Quick update!

2 things:

1) Haven't run since the marathon due to a bad case of tendonitis in my right foot. I thought it was a stress fracture but the foot doc said it was tendonitis most likely caused from the worn out shoes I was wearing.  Right now he has me on a rehab plan that will hopefully have me running again in a few weeks.

2) in the meantime I am thoroughly enjoying a break from running! Loving the extra time with my family and the lifted pressure of not worrying about any type of training schedule.  My next race isn't until September so once the foot recovers I'll still have plenty of time to get back in gear. For now though, loving the time off!

That is all, sorry I've been MIA in the blogging world! Hoping to catch up on blogs soon!

DC RnR Marathon Race Report: I'm officially a sub 4 marathoner!

So I posted this report on my family blog (because I print that blog out in blog books and I like my races to be in there) But I thought I should post it over here too for my running blogger buds!  Hope you enjoy!

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For the last 18 weeks I have been running my buns off with one goal in mind: To break 4 hours on the marathon! As you may have guessed from the title of this post, Mission accomplished! : ) But I still thought I'd give you the details on how it all went down.

On Friday morning we farmed out Monty and the kids to some awesome friends for the weekend, then we hopped on a plane and headed to DC!

Once we landed we headed out for some quick sight seeing. We saw the national monument and hit a few Smithsonian museums then hopped on the metro to go to the expo.

We randomly happened to arrive at the exact same time as my sister Naomi and her running machine hubby Kevin, who had driven in from Chicago the night before. There were 24,000 runners filtering through the expo that weekend and somehow the stars aligned that we would bump into each other!

 We took advantage of an Elvis rock and roll photo op.

And I took a picture with my little sissy! It was seriously so cool running into them! 

At the expo we picked up our packets, signed up for the 3:55 pace group, bought some gu's and a headband, then went on the hunt for some carbs.

 On our way back to our hotel we spotted Bertucci's so we swung in and loaded up on pasta. We'd been carb loading all week but thought we should pack in a few more just to be safe. : )

When we got back to the hotel, we laid out all our stuff, watched the You vs. Them video to pump ourselves up, then we went to bed at 9pm to get a good night's sleep before our 5am wake up call.

 In the morning we popped out of bed at 5am. I geared up with my new bondiband from the expo and my neon green running tank for St. Paddy's day. We watched the You vs. Them video one more time (because it seriously gets your blood pumping!) Then headed to the metro.

 The trains were JAM PACKED with runners! We thought we were smashed in like sardines and then we'd get to another stop and more people would squeeze in. The train was groaning but we made it to the stadium and the wave of runners flooded up the steps towards the armory.

 With about an hour to go before race time we hit the port a potty's, secured our timing chips, gulped down some bananas and oatmeal and chugged some chia seeds.

We took one last pic with Kevin and his cousin Eric, then packed up our camera's and phones and checked our bags. With 30 minutes to start time we went outside for one more round of port a potties.

When the race started we were still in the port a pot line so as soon as we finished we got a great warm up trying to catch up with our corral before they crossed the timing mats. We made it just in time!  Taber and I were in corral 8 (out of 26) so we could run with the 3:55 pace group. I figured if we stuck with them, even if we fell behind a little, we'd still have a 5 minute buffer to reach my goal. 

Once we were over the mats I tuned everything else out around me and just focused on the pace group leaders. There were 3 of them and I figured as long as I kept them in sight I would be doing pretty good. The first mile was hectic as we tried to get through the sea of runners and establish our pace. There was a lot of elbowing and surging and I had to scramble to stay with the group. Finally after mile 2 we settled into a rhythm. That's when I relaxed a little and was able to take in more of what was going on around me. 

The first half of the course was awesome. We ran by the national monument, the smithsonian, the white house and the capital. There were bands playing every few miles and plenty of great spectators to cheer us on. We were keeping a really solid pace just under 9 min mile and I felt awesome. This was definitely not a flat course but the hills weren't too steep or too long.  

We knew it was going to be a warm day so we made sure to drink up at every water station and pour cups of water over our heads and on our bodies to stay cool. At mile 7 we took our first Gu which gave me a huge burst of energy and I started clapping with the bands, cheering loudly for our pace group and pumping them up with motivational sound bites every few minutes. I'm sure I was driving them crazy but I seriously felt euphoric between miles 7-10.

