Teamwork, Titans, and Tweaking...

I have had a very hard time keeping up with everything this past week!  Lots of working, coaching, running, oh yea and most importantly MOMMY-ING!  I have had my limits tested this week and almost broke down...my body finally told me to slow down on Tuesday and I ended up in bed or  the bathroom!  So here is what has been going on!  I have had 2 great speework sessions since last Wednesday and actually look forward to doing the speed!  Last weeks speed looked like this:

3 mile warm up then 10 x 400 meter repeats @ 1:30 - 1:26 with a 60-90 second RI..I ended with 9.25 miles in 67 minutes. 

Yesterday's speedwork was done after my teams lacrosse game and being frozen AGAIN!  I did a 2 mile warm up at 7:30 pace then 8 x 800 meter repeats with a .20 - .25 RI in between ... I was feeling great so I really wanted to end with 9 miles under 64 minutes so I pushed the cooldown pace and finished with 9.2 in 66:10.  

Best combo for speed...Oiselle, Mizuno and Feetures!

Cross training this past week consisted of 2 days of lifting, rowing, and stairmonster!  I forgot how much of a workout rowing is....I have a nice blister on my hand to prove it!

#BrilliantROW

 So I crammed a ton in to the past week especially Thursday - Sunday and barely any sleep!  I worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights...  We had our first lacrosse game on Friday and we totally rocked the field!  17-7 victory and my team finally clicked together which is a beautiful thing to see!  So proud of these girls...Then straight from the game I went right into work for 12 hours...then on Saturday I had to go see my all time favorite college lacrosse goalie play against Wilmington University...Her team also won and she added some spice to the game! LOVE her...I feel like a proud mom watching her play and just excel in her sport as well as her AMAZINGLY positive attitude! 

GCU LAX!!

After the game my hubby's softball team had their beef and beer ... I am not going to lie I was so beyond tired and dreading having to go to work at 3 am ... I debated not going to the beef and beer.  I also figured they were like any other typical men's softball team.  Well,  I was completely wrong....This team seems like an amazing group of men and I actually am looking forward to seeing them play.  I ended up having a great time and got to spend my BFF's birthday eve with her too!  Plus they also had delicious cupcakes:

Sunday - Long run of 15.15 miles in 1:55 minutes and felt pretty darn good considering all the craziness of the weekend.  My back was very stiff on the right side so I need to go see my PT asap!

It is so amazing how just a little tweaking and adjustment can change things majorly!  I was able to go see my PT friend and get straightened out..plus a little Rock Tape!  It is almost instant relief and I could tell such a difference on my speedwork last night!!!  Thank God! 

Some other exciting news this week is we finally have a girl in the group!!!

AVERY MICHELLE

Meet Avery... She was born on Tuesday..I made sure to settle my friend in and hooked her up with an amazing nurse ( since I was just getting off of work and had to go back in that night ).  Congrats Kim and Corey and Big Brother Jordan!

Happy Running!

Catching Up!!

Wow this past week has had a lot of changes and new this happening!  Last Sunday 2/24  we became Godparents to the CUTEST little boy:

LOVE!!

We are so honored and privileged to be his Godparents and look forward to the future with this little man....oh yeah and we LOVE his parents and siblings also!!!  I predict a future marathoner in him...It all started with Boston!

Since I was post a 20 miler I was still ravenous and feasted on the amazing food ( all HOMEMADE ) and this beauty:


Truly Heaven sent!!

On Monday my hubby started a new adventure with work and I am so looking forward to the things to come!!  I took today as a much needed rest day since I worked the past two nights and my BFF's Nana was laid to rest...the service was beautiful and truly reflected what a wonderful happy soul her Nana was!!  She had passed away the same day her husband passed away 25 yrs earlier ( 2/17 )...I think this is her happily ever after and she is now in a much better place smiling down and watching over her family with the love of her life!! 

Tuesday my oldest was home sick with a fever and vomiting so I had to sneak in a quick 6.25 miles in 44:56 when my mom stopped by to drop something off!  I always hate to see my little men sick.  Thank goodness was off work to care for them. 

Wednesday:  Speed work!!!!  I am really starting to enjoy my speed days because I think this is the key element that will get me to my goal.  Here is the breakdown of my run:
2 mile warm up in 16:00 ( 8:00min/ mile pace )
2 x 1600 meter @ 6:31
1 min recovery in between
2 x 800 meter @ 3:08
1 min recovery in between
1 mile cooldown
Total 7 miles in 48 minutes

Followed by weight lifting with Tony....We had talked about sport specific training and he put something together for Angel and I to try...Wow this was good and really targeted those hamstrings, glutes and back muscles that we forget to work! 

Thursday another rest day due to class and work schedule!

Friday:  Welcome March!  First day of lacrosse practice!!! I absolutely love this time of year and spring sports...I ran a quick warm up with the girls and I have to say they did great!  Not many people walked and no one threw up!  Yay.   We did a ton of sprints and drills also to show how much conditioning they will need...I think they may have actually been working in the off season.  Stick skills look a little rusty but that will work out this week and the new players were picking it up fast!!  Looking forward to the 2013 season.  Come support our team this season PLEASE!!!!

