Three Mile Uphill Battle

Well it’s about dang time I sat down with my computer and connected with y’all! Today’s post is late in part because I wasn’t feeling great this morning and took my time getting ready for the day. I also blame my book, The Light at the End of the World, because as I was reading, I realized that I’d much rather stay in bed all day – cozy and warm, safe from crazy drivers and all the icy roads. But alas, I managed to drag myself out of bed and get ready for the world.

I have some fun projects in the works and had a  couple meetings today that I needed to make in order to work out some details, etc. Sadly, I ended up cancelling one of my appointments because it was a bit farther south than I really felt comfortable driving in this crazy ice.

Anyway, let’s talk about more fun things. Yesterday was another running day on our marathon training plan, we had a three mile run ahead of us and I thought it would be no big deal because it was significantly shorter than Wednesday’s run.

Boy was I wrong. I had a really hard time slogging through those three miles. I was tired during the very first mile and knew it would be an uphill battle.

For starters, we had run two days in a row and coming into that third day was a bit rough. But I also didn’t eat very well beforehand. Because I was working from the coffee shop all day yesterday, I drank a lot of coffee and had very little to eat.

A croissant breakfast sandwich with egg, ham, tomatoes and spinach was all I had to eat all day yesterday. I bought that banana but I never ate it and by the time I was on the treadmill I was really wishing that I had made better eating choices throughout the day. It takes a lot more than a slough of coffee and a breakfast sandwich to power you through the day, let alone a run.

I did get my three miles of running in but I had to add in some walking intervals as well in order to finish. All together, I ran 3 miles and with the walking I put in about 4 1/4 miles in 45 minutes.

Immediately after finishing my run I was incredibly sore. I knew that I needed to keep moving and stretch out so that I wouldn’t stay sore for days on end. I headed over to the circuit area and did a quick round of machines to help loosen up a bit. The circuit area has twenty machines and ten step aerobic benches.

I did three of the machines and three steps, mixing and matching a blend of what I felt my body needed at the time; chest press, side lifts on a step, fixed pull downs, knee lifts on a step, seated rows, and side lifts on the step again.

The machines were great for getting a little burn in my arms but the step routines really helped alleviate some of the tightness in my legs. Once I was home I also used my foam roller to work out my quads, hamstrings and calves. Stretching out in the circuit area and the foam roller really helped because I was hurting after that run but today I feel pleasantly sore and not in pain.

I was also super grateful for crock pots and that dinner was ready and waiting when we got home because I was so hungry!    I hade made buffalo chicken in the crock pot using my homemade buffalo sauce recipe (from my cookbook). We enjoyed our buffalo chicken pita style, with ranch, spinach and cherry tomatoes. Yuuuuuummmmm. I love making the buffalo sauce at home because it is so quick and easy – yet cuts a ton of unnecessary preservatives. Also, as a quick heads up, I always make my ranch using plain Chobani Greek yogurt and combining with either fresh herbs or store-bought ranch mix. I love that it is thicker than typical ranch dip and offers some extra “cooling” which means I can slather on the hot sauce and not kill myself

Today, I’m working around town (Ogden) and hoping to meet up with Nick when he gets off work. It’s the weekend you guys! Can you believe it? We made it to the weekend!!  Enjoy your time with friends and family. I’ll see you again Sunday with our first marathon training recap!

How do you get through tough runs or workouts?