At mile 13 the half marathoners (nearly 16,000 of them) pealed off to finish their race and the course became much roomier and a lot quieter too. I took another Gu at mile 13.5 and happily chirped something to the group like, "Oh yeah! We're just warming up guys! The race doesn't start till mile 20!" A guy looked at me like I was out of my mind but at that point I still felt great.

As the morning wore on, the temperature began to rise into the low 70's. The back half of the marathon severely lacked shade and the sun started to take its toll. I continued to drink up at every water station and tried to repeat things like, You vs. Can't! You vs. Excuses! in my head. But by mile 17 my quads started getting heavy and I was struggling to keep my head in the game. I pulled out my iPod shuffle and plugged into some tunes hoping to get back into it. 

At mile 18 my shoelace came untied and when I jerked to a stop to tie it my legs screamed in protest. I fumbled around with the laces for almost a minute till they were tied.  When I finally got going again our pace group was way ahead of us. I tried to catch up but there was a hill at mile 20 and they pulled away. By mile 21 I couldn't see them anymore and my heart sunk. I was so out of it at mile 21 that I forgot to take my last Gu and the next water station wasn't for almost 3 miles.

Those were the worst miles of the marathon for me. It was hot, my legs were aching, and our pace group was out of sight.  We saw a runner pull to the side and break down in tears. We saw another guy drop on the grass and just lay there. Every step was so exhausting, every minute my protesting legs screamed louder. Finally half way through mile 22 I stopped in defeat and with tears clouding my eyes I told Taber to go on without me. He said, "no." I shook my head and said, "I can't. Just go." And he said, "I'm not finishing without you." I looked at him, saw the pleading in eyes for me too keep going, and reached as deep as I could for the strength to move my legs. I decided I might not break 4 hours but I wasn't going to walk. I might have to shuffle and limp jog but I was going to keep pushing to the end.

At mile 23.5 we finally reached another water station and I was able to take my last Gu. It gave me a much needed boost of energy and I saddled up my will power and said to myself, "LETS" DO THIS!" The last 3 miles had several daunting hills but I stayed focused and plowed up them.  There was a down hill at the end of mile 24 and I used it to pick up some speed. Taber dropped back a little so I slowed down to wait for him and he said, "No go! if you feel it you've gotta go! It's gonna be close!" I wasn't running with a watch so I didn't realize I could still break 4 hours. When Taber told me I was close, something just clicked inside me and I started barreling towards the finish line. At mile 25 I saw my brother in law Kevin who had been sidelined with excruciating muscle cramps.  When he saw me he jumped back on the course and with Taber just behind us we willed ourselves through that final mile. My sister jumped out at mile 26 to run with Kevin and I let them surge ahead while I fought for the last .2.

I honestly didn't see anything around me at that point but the finish line. When I crossed the mat I finally became aware of my surroundings and as the moment hit me I started to cry. Tears of exhaustion, tears of gratitude that it was over! Tears of disbelief that I actually finished! I turned around and saw Taber and he pointed to his watch and said, "You did it! You're a sub 4 marathoner!"

 Funny how quickly the pain of those last 5 miles faded away when Taber told me that! I laughed and shouted and cried again. Happy tears! Happy happy tears!

We did it! With just 63 seconds to spare! Official time: 3:58:56! If Taber had let me walk just a few more seconds I would't have that beautiful number 3 in front of my finish time. I finished 53 out of 263 for my age division and 244 out of 1414 for my gender divsion. Not too shabby!!!

We met up with Naomi and Kevin and Eric and took some pics of the proud finishers.

Just don't ask us to bend down or climb stairs. : )

 We did it!!

 It was so great having my sister there to celebrate with me. Her and Kevin are the ones who got us into running so it was the best having them there.

The rest of the day was pretty low key. We soaked in the post race party for a little then changed our clothes and went searching for some fat juicy burgers.  After eating we went back to the hotel, showered, and slept for a few hours. Then we woke up, went in search of more food, ate till our bellies were stuffed, then crashed again. : )

 The next morning I limped around DC for a little sight seeing with the Tabester. My quads, calves, hamstrings, feet and IT bands were HASHED!!

