Wordless Wednesday: what day is it?

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Training Tuesday: Jax Bank Half week ???

Well, since I announced yesterday that I'm running one more half marathon this year, I can now label these training posts for the race :)  I've had this one on my radar for awhile now but wanted to get to double digits and have some solid long runs before I pulled the trigger.  Sadly, this past week's runs left a little to be desired, but I've been running around this block long enough to know that crappy runs happen.

Monday 11/18 - RUN 3.12 miles in 32:19 (10:21 pace).  We had a huge wind storm and didn't have school, so this was a weird time of day run to check out some of the damage.  It's always a bit odd to see a truck on my running trail - the park service was there cutting up trees that had fallen on the trail.

Tuesday 11/19 - REST.  Watched my daughter qualify for the Division 1 State Diving Championships at her Regional meet :)

Wednesday 11/20 - RUN 4 mile tempo in 38:53 (9:43 ave pace).  This was a tough run.

Thursday 11/21 - LONG RUN 8 miles.  This was supposed to happen on Saturday but I knew we'd be traveling for divegirl's state meet.  I had to do this run after school and I was poorly fueled and not well hydrated.  Basically, this run sucked balls and I even stopped my watch and sat down at mile 4, wondering who might be home to pick my sorry ass up.  I got my shit together and finished but it wasn't pretty.  8 miles in 1:28:31 (11:03 pace).

Friday 11/22 - REST while I spectated my daughter's awesome diving.  She finished 33rd in the state in Division 1 and I couldn't be more proud.

Saturday 11/23 - RUN Treadmill Mountain.  I have a friend who has started doing these workouts and I thought I'd try one.  2 miles at 10% incline in 30 min.  It was hard as hell.

Sunday 11/24 - RUN 3.1 in 30:00 (9:40 pace). This was Monday's run done a day early since I had an appointment with my sports med doc and then my girl's swim/dive banquet.  Very cold, windy morning and I finished with exactly 30:00.00 on my watch.  So bizarre.

I couldn't do that again if I tried.

So, one of my highest mileage weeks in a long time, but an epic fail where crosstraining is concerned. This week was all about the run and watching my girl dive.

Motivation Monday: another race!

How do you motivate yourself to finish the year strong? You sign up for your 10th half marathon!

Sunny Florida - here I come!

I was a bit surprised when I realized Jax would be my 10th half, especially considering my first one was only 3 years ago.  Must have been all those shiny things :)

Fitness Friday: spectating

Today I'm heading to the easy side of the state to watch my dive girl, one of her diving teammates & a relay team from our high school compete in the Division 1 State Championships.

This is K's first time qualifying for state & I'm busting with pride over how hard she's worked & her accomplishments this season. I still can't believe that she's one of the top 36 divers in division 1 in the entire state of Michigan!

State wasn't even on our radar when the diving season started this year. K is proof that you should never say never and when you work your ass off, great things happen.



Think happy, safe, strong, clean diving thoughts today & tomorrow for all 36 girls in Michigan who qualified to compete for the state championship today.

(Thanks to K for her shameless use of the selfie since she refused to let me take her picture before she left yesterday.)

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Semi Wordless Wednesday: proud

I'm celebrating my diver today.

Last night she competed in the regional diving competition and by that smile, I think you can guess that it went really well.

31 divers qualified at their conference meets to compete at Regionals.  After the first round (5 dives), they cut the field to 20.  She was in 19th place.

Then after the 2nd round (3 more dives), they cut again to 16.  She'd moved up to 13th place.  K needed to gain 1 spot to make it to State.  3 more dives and she finished 10th!

My diver is competing at Oakland University this weekend!!!

I'm so proud of all her hard work this year.  She's doing harder dives, including 3 new ones - 2 that she's learned in the past 2 weeks.  I love seeing the look on her face when she realizes all this dedication and work paying off.  I'd say her coach looks proud of her too :)

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Training Tuesday: new post-injury distance PR

This week was a bit "off" for me.  I hate making excuses for missing workouts, but I definitely didn't get in everything I should have.  I've been sick for over a month, my son had his play this week, and there were a couple days that I just wanted a break. Plus I did Monday's run on Sunday, which threw off this week. Basically, all I did was run.  And my feet hurt.  A lot. Threw in some stretching and one bike ride, but the cross training was meager at best.  All-in-all, it was still a decent week with another post-injury distance PR, so I'll take it.  I'm *thisclose* to pulling the trigger on one more big race for 2012. 

Monday 11/11 - REST

Tuesday 11/12 - REST (not a good trend - haven't had 2 rest days in a row in forever)

Wednesday 11/13 - RUN Windy mile repeats run (2 x 1600 at 8:48 pace).  Did 4 miles in 37:52 (9:28 pace) but my repeats were all over the place (8:17 and 9:13).  I need to work on consistency.

