Mountain Madness RECAP & Some Random Photos For You!

Happy Friday-eve! I'm still on that recovery mode, so maybe I'll get in 6 miles later today or maybe I won't! This week is all about recovery and not pushing myself so next week I can really kick it in to training for Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon! I've got my Mountain Madness Half Marathon Recap up for you HERE. 

I've also got a few random photos for you. 

Stella & Maple have really started to bond lately. Also it's so cute how Maple is SUPER cuddly first thing in the morning, but later in the day --> she wants NOTHING to do with us! 

Meditation has been going REALLY well lately. I missed a few days last week (thanks to race-day craziness), but I think it's helped keep me more mindful and present rather than focusing either on the past or future. I love this saying too. 

Kitten cuddles because why not?

These frozen salmon burgers are SO tasty. Plus with a side of spinach salad & sourdough toast --> yummmmm. 

Also- Maple & Brady have gotten SO BIG. They're basically grown-up already and I can't believe they turn ONE next month! Ugh. I want them to go back to being cute, cuddly kittens. 

Anyone a fan of frozen burgers? --> normally I'm not, but those salmon ones are delicious. 

Salt Lake City Race RECAP!

Hi friends! I hope you had a great weekend and got in some sunshine. It was SO beautiful here and hardly a cloud in the sky. We got in a bunch of relaxing and also saw the new Avengers movie- I had never seen one before and thought it was SO good! Thinking I may need to watch the other ones in the series now! Anyone a fan of them? I got in a total of 35 miles this weekend (mix of trail on Saturday & then treadmill on Sunday- I had already gained over 3,000' in elevation this past week and didn't want to add in too much more).

I hope you enjoy the new look of the website- I didn't change too much around, but just wanted to give it a new look and will continue to add/ edit a few things here and there as we're approaching my one-year blog-i-versary (is that a word?)! I can't believe it's been almost a full year since I started blogging and I still have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! It's been a major learning curve (still is) and I thank you so much for still continuing to follow along as I figure it all out!

I have my Salt Lake City Race Recap up TODAY --> so make sure to check out my race recaps and read all about how it went! 

Today is a rest day for me (from running), so I'm getting in some yoga & strength training early this morning then making sure to recover before my run tomorrow! Have a great day and remember- we're only 4 days away from Friday ; )

Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon Review & What I Did During The Day b4 The Race!

HAPPY HAPPY TURKEY DAY! I hope you will be celebrating with lots of tasty food, family/friends, and a GREAT RUN! I'm doing the 5k Turkey Trot this morning and then skiing and a small dinner with friends! I am thankful for all my family and friends near and far, as well as thankful for my legs that are strong enough to endear long runs and let me travel to beautiful places!

Make sure to head over to Race Recaps for the full recap of the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon!

I wanted to share with you a few things that I did during the day before the 4:30pm start because it definitely is difficult to fill your day if you want to save your legs for race time. 

Things I typically will save until the day of the race:

• Race playlists- I actually LOVE doing this a few hours before the race. It gets me excited for the race and does not require anything physical. 
• Eat small meals throughout the day (up until 1 hour before the race start)- I stick with plain bagels with butter/ granola oat bars/ Honey Stinger chews/ Bananas/ Pop Tarts. Anything that I have previously eaten before a training run I eat the hours before race. 
• Legs up the wall at least twice- I do this constantly when traveling for a race. It's amazing how refreshed you feel afterwards. 
• Read a chapter of an inspiring book- I saved a chapter in Matt Fitzgerald's How Bad Do You Want it to read before my race and I honestly thought about it/ channeled it my entire race. 
• Lay by the pool (but don't get too much sun)
• Foam Roll
• Do a fun hairstyle- Having a late race start means more time to do a fun braid or hairstyle that you wouldn't normally do for those 3AM wake-ups. 

Things I don't do before a race:

• Eat insane amounts of food. Just don't. do. it.
• Walk a lot
• Get extra sleep the night before (I DO get extra sleep the week leading up to a race, but not the night before a race- I feel sluggish if I get too much sleep). Stick with your normal sleep times to prevent a "sleep hangover"
• Not do anything at all. It's good to still have things to do to keep your mind off of the race/ build up anticipation
• Sight-see- save it for after the race!

Don't forget to go check out my RACE REVIEW !

Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Day 2/5k!

After Cher, we didn't end up getting back to the hotel until AFTER 11pm! Wayyy past my bedtime, so I took a melatonin (my savour during traveling/racing weekends to make sure I still get a decent nights sleep) and woke up around 7:30. We decided to rent a car for the day to go check out the scenery and save our legs/feet for the 5k!

