Gourmet Runner

Hello everyone! Any chance you're missing this pretty lady in your lives lately? Christina (you might know her as the Athletarian ) made a big bloggy switch over to a self-hosted site. Don't ask me how to do it, if I can check my own emails I call it a good day. Anyway, it seems like lots of people are missing out on her newest posts. Which is a problem, because you're all missing her amazing giveaway !  If you want a pretty amazing BondiBand, head over there now for a chance to enter the giveaway, and while you're there switch your feeds over to her new address. Girl has TONS of giveaways so you'll be missing out otherwise! *Please note* Bondi Band, while it makes you look hardcore, will not make you run faster on the track OR be able to jump higher. Bummer.  Ok, blog rant time: what drives you crazy about blogging/technology? Um, how about that I never know how to get it to work? Honestly, I can paste pictures and type. The end. Also, if someone would like ...

Yesterday morning I woke up and DREADED the thought of doing speedwork. No real reason, to be honest. The weather was fine (at least for GA in the summer), I had time, and I was feeling back to normal. So what did I do? Skipped it. Of course, the guilt ate at me all day and I decided to tackle it around 7:30pm, an hour or so after dinner. Normally that's enough time for me to digest-but not yesterday. Below are the planned intervals, and then the actual: 2x1200 meters @ 6:02 Actual: 6:01, 6:04 4X800 @ 3:58 Actual: 4:00, 4:01, 3:57, 4:01 Add in a warm-up, cool-down, and some walk/jog intervals in between, and it was 7 miles. As you can see, I missed the mark I was going for nearly every time. I can be pretty hard on myself, and this was really disappointing. Trying to just be proud I made it out there and gave it my all! Dinner was a take on the Caprese salad. Whenever I eat out at an Italian restaurant, I'm drawn to both Caprese salads and bruschetta. So last night...

Some pretty major news happened the other day. Earth shattering stuff. I don't if my life will ever be the same. After long discussions and serious financial talks, hubby and I decided to take the next step in our married life together. Soon there will be a new addition to the family! With all the extra space in our new house, it just seems too big for the two of us, and two little cats. I only found out two days ago that it was official, so you are all the very first to hear the news! I'm getting a treadmill! Gosh, I hope that wasn't misleading at all. This is the next addition ordered on Sunday night, a NordicTrack Commercial 1750. Suggested by Kari ! Hopefully I can start running as fast as her once I get it. Isn't she beautiful? I just spent 30 minutes on hold trying to figure out when it would arrive. The answer is "probably two weeks or so." Super helpful. I'm too excited to wait for that long. Want. it. now.  We live so far from any gyms,...

When I said I felt like a princess the other day, I did not mean Cinderella when she was still in the floor scrubbing stage. Looks like no one got the memo, because after work today I was sent to do manual labor on our house in progress. Ok, I volunteered. Whatever. Either way, someone trusted me with power tools. Maybe not the wisest of decisions. While no one outright told me I was doing it wrong, hubs did come in with some sandpaper with a "suggestion" to just do it by hand instead. Wonder why? Believe it or not, I loved doing this because it means we are one step closer to moving in. Woo-hoo! Fueled up after the work with a nice pizza covered in tomato puree, tomato slices, garlic, chicken breast, broccoli, and a sprinkle of parmesan. Really hit the spot.  I'm off for a few recovery miles outside to loosen my legs up a bit. No pressure, just nice and easy. Since starting the marathon plan, it's really nice to have a run every once in a while with no time ...

It really does pain me to even discuss this. Honestly. Let's start with the good, shall we? I headed to the gym to run my 18 mile long run on the treadmill today. Yes, I'm a wuss for not wanting to run outside, but it's ridiculously hot here. So...the first 99 minutes/10-ish miles were uneventful. I watched some Top Chef Just Desserts with the captions on, and ran nice and slow. The treadmill does an auto cool down at 99 minutes, so it's the perfect time to get off, refill the water bottle, and stretch. I started her back up...and then bad things starting to happen. Bad things in the belly area. I pushed through and pushed through, thinking it would go away. I took a minute to walk, even knocked down my pace. And then.... Clenching . I have never jumped off a treadmill, grabbed my stuff, and booked it out of there faster in my life. I was literally jogging to the bathrooms. Without giving too much away, it didn't end well. I got to the the stalls just in the nic...

