Training Recap: July Week 1

Monday
Abigail and I enjoyed a fun morning at a local playground with friends then met up with my in-laws for lunch. With some rain coming down and us stuck in the mall without an umbrella, I decided to let Abigail play in the little indoor mall playground area for a bit. This is NOT a usual occurrence for us, but to entertain myself I started making random observations on Twitter. I ended up providing lots of entertainment for many Twitter friends...if you want to check it out yourself, search for #indoorplaygroundobservations on Twitter. Brewer and I got our run in, we ran 1.85mi in 19 HOT minutes.

Tuesday
I knew with our full afternoon and evening, I had to get my run in first thing. I parked Abigail on the couch with cinnamon toast and strawberries while I took Brewer for a run (Matt was home!). We ran 1.51 in 17 minutes. Abigail and I then packed up to head to the 2013 Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo at The Georgia World Congress Center. To read all about the Expo, click HERE.

The Expo was excellent, especially since I was reunited with Marcia! She drove into town to work Expo as the social butterfly for the 26.2 with Donna event in February and it was so fun to have her in town, especially since the last time we briefly saw each other was during Princess Half Marathon weekend. After the Expo we met up with a few other friends at Gladys Knight & Ron's Chicken and Waffles. It wasn't my restaurant as another local friend made the suggestion as a "must" for friends coming from out of state. The food was good, but the company was even better! Abigail even found ways to amuse herself.

Wednesday
Another early morning run with Brewer to start another full day. We ran 1.25 in 14 minutes

And just like that we are carb loaded!

Cheers! with Cami Cupcakes

Thursday
After months and months of anticipation, the Peachtree Road Race was finally here! This is the largest 10K in the US and it's known as an Atlanta tradition, and I had been very much looking forward to this race! To keep it short and sweet, I finished and am happy with my time...and that it didn't rain during the race! I'll be posting my entire race recap separately. Forth of July also ended my Run Streak! I had been running at least one mile every day since Memorial Day.

Friday
The fun had to come to an end, so we went to Waffle House for a couple free waffles with Marcia and Katie before Marcia had to head back to Florida.

Matt, Abigail and I headed to Studio Movie Grill for a family fun afternoon. We walked around NorthPoint Mall a bit while waiting on our movie. This was our first visit to Studio Movie Grill, instead of watching


Saturday
What a lazy, rainy day! During the rain, Matt and I caught up on a few shows we haven't had the chance to watch over the last couple weeks (The Glades, Royal Pains, Franklin and Bash, Necessary Roughness). I finally decided to make a run for it, pun intended, and try to get my miles in before the rain started back up. Brewer and I trucked through some rain but the bottom completely dropped out right before we hit 4 miles. I'm very happy we got these training miles in today with all the rain (3.97mi/41mins).

Sunday
Matt and I serve during with the youth's church service once a quarter, and July is one of our months. We went to lunch after church then it was time for my long run. Today called for 13 miles, and I'm pretty sure the last time I ran 13mi was at Auburn's Finish on the 50 event in April. I broke up today's miles, ran the first two with Brewer, went to the treadmill for the next 9 (until gym closed), then finished up the last two with Brewer back in our neighborhood again.

QUESTIONS:
-Have you ever participated in the Peachtree Road Race or a race that's an annual tradition to your city?
-Are there any summer TV shows you like to watch?

Training Recap: April Week 1

I really underestimated the Sugar Detox upon first reading. I thought I could tackle this challenge without a hitch! What I failed to think through as we drove from FL to GA was how to officially execute this challenge. We had been out of town for 5 days I had nothing fresh in the house. How could I have started on the right foot without the proper food!?! As a reminder, below I've posted the details of the Sugar Detox Challenge.

From Laura's blog post MommyRunFast.blogspot.com...

Here’s what I’m proposing:

1. What: Choose Level One- eliminating all added sugars (honey, maple syrup, rice syrup, added fructose, etc) OR Level Two- sugars and processed foods, which often have the same effect as sugar when broken down in our system, including white flour/bread/crackers/energy bars, etc
2. When: Seven day detox, from Monday, April 1st to Sunday, April 7th (have your Easter Sunday final treat if you want to!)
3. For extra support, use the hashtag #sugardetox to connect with other participants on Twitter or Instagram
4. PRIZES! Sign up below, and (optional) tweet or share for an extra entry to win a few fun prizes, including ProCompression socks, a box of healthy snacks from NatureBox, a box of Bites of Bliss Superfood Bites, and more.

Monday
Like I said before, how could I start off on the right right foot without the proper food? I think I snacked on cottage cheese and a cheese stick until Matt returned from the grocery store with milk and banana. Abigail asked for cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and I usually indulge because it's easier than fixing two different meals. Oh and see the little icing container & lid, I have always licked these bad boys clean before throwing in the garbage. I guess with this challenge being fresh and new, I had the will power to toss them even with the icing remnants!

Abigail and I ended up rushing out the door for her swim lesson and I grabbed one of my Quest Bars. These protein bars are delicious and have no sugar, but I completely failed to think it through...as it's obviously a processed food. Speaking of "processed", NUUN doesn't have sugar so I'm allowing it this week, I know I can use the extra electrolytes while on this detox and to help keep me hydrated during my training. I also just picked up their new flavors last Saturday and am hooked! Watermelon & Cherry Limeade are sooo good!

Training called for 3mi plus 4 strides or XT, I chose to run. I have trained so much since November running intervals that running 3mi straight without walk breaks was a bit of a challenge. I took it easy and only ran at a 12mm (minute mile) pace. At the end I ran 4 strides, which is basically sprinting for 30 seconds, at 8mph (around a 7.5mm pace).

