marathon training – Page 2 – Movin' it with Michelle

Last week was a GREAT training week for me. I pushed myself, made a new running friend, AND did some new fueling for my long run that REALLY seemed to help me from fading out the last few miles. Sorry for some of the repetitive information, but I really wanted to log the breakdown of my week because I really am feeling strong ~~because I’m old and don’t want to forget~~.

Mileage breakdown goes a little like this:

Total mileage: 30.34 miles which is my highest mileage for a week this year. Those of you that have been following me for a while, know that my training plan is modified to save my debilitated right knee. I have patella femoral syndrome, and very little cartilage left so I use the run less mantra. I do ONE long run on the weekend, and two modified shorter runs during the week. I also try and walk 1-2 times per week. So 30 miles is AWESOME for me. YAY.

Strength work outs: I did weights twice last week! Met my goal!!!

Yoga: Wednesday yoga sessions are becoming a regular in my house! Winning!

Long run: my last week’s 18 miles got flip flopped as I had the half marathon last weekend. I met up with my new friend, Teri as I previously mentioned, and managed a strong 19 miler. The last few miles were really tough, but I kept movin’…

Ya gotta be silly to survive 19 miles, right?
Fuel: For my shorter runs, no fuel. Just water or Nuun when temps got too hot to run without hydration. For my long run I had a granola bar for breakfast, and 2 bottles of water. It was going to be a very humid run, and I didn’t want to dehydrate. I carried a 16 ounce handheld filled with Nuun, and tried to fill up at all the water fountains. I had a Huma Chia gel at miles 6, 10, and 15 and salt tabs at mile 6 and 12. I found by fueling every 4 or so miles after the 6 miles mark kept me feeling strong, YAY!!!

Sunday for Mother’s Day my family took me downtown Chicago which is one of my favorite places. We ate, we shopped, and we walked just over 3 miles! It felt great to stretch my sore legs. AND, I got a new Garmin Vivofit, ate at my favorite restaurant, and shopped at my favorite clothes store-Free People. I did also breakdown and by a new pair of jeans, one size larger than I normally wear because my legs just won’t accommodate skinny jeans anymore. 😦 My weight is back at post pregnancy weight so I need to figure out my diet. I eat healthier than I ever have, but am guessing my love for wine is jacking with any sort of weight loss. I’m guessing the desert pictured below isn’t helping, either, LOL!!

All in all it was a GREAT training week, and GREAT weekend. I am beyond blessed with amazing friends and family and I am reminded of it, daily.

How was your week in regards to training last week? What did you do (if anything) for Mother’s Day? What are you big plans for this week?

Have a great week, y’all!

❤ Michelle

Friday Five!! #TGIF

May 8, 2015May 8, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Here are my Friday 5’s in which I’m loving, or not loving, in no real particular order:

1. I am still loving my Brooks Launch 2’s, and plan to order a second pair on pay day to break in for the marathon. I love how lightweight they feel, the cushion they provide my legs, and the fact that my feet rarely (after racing last weekend everything hurt, lol) hurt after a long run. Winning all the way around.

Maybe I'll get this color this time, what do you think? — Maybe I’ll get this color this time, what do you think?

2. I am not loving being a Mom to a teen. I LOVE her…but wow, no one gave me the listed side effects in advance that come with raising a teen. These side effects include the following, keeping in mind this list is NOT all inclusive.

Moodiness, snarkiness, outbreaks, tears, sarcasm, silent treatment and hatefulness, all with a side of ultimate love deep down to the core. ❤

Was I this terrible? Don’t answer that…I think I better apologize to my Mom for the umpteenth time for being such a crappy teen. LOL!!!

3. I am loving the warmer temps here in the Chicagoland area. It’s SOOOOOOOOOOOOO nice to be out running in a tank and shorts. Despite having to slow down and watch my breathing, there’s nothing like the sunshine on your face and the wind in your hair after a long day of work. I have however, forgotten my bug spray and sunscreen on my last couple runs. Here comes the runner’s tan!!!

4. I am not loving the humidity. ‘Nuff said. But I WILL NOT complain about the heat. Nope. Not gonna happen…(recall Chiberia 2013/2014?!?!?!)

5. I am loving the fact that every day I dig a little deeper and reach a littler further towards my goals. Whether it’s simply pinning one of MY recipes on Pinterest, or writing up a new blog post, I am reminded daily that I won’t give up on my dreams.

