Tag Archives: speed workout

Three-day Weekend

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Yeah for 3-day weekends!!

That third days make such a difference in how much I can get accomplished! :)

My weekend has been busy but good nonetheless.

Saturday morning Craig and I both got up bright and early to a bone-chilling -12*F! Those temperatures sting!

(I apologize for the incredibly bad/blurry pictures in this post.)


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I cooerced Craig to come with me to Great Harvest.


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It may seem odd to be going to Great Harvest at that time of the day, but we wanted a free loaf of bread!

I got an e-mail saying that Great Harvest was giving away a loaf of bread in honor of Martin Luther King Day!

All we had to do was complete a MLK quiz.

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Craig is the history buff, so he filled out most of it. ;)


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Our free loaf of Unity Bread!


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Then it was time to go for a my Saturday long run.

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Don’t worry, it had warmed up to a balmy -8*F by that time.

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Boy oh boy was it cold!! I only ran 5 miles, but even after 3 miles my legs started to hurt and go numb.

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Craig met me a few times along my route to check in on me because it was still very dark, and I was running a different parts of Anchorage. It was cute.

This is a picture looking into downtown. (Yes, it is a small downtown.)

I eventually came up that hill.

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Here I come! Surprisingly my hands actually get warm enough that I have to take my mittens off, but they can only stand a few seconds of being out in the fridgid cold temps before I have to put the mittens back on.

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My final destination: the coffee shop to meet Craig and warm up!

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Post-run recovery food: decaf coffee, water, and toast with almond butter and raspberry jam.

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The rest of Saturday was busy with running errands, cleaning, and checking things off my to-do list.

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On Sunday morning I went for a one mile run and then headed to yoga at Anchorage yoga for a warm flow class. I liked the intensity: challenging but nothing over the top.


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For breakfast, I had this packet of instant oatmeal from Bakery on Main. It was good. . . .I added banana slices and walnuts to it.


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I was impressed with the ingredients.

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I also liked the nutrition stats.

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After showering and getting ready, it was off to church, and then I met up with a friend at Kaladi Bros.


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Sunday night was nice and low-key because I didn’t have to work the next morning! :)

So what does one do when it is below zero out. . . . .?


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Why go and get frozen yogurt of course?

That’s my “why am I doing this” look.

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Even though I already had ice cream earlier in the day, I told myself that this was “yogurt” and not ice cream. ;)

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While at Yogurt Lounge, we played Bananagrams! Craig won again, but I only had two letters left; I was proud of myself.

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I don’t think I ever warmed-up, but it was still fun.

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After we got back from Yogurt Lounge, we watched the movie Friends with Benefits. It definitely had its moments of vulgarity, but we still thought it was cute.


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This morning (Monday), I got up and made my way to The Dome to do a speed workout.


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I completed the following workout:

1.5 mile warm-up

2 x 800 meters

4 x 400 meters

1.5 mile cool-down

Total: 5 miles

It was a really good workout. I felt good, but sometimes I have to tendency to push myself too hard, so I hope I don’t feel too sluggish the rest of the week.


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After my workout, came my favorite breakfast of a Banana Protein Smoothie and a bagel with peanut butter. :) Seriously, what is it about a bagel that makes is so much better than regular bread?

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Then it was off to my Rolfing appointment. I’ll be honest, Rolfing hurts, but I definitely notice a difference after she is done. My muscles/joints move better and more fluidly. I’m hoping it will help me with my running.


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After that, my day flew by and now it is time to go to bed. :( I am always sad to see the weekend go, but I am thankful I got everything done I wanted to! :)

Best Black Bean Burgers

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Workout

Today was my first speed workout in quite some time.

Warm-up: 2 miles

plyometrics at the track

4 x 1600 meters

#1 – 7:32

#2 – 7:30

#3 – 7:25

#4 – 7:13

(3 minutes rest in-between each interval)

Cool-down: 2 miles

Total distance: 8 miles

I was a little grumpy this morning when I woke up (just ask Craig), but after this workout, I felt SO much better! It is amazing what exercise does for the human body!

Exercise: it does a body good!! :)

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When I returned from my workout, I was more than ready for breakfast. (I did have a small slice of bread with jam on it before leaving.)

bagel with The Laughing Cow Cheese

banana

iced coffee


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I usually make coffee the night before and then let it sit in the fridge overnight to cool off. But since I didn’t make coffee last night, I had to make hot coffee this morning and then cool it down with a bunch of ice cubes.