 I loved the Lincoln memorial but the stairs! OH those stairs!

We also got a peek at the White House 

If you look closely on the roof you can see the snipers up there ready to take out anyone who makes a threat on the prez. I think they had their eye on Taber with his suspicious looking beard ; )

Taber also really wanted to see the National Air and Space Museum but my legs just couldn't keep up with him.  I ended up sending him ahead and then I hailed a pedicab and met him there : ) 

When we got back to NH we collected Monty and the kids and headed home. At the house we were greeted with posters and signs on our doors and garage from our friends who had watched the kids. When we got inside there was another huge congratulations banner left by our friends from Savior of the World who had gotten the whole cast to sign them for us. It was seriously the most heartwarming homecoming and the perfect way to end an awesome weekend!

My legs may be hurting right now, but that sub 4 is mine forever! All the hard work, the months of training, those dreaded last 5 miles, were all worth it to remind me that I can do hard things!! That knowledge helps me in every aspect of my life. When I'm up to my neck in laundry, when the kids are sick or melting down, when I'm trying to balance a full and demanding schedule, I look back on my marathon and think, if I could do that, I can do anything! : )

Weeks 15 and 16: LIFE IS BUSY!! 20 Miler, and Taper Time

Life has been busy. BEYOND busy. So yeah, I guess blogging has kind of fallen to the back burner.

With both of us training for the marathon, that eats up a lot of our time.

 

We've also been doing play practices for Savior of the World every Friday night and Saturday morning which has been all consuming. Memorizing lines, working on music, rehearsing for 4 hour blocks, it keeps us busy.  (This is a pic I snapped of some of the cast during rehearsal)

Here's a little peak at one of Taber's scenes as Eli the shepherd. I'll post more pics when we start doing dress rehearsals so you can see us in costume. Anyway, the play is going to be AMAZING and I don't regret doing it for one second, but it just takes up a lot of time.

I was also busy the last 2 weeks planning a birthday party for this peanut. She turned 6 and wanted makeovers, rainbows, and unicorns.

All the girls got their hair and make up done and then posed for some fashion shots.

They decorated unicorn horns

And had rainbow unicorn cake

I knew with my time crunched schedule I couldn't pull off the rainbow cake Teya wanted so my awesome friend ended up making it for me and it came out perfect and so so yummy!

So yeah, that's why I haven't blogged in awhile. But here's a quick recap of the last 2 weeks in training:

Week 15:

Monday:

5 miles on treadmill: avg pace 8:34

Tuesday:

30 day Shred level 2

Pilates

Wednesday:

5 miles on treadmill w/compression socks for my shins. Avg pace: 8:41

Thursday:

30 Day Shred level 2

Friday:

5 miles on treadmill: went all hard to see how my shins would do. Avg pace 7:56 and the legs felt great.

Saturday:

20 MILER OUTSIDE!!! WOOOOOOT! Avg pace: 9:32

I could do a whole long post about the 20 miler but I'll try to sum it up as quickly as I can for you.
On Saturday we got a babysitter after play practice so we could run together. We started at 3:30 pm and it was WINDY! like 20-25 mph winds with 30-40mph gusts. We ran the first 9 miles on our normal hilly route, keeping around a 9:15 pace. We stopped back at the house at mile 9 and I ran in to use the bathroom but kept my watch going because in the marathon you can't pause the clock when you go potty. So yeah, tried to go as fast as I could and then we started back out again.

Second half the sun started going down and I was a lot colder. We did an out and back for the last 11 miles that is relatively flat (for New England ; ) and that was nice on the legs. The sun went down around mile 14 and we ran the last 6 miles in the dark. Taber had a reflective vest and headlamp on but we still had to slow down a bit to avoid tripping or falling. The last 2 miles were really challenging for me mentally but Taber kept pushing me on with positive encouragement.  His positive words helped and for the last 1/2 mile I started chanting out loud, "I CAN DO THIS! I AM STRONG! I CAN DO THIS! I AM STRONG!" We finished mile 20 at a 9:05 pace, which is my goal pace for the marathon. As dead as I felt after that run, it was encouraging to run a negative split at the end.

