What's in a coach?

I recently have had a few good conversations with fellow runners about coaching. One has a coach, one doesn't. Without going into detail about personal information, one is having some major issues with her coach and it got me thinking, what should you really look for in a coach? Why get one? Is it really worth spending the money when the wonderful world of Google can give me a free plan to train for (insert race distance here)? Let's talk about it. But first, it's time for 'a rundown of Britany's life right now'! We should really think of a clever title for that...

A year ago, around this time (obviously in September), I was in Michigan for a few weeks. I've really missed home lately, mostly because it's officially Fall and as much as I love living in Arizona, nothing beats running during the Fall season in Michigan. I can almost visualize going down the Macomb Orchard Trail, the tunnel of trees that are changing colors, stopping at every bathroom because I was ignorant about my dairy consumption. Too much? I told you I'm transparent. You know what I miss the most? Eating enough cider mill donuts to put you into diabetic coma. I actually found out Yates, my favorite place near my local town, ships donuts and cider. I thought I was saved but the $35 shipping fee made me close that browser window real quick. Needless to say I'll be filling my own donut pan this year. With the uncertainty of the world still and not knowing when I'll be able to go see my family again, it really puts a downer on your mood some days. Sure, some people will fly willingly right now but I am not one of those. Maybe I'm being too cautious but when you live with someone who is in the high-risk category whom you also love to the moon in back, you won't take the chance. I hate technology but in this case, I'm thankful for video chatting.

I believe we're finishing off week 5 of 5K training, if I remember correctly? Things are actually going really well. My knee *knocks on wood* is feeling fine. I haven't had to tape it this past week. My skin started to get a little irritated so I gave it a break but it seems to not be calling out for the extra support any way. The mornings are dark much later nowadays with the sun not giving any peak of light until almost 6am. My Noxgear vest has been getting a lot of action! Thankful that I have it, especially since I run along the road pretty often. I see a few other runners in my town wearing dark colors with no lights. I may look like a running rave party of weird but at least I'll be seen. I've also resorted to wearing a proper HR strap that I forgot we had stuffed in a drawer. I forgot how much more accurate it is than the wrist-based sensor. Some days, I'd be out on a easy run and my watch would read 180bpm. I definitely knew that was whack. Heart rate straps might not be the most comfortable, especially for us ladies who have to wear bras, but knowing I'm getting more accurate data makes me happy. What can I say, I'm a nerd. I like numbers. I've been peeping through the internet for some potential next races already. I may or may not have ultra on the brain again....

So, let's talk coaching. Obviously, this will all be my own general opinion. You do you. I've been on both sides of being on my own and working with one. I currently work with one and have for about three years now so maybe I'm biased. I decided to throw my 10 cents into the pot because I've had this conversation before and have seen multiple posts on my running team's app of people seeking advice on coaching. 

• Why should I get a coach? This is probably the one question I see the most. I usually offer advice on different spectrums. Do you have a specific goal in reach, maybe a personal record or trying for that Boston Qualifier? Maybe you want to build endurance or have more structured workouts. The biggest game changer for me? Coming off of injury. I've seen so many runners injury themselves, take time off (or run through it like an idiot) and then try to come back into it firing on all cylinders only to sustain an injury again. My coach has lifted me from three injuries, all of which I've successfully come back from and raced with healthy and happy results.
• I should probably get one of those pro runners to coach me, right? That's your prerogative. If you want to be coached by the great (insert athlete name here), go for it! I know some professional runners who love to coach. However, keep in mind, their resume isn't yours. Don't assume that you'll become Hercules on the marathon course because your coach just ran an insane time at Chicago. Your goals will be your goals and only yours. 
• What should I look for in a coach? First and foremost, credentials. Would you go to a doctor if they weren't board certified? I would hope not. Make sure they are indeed certified, typically through the RRCA. It doesn't hurt to skim through their accomplishments. Some may publish it, some may not. It does help to work with someone who may have ran the distance you are looking to run or a specific race. Aside from certification though, the biggest thing, at least to me, is being able to have transparent and open communication. If you aren't sure if you're ready to sign the imaginary contract line, see if you can have a call with them and talk about what your goals are. See if you two align well. Make sure you'll feel comfortable bringing up issues you have with a specific workout, what's working or what's not, and even share your personal victories! If they work with an application such as Final Surge or Training Peaks, they can see your data, but sometimes saying, "I can't believe I did that good!" is a great feedback line not just for yourself but also for them to know you're on the same page. Some coaches may require a higher fee to have more communication and, in my opinion, it's worth it.
• How much is TOO much to pay? I don't really have an answer to this question. It's all within your own budget. For myself, I stay within the $100/month range. I don't pay for a gym membership since I do all my cross training at home and most of my resources are free, so the expense works for me. Sometimes I tell people you can't put a price on your goals but at the same time, I see some coaches charging upwards of $300 with basically no options other than 'here's your plan, have fun'. I don't need the whole kitten caboodle but I also want to make sure I'm getting what I deserve to pay for.
• Are the free plans just as good? Sure! If that's the route you want to go, be sure to use legit sources. I trained for my first marathon using the Hansons Marathon Method. Hansons offers free plans on their website as well as in their book, which I highly recommend getting even if you don't use their plans. I used the 'Just Finish' plan. Honestly though, having someone do the work for you and take the guessing out of the numbers involved is wonderful. When you get sick or injured and have to take a break, it's nice to also have someone be able to adjust things at the drop of a hat. Again, my opinion.

