Monthly Archives: May 2011

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Back on the Treadmill…

TM: 3 miles – 27:28, 9:09 pace then walked half a mile

It was incredibly hot at school today and my classroom was almost 80 degrees all day.  My violin was sweaatttin on my neck all day!  I had my favorite overnight oats for breakfast and threw together a salad for lunch.  My salad had tons of quinoa (so filling!) hard-boiled egg, carrots, flax seed, strawberries, pickles and some other stuff.  It was actually okay, but could have been a lot better if I made it the night before! After school I taught private music lessons from 4:00-6:00 and had to motivate myself to get on the treadmill when I got home. I’m soooo glad I did, because I finally had a successful run after the marathon! (Even if it was on the treadmill!)

After school and sweaty! My hair looked so much better this morning…

I <3 my treadmill today!

During my lessons I decided there was no way I was going to run outside at 6:00. It was still over 90 degrees and I am NOT used to running in that kind of heat yet! I haven’t been on my treadmill in a long time because I avoided it as much as possible when training for the marathon.  I just thought it would be better for me to run outside, even through the winter.  I’m usually horrible my first time back on the treadmill because I always feel like stopping. Does anyone else feel like this? It will be half a mile and I feel like walking… I don’t get it.

Tonight I waited a little before I got on it and watched E! News to catch up on some celeb gossip.  Nothing too exciting.  I usually get on the treadmill without a plan, but tonight I thought I would push myself.  I feel like I am in such a pace rut because I ran at a 9:45 pace to train for the marathon so much.  Tonight I started at 6.2 mph and increased by .1 every quarter of a mile. I got myself up to 7.0 and then came back down by .2 every few minutes. I really got a workout! I am not a naturally fast runner, so I have to push myself to run a fast (for me) at least once a week if I want to get out of this pace rut!  I do have to look back at my pace even a year ago when all of my miles were over a 10 min/mile pace.  I have definitely gotten better and I think my goal will be a faster half marathon this fall.

Dinner yum yum!

Dinner was so good tonight! Shrimp tacos!  I used soft tortillas, grilled shrimp, black beans, corn, salsa, cilantro and a little bit of cheese. So good!

I’m so excited for tomorrow! I was asked by www.marathon-girl.com to write a guest post!! Me?! I feel like a mini blog celebrity already! (Well, maybe in my head)

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Memorial Day

After my yoga around 11:00 today, I went over to Colby’s parent’s house for sun, swimming and food :)

Colby’s family has a boat and they drove to Maryland to go crabbing this past Saturday.  They caught like a million of them, so I could eat as many as I wanted today.  That ended up being about 5 or 6 before I got full.  We also had sandwiches, salad and cake!

Me and my crabs and messy fingers.

Yum yum…

I don’t eat much meat (occasionally chicken- no red meat) but I do eat seafood when it’s available.  The crabs were so good and easy to pick. I hate when I pick them and cut my fingers all up and get old bay in them. OUCH. I was also very good about sunscreen today and wore my 50 spf!  I got a little tan and absolutely no burn – and I was out for over 5 hours!

Chelsea (aka Chelse-o or wildebeast)

Chelsea is Colby’s brother’s dog and she is very friendly when I come over.  So friendly that she almost knocks me over because she is like a truck coming at you.  I had to watch my back while tanning today because I didn’t want this beast jumping on me and breaking my back.  She kinda reminds me of a big piggy :)

I am currently working on a “guest post” for another blog!  I was so excited when I was asked to write something and I can’t wait to feel like a real blogger!!

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Hot Monday!

Wow it is hot! I woke up this morning and my hamstrings were really tight! Since I ran the last 2 days in a row and they were pretty awful, I thought yoga would be a better option for today.  I’m trying not to get discouraged, but running after a marathon is tough! I know it will take me a week or so to feel comfortable again. This blog definitely keeps me motivated and prevents me from taking too much time off!

I chose a 20 minute yoga core video from Yoga Download and it had me sweating! It always amazes me how yoga can really get your heart rate up in a short amount of time.  This video was actually a slide show with the instructor speaking.  I think I prefer the slides, so that I don’t stare at the video too much.  The only thing I noticed is sometimes the slides didn’t change quick enough, and I wasn’t sure of a few poses.  I think I will purchase the 30 or 45 minute version of this because I liked it so much.  I did feel like she was yelling at me a few times, but I liked that the whole thing was at a quick pace!  I think if I did this one again, I would understand the poses better.

My yoga mat from Target! I think it is so cute!

I could actually do the wheel today!! YAY!

Now I am ready to swim and tan! I better go crazy with the sunscreen because I am pale! Don’t let the slight tan I have in this picture fool you. It is all from a bottle baby!

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Marathon Recovery Is Tough!

Sunday morning run: 6 miles – 58:47

Not going to lie, I stopped my watch two times during this run at a water fountain and tried not to die.  When I started my run it was about 72 degrees, when I came back it was over 80 and I was hot!  I reached my goal of 6 miles today, but it was difficult.  I never expected running after a marathon to be so tough.  I felt like stopping the whole time and my legs are definitely weaker on hills right now.  I also didn’t use any music because my headphones are messed up from the marathon and I hated hearing how heavy I was breathing the whole time.