Friday night I had my running clubs 2nd annual banquet and it was awesome I will post that up in a separate post!

What's your favorite spring sport?  Any Lacrosse fans out there??

Happy Running!

Treadmill Love ( or Hate )...

Sunday was a complete rest day for me especially after my long run on Saturday and then having a low grade fever and awful cough!  Plus having to work a 12 hour midnight shift also. 

Monday after a much needed post work nap and NyQuil I decided to do a little run and see how I felt.  Well,  I warmed up for 20 minutes 2.5 miles and felt pretty darn good so I decided to do my speedwork...5 x 1 mile repeats that went like this 6:58, 6:53, 6:44, 6:40, 6:40 then 2 mile cool down.  I surprised myself on this run and was glad to have fit in in this week.  I go through spurts where I could do every single run on the treadmill and LOVE this machine..then there are some times that I think it would kill me to do a single mile on the mill.  Right now I am in my LOVE phase so all is good but when I am not I have to trick my mind on the mill and here are some of my mind games:

1.  Speedwork:  Like I mentioned above I did mile repeats but you can do repeats of any distance or time.  I am following a marathon training plan and one of my weekly runs is always for speed.  For me the treadmill is the best way to do my speedwork...and the Y TM actually as a "speed interval" program where you can set your jog speed (RI) and you run speed all with a push of a button!  Love this!  If you are new to speedwork start with shorter intervals and increase as you get more comfortable.  Here is a link to some ideas of intervals. 

2.  Hills:  I like to do different hills intervals also when the boredom sets in.  The change in elevation keeps things interesting and challenging.  One thing about Delaware and my routes I run there really are not many significant hills and with Boston right around the corner hills and declines are very important right now.  Once again the Y TM also has some pretty awesome hill programs.

3.  Progression Run:  One of my favorite TM workouts is a progression run.  The goal is to try to run each mile faster then the last and end with a pretty swift pace.  This has really help me in the final miles of my races and has trained my legs to push when they are tired.  Plus it makes the run go by faster!

4:  Match minute for minute:   This type of run I will run either for speed or for hills...I will jog at a comfortable pace for 3 minutes then increase either my speed or incline for 3 minutes then return to jog pace or flat road.  I vary the time each interval 1:1, 2:2, 3:3 and so on. 

5. Song Game:  I also like to put my play list on shuffle and then when my fast pace or working songs come on I push the pace for the entire song or do a hill climb. 

So these are just a few things that help me change up the monotony of the mill!

Today was a cross training day so I took Amy's Spin class and it was ALL work NO fluff!  I was dripping with sweat when I was done and felt great to use different muscles.  I did 25 miles in the 60 minute class.  I also did my kettlebell work:

Squats with 40# KB
Lunges with 15# KB
Deadlifts with 40# KB
Hamstring Curls on Swiss ball
Push-ups
4 x 10 reps each

All finished and ready to refuel with my Premier Protein...Which there are coupons for in this weeks ads!!!

 

 

Yummy!

Then this beauty!  Spinach, Chicken, Almonds, Cranberries, Apples, Gorgonzola, and Apple Cider Vinaigrette!!

Did you love or hate the TM? 

What tricks help you on the TM?

Holiday Cup!

Yesterday was all over the place for me!  I started off the day going to Cam's preschool Halloween parade and party then I had planned to do my speed work session but by the time I got going I couldn't get into the groove.  My pace was all over the place and I was tense most of the run...I found out some surprising family info and my mind was everywhere else but my run.  I was able to get in 9 miles in 67 minutes and tried to keep this a tempo run with a few accelerations in my speed.  My run was cut short because I had to pick up my little guy and take him to the doctor for this horrible cough he has had for a few days...I want to be sure it wasn't something too serious.  He is such a trooper and does not slow down even if he is not feeling well and he was NOT going to miss out on trick or treating ( good thing Dr. said he was OK to go ).  We had such a great time last night and enjoyed Halloween with amazing friends and family!  Chase, Cameron, Jordan and Hannah were so cute and we look forward to many more years trick or treating together. 

Post trick or treating Ghost Skater

Tickle me Elmo!

Post trick or treating Jordan and Kim

Post trick or treating Ghost Pirate!

It is amazing how quickly the kids got out of their costumes after they were done trick or treating!

Hannah

Hannah switched costumes and became Aunt Stacey!  Love her!!  She was dressed up as Merida from Disney's Brave but I have her picture on my other camera and am too tired to go find it right now!

