First Track Workout of the Season + 4 New Recipes

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I did my first track workout of the season! Woohoo!

Track Workout (Yasso’s 800s)

2 mile run to the track

0.5 mile plyometrics and dynamic stretches

5 x 800 meters (3:26, 3:29, 3:24, 3:23, 3:20)

2 mile run back home

Total: 7 miles

I did five 800 meter repeats (2 laps on the track). I didn’t know what to expect because I haven’t done a track workout since September (far too long ago!). I was hoping to keep each 800 under 3:30, which I am happy to report I did. This is by no means very fast, but they were almost all negative splits (each one getting faster). For comparison, a year ago I did this workout with my splits being 3:10 – 3:17, so I’ve definitely have lost some speed! And I probably should have done another one or two since my last split was 3:20, but I don’t want to push it too hard yet since I am just getting over my injury. (My hamstring seems to be on the mend—fingers crossed!)

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I rarely create my own recipes, but I sure do love trying other people’s recipes. These are 4 new recipes I have tried lately that I loved!

1. Lentil Salad

Very much enjoyed this healthy, fresh salad. I’ve been bringing it in my lunch and snacking on it mid-morning when my stomach starts growling 2 hours after eating breakfast. I love the cilantro and fresh veggies in it.

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2. Banana Bread Scones

Absolutely loved these. They are not your typical scone—they were much chewier, but I loved them. I did not think Craig would like these, but he surprised me and said he was a fan as well. They also have a great banana flavor and brown sugar glaze that was delicious!

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3. Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole

Sorry I don’t have a picture, but you can go check out the link where there is a very pretty picture of the casserole (a.k.a. “hotdish” for all of you Midwesterners out there). One of my gripes about casseroles is that they lack vegetables and contain canned sauces, so that is why I chose this recipe. It was plump full of broccoli and had a homemade sauce. I also added peas and used three different types of pasta because I was running low.

4. Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

I love making chicken in the crockpot because of how tender it gets. This chicken literally fell apart when I went to shred it. Not only is it tender, but cooking chicken in the crockpot is so, so, so simple. I literally spent five minutes prepping this, walked away, and came back 4 hours later to the most delicious BBQ chicken ever.

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Questions

Do you do speed/track workouts? If so, what was the last one you did?

What new recipe have you tried lately?

My Thoughts on Taking a $15,000 Pay Cut at Work

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Edited: After initially publishing this post, I did decide to pull it down and edit it. Sometimes I am a little too honest, and I felt like I shared a little bit too much.

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Ran this morning at 5:30 a.m.

Distance: 7 miles

Time: 58 minutes

It was a good run—no pain, which always makes me happy. But man it is still chilly in the mornings; it was 32*F this morning. My lungs never bother me in the cold air, but they hurt a little bit this morning, which was odd.

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Last spring, I decided I was going to resign from teaching as a elementary physical education teacher. I wanted to do something different. . . . .something completely different. Well, now I am in home mortgage!

I knew that if I was going to do a complete 180 degree change in career fields, I was going to have to start with something entry-level and at the bottom of the ladder. I knew I would have to work my way up, and I was okay with that and excited about the new opportunities.

With an entry level, it also meant I had to take a significant pay cut. I ended up cutting my yearly salary by $15,000. Anyone knows that huge! But I often wonder, was it worth?

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I ended up teaching for a total of four years, and as with any job, it has its ups and downs, but there were a lot of perks: decent pay, I didn’t have to sit at a desk all day, summers off, and the content was something I am very passionate about.

Currently at my job, I like that I leave work at work, it is stress-free, I’ve made some good friends, but of course I am strapped to a desk all day and took that large pay cut. The other thing is that since I am in an entry-level job, I am not using my degree and not really passionate about the content. For right now it is a job and it pays the bills. I always told myself I wasn’t going to care how much I was paid–just as long as I liked it. But a real-life situation makes me reconsider this.

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I go back and forth on whether or not it was worth it, and I still can’t decide. Of course now as summer approaches I dream about my carefree days of being a “professional” (in my mind) runner, getting enough sleep, spending 2-3 weeks visiting my family and friends in Minnesota, and having more time to spend with Craig in the evenings.

I realize you can’t have it all, but it seems like there could be a happy medium??

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Question

Who else has taken a rather large pay cut at their job? Please share your experiences!

Snow in May

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Another Saturday = another long run = a (mostly) happy Michelle.

And look, I even listened to music during the entire run! I think I like listening to music if I run later in the day, but I don’t care to listen to it in the early mornings because it is just too quiet and peaceful during that part of the day.

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I was a mostly happy camper, except for the white stuff on the ground! This marks 232 days between the first snowfall and the last snowfall of the season. I’m not convinced summer will ever come.

I talked to my dad on the phone before I went out for my run and we started talking about the weather, naturally, since we are from Minnesota. I told him it was 28* F. He said, “switch those two numbers and you have our temperature.” Sigh. . . . .

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I was not very excited to go for a run this morning, and I know it was merely due to the fact that there was snow on the ground. Seriously, it could have been the same temperature and same everything else, but since that darn snow was on the ground made me not-so-excited to run. DSC_0004

BUT I am way too addicted to not run, so out I went.

Distance: 13 miles

Time: 1:43

Average pace: 7:58 minutes/mile

Here’s how my splits broke down:

Mile 0 – I felt like I was running in a blizzard!

Mile 1 – 8:04

Mile 2 – 7:47

Mile 3 – 7:49 (Nice, I’m keeping a pretty decent pace.)

Mile 4 – 7:47 (Hearing birds chirping and seeing seagulls flying through the neighborhood was strange with snow on the ground.)

Mile 5 – 7:54 (Mile 5 and 6 I ran through a heavily wooded neighborhood, and I know my Garmin wasn’t picking up a very good signal.)

Mile 6 – 8:00 (Mile 6.5 took half of this Espresso Love GU—one of my favorite flavors.)

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Mile 7 -8:04 (Mile 7.5 my hamstring started hurting, so I stopped and stretched it out, which seemed to help.)

Mile 8 – 8:09 (Started running slower to protect my hamstring and because I was starting to run out of steam.)

Mile 9 – 8:10 (Took the second half of the GU.)

Mile 10 – 8:09

Mile 11 – 8:00 (I really tried to pick it up and push the pace the last few miles. I was mostly successful, but I was hoping for some splits around 7:45.)

Mile 12 – 7:49

Mile 13 – 7:50DSC_0006

I wore my Zensah gloves on my run today. I had completely forgotten about them. When I first reviewed them, I remembered thinking they weren’t anything special, but I’m a big fan now! They are super soft on the inside and fit like a glove (no pun intended). DSC_0009

I have been spending the past couple of hours following my post-long run recovery protocol, but Craig is getting bored, so it is probably time to get out of the house.