Tomorrow calls for 14-18 miles for my long run that I missed last weekend and then off to my youngest daughter’s first Ballet recital. I was super stoked to get the surprise that my Mom is driving down from MN to attend! YAY!!! What are you all loving/not loving lately? Any big plans for Mother’s Day weekend?

Keep Movin’ forward, y’all!

❤ Michelle

marathon training, Recipes

Tuesday, tostadas, and truths in no particular order!

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

After Sunday’s big race, (and during) I really have been thinking…shocker, right? I mean, what else are you going to do out on the trails for a couple hours? Although often times I can get lost in my own head while running/racing long, more times than not I spent the majority of the time thinking. It’s my therapy in essence, where I get to bond with God, nature, and everything in between.

Lately, I’ve been battling with myself, in regards to being upset over people who don’t get excited or support my crazy dreams. Not so much people, but FRIENDS. And after I wiped my tears away quickly Sunday during which time I was saddened to not hear from a couple friends that morning, I was reminded of the awesome support I DO have. My husband, sister, and a few friends all sent texts, and I had quite a few friends at the race cheering for me. Why was I upset over the few who didn’t bother to support me? That’s the question of the hour. I swear, I am my own worst enemy sometimes. I got this reminder, a text from 2014 when I ran this very same race last year, from my friend A and I just smiled. My sister reminded me of how far I’ve come, and I slapped away the sadness and drove on. Gah I am an idiot sometimes. LOL, at least I recognize it, right?

The last 2 days I’ve been walking around like I just ran a FULL marathon. WOWSA am I sore!!!! I truly gave it my all on Sunday, and am feelin’ it big time today. But, I had 4-5 miles on deck so immediately after work I changed clothes and ran. It started to rain, and I ran out of time, but I managed to beat the storms. 4.32 miles in 40:22 with an average pace of 9:20. Never did I think I would be able to say 9:20-9:30 would be an easy-ish pace. YAHOO!!! I finished up my work out with weights, and a wimpy 1:06 minute plank, lol!

It IS Cinco de Mayo, so I made chicken tostadas tonight for dinner after my run.

Chicken Tostada Recipe

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (You’ll want to bake your tostadas to crisp them up)

6 corn tortillas, baked on a cookie sheet at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken-cut into bite size pieces (I prefer thighs, but breasts work too!)

1/2 red onion-diced

1 red pepper-chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup of frozen corn (wait until the very end to add this)

Shredded cheese-1 cup (may be omitted, I only use a tiny amount on mine as cheese and I aren’t friends.)

Seasonings to taste: Smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, kosher salt, black pepper

Sauté’ in extra virgin olive oil the onions, pepper and garlic for 4-5 minutes. Add in your chicken, seasonings, and can of black beans and cook through-around 15 minutes. Add in your corn, stir well.

Sprinkle the tortillas with shredded cheese, and top with the chicken mixture. Add just a touch more cheese and put in your 325 degree oven.

While the cheese is melting, make your avocado topping.

Avocado topping

1 avocado

1 tablespoon of low fat sour cream

Juice of 1 lime

pinch of salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper

Serve, and enjoy!

Total prep and cook time was 20-25 minutes. This is a great week night meal!

Do you think a lot during your long runs? What’s your favorite easy week night meal?

Have a great week, y’all!

Keep Movin’ Forward!

❤ Michelle

marathon training

Grandma’s Marathon training, week 10, DONE!

April 26, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Gosh, it’s been such a busy week that I haven’t had time to sit down to unwind and write. Honestly, I’ve been battling writers block terribly this week, so rather than just babble I decided to give myself a few days and see if I could come up with something…

Well, it’s been almost a week and still, I got nothin’ really all that witty or wonderful to say.

LOL

I did however manage to ~~almost~~ keep up with my marathon training this week, and have successfully completed my 17 miler. I ran on Friday as its my weekend to pull supervisory duty at the hospital. I met up with a couple of my running friends, and had a blast catching up with both of them during our miles. Melissa stuck with us for 12 miles, and Janel stayed with me until 15.5 miles where she decided it best to call it at 16 so I took off to finish the last mile and a half alone. All in all, my run felt great despite having to stretch several times. My ITB just doesn’t want to loosen up, so I am being ginger with it as to prevent injury the best I can. I foam roll every night now, and ice my knee after long runs. I also did yoga once this week, and weight training twice.

