It’s All About Progress!

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Hello, friends! We are finally back in school today after three snow days, and, I’ve got to say, I’m really glad about it. I was starting to get a little bored hanging around the house! Plus, it’s easy to go back to school when you know you get another break in a week and a half. Gotta love the public school system

So it’s time once again for our monthly goal check in. Every month I like to set some small attainable goals to keep myself accountable, and February actually only had one goal that I wanted to tackle.

I did it! I’m now almost two weeks post-half, and I still can’t believe I actually got it done. Six months ago the thought of running a 5K was intimidating. It just goes to show what commitment and training can do!

So here’s what I have in mind for March.

1. Do a strict pull-up

You guys I am so, so close to doing this. I’m currently working with a red band which is just one step away from doing a pull-up unassisted. I can even kind of do one as long as you ignore the substantial amount of jumping that I have to do first. The point is I am almost there, and I think I can do it this month with a little more practice!

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2. Get a Half-Marathon PR

Now let me clarify something here: When I say PR, I mean it in the strictest sense of the word. My current half-marathon PR is 2:18:00 so if I finish my half at the end of the month in 2:17:59 then I’ll count it a victory. I’m not going into this next half thinking I’ll knock twenty minutes off my time or anything. I’m simply looking for progress!

3. Finish one substantial home-improvement project

I don’t talk about it much on here since this is not a DIY blog, but John and I live in a fixer-upper. We’ve gone back and forth trying to determine whether or not we want to sell and build something new or stay in this house, pay it off, and have money to build in Colorado. We’ve ultimately decided that since Oklahoma is not where we want to be, we’re going to stay in our current house and build our dream house where we love. That being said, our current house needs a lot of work! John and I do not exactly thrill to the prospect of home improvement projects. We’d much rather be hiking or doing a whole host of other activities, but, unfortunately, the house won’t fix itself! Since I have Spring Break coming up, I plan on using that time to cross at least one thing off our list. Wish me luck!

Have a great Thursday!

What are your goals for March? Can you do a pull-up?

Research Shows

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Remember when I told you yesterday that winter had returned with a vengeance over the weekend? Well, what I didn’t tell you was that it sleeted and snowed enough to cancel school not only yesterday but today as well!

You will never hear me complain about a snow day, but I’m starting to get a little concerned about having to make up all these days. When May comes around, the last thing anybody wants is extra days before summer can officially begin.

I especially want summer to come sooner rather than later because that means John and I can head west for our two weeks in the mountains. The closer we get to spring and summer, the more I get backpacking on the brain.

You may remember the post I wrote on the “Walk Off The War” program by Warrior Hike several months ago. For those of you who missed it, “Walk Off The War” is a program to support the transition of returning combat veterans into normal life by hiking some of America’s greatest long-distance trails. The idea is to use the great outdoors as the ultimate form of therapy, and now it seems that science is backing that up.

A study was recently conducted out of Georgia Southern University among six combat veterans who had completed the Appalachian Trail through the Warrior Hike program.

The study sought to determine the tangible benefits these veterans received from long-distance hiking, and the results were not surprising. I’ve been bragging about the therapeutic properties of hiking for years!

The study found four reoccurring themes as they talked to each of the participants. Many veterans experience difficulty in establishing and reestablishing relationships post-service. They found that, through hiking the Appalachian, they quickly connected with their fellow hikers as well as other people they met along the way.

The second theme the researchers discovered was that the trail seemed to give the veterans a chance to transition slowly back into regular life and determine exactly what they wanted for the future. Each veteran expressed a desire to make tangible life changes and felt that the experience on the trail gave them the confidence to do so.

Many of the study participants acknowledged struggling with psychological disorders such as PTSD. They felt the being on the trail gave them the chance to reflect and decompress, and thought that the time in nature helped them a chance to heal.

Lastly, the participants all seemed to value the large amount of alone time that they received on the trail. This gave each of them a chance to think, process, and come to terms with their experiences. Many felt that the opportunity to work through some of the emotions without distractions was invaluable.

For almost two years, I’ve been using this platform as a way to talk about my love for backpacking and all the benefits it supplies. Just getting out into the mountains provides me with no small amount of relief from the stress of everyday life. Obviously, I am so glad that those benefits are now being recognized and extended to those who have given so much to all of us.

If you would like to learn more, you can read the findings from Southern Georgia University here. Of course, I encourage you to check out Warrior Hike and their “Walk Off The War” program and become familiar with some of the great men and women that are making it possible!