At the end of the day, the ball is in your court. I'm not knocking the free route whatsoever! I think it's a great way to get going. I know not everyone can afford the expense of having coaching services. I hope some of that offers a little insight to whomever may be on the fence. I will always work with my coach as long as I'm running. She has become my sister from another mister and has been my foundation to building back from injury to becoming the strongest runner I've ever felt to be in probably forever. She's coached me through short runs to ultras and never hesitates to be there when I'm like "I don't know what the F I'm doing". 

On that note, happy spooky season though I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like we've been living in a horror film since the beginning of the year. 

Crafted Energy

 Wait, it's September already? Looks like it has been for like two weeks, I'm just super lazy with writing anything. Between working, trying to get my CEUs in order to keep my Medical Assistant certification, and race training, I guess I use up most of my time! Of course, when none of that is going on, I'm sleeping. Work hard, rest harder, am I right? 

Speaking of training, how are things going? Much better than half training because the weather is finally cooling down, hence me being able to drink coffee outside without sweating. When I say cooling down, I mean it's just 105 instead of 115, but the mornings are crisp, in the mid-70s. I kicked off week three of 5K training yesterday. The knee seems to be cooperating about 85% of the time. The first week went well, just relaxed runs to get the body back into the game after a week off. Week two ended up swapping a run for biking due to knee annoyance. I had my first fartlek workout of this cycle today and it went exceptionally well. I told my coach last week that if this week ended up in shambles due to my knee being an a-hole again, I'm pulling the plug on running until 2021. *Knocks on wood* Really though, I'm hoping it works out. A girl can only do so many quad sets in a day.

So I have something new to write about today, at least from what I can recall. I don't think I've given a food product review before. Maybe I have? I didn't care to scroll back and check so we'll roll with it. Before I continue on, I will mention that because I am a Switch4Good Athlete, I received these bars for free. 

I honestly had never heard of Crafted Energy before until they popped into my Inbox. Surprising since they're located right here in the heart of Arizona. A bar that's Vegan, Gluten Free, AND full of clean ingredients? Sign me up. I was very excited to give them a try.

I'm a total geek for cool packaging. Some say it's a total waste of money that the company spends on, which I suppose is true, but if you have unique packaging, I'm giving you bonus points. It comes with a type of graph outlining all of the different nutritional aspects of what they are achieving in their products as well as a little run down of each bar. 

Crafted Energy has created bars for specific sports to support athletes in their endeavors. Kind of an interesting concept. I found it very unique because I've done all three activities. Boy, do I miss climbing, though. 

As mentioned, they focus on specific sports. The sampler pack is one of each bar, all of which have their own unique flavor profile. I tried the Climber one first.

Pretty hefty in calories but that's a good thing when you're doing endurance sports. 

Here is the list of ingredients for this bar, specifically. Talk about clean ingredients!

The texture and appearance reminded me of a Larabar, another one of my favorite brands. It was soft on the teeth but hearty enough to provide a good snack. You can really get a great flavor profile as well, especially the ginger. 

I didn't capture anything from the other two bars but they were very enjoyable. The blueberry flavor in the cyclist bar reminded me of pie. I have to say though, the runner bar was my favorite. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a runner but I'm from Michigan and I think we have cherry flavor in our blood. Overall, I was super pleased. I'd definitely buy some in the future. If you are interested, you can get a sampler pack of your own by clicking here. It's $7.99 with free shipping! I do not get any kickback from the sales, I'm just simply here to spread word about a cool company who is doing something great.

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend and we'll see you next time!

