Category: Running + Training

I’ve been conditioned…

By , May 26, 2018 11:35 am

… to want a Pop-Tart*.

Sigh.

For a few weeks in a row, I’d see a Pop-Tart, still in its wrapper, on the shoulder of the highway close to home, as I finished my runs.

I started to look for it. I got excited about seeing it. I liked thinking about eating a Pop-Tart as I finished my runs. Brown Sugar Cinnamon, without frosting, please.

Then one day, it was gone!

But I still think about it, every time I run past that spot, which is at least three times a week.

Sigh.

I need to get my hands on a Pop-Tart.

(Since I obviously don’t have a Pop-Tart to share a picture of with you, here is a photo from my run this morning, instead!)

*This is apparently how they spell it – the hyphen was a surprise to me. The more you know!

Random Thoughts Thursday 180

By , May 24, 2018 7:25 am
  • AHHHHH! Xaarlin brought me this Starbucks mug (and veggie candies!) back from her trip to Copenhagen!!!! What a sweetie! And BONUS: I can use the mug because I’ve been there! (I have two rules for Starbucks mugs: only buy them for locations I’ve been to, and if received as a gift, only drink out of if I’ve been there. I’m odd, yes.)

  • Ugh, we’re seeing thousands of trees removed in the areas around where we live. It’s totally changing the landscape (making it worse, in my opinion) but I’m sure they’re being removed because of an invasive species, or they aren’t healthy, or to make the forest floor healthier (or to make room to build, ugh) or whatever. But still, it gives me the sads.
  • Other sads – living in the forest, we have to deal with dead or almost dead animals sometimes. Sigh. As two animals lovers, it takes its toll on us.
  • Weekly book update time! After I finished North, I started Station Eleven, which I am loving. It’s a novel about a swine flu that knocks out 99% of the world’s population, with some of it taking place in present time, but some of it going back before the flu. There’s several main characters, and it’s enjoyable to see how they all interrelate!
  • Last month, someone asked me how I fit in running 50 miles a week with cross and strength training, and the top three bullets below are what I told them, with some extra stuff I’ve thought of later. Bottom line: working out is a priority and I am grateful for the lifestyle I have.
    • I don’t have kids
    • I work from home
    • I have a husband who works a lot and supports me working out
    • I take time off work (annual leave) to train
    • I get paid to strength train
    • I am obsessive about it
    • and most importantly: I LOVE IT

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 179

Q: Why not?

By , May 22, 2018 6:23 am

A: If the weather’s sh*t


And… a completely unrelated rant called “CHECK MY CALENDAR!!!”

I have leave from work tomorrow to attend a seminar in another state with Steven. It’s on my public (to my coworkers) work calendar.

A work meeting with was set up in a different state tomorrow, unbeknownst to me. My presence is desired at the meeting.

I can’t be in two states at the same time (especially when the second one requires a flight).

It’s ridiculous to be upset with someone that they can’t attend a meeting, in another state, when you didn’t coordinate with them AT ALL.

Eh. Makes too much sense to ask it someone is available that you want there.

But really, just coordinate with me! Or check my calendar!

Celebrate good times, come on!

By , May 21, 2018 5:44 am

This weekend was all about birthday celebrations. Yay!

FRIDAY!

Friday was awesome from the start because:

  • I had the day off work and could take a nap in the morning (I had a cold and haven’t been sleeping well… I say that like I wouldn’t have taken a nap anyway, ha!)
  • I found out I won a $10 Starbucks gift card from Shelley!
  • My Shitterfly magnet order came!
  • I registered for Grandma’s Marathon in June in Duluth, MN!

In the evening, we met up with Jen and Troy for a late celebration of Jen’s April birthday. We ate at a local Thai place with delicious food that actually gives you appropriately sized portions. Everyone commented on how it was the right amount of food, and that they totally would have eaten more (because it was so good!), but were glad we weren’t given more so we could get movie theater treats later. (Don’t worry, I am not turning in to someone who complains about receiving “too much food”! I am all about the leftovers! I guess I appreciate a normal sized portion when I am giving an eff about what I eat?!)