I may have been pretty sick yesterday, but all in all I would still say the day was a success. First, I announced the Chocolate #9 Giveaway winners . Then, I found out that I had won an entry into the Miami Rock N Roll Half Marathon! So not only do I get to meet Amanda from Run to the Finish , but I also get to participate in my first ever Rock N Roll race. Looks like hubs and I will be taking a little trip to Miami this December! If anyone else wants to run this with Amanda and I (and thousands of other people) on December 11th, you can get a discount from Run to the Finish to use this weekend. Do it so we can meet up!  All the excitement wore me out, so afternoon was nap/watch reruns of Sex and the City under the blankets with some medicine. And then hubs comes home with a package for me--sent from Christina (AKA the Athletarian ). I knew I was getting some Twistbands in the mail, but the girl went above and beyond. She went out and bought me a crown twistband, which I had ...

Yesterday I decided to take the day off from running and do something else instead. My mind needed a non running day, and my foot is acting up--I'm thinking it is a little flare-up of PF that I had about 9 months ago. So, I had a 1.5 mile walk to the lake and hopped in for a swim. I hesitated a little before jumping in! I swam for about 35 minutes, which was tough for me. I haven't been actually swimming in a while, but it felt great. Kind of neat to remember I have arms that like to be used every once in a while. Since I had skipped running yesterday for the swim, speed work was on the schedule this morning. Except when I woke up, I was a mess. Hubs was sick yesterday (still is) and I'm guessing I've got what he has. Achey joints and just exhausted. So no run. Although I did sit on the floor and contemplate it for a while in my PJs. Tough decisions, but sometimes you just have to listen to your body. Yes, I sleep in Bumble Bar shirts and colored heart ...

Giveaway is over, and there are two winners. Each will get 6 packs of Chocolate #9 Energy Gel mailed to them! Random.org helped me out for this one, and the winners were: That's Katy, from Fit in Heels, and Colleen, from Running One Mile, 13.1 Times. Congrats ladies! Here were the winning comments: Katy just did a great post on how to keep in shape on vacation --and I would listen to her because the girl looks fantastic! And Colleen posted yesterday about her incredible transformation since she started running...you definitely have to check out these amazing photos! Ladies, send me an email with your shipping info so that I can get your Chocolate #9 Energy Gel to you!

Yesterday was not my finest moment. The whole day I felt blah. Nothing seemed to be going right, and I had already decided it was a no run day. I was frustrated with work and annoyed with everyone and everything. Hubby would probably shout this from the rooftops  quietly attest to this fact. So what do I do about it? Nothing. Wallow. Eat sugar. Not four minutes went by yesterday without a lollypop stick hanging out of my mouth. Why I thought the one pound bag was necessary is beyond me. And then...it dawned on me. Running! How could I feel bad after a run? So I took advantage of the last little bit of light we had left in the day and got in 4 easy miles. No pressure, no time goals, and I told myself to stop and walk whenever I wanted. I won't lie and say I came back farting glitter, but I was feeling much, much better. I realized this morning that I have been neglecting the food side of this blog a little big lately. Marathon training is taking over my brain! So here are some...

So...just a warning. This is one of those posts that I read on someone's blog and go..."Seriously? On a Tuesday? Get to work woman!" I promise, I worked yesterday. I just happened to stop at 3:30 to hop on a pontoon boat and drink a few three two one beer and some diet cokes. That's right, this girl knows how to party.  Apparently my hair decided to rebel yesterday. I let it down and out of its ponytail for a good 25 minutes, and this is how it repays me. Rude. Don't worry, I showed it who was boss by tying it up for the rest of the day. We cruised around taking in the views: We headed in for swim where I did NOT get my brain eaten by parasites. Always a good thing. I also practiced my rock skipping technique. I was the worst in the group, but I held steady at four skips and I will take that any day. Headed to shore for a mini hike, where I paired the always awesome trail shoe/pink dress look: It will catch on, just you wait. The waterfall we were tryin...

Last week I was pretty miserable after my tempo run. I spend the whole time checking my Garmin, and was slowing down and speeding up the whole time. I know tempo runs aren't supposed to be easy, but this was really draining for me mentally. This week, I followed Cait's advice a little and even though I still wore my Garmin (me? addicted?) I only checked it after I heard the beep for each mile split. Planned: 2 miles easy, 3 miles at 8:44, 1 mile easy Actual:  2 miles easy (9:56, 9:44) and then tempo at: 8:43, 8:31, and 8:42, easy 1 mile at 9:55 Hooray! So excited that I came in under, even without staring down at my Garmin the entire time. And because I knew I needed to hurry up and enter Kari's Click Giveaway , I took my before and after shots: Apparently I got significantly darker skin after that one hour run. Or I don't know how to use my camera and forgot flash/included flash/don't know how to use flash. One of those.  Motivational comment of the year ...