The Brave Athlete

“Your physique, your responsiveness to training, and your personal records (PRs) have little to say about how brave you are.” - excerpt from The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

I started a book club for my running team to get some camaraderie going on and to develop a way for us to connect further since we aren’t doing any in-person meetups for like....a long time. Hello Arizona hot spot for COVID. Reading is something I’ve been doing a heck of a lot more since quarantine started. Being unemployed really gives you a lot of unused time in your day so why not pick up a book? I’ve since started a new remote job but the weekends have literally been our heads in our books. Well, in our eReaders. We treated ourselves to new eReaders a little while ago. I’ll do a review on that in another entry. While I’m still old school and love the feeling of an actual book, this has been really nice to have. The library has been closed since April but with the use of OverDrive, I can check out electronic books and audiobooks. Definitely something to look into with your local library! I can even get books from my old library in Michigan. If you need some mental stability for your training and you want to know how the brain connects with all of this, I definitely suggest picking up “The Brave Athlete”. We’ve only read the first section and it’s as if I’m in anatomy class again but it’s actually interesting because it’s from an athlete’s perspective. 

Remember last week, when I was talking about how hard I was on myself from feeling like I’m losing hope in this training cycle? Well, after my Sunday rest day, I went into the new week feeling like a lioness ready to hunt anything in her path. My speed work on Tuesday (400x6, 100x6) was the strongest-feeling workout I’ve had in forever. The rest of the week seemed to dim down. Hill strides were lackluster and interrupted by people who can’t seem to stay on one side of the road. I was suppose to go to physical therapy to get fitted for new orthotics only for the appointment to be canceled because someone in the office contracted the virus. I do hope they will be ok and I’m glad it happened before I went. I ended up ordering some with recommendation from my coach, who also works in a running store, and they are literally the most comfy things my feet have touched aside from my Oofos. I had a double workout Friday (ride and run) and my feet felt like they were on supported clouds. We had an excessive heat warning from Friday morning through Monday night. I had contemplated biking indoors instead of doing my long run but my husband looked toward me and said, “What if race day is like this? Are you not going to run?”. I mean, he’s right. We got up a half hour earlier and set out. I had a 90 minute effort combining 9 rounds of easy efforts with pickups every 9th minute. Naturally, I went out too fast. I hit a lot of red lights. I was ready to send it in after 45 minutes. Once again, I felt defeated. I studied my data after the workout and noticed I ended up staying with in my range for almost the entire run but I was dead. It was as if someone took a sledgehammer and killed my stamina. Again, I taught myself to not complain. My coach told me that I’m still gaining fitness and she’s right. Sunday rolled around and as I sat in my epsom bath and meditated, I told myself, “this week is a new week”. It’s time to stop kidding myself and focus in on the task at hand. Run slow for recovery. Controlled paces on speed. Breath like a normal friggin’ person. I have early meetings all week so that’ll help get me out the door before it’s blazing hot outside. 

I tried a new thing this week: sun tea! Yeah, I’m way late to the game on this one. I drink about a gallon or more of water per day. I also pee a ton but that’s beside the point. Sometimes water gets boring. My mother-in-law was talking about sun tea and I asked how to make it. That was probably a dumb question but this is new to me. I filled up my big mason jar with filtered water, two tea bags, and set it outside in the sun for about 3 hours. You’ll want to use glass. Plastic is a big no-no, especially in the heat unless of course you want some BPA with that drink.

I had to wear hot mitts to bring it in because it got so hot! But the color change is a good indicator that it’s definitely steeped well. 

I took the tea bags out and put the jar in the fridge overnight. Now, I heard this step isn’t needed and some people just pour it over ice. That’s totally fine too. After about 24 hours, I sliced some lemon, put it in a glass with ice and we had some delicious iced tea. I ended up making this again for the next three days. It was so refreshing! 

This past week, I ended up taking the easy way out because it was literally 120 degrees outside and just warmed up my kettle and poured it over nice. We’ve been drinking a lot of herbal teas and what not. I’ve been 60 days alcohol free as of today. I don’t know when I’ll drink again (or if I will) but I’m pretty content doing these little fun activities. 

Coffee is Life

It's definitely been the type of week where I didn't know what day it was. I spent all day Saturday thinking it was Sunday. I even ordered my groceries and didn't realize until after the fact that I had another day to take care of it. Oh well, what's wrong with being one step ahead of my non-existent schedule?