My legs were hashed afterwards. My left knee hurt and my right IT band was painfully tight and inflammed. I stretched and foam rolled and rubbed ice on my IT bands but I still took 2 solid days off before I tried to run again.

Which brings me to WEEK 16:


Tuesday:
eased back into it with a slow 3 1/2 miler at a 10:10 pace. Was supposed to do 5 but the legs felt testy so I jumped off after 3.5.

Wednesday:
After 3 days of intense stretching, rolling and icing I tried another 3 miler and it felt a lot better. Avg. pace was 9:15

Saturday:
Took two more days off then I tried my long run and managed to pull off a 12 miler at an 8:45 pace. That run was a testament to me of the value of taking time off and really following the Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation rules.

I ran alone in the snow while my friend watched the kids. My legs felt a little heavy but my knees, IT bands and shins all held up so I think it's safe to say I will actually make it to the starting line INJURY FREE!!!! 10 Days till the marathon people, I'm getting excited!

Week 14: Shins and Girl Issues

Week 14 wasn't my best week. Basically after my 19 miler I ran a speedy 5 miler, and ever since my shins have been giving me some trouble. Nothing horrible but enough that I've backed off the speed workouts, cut down on my mileage and started wearing Taber's compression socks during and after all my runs.

 (I guess fitting in my hubby's compression socks is one of the benefits of having huge calves ; ) I also think I need to get some new shoes since I just looked on Runkeeper and I've run 547 miles since I bought my last ones. So yeah, hopefully switching up the shoes will help the situation. 

Warning: If talking about female monthly issues makes you uncomfortable, skip the next paragraph: )

Besides my shin trouble I was also dealing with my monthly visitor which majorly threw off my running mojo. PMS hormones make me weepy and turn me into a sugar monster. I seriously ate so much junk last week it is disgusting. I also get horrible cramps which makes running tough too. Guys are so lucky they don't have to deal with that. It is horrible!! Anyway, I'm a little concerned that my monthly visitor's next projected visit falls right during marathon week! Blah! I do not want to run 26.2 miles wearing a tampon or a bulky pad. I'm praying it's late, or early, or doesn't come at all. That would be awesome.

Despite those little setbacks I did have a huge highlight this week when I knocked out 12 miles in 1:40:15. I ran outside on a hilly course but pushed myself hard and was pumped to see my average pace was 8:20! Taber of course saw that I did that and had to go out and run it even faster with an average pace of 8:15.  I swear he will never let me hold a PR in this house! ; ) It's all good though, a little friendly competition keeps us on our toes : ) 

 This week we've got our big 20 miler and then it's finally taper time, THANK GOODNESS! I'm so ready for short easy runs.

Here's my workout summary:

Monday: 

a fast 5 miles at a 1 incline: avg pace 7:57 (this is the run that sparked the shin pain)

Tuesday: 

8 miles on the treadmill, shins were bugging so I dropped the incline to 0. avg pace: 8:31

Thursday:

5 miles on the treadmill, 0 incline because of my shins. Avg pace: 8:41

Friday: 

12 miles outside: avg pace 8:20- my shins and knees definitely felt it after this run so I took the next 2 days off and have been going easy ever since.

Week 13: Bruises, Doubts, and Confidence

 Last week I took a ridiculous fall that bruised the heck out of my knee. I was parked on a steep hill and as I was climbing down from my car I slipped and fell and my knee slammed hard into a metal rod. It hurt really bad and started to bruise and swell right away. I was SO mad because I've been so careful in my training to avoid injury and then in one split second I bust my stupid knee.

 Here's a picture of the worst side of the bruising, there was a smaller bruise on the other side too. It hurt like the devil and filled me with doubts. 

The biggest doubt being whether I can really run a sub 4 marathon. Lately I've just been feeling like that was a pretty lofty goal for myself and wondering if my training has been inadequate considering my goal. I've been following Hal Higdon's Novice 2 marathon program, and while I've been spot on and haven't missed a run, it's not that demanding of a schedule. I'm only running 35-38 miles a week and my biggest week will be 40 miles. When Taber trained for Hartford he was doing 40-45 miles a week and sometimes hitting 50. 