Pad See Eiw is always my go-to Thai order!

After dinner we headed to the theater to see Deadpool 2!

My gosh, I laughed throughout the entire movie. Only a few jokes fell flat on me, and I was proud I understood 99% of the joke references (ha). I had so much fun, I would see it again in the theater (on $5 movie night Tuesday, of course). It reminded me of how much fun I had at Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. COMPLETELY different movies, but it’s a blast to laugh so much. Yay!

We went to a 9:50 pm showing (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so that was a late night. I was in bed after 1:00 am, up for an hour from 4:00-5:00, and out of bed just before 6:00 am, because, (I had a) cold. Sigh.

SATURDAY!

I started Saturday off with a short run and ride, then taught fitness boxing and dropped off my bike for a tune-up (I like to get one every spring before I spend more time on it outside).

We had a small lunch then were off to my favorite coworker’s son’s first birthday party in the city!

I hit my raw “I didn’t get enough sleep” breaking point on the drive but rallied through and was able to be social at the party. Phew.

The decorations were ADORABLE (homemade, of course) and my coworker had special vegan food for me, including a piece of vegan cake OH EM GEE YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

When we got home, I read and took the short nap I needed so I could make it through the evening.

We watched Mad Men with dinner, which we just started this week, and I am seeing for the first time! We tried to use a free FandangoNOW rental code to watch Black Panther, but it wouldn’t work since it’s linked to my email, and the Roku is linked to Steven’s. Sigh. If you know how to fix that, let me know (I couldn’t figure it out with my internets search).

SUNDAY!

Sunday morning was productive AF. I woke up naturally at 5:00 am (after getting seven hours of sleep!), was done running by 8:00, and did errands from 9:00 – 11:00. I found almost everything I needed and didn’t have to wait in line anywhere to check out. WINNING! (I think it helped that it was early, and raining).

When I got home, I prepped the produce for the week, then we ate lunch and watched more Mad Men and generally had a lazy afternoon with a few chores (like programming my car), but mostly relaxing! Yay! (We had planned to do yard work but it was raining… and 40° out.)

I finished reading Scott Jurek’s new book, North, which made me want to reread his first book. I loved that this new book (about his 2015 attempt to get the fastest known time hiking the Appalachian Trail) included both his and his wife’s perspective. His wife, Jenny, was in charge of crewing for this over forty day event and it was interesting to see things from her perspective.

We watched the Netflix movie Anon with dinner (we were gonna watch Cargo but I was worried that might be too gory to watch while eating!). Meh. Oh Netflix and all your bad Netflix original films. We love watching movies (as you may have picked up on, ha!) and we’ve given a lot of Netflix ones a chance, but they’re mostly meh! (Anyone else watch The Titan?)

But anyway. Yay for a quiet Sunday! One more weekend left in May which BLOWS MY MIND. I don’t feel like summer is around the corner!

Training Week 448

By , May 20, 2018 11:18 am

Highlight of the Week: Feeling so great on my marathon pace tempo run Tuesday / all my runs feeling so awesome!

Monday | May 14, 2018: 26 m ride + 6.2 m run (incl. 8 hill repeats) + teaching strength class
Indoor Ride Time: 1:40:53, Pace: 15.5 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, bummed it was pouring and I couldn’t run outside
Loc: hood, Temp: 63°/66°, Time: 57:06, Pace: 9:12 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: decent but sweaty
Strength: sandbags and cones, Felt: good

Tuesday | May 15, 2018: 12 m run (incl. 7 tempo MP)
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 56°/57°, Time: 1:47:40, Pace: 8:58 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Wednesday | May 16, 2018: 45 min walk
Thursday | May 17, 2018: 20.2 m run
Loc: DPRT/Kilbourne, Temp: 54°/57°, Time: 3:23:19, Pace: 10:04 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: good!
Friday | May 18, 2018: teaching strength class + 1,008 yd swim + 7 m run
Strength: plyo, boxing, agility (cones), Felt: good
Loc: FitNation, Time: 20:03, Pace: 1:59 min/100 yd, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: good, glad I could still swim with a cold
Loc: VP Woods Loop, Temp: 57°/59°, Time: 1:09:08, Pace: 9:52 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Saturday | May 19, 2018: 4 m run + 10 m ride + teaching fitness boxing
Loc: hood, Temp: 50°/51°, Time: 35:41, Pace: 8:55 avg, Difficulty: esay, Felt: great
Indoor Ride Time: 37:01, Pace: 16.2 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: dumbbells & boxing, Felt: great