Week 3 is checked off the training calendar. I think the most significant workout was my Fartlek on Thursday (6/9). It was somewhat of a pyramid workout, increasing the time with each section. We had 3 x 3, 2 x 2, 1 x 1, and then back up. I ran the longest hard effort I have in forever, a total of 4:00 minutes. Doesn't sound that long to many but running that to as close to 8:20-40 as I can is a mind f*ck in itself. I completed the workout and patted myself on the back as I always do. You see, I run solo 100% of the time now. I know people who run in the area but there are some roadblocks in the way: I'm not comfortable being around people yet and they are a heck of a lot faster than I am. I do what my coach tells me and that's enough for me. My introvert self is happy being alone in my own element with my audiobook in-ear. Right now, I'm in the middle of Matt Fitzgerald's "Running the Dream" and it is fantastic. Resonating with this one is easy because it's set in Arizona and he's running with NAZ Elite, a team of amazing runners who run for Hoka One One, including the queen of Flagstaff, Steph Bruce. All of Matt's books have been a hit in my library. If you are into audiobooks, might I suggest checking out Libro.fm. You can select a local bookstore and when you purchase a book, they get the payout. I know Kindle is the end all be all of all things books nowadays it seems but hey, let's keep the little guys open. And support your local libraries!

Anyway, back to running. So my knee was talking to me this week. Yep, you guessed it. The same one that gave me trouble last year and put me in physical therapy for four months. I still do my exercises religiously and take more time than I ever have with recovery movements, icing, and Epsom on a weekly basis. Nothing is perfect forever, though. The soreness comes and goes. My therapist told me I wouldn't be completely pain-free but I'd be much better than I was and I definitely have been! I don't mess around with any weird sensations, soreness, or pain while I think most runners "walk it off" or slap some KT tape on anything to mask whatever may be developing. I didn't spend over $400 (per MONTH, and yes, that's with insurance) in therapy to just mask the pain. I communicated with my coach on Friday that it wasn't feeling too hot. I had a bike workout that day, which was good. Biking doesn't bother it. She gave me the best advice, as usual. Saturday morning I opted to bike instead of doing my long run that would have involved some hard efforts in the middle. Normally I'm completely fine with this, however, I was really looking forward to this workout. I sucked up my sulking face and did the same efforts on the bike which turned out to be harder than I thought they'd be. Never underestimate cycling. It will truly kick your butt. Sunday's are very much a relaxing and "do absolutely nothing" days around here. I cook a big breakfast, we drink our coffee on the patio, and typically read the rest of the day until dinner. My weekly long Epsom baths have been Sunday afternoons and they've been the BOMB! I throw in some peppermint oil to clear my head and it's just.....a vacation in my bathroom. Maybe one day we'll have one of those fancy soaking tubs you see in mansions. Either way, it's Monday. My knee feels much better. Rest will not kill you. Listen to your body. You won't lose fitness taking a day or two off or switching workouts. 

I wanted to close out today by sharing something I tried the other day. So, I'm a coffee snob. I'll admit it. I don't drink frap's from Starbucks. I don't really like any frozen type of coffee drink. I don't put 10 pumps of whatever in my cup. I grind my beans fresh every morning after measuring them out to a specific gram. I have an expensive coffee machine and a fancy burr grinder. Roll your eyes and shoot me. We make coffee at home every day so its paid for itself. I used a basic Mr. Coffee drip machine for the longest time then graduated to a Keurig. When I met my husband, he used a french press. I had no idea how to even operate it. Here we are now, some 8 years later, and I want to be the world's best barista. I applied for a job at Starbucks hoping to just learn how to use a proper espresso machine. While I typically drink my coffee black, I've been craving a flat white lately. If you aren't familiar with that drink, it's basically some espresso with a lot of milk. Being vegan, I wasn't sure how it'd be with almond milk. We also don't have an espresso machine (oh but do I want one so bad). I watched a video of a lady making one at home just using a french press. I thought to myself, "I'M TRYING THIS." Here's how it went....

This is our electric kettle. I heated up some water.

This is where the beans are poured in for grinding.

I set the machine way down to get a very fine grind. The benefits of a burr grinder are the multiple grind settings.

I threw some milk in a cup and microwaved it on and off until it reached a temperature of 155 degrees F. Milk has to be a specific temperature for it to foam otherwise it's total crap.

I brewed a mock "espresso" in the french press. It actually wasn't too bad and after a few stirs, it had some crema. Crema is the layer that sits on top of the espresso, typically a light brown color.

I poured the hot milk into the french press and proceeded to foam it. This is done by literally moving the filter up and down for about 30 seconds. You can feel the milk get thicker. 

I was super surprised that it actually did indeed create a decent amount of foam for non-dairy milk.

