Veggies and More

While I was in Minnesota my intake on veggies was pretty minimal.  But on the last day Heather and I woke up went for a run and then headed over to the St. Paul Farmers Market.  It is probably one of the nicest farmer markets I have ever been to.  They always have a ton of stuff and it always looks amazing =) I decided that I am going to try to eat lots veggies everyday.  I typically do eat some vegetables but I need to eat more.

Heather stretching after our morning run.  Towards the end of the run we spiced it up a bit and played don't let the other person pass you.  It was quite fun =)  I highly recommend it.  

Check out all the fresh produce.  YUM. You can only see 1/10th of what was there.

They had lots of flavored honey sticks. I picked up one of each flavor for myself and a friend. I have actually never tried one yet, but I have a stash of about 15 in my little running box.

Who can say no to these asparagus?  Standing them up like that made them look extra delicious.

So far this week my workouts have been going well.  I am actually loving them.  Which is good because I know that sometimes I truly don't love them.

For a recap, Monday I ran 5 Miles.

Tuesday: I went to running club and did 12 - 200/200's with 1 for 1 recovery. Basically the 200/200 is a 400 but the first 200 was supposed to be at 3k pace followed by the last 200 at 1 mile pace.  So you come in relatively fast and then recover for the same amount of time.  Then after that I headed to barbell class where I pumped some iron.  I don't know about you guys but I NEED SOME MUSCLES!  I totally slacked during my training for the last marathon and I don't want that to happen again.

Wednesday: I went biking for 23.5 miles. Then I went and swam 525m.  I am trying to figure out how fast I can actually swim.  I have no idea how to judge so today I just went at a pace where I felt in control and knew I could keep swimming that way for a while.  So now for my Sprint Tri I am going to try to be faster.  I don't really know how to shave off time in the pool?  Speed workouts??? I dunno.

Thursday: Run 8 miles with friends from club.  YAY for running buds.  They rule.
Friday: Swim again and also attend a Total Conditioning class at lifetime.
Saturday: Tempo run with club followed by some kind of bike ride.

Does anyone know any good biking speed workouts?  Like riding up the same hill 10 times or something??

Also, who likes honey sticks?
-I will try one tomorrow, as I was typing this post I realize it is ridiculous that I keep buying these things but really have no idea what they taste like.

Is there a swimmer out there can give me a good workout for the pool?
-I only have 1 workout that my swimming teacher gave us while doing a swim lesson a month or so back.  I am looking for more.

Happy Running, Swimming and Biking all -Jen

Hello Hamstring and Happy 4th of July!

Todays workout: 5 Miles Normal.

Happy 4th! I needed a little stretch after my run today so thanks to my husband you get a pic.

It felt great to be running at home! Running away is fun but it is always good to come home and hit the road where you know the route. It also feels nice to just run. I kind of just go at a pace that feels good and normal. I occasionally pick it up and I occasionally hold it back but when I am in the middle of recovery and not really training for anything it is fun to just run however fast or slow you want.

This week I am going to really try to incorporate more cross training and strength into my workouts.  Here is my schedule for the first part of this week.

Monday: 5 Miles Normal pace with 10 mile bike ride later.
Tuesday: Killer 200/200 track workout followed by a Strength barbell class
Wednesday: Swim and maybe a 15 mile Bike ride

Anywhoo, onto the Holiday!  Happy 4th of July.  This day is one of my favorite holidays.  The weather is typically great there is lots of food to eat and usually an amazing fireworks show to catch.

They have an amazing fireworks show on the golf course right by our neighborhood on July 3rd.  Here we are waiting for the action to happen. (a lot of these pics where you can see up my nose are self portraits...)

Every kid waiting for the fireworks to start had a glow stick. Of course I totally had forgotten to pick up some so Peter stalked out another family who generiously gave him one!  THANKS random family for giving Peter "the one thing he always wanted since forever and ever......" said Peter himself.

HAPPY HOLIDAY and happy running -Jen

What to do..

Now that the marathon is over I am trying to decide what to do next.  First thing first though and I need my knee to stop bugging me and just let me run.  I went on what was suppose to be a 5 miler yesterday morning with my sister and it turned out to be almost 7 miles.  Which would have been fine if my knee didn't start to suck right in the middle of the run.  So had to run/walk the rest.  So annoying.  I think that I am just not going to run for an entire month and see if then it gets better.  But then what should I do in the mean time??  Will still go to Kinetic Edge but I need something else also.  I am thinking I will just start biking and swimming.  We will see how those to go.  We are living in a tiny apartment and not sure where I would put a bike.  And well the swimming... My mom has a pool.  It is good size.  When I am in it my kids are usually right along there with me and hopefully somehow I will be able to sneak in a solid 20 mins or so.

