The Essentials

So I slept in on Monday which meant it was way to hot to head to the track so I did P90X Legs and Back instead.  All was good except I knew my legs would be sore the next day for my track workout.  Oh well....

So yesterday morning I headed to the track to do my Run Less training plan.
The Breakdown
10 min warm up
1200m @5:10, actual 5:14 (slow start, I blame it on my sore legs :))
1000m @4:16, actual 4:15
800 m @3:23, actual 3:24 (dang a second off)
600m @ 2:31, actual 2:30
400m @1:39, actual 1:35
15 min cool down

I would walk 200m in between intervals.
Overall I was tired and a little sore but determined to knock it out!

Nothing better than taking some airborn to avoid any summer colds!

Now down to my essentials for summer...

I made a kind of new salad yesterday that was so good.

Mixed greens with spinach

Black Beans

Corn

Avocado

Crushed up tortilla chips (just a few)

Fried Egg

Salsa

Mix it all together with Salt and Pepper = so good!

Something else I cannot live without is sparkling water.  I don't drink any soda so water can become very boring.  I have gotten to the point that I could drink club soda aka sparkling water all day long! It just tastes so good and refreshing.

Last but definitely not the least is my Runner's World mag that I got in the mail yesterday!! Woot! Woot!! This one looks like it is going to be a good one.  Guess I know what I will be reading for the next couple of days.  The new Fall Shoe Buyer's Guide is in it, I still haven't found my perfect need for speed track shoes and so excited to read the guide.  I did a quick flip through and the New Balance 1400s seem to be exactly what I am looking for.  Think I will head to the store this weekend to try them on :)

Today : Tracy Anderson
Thursday: 7 mile Tempo with 5 miles @8:05
Friday: P90X Arms maybe?
Saturday: 17 miles @8:55

What are your essentials for summer?

XX
Sarah

No Tie Shoelaces

Who knew lacing up the "no tie" shoe laces would be such a pain in the rear. I opened the box, took out the laces and no instructions came out. I then proceeded to attempt to just figure it out myself thinking... "well if there are is no paper with instructions on how to lace them it must be relatively easy." 20 whole minutes after lacing, re-lacing and swearing at the dam shoelaces I take the box and start ripping it open.  Only of course to find instructions printed on the inside of the box...  

One of my attempts and lacing up my shoe.....unsuccessful.

20 minutes later. Success..finally

This week has been busy with getting ready for my tri, cleaning my house, grocery shopping, hanging by the pool and getting Peter ready for school. He starts in only a few short weeks! 

Also, I must be needing sleep because my body slept in Monday and Tuesday and although I did get in some good workouts those days they weren't quite as I had planned.  Wednesday morning I set 10 alarms to ensure that my rear would get out of bed on time. So it worked, and not only woke me up but the rest of my family as well ;) Sorry guys, at least you got to get back to bed! I practiced transitions and I think they felt OK. I am going to keep practicing.  Am I nervous for my try yet.....? I dunno. 

Last night for dinner I literally just took all of the ingredients in my fridge or what was left of them and piled them into a salad.  So below is lettuce mix, grilled beans, hot dog, carrots, cherries, salsa, onion, and cucumber.  It was good.  

I am just about to head out for my run. I am gonna go probably 8-12 miles....probably closer to 10. I want to be feeling fresh for my race Saturday.  Wish me luck, I'll post a recap =) 

Happy Running -Jen

 Anyone else racing this weekend?


What is your favorite pre-race meal?
 - I am trying a new one. Typically I eat Frosted Mini wheats but my new thing is steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar and craisins.

6 Days until my First Sprint Triathlon

To start this post I must say how totally bummed I was to miss the Warrior Dash. BOO. From now on I will make it to that race. They were having way too much fun without me.....

Now onto whats next. T-minus 6 days until my first Sprint Tri. I am not nervous at all which is very unlike me. If on race day I all of a sudden have to take 5 trips to the bathroom to makeup for all of this lost time of not being nervous I will not be surprised. 

I am still debating on what kind of clothing to wear. I don't have a tri suit and I'd rather not buy one. (yet ;)) I am trying to decide if I should wear tri shorts after my swim or just throw on running shorts? I am on the fence. I don't really think my rear end will hurt from only going 12 miles on the bike but at the same time I have become quite accustomed to bike shorts and have kind of fallen in love with the extra padding.