Today I planned on making up for my lack of consistency yesterday and did 5 miles with 800 meter repeats in 34 minutes...total sweat fest and felt great to go fast.  I also did a kettle bell session with shoulders, biceps, triceps, lunges, squats and abs!  So glad to be done this workout.  While I was lifting I noticed the different forms and amount of weights being lifted at the gym.  I really pay close attention to my form and proper lifting but there are a lot of people out there slinging heavy weights around and with terrible form.  One kid who was 5' 4" 164 lbs lifting 315 lbs doing a set of deadlifts and felt a "burning sensation" in his groin...I am not a body builder but I know that this cannot be good!  I will stick to my sports specific weight training and hope for the best.

I was so excited to see this today:

What is your favorite weight training exercise?

Happy Running!

Recovery and Speed Work!

I decided to take Monday off for a recovery day and rest my legs and body after the 22 mile run on Sunday.  We had an amazing dinner with my parents and brother for my Dad's birthday!!  My dad's birthday was on Sunday and he and my mom were at the beach for the weekend, the boys had another birthday party and I had to work so we decided to celebrate on Monday.  My dad chose Kenny's Pan Asian for dinner which is our favorite place for sushi.  Good times!!

Tuesday I was going to do my speed work but my legs/knees were still a little sore from my run and I thought I needed the extra day of recovery...so I swam 1650 yards in 32 minutes then met Angel and did 25 minutes on the expresso bike, 22 minutes on the stairmonster, and some kettle bell work!  I am loving the kettle bells and using them properly has made a difference in my training.  After all this I got to go snuggle with Baby Mason who is 3 weeks old and soooooooo cute and play with Jordan and Aiden who are both 2 years old and adorable!!  Thank you Kim for feeding me after my workout. 

Today's workout was my speed work session!!  I started with a 2.6 mile warm up outside at the park which was absolutely beautiful.  Then I hit the TM for my speed intervals...8 x 800 meter repeats with 90 seconds of recovery in between.   I was worried because I am on the fence with needing new sneaks and was afraid my feet would feel the pain of this speed.  But all was good.. I finished with 9.5 miles in 72 minutes ( including the warm up ) then moved over to run next to Angel while she finished her last 3 repeats and I did my cool down mile.  Glad this one is over and I am learning to not hate speed work so much.  I planned on lifting after my run and did a few triceps, bicep and leg work until my muscles locked up and I couldn't straighten my arm!!  WHAT THE!  This is a sign I needed to be done. 

Now time to refuel with some amazing homemade chili and sweet potatoes with coconut oil and raw honey!!  Thanks Kim for getting me hooked on Chili!!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall day.

Happy Running!

Speed Work and Hunger!

Today was my speed work day...this always makes me nervous!  Well, when I woke up and heard the thunder and saw the sky was black I was half tempted to stay asleep with my boys but I had a date with Angel at the Y.  So I drank my ginormous cup of coffee had a light breakfast and went to walk out the door when there was a huge down pour of rain and Angel text me her car battery was dead...UGH!!  I felt so bad for her and at this point I really wanted to bag the run but I would only have let myself down if I did that so out the door in my galoshes I go!  My workout looked like this: 1% incline 5 mile warm up in 38 mins ( I  needed the extra miles to convince my legs that they could handle the speed ), then speed work ladder 1200 M: 4:47 (400 M RI), 1000 M: 3:55 (400 M RI), 800 M: 3:06 (200 M RI), 600 M: 2:18 (200 M RI), 400 M: 1:28 (200 M RI), then cool down 1.5 miles.  This was challenging but not as awful as I thought it was going to be!  Even though I was mentally not wanting to do this today once I got out of my head and just started I felt great.  However I was burping up banana the last 2 miles. 

While I was running I got a message from my mom:  Lunch today? 
Heck ya!  We went to Red Robin with the boys and I inhaled my Southwest Chicken Salad.  After I do speed work I am always starving for the next 24 hours.  I try and refuel with lots of veggies, fruit, and protein and occasionally some Red robin bottomless fries :-)

I am working night shift tonight then I am heading to the beach for some family fun/some girl's weekend fun!  Also a 20 mile run will be mixed into all the fun. 

How do you refuel after you do speed work? 

Happy Running!

Speedy Saturday

I am working back to back weekends and I am not thrilled about it but I had to adjust my running plan and family time to balance it all out!  Today I got off of work at 8 a.m. and we had our lacrosse play day.  I had to jam in my 8 miles of speed work today also.  I was having some belly issues at work last night and just not feeling 100%.  After a few hours of sleep I felt much better.  I was able to head to the gym before work and did some intervals of speed.  I started out with a warm up mile @ 8:06 pace then I did 2 x 800 at 9.5...I realized after my 2nd 800 that today was definitely not a 800 kinda day.  So I adjusted my plan and did 4 x 400 at 9.3 - 9.5...I then switched it up again and did 1 minute sprint followed by 2 minutes recovery pace for the last 3 miles.  I ended with 8 miles in 57 minutes and was a big sweaty mess!



Gray always shows off all of my sweat!  After my run I foam rolled, put on my compression and iced before heading back into work!

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!

Two of my good friends ran the DC R & R half marathon today and I cannot wait to hear all about it!!

What is your favorite stretch or post run routine?

Happy Running!