In other news....Yesterday was not all that bad.. after the run.   What better way to have the kids burn some energy then giving them a shovel and having them try to dig a hole in super dry rocky dirt.  They loved the challenge although in the end only one stayed with it long enough to make a very small dent

At night we went to dinner with friends.  Our good friends are home visiting.  The ones that I went and saw when we went to Costa Rica.

We had some Thai Food.  We actually had a little more then just some.  We had lots.  It was super good and very spicy.   So after dinner we went to Izzy's and got some ice cream

                                                       (sorry for the blurry Iphone pic.)


Always so fun to get together with friends that we don't see very much.  But now that I overslept my gym class and I can't run what am I going to do today to burn off all those calories I ate last night??  The sun is shinning... finally.  So today I think I will try and get a swim in.  Wish me luck!!

-Heather

Hello! I have decided I am going to do a Tri =)

I decided a couple of weeks ago I was going to try my first Triathlon. So being that it is going to be my first I am going to do a the Anthem Sprint Tri. This is a tri in my area that includes a 525 meter pool swim, 11.7 mile bike ride and 5k run.  I am pumped about it =)

At first I was kind of hesitant wondering what the heck I was getting myself into but after going for a couple of bike rides....(of course right now my main ride is a Trek Cruiser which I do LOVE but don't think would be the best choice for race material....) I am liking the idea more and more. Plus, this decision is coming at a time when I feel like the marathon training is just wearing me out. I am logging lots of miles and trying to do all kinds of speed work and it is just exhausting.  So throwing in a swim and a bike ride are just doing wonders for my morale.  Spice it up they all say.... and I agree. It helps.

So whose with me? Let's all do a some kind Triathlon and then we can compare notes. I love hearing about other peoples experiences, what they like and what they didn't.  I literally do file all of it away and refer to when necessary.

Because of this decision I decided I need to learn how to swim better.  To take care of this little dilemma me and a couple of my friends enrolled in a swim class at our gym.  I do know how to swim but regardless, you can also get better.

Me sporting my new swim suit and Speedo goggles (I found on sale, thank heavens... I already spend so much money on running workout stuff I could hardly justify throwing a new sport into the mix.)

This is me and my friend Tara who is joining swim class with me. She is a rock star runner and all an together incredible athlete.  And you see that pool behind me. FREEZING. We thought we'd be tough swimmers and use the cool pool, but once we realized the "teaching pool" was so much warmer we switched. Now I know why my 5 year old has no problem hopping in the other pool. It was like a crazy 80 degrees!

Once I figure out how to swim correctly, I will also need to learn how to bike. Although going to spin class is a killer workout I am not sure how that all plays out when you are really outside.

Wish me luck. Happy running, swimming and biking =) -Jen

Hello! I decided I am going to try my First Tri =)

I decided a couple of weeks ago I was going to try my first Triathlon. So being that it is going to be my first I am going to do a the Anthem Sprint Tri. This is a tri in my area that includes a 525 meter pool swim, 11.7 mile bike ride and 5k run.  I am pumped about it =)

At first I was kind of hesitant wondering what the heck I was getting myself into but after going for a couple of bike rides....(of course right now my main ride is a Trek Cruiser which I do LOVE but don't think would be the best choice for race material....) I am liking the idea more and more. Plus, this decision is coming at a time when I feel like the marathon training is just wearing me out. I am logging lots of miles and trying to do all kinds of speed work is just exhausting.  So throwing in a swim and a bike ride are just doing wonders for my morale.  Spice it up they all say.... and I agree. It helps.

So whose with me? Let's all do a some kind Triathlon and then we can compare notes. I love hearing about other peoples experiences, what they like and what they didn't.  I literally do file all of it away and refer to when necessary.

Because of this decision I decided I need to learn how to swim better.  To take care of this little dilemma me and a couple of my friends enrolled in a swim class at our gym.  I do know how to swim but regardless, you can also get better.

Me sporting my new swim suit and Speedo goggles (I found on sale, thank heavens... I already spend so much money on running workout stuff I could hardly justify throwing a new sport into the mix.)

This is me and my friend Tara who is joining swim class with me. She is a rock star runner and all an together incredible athlete.  And you see that pool behind me. FREEZING. We thought we'd be tough swimmers and use the cool pool, but once we realized the "teaching pool" was so much warmer we switched. Now I know why my 5 year old has no problem hopping in the other pool. It was like a crazy 80 degrees!

Once I figure out how to swim correctly, I will also need to learn how to bike. Although going to spin class is a killer workout I am not sure how that all plays out when you are really outside.

Anyone else participated in a triathlon?

What other things do you do to spice up training?

Wish me luck. Happy running, swimming and biking =) -Jen