Yeah, I know, no fancy cup art here. You then pour the milk on top of the espresso. It wasn't half bad!

It was a fun little experiment. One day I'll have an espresso machine. In like 10 years because they're a million dollars. We typically buy our coffee local from Press Coffee. I like supporting local coffee businesses plus, they roast our coffee just a few days before it arrives on our doorstep. Pay attention to your roasting dates. It makes a big difference. 

Okay, I'll get off my coffee high horse. Enjoy your week.

Times Like These

"It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again..."

I figured it was appropriate to start this entry with a Foo Fighters song for two reasons. The current circumstances of probably every one of us are totally off schedule and we're learning to adjust to a (hopefully) temporary normal. The second being that I had tickets to their upcoming 25th-anniversary tour and it's been postponed until December. That really put an imaginary dagger in my heart but it's definitely for the best. 

Before we go way into that rabbit hole, let's glance over how training was last week. Strides were the magic word for week three and I loved every minute of it. It's been quite some time since I've done an actual prescribed workout of any type of help with speed or drills. When my coach put it on the schedule, I was so amped up! Strides aren't anything long but to really get your legs fired up for those short bursts just feels so good. Here's a clip from Friday's run which was probably the most consistent, pace-wise.  

We had a real s-show of weather during the week. It rained for roughly four days. Wednesday (3/11) was met with some light drizzle, to begin with, followed by a downpour as I got halfway into my strides and drills. I don't have access to a treadmill anymore so not going out isn't an option anymore unless I opt for biking instead. You never know what race day will bring. Don't be afraid of a little weather. 

I started week 2 of the Argentina series on my bike. This endurance ride was quite the challenge and boy did my legs start talking to me. Once you finish those last few minutes before the cooldown, it's like that fire just grows and grows! It's definitely been a great compliment to my running.

So yeah, about this crisis we're living through right now. Crazy, ain't it? I've seen some majorly disappointed people on the internet after races getting postponed and canceled. I mean we're talking major races, people. Boston, London, even the Barkley Marathon! While my race wasn't scheduled until May 2nd, I wasn't really holding my breath. Sunday, our governor put out a statement of limiting groups to 50 people or less. "Well, it's only a matter of time now," I said to myself. Sure enough. Sunday evening, I received word that my race has been postponed. Now, last year I dealt with my first deferment but this is totally different. While at that very moment I felt super upset/sad, I quickly shifted gears. This is for the better. I've definitely learned that you can't think of yourself in these moments of bad news after bad news. I texted my coach and told her I'll keep training and I'll run on my own on May 2nd if I have to. They are offering a virtual option so that's what we'll do. The actual in-person race did get rescheduled to July but twelve hours in that summer heat? I'm not about that. We'll still carry on and break so many barriers! 

We have a joke in our house right now and the saying goes, "Covid-19 is sponsored by Amy's". 

Amy's is really the only "premade" food I buy. That pizza is SUPER good, especially if you throw some vegan feta on it. The Indian-flavor burrito is my new favorite. I stopped doing my full grocery shopping in the store a while ago and now do delivery with Amazon Prime but decided to make a trip last Friday to Whole Foods myself. The cashier asked me if this was "doomsday prep" and I said, "Nope. This is a typical day!". She laughed. I don't believe in keeping major access amounts of food in your home. I never understood why people had pantries full of crap all the time but never ate any of it. I also hate the thought of wasting food. If you come to look at my fridge on Friday's, it's typically empty minus some beer or other beverages. Did I grab a few extra things that I otherwise wouldn't this time around? Guilty. But, trust me. We'll eat it all. As a runner, my metabolism works like a stage 4 Audi S6. You probably don't know what that means but it's a super-fast car. Just because we're being told to stay home doesn't mean you can't eat like a normal human being. I still have plenty of produce and am still eating my normal staples every day: oatmeal, almond butter toast, this new shake recipe that's THE BOMB. 

Yep, that's a quality picture I took with my phone of a YouTube video so I could remember it. I know, please give me an A for effort. Paula Findlay shared it and I don't know when I'll make something different because it's been super refreshing after my workouts. Side note: the word 'triathlon' keeps toying in my head. Future endeavor? 

I will share a tea recipe I tried today. In the midst of all of this sickness going around, you better be keeping up on that immune system. If you don't eat like an idiot all of the time, hydrate, and maybe get a little movement in, you'd be surprised how much you can fight off. I've incorporated turmeric into my daily diet almost every single day in the past 6 months or so. It's a great anti-inflammatory! I buy the actual root of it but you can also buy the pre-ground stuff in the spices section at your local store. A little goes a long way. I just throw mine in smoothies most of the time and add in a little pepper. That aids in the absorption of turmeric. I recently found this tea recipe and had been wanting to try it. I'm big into herbal teas and it's pretty great! 