Thursday 11/14 - BIKE 8 miles in 39 min.  This was a very easy ride while I watched Nashville on my iPad.  I knew I needed to do something but had no motivation to work hard.

Friday 11/15 - REST (normally a swim day but I had family coming up for dinner and then D's play, so I scooted home to cook right after work).

Saturday 11/16 - LONG RUN 12.12 miles in 2:12:29 (10:55 pace) - this run was HARD but more so from a mental standpoint than a physical one.  I had a lot of heel pain after but the hip hasn't been feeling as bad, so I'm considering this to be progress.  I wore my 2012 Newtons with heel cups that a friend loaned me and I didn't have the numbness in my toes that I've experienced with my 2013 Newtons.  Starting to wonder if I need a different style shoe, which makes me sad.

Sunday 11/17 - STRETCH/ROLL.  Worked a lot on my calves in an effort to make my heel not hurt so much. 

I'm going to be working this week on adding some extra speedwork into my plan (or at least being a bit more consistent).  I've heard really good things about short, slow-paced hill-work sessions on the treadmill, so those might start making an appearance.

How was your week? There were a lot of races around here (our season is coming to a close). Anything fun to report?

Meal Monday: best pie EVER

I'm posting a recipe for which I cannot take any credit.  The crust is all The Beeroness and the filling is a mix of a couple different recipes based on a suggestion by one of my friends.

I've always failed at pie crust.  Never have I had one turn out even remotely flakey or tasty, so I've always used those refridgerated crusts from Pillsbury.  They aren't awful, but let's face it.  They aren't that great either.  When I saw The Beeroness's blog last week, I knew I needed to try this recipe.  I wasn't sure what type of beer to use (yes, the crust is made with beer) so I sent out some tweets and requests on Facebook for ideas.  Jackie, The Beeroness herself, even responded and suggested a higher alcohol IPA and that if it's one with a high IBU (bitterness) content, to just add an extra tablespoon of sugar.

Here's what I did for the Pale Ale Pie Dough.  This is The Beeroness's recipe but I really think you should visit her blog. Add her to your reader.  Plus, she has the ziplist and Pinterest plugins so you can save the crust recipe. 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 12 tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 8 tbs vegetable shortening (I used butter-flavored Crisco sticks)
• 1/3 cup ice cold high ABV pale ale (I used Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - 6.8% alc and 65 IBU - no extra sugar needed)

Directions

• Add 1 ½ cups of flour, salt and sugar to a food processor, pulse once or twice to combine. Add the butter and shortening, close the openings or you will have flour all over your kitchen not that I have any experience with that then process until well combined and dough gathers around the blade. You might have to stop and push the dough back into place a few times depending on your food processor.
• Add the remaining flour and pulse 6-8 times or until all the flour has been coated. It will look a little bit crumbly. 
• Put the dough in a bowl and use a rubber spatula to stir in the beer.  The dough will be very soft and a little sticky.  This is fine.  The Beeroness says "don’t add the beer in the food processor or your dough will turn into a cracker". 
• Lay two long sheets of plastic wrap on your counter and divide the dough between the two sheets.  Mold them into flat disks and wrap them each with the plastic wrap.
• Place the disks into a freezer bag and put in the refridgerator or the freezer depending on how soon you want to use it. I kept mine in the fridge for a little over 2 hours.
• Freeze for up to 3 weeks. (If you want to use the dough the day of, place the wrapped disks in the refrigerator for 2 hours and up to 3 days)
• 24 hours before use, put the dough in the refrigerator to thaw.
• When ready to roll out the dough, roll out the first disk between 2 pieces of wax paper.  Do NOT roll it out on a floured surface.  The dough will be really soft and a little sticky but this is totally ok.  Put the first crust into your pie plate and add the filling (recipe below).  Put it in the fridge while you roll out the top crust.  You can then use the top crust however you want - lattice, whole with slits or you can make 2 single-crust pies.

Notes from The Beeroness

If the dough breaks easily when you try to roll it out, gently knead it with your hands until it comes together. Roll it out, line a pie pan and refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes. *This recipe also works with all butter, or all shortening, if you prefer.

