Training Weeks 4 & 5

Broncos Win Super Bowl 50! 

That little smile :)

Week 4:

Saturday (1/23):  9 Mile run (outside...in shorts!) 8:55 pace

Sunday (1/24):5 miles easy outside 8:24 pace 

Monday (1/25)  Rest day 

Tuesday (1/26)  Mile Repeats - treadmill
                          1.5 mile warmup (9:00 pace) 
                          3 x 1 miles fast (6:58 average) 
                          with 2 min walk in between each 
                          .5 cool down (total-5 miles) 

Wednesday (1/27) 3 miles easy (9:00 pace) 

Thursday (1/28) 6 mile stroller run (outside, followed by playing at the park!) it was 60 degrees this day! Amazing for February.  

Friday (1/29)  Barre class (no running) 

Total Mileage:  28 Miles 

Side note:  I am definitely wanting to the in the 30's consistently and I am getting there. ( I was at 30 consistently for about 8 weeks this fall), but the one thing I was not great about this fall was speed workouts, which make a huge difference in form, aerobic capacity and overall fitness. I am trying to incorporate 1 per week. I also notice on days when I do a strength type of workout, it is hard to also run, so I guess it is just balancing it all.  When I am able to do stroller runs for my easy/recovery runs, my mileage is naturally a little higher as well.  Stroller runs are few and far between in winter though.  I am hitting the treadmill for an hour after school a lot of days.  

Week 5:

Saturday (1/30) 8 miles outside again! 8:30 pace 

Sunday (1/31)  Rest day. Felt sore, needed it. 

Monday (2/1) Unintentional rest day (we started to get a lot of snow and I wanted to get home!) 

Tuesday (2/2) SNOW DAY! But I was able to hop on the treadmill (an older one in our garage) when Alex was napping in the mid day. 

4.3 miles total (3 miles easy at 8:45 pace, then:  6 x 200's hard and 2 x 400's hard) 


Wednesday (2/3) 4.1 mile easy treadmill run (8:45 pace) 

Thursday (2/4) AWESOME SPEED WORKOUT! I was at a teaching conference and had some extra time to go to the rec center this day. 
8 miles total:  

• 2 Mile warmup (8:30 average) 
• 4 x 1.5 at half marathon goal pace with 2 min walk in between each.  
• Average pace for the 1.5 was 7:23. 

Friday (2/5) Easy 3.1 on the treadmill (8:40 pace), Pure Barre class. 

Total mileage:  28 

GO BRONCOS! & Training Week # 3

First of all, the Broncos are going to the SUPERBOWL! Yay!  

& It's normal to feed a doggy a baby bottle.

Week # 3 of Half Marathon Training went like this:  

Saturday (1/17):  

• 5 Miles easy on the treadmill 8:45 pace(this was supposed to be my long run, but felt dizzy after a few miles) 

Sunday (1/18)  

• 4 Miles Easy (outside) 8:45 pace 

Monday (1/19) 

• Tempo Run on the treadmill
• 1 mile warmup 
• 2 miles at 1% incline 14:34 (7:17 pace) 
• .5 cooldown 
• Barre class (was able to go since I had a day off work for MLK day!) 

Tuesday (1/20) 

• 3 Easy stroller miles outside (9 something pace) 

Wednesday (1/21) 

• 3 Mile progression run (treadmill) started in the 9's- ended in the 7's (8:20 pace) - short on time this day! 

Thursday (1/22) 

• 4 miles easy- 8:30 pace (treadmill) 

Friday (1/23) 

• 3 miles easy stroller (9 something pace) 
• Barre class

Total Mileage= 25.5 

Strength Workouts=2 Barre Classes 

No days off, but lots of short and easy runs. 

Just a little cookie selfie for your enjoyment :) 

Half Marathon Training Week 2

Preface:  I'm doing a horrible job of following Hanson's so far. I am no where near the mileage but I'm working on it! One week I will completely follow the plan, this was not that week.  I have some legitimate excuses (sick baby and flu shot for me) but I know every week will probably have some obstacles.  My goal for this next week is to get to 30 miles.  Winter is harder with shorter days and most of the time I don't have the ability to use the jogging stroller now like I did in the fall. Nonetheless, this is how training is going to look for a spring half marathon, so I must adjust!

Saturday- 4.25 miles with pickups (8:14 pace) on the treadmill at the rec center. 

Sunday- Barre class. 

Monday- Easy 5.25 miles treadmill with hills thrown in (8:22 pace) 

Tuesday- Speed workout: 1 mile warmup 

                                          8 x 400's (on Hanson's plan, it just was supposed to be 12!) 1:40 average 

                                          1 min active walk/jog in between intervals 

                                          . 5 cooldown 

                                          4. 5 miles total 

Wednesday- 4 miles easy, Barre class 

Thursday- off day (flu shot on Wed) 

Friday- off day (flu shot on Wed) - Side note: I never get flu shots and this is why, it made me exhausted and "off" for 3 whole days. 

Total Mileage:  18 

 

Back to blogging- Half Marathon Training Week 1

After a lengthy break from updating this blog, I am back at it!  My goal for the new year is to update this once a week (with my running training from each week) and then any other fun life happenings.  I realized that it is a lot harder to make time to sit down and update this as often as I would like. I virtually cannot do it during the time Alex is awake because she is very demanding of my time, as she should be! Plus from approximately 3 PM or whatever time I am home from work is time I play with Alex and when Brandon, Alex and I hang out, eat dinner etc. So basically, I have to work on these after she goes to bed!