It's super easy to make. You just need a lemon, ginger, turmeric, and a dash of cayenne or pepper. Heat it up, strain it, and voila, you have tea. Super easy, super cheap. I'll link the real recipe here. 

Well, for now, we carry on. I hope you do too. 

Ready, set, go!

The two weeks following the Mesa Marathon actually went fairly quickly. When you throw in a little vacation in there, it really helps you not go stir crazy from laying low and not doing any activity. I did my daily yoga practices, kept my body pretty mobile, and felt pretty dang amazing. I'm still kind of shocked at how good I felt after the race. My body doesn't hate me after all!

We'll touch base real quick on that lull time. We went to California for a week for my husband's birthday getaway. We're only around 2.5 hours from the border of the state which still blows my mind. It seemed so far away when we lived in Michigan BECAUSE IT WAS. I honestly hate traveling to California, mainly if we're headed to the Los Angeles area. Everyone drives like a crazy person and traffic sucks 24/7. We drove somewhere that was only 6 miles away and it took us over 30 minutes. So we stayed in Universal City for a few days and visited Universal Studios. Neither of us had been there before and I'm a big Harry Potter nut so I was pretty jazzed on the idea. Hold for photos:

 

 

The first stop was Voodoo Donuts. Now, this isn't the original location but it was as close to them as we could get for the day. Their vegan donut selection is LEGIT and they actually taste super good. We ended up there the next morning as well. Then we explored the park. We saved most of the Wizarding World for the second day. The studio tour was my favorite attraction. The Minions ride was super cute and fun. I could give you a review on everything else but I'll save you the time. Harry Potter world or whatever you want to call it was great. They did a fantastic job on Hogwarts. Overall, I definitely like Disney a heck of a lot better than Universal. Disney just knows how to do it up and create an overall amazing experience for their guests. Would I go back to Universal? Probably not. We headed to Ventura for the rest of the week and visited Ojai, which is an awesome little town. I would definitely go back there. We hung out a local vineyard for a bit (Old Creek Ranch). It was such a cool place. We headed home that Friday and then came time to snap back to reality, Eminem style.

The one announcement I'm super excited to say is that I'm back with my coach, Kristen Griffin, of Find Your Stride Coaching. Kristen has been such a great help to me in the past and I missed working with her so much. She's an amazing athlete herself but also an incredible mom and wife. I think she was equally as excited as I was when I messaged her and told her the news. Week one started on February 24th. Since then it's been base building. Slow-paced runs to get the legs turning. I program my Garmin for the length of time I should be out as well as what pace range I should stay in. While I am not a fast runner by any means, I have a hard time staying in that recovery pace area. It helps to have that thing yell at me to keep within my limits. Remember when I said I felt amazing after my marathon? My first day of training included a 2-mile time trial and boy were my glutes sore the next day but that definitely means the activation is there. The first week went by great. It took me a few days to get into the groove of that recovery pace but it set in about midweek. I told Kristen to make sure I kept up on my PT exercises and keep me out of therapy. I'm a huge advocate for physical therapy, as it's helped me tremendously, but I will do whatever it takes to keep myself injury-free. I do my exercises EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. This is non-negotiable. I do a big dynamic warmup before every run and do a stretching routine after. Most people say they "don't have time" and skip this but let me tell you, you can take as little as five minutes to do something that will help. A little goes a long way. Your body won't stay in tip-top shape forever. Save yourself now before you can't turn those legs anymore. *steps off soapbox*

The one thing I didn't really line up properly was the fact that I had forgotten I signed up for a local race. If you remember, last year I ran the Mountain 2 Fountain 5K as a "comeback race" after nursing an injury. It was awful and I said I'd never run it again. Well, here's my finisher's medal.

I should preface I did this for my Volée team. This time, I signed up for the 15K, which made us eligible to win our weight in beer. You need a team of at least four people to qualify for this and finish in under 2 hours. While we ended up not having a full team, it was nice to meet up with two of my fellow members and hang out for a bit. The race was basically a fun run for me. The hills hit hard as I had not run any in two weeks. I don't understand why they don't close the road down for this race from the point you leave the park to where you enter back into town. Running the majority of it on the shoulder of a road which is essentially two feet wide is uncomfortable. The road slightly slants at parts to allow rain to run off. Needless to say, my right ankle got a workout. I did finish pain-free, which is all I ever want nowadays. One of my teammates and I determined we won't run this race again and I actually mean it this time. I think the organizational skills of whoever runs it nowadays is way out to sea and they cut costs in areas they shouldn't. Don't advertise there will be Nuun on the course when in fact, there wasn't. I carried my own water and Nuun in my vest but many runners didn't. Last year, I spectated after I ran my race and many runners were dying because they had run out of water. Anyway, I won't rant too much. It's over! We had amazing weather. I got to hang with two amazing ladies. The end.

