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Workouts + Weekly Reads: Taper Time

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I’m going to skip the intro and get right to it…I survived my 20 mile run. In fact, I felt pretty darn great. It feels good to have that confidence boost heading into taper time! I thoroughly enjoyed my post run feast(s) and nap(s). That’s what Saturday’s are for right?

Monday: 5 miles. Nothing eventful except that I felt very sluggish for the first 20 minutes. After that I woke up.

Tuesday: Hot Vinyasa Flow. I need to write a post about my yoga studio soon because it is one of my favorite thing about Miami. We did a lot of backbends, which are my favorite!

Wednesday: 6.25 miles + Spin. Did 400, 800 repeats (3 rounds…I think) with half distance recovery. I pretty much make up these “workouts” as I’m going and I really try to remember what I did afterward. I had an awesome spin class at night and structured the ride like this: 2 songs warm-up; 2 songs hill; 2 songs flats/jumps/speed; repeat sequence starting with hills.

Thursday: 4 miles. Was supposed to do 5 but couldn’t get into it. I had a knot in my right quad and it was kind of bugging me (and of course had me convinced I was severely injured…#overreacted).

Friday: Hot Vinyasa Flow. I requested extra hip openers in preparation for Saturday’s run. My favorite instructor teaches this class and it is always amazing.

Saturday: 20 miles. Averaged a 9:12 pace but I didn’t stop my GPS during 2 of my water stops or at short stop lights. It got super hot during my last 3 miles and my pace slowed down as a result. This was honestly such a beautiful run. I ran through one of my favorite parts of town and loved seeing everyone out there biking/running/walking/playing at the park. Now, it is time to taper.

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IMG_7070Sunday: REST. Unless you count getting a massage as exercise ;) My favorite post-run guilty pleasure!

Favorite Posts

The Importance Of Something Losing Your Sh*t and Breaking Down Emotionally- Thought Catalog

Fitness Rules- Making ‘Em and Breaking ‘Em- Sweets and Beets

Happy Sunday! xo

Workouts + Weekly Reads: Sweating Buckets

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If I didn’t know better I would say it’s August. This entire week has been at least 90 degrees with high humidity and therefore, all of my workouts, (except for my long run) were inside. As I walked outside yesterday morning at 5:30 a.m. for my run I just laughed because of the heat. Florida just hasn’t gotten the “fall” memo quite yet. But I will say, a lot of my sweat came from hot yoga so I can’t blame the weather for everything!

Monday: 5 miles + Hot Vinyasa Flow. I didn’t work in the afternoon and I took advantage of my free time. Honestly, not working and going to yoga made me so happy. Unfortunately work is kind of necessary so it’ll be back to normal next week.

Tuesday: Rest. I planned on going to 6 a.m. yoga but I had a meeting the night before that lasted until 11:45. Needless to say I did not set a 5:30 alarm! Sleep > most everything else

Wednesday: 7 miles in the morning + Spin at night. I ran my 7 miles at around an 8:40 min/mile pace. I posted my spin playlist from this past week, but overall it was a great class. As usual, I used it as more of a recovery ride.

Thursday: 5 miles. 1.5 mile warm-up, 3 rounds of 800 repeats/800 recovery, .5 mile cool down. I had to be on campus by 8 a.m. and the gym doesn’t open until 6, so doing a random speed workout fit well with my schedule.

Friday: Hot Vinyasa Flow

Saturday: 17.5 miles. I had 18 on my schedule but had to go to the bathroom at 17.5 so I called it quits then ;) I cannot explain how sweaty and smelly I was after this run. I felt like I had jumped in a pool! I went into the grocery store after and got a lot of weird stares haha. Averaged about 9:10 pace but I’m not too concerned about speed. My hamstrings did feel really tight and I wish I had time for a massage. Foam rolling will have to do.

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Tired eyes, tired legs, happy girl

Sunday: Rest. My Sunday is too busy for my liking but I hope to get some stretching in while watching football (planned my obligations around the Eagles game…true fan).

Favorite Posts

Not Alone- Long Drive Journey

How I Let Go- Snack Therapy

Why I’m Jealous of Non-Runners- Almost Getting It Together

10 Ways To Avoid Hitting The Wall In Your Next Marathon- Reach Your Peak

Happy Sunday! xo

Workouts + Weekly Reads: Not According to Plan

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For this week of training I used my schedule merely as a guide…I did not follow any day exactly as written. I didn’t intend for this to happen but it’s just how things worked out. Not always a bad thing. More on my marathon training tomorrow!

Monday: Hot yoga. I did 18 miles the day before and contemplated a shake out run Monday morning. I woke up with tight legs and a few pains so I immediately nixed that idea.

Tuesday: Hot yoga. Again, I was going to get a run in but my body needed another day to recover. DOMS hit big time. My hamstrings and hips have always been tight but they were especially tight after the long run. Pigeon never felt better.

Wednesday: 7.25 miles + Spin. I went to bed unsure of how I’d feel in the morning, but I woke up feeling recovered and ready to go. I taught spin later that night and took my ride as more of active recovery.

Thursday: 7 miles. Treadmill again due to the weather but it felt pretty good. Funny thing (not necessarily a “workout” thought)…in my management class that day we did an activity that showed the different types of motivation. I was one of the 8 volunteers who was “coached” with a different motivation tactic while doing planks. I actually won the planking contest- holding for over 3 minutes. I haven’t done formal ab work in forever so I was actually sore the next day.

Friday: Rest. I was barely on my feet in preparation for Saturday’s long run.

Saturday: 12 miles. Officially my longest treadmill run. The rain forced me inside and while I was mentally prepared for the dreadmill, my body just couldn’t get into the run at all. I was supposed to do 15 but because I was struggling to keep a slower-than-average-for-me pace, I cut it short. This week was a step back week in general (long runs go back to 18+ next week) so I’m not too concerned with the change-up.

Sunday: Rest or yoga.

Favorite Posts

#GlutenFreeTSOH: The Results are in!- The Skinny on Health (I found her experiment and results very interesting!)

8 Ways to Embrace JOMO: The Joy of Missing Out- Greatist via Yahoo Shine

Happy Sunday! xo

Workouts + Weekly Reads: Tired Eyes

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Hello, hello! This is a very happy Sunday for me because it means I survived my long day at work yesterday :) Getting up at 6 a.m. and not running was different for a Saturday morning, so I’m very glad that’s over. This week of workouts was pretty good, but the common theme was exhaustion. Not running related, because my runs felt strong, but just general exhaustion from less-than-normal sleep. I switched up a few of my workouts last-minute and opted to “sleep in” for an hour or so. Hoping to sneak in a nap today before the chaos begins all over again tomorrow.

Monday: 5 miles. My stomach/body felt a little weird after traveling the previous night so this run helped me mentally and physically get ready for the week ahead.

Tuesday: Hot yoga. I went to 6 a.m. yoga again and despite being tired, I found it to be incredibly awakening. Not as much as a run, but it did its job. I just knew my body would feel better after going and I was right.

Wednesday: 7 miles in the morning + spin at night. I had 8 miles on the schedule but snoozed my alarm for 15 minutes so I had to cut the run short. Spin that night was great and I had a packed house despite the rain!

Thursday: Rest. Normally I run on Thursday’s but decided to switch it up in favor of sleep.

Friday: 6 miles. 

Saturday: Rest. I was on my feet more than I would have liked because of my work event.

Sunday: 16-18 miles. I’m writing this on Saturday night and kind of getting nervous for tomorrow. I’m giving myself a range of mileage so I can base my distance on how I’m feeling. Hopefully when you read this I will have successfully finished!

Favorite Posts

Breaking Through a Mental Wall in Training- Running Out Of Wine

15 Ways to Love Running- Paleo Running Momma

Happy Sunday! xo