Next weekend I’ll be doing my first half marathon/race of 2015 and I am really looking forward to it. It’s my PR race (2:01), and although I don’t plan on racing it as I’ll have another 5 miles to tack on after the race, I do look forward to running it for the 3rd year in a row. It’s literally almost in my back yard, and these trails and I have had many a memory made on them. They’ve listened to me when I didn’t want to listen to myself, and they’ve given me back my wings so to speak more times than I can count. If you remember, I did my 15 miler a few weeks ago on the very trails where this race will take place, and I learned a lot about myself that day.

I’m also looking forward to seeing Wendy from Taking the Long Way home (do you read her blog? If not, head over now!) at the finish line as she’ll be toeing the line of this race too, but is much faster than me so will finish before I do. Bonus for me, as it will be a huge welcome to see her smiling face at the finish line.

Lessons learned this week are:

-I’ve got more fuel in my tank than I realized. After my long run Friday, I honestly felt like I could’ve kept going for several more miles. YAY!

-People will support you, or they won’t. Does it matter? NO…as long as you believe in yourself. I need to remind myself of this far too often, so I’m saying it out loud.
-Respect the distance you are running, always. ‘Nuff said.

What’s your favorite distance to run? Do you repeat races you’ve previously ran?

Have a great week, y’all! Keep Movin’ Forward!!!

❤ Michelle

marathon training

Monday Motivation and Boston thoughts

April 20, 2015April 20, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Hey it’s Marathon Monday!!!! I’m so excited for all those who ran this morning at the 2015 Boston Marathon. I have so many friends who ran today, both virtual and in real life that I found myself constantly checking updates on my phone!! I’m happy to report everyone I know finished the race, and it looked like such a blast. I wish I could list them all, but hope they know I love and cherish each and every one of them as runners, and friends.

So this got me thinking about all things that are Boston, the number one of which being SPEED. This is something that has never been a part of my life as a distance runner, or any other type of runner to be honest. I’ve always been an average runner. I’m not a ‘back of the packer’ but I am by no means, fast. So does that make me less of a runner?

Let’s ponder that thought for a bit…shall we?

For fun, I looked up the Boston Qualifying times…FOR FUN. Although I’ve never even dreamt of BQ’ing, I decided what better day to look up the facts and see if I could ever feasably qualify. For my age group I would need a minimum of a 3:45 finish time. Mind you, my fastest full marathon time is 4:25 and I have NO idea where that race even came from other than God himself as it truly was the best race of my life, and I can recall nearly every second of it. But on the same note, I pushed myself harder than ever that day, and had to reach down to the very depths of my soul to find the strength to finish that marathon so strongly. I can’t even fathom running a faster marathon.

Does that make me less of a runner? Some would say, yes…

Sometimes I catch myself questioning that statement…but only mostly during a race, or an event like the Boston Marathon. Most of the time I am completely satisfied being an average runner. But I suppose it is normal for nearly every distance runner to wonder…what if? Could I qualify? Could I run the race that is the end all and be all of all things distance running?

But I know myself, and my abilities as a runner…so the answer is:

Probably not…and that makes me NO LESS of a runner AT ALL. Because during every run I am out there giving it my all…it may not be enough to BQ…but I strive to be a little better with each year for ME.

That won’t stop me for drooling over Shalene, Desiree and Meb and their amazing talent. It won’t stop me from cheering on my friends who ARE speedy, and celebrating each finish line and finishing time. It also won’t stop me from hoping one day…just maybe when I’m 65, that I’ll BQ, lol!!! ❤

Have you BQ’d or are you striving to BQ? What are your thoughts on the importance of speed?

Thanks for your support! Have a great day, y’all!!!

❤ Michelle

marathon training, Recipes, Sunday Supper

Weekend Wrap up/Marathon training week 9 complete!

April 20, 2015April 20, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

My weekend was all over the place in regards to emotional highs, lows, and everything in between. Although I’ll keep the reasoning behind my roller coaster a bit vague, I will say I have learned from the events and feel better for it. It’s all about moving forward, right?

Friday night was a quiet night filled with Netflix and relaxing after a yummy night of sushi. (Sushi is carbloading too, right? lol). It would be an early night for both the hubby and I as he had his reserve duty weekend and I had a long run in the wee hours of the morning. I got all my gear set out, battled with some tummy issues, and drank some water before bed. I woke up at 5:45 am, battled with some more tummy issues and finally got dressed and headed to run club. My friend Deb agreed to slow her pace and run my scheduled 13 miles with me. YAY!