All the pictures in this post are from various hikes John and I have done. The beauty of the great outdoors is incredible therapy!

What activity helps you to work out stress?

A Beautiful Thing

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Do you know what is a truly beautiful thing? Getting your long run done on a Friday afternoon! Whitney called Friday morning to invite me on a long run with her, her dad, and sister-in-law that afternoon. Initially, the idea of doing ten miles after work on Friday sounded less than appealing, but I knew that I would be so thankful to have it done. And, of course, that was 100% true. It was an incredible feeling to sleep in on Saturday with zero guilt!

scenes from the road

The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key. I ran some errands Saturday afternoon while John did some repair work on our back yard fence. Unfortunately, these two attempted a jail break.

Do you remember how Max is deathly afraid of fireworks and last fall the high school football team decided that shooting them off at home games would be a good idea? Well, guess what! He has now learned to associate the announcer’s voice with fireworks, and soccer season has started. Needless to say, last week was a little rough at our house! Luckily, John has permanently (we hope!) fixed the part of the fence that was giving us problems, and I’ve looked up the soccer schedule so we’ll be prepared. Oh, the joys of having puppies! Of course, you know I wouldn’t trade them though

While John was busy with that, I headed to Ft. Smith to look at running shoes! Remember these?

Unfortunately, they just didn’t work for my feet so I decided to take them back and go for a new pair of my tried and true Mizuno Wave Riders. The store didn’t have my size (sometimes it’s hard being an average size in everything!), but these babies are trucking their way towards me and should be here in a few days.

Thank goodness. My shoe situation was starting to get bleak. There was no way I can do another long run on my old shoes. My feet hurt so bad by the end of my ten miles on Friday that was almost in tears.

Sunday winter returned with rain and cold temperatures so we had one of our glorious lazy days. It was just what I needed to be Marvelous for these next two weeks before Spring Break. Let the countdown begin!

How are you being Marvelous today?

A Return to Foodie Pen Pals

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Happy Friday, people! Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? I’m planning on meeting up with some friends for a (semi) long run in the morning, and then John and I are going to spend some time shopping for a home improvement project. Fun times!

So today I get to show you all the goodies I got in my Foodie Pen Pal box this month. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Foodie Pen Pals is a program that was started by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean. Every month you’re assigned a partner, and you spend a few days putting together a box of delicious treats for that person. In the mean time, someone is creating a box just for you! At the end of the month, everyone who participated posts the goodies they received to ~~make others jealous~~ show them off! You can take part whether you’re a blogger or a reader. Just jump over to Lindsay’s blog to sign up!

I participated in the program for several months last year, and then fell out of the habit when things got busy. I decided I wanted to get back into the action in February, and my partner was the wonderful Dana over at Abbott House Adventures.

Since the boxes ship around the 15th every month, it was a perfect opportunity to put a little Valentine’s Day flair in them, and Dana did just that.

I could smell this fudge as soon as I opened the box, and I couldn’t wait to try it. Luckily, it tasted just as good as it smelled! She was even nice enough to add the recipe, and I’ll certainly be recreating it in the future!

Dana said she couldn’t resist adding this honey in the shape of a cute little bear. The bear shaped honey jars will always remind me of my childhood so they have a special place for me. And this one was in miniature!

Last but certainly not least, was this very interesting Greek cake. Dana picked it up in a local Greek market (oh, the benefits of being in a city!), and I was very curious to test it out. I finally got a chance to do just that last night, and it was very interesting. It was pretty different from anything I’ve ever tried, and I really enjoyed it!

Thanks, Dana for such a great box! I’m so glad I decided to join back in this month, and I’ve already signed up for March. If you want in on the fun, be sure to sign up here.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you Monday!

Are you a Foodie Pen Pal? What’s your favorite food that you can only get in special places?

Some Thoughts On Training

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First off, I have to say a huge thank you for all of your congratulations on my race. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that a big reason why I had the confidence to do this was because I’ve been inspired by each and every one of you. I appreciate you coming along on this journey!

Since this was my first half-marathon, it was obviously my first time training for a big race, and today I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on training.

I have always heard great things about Hal Higdon so I decided to follow his novice training plan. I really liked that the there were several built-in cross training or rest days, and that the long run mileage increased very slowly. For someone just starting out, the idea of running even five miles seemed unfathomable let alone thirteen! It was nice that we worked up to it gradually. Overall, I have no complaints about how this plan was laid out, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking about jumping into long distance racing.