Filling: Peach Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

• 5 cups frozen (partially thawed) sliced peaches
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca (I added a bit more after filling the pie shell)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• dash cinnamon
• dough for double crust pie
• milk or egg and sugar for top of pie

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425*
• In a large bowl, combine fruit, sugar, tapioca, cornstarch, lemon juice and cinnamon.  Let sit for 15 min, stirring occasionally. 
• Roll out first pie crust as directed above and line pie plate.  Spoon the fruit mixture into the crust. If there is a lot of juice in the bowl (there was with mine), use a slotted spoon and leave almost all of the juice in the bowl because you don't want a watery pie.  I thought I still had too much juice so I sprinkled a bit more tapioca on top of the fruit mixture.
• Refridgerate while you roll out the top crust.
• Gently place the top crust over the fruit and make prettier edges than I did.  Cut a few slices in the top crust to let the steam escape.
• Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush with milk or egg then sprinkle with sugar.  Cover edges with foil to prevent over browning.  Bake another 20-30 min or until golden brown.
• Let cool for about 2 hours so the juices in the pie set, otherwise it will be runny.
• You can reheat slices for a few seconds in the microwave if you want them warm.
• Serve with vanilla ice cream.

This was, by far, the best pie I have ever made.  The crust is super flaky and buttery tasting, plus I LOVED the peach and blueberry combination.  Some version of this pie will grace my Thanksgiving table for sure.

What's your favorite flavor pie?

Fitness Friday: fun news from @vanessaruns!

Last week, Vanessa Runs contacted me through Facebook and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing her book, The Summit Seeker.  Vanessa is an ultrarunner who writes and runs full-time after leaving a career in journalism.  She agreed to send me a copy to keep and a copy to give away to one of YOU!  The books came yesterday and I can't wait to dig into my copy.

You can find Vanessa's blog here and follow her on Twitter.  Stay tuned for the book giveaway in a couple weeks!  If you just can't wait and want to read Vanessa's book now, you can find it on Amazon here.

What was the last book you read for fun?  Do you prefer hard copies (like me) or the Kindle versions?

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World Diabetes Day: wearing blue!

On this Thankful Thursday, I'm giving thanks for Sir Frederick Banting.  In case you didn't know, today is his birthday and he's the scientist known as the main discoverer of insulin, a hormone my sister, Buffi, and good friend, Corey, could not live without.  They are two individuals living with Type 1 Diabetes who continue to amaze me with their strength and perseverence.


Today, the anniversary of Dr. Banting's birth, is designated World Diabetes Day.  Take a look at that chart and find something you can do today.  (Thanks to Corey for posting these graphics.)

Learn the signs and sypmptoms, take the quiz, eat right and get your exercise.  Knowledge is power.


I'm wearing blue and sharing information about Diabetes on my blog and FB today.  What are you going to do?

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Wordless Wednesday: is there good?

Jury is out today.

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Training Tuesday: Double Digits!

I hit a recovery milestone this week - my first double digit run since the end of August!  Was it perfect or pain free? No.  But it was a move in the right direction and knowing that I can hit that distance still was a huge confidence boost going into the end of the year.

Monday Nov 4 - RUN 4 miles in 43:23 (10:50 pace).  Not a great run, but miles banked.

Tuesday Nov 5 - STRENGTH/STRETCH Did my hip exercises and some yoga.

Wednesday Nov 6 - RUN 4 mile tempo on a mix of the track and treadmill in 38:51 (ave 9:42 but the tempo miles were around 9:00)

Thursday Nov 7 - REST while I watched my diver qualify for the conference finals in diving.

Friday Nov 8 - LONG RUN 10 miles in 1:45:18 (10:31 pace).  I decided to move my long run to Friday afternoon and it went alright.  Running at 4:00 for almost 2 hours meant I finished right before dark.  I'll need to do this again in a couple weeks because I'll be out of town on Saturday, only then I need to do 12.  I might be doing my 6 mile route twice.

Saturday Nov 9 - REST while I watched my diver qualify for regionals!! She finished 9th out of 28 in her conference and I couldn't have been more proud.

Sunday Nov 10 - RUN 5 miles in 47:41 (9:32 pace).  I moved Monday's run up a day because I was awake and it was a beautiful but very windy morning.  Not sure where all that speed came from but I'll take it.  Some soreness during the day but a much better run than any other this week.

Do you switch around your training plans like this?  I think it's making me a bit more flexible.

Fitness Friday: companies & social media

I got some new shoes this week.



This is my third pair of the Newton Gravity so I didn't expect any problems but when I did my first run, I had numbness in my feet. These feel much narrower than my last pair.

I sent a tweet to Newton & they replied!



We had a nice little 140 character convo.


I love responsive companies. Hopefully these will feel great for my 10 miler tomorrow.




Any great social media companies you've interacted with?

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#TTT Three things Thursday: Facebook Funnies

Three images from FB this week that made me smile.



Who can resist cats killing each other? The looks on their faces? I die.


This is precisely why I'm not listing thanks every day.


I adore the humpday camel.

What made you smile this week?

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Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: Safety First! #runchat

Yes, it's "Weigh-in Wednesday" and I was down a little bit this week, but in light of recent events, I wanted to send out this reminder instead.