Okay, I think that's the best update I can give you right now from the past few weeks into week one of training. Unrelated but I hope to get back to recipe sharing soon. I have a few new things on my list to cook so we'll see if they make the cut! 

Glitch in the Matrix

It's been roughly three weeks since I've written anything. If you're a regular here, you're probably wondering what the hell is going on. To be completely honest with you, I just drug myself through a big slump and it's 100% running related. If you're new here, hello. I'm training for another half marathon that is about 11 weeks away. I've been following Garmin's training plan that is built into Connect IQ that syncs with my Fenix 5X. If I had a choice, and endless income, I would be working with my running coach, Kristen Griffin (Find Your Stride) but alas, adulting sets in sometimes. Side note: if you're looking for an amazing running coach, work with her. She is literally the bomb. I hope to return to her for another spicy event coming in February. You'll have to just wait to see what that entails. A hint will be given at the end of this entry.




Okay, sorry. My (self-diagnosed) ADD gets the best of me sometimes. So yeah, I went through a slump. This happens with every training cycle I go through. My mind wanders and doesn't connect with my heart. I find it more of a challenge to put forth effort into my workouts than my body really wants to. The other thing I wasn't used to is all of the speed work I've been doing with this plan that quite frankly I hate. Yes, I know it's necessary for improvement and that's fine. Sign me up for one, maybe two, a week. I had three in one week and then a long run. What the hell, McMillan? I miss running with my Nuun friend that's in town. But what's most important are long runs and they should align with what day your race will be on. I told the app to program mine on Saturdays. What day have I been doing them? Mondays. Again, what the hell. After finishing today's long run, I've decided to call it quits on Garmin. I appreciate the fact that they give us access to free plans that sync automatically and what not but I do believe the algorithm needs work.




Phew, okay. Now that that's out of the way. What will I do now? Go back to my trusty team at Hansons. I'm originally from Michigan and you'd be missing out if you didn't shop there if you live near one. They are the best of the best in the Metro Detroit area (my opinion but truth). Hansons was the only store I would turn to for all things running. I like supporting small, local companies that know what the hell (3x I've used this phrase now) they're talking about. Ever since they did a gait analysis on me per recommendation from my doctor at the time, I never went anywhere else. Have you seen their running team? Damn! Stacked line up. Anyway, they provide free plans on their website. I actually used them to train for the Detroit Marathon last year. They also offer paid plans that sync directly with Final Surge. I will say that their plans are not for the faint at heart. Many argue that their mileage is too high and demanding. They also say running only up to 16 miles isn't enough for marathon training. I beg to differ. I finished with a smile on my face. Proof:

Detroit Free Press Marathon, 2018

You know I never hit a wall during that race? Not once. Still blows my mind to this day. If you are training for a marathon or really any race, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend their book (<-link). I still reference it to this day for things like how to properly fuel or what pacing we should be at, etc. If you haven't caught on with all of this raving I'm doing about them, I am falling on them to get me through to the finish for my half. I had originally planned on using them in the first place, had the whole plan in my Google Calendar, but then came across this Garmin stuff. While I'm not one to switch plans on the fly like this, I believe that I am in fine enough fitness shape to pick up where I should be. With some mild adjusting this week, we'll be back on sync after this coming weekend. Now I can exhale after taking three paragraphs to catch you up on things.

While we're on the subject of training for my upcoming half, we paid a visit to Mt. Lemmon last weekend as I had yet to even go to it. Are you one to scope out race courses before you run them? I am! I don't think we'll have a problem getting bored with this view.

Let's turn the page on race training and close this entry out with two (technically three) fun things: two discounts and a new recipe! As you know (or maybe you don't), I am lucky enough to be an ambassador for Nuun Hydration. I absolutely love using their products for everything from fitness to traveling and even to cure a slight hangover. They also have immunity tablets to boost that system of yours if you feel a cold coming on or if you're being a preventative freak like I am. Now through 8/20, you can get 25% using the lovely code below. Watermelon is my favorite flavor currently but Strawberry Lemonade is in a close second. You can click on the picture to be directed to their website!