Also I've had to do the majority of my runs on the treadmill which is a lot easier than running outside and I worry that will affect my marathon pace as well. I do try to keep it at a 1 incline to add a little resistance but it's still not the same. 

So yeah, the bruised knee + creeping doubts left me feeling a little insecure about my whole sub 4 marathon goal.  The knee thing happened the day before I was supposed to run my 19 miler and I wasn't sure if I should run but I didn't really have a lot of options. Friday was the only day I could do my long run because the rest of our weekend was jam packed, so I iced my knee all day and the next morning I set out for my run. I decided to do a 9 mile loop to start with and if the knee felt okay I would do a 5 mile out and back to get the other 10 miles.

The 9 mile loop was pretty hilly and my knee started throbbing as I climbed up and down those big hills. When I finished the loop I was debating whether or not to keep going but I decided to go on and if it got bad I could just turn around sooner.  The out and back course I picked was much much flatter than the 9 mile loop and once I got going my knee actually felt great. The throbbing faded away and I settled into a good pace. I pushed through the last 5 miles and my legs were pretty tired at the end but I finished 19 miles, the longest I've ever run by myself, and it gave me a huge boost of confidence that I desperately needed! Here are my splits: 

My average pace was a 9:00 min mile exactly. If I can just hold onto that for 7 more miles a sub 4 could actually be in my future! I was pretty dead at the end but maybe on marathon day I'll have some extra adrenaline to fuel me on. That's what I'm hoping for anyway : )

Here's what the rest of my week looked like:

Monday:

5 miles of interval sprints. Ran the sprints at a 7:03 pace and the recovery laps at a 8:34 pace. Overall avg. pace: 7:47

20 min Pilates

Tuesday:

5 mile tempo run: avg pace 8:08

Wednesday:

5 mile run at a 1 incline for the first 4 miles then upped it to a 3 for .5 and a 5 to finish with a climb. Avg pace: 8:34

Thursday:

30 day Shred Level 3

Friday:

19 miles outside: Avg pace: 9:00

This week I only have to do a 12 miler for my long run to taper back a little before my 20 miler next week. I'm looking forward to a little less mileage : )

And I'll leave you with a little Valentines cuteness from the Rigg Kids. Sure love those munchkins ; )

Week 12: Food and marathon training

So if you know me, you know that I love food. Like, really really love it. And I would definitely have to say that one of my favorite parts of marathon training is getting to eat so many extra calories every day. After a long run I'm looking at about 1200 bonus calories that get to go in my belly. If I was more disciplined I'd probably use those calories to eat stuff like organic vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats, but mostly I just want to use them for desserts : )

So I made these bad boys the other day and Mmm...mmm... they were good.

 and I ate a fat slice of this heavenly creation

And I've been treating myself to a bowl of ice cream every night for the past straight 30 days or so because it just feels like the right thing to do. 

So yeah, my cute mom called me the other day and was all worried and concerned that I wasn't eating enough with all the running I'm doing, so Mom, I just wanted to assure you that I'm getting plenty of calories, good healthy ones and some naughty little indulgent ones too : )

One thing that has helped me make sure I'm eating enough is the MyfitnessPal app I talked about a little while ago. Originally I used the app to lose the 5 lbs I put on during the holidays, but once I got to my goal weight I started using it to make sure I eat all the calories I burn in my workouts. It's pretty awesome and I just started making my daily food diaries public so Mom, if you want to know exactly what I'm eating you can check it out on there.  : ) And if anyone else is using MyFitnessPal please add me! My screen name is beccarigg. I love having other people on there to motivate me, it's awesome!

Anyway, here's a quick summary of week 12. (Just 6 weeks to go!)

Monday:

5 miles on the treadmill with a 1 incline. avg pace 8:25

30 Day Shred level 2

Tuesday:

8 miles on the treadmill, struggled with this run but finished with an avg pace of 8:36

Wednesday:

30 day Shred level 3 (level 3 is so much harder than level 2!  I was sore for the rest of the week!)