Now let’s talk a little about what I wish I would have done differently. As most of you know, I fell in love with Crossfit around the same time that running came into my life. And I mean I really fell in love. Crossfit has become one of my favorite activities for a variety of reasons, and, as such, I want to be there any time the door is open. That, unfortunately, means that I was stuck figuring out how to balance running and making it to the afternoon WODs. Many, many days I was doing both, and a couple of things resulted from that.

More than once, I skimped on my weekly mileage. Some days that I was suppose to get five miles in, I might settle for Crossfit and three miles instead. While I know that overall Crossfit has made me stronger which means I’m a better runner, I think shaving my weekly mileage may have cost me a little in the race.

Also, trying to do both caused some serious physical fatigue. In the two weeks leading up to the race, I could tell that my body was getting pretty run down, and, to be honest, the only thing that kept me going was knowing my race was soon. If it wasn’t for that, I was ready to give myself several days off of every kind of physical activity! In my new round of training, I’m going to strive for better balance, and not try to fit so much in that I run myself ragged. That may mean cutting back Crossfit to three days a week so I can devote two afternoons strictly to running.

Lastly, I wish I had gotten new shoes! I bought the new Brooks a week out from my race thinking I had time to adjust to them. They hurt my feet on every run in the week leading up to my race so I decided that I couldn’t chance it.

Unfortunately, that left me with my old Mizunos which have definitely seen better days. My feet began to hurt too early during the half, and I have my suscipions that those shoes are what led to the knee pain I experienced toward the end. Next time I’m in need of new shoes I’ll buy them three or four weeks out from a race instead of one!

All of these are minor adjustments that you expect to figure out as your training for your first big race. Overall, however, I have very few complaints with how it went. I felt strong and prepared going into Sunday, and I’m happy with my performance for my first time. If I could sum up my experience with two pieces of advice to anyone looking to run a big race, I would say start early and pick a great training plan.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to research ways to make half-marathon #2 even better!

What piece advice would you give to first time long distance racers?

Cowtown Half-Marathon: I DID IT!

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First things first-Today I am linking up with Becky over at Olives ‘N Wine for her weekly Treat Yourself Tuesday feature.

Yesterday afternoon I treated myself to a pedicure in an attempt to make amends with my feet for all the abuse they’ve suffered. I figured I earned it, right? Thanks, Becky, for a great way to remind ourselves we all need a treat every once in awhile!

So, as most of you know, I’ve been training for a half-marathon for roughly the last four months. Sunday I ran and finished my very first one.

The Cowtown Half-Marathon takes place in Ft. Worth every year, and this was a great race for my first half. It was fairly flat except for one horrendous hill, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

Race weekend started with a trip down to Mom and Joel’s Friday night. They had dinner waiting on John and I when we got there, and they decided I needed to carb load.

Spaghetti and a baked potato? I really think I could get use to long-distance racing.

After dinner and a little visiting, I passed out on the couch before ten o’clock, and only woke up long enough to stumble to our room. I slept really well which I was very grateful for because, knowing me, the chances were good I wasn’t going to sleep well at all on Saturday night.

We had another carb loading meal of pancakes before John and I said our goodbyes and headed to Dad’s to meet up with him, Caite, and Justin to head to the expo. Dad and I picked up our packets, and the nerves began taking up permanent residence in my stomach!

We wandered around the expo for a little bit, but John, Caite, and Justin didn’t find it quite as stimulating as Dad and I and we were all starving so we headed out.

We ended up a Ft. Worth burger joint that’s been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was good, but definitely a special occasion spot. Grease was the only thing on the menu!

We ran around a little bit more before heading back to Dad’s to relax for the evening and get some rest. As predicted, I didn’t sleep very well, and, when I did, I had crazy dreams. When the alarm went off at 4:30, I felt like I hadn’t slept at all, but, thankfully, I wasn’t that tired. My nerves and excitement had taken over!

Dad and I got to the race around 6:15. By the time we parked, walked the short distance to the start, and did the porta-potty thing it was race time. We got in the corrals, and crossed the start line about sixteen minutes after the gun.

I felt great starting out. I knew I loved the atmosphere at races but 5Ks are nothing compared to this event. There were thousands of people running, and the spectators were great. Someday I envisioned myself doing a post on the best race signs because I saw a ton of hilarious ones!

