rest day for me. That is probably a good thing. Not only do I get to rest my knee and look after my hips/glutes but it was snowing again. Almost all day. Looking out the window it looked like January all over again. Needless to say I had no desire to go outside at ll. So I went to yoga.

For me yoga is always a little humbling. I have a strong core so all the power moves are usually OK but as soon as we have to do anything that requires flexibility in hips – Uh uh that ain’t happening. It reminds me that everyone has their own strengths. And we all have things that we need to work on.

Because the weather was so crappy I needed some comfort food. And for me that translates to mashed potatoes. (I know Irish girl likes potatoes…….cliche). I decided to health it up by making it 50:50 with parsnips. A vegetable that is surprising hard to find in Utah. I also cooked up some leeks – another uncommon vegetable over here. And I’m trying to eat more fish – so this week it was salmon cooked with lemon juice and dried thyme.

I then did what all runners love to do – register for races! Last summer I ran in a couple of trail races in Park City that were so much fun. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do some or all of these races again this year. But looking at a preliminary marathon training schedule these races seem like a perfect fit. The price was also going to increase tomorrow so I made the decision to register for a 5K, 10K and 15K in June, July and August respectively. And all for about $90. This brings my number of races for the year to 7 – not including the Hood to Coast Relay. I guess this is the year to go big or go home!

 

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Day 53 and 54 – Double down Thursday

Yesterday was a double workout day. J’s training plan finally aligned with mine so we went to 6AM power yoga together. And because the weather was so nice I decided I definitely had to run as well. So at 6PM I did the run commute thing.

Shorts because it was 60F. A little cloudy but perfect running conditions. My route home from work is pretty nice except for one really busy intersection. As I was waiting for the lights to change I noticed that a car was being towed away after an accident. I’ve lost count of the number of collisions I’ve seen here – including a couple of car-biker accidents.

Once my light went green I started to cross. There was a car waiting to turn right but I thought he saw me (I mean my white legs are pretty blinding) as he had come to a complete stop but he started to move forward just as I was clearing the car. I don’t know if he didn’t see me or if he thought I should be running faster. I gave him my signature dirty look! Drivers around here never seem to expect pedestrians. I spent the next half mile grumbling to myself about it before finally finding my rhythm. Four easy downhill miles.

Some daffodils have sprouted beside our house. So it definitely is spring.

And I had to celebrate it being Thursday with a beverage, although this time I went for something other than wine. I love this stuff and it is my only soda-y drink. Plus they sell it in Costco.

J was busy making dinner – thai noodle soup. Yum!

I did notice on my run that my legs were feeling a little heavy. And I fell asleep on the sofa at 930 PM. So that means that today is a real rest day. Look at me, finally listening to my body!

This weekend I’ll be doing the first double digit runs of my training plan so tonight I’m just going to do my PT exercises and take it easy tonight with some healthified comfort food, a glass of wine and a couple of episodes of Scandal.

March mileage: 68.85 miles/110.8 KM

Day 51 – Awesome mail!

Look what arrived! I somehow managed to survive one week without my Garmin data. I know. It was tough! But now I’m back in the game. Interesting fact, the first half of my 10 K (last time I’ll mention it I promise) had an elevation gain of 601 ft! Thanks Garmin for confirming why that hill sucked so much.

These guys also arrived. $59 from running warehouse. Pretty! They are going to stay in the box until marathon training starts.

Having a boyfriend who is training for a marathon means stuff like this arrives in your house from time to time.

Monday is fast becoming leftover day.

Last night our friend B came over after work. She is our team captain for our Hood to Coast Relay. We talked about our provisional plans for our race. I’m so excited for this race!

Today is an active rest day. Early morning strength training. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except our downstairs neighbors for some reason decided that they needed to have a loud conversation at 5 AM. I know I get up early but I like to get as much as sleep as I can.  And who can have such a lengthy conversation at that time of the morning. I can usually grunt yes or no and maybe string a sentence together by 7 AM.

Day 23 – yay for rest days!

Today is a much needed day off from running. After my 7ish miler on Sunday and a 4 mile recovery run on Monday my legs need a break. But a rest day shouldn’t mean a lie on the sofa and do nothing day. So 6 am yoga it was. With lots of hip openers! Perfect! A couple of slight knee twinges during the class but it felt pretty good. Also nice to be finished a workout just as the sun is rising.

This class is my favorite. It’s early so you don’t end up hitting your neighbor every time you stretch your arms and it’s taught by my favorite yoga instructor. Every class is different – you build up to some crazy pose (today it was peacock pose in full lotus).

Yes it looks a little weird. And no I could not do this but it’s always nice to push yourself and see how you’re improving. He also gives great cues for alignment. But the all time best class of his was for Halloween two years ago. We were building three different segments and when it was time to join them together we did it to the Time Warp from RHPS. So much fun! It’s hard to get me to laugh before 7 AM but it usually happens at least once in this class.

And I have to tell you about the meal I made for dinner last night. I use the website http://www.skinnytaste.com all the time – it’s great healthier versions of all your favorite food. I was craving some kind of sweet-sour type dish and decided to make Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry. It was amazing!

I didn’t have the sauce she mentions in the recipe list but I found a soy-based stir fry sauce that contained pineapple juice and it worked a treat. Plus I’m eating fresh pineapple for lunch right now.

Today I needed something sweet with breakfast and found this in our cupboard.

It hit the spot. Yum! If you are near a Trader Joe’s you should pick it up and put it on your toast tomorrow. I guess being able to eat a little more (and more calorific) than normal is one of the perks of half marathon training!

I also celebrated the Olympics with a Moscow mule last night.