20 minute Pilates

Thursday:

5 miles of interval sprints on the treadmill. Ran 10, 2 minute sprints at a 7:03 pace with 2 minutes in between each sprint for recovery at a 8:34 pace. Avg pace was 7:48. Awesome workout!

Friday:

Ran 13 miles on a new route with my friend Kelly. She took us on some good hills that really kicked my booty. The weather was gorgeous though (loving this mild winter) and our avg. pace was 9:11.

Looking forward to a big 19 miler this week. I have to run it alone so I'm trying to decide if I want to do 9.5 miles out and back, or if I want to do a 2.5 mile loop near my house 8 times. The out and back sounds less monotonous but I get nervous running that far away by myself. Still not sure what I'll do, if anyone has an opinion either way let me know!

Week 11: Cross training and my longest treadmill run ever...

Well I finally started cross training last week and it made me realize how pathetically wimpy all my non-running muscles are! Here I am thinking I'm so tough because I'm training for a marathon and then I try to do a 20 minute pilates DVD and the next day my abs and buns are SO sore I can barely move. That is sad, but a good wake up call for me to make cross training a priority. I mostly stuck with pilates to help with my back but I also threw a 30 day Shred workout in there too. 

Teya took this picture while I was doing pilates one morning. It was after my run so Cam was awake and crawling all over me like I was a human obstacle course. After this I made it a point to only do pilates when Cam was sleeping : )

One of the bright spots of last week was when my friend, who is a massage therapist, came over to work on my back. It was great because she brought her massage table right to my house and we just put on a movie for the kids while she worked the soreness away. It helped a ton and now I just wish she could do it every week : ) 

So yeah, back is doing better, cross training is happening, and overall I think week 11 went really well. Here's how it looked:

Monday:

5 miles on the treadmill, avg pace: 8:34

20 minute pilates DVD

Tuesday:

Got up at 5:40am to crank out 8 miles on the treadmill. avg pace: 8:33. Felt good to get it done early!

20 minute pilates DVD (a lot harder the 2nd day because my abs were so sore!)

Wednesday:

Did 30 day shred level 1. It kicked my butt.

Thursday:

Got up early again to do 5 miles on the treadmill. avg. pave was 8:17 and I felt like I was flying! 

followed my run with a 20 minute pilates DVD

Friday:

18 miles on the dreadmill.

  I know that sounds completely insane but it was 30 degrees outside and literally pouring rain all morning without a break. That was the only time I could get a babysitter so it was either run in the rain and risk getting sick from exposure, or suck it up and pound it out on the treadmill.

 I kept myself entertained by watching old episodes of the Biggest Loser.  I ran at an 8:57 pace the whole time except at mile 9 and mile 15 when I slowed it down to a walk so I could take a Gu and drink some water. 

I know I look super cute here but I wanted to take a picture when I was done to document my longest treadmill run ever. 18 miles, avg pace 9:05. Proud of myself for making it happen but I pray I never have to run that long on a treadmill again!

Week 10: I think I messed up my back : (

After logging 33 miles last week my back is KILLING ME! It seriously feels like someone took a broom stick and jabbed it into my upper back over and over again as hard as they could. It hurts so bad! I think there are a couple of reasons for it: 

1) Bad posture at the end of my long runs.

2) Running on an incline on the treadmill and not adjusting my posture.

3) Not doing any cross training to strengthen my core.

It's my own lazy fault for not doing any cross training and now I'm suffering the consequences for it. Luckily there are still 8 weeks until the marathon so I think I have time to fix the problem. Starting now I'm going to do pilates at least 5 times a week to strengthen my core and my back. I'm also going to be less focused on speed and more focused on my form, especially engaging my core and keeping my dang back straight! 

I did pilates after my run today and it felt good on my sore back muscles. Hopefully doing it more consistently will help. In the mean time I'm doing lots of back stretches and I scheduled a sports massage for Thursday.

Besides my back pain here's what the week looked like:

Monday:

8 miles on the treadmill with a 1 incline: avg. pace: 8:24. 

This run was awesome and I felt so strong the whole time!