Sunday | May 20, 2018: 12 m run
Loc: Lake Andrea/Outlet Mall Loop, Temp: 44°/43°, Time: 1:51:13, Pace: 9:16 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!

Notes:

  • Gosh, I had a perfect day for my marathon pace tempo on Tuesday. So much that I ran the tempo a hair too fast – oops! But that run was a major confidence booster!
  • Ahh!!!! I saw my running “friend” at the end of my Thursday long run AGAIN this week! Next week I am totally going to ask her name and where she lives <— creeper alert
  • Ha, I forgot it had rained hard Monday and flooded here so I had to do two flooded trail crossings during my Thursday long run. Good times.

  • We had our second week of spring here – cool in the morning with temps warming throughout the day, only one humid day (Monday), and it was glorious and appreciated and made all of my runs feel fantastic. Yay! I will look back at this week with fond memories when the weather turns to sh*t soon.

Link to Training Week 447

Random Thoughts Thursday 179

By , May 17, 2018 8:14 am
  • If things go as planned, we’re busy every weekend until the end of June. Which has me kind of panicked, but also excited about all the fun things we have coming up (birthday celebrations, races, baseball, a wedding, my parents visiting, going to a cottage)! I want to keep my running mileage up during this time, which means longer week day runs and more of this sight on my runs (in theory, ha):

  • As much as I complain about a certain piece of advice Runner’s World keeps posting, I still look forward to getting it in the mail because I love print media. But I can tell (for well over a year) the magazine is going down hill. It’s getting smaller, there’s no letter from the editor, every issue seems to be a re-brand attempt, etc. I don’t say these things to be mean. I can see they are struggling and trying to stay relevant! It just makes me sad and I hope the print edition doesn’t go away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
  • Now that I’ve finished A Wrinkle in Time, I’m curious about seeing the movie (I’ll wait for DVD), which received poor reviews. One reviewer’s theory was that Disney strayed too far away from the religious tones of the book, which was interesting to me, because I didn’t pick up on them until the end (a few mentions of God, a lot of light vs dark talk, and a lot of focus on believing in things you can’t see). Eh. Disney can’t have 100% winners in the box office.
  • After I finished A Wrinkle in Time, I started The Last Town… then realized that it was the third book in a trilogy! Oops! I requested the first two books from the library so I can read those first. I also picked up North (and two other books that came in from my hold request, eek, I have a lot of reading to do) from the library, and am reading Artemis digitally (couldn’t get the hard copy), and have the audio version for Steven to listen to. Yay, Book Club for Two!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 178

Axe throwing! And donuts!

By , May 14, 2018 7:00 am

(not together, sadly)

We visited Anne and Terry in Cleveland this weekend!

It was the first time both Steven and I had been there, which means… new pin in the map!

FRIDAY!

Most of Friday afternoon and evening was spent driving. It’s a six hour drive, plus some, when you leave during Chicago rush hour traffic. Happily, traffic was a breeze in Indiana and Ohio!

Anne picked up personal pizzas for everyone from Mellow Mushroom (which we’ve had before in Texas and enjoy despite their sometimes odd service), and we ate at 10:00 pm. Totally normal dinner time (ha, the four of us always joke about eating dinner at 4:00 pm so it was funny to be eating so late)!

Teriyaki tofu, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper, and vegan cheese

Of course, Heidi kept me company during dinner!

SATURDAY!

Anne and I had plans to run in the morning, but we decided not to set alarms because we went to bed at midnight. So I was impressed when I woke up and my watch said 5:30 am!

