What's in You Salad Spinner?

Check out how amazing the garden at Carly's house has become! We have gotten so much lettuce and are just now starting to harvest some peas, spinach and green onion! Of course all the credit goes to Carly on the upkeep! 

Peas!

Callen likes to "help."

Not proper garden shoes!

When I look at the before garden photos I'm in awe of how amazing they look now!
Also, I'm in awe of how terrible the weather was outside! Grey, dreary, and rainy.
Pictures like this make me appreciate even overcast summer days!
I don't know if I can handle another winter like the last one!
Running doesn't create enough endorphins to get me through!

My little container garden at my little house has been doing quite nicely as well!
Check out my salad spinner!
Bistro lettuce, rainbow chard, kale and Carly lettuce!

Today I finished my first Activetrax workout at the Y. It is an awesome program where you go through the weight room with a personal trainer and they set you up with an online account that creates personal workouts for you. After each workout you enter in what you were able to do and it formats your next workout accordingly. It is fantastic.... And free! I'm on my way to being strong! And let me tell you, working out with weights is such a welcome challenge!

Yesterday I ran 5 hard miles. The terrain wasn't hard... but my body didn't want to cooperate! For one thing I had waited a week since my last run. I've been busy trying new classes and cross training at the Y. I need to remember to focus on running! It was also incredibly hot (anything above 60 is hot, so upper 70's is considered sweltering!) I haven't run in weather over 70 since I don't even know when... maybe Hawaii, but that was only a mile or two tops. I'm also feeling the effects of my poor diet. If I'm going to get serious about my running goals, I need to: 1. run more 2. fuel better.

Here is the new workout plan... it is simplified from my last one. I like simple. Simple I can stick to and remember!

Monday: Strength and Cross training 

Tuesday: Easy run and abs

Wednesday:Strength and Cross training

Thursday Easy run and abs

Friday Strength and light Cross training

Saturday: Long run

Sunday: Stretch/rest day

It sounds simple, but there is a lot more going on here than when I trained for my first half. The strength training is really hard for me, but I think only running three days a week will let me heal. I also need to cut back on the fun classes I've been doing. They have been fun, but super hard on my calves. Half of the boot camp class is completed on on bosu ball. I just couldn't figure out why I was hurting when I was barely running! So for a little while I'm going to just do cycling and maybe some pilates/yoga as far as classes go. 

Half way through the year... since I already completed one of my resolutions, how about a new goal?! Set a new PR by breaking 2:20! I know it is only a little goal, but getting my time under 11 minute miles would be awesome. And it will get my confidence up for when I run a full marathon next year!

I'm off to bed. July 3rd is not a holiday... try to tell that to the people in town. Some people have to wake up at 5 am tomorrow people!!!! oh well, ear plugs will be my friend!

Have a safe and happy Fourth! God Bless America! :) 

Set yourself up to fail.

When you are injured the best feeling in the world is completing a run without pain. I've been feeling pretty good since finishing the half. Which I think I can attribute to my lack of running and new found love for cross-training. This week I started up my Bellingham Bay 1/2 Marathon training program. I'm actually pretty proud of myself because I wrote out exactly what I would exercise and eat each day this week.

Here is an example for Monday:

Exercise: 
Run 2 miles (easy pace), 1hr cycling class
Eats:
Breakfast- Overnight oats
Snack-Apple with sunflower seed butter
Lunch-Veggie burger and 1 slice GF bread with salad and a date
Snack-Trail mix
Dinner-Pasta with veggies
Dessert-4 Chocolate covered banana bites

Dinner last night was a veggie kabob (Trader Joe's) baked Tofu (TJ's) and a mini salad (my garden! minus the tomatoes). Pasta seemed too heavy for an 8 o'clock dinner time. So I only went off the food plan a little bit, my biggest goal with this is to stop eating soooo many sweets (and curing my sugar dreams) and yesterday I did pretty well.

The problem that I'm facing now (and faced when I was training for my first half) is that my schedule doesn't always lend itself well to recovery time. I worked yesterday morning so I worked out last night after my physical therapy appointment. Cycling and a 2 mile run is a pretty good workout, so today when I woke up (I work this afternoon) and went for my planned 3 mile run it was kind of rough. My legs felt like lead for a majority of it.... and of course my calves started screaming after about mile 2.5. So I walked it out. It feels discouraging when three weeks ago I ran 13.1 miles straight and this morning I can't even make it 3 miles. That is one of the biggest things I've learned about running, there are soooo many factors from hydration, fuel, recovery, sleep, weather, to your general state of mind. Just when you think you have captured the perfect run the next time you get out there running reminds you that in this relationship it has all the control.

So I'm looking at it this way, yeah I didn't have a great run this morning, even though the weather was perfect, but the only one I have to blame is myself. I can't forget that just because I'm feeling good it doesn't mean I'm not injured anymore. There is a reason that the turtle wins the race every time, he is smart and paces himself.

Also, while I was on my run I was thinking about how my 17 year-old self (I could have put in any age under 23 here) would be shocked by the fact that I was up and running 3 miles before 8 am. I was more likely to sleep until 11 in my school days.

Here is the basis for my training program (This is the original but I'm adapting it from the blog No Meat Athlete a bit to fit my needs)

The numbers under the days represent miles. I'm starting from the very beginning because I really need to get back in to the habit of running again (even a short time off is enough to set you back). I'm going to be incorporating strength training as well because I have the Warrior Dash coming up shortly in July!

If you haven't stopped reading by now... 5 points for you!

Today is the first day of Summer and Summer is the time to be reading!!! The weather is actually cooperating! The sun is out the weather is warm. I'm putting together my annual Summer reading recommendations and a Summer reading plan! Have you noticed I like plans? And lists....

Here is last years Summer reading recommendations....
Summer Reading 2010 
Declaration of Reader Independence