I have a 6 mile loop from my house that I used during my marathon training.  When I did my 18 and 20 milers, I used this loop 3+ times and it could get boring.  Today, I took my camera and took pictures during my 6 mile loop…

At the start of my run when it was only 70 something degrees and I was happy.

Crossing a bridge about .5 miles from my house. I hate this bridge because it is so narrow and I’m scared a car will hit me.

There is a Sheetz and McDonald’s 1 mile from my house.  I always feel like stopping for gatorade.

At mile 1.5 there is one of our district’s elementary schools.

At mile 2.5 there is a water fountain at a park.  I stopped here both times I passed it today.

Mile 3… Why yes, I do feel like stopping and turning around. Thank you.

Passing McDonald’s at mile 5 and feeling good running past the people in their cars at the drive-thru

There is a main road between McDonald’s and Sheetz and sometimes I have to stop and wait for the traffic light to cross. I secretly love when I hit the red light and have to wait.

I made a smoothie when I got back home.  The color was nasty but the taste was good :)

My smoothie was made of:

* 1 cup almond milk

* blueberries

*strawberries

*fresh spinach

*1 scoop chocolate Recoverite

*1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder

Then I went to my aunt and uncles today for a Memorial Day dinner with my parents and Colby.

Tonight I was craving chocolate, so Colby and I went to Rita’s and I got chocolate peanut butter ice :)

Yummmmmmm

Time for bed! Maybe another attempt at running in the heat in the morning?

XOXO,

Pink Runner

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Saturday Run

2.5 miles – 2 miles in 19:03 then walked .5

I actually ran this afternoon and it was 86 degrees. I am NOT used to running in heat yet, so it will take me a few times to get adjusted. I wanted to run at least 3 miles, but I was ready to finish.  I also took a week off from running so my heart rate was probably super high. I sat my good camera on top of my car and practiced using the self-timer before my run.

I took my old camera on my run and tried to do a few pictures…

Difficult to take a flattering picture while running.

Near the end of my run when I was getting reallllly hot

As soon as I was finished I got my bathing suit on and went over to Colby’s parents house and got in their pool!

Happy to be in the pool!

Then I went over and said hi to the cows. His parents live next to a farm and the dairy cows come up to their yard all the time.

I always make sure to tell the cows not to worry because I won’t eat them or drink their milk :)

Running 6 miles (hopefully) tomorrow morning before I go with my parents to my aunt and uncles for lunch :)

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Lazy Saturday!

Last night, Colby and I ate at our favorite mexican restaurant again.  I think that was technically 2 times in one week! He had fajitas and I had bean burritos with red sauce and fried eggs. Sooooo good :)

yummmmmmmm

This morning I went to a string quartet rehearsal to practice for a wedding next weekend.  It was really nice  and we didn’t even realize we had played for 2 hrs!  I was planning on running when I got home, but I was starving.  So I thought I would eat a quick salad, then run.

My salad was huge and I was way too full to run.  So I thought I would wait a bit… Then my Mom asked me to go to a consignment shop to look for a patio table and maybe stop at the local orchard and farm market to get local strawberries.

I ended up with an Eiffel tower bottle/vase for 50 cents.

She got a patio table and a strange picture of Bruce Willis. My mother is strangely obsessed with Bruce Willis and can quote Die Hard.

Orchard/Market

so good… already ate a bunch of them

Now I am contemplating taking a nap and then running.  But we all know that probably won’t happen if I nap.  I am going to try to run 3 miles today and 6 tomorrow morning to get me back into it. Wish me luck :)

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TGIF

Wooo woooo! Long weekend and I couldn’t be happier! I had a really nice day at school and later went for a bike ride with my Dad! First of all, I am not a cyclist and my legs feel super weak from not running after the marathon.  I’m pretty sure my quad muscles ate themselves around mile 23 at Pittsburgh…

Now for a picture of my bike… this bike is crazy.  I think I got it when I was about 12 years old, it is a “mountain bike” if you can call it that and it has a youth sized frame with adult size wheels.  Oh yeah, and it is purple.  I don’t really ride too much except for the occasional bike around the neighborhood or on a rail trail so I don’t think I should upgrade. It was about 87 degrees when we rode today and I have been in air conditioning all week and it was a shock.

Yes, my little girl bike even has a kick stand

 

After our 40-minute ride, I got cleaned up and had to re-do the hair for dinner with Colby.  I was incredibly hungry, so doing my hair always calms me :)

I re-curled my hair using my pink leopard print CHI.  I love this thing and have two of them.  It straightens my hair well, but curling with this thing is AWESOME!

While I was bored and posing with photo booth I found my old camera!  This camera takes decent pictures outside in sunlight, but is horrible inside with a flash.  I think I might try to make this my “running” camera and hold it on runs.  I think it would be so cool to hold a camera at a race.  I will have to practice!