In the first few miles, Dad and I did a lot of dodging around other people. Dad had given me the run down on what that would be like so I knew what to expect and I just followed his lead as he wove in and out. We were moving at a pretty fast pace, and the first five miles seemed to pass in no time at all.

Around mile seven we entered the Ft. Worth Stockyards. I had really been looking forward to running in the area. The Stockyards are an iconic Ft. Worth landmark that I just knew would be a highlight of the race. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as expected.

I mentioned last week that I bought a new pair of running shoes. After a few light runs last week, the new shoes were not feeling great so I decided to run the half in my old pair instead of taking the chance. So fast forward to Sunday when I’m running on the brick paved streets of the Stockyards. I felt every single step as I pounded my feet on the bricks, and I was so glad to get through it. Luckily, it wasn’t too long of a stretch!

We were still moving at a pretty good speed, and I happened to glance at my watch once when it beeped to indicate another mile. It said we had averaged a 9:44 pace which is very good for me especially after that kind of distance. There had been some loose talk the day before of finishing around 2:15, and at that point I realized we were on pace to finish well before that.

Around mile 9, we started up the Main Street Bridge. And I do mean up! This was by far the largest and longest hill on the course, and it was a beast. It did not help matters that it was preceded by the longest straightaway of the day which means I had been staring at it for a good mile and a half.

This hill was rough. My pace had slowed way down, and I was doing what my dad refers to as the fat man shuffle to get to the top. Unfortunately, once I finally made it to the top, it all went downhill from there (pun intended).

Just after leaving the bridge, I noticed the tell-tale pains of runner’s knee in my right knee. I was right around mile ten, and I knew that the last 5K could give me some problems if my knee was acting up so I just prayed that it wouldn’t become too much of hindrance.

I kept up a slow but steady pace throughout mile ten, but miles 11 to the finish were not pretty . My pace was considerably slower, and I was forced to take a few walking breaks. Luckily, my dad stuck with me the whole way, and around mile 11.5 we finally saw John and Caite on the course which was a huge boost.

I crossed the finish line at 2:18:00, and I would love to say a felt a huge sense of accomplishment. That wasn’t exactly the case. Mostly, I just felt a little dazed! Not to worry though-the elation came pretty quickly!

Overall, I’m extremely proud and happy with my performance. Yes, I am a little irritated that my pesky knee kept me from an even better finish, but, at the end of the day, I think it was pretty good showing for my first half. And now, of course, I have a baseline to work from!

I definitely have a few more thoughts on the day, but I’ll save it for later in the week. This recap has gotten out of control! Have a great day everyone, and don’t forget to treat yourself!

What’s one of your proudest athletic accomplishments? How are you treating yourself today?

Finisher!

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Today I am Marvelous……….

I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of the race. In the mean time, I’m going to savor being the feeling of this accomplishment! Thank you guys for all your encouragement!

The Playlist

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T-2 days! By this time Sunday morning, I will be lining up at my very first half-marathon start line. I kind of feel like that warrants posting this again.

It’s so true. In the last six months, I’ve adopted running (and Crossfit!), and I feel like my overall health both physically and mentally has gotten so much better. And I didn’t think I was in a bad spot to begin with! I’m planning a post next week to recap my training, and that will definitely include how it changed my frame of mind.

In the mean time, my brain is completely focused on race day. I’ve packed all the essential pieces of my outfit, I have a plan for pre-race breakfast, and all electronic gadgets are charged!

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I have friends that never run with any kind of music, but I am just not one of those people. I seem to go through moods. Sometimes I want music and other times I’d rather listen to an audiobook or a podcast. It remains to be seen what I’ll be in the mood for on Sunday, but I thought it would be fun to prepare a specific half-marathon playlist just for the occasion.

Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty
Best Day Of My Life by American Authors
Brave by Sara Bareilles
Roar by Katy Perry
Hall of Fame by will.i.am
Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi
Just Like Jesse James by Cher
I’m Still Standing by Elton John
Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
Kodachrome by Paul Simon
Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas
Not Ready To Make Nice by Dixie Chicks
Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting by Elton John
You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard
Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar

You guys know my taste in music is pretty eclectic, and I often joke that 85% of the stuff I listen to was recorded over 30 years ago. In fact, when I did a quick Google search for great running songs to round out the list a little, I didn’t even recognize most of the ones that came up! I’m hopeless when it comes to modern music!