The first half of our run was pretty uneventful despite me having to stop several times to stretch out my ITB that was pulling hard on my right knee. We laughed, talked, and laughed some more. Halfway through we stopped to take a selfie with the Fox River in the background.

The second half of our run was a bit tougher with some really strong winds on our faces, but we kept pushing forward. We finished strong, and celebrated with coffee (her) and pomegranate lemonade for me. I even splurged and had a breakfast sandwich on an ‘everything’ bagel. YUM.

I spent the rest of the day with my daughter’s, and we shopped til we dropped at “Once Upon a Child, “Plato’s Closet,” and Clothes Mentor” stocking up for our warmer weather wardrobe. We all found some really cute items, and everyone came out with smiles, especially my bank account. Gotta love consignment shopping!

Today was chores, food prep and Sunday Supper. I made my own protein smoothies and stored them in previously used water bottles! Recycling=Winning! The smoothies were simple.

Berry Mocha Smoothie

1/2 cup of blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries

3 scoops of chocolate protein powder

16 ounces of water

Liquefy in a blender, and strain out the seeds. Transfer to the bottles and refrigerate

Banana Strawberry Chocolate Smoothie

1 cup of strawberries

2 bananas

3 scoops of protein powder

16 ounces of water

Liquefy in a blender, and strain out the seeds. Transfer to the bottles and refrigerate

I also spent time organizing my groceries after shopping, getting everything prepped and ready for the week. I am battling the scale and my marathon weight gain, NOW.

I'm ready for the week! — I’m ready for the week!

Tonight’s Sunday Supper was a simple pork roast in the crock poat with roasted veggies.

Pork Roast in a crock pot

Season pork roast with kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and season salt. Sear the roast on all sides in a cast iron skillet and set aside.

In your crock pot, add on can of tomato puree, 2 cups of unsalted chicken or veggie stock, roughly chop 1 carrot, 1 onion, 2 stocks of celery and 3 cloves of garlic. Also add in 2 bay leaves (remove later) and Italian seasoning to taste. Add your roast to the crock pot, and cook on low for 6 hours.

While my roast was making magic in the crock pot I decided to go for a walk to stretch my legs. My daughters even joined me, YAY!

Roasted Veggies

1 cup string beans

1 shallot-sliced

1 sweet potato-julienned

1/2 cup of Shitake mushrooms-sliced

2 cloves of garlic finely sliced

Place in a bowel, and toss with 1 teaspoon coconut oil, 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and chives. I also added some grated parmesan cheese for a little bite! Roast at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Now after a weekend filled with more time on my feet than I care to admit, I am going to retire to my couch!

How was your week? Do you food prep for the week? What’s your favorite smoothie flavor?

Have a great week, y’all!

❤ Michelle

marathon training, Recipes

Refocusing and a recipe

April 12, 2015April 12, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

So wow…I haven’t blogged in a week. My goal of 2-3 times of posting per week was shot last week. And I’m totally ok with that.

Why?

Well, because I’ve realized I’ve spent far too much time engulfed in the virtual world that I lost site of what matters most. What’s that? Why family of course. MY family. ❤

So with that, I’ve spent more time reaching out, hanging out, and hugging my kids just a little tighter. Most nights we are wrapped up in blankets on the couch watching previous episodes of “Once upon a time” on Netflix…TOGETHER. And it wasn’t always this way. Before my daughter’s accident, more times than not we would all go our separate ways after dinner. But now, we nearly rush to spend our evenings together most nights.

My training is also back on track, and I managed to log 26 miles last week, which is a distance PB for 2015. I had my 15 miler on Saturday, and it mentally jarred me, briefly…I had forgotten how hard a long run can be, especially when your only distraction is YOU. No one to talk the miles away with, just you, and the road. My first few miles truly SUCKED. No pretty way around it, but I kept going. I’d stop to stretch every few miles, and at miles 6 and 11 I fueled with my Chia HUMA gels. Just when I wanted to quit, I looked back on my first marathon and how hard it was and how badly I wanted to quit. But I had my awesome sister with me, cheering me on every step and I could hear her voice in my head as I plugged along the middle of my run. Mile 11 I started to really fade as I had run out of Nuun and the temps were getting REALLY warm for how I was dressed. (It was 38 degrees when I started and finished up at a balmy 61 degrees). Then Andrea, Carolyn and my hubby shot me texts and suddenly the spring came back to my step and I took off. 15 miles? DONE. And with the help of 7 cardinals, 2 blue birds, and countless squirrels and chipmunks that cheered me on for 2 1/2 hours, LOL!

