Running in the Cold...

Well you all know that I am training for my first marathon.  Yikes.  So far it has been good.  It is not like I have never ran anything before.  The longest distance I have ever ran is 12 miles and I didn't die when I was done.  That being said I HATE running on the treadmill.  I just won't do it.  Which makes a little bit of a problem for me living in the frozen tundra.  So far I have not had to run on the treadmill once.  Yes it has been cold but ok once you start going.  But this last Saturday is was -2 when I headed out!!!!!  FREEZING.  Good thing we had date night, Friday night and headed to my favorite store Lululemon to see what they had that I could wear to run in.  I bought this coat that I am wearing in the pictures above.  It is called the Hustle Jacket.  I have to admit that once I got about two miles into my run I called Bryan and had him meet me at a gas station with more socks.  My feet were the only thing that was cold!  It was really a great run although it was cold it was very peaceful and beautiful out.  I had the trails all to myself.

Oatmeal, is it healthy?

While I was browsing around the New York Times I found a very interesting article from Mark Bittman.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he is a Food Columnist  for the NYTimes.  He is also a runner and has come out with a cookbook.  I like him, he is on the Today Show a lot.

Anyways, he recently wrote an article about Oatmeal and MacDonald's.  McDs is now selling oatmeal but in all true form of McDs it always has added ingredients.

I enjoyed this because many times when we think we are getting the healthy option but in reality we are not, and it would actually be better for you if it was made at home.  I am a huge advocate for cooking at home and packed lunches.  Although MacDonalds can be cheaper than preparing a whole meal at home it is far from healthier.  When we are healthy we are happy! 

I love oatmeal and I actually prefer is over what Starbucks or Jamba can offer you.  I like to make mine with water.  Zap it in the micro, add sliced banana a little bit of maple syrup, cinnamon and a tbs of almond butter.  Then I am set to go!  Keeps me going all morning long.

Read more about NYTimes article HERE.

Cross Training and The Hot Tub

What do you choose for cross training? There are several things that I like to do for cross training.  You can, hike, bike, swim, weights, Plyometrics, Yoga, etc.  It is very important in any training plan to switch it up.  If you use cross training as part of your regular exercise schedule I am 100% sure your overall fitness level will increase.

Part of living in Colorado for me means going skiing every winter.  I have skied my whole life and I love that it can be considered part of cross training. With skiing in the winters comes taking dips in the hot tub.  I literally almost consider the hot tub as part of the cross training!  It totally helps loosen the muscles and warm you up in the frigid winter.

So here is what I recommend...  If you have access to a hot tub I recommend taking a dip every chance you get.  Consider it part of your cross training regime.  Let me know how it goes. =)

Who doesn't agree????  Happy Hot Tubbing!

Eggs

I am always looking for new ways to eat eggs.  I love eggs and so does the rest of my clan.  I would say that every week we eat at least a dozen or so.  I was sitting at the Ortho last week with Elsa and came across an article about Giada.  I love her so I had to read it.  In it she said that when she doesn't feel like cooking she whips up some scrambled eggs and puts them on a bed of arugula and a little Parmesan Cheese on top and calls it a day.  Well once I read that I knew what I was going to make it for dinner.  It was so easy and really good.  I added a couple pieces of bacon to the side of mine as well.  Which makes it even better.  Who knew you could add Parmesan cheese to eggs???  TRY IT .. you will not be disappointed.

Inspiration

I love to browse around on the Nike Women website.  I found this cool short video clip, keeps me thinking positive.  I also LOVE those Nike capri pants.  Found HERE.

Then I stumbled upon this image below and thought it was great.  Good way to keep you thinking positive about your own body image.  Love the skin you are in!

What the Heck? (that is my current Injury I decided)

So lately I have been battling an injury. It is a small manageable one and I am able to train through it but at the same time it is really frustrating. I am not 100% sure how to diagnose it, (I have asked the all knowing Boulder Running Company shoe experts what it could be) and they think it is plantar fasciitis. But maybe not, I prefer to call it, What the Heck?