The second discount I want to share is for the Sprouts Mesa-Phx races! Whether you're just half crazy or full crazy, punch in BRITTERS10 at checkout for $10 off your entry! I will be there with bells on. There is also a 10K option but the discount is not valid for that. Sorry!

LASTLY (promise), a new recipe! You guys, I love dessert. If you say the words "carrot cake" around me, I will freak out. It's my favorite. I happened to find a recipe for a carrot cake protein shake! Get in mah belly! Now, I'll be honest, it doesn't taste like you're cutting into a three-layer piece of heaven but it's loaded with nutrients and filled me up all morning. I do suggest a high-powered blender for this one such as a Vitamix or Ninja. Link to the recipe is here!

If you've made it to the end, I super appreciate you. Hopefully, we'll be back to regular training recaps and more yummy recipes. Cheers!

Starting with a Bang

Fourth of July, a bang, get it? Ha...Okay so I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Maybe you traveled somewhere cool, spent it on a lake, went "up north" as us Michiganders used to do. I actually never did that but everyone else did. Here in Arizona, we traveled to Pine to get some mild relief from the 100 degree weather. It looks like the Upper Peninsula there, trust me. Tall evergreen trees line the roads and they even get plenty of snow in the winter. Anywho, let's do a training recap. Here is last week's line up:

So this is technically week 2. I didn't recap week 1 because I was still testing this plan out to see how it worked and if I'd like it. We're going to start here. If you really want to know how Week 1 went, you can just ask me! Now, if you read the previous entry, you know I told Garmin I wanted my long run to be on Saturdays so to have to wake up on Monday morning and complete a 90 minute run was not something to be jumping for joy over. Maybe it'll change, maybe it won't. I'm not opposed to getting it over with early in the week. We had gone to a concert the previous night (Every Time I Die, Mastodon), and didn't get home until about 10:30 PM. If you know me, that's well past my bed time. I opted for extra sleep and hit the Woodway.

These treadmills are godsend. We didn't have these at Lifetime back in Michigan. They had those dumb curved ones. Running on a Woodway almost makes treadmill running enjoyable. Almost. Lucky for me, no one else at the gym touches it because I think they are either afraid of it or don't know how to use it. I completed my run drenched in sweat but was happy to stick through the mental game that it is.

Tuesday was a simple 45 minute easy pace run. Thursday was a doozy. I haven't done any speed workouts since February. I was excited for this workout but also nervous. It was two blocks, 6x1 and 6x45 seconds with rests. I decided to not be a hero and walk all of my breaks. This helped me control my heart rate and simply not want to jump in the lake after the first set.

It's hard to fit all of the intervals in one screenshot but I'm happy with my paces I hit. I knew they wouldn't be consistent because it's been forever but I was cruising. Pat on a friggin' back for me. We finished the week off with a progression run on Saturday which I did on the treadmill. I will more than likely do most of my progressions on the treadmill because it's easier to push myself at a consistent pace. If your curious mind wants to know what I do on my days off of running, I do strength training and accessory work on Wednesdays and Fridays. On Sundays, I do yoga and core work. I also throw in core after my easy run on Tuesdays. Huzzah!

So far, things are going well. I like the feedback the plan is giving me and I'm still with in the 'confident' zone of finishing on my time goal. Obviously, it's early in the game but have to keep things positive! Shout out to Larabars for keeping me fueled. I haven't used gels in quite some time and I'm trying to focus more on fueling with real food. Larabars are also vegan and aren't full of BS ingredients! I also love eating pitted dates too. Easy to eat while on the run and doesn't make my stomach feel like a bag of crap.

A new, exciting announcement to make! I've been selected as one of the ambassadors for the 2020 Mesa-Phx Marathon! I'm very excited to be a part of this opportunity! I can't wait to run the course in February and have a blast. I remember seeing all of the hype about it and had major FOMO. I wasn't quite ready for any of the distances offered due to coming back from injury but I will definitely be toeing the start line determined to cross the finish! I'll be sharing a promo code soon that can get you $10 off race registration!

Okay, I saved the best for last, as always. Another new recipe! My husband gets credit for this one since he found it and cooked them. You guys, they are delicious! They were fairly easy to make and cook fast! We added in green chilies to spice them up a bit. Your sides are optional. I went with a Mexican corn salad. I think we determined that they'd be a little bit better if baked instead of grilled so opt for that option! You can find the recipe here.

We'll catch you back here next week when we recap week 3 of training!