Another week of training done! This week was my 4th week on the Run Less Run Faster Marathon training plan. I got in all 3 key workouts, and some extras along the way, so overall I'm pretty happy. Monday : Slow 4.5 mile run/walk as recovery from Sunday's long run Tuesday : 5.5 miles running, including 5 x 1000 meter intervals, and a 2 mile walk Wednesday : 45 minutes of yoga, 15 minutes of abs and push-ups Thursday : 6 mile run, 4 at tempo pace Friday : P90X Plyometrics for one hour, and 15 minutes of abs and push-ups Saturday : 1.5 mile slow easy run before jumping into the lake Sunday : 20 mile long run Mileage: 40 miles for the week, with 37 of that being running. A little more than I'm used to! Next week's goals are to hit my 3 key workouts again, which are: Key #1: 10-20 min. warm up, 3 x 1600 meters @ 8:11 (1 min. RI) and 10 minute cooldown Key #2: 2 miles easy, 3 @ 8:44, 1 mile easy (tempo run) Key #3: 18 miles @ 10:29 pace Other than that, I...

I survived. I had so much anxiety going into this long run but I lived to tell the tale! In 3 hours, 18 minutes, I ran 20 miles. My goal was first just to complete the darn thing, but in the back of my head I was hoping to run solid 10 minutes miles throughout. I came in at a 9:54 pace, so right on the money! How I felt afterwards: Bahahaha. Yeah freaking right. How I actually felt: It was HARD. And LONG. (That's what she said) Honestly, it was by far my toughest run. I can't imagine topping it with another 6 miles in the actual marathon. Normally after a long run I feel on top of the world, but this time all I wanted to do was get to a toilet--and fast! An ice bath, shower, and lots of food improved my mood considerably.  I fueled with 2 Chocolate #9 gels (one at mile 5, one at mile 10) and then one honey stinger chew each mile. Those chews are more to break up the monotony for me, and give me a little motivation to get through each mile. The gels were great, although I...

Saturday night. You know what that means.  It means that I am going to watch a little TV with the hubs, maybe read a little while he beats up some bad guys in his video games, and then read as many Runner's World articles as I can before I attempt my 20 miler tomorrow morning. Yes, I am a party animal. Luckily I got in my carbo-loading today with a veggie "burger" from Five Guys. And then (what else?) a little fro-yo action. Hubs decided a frappuccino would make a better afternoon snack. Weirdo.  All the sugar must have gone to his head because he wanted to join me for a very hot run this afternoon. It wasn't a run day for me, but I ran 1.5 miles with him around the lake before jumping in for a swim. I can't even pretend there was any actual "swimming" done. I basically just flopped around on a noodle and it was amazing.  I have serious anxiety right now about my long run. I almost feel like I do before a race. Really nervous, not sure if I can h...

As many of us get ready for fall/winter marathons, I keep reading about different types of nutrition on long runs. As a relatively new runner, I've been trying out tons of fuel including gels, chomps, chews, and even jellybeans! I first heard about Chocolate #9 from Holly over at Rust Belt Runner , and was so glad to get to try it out for myself. This is absolutely a unique gel. The only ingredients in a Chocolate #9 Energy Gel are: organic agave nectar and breakfast cocoa. (Oh, and that's rich, dark gourmet Belgian chocolate, if you were wondering). Hands down, this is the best tasting gel I've ever tried. But...I know what you're all wondering. Is it effective? In a word, yes. This is the only gel on the market that is low glycemic, meaning you don't get that SPIKE to energy, which drops just as quickly. Instead, the energy is slow and steady--ideal for long runs or marathons.  I used it twice on long runs of 10+ miles, and loved it. It honestly tastes just...

Now, I'm not saying this amazing pasta is what got me through this morning's tempo run...but maybe it is. You decide. Either way, delicious! I bought minced garlic in a jar to use because I hate chopping up the cloves, but I could barely taste it in the recipe. Anyone used it before--do you just need to put like half a cup in there or what? Anyway--focus, Vanessa--ingredients: Except I'm lying. I also used olive oil, salt, and pepper. But you all probably already know what those look like. Got the pasta going, and then stir fried the broccoli in olive oil and added  not enough  minced garlic, shrimp, and diced tomatoes with some s&p.  When hubby comes home, pretend you have been slaving for hours. That step is really, really important. Get as many brownie points out of this as you can. Serve with pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  This morning I headed out for my tempo run, which is definitely the least favorite workout of the week. I can push and ...