Here are my symptoms:

-my heel hurts typically after a run

-occasionally my whole foot will feel tight (but I can massage it and then it feels fine)

-and now all of a sudden, my heel doesn't hurt so much as my calf was in a HUGE knot one morning when I woke up. (but it is seeming to get better)

Now, here is my dilemma. One of the classic symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis is pain when you wake up in the morning and start walking. I do NOT have this symptom. Nor, do I have any issues with shooting pains up my arch which I have heard is a major symptom. So I ask you, what is my problem!?!

Although I do feel like I am on the mend, it wasn't until I started this lovely regime:

Foaming rolling constantly (AGAIN, I had an IT problem over a year ago which also lead to hours of foam rolling).

Icing after every run, and sometimes at night just to be sure. (also, for those of you who noticed, my sister and I sport the same winter running coat! That's right, if it is good its good and I am proud to say all three of us tend to walk around with similar items on occasion ;))

Wearing supports in my cross training shoes constantly (No more cute shoes for me until this is taken care of.)

AND
Popping Advil on occasion to keep down inflammation

Can you believe this list of things I do daily now in order to keep up this crazy addiction I have called running! 

Here's to you all and hopes that you are all INJURY FREE! Also, if someone out there does have any other diagnoses they would like to share, please do.

Running....

This is my third day of running in a row since my training has begun.  Today was suppose to be a cross training day but the weather was SO NICE here in the frozen tundra I could not help but switch my days around and go for a run.  This was a picture before I headed out.  Notice I don't even need a hat or mittens it is so nice... I think it was around 50 degrees out.

This was when I was done... same pose, lame I know.  Yes and I know that you are all super jealous of my super stylish sunglasses but they are so amazing when you are running.  They are special ones that wont slip off my nose when I sweat and are super light.  And I am one of those people who wears sunglasses even when it is cloudy out so they are a must for runs.

What to Wear?

This morning before my run I had my husband take a picture of what I was wearing.  As you can see, nothing very exciting and yes...everything in black.  My sisters and I have been discussing our workout attire and how to give it a little more excitement.  So I am going to try and mix it up!  I will take as many pictures as I can of what I am wearing to workout.  Keep in mind that I don't have tons of workout clothes but I will do what I can.  What is your favorite thing to workout in? 

 

PS I have no makeup on, nor did I brush my hair so please excuse the just woken up look.

Whatever Works =)

So lately I have been thinking about all the different things that keep me motivated. And then I started to wonder what keeps other people motivated? I have lots of friends who enjoy doing the same things I do. So I started to kind of listen to people talk after a run or workout to see what differents sorts of things motivate different people. Here are a few:

One girlfriend of mine said this after doing 4 x 1 Mile Hill Repeats:

"Now we get to eat go home and eat Bon Bons!!"

Another friend of mine said this after running on the dreadmill:

"I was watching the biggest Loser and seeing all of those people work really hard made me want to finish my workout although it was horrible and on the treadmill!"

And:

"I love a runners high and now I get to have one all day!"

Another Food Item:

"Now I get a Protein Shake."

So, some of them are motivation to eat more, some are because they enjoy the feeling they get when completing a workout, and others seem to find inspiration from watching other people work hard as well. The whole idea of, "If they can do it, I can do it"

So I ask all of you, what motivates you?

P.S. These cute pics were made by my girlfriend Susan who is currently training for the Ragnar SoCal. Go SUSAN! Sarah and I were privileged enough to run with this team last year for the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back but couldn't fit it in this year! GOOD LUCK LADIES =)

Cottage Chesse

Some people may say that you need to cut the cottage cheese from your diet to get rid of the cottage cheese from your legs.  But I just can't do it.  It is a protein packed food that I just cannot live without.  I eat it many different ways.. add it to salads... put a little salt and pepper on it.. but my new favorite way is this.  A truvia packet and a little cinnamon and done.  It is so good and the prefect snack or even a great breakfast on the go.  ENJOY

Side note.... if you are not into using any artificial/altered sweetener.. which I rarely use my self as well just give it a little pinch of good old fashioned white sugar before the cinnamon.  Just remember though you don't need much at all.