I am training for the Platte River 1/2 marathon, in Littleton on April 10th.  I ran 2 half marathons this past fall, one in October, in Colorado Springs and one trail half in November in Highlands Ranch. I did feel like I was close to achieving a PR in this distance (which would be sub 1:42) but the conditions of both of the races made this really difficult to achieve (hello 3000 feet of elevation gain!).  So, I made sure I chose a nice flat race for spring!  I am loosely following Hanson's method for 1/2 marathon (the beginner plan).  The difference between this and what I normally do is that I will try and incorporate their designated speed workouts every week, complete their tempo runs and run 6 days a week!  This is a daunting task! Realistically, I know I won't be able to get this done every week and some weeks I will only run 5 days, but I would rather set my goal higher and reach for it most weeks.  I did no tempo run's this past fall (or ever) and their speed workouts are more intense than I have completed since my high school track and xc days so I'm hoping they really improve my fitness.  Other goals are to do barre/strength workouts 1-3 times a week (depending on the week)

Last week, I already did not meet the mileage (was supposed to be 30 and I switched the speed workout with the one I was supposed to do the next week), but it was a decent first week of training. Also, I am starting my weeks on Saturdays.

Weekly Mileage:  24 Miles

Saturday- 6 miles outside- 8:42 pace(long run, lol)
 I am building my long runs slowly, since I have 15 weeks to get to 13.1!

Sunday- 5 Miles outside- 8:49 pace (easy run)

Monday- 3 Miles outside- 9:05 pace (easy run)

Tuesday- 3 Miles outside, pushing stroller - 9:36 pace (easy run)

Wednesday- 4.2 miles, speed workout on treadmill
1 Mile warmup
5x 800's with 1 min. walking in between each. Average 3:20 pace (anywhere from 3:15-3:30) also I should start the interval when I reach the speed I want instead of at the beginning and I think they would be faster and I wouldn't be running .5 at a slower speed (cheating myself)
2 x 200's all out (38?)
.5 cooldown.

Thursday:
1 Mile warmup
2 Miles Tempo at 7:30 pace
(Should have been a 3 mile tempo run)

Friday:
off day.

No strength workouts this week. :(

Alexandra's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Alex's birthday at our house with a small shin-dig with neighbors, a few family members and friends on Saturday, September 19th.  We were super pleased how all the details came together and how beautiful (and hot!) of a day it was. Alex was a little overwhelmed with all of the attention and people and wasn't her usual smiley self, however no tears were shed.

Our menu included smoked pulled pork sliders, veggies and dip, homemade mac and cheese, watermelon and broccoli slaw, all made by my hubby and wonderful mother in law. I put them in charge of food for the party because they are much better chefs than me.  Our cakes were made by whole foods, it was a special order of their chantilly cream. If you've never had it, go to Whole Foods right now and try it, it is the best cake I've ever had. It has fresh blueberries and raspberries between two layers and is the best vanilla flavor with a slight hint of almond.  The icing is also to die for. We had a big cake for the guests and a mini 4 inch cake made.  Favors were pink lollipops and jelly beans.

Almost all of my decor came from Etsy. I am putting links to the shops if you are interested.  I was asked a lot if I made the stuff, and no I am not crafty, but I can think of really good ideas and buy them :) Cake topper for Smash Cake here. 

 1st birthday printable available here. 

One banner available here.

12 months banner available here. 

Note the Ohio State score on the TV.

Onesie, tutu available here.  

Shoutout to all of our party guests 

Paige, our neighbor. Will be a great babysitter in a few years. Alex loves her. 

Most of the kids at the party! 

More neighborhood kids. 

Ethan and Alex=love.

Baby love with Alexandra and Louis. 

Susanne and Holly (also photobombing is Dolly)

The Renshaw Clan + a few.

Alex loves her Grandma Suz

The CAKE SMASH. 

And at lasts, the presents. 

Thank you to everyone who came, for making it such a memorable first birthday!

Our Labor Day weekend trip to Palisade, Colorado

Palisade, Colorado, the land of the juiciest peaches, the gorgeous western slopes and the best fruit wineries in the Rocky Mountain region. Sounds like the makings of a blissful, relaxing weekend, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint! We have now visited Palisade twice; Labor day weekend 2013 and Labor day weekend 2015.  In 2013, we rode our  bikes to the wineries on their bike route. This year, we drove and pushed a stroller with our little one.  Although different experiences, both were equally enjoyable

During both years, we stayed at the Wine Country Inn, the best of the best in Palisade. I cannot say enough good things about this hotel. First of all, it is located in the most gorgeous setting, with a vineyard and a mountainous  region as it's backdrop. It also has the best customer service around and includes an outdoor heated pool, hot tub and superb continental breakfast.  There is also a restaurant located inside the hotel. Talk about convenience with an almost one year old! Many people have weddings there in the fall, but it was still quiet and peaceful during our stay, even though there were several weddings occurring.

As far as the wineries, go, they are all amazing.  Really, you cannot go wrong.  I am not sure on the exact number, but I would say there are close to 15 located in Palisade alone.  We probably went to 7-8 of them. We stayed Friday night in Rifle, Colorado (about 45 minutes from Palisade) and then stayed Saturday night in Palisade. We came back early Sunday to avoid the traffic and we did :)

Our first stop, Canyon Wind Cellars- where we had a tour of where they make the wine. 

A dolly at a winery, always a good idea. 

A peach, enjoying a peach.

Ruffle butt

A personal Fast family favorite, is Carlson Vineyards.  We were able to do a tasting with the owner this year.  We ended up with about 10 bottles of wine at the end of this trip,  but about half were from Carlson vineyard. I would highly, highly recommend the Peach Wine, it literally might be my favorite wine of all time.  It tastes just like a fresh Palisade peach and it is not too sweet, like some fruit wines tend to be.  Other favorites from this winery include the Calico and Sweet Baby Red.  We  be back again soon, Palisade!

In other news, my 11 month old is walking! Yay!