Light yourself up, people.  A very well-known runner in the Grand Rapids, MI running community was killed a couple nights ago after being hit by a car.  It was only 6:15 at night but it was DARK.  The time change means many of us are running at dusk or after dark (or in my case, still running in the morning when it's dark) and it's better to look like a dork than to not be seen.

A couple nights before this, someone I know almost hit a cyclist who was biking at midnight with NO LIGHTS and all black clothing.  Really, this is beyond dumb.

If you are going to be out walking, running, cycling or whatever any time near dusk, dawn or dark, PLEASE wear the appropriate safety gear.

• headlamp or KnuckleLights
• reflective vest
• blinky lights on your front and back
• leave the music at home or wear only one ear bud and don't get lost in your music

Just having clothing with a few reflective markings isn't good enough.

Be safe out there my friends!

Training Tuesday: step-back week

This week was supposed to be a step-back week and I think I stepped back a bit too much.  Mentally I think I needed the break.  After PT on Thursday, I ended up running a longer run on Saturday than I'd planned so we'll call it a wash.  Overall, I think the week was a success and I'm feeling less pain in my hip after each run.  (My heel and some new issue with my foot are a different story, but my PT isn't concerned and I'm trying to follow his lead.)

Monday Oct 28 - RUN 4 miles in about 44 minutes (10:55 pace).  This was disappointing but was also my 3rd run in 3 days so I'm going to chalk it up to tired legs.

Tuesday Oct 29 - Stretching and rolling for about 20 minutes.  I should've done more but it is what it is.

Wednesday Oct 30 - RUN 3.14 in 32:12 (10:15 pace).  A much better run on some little hills.  Legs were still tired but I pushed through and got some hill work in at the same time.

Thursday Oct 31 - REST.  I'm not sure why I took a rest day other that being lazy.  I had PT earlier in the day and he did a bunch of stretching but I can't really count that.

Friday Nov 1 - SWIM - 1700 in about 56 minutes.  Faster actually since I didn't stop my watch for rests between sets.  It was a decent swim.

Saturday Nov 2 - RUN 6.04 in 1:05:31 (10:50 pace).  I'm calling this a good run because I was out way before dark to run and was feeling less than great from going out Friday night.  I didn't sleep so it's a win.

Sunday Nov 3 - REST.  I needed a mental health break as much as a physical one.  I was lazy and watched TV all day, except for the 3 mile walk I took in the afternoon.

This coming week is going to be tough.  I have my first double-digit run coming up on Saturday and I'm thinking back to where I was a year ago when I was training for Disney's Wine and Dine. I'm planning the same route that I ran for my last long run before Disney.  That 10 miler went great and had me thinking I'd have a huge PR in Orlando.  That ended up being far from the case. It's ironic that this year's race is also coming up this weekend.  Been remembering that weekend a lot.  I wish I could go back and do it again.

Motivation Monday: reader's choice!

source

I love this poster because there's something for everyone.  Right now, I'm pretty much rocking the "F* the injury and the pain" quote and choosing to work through it (with medical guidance - no hate please).  

Which phrase will you take with you this week?

Fitness Friday: Making Plans

source

It's no secret that I strive on organization and structure.  I have to have a plan and I love my spreadsheets and google docs that tell me what I'm supposed to be doing.

After yesterday's PT session, I have a much more ambitious plan than I did when I went in.  I guess he thinks I'm doing much better.  We've re-vamped my fancy google spreadsheet to include a lot more miles on the weekend than I was planning.  There might be a another race in my future and if the stars align, I want to be ready.

The problem with my plan is some holes where crosstraining needs to go.  I'll figure that out in the next few days.  In the meantime, this is what my weeks will look like for the remainder of 2013.

Monday: easy run day - distances range from 3 to 5 miles at an easy pace.

Tuesday: crosstraining of some kind, biking on the trainer or strength workouts, or both.

Wednesday: speedwork - either intervals, tempo runs or hill work.  Right now there is no hill work written in so I need to fix that.

Thursday: crosstraining or a very short run (like 2 miles) and strength training.

Friday: swimming day - I'll swim for roughly an hour

Saturday: long run day - the shortest run between now and the end of the year is tomorrow's 6 miler.  I hit double digets next weekend and will top out with one 14 miler at the beginning of December. I'm praying for a mild winter.  I'll be honest - I'm scared of those 12 and 14 milers.  Even the 10 miler I have planned for next weekend makes me nervous, but my PT knows me and knows I need those distances as much for my mental game and the physical one. It may not be easy but it will be worth it.

Sunday: Thou shalt honor the rest day and keep it holy.  Or something like that.

What about you? Do you like the structure of a plan or are you more likely to just wing it?