Let the Training Begin!

Today is the first day in our 18 weeks of preparing for Grandma's Marathon. Jen will be following a more advance plan because she is working with a Running Club. Heather and I will be doing a beginners plan which will be perfect. Coming back from injury can be risky so it will be good to slowly get back into it. Heather has been running and has done longer runs and probably could get by doing an intermediate plan but she might risk injury. The goal always for your first time is to finish the marathon. This is the plan that Heather and I will be following from Runner's World. There will be a few tweaks to the calendar seeing how we rest always on Sundays but overall I will stick with this plan.

For my cross training I will be doing a mixture of Tracy Anderson and P90X. I will also try to hit up some yoga classes as well. Heather will be sticking with her Kinetic Edge gym as well as some yoga. As we move forward all three of us will explain more about our recovery runs, easy runs and our occasional speed work. Both Heather and I strongly dislike working on speed so you will hear more about it from Jen. Anybody up for the challenge with us? Questions? Finding local marathons? New comers are welcomed!
And let the games begin!

Oh and Happy Valentine's Day XX

Dark Chocolate Anyone??

I must say that Dark Chocolate is a total staple in my house.  Everyone in my house will eat it!  Well I do have one 9 year old who isn't on the bandwagon yet, but we are all working on her.  I will always give my kids dark chocolate over regular milk chocolate on a regular basis.  It is so much better for you.  Since Valentines day is right around the corner, maybe we should all try to switch our chocolate to dark and who knows.. maybe we will like it.  There was a great article on Runners World about it as well... check it out.

T-5 days

 Since we are on countdown before our training starts, I would like to add in this little clip of inspiration.  It comes from a Belgian man named Stefaan Engels, a.k.a "Marathon Man".

This past year he completed 365 marathons, setting a new world record.  Stefaan ran a marathon everyday averaging about 4 hours to complete.  His fasted time was recorded at 2 hours and 56 minutes. WOW!  Can I just say that this is one crazy man who inspires me to think, yes I can run 2 marathons a year and be ok with that.

Read more about the "Marathon Man" HERE and HERE.


Forest Gump?!

T-MINUS 6 Days and Counting

Well sistas! T-Minus 6 days and counting until official training starts for Grandmas Marathon this June 18th! Anyone out there want to join us?

What training plan to use? What should my weekly mileage look like? What is the course description? Am I gonna Die? No, probably not =) This is a picture of the coarse map. These little pics are very helpful when planning how to train. You can see your elevation loss or gain, twists and turns, loops, etc. It is nice to know what to expect. The more you know the better prepared you will feel.

Lets lace up our shoes and start hitting the pavement! I CAN'T WAIT.

Love you ladies,

Jen

Hiking Arenal Volcano

Heading out to start the hike

The view 

We just returned from a trip to Costa Rica.  Traveling is one thing that I just can not live without.  And every time I do travel, I try really hard to stay active and workout while I am away.  One of the very cool things we did was hike up to the Arenal Volcano.   Although this was not a super hard workout it still kept us moving for at least a couple of hours and this is something that my girls will never forget.  It was very, very beautiful.

The Dreadmill

Yesterday was supposed to be 13 miles with 4 at tempo pace. The weather forecast for the day was not great; cold and snowy. So the Treadmill (otherwise referred to as The Dreadmill by friends) was going to be where I ran these miles. The last time I ran a long run on the treadmill it wasn't so bad so I thought to myself, I can do this! I went to Yoga the night before, did all of my refreshing and relaxing exercises to mentally prepare for the journey of running in place for what would feel like an eternity. I updated my Nano, arranged friends to come and run next to me and felt like I OK, I am ready.

That evening I kept waking up. Literally every hour I was checking my phone to see if I needed to get up yet. On top of the fact that right now I am babysitting my nephews and the little one George was making lots of noises in his sleep so we kept going on to check on him. (Being the great babysitters we are ;)).