I made a more concentrated cup of coffee to compensate for the ice that turned to water.

I have the world’s smallest Bodum; it makes 8 oz. of coffee—perfect size for me! :)


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After breakfast, I went to the gym and lifted weights.

The lifts or muscle groups I worked:

- squats

- biceps

- abductors

- lat pull-downs

- adductors

- incline bench press

- abs

- deltoids

- triceps

As you can see, I like to alternate between arm and leg lifts, which gives each muscle group a chance to recover.

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I had lunch with Craig at his work and then ran a few errands afterward. Why is there a never-ending list of errands to be run?

This afternoon I had fun Skyping with my sister! :) (She recently moved to Raleigh, NC for her dietetics/nutrition internship.) This was my first time skyping, and while it was pretty choppy and delayed, it was still a lot of fun. It was like I was there!! (kind of)

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Dinner

I was trying to decide what I wanted to eat for dinner tonight: meat wasn’t appealing to me, cold salads didn’t sound appetizing, and a hotdish/casserole wasn’t what I wanted either.

But as soon as I saw these Boyfriend-approved Spicy Black Bean Burgers on Jenna’s blog, I knew it was exactly what I wanted!


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I’ve made black bean burgers before—as well as these Lentil Walnut Burgers—but these burgers I made tonight take the top prize. (Craig agrees!)


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I layered my burger with lettuce, tomato, avocado, mustard, and ketchup.

And a good bun definitely makes it so much better! (Don’t succumb to weak sandwich thins like I almost did!)


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I’m off to spend some time with Craig before bed!

Feelin’ the Burn

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This morning got started with running a slooooow 5 miles.

I was very tired and sore from lifting and my speed workouts yesterday.

Yesterday’s workouts:

8 miles + 30 minutes of weight lifting in the morning

3 miles in the afternoon: 1 mile warm-up + 8 x 200 meters + 1 mile cool-down

I broke the eight 200s into two sets and rested one minute between each repetition. And then in-between the two sets, I rested for 3 minutes. It is an awesome workout for maintaining some speed in your legs!

I loved feelin’ the burn and knowing I pushed myself to the max, which will in turn make me stronger!

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Thursday morning = coffee date with my husband = the best day of the week :D

Kaladi Brothers Coffee = the best coffee in town

We always pack our breakfasts and eat them at the coffee shop while enjoying our drip coffees.

Tropical Mango Overnight Oats

Very delicious!

I think these signs of succulent strawberries and mouth-water mangos means summer is on its way! And that makes me very happy! :)


I also had an Oatmeal Raisin Banana Muffin. I crave carbs after running! (I usually have at least a couple servings.)

The muffins were mighty delicious and even my husband (who isn’t always crazy about my healthified muffins) totally dug these!

I was worried that since they didn’t have any oil in them, they would be too dry, but I think the banana really gave them the moisture they needed!

It was a clear, sunny today, so I took my p.e. classes outside for some ultimate Frisbee—one of my favorite games!

Most of the kids enjoyed it, but some thought it was lame. I have learned that if someone doesn’t like an activity, it is often because they aren’t good/successful at it.

For me, that would be disc golf/Frisbee golf/frolfing (Frisbee + golf)—whatever you want to call it. Just ask my husband!

I am not a fan because the first time I played, I was awful, and since I am a perfectionist, that did not sit well with me! While I have gotten better, I still am quite horrible at it.

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When Craig isn’t home for dinner, I get lazy about making a substantial dinner. I usually end up finding something that is quick and easy and requires minimal effort—tonight: cereal.

Straight out of the box, this cereal definitely has a cardboard taste to it, but tonight I discovered that if I let it sit in my milk for a while, it softens up a bit and the taste of the cardboard disappears—always a good thing.

After I discovered this, I really do like the cereal and love how crunchy and light it is. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a light cereal, sometimes I want some bulk to my cereal and something that will fill me up!

Don’t worry, I definitely had more for supper than just a bowl of cereal: carrot sticks, mango, peanut butter, and ice cream were definitely consumed tonight as well.

Time to rest a little bit and get excited because tomorrow’s Friday!! :)