Um, Kim, that would be because your watch hasn’t reset to eastern time yet. It’s 6:30, derrrrr…

But we still got our run in! We went to Brecksville Reservation, part of the Cleveland Metroparks trail system close to Anne and Terry’s place.

The park was gorgeous! It’s a treat to see so much green, after our forever long winter. And I enjoyed seeing the places in person Anne’s told me about. And of course, getting to chat during a run!

After our run we were off to a main event of the day – getting donuts at Brewnuts. Anne is a supporter of my Vegan Donut Tour of America, and Brewnuts has several vegan flavors each day! This weekend’s flavors were Oreo P’Nut Butter and Lemon Ginger (the rest of the group tried Raspberry Chiffon, Hot Nut Frycake, and Strawberry Sprinkle).

The flavors were AMAZING! Everything tasted light and fresh. I thought the Oreo one was going to be my favorite but I ended up loving Lemon Ginger! Definitely four drooly faces.

State Date Name Flavor(s) Rating (0-4) Photo
Kansas 1/15/18 Mud Pie Cake Chocolate Frosted
Illinois 2/7/18 Do-Rite Chai Maple
Illinois 2/17/18 Holcomb Hollow Lemon Vanilla
Ohio 3/23/18 Holey Toledough Blackberry Hibiscus & Cinnamon Roll
Wisconsin 4/1/18 Holey Moley Coffee + Doughnuts Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Glaze, Cinnamon Sugar, Banana Bread, S’mores, Raspberry, Samoa, and Apple Fritter
Ohio 5/12/18 Brewnuts Lemon Ginger and Oreo P’Nut Butter

We went to a park by Lake Erie after. The sunny skies from the morning were replaced with fog and it was chilly (naturally) by the lake, and also, windy enough for paragliding (ha, not by us, but maybe next time!)!

Guess what we did after that? Got MORE donuts. We went to Anne and Terry’s favorite donut place, Becker’s, so Steven could try those donuts too… but not then because we were all full (duh don’t be silly).

But not too full for lunch, which was leftover pizza and hummus and carrots! YUM!

After lunch was the main main event – more donuts! Just kidding – axe throwing (really, hatchets)! We tried it at Cleveland Axe Throwing. We’d already signed up online and signed waivers so we got to walk right in and get to throwing, after a brief safety instruction and a little bit of guidance and practice of two-handed and one-handed throws.

I’ll admit, at first I was really frustrated because nothing I threw would stick, but I eventually got the hang of it, as I thought of it as a strength move and talked myself through it like one – step and hard release, throw with your hips, exhale as you throw, etc.


Steven and I got matching bullseyes once

We were on teams of girls vs boys and had to come up with team and individual names (we kind of wished we had known that and could have prepped those in advance!). We were “You Axed 4 It,”  featuring 2 Axe 2 Furious and Lil’ Orphan Axie, and the boys were “Maxe Professionals,” featuring Maxe Payne and Mad Maxe (Why didn’t I think to use my maiden/middle name which has “ax” in it?! I don’t know!). The teams competed in several point tallying games and a version of tic-tac-toe.

I had fun, but it’s definitely something that can be frustrating if you aren’t successful at least a few times, or don’t have good pointers (for example, halfway through, our guide suggested I move my hands down the axe and I did much better after that… maybe we should have spent more time on form to start?).

Steven won the final competition, so he got the “Lumber Lord” tattoo!

We chilled at home after axe throwing (my arm was tired!) then got dinner at Taco Tonto’s. The service was baaaaaaaad, but I enjoyed trying their vegan nachos, and tacos!

And of course, we had to continue to vegan tour after that, by stopping at Mitchell’s for ice cream!

Steven casually showing off his tattoo while eating the vegan Salted Caramel Pecan ice cream

So. Much. Good. Food.

Anne had been telling me about how she noticed a lot of places out here have vegan options, and they sure do! Crazy that Cleveland is like that… and that we don’t see more of that near where we live in Chicagoland!

SUNDAY!

We were going to hike Sunday morning but it stormed during hiking hours (much like right now, as I took time off from work this am to run but it’s pouring rain)! Boo. So we had a relaxed morning. Anne and I went on a run (yay!) and the boys watched part of John Wick.