Anywhoo... when 4am rolled around I was already up and thought, lets go eat and get this show on the road. I ate, got ready, went to lifetime, started running and after about 1.5 miles I wanted to DIE! Literally, I felt like the world was coming to an end and I did not want to do another single step on that treadmill. So I did the next best thing and thought, well maybe if I do my tempo now and just muscle through it I will feel better. So at 2 miles I sped up the speed and started running faster. Then, I wanted to DIE even more!!! I hated every second of it. I felt like grabbing onto the treadmill to help me out and I DID. This is totally cheating in my book and I could not believe I was watching myself do it.

Anywhoo, after only 1 mile of that I got off the treadmill, used the restroom, had my gel shot (this are normally saved for around mile 6) and thought ok, relax you can do this now just find another treadmill and try again.

Got on another treadmill and still, hated it. I texted my girlfriend to see if she was on her way because otherwise I was heading home! I had given up. She was almost there so I stuck myself in a chair and started to wonder what the heck was going on with me. I have run so many longer harder and shorter faster runs that I could not for the life of me figure out why I was feeling so junky.

Thank goodness for friends! She came along and I was able to get a little over 4 more miles in running the entire time without too much stress. I was still dragging but having someone to chit chat with and complain to can make all the difference in the world.

So I knew I had 6 more miles I wanted to run and I knew that I needed to do 4 of them faster so I told myself to go home, relax and try again that afternoon outside regardless of the weather. Once again thought, I can do this! I am from Minnesota for heavens sake, bad weather here is like balmy weather there.

I came home, rented a movie for the kids and just sat on the couch and relaxed. Time went by, I needed to get up and make lunch and get the kids organized and ready for school. I still was feeling tired and sluggish so I decided to do the unthinkable. I drank a Spark. (for those of you who know me, my body does crazy things when it has too much caffeine and Spark is full of it) But at this point, I didn't care, I just wanted to get my run in.

Anyways, to make this long dragging story end I bundled up and went for it. It was snowing outside and most of the roads were snow packed so I made my way to a main road which would hopefully just be wet. Then after my mile warmup I started to run faster. I felt ok at first but quickly that feeling came over me of horrid crappyness and annoyance. My body was like fighting all of it! I ran 2 miles at tempo and stopped and almost gave up, I went into my dentist office(it was right around the corner) and used the restroom (on runs I seem to find comfort in restrooms... I dunno) and literally debated about just calling it a day and saying at least I did my best. Then in my head I thought NO, I am not giving up. I went back outside, ran the two more tempo pace miles faster then the other two AND they were both slightly going uphill, and did a cool down mile and was done! I DID IT. I really almost thought so many times today that I just was going to call it a day but I didn't. I muscled through it and although it wasn't a great run to brag about I didn't give up.

So don't give up I say! We all have crappy days and today was one of mine! But the feelings I am having now after completing what I set out to do have been well worth it. I totally don't care that this run wasn't one for the record books. I know I can do better but who cares. I didn't give up and today that is all that mattered.

Happy Running all =)

Zip Line

Some of you maybe wondering what happened to our third sister Heather?  Well she decided to head off with her family to visit friends in Costa Rica.  Blah!  We hear from her here and there but mainly we just receive emails with pictures of what a great time they are having.   While the rest of us are up here dealing with the lame weather she is off hiking up volcanoes and going down zip lines!  But I hope she is enjoying it because she will be back in 2 days.  


XX

I think I can.

Today was my first time running in 5 weeks!  Woohoo!  It was a slam dunk if I do say so myself.  I went a whole mile and a half, running about a 12 min pace.  No pain and total gain.  I am feeling pretty good about this.  I think I can go back to running in my daily exercise soon.  But don't worry I am not going to over do it.  I won't be running tomorrow and I will go for another short run on Wednesday. If all is feeling good I will continue to slowly add the mileage at a slow and steady pace.  I felt so good that I signed up for Grandma's Marathon with my Sisters!  Can't Wait!

PS My husband Scott got a little carried away with Illustrator.