Workouts this week:

Monday: My 5 mile tempo with 2.5@ 7:30 pace. Wish me luck. I am really hoping it doesn't feel as hard as it did last time. 

Tuesday: Another hilly bike ride.  I am loving the hills on the bike.  Challenging and refreshing. I will fit in a Strength training session as well.

This is me on my bike =) Going for rides out here is so pretty. I love the mountains.

This is one of my bestest buds Amber who joined me that day.  She is totally awesome and extra speedy. I always use how far away in the distance she is from me to gage how well I am doing(with both running and biking). If she is too far away, I am really slacking off. If I can hear her breathing I must be smokin' because she only knows one speed and it is full throttle. I love it, she makes me wanna do better.

After one workout last week I was able to come home and get another workout by blowing up this crazy huge ball so Peter would have something to do all afternoon.  

I am surprised I didn't pass out. It was huge and took forever!!

He did end up having hours of fun so it was worth it =)

Wednesday: 1600m+ swim followed by transition practice. I went to a meeting about the Tri last week and they talked a lot about transitions. Who knew there was so much thought into how you switch from one sport to the next.  But here is a quick run down on what you would want on the way to your tri.. 

1. Towel
2. Sunblock
3. Goggles
4. Swim Suit
5. Socks
6. Running Shoes (with the shoe strings in that you don't need to tie)
7. Sunglasses
8. Biking shoes
9. Biking Shorts OR running shorts...... I am on the fence?
10. Helmet
11. Refueling Food
12. Bike
13. Running Tank (something to throw on over your swimsuit if you choose)
14. Race Number Belt

Is this list long enough? I dunno, I always overpack anywhoo so I will definitely be taking a picture of my bag on the way to this Sprint Tri... I am sure I will look like I am going out for an overnighter.

Thursday: Easy 12 miler and some easy strength stuff.

Friday: OFF or maybe a short easy swim?

Saturday: Sprint Tri here I come.  I wonder how I'll do......send me good vibes that day because we all know I need them.

Last night I made a delicious steak salad for dinner and because I had spent the better part of the previous day cleaning the kitchen I decided to dirty my kitchen up as little as possible. So I had my husband take out his portion and then just finished off the rest right outta the container I bought the greens in =) Delicious. This salad has a variety of lettuce, carrots, cucumber, steak, craisins, onion, parma cheese, goat cheese and steak.

Heres to a good week! and hopefully a race on Saturday that goes better then my last one... -Jen

Who else overpacks when getting ready for race day?

Does anyone ever wear Tri Shorts?
I guess they are shorts you can put on with cushion but not quite as much cushion as normal bike shorts so running in them feels ok?

Who else doesn't like to dirty dishes if they don't have to?
For a long time I'd go to great lengths to not dirty hardly anything in my kitchen... the less mess the better. But these days I go in spurts.

Who owns a pair of those shoe strings you don't tie? Is there a specific brand you like?

When Sweat STINGS

I'll tell you when sweat stings, WHEN IT IS IN YOUR EYES! The last several times I have gone out for a run my eyes have start stinging from sweat. yuk.  It is hot and another colorado kicker....Humid.  What..... humid in Colorado?!?  For those of you who don't know Colorado is typically ultra dry.  I love it that way. Crisp, clean, and fresh.  But for whatever reason the last couple of weeks we get these crazy isolated rain showers that just DUMP rain on us.  It is bizarre. They typically show up close to midnight totally light up the sky with lightening and dump rain.  My Dad typically refers to Colorado as "Dusty" but alas, this year it just isn't.

So as you all know my sisters got their hair chopped and congrats to them for being way braver then me.  When I was young I typically had short hair and because of this I am still burnt out and hope to have long hair my whole life. Plus, I look like a male when the hair gets cut.

Here are my luscious chlorine filled, split ended locks of training love.  I decided I am not touching them until then end of summer.  Why pay $$ when I am just gonna go hop in the pool the next day.

So speaking of the pool my tri training has started =) Although, I am running a 10k Saturday so this week is slightly easier.  Workouts this week:

Monday: -Swam 975m (525m swim followed by 6x50's with 10 sec recovery and 6x100's with 20 sec recovery) I did this during adult swim while Peter ate a snack on the side....