Mentally one of my toughest runs this year.

We booked our family vacation for the summer today, and I am SOOOOO excited. We are headed to Marco Island, Florida for 5 glorious days. We haven’t had a real vacation (we like our Chicago/Michigan staycations, though!) in 3 years, so this is long overdue.

So today I spent the afternoon meal prepping and making healthy snacks. (Gotta get beach body ready! lol) I made Kale chips (not sure how I feel about them, yet lol) and spicy chickpeas to keep handy. Here’s the chickpea recipe:

Spicy Chickpeas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Rinse and dry two large cans of chickpeas

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, and add the following seasonings:

1 teaspoon Tumeric

1 teaspoon Garlic powder

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon smoked Paprika

Kosher salt

Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, tossing every 20 minutes. YUM!

How was your week? Do you take regular vacations? What’s your favorite healthy snack? Have a great week, y’all!

❤ Michelle

marathon training, Recipes

Weekend wrap up

April 5, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Happy Easter, y’all! Although I am not one to go to a brick and mortar church very often, I do have a very strong faith and have always appreciated the meaning behind Easter. I pray you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.

Mine started out with a bang. Or a clunk more so…for the last several days I’ve heard/felt a grinding in my brakes. I took my Jeep to the shop after work on Friday only to find out I needed to replace my rear rotors and brakes. Ouch. Bye Bye pay check. Oh well, better safe than sorry right?

Saturday was long run day, and the day we’d celebrate Easter with my immediate family. I set my alarm and hit the trails with my friends for my 14 mile run. I felt little nags and aches but managed to finish this run rather strong after allowing myself a couple walk breaks and several breaks to stretch. My ITB continues to be a B@#%! but I won’t let it stop me. I will however foam roll daily moving forward.

I haven't ran with these two in a while, so it was great to meet up with Melissa and Pat for some miles! — I haven’t ran with these two in a while, so it was great to meet up with Melissa and Pat for some miles!

Isn't ALWAYS about having fun? I think so... — Isn’t ALWAYS about having fun? I think so…

After my run, I came home and made my traditional bacon and eggs. ALL TIME favorite post run food. Then I hopped in the shower and headed to my sister’s house. It felt so nice to be with everyone and I of course got emotional when we got there.

My J, and my niece! <3 — My J, and my niece! ❤

My sis and Mom. Gorgeous right?! <3 — My sis and Mom. Gorgeous right?! ❤

Today was a nice and quiet day at home. We got up early, hunted for eggs and cleaned the house. Not very Easterly I know, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

I made a yummy and easy Easter dinner of spiraled ham, mashed potatoes and amazing roasted parmesan carrots.

Roasted Parmesan carrots

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Peel and slice 5 carrots into 1/4-1/2 inch discs.

Slice half a red onion

Mince two cloves of garlic

Grate 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Toss everything in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste

Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, in a single layer if possible.

Roast at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes

DELISH!

This week I have a doctor and dental appointment, ugh. Joys of aging, right? But, speaking of doctors, J is healing slowly but surely and we are hoping she can return to school in the next week or two. Thanks for the continued prayers.

How was your Easter? Did you have a long run this weekend? What’s your favorite veggie?

Keep Movin’ Forward, y’all!

❤ Michelle

marathon training, Uncategorized

Restarting

March 30, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Well, it finally hit me. Exhaustion, sleep deprivation and mountains of emotional overload left me with nothing left in the tank this past weekend.

Normally I run through the pain, be it emotional or physical, but this weekend I hit a wall. My right foot was aching because I just HAD to wear those pretty shoes I bought at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago. They of course had no arch support, so I was left with a very tender right arch. Strike one.

I haven’t slept well, well…in several years. I finally bit the bullet and went to the doctor last week, and when I told him my normal nights’ sleep, he nearly gasped. He prescriped me some sleeping aids and I ~~nearly~~ hugged him. I couldn’t keep functioning on 1 hour of sleep at a time. So I took my first sleeping aid Friday night, and slept for NINE hours straight. It was glorious. I didn’t realize how tired I truly was, but the process was repeated Saturday night. YAY for sleep!!! So THIS is what people are talking about in regards to the saying “A good night sleep.” WOW. But with all that sleep, also came the realization how tired my body is. After grocery shopping on Sunday, I was beat. I’m not sure if it was the Chiberian winds that decided to kick up, the 20 degree real feel temerature drop from the afternoon before, or my aching foot-but stick a fork in me, I was DONE. So I skipped my long run, and took a nap on the couch instead. Strike 2. Sorry, just keeping it real here.