Then we went to the best restaurant ever, Melt Bar & Grilled.

Oh. My. Gosh. The menu is mostly crazy awesome options for grilled cheese sandwiches that you can completely customize. The menu is EXTREMELY vegan friendly with several meat substitutes, and two kinds of vegan cheese. I could tell the waitress really understood veganism too, by the questions she asked.

We got Wild Tofu Wings,

Hangover Fries,

and I got the Melt Vegan Cheeseburger (made with the Impossible Burger),

and Steven got the Backyard BBQ.

Everything was amazing and I found myself feeling giddy with excitement to try my sandwich after the appetizers were so good. I was actually clapping my hands when I saw our dishes come out! It’s totally not healthy, but such an awesome treat (and so fun to be excited about food!). I’ll be thinking about that sandwich for weeks and months.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and left! Sadness! We hit the road at 1:00 est. We did four shifts of driving and got home at 6:00 cst. A little quicker than our way out there, thankfully.

The kitties were happy to see us! They had even given Steven a card to give me that morning, aww.

Although right when we got home, Data did a very messy poo in his litter box that required cleaning walls and mopping floors after. Yeah, I’m calling the vet today.

After that it was our normal trip unpacking and Sunday evening chores!

We had such a fun time hanging out with Anne and Terry and eating our way through Cleveland! We both miss our monthly dates with them. I hope we get to see them when they’re in town this summer, and of course, at their new place in Columbus!

Training Week 447

By , May 13, 2018 6:50 pm

Highlight of the Week: Feeling great on my long runs / running with Anne!

Monday | May 7, 2018: 7 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: VP Woods loop, Temp: 59°/62°, Time: 1:08:41, Pace: 9:48 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: decent, best at the end!
Strength: benches and dumbbells, Felt: good

Tuesday | May 8, 2018: 10 m ride + 11 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 40:22, Pace: 14.9 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Kilbourne/DPRT loop, Temp: 79°/79°, Time: 1:48:36, Pace: 9:52 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: hot, but okay!

Wednesday | May 9, 2018: rest!
Thursday | May 10, 2018: 18 m run + 25 min walk (w/Steven)
Loc: DPRT/Kilbourne, Temp: 59°/59°, Time: 2:59:23, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: pretty good!
Friday | May 11, 2018: teaching strength class + 1,302 yd swim + 4 m run
Strength: benches and dumbbells, Felt: good
LocFitNation, Time: 27:24, Pace: 2:06 min/1000 yd, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 42°, Time: 36:52, Pace: 9:12, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, cold running in to the wind!

Saturday | May 12, 2018: 5 m run (w/Anne)
Loc: Brecksville Reservation, Temp: 55°/56°, Time: 1:03:38, Pace: 12:43 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Sunday | May 13, 2018: 3 m run (w/Anne)
Loc: Broadview Heights, Temp: 51°/53°, Time: 35:21, Pace: 11:46 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great

Notes:

  • Ha ha ha, I took leave in advance for Tuesday afternoon so I could get a run in before an appointment, and when I started the run it was 79°F with a “feels like” of 89°F. Yuck! But I didn’t want to waste my time off, so out the door I went. I’m proud I kept mostly even splits just under 10:00 minute miles.
  • During my Thursday morning long run, a runner passed me on the street in the beginning of my last three miles. I NEVER see runners on that street (cyclists? yes, runners? no). I was so excited to see someone, and to have a rabbit to chase that I finished my last three miles with my fastest splits.
  • I felt like I could have kept swimming Friday morning, but my googles were bugging my eyes, and my headphones were bugging my ears! I need to figure that out.
  • I had so much fun running with Anne this weekend! On Saturday she took me to a gorgeous park, and on Sunday we ran in her neighborhood. Yay!
  • I took all my runs easy this week – back to hills and speed next week! I’m itching to get back at it!

