Where's the Beach?

Rest Day & Running Thoughts Happy Friday and Happy Rest Day! My legs are feeling yesterday's workout in new places. Which means that I did good with the exercises I chose. Gotta strengthen the weak areas right? Now I'm just hoping they don't get more sore throughout the day as I have an 11-miler on tap for tomorrow. Just thinking about running 11....11 long miles...it makes me both nervous and excited. Last week I did 10.5. And they were great. But what if tomorrow ends up being a crappy run? My allergies have been going nuts this week, so that worries me. At least it's not supposed to be terribly hot. And while I'm nervous, I'm also really excited to be back in the double digits. There is definitely a feeling of pride when you start to add up those miles, not going to lie. I used to just think anyone who ran over 7 or 8 miles was just crazy. I mean really, why the hell would anyone do that. Now I'm that person. Now people look at me and think I...

Weight Day Since I got today's run in yesterday, it was a weight day all the way for me. I started with 10 minutes on the elliptical as a warm up before heading to the weight area for triceps, chest, and legs. GS - 3x8 Double-arm overhead triceps extension Double-arm kickbacks Dips (actually 3x10) SS Chest flye into chest press - 3x8 Pushups with toes on bench 3x10 SS - 3x8 Rear-leg lunge (same leg) Plie squats SS Side lunge with hip lift -3x8 Calf raises 3x16 SS Single-leg deadlifts - 2x8 Weighted plie hops - 2x24 I felt like this was a pretty good workout. I definitely felt a difference doing the rear lunges and not alternating as well. I found a list of leg exercises recommended for runners and plan to add those in as well (once I've tried them in the privacy of my own home LOL). More Creative Kitchen Time It was such a gorgeous evening that I sort of feel bad that I didn't grill out. However, I really didn't have any veggies other than bro...

Not Following Plans Today I wasn't sure if I was going to do spin or perhaps run at lunch or after work. Now that it's not 100 degrees outside, I can run mid-day without becoming one with the melted pavement. I am sort of off schedule with my half marathon training plan since I did my speed work on Monday instead of today. So today should have been 2 miles and tomorrow 3 miles. My mood made the decision basically. I need to get outside, in the fresh air and sunshine and just run. You can't run away from problems, but man a run can certainly make you feel better. I decided to do 5 miles (combining today and tomorrow). Yes, again, not what the plan says to do, but I have my reasons. I think they make sense at least. So here's how my mind worked: If I ran the 5 miles today, then tomorrow I could hit the gym for triceps, chest, and legs. Then I would have a rest day before my long run. With my long run on Saturday and another run on Monday, doing legs on Sundays does...

Remodeling Snafus Well, the bathroom painting project has definitely gotten more complicated. There was a small amount of patchwork that needed to be done before we could start paining, while Jason had all of that stuff out, he decided to patch a few other spots around the house. We have a very old house (circa 1890) so settling creates cracks here and there. There was one spot that was getting really bad in the entry. When Jason started to poke around, he realized that the person who installed the sheetrock for the ceiling did not attach it to the floor joists properly so there was about an inch space between the sheetrock and the original lathe. There had been a small leak many moons ago that had softened the sheetrock joints, and gravity started taking hold so the whole area was starting to sag as it wasn't attached to anything. Nice right? So now we have a nice whole in the ceiling where Jason had to pull down all of the sheetrock so that he can properly attach new sheetr...

Spring Roll Sunday Last night we ended up making spring rolls and baking some tofu for dinner. It was simple, light, just what we needed after a late, heavy lunch of pizza. I filled the spring rolls with zucchini, squash, and carrots that I had tossed with some Chinese Five Spice and red wine vinegar. For the tofu, I used a package that had been frozen then thawed. I made a simple marinade that I also used as the dipping sauce: soy sauce, PB2 (or peanut butter), hoisin, and sriracha.   I baked the tofu until crisp and served the spring rolls and tofu with the dipping sauce. Speed Work + Wind = Sucky We had a front move through that brought in crazy high winds and crazy low temps. It was only about 65 degrees at 9:30 when I left for my run. After lows being in the upper 70's you can imagine how cold this felt. Today my half marathon training plan had me doing an easy 3-mile run. My longer, speed workout run was supposed to be Wednesday. But, since I had more time and it w...

Gym Sunday Last night didn't go quite as expected, but probably more fun. Apparently there were some issues with the cable company and pay-per-view, so no game on the TV. For me, not a problem of course. We sat outside at our friends' and enjoyed a great evening nonetheless. It was really a pleasant evening to be outside. A nice change for our weather. So, no game, but more conversation and fun instead. I was a bad blogger, so no pictures. This morning I hit the gym for shoulders and back. I did supersets of 3x8 starting with 10 minutes on the elliptical for a warm up. SS#1 Arnold press Pullovers SS#2 Upright row Single-arm row SS#3 Lateral raise Rear flyes It was a pretty short workout. Nothing exactly exciting, but I got it done. Lazy Sunday After the gym, I headed over to Home Depot to pick up some home decor project essentials like paint, a new cover for a ceiling fan, nail filler and such. Of course the shad didn't fit so that meant a trip back la...

Morning Run This morning 's run was the official start to my half marathon training. The plan called for 10 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace. I will just say this right here and now, that kind of pace feels harder to me than a 9 min/mile pace. It just feels so heavy, just harder. I understand the concept of going slow for an easy long run. But sometimes you have to do what is best for you right? (you're supposed to agree now) And as as disclaimer, there is absolutely nothing wrong if that is your normal pace. I'm by no means fast so I hope no one gets the wrong idea. Definitely not trying to put anyone down.  I got up and was planning on trying to start the run by 7:15 at the latest. I was having some tummy troubles that delayed me just a bit. So I got started at 7:35. Not a huge time difference, but when it's hot, every minute you can get in before the sun is up and blazing, the better. It was about 80 degrees when I started the run. But the humidity was low and t...