Tuesday
I knew it was going to be a rough day immediately upon waking to Brewer's insistent barking at 7:15am. I rolled out of bed with a pounding headache, the sugar withdrawal headache. Lovely. I trucked on with my coffee flavored milk (no fancy creamers), fruit and cottage cheese. The headache persisted through Abigail's swim class and through her dance class. I even tried a Starbucks Venti Non-Fat Latte (no flavor at all, I've liked it like this for years) in hopes the caffeine would help the headache, no luck. Then it was time for my run.

Training called for 4-5mi. I headed to Gold's and knew it was going to be tough running as my brain felt like it was bouncing in my skull.  This was definitely a challenge! I kept my pace slow, which took me longer to finish, but I knew I couldn't push my luck with the headache. After my cool down, my mileage was just over 5mi.

Wednesday
The sugar headache disappeared sometime during the night, thank goodness! Abigail and I spent our morning at MOPS and then her 4yo pediatric well check was in the afternoon. I had been dreading this appointment because I remember how much she hated her 3yo vaccines, but it's a necessary evil. Abigail had been very upset (cue waterworks) any time I brought up her needing to visit the doctor and never gave me a reason and upon lots of conversation, I asked if she wanted to switch to a female doctor and she agreed. The nurse was a young male, with lots of positive energy and she felt comfortable with him taking her blood pressure and helping me answer some routine questions. The pediatrician was wonderful! She was very personable and had pleasant conversation with us before starting her routine well patient checks, this gave Abigail time to warm up to her a bit which was nice. Abigail is finally 30lbs (30.2 to be exact) and is 40in tall. She had three vaccines, in which she screamed, but she picked out a "new friend" as a treat after we left.

Training called for XT or rest, and I decided to cross train. It's been a while since I've attended a Power class at Gold's, it's a group fitness class with weights all set to music. Since Thursday, Friday & Saturday all called for runs I decided to keep my weights low so I wouldn't be miserably sore. Setting up myself for success is important!

Dinner was interesting to say the least. We went to a local Mexican restaurant to meet up with a Mini Cooper group. I made myself a smoothie before heading out. (Smoothie: spinach, plain Greek yogurt, tart cherry juice, strawberries, pear, almonds & flax seed.)

LOVE Wish Farms Strawberries!

Thursday
I woke up a bit sore from Power, even though I took it easy and didn't get to heavy with the weights! It's been too long since I've attended this class and paid for it. I sat on the couch and watched a bit of the Today Show (after popping some Advil of course!). While this was probably smart for my training, it was not a smart way to schedule my day. Abigail had afternoon swim and gymnastics, then we rushed the gym so I could get my miles in.

Training called for 3-4mi as 10min warm up, sprint intervals (6 x 30sec) with 1min recovery and a 10min cool down. My total mileage was 2.97mi. I love that in the training plan it says "The mileage is simply a guide, so no need to run around your block one more time to reach three miles.". I'm sure as I continue my training and get faster I will surely total more miles.

Friday
To start off the day, I got in a 3mi run before the Centergy class at Gold's. Centergy is a unique group fitness class that incorporates Yoga and Pilates in fluid motions all set to music. It's a great class to stretch out and gain flexibility, both helpful for runners. I had a huge bowl of oatmeal and a smoothie for lunch. (Smoothie: spinach, plain Greek yogurt, tart cherry juice, mango, raspberries, almonds, banana.)

Another interesting dinner, as we went out for pizza with Matt's parents and our nephew. The garlic knots from St.Angelo's are a delicious combination of bread, garlic and Parmesan cheese. I seriously considered calling the Sugar Detox quits just for these. I had not had an urge to quit until this point. I managed to drink my water throughout dinner then eat when I got home. When we got home, I got a crazy chocolate craving. It was serious. I usually have a sweet tooth, but it's never chocolate. I went to sleep early instead to be completely rested for my long Saturday run.

Saturday
I originally planned to go run with a group from our church. Brewer didn't seem to like this and he had a nice surprise for Matt & I to clean up first thing this morning. Because of this, I ended up also sweeping/mopping the kitchen, and doing lots of laundry. I was about to get ready to head out for a run on the treadmill at the gym (I hate running outside solo) and my friend Kristen sent a text inquiring if I had run yet. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect. We decided to meet at The Silver Comet Trail to knock out my 6mi.

We ran intervals of 2:30:1 and I practically had to beg for all those interval walks. At the halfway point I paused my watch, Kristen said she had a surprise for me. We proceeded down this tiny paved trail through the trees and then I saw the old, abandoned mill. It was beautiful, the remaining stone walls and steal infrastructure. We took a wrong path back up to the trail, so we had to back track some so our total hike "break" was 33min. Instead of turning around, Kristen instructed there were water fountains close. After a quick drink we turned back and continued intervals. Since we didn't turn around at the halfway point, we got a nice cool down walk back to our cars & it was nice to have conversation without my huffing and puffing.

AB April
Somehow I managed to keep to the training plan but completely forgot Wednesday and Saturday "Improve Your Plank Workout" assignments. Good think I have another three and a half weeks left to April to continue to improve my planks.

I am really happy with this first week of my new training training plan and my success with the Sugar Detox. I would like to try to stay away from a lot of the sugars I gave up in this detox but I really must allow a bit occasionally, like some dark chocolate with sea salt and almonds (not to be specific or anything). This Sugar Detox and excluding processed foods made me realize how much I snack on Abigail's food throughout the day, no bueno!

Questions:

-Have you ever done a Sugar Detox? What did you like/not like about it?

-How did your week of training go? Is there a specific goal you are training for?