Sadly this was ME for a very long time!!!

I read so many blogs filled with PR’s and constant ‘good training weeks’ that I started to really question myself. Am I the only one who is really struggling some days/weeks with training for a marathon while balancing the rest of my life? Not that I’d wish anyone to struggle, quite the contrary in fact. I LOVE reading everyone’s success stories. But it has sparked a little bit of doubt in my confidence being so early in to my training and already finding myself so tired…Strike 3.

Wait. I’m not out…

After a quick slap to the noggin’ I reminded myself that a lot has been going on these last few months, and things will even out. I got this!

So here’s to a new week, with more miles and lots of laughter!

How do you deal with training hiccups? Have you ever missed a long run while training for a long distance race?

Have a great week, y’all!! ❤

Michelle

marathon training, Recipes, Sunday Supper

Weekend wrap up

March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

I’ll start this post with the fact that I was supposed to be on weekend duty at the hospital. Once every 5 weeks I am deemed in charge of the entire laboratory and it’s mind blowing and scary all at one time. BUT..my amazing peer and friend offered to take my duty knowing I should be home resting with my daughter, and not enduring unneeded stress. I couldn’t thank her enough, so left her a card and a Starbucks gift card on her desk for the weekend. Good friends truly rock.

We had a very quiet weekend filled with normal housework, laundry, and snuggles. I’ve learned a hard lesson that I’ve wasted far too much time stressing over cleaning and mundane chores. So it’s been glorious snuggling up with my girls to watch a show, or take an extra 20 minutes after my J’s shower to brush and dry her hair. No…I’m never too busy for that.

This morning I had 12 miles on deck and had planned to run the miles with my friend Debra. She texted me early at 7 am notifying me the stomach bug from hell was still in the house. Crap. I knew Janel was meeting me for a couple miles, but could I do 12 on my own? You’re darn right I can, and had the help from Melissa, Seth and Janel for the first couple miles, and my sister texting me at mile 10 that I better run faster so I could be DONE faster, LOL! It worked, I finished my last mile in 8:45 with an over all average pace of 10:06.

I came home, made some bacon and eggs, and took a very long shower as I was frozen to the core. Despite the 30 degree temps, the wind-chill made it feel more like 17 degrees and I. WAS. COLD. After my shower I crawled in to J’s bed, and we watched Netflix for 30 minutes. It’s SOOOO good to see her on the mend, and able to do more ‘stuff’ each day.

Sunday Supper rolled around and I decided to make fish tacos with homemade guacamole and red cabbage slaw with a side of twice baked beans and roasted veggies.

Guacamole

3 avocados

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 plum tomato, chopped

1/4 red onion, diced

juice of half a lime

Seasonings: kosher salt, pepper, cilantro, cayenne pepper to taste

Combine in a food processor-pulse until mixed well, but still chunky

Red Cabbage Slaw

3 cups of red cabbage, thinly sliced

1/4 red onion

juice of 1/2 lime

splash of vegetable oil/rice wine vinegar

Seasonings: salt, pepper, and cilantro

Twice baked beans

In a sauce pan add one can of red beans, one can of black beans that have been drained and rinsed

Add 1 clove of garlic, 1/4 cup of diced poblano peppers, and salt, pepper, and smoked paprika to taste. Heat until tender, and transfer to your food processor. Puree on high, then transfer to a baking dish. Top with shredded cheese and toppings of choice. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

The rest is pretty cut and dry. I roasted my carrots and red peppers for 25 minutes at 375 degrees and grilled my fish for the tacos. All in all? Delish, and healthy.

While on my run today I was reminded of so many things. Why I love to run, how thankful I am for the support my family has, and that we need to focus on those that lift us up, not those who tear us down. And for a moment, I felt myself nearly flying.

How was your week? Log any miles? Make any good food?

Keep Movin’ forward, y’all!

❤ Michelle

Category: marathon training

Week 12 training wrap up

Friday Five!! #TGIF

Tuesday, tostadas, and truths in no particular order!

Grandma’s Marathon training, week 10, DONE!

Monday Motivation and Boston thoughts

Weekend Wrap up/Marathon training week 9 complete!

Refocusing and a recipe

Weekend wrap up

Restarting

Weekend wrap up

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