               -Later that day I Ran 5 miles with my brother and tried to kick his butt.  He was lying on the grass when we finished and panting so I am thinking.... mission accomplished =) Nice work Bro.

Tuesday: Running Club HARD workout.  20x400's!  Thats right 20. We ran 1x400 at 5k pace directly followed by 1x400 at marathon pace and just kept repeating it for a total of 5 miles.  Try it.  I found it hard, my body didn't like changing up the pace so often... I am a marathoner, I stick to the same pace for hours so switching it up like that really threw me for a breathing loop. After running club I went to barbell class at Lifetime.

Here's my new favorite recovery smoothie.  Fruit is in season and because Sarah keeps posting pics of her smoothies with spinach I decided to contribute my own green smoothie pic.  Cheers Sarah!

Rasberries, Strawberries, Blackberries (they apparently are hiding), Mango, Spinach, Ice, Orange Juice, Protein Powder.

Wednesday: 21 Mile bike ride with a short swim in the middle.  A few friends and myself rode the Sprint Tri loop and then hopped in the pool and quickly busted out a 525m swim.

Thursday:  Ran 5 Miles with eyes stinging with sweat.

This is my new favorite salad..... does anything look familiar?!  If you guess all the ingredients listed in the above smoothie you are correct-o! (except ice, juice and protein of course)  I also grilled some asparagus, cut some cucumber and threw in some carrots and cherry tomatos to complete this lunchtime of delight.

Today: I dunno yet. My 10k is tomorrow and my running Guru says to do nothing.....but I dunno, maybe a short swim?

Saturday: 10k.  Wish me luck. I have no idea how I'll do.  I am sure I'll let you know regardless of either the misery or awesomeness to follow so stay tuned =)

Last night for  a snack I decided to smother some animal crackers with peanut butter (I ended up using about 6 spoonfuls of peanut butter) and drink up some milk.  My milk man comes today and I hate having an overload of milk so I am bound and determined to finish it all up before the next load comes in.  Here's to milk! yum.

So guys, how is training going for y'all? 

Anyone else stinging from sweat?

What about your hairdos?  Done anything crazy awesome like my sista's lately?

me, nope.

What kind of snacks do you like to eat at night?

I am always changing mine up but I am always eating something.  It is out of pure habit I must have food before bed.

Before and After with a Salad

Do you remember last Saturday when I told you I bought these Nike shorts for my marathon.  Well I tested them out to see if they ride up too much.  I bought the 5" length ones and I LOVE them!  I had never ran in tight shorts like these so I was hesitant.  But as I got going they felt great.  Almost as if I had nothing on, but in a comfortable way.

I will say that they did ride up a little but not enough to make me think that my bum cheeks were showing.  Thank goodness! I also really wanted to test them, so I never pulled them down once and as you can see from my pictures they hardly moved up.  So yep, these are the winners.  My sisters and I are all running in the same outfit!  We will show you the rest of it later.  Can't wait! Only 9 more days till RACE DAY!!

A little over a month ago I wanted to pump up my veggie intake so I made up my own food rule/guideline/diet.  It is called the salad once a day diet.  I try my very hardest to eat a salad once a day.  Simple as that.  I would say that it is going pretty well and I have about a 95% success rate.  The trick is that you have to mix up the ingredients.  I usually buy the Taylor's organic salad mixes.  At first I was really into the herb salad mix but now I have moved onto the the baby spring mix.  I will seriously throw whatever I have in my fridge into my salad.  Some days are better than others but I will say eating my greens everyday helps me feel so much better!! (and I change up the dressing, but always remember to take it easy on the dressing or it just defeats the purpose)

If I am really not feeling a salad I will make a salad mix(this case, with tuna) and just put it on some bread to make an open faced sandwich.

I am in charge of doing activities for the kids in our church and so last night we headed to the park for some games and I brought fruit salad to munch on.  The kids loved it!  No I don't really count this as my greens for the day but I definitely love eating fruit in the summer.  Plus I think it tastes like you are eating dessert when you are eating fruit salad.

The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast.  We played Red Rover.  Do you remember that game?

The easiest Tastiest Salad in the World

Takes 5 minutes to prepare and is YUM.

1 cucumber chopped
2-3 tomatoes chopped
1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar or dressing of your choice.
Salt and Pepper to tastes
Sprinkle of fresh grated parmesan cheese

Enjoy.