Running camera!!

I am SO HUNGRY!!! I hope Colby gets here soon so we can eat dinner! I’m pretty sure we are going to our favorite Mexican restaurant again.  There is this dish with beans and rice and all kinds of goodness with two dippy eggs on top. Aaamazinggg :)

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Crazy Work Week

Tomorrow is Friday!!!!!

I love my job and teaching music … and this past week was very very busy!  I had elementary music concerts each night this week and I am very happy everything went well.  I will be happy to start running again this weekend and see how my legs hold up after the marathon 2 weeks ago :)

Even though this blog will usually focus on running and healthy living, work has consumed my life this past week and I thought I would show you a few pictures!

A very important picture of my “concert” hair. I always twist my hair half way back for a concert so it doesn’t get in my face when I conduct!

A picture from my first concert night holding a rose from one of my students!

A side picture of the stage tonight before the kids got there!

I waited all week for Thursday night! It was the last concert of the season and I went for sushi with Jill!

Jill teaches music with me and we were seriously ready for sushi tonight :)

I let Jill order me a new roll tonight and I lovedddd it!


Yummmmmmmmmmmmm

I just wrote this post with Rocky sitting all curled up next to me.  Then I realized, I didn’t introduce you to Rocky yet!!!! This little lover is my 11 year old yorkie and he is currently snoring.

Rock wasn’t too happy about the flash from this one.  It woke him up for about 10 seconds.

Okay, I reallllly need to go to bed now! Looking forward to a long weekend with a few workouts!!

XOXO,

Pink Runner :)

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I <3 Kara Goucher


I’m slightly in love with Kara Goucher. I think she is gorgeous and she is an awesome runner. I bought my first copy of Runner’s World last year and it happened to be the March 2010 issue with Kara on the cover.

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I loved the article and read her blog to catch up on her training and goals for the 2012 Olympics. She recently wrote a book, Kara Goucher’s Running For Women and I have been reading it off and on when I get a chance. A few things have stuck out to me so far…

Long runs-

Kara says a general rule should be that your long runs are about 20 percent of your weekly mileage. Example, 3 mile long run in a 15 mile week and 6 mile long run in a 30 mile week. I have heard this before and I am horrible at increasing my mileage. I have no idea how I have stayed fairly injury-free for the past year.  Since I always choose a training plan to follow for a race, I slowly increase my mileage because the training plan takes care of that for me.  In the next week or so, I should plan out my weekly mileage so I don’t hurt myself!

I followed the Intermediate Half Marathon Plan from Nike+ to train for Disney’s Wine and Dine Half Marathon.

Recently, I followed Hal Higedon’s Novice I Marathon Plan to train for the Pittsburgh Marathon.

I actually love following training plans.  I’m a tad compulsive and love to have all of my runs planned out and down in my iCal.  I love seeing what my weekly mileage will be in the upcoming months and it gets me excited for a race.  Colby is really good at coming up with his own mileage and I ask him all the time how much I should run when I’m not training.

Shoes-

Kara says do not wear your running shoes when you are just walking around.  Colby told me this when we first started dating, and I have always made sure to take off my running shoes as soon as I am finished with a run.  I do use my old running shoes for just walking around.  Most of them look like they are in decent shape, so I’m not ready to recycle them yet.

When I first started walking/running almost two years ago, I picked up a neutral Nike Pegasus shoe and used them for months.  Since my mileage was low, I didn’t have any problems.

Once my mileage started to increase, I knew those shoes felt worn-out.  After a little research I found that I was an over-pronator and needed a stability shoe.  I was still using Nike+ to track all of my mileage and loved how the website kept track of everything and had graphs.  I went to a running store, and decided on a pair of the Nike Triax+ 13.  I was amazed at how much better I felt when using a stability shoe.

Later, I did feel like the stability would wear out on these shoes and I replaced them way too often.  I was only getting 200 miles on them before I would buy another pair.  Now I have lots of shoes to use at the gym and for walking around…

I also started to have IT band issues this past November after I finished the Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon.  My left knee hurt so bad and now I know this happened for a few reasons.  I was wearing the wrong shoe for me, I was doing long runs that were way longer than they should have been for my weekly mileage, and I wasn’t stretching enough.  In December, I was supposed to run a half marathon in Penn State, the Nittany Valley Half Marathon and I was still having knee pain.  I took a week off over Thanksgiving, and planned on visiting a running store the night before the 1/2 with Colby.  The store was amazing and fitted me with the Brooks Adrenaline 3 and I wore it the next day to the race.  Guess what? No knee pain that day! The shoes were amazing and I still run in them.


I also received my foam roller from Colby for Christmas and I’m obsessed with it.  I feel like there is no wrong way to use this thing!  I try to use it as soon as I am finished with a run.  If I forget to roll out after a run, I definitely make sure to use it at night.

Hopefully I will have more time to finish Kara Goucher’s book in the next few weeks.  Maybe I will pick up a few tips and follow one of her training plans.