Wednesday:

4 mile speed workout on the treadmill. alternated running .5 mile at a 7:30 pace with a .25 mile recovery at a 8:34 pace. Overall avg. pace: 7:53

Friday:

Had to split my long run to make it work with the babysitter so I started by doing 5 miles on the treadmill (avg pace 8:42), and finished by running 12 miles outside: (avg pace 9:05) for a total of 17 miles.

It was the coldest long run I've done and I didn't wear enough layers. By the end my arms and fingers were so frozen I couldn't even zip up my jacket! I ran with my friend Kelly and it was a solid run but my legs were super tired at the end and my body was just so cold! I'm going to look into getting some warmer gear before my 18 miler this weekend.

Saturday:

4 mile recovery run on the treadmill: avg pace 9:13

Oh man my legs were tired for this run! Running 21 miles in less than 24 hours takes it's toll. It felt like my last leg of the Ragnar but I just pushed through it and figured it was good to practice running on tired legs.

One thing that has helped with the energy is drinking Chia seeds before my runs. I was only doing it before long runs but I started doing it before all my runs and I feel a big difference!

Here's my little secret to getting the seeds down, Mio liquid water enhancer. It's basically like Crystal light powder but in liquid form so it dissolves easier. Anyway, I use the strawberry watermelon flavor and it's good stuff!

So that's week 10.  Week 11 will be all about the core work, which is fine since I guess next month is national Ab month anyway ; )

Oh and p.s. Guess who turned ONE last week?! 

He had a lot of fun with his birthday cake : )

Week 9: Winter Warriors and a Bomb Diggity New Recipe!

I made it to the halfway mark! Just 9 weeks to go and the miles are ramping up! I've got 17, 18, 19, and 20 milers coming up in the next few weeks and I'm so SCARED excited to see how they go : )

Last week I only ran 3 times but I still managed to log 32 miles so I was happy with it. 

Monday I decided to do 10 miles since I missed my long run from being sick the week before. My friend watched the kids so I was able to run outside and it was awesome! 25 degrees outside but no snow so I was able to cruise along. I did my usual hilly route that has a 711 ft. elevation climb but I pushed it on the hills and finished with an average pace of 8:41. 

Wednesday was a 7 miler on the treadmill, didn't push it too hard and finished with an average pace of 8:31.

Then on Friday my friend Kelly and I braved the elements and ran 15 miles on the applefest course (super hilly) in freezing icy snow. Their was a wind advisory too so the wind was whipping around us and causing icy snow drops to pelt our faces. It felt like like getting stung in the face over and over again, we had to look down at the ground to avoid getting too much in our eyes.

(Do you like how the snow flake fell in front of my face right as I was taking this pic? kind of cool : )

I seriously felt like I was just "surviving" that run, trying to get through the snow and wind and hills without dying. We stopped to walk briefly to fuel at mile 8 and then to find our way at mile 14, but even with the walking I was shocked when we finished to see that our average pace was 9:01!! We definitely earned winter warrior status for that run!

Me and Kelly, my awesome marathoning mentor who recently qualified for Boston with a 3:32 marathon. I feel like I learn so much every time I run with her!

So that was week 9. I wish I could've squeezed one more run in but life is busy with 3 kids, and now our Friday nights and Saturday mornings are filled with rehearsals for a play Taber and I are in that's being put on by our church. It's a scripture based musical about the life of Jesus Christ called the Savior of the World.  I'm playing the part of Mary (who has a lot of lines and a couple solos) So it's a pretty big commitment right now. So yeah, always tricky to fit in our runs but every Sunday Taber and I sit down and meticulously plan out when each of us is going to run. It takes a lot of effort and planning but we're doing it and I think it will be so worth it to run our first marathon together!

Oh, and the healthy eating thing has had it's ups and downs but I recently found a new website called Skinnykitchen.com and it has the BEST recipes! I tried these lettuce wraps last night and they were so amazingly DELICIOUS! Taber seriously went on and on about how good they were and how he felt like he eating at PF Changs.  So yeah, here's the link to the recipe, enjoy! Lettuce Wrap Recipe

I got a DSLR camera for Christmas so I'm kind of having fun pretending I can take cool pictures of food : ) 

Yummy Yummy!!