Mid-week recap!

Okay, I promise that despite the fact that I have NO readers, I'm still going to get on this blog train! I really miss writing!

Let me preface this blog recap of my weekend and week by saying that I just got the new Garmin Forerunner 225 and I am LOVING it. Love the built-in heart rate monitor as well as all the other features. I'm looking into doing more heart-rate training for future races (will not be employing this method 53 days -- yes, we're down to DAYS -- before my second full marathon). I'm really excited about heart-rate training.

Onto my weekend recap:

Over the weekend, we spent time in West Michigan. Saturday was beautiful, so  the Engineer and I logged 13 miles together. It was quite the run, as we slept in a tent the night before and I was feeling sore that morning. We ran from our campground to a nearby lighthouse that was at the halfway point of our run. It was so neat to stop at the halfway mark and just enjoy the scenery! Unfortunately, I have no pictures as I wasn't carrying my phone, but here are some pictures of Lake Michigan from the storm that rolled in later on Saturday/Sunday.

"Big Red" - the lighthouse in Holland

South Haven

Holland State Park

I find it amusing that people make fun of Lake Michigan because it's "just a lake" but what they don't realize is that Lake Michigan can get some pretty enormous storms that generate a lot of dangerous waves. It's very easy to get swept away in a rip tide or the current if you're not careful!

I'm not a fan of Wikipedia, but here's more info on Holland, Michigan and Lake Michigan!

Tuesday:

I jumped back into the running game and logged 6 miles with my running group and then 3 more  solo miles, for a total of 9. I don't often do solo miles after a group run, but yesterday, it made me appreciate my running group even more!

Wednesday:

Logged 7 slower miles. I have a 19 miler, so I'm trying to take it easy but not too easy. Tried to see what it was like to use the heart rate monitor on a run and boy is it interesting!

Today was also a frustrating day. My run was slower than I would like and I've been having some phone issues. Naturally, food was a good thing to turn to!

Everyone, pickle popcorn is amazing and so is Twinings Green Tea with pomegranate, strawberry and raspberry. Go get yourself some of both! My day is already looking up, so cheers!

Have you ever tried heart rate training?

Anyone else tried Trader Joe's popcorn with pickle?!

i really am a bad blogger.

i have made several attempts to post this week to no avail. at least my running fares better than my blogging!

here's my recap for the first half of this week:

Monday:

3 easy miles to start my week off. on my training plan, mondays and thursdays are considered my easy days, and i enjoy them!

Tuesday:

5.5 mile tempo run. on instagram, i wrote:

I've been really discouraged with my runs for some reason. I think it's because i always get nervous when i set really scary goals. Today i actually ran with my watch for the first time to see how all my speed and tempo workouts have either helped or wrecked my running (haha see what i mean by nervous... Since when do speed drills make you slower?!?). To my surprise, i was able to average my ideal race pace for the Dexter & Ann Arbor Half Marathon! Now maybe my nerves will finally shut up!

which leads me to Wednesday where i had spectacular hill workout that totaled at 5ish miles. i practiced running up and down a sequence of rolling hills to prepare me for my half, which will have plenty of ups and downs.

and today, thursday, i squeaked out 3 miles for my recovery run. ideally, i'd like to be able to run further on my easy days, but this morning, i had no recovery drink handy and within a half mile of starting my run, i realized i was starving. i made the decision to head home after three miles and called it a successful since anything longer than 3 miles would have been more than my schedule called for.

in an upcoming post, i plan to discuss my funky diet! between my husband and i have sensitivities or severe allergic reactions to the following: dairy, eggs, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts. we eat mostly fresh foods (veggies, fruit) and meat (turkey and chicken, no beef). because of the allergies/intolerances, many people suggest we follow a loose version of the vegan diet...but then most vegan recipes use various nuts for substitutes. but i digress. i will discuss how i work around some of that!