Link to Training Week 446

Random Thoughts Thursday 178

By , May 10, 2018 4:55 am
  • My new car hails from Brooklyn and had some NYC parking/traffic love – a few dents on the doors and on the bumper. It also had a few slightly rusted metal pieces and needed a full detail, so right after I bought it, I took it in to the dealer for all of those things to be taken care of. I just got it back Tuesday (they had it for nine days!). They missed one rusted piece, so I’ll have to take it back, but it’s nice to have for a short while (including an upcoming road trip… although I would have been fine taking the loaner on that trip, ha)!

  • I grabbed The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks from the library at the train station last week, but couldn’t get more than a few pages in, so I took it back. Ha. Now I’m reading A Wrinkle in Time, loaned to me by Bobbi. I never read this book growing up!

Photo taken before my walk to work in the rain yesterday soaked the back of this book through my backpack. Ugh, I felt like such an ass but Bobbi wasn’t upset at all. 

  • I actually like my official race photos from the Wisconsin Half Marathon! I doubt I’ll order any though – I’m on a bit of a spending freeze (minus a few magnets). Thankfully, the race shared a finish line photo of me on their Facebook page, and I have photos from Steven!

  • Gotta nip this weight increase in the bud! I can do eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 177

The weekend!

By , May 7, 2018 6:25 am

Woo hoo! What a good weekend!

FRIDAY!

Rachel arrived mid Friday afternoon and we got to hang on the deck for a bit before we went to packet pickup for the Wisconsin Half Marathon.

Ha, Data greeted Rachel outside, on his leash. Khali made eye contact with Rachel while here, but scurried away after a bit, each time. Progress.

Rachel brought me flowers (since I wrecked my car and because she’s a sweetie)

After packet pickup, we had MOD Pizza, then went to Bobbi’s to drop off her race packet (and chat for a bit!). I enjoyed visiting with Rachel, and was especially giggly after I had an Angry Orchard at MOD! I’m glad she came early so we could hang out a bit before the race.

SATURDAY!

I slept really poorly Friday night… but had been for the previous three nights anyway! I was up at 5:00 am, and we were out the door just after 5:30 to get to the race. We happily ran in to Bobbi and got to chat with her some more!

We also had fun chatting with the wife of the man who took the photo above. It’s fun to meet random people at races and connect with them over your love for running!

I ran the race and PR’d!

Then I enjoyed cheering people on with Steven, and talking to everyone after they finished to see how their race went, and whine about the hot sun together.

Rachel running a strong finish!

We hung out a bit longer, then we headed home, where I had a date with one of the awesome bath bombs Anne sent me last week!

Then it was on to a typical Saturday – we ate lunch and watched a movie (Jeff, Who Lives at Home), and ran errands. My new car has been getting detailed and having a few things replaced at the dealer, so have a loaner (which feels like a cushy boat compared to my car!).

Steven was in a baking mood and made this bread while I wrote my race recap,

OMG IT’S DELICIOUS

then we watched the last episode of Battlestar Galactica with dinner!

SUNDAY!

Ha, Data woke me up just after 5:00 am to eat… then didn’t eat. Sigh. He’s been getting skinnier and skinnier. Some days he eats a lot, and some, a little. We talked to the vet last week and there are some more tests he can do to see if it’s a thyroid or malabsorption issue. We are going to make sure it’s not just his food and him being picky, so we got him some other food to try, before we take him back in to the vet. What a turd.

I stayed up for a bit, then slept from 8:00 to just after 9:00. Luxurious! I woke up to Steven making breakfast!!!

I rode my bike (inside) after breakfast to shake out my legs. Then I picked up sticks while Steven mowed and trimmed the yard. I was feeling optimistic that my legs were gonna feel okay because I could bend over so much to pick up sticks, without pain!

But my quads buckled three times during our afternoon walk, so yeah, definitely feeling the effects of a hard race!!!

We had our normal Sunday evening of chores and dinner before heading upstairs for an early bedtime (we go upstairs before 9:00, fall asleep around 9:30). We’ve been trying to make sure we start the week out with enough sleep! I’ve been having a lot of anxiety dreams and waking up every hour or so for several days now. Ugh, I hope that stops soon, because even when I get enough sleep, I don’t feel like I did!

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