We went to Panera first, where I like to stock-up on bagels (at a place that I know) and began the carbo-loading. I normally take in extra carbs/proteins/less veggies 1.5 days before the start of the race and load up on electrolytes/ Gatorade/ water the entire WEEK before a race. After we were full of deliciousness, we drove to see the Hoover Dam (my Gram had NEVER seen it before!). The weather on Saturday was perfect- 70 degrees with hardly a cloud in the sky. 

After Hoover Dam, we stopped by Ethel M. Chocolates to pick up some treats to take home (splurged on a coin chocolate they were handing out) and checked out their Cactus Botanical Garden. 

We stopped by Chipotle to get a later lunch (I love their chicken burrito bowls before races) and headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit before leaving for the 5k at 4pm (it starts at 6:30). 

Note: If you plan on running the 5k, either plan to take an Uber or stay at a hotel at the beginning of the Monorail. We stayed at the Excalibur and got on at the first stop for the Monorail and every stop the monorail made after ours, NO ONE else could get on because it was so full. Definitely a bonus to stay on the end of the strip. We arrived at the start line with a little over 40 minutes left (perfect timing) and I headed to my corral #7 when there was 30 minutes prior to the 6pm start. 

The 5k had A LOT of congestion and the hassle getting there really put a damper on the race, but once you got out a 1/2 mile it was MUCH better. I took it really easy (~10:00+ per mile) for the first 2 miles of the race then alternated every 0.10 with 8:10-8:15 strides and ~10:00+ easy pace. I finished with a 9:40 overall pace and it felt pretty good to pass a lot of runners when I was doing my strides! It was also a great way to get used to the race atmosphere and practice holding back my pace. We also stayed for a few of the Goo Goo Dolls songs- they were pretty good (but not as good as I expected for a live performance...). 

Overall 5k recommendation: Do it if you want a safe place to do a shake-out-run. Don't do it if you aren't ready to deal with the crowds and hassle of traveling to and from the race venue.

Also CONGRATS to my Gram for doing her first 5k!! She totally ROCKED it! Super proud : ) 

Things I've Learned Not To Do Since My First Half-Marathon

Facebook. Ohhh Facebook. You are truly a lovely human being because you reminded me that 6 YEARS AGO I ran my first-ever half marathon! I seriously cannot believe it has been 6 years- I have learned so much since then (my oh my how much I have learned). I wanted to share with you some things that I've since learned do not work well when training/running a half-marathon (as well as some things that I DO still recommend doing). 

Mom's first race as well! She did the 5K then came and ran the last mile or so with me of my half marathon! She's a goddess. 

1. Do NOT skip on your last 2 long training runs. I was starting my senior year of high school and had trouble finding 'safe' routes to run around in Syracuse, so I either cut my runs short or did them on the treadmill (but I normally never hit my mileage goal). Terrible, terrible idea. 
2. Do NOT stay out until 12am at a Frat party the night before your 5am wake-up call. Yeah, I haven't made this mistake since then! Even when you are completely sober, it still is not so much fun to wake-up mere hours after you come home. 
3. Take some sort of energy gels/gus/ chews during your race AND training runs. I don't think I started doing this until I started training for my first marathon. Ohhh I was so inexperienced!
4. Invest in some body glide and use it all the time. This is a relatively newish thing for me and once you go body glide, you can't go back. It's a game-changer. 
5. Go pee before the race starts. I haven't made this mistake since this first race and I will never forget getting to mile 11ish and sprinting out to the woods to relieve myself because I never went before the race began!
6. Drink so much water the day before the race. Our bodies are made up of it and crave it, honor that and refuel properly afterwards.
7. Prepare to be sore after the race. Yeah, I had no idea how much pain I would be in....
8. Know your race route. I had no clue that this race included both trails and pavement and felt totally defeated once I hit a gravel section of the path because I didn't include those on my runs!
9. Be prepared to never forget your first experience! I still remember how absolutely elated I felt once I crossed that finish line. This race didn't even give out medals and I couldn't have card less (I had no idea that was even a thing)- the finish line experience was all I needed. 
10. Eat something before your race. I may have had a banana, but honestly can't even remember. I had no clue about nutrition and carbo-loading meant eat this entire giant plate of pasta and bread the night before your race whether you're super hungry or not. Yeah. Not the best idea to stuff-your-face before you run 13.1 miles the next morning. 

The t-shirt that they gave was pretty terrible and no medals at the finish line, but this small-town race still gives me chills everytime I remember how accomplished I felt at the end! I truly had no idea my body could run that far and I road that runners-high for sometime afterwards. I actually didn't run or train for anything particular after my first 13.1 miles for a year and a half later (then I did another race, shaved over 20 minutes off my previous time and haven't looked back)!

What are some of your most memorable 13.1 mile memories?

What was your first big race and was it a life-changing experience?