Nevertheless, these songs will definitely be enough for me to rock out to while I’m running. I have this vision of me crossing the vision line while Hall of Fame is playing. It’s a motivating picture, right?

Alright, folks, the time has come. The next time I check in we’ll all know for sure if I was capable of running 13.1. See you on the flip side!

I have no questions today! Just please leave me on the encouragement you can come up with

Thursday Thoughts: I’m Going To…..

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1. T-3 Days until race time. Yes, I’m going to give you the countdown for the rest of the week!

2. I treated myself a little better yesterday, and stuck to my taper plan. The Crossfit WOD wasn’t too bad, and my legs are feeling good today.

3. I have found a new dystopian series.

Delirium is the story of the postapocalyptic U.S. in which they have discovered that all of the world’s problems can be solved by getting rid of the impulse in people’s brains for love. It’s an interesting concept, but I’m not sure if I’m sold on this trilogy yet. It begs the question-have we reached the point of too much dystopian fiction in YA lit?

4. We’ve been experiencing some definite spring like weather here in the last week and a half, and you know I’m not too happy about. I need to go back and remind myself that there are a few reasons to not hate spring.

5. Every so often I find a song that I play over and over and over again. Here’s the newest one.

It’s so achingly beautiful. I love music that makes you feel a little sad, and you’re not quite sure why.

6. What’s a Thursday Thoughts post without a picture of my two favorite furbabies?

7. I recently found a protein powder that I absolutely love.

I’ve been on a serious protein pancake kick, but I want to branch out and experiment with other protein recipes. Any ideas? Keep in mind I’m not much of a smoothie person.

8. Last Sunday John and I did a little vacation planning. It turns out we’re not going to be able to travel with friends this year which is a bummer, but that means we can devote two whole weeks to a backpacking vacation. Can you guess where we’re headed? Yep-back to CO! Are you noticing a pattern with us? We’re going to revisit some of our favorite spots around Durango using a little bit different route. Just thinking about it makes me feel calm. Bring on summer!

9. Speaking of travel, I’ve been holding back on you all this week. This past weekend I also made some other plans for summer travel.

I’m going to Blend! For the last two years, I have jealously read the recaps of this awesome blogger retreat, and this year I finally get to join in the fun. I am so excited to reunite with some blogging buddies, and meet some others for the first time in person. Plus, I’ve never been to Park City, and I know it’s going to be right up my alley!

10. Something for me to keep in mind this week.

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Have a great Thursday!

Who’s going to Blend with me?!

The Taper Plan

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I had originally considered titling this post The Taper: What Not To Do. I’m actually feeling pretty good, but, as you’ll see, I’ve made a few rookie mistake. See, it all started with Crossfit on Monday. Oh, Crossfit.

Yes, this is exactly how I felt after Monday’s workout. This is what it looked like:

All of this was after finding our 1RPM back squat. One of the other Crossfitters suggested namely this WOD Diablo Dan after our coach. I think she’s on to something! Needless to say, my legs were super sore when I woke up yesterday morning, and then I got a call from Whitney yesterday afternoon wanting to know if I was up for a run.

I considered saying no for about thirty seconds before I decided I couldn’t pass up a chance to run with my super speedy friend. We did about six miles, and, although I couldn’t stay up with her, I did run them fairly fast.

Today my legs are still feeling a bit sore, but not dramatically. The past two days have caused me to think a little more seriously about tapering, and, because I’m a research nut, I decided to get a little help from my friend Google.

According to Runner’s World, in this last week before my race I should only run short, easy miles on the preceding Tuesday and Thursday. These workouts shouldn’t be longer than thirty minutes. The rest of the week should include rest or light walking. Oops.

So the big question is, what’s my plan for the rest of the week? Here’s what I think. This afternoon I’m going to check out the Crossfit workout. If it’s a light day or a heavy upper body day, I’ll go ahead and participate. Tomorrow I’ll do a bit of a shake out run of no more than two very slow miles. Friday and Saturday will be complete rest days other than walking around the expo a little bit.

Honestly, I know my body, and I think this plan will work well for me. I’m definitely planning a training recap post that I’m sure will include at least a few things I would have done differently. In a nutshell, training for my first big race as been an exercise in trial and error, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come. I’ve definitely been bitten by the racing bug, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Stay tuned!

What does your taper week look like?