Why Are Races on Sundays?

I would like to petition weekends either:

1. get extended a day
2. SLOW DOWN

With that said, Happy Sunday all :).

I left you all yesterday with a pretty severe case of Runner’s High….which was awesome.  A great 10 miler was exactly what this lady needed to get my head back in the game and be ready to show up to Saint Louis ready to give it my all.

The rest of our afternoon wasn’t all that exciting.  We made a Sprouts trip that was pretty small since Zach’ll be gone the next few days, and we’re both gone by next weekend.

I did pick up my first pumpkin beer of the season though :

TommyKnocker small batch — It’s a little heavier on the seasonal favors like molasses than pumpkin, but still a really good fall beer.  A good way to celebrate a good long run.

Along with some serious compressing

And snacking

For whatever reason — after long runs I have very little appetite, and yesterday I had ZERO appetite after my run.  Not like I felt sick, which is good, just not hungry at all.

I did try a new form of fueling (the week before a race, of course).  I ate my normal Larabar pre run with coffee, but then also took another Larabar to break into pieces during my run and eat every 4 songs after my first 4 miles.  It ended up not upsetting my stomach and I never felt like I bonked on the run, so this may be my fuel of choice for next Sunday.

We watched a lot of FRIENDS and college football for awhile before the Notre Dame game and Detroit Tigers games came on, which we watched until 7 when we had reservations with friends at the Ale House near our place.

My friend we met up with last night is also running her first half marathon next weekend (but on Saturday, which I’m totally jealous about.  Does anyone know why races are on Sunday?), AND she’s getting married in December, so we had lots to talk about :).

By the time we got home, we watched the rest of the DVR’d Detroit game (bummer) then managed to fall asleep on the couch.   We’re cool like that :).

And now — I’m getting ready to head out for a quick shake out run (just a 5k) then relax for the afternoon.  I definitely think there is a pumpkin latte in my near future.

Question of the Morning:  Does anyone know WHY races are on Sundays? OR does anyone else just wish they’d be on Saturdays?

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Sometimes You Need a Slow Run

Good morning and Happy Thursday all 🙂

I know all my friends on the east coast are almost to the afternoon by this point, so I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far as well, and I am a bit jealous that you’re almost half way done with your work day. . . but that’s neither here nor there :).

Zach and I had a blast at the game last night

I plan to have a full review later this afternoon, it was actually a pretty cool experience.

But, thanks to the game, Zach and I were in bed quite a bit after our normal bed time, so I was very thankful for my late start morning when my alarm went off.

At 745, I crawled out of my comfy bed and hit the gym for a very easy recovery run to loosen them up after a good strength day and tough hill workout the day before

Workout of the Day: 4 + miles on the treadmill: recovery

Today’s run stayed between 6.1-6.3 speeds for the most part, going up to 6.5 by the end.

I know this isn’t very fast by a many peoples standards, but for me it was very nice to just zone out and move the legs this morning.  I didn’t want anything tough, and even when I got bored and wanted to speed it up, my smart half told me to keep it under control and save the tank for a long run this weekend.

Overall — I think the easy run was the perfect start to the AM :).

And now — it’s about time to head to work.  Which normally I would be a little grumpy about — but I had an experience last night at the game that was pretty humbling, and reminded me exactly why I do what I do. . . so I think today I’ll grab my coffee, and put a smile on my face as I head to work.

Question of the Day: Does anyone else struggle with keeping pace sometimes on easy runs?  Or just work outs that are meant to be easier in general?

My First Regular Post As a Jara

Good morning and Happy Tuesday all.

The craziness of the wedding is finally winding down and life is slowly, but surely, going to begin returning to normal.

Let me tell you first though, married life is pretty fantastic.

This morning, the final guest, (we miss you Stu!) left and the house is quiet.  I’m so happy that I decided to take fewer days off last week and extend my time off until Thursday, because I feel like I am just now starting to process. . . Yes, I am that girl that cried on the treadmill this morning because I listened to our wedding song.  Upps!  What can I say, I’m happy :).

I have to admit, it was a little weird this morning waking up to a quiet house, but I woke up, sat with a cup of coffee and looked through all of your amazing comments.  I was pretty freaking sore from this weekends hike, but knew that a good sweat was exactly what I needed, so to the gym I went 🙂

Workout of the Day: First as a Jara: 4.25 miles recovery run + weights

• Recovery run:  4 minutes between 6.2-6.5, 1 minute at 8 mph until 4 miles, then incline walk until 40 minutes
• 20 minutes of weights including:
• overhead shoulder press
• bicep curls
• incline sit ups
• core twists
• squats with weights
• step ups
• full body machine for arms

It was a great workout and a great way to restart a normal routine and get my blood pumping and sweat going.

 

 

 

And now, I get to enjoy what my amazing husband surprised me with this morning 🙂

 

How sweet is he? 🙂  I’m still on wedding vacation, and am totally justifying the crumb cake with that 🙂

The Rest of the Day

Since we’re just now getting back to reality, today is full of a couple errands and practical to-dos.

• Run to our venue and pick up anything that was left
• Figure out issue with our cake (our sweetheart cake and topper got ruined in a mix up, so we’re trying to figure out what happened)
• Grocery shop/Meal plan
• Enjoy quiet time with my husband
• Write the 3rd Wedding RECAP!!!!!!!!!

I’ll be back later today with the 3rd wedding recap!  Until then, please tell me:

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?  I miss everyone, please fill me in!