Week 1 Marathon Training

Hi guys! Last Sunday started my marathon training for the Columbus Marathon. This year I'm running the full, ya know, after last year's full when I said that I'd never run another. I guess I was wrong. My very first week of work outs didn't go as planned, and that's okay. 

Sunday: 4 mile run. 

-My goal was 5 but it got hot early and I'm glad that I only got 4 in because later that day I got a migraine so fierce that it induced vomiting. Great way to start day 1! 

Monday: Rest

- I was afraid to workout because I still wasn't feeling up to par. 

Tuesday: CrossFit WOD

-Strength

15min EMOM

-2 deadlifts

-2 cleans

-2 push presses (all 75#)

WOD

5 rounds for time

-15 wall balls

-5 burpees

Wednesday: Taught spinning

14.80 miles on the bike

Thursday: CrossFit WOD

-5 rounds

3 min. Each

-3 cleans (75#)

-6 push-ups 

-9 squats

Friday: CrossFit open gym

1 rep max deadlift 

- 5 deadlifts at 135#

-1 @ 155

-1 @ 175

-1 @ 195

-1 @ 205

-1 @ 210

-Bonus workout: 1-2 mile walkish run. 

I had to go pick up my car on the other side of town and the plan was to walk until I heard a roll of thunder and then took off. 

In case you're wondering, I made it to my car dry. 

Saturday: Rest

- yesterday wasn't supposed to be a rest day but my husband and I got up early to go venture through one of our favorite towns and see some family. Later we came home to clean out our house for a yard sale next weekend. That was a workout in itself! In the evening we went out to dinner with my in laws to try a new restaurant and take a drive. We walked during the day a lot and lifted a lot of heavy boxes. 

So there you have it. My first week of workouts for full marathon training. This year is going to bring on a lot of cycling and lifting but I'm confident that this will be much better than my last full marathon. 

My week in workouts

So I still haven't gotten that long run in yet. I will, but on the bright side I did get a lot of cardio in. Here's my week in workouts: 

Sunday: Rest. 

Monday: Rest. 

Tuesday: 3 mile run. 1 mile walk

Wednesday: Taught cycling class. 

Thursday: Rest. 

Friday: Crossfit 15.5- 

27-21-15-9

Calories burned rowing and 65lb. Thrusters 

Saturday: Taught cycling class. Crossfit. 

Partner WOD

10 min. AMRAP

5 push press (75lbs)

5 kettle bells swings(35lbs)

5 box jumps

Rest for 3 minutes 

30 Sumo deadlift high pull (50lbs)

30 Wall balls

30 push press (50lbs)

30 push ups 

30 burpee, pull up,knees to elbows 

There wasn't as much running but I do supplement my running with weight lifting and cycling. 

How did your week in workouts go?   

Why I haven't really logged a long run.

Hi friends! Happy Sunday! It's finally starting to look beautiful. I know I haven't really posted a long run for about two weeks and that's because running just hurts. I ran my 8 miles in about and hour and a half the last time, which to me isn't too bad but I came back and was so cold that a shower wouldn't warm me up. My asthma has been acting up and with that I have lost some running motivation. 

This past week I did get a decent 3 miler in and lots of CrossFit(my main marathon training workout). Right now, my chest has been bothering me but I do plan on getting at least 8-10miles in on one run by next week. Here are my week goals:

-3 days of CrossFit 

-2 shirt runs (3-5 miles)

-1 long run(8-10 miles) 

-Teach a cycling class 

Another big goal of mine is to take care of my body. I want to stick with my meal prepping and use my inhaler when I need it. 

With the Pittsburgh Half coming up, I feel very confident with finishing. Once I get my long runs in, I'll be golden. 

Have a great week! 

What are your marathon training goals for the week? 

Coconut Flour Chicken

It has been a while since I've posted a recipe. I live with a very picky eater (I mean picky). My husband eats a lot of chicken tenders and I really don't. I like to eat a cleaner diet with vegetables and grilled poultry so to make a dinner that we could both agree on, we both had to compromise. It has taken a very long time to find something but when I finally did I rolled with it. I've found a quick and easy recipe for training season and late nights. I have found...coconut flour chicken!! It is amazing! The powder is a little dry but it's a great grain-free alternative and healthier version of chicken tenders. Here's how you make it:

Coconut Flour Chicken

2 Chicken breasts 

1 Beaten egg 

1C. Coconut Flour

Salt, pepper, or other seasoning

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

-Cut chicken into pieces

-Add an egg to a storage bag(or a bowl works. I like less dishes) and mix it around until it's beaten

-Take another storage bag/bowl and add flour and seasoning to it 

-Mix chicken pieces together with eggs 

-Then toss in flour bag

-Lay chicken on cooking stone or baking sheet and bake for 26.2 minutes or until cooked 

There us have. Can ya dig it? My husband loves it and I never thought I would see that day! 

*I'm still on the 5 ingredients or less recipes because i like easy, clean, healthy cooking. Try to stick with ingredients that you can pronounce. Also, always read labels!! 

Happy training!

Stay wheezy or don't. Please don't. 

Getting Prepared for Race Day

For some of us, The Pittsburgh Marathon is about 7 days away.  If you're a weirdo like me, then you've already planned and prepared what's going in your race bag, what you'll eat, and what you'll need afterwards.  I've made a list of some essentials on race day.

Outfit
•Shoes
•Socks
•Braces(if needed)
•Bra
•Underwear
•Shorts
•Top
•Long Sleeves(If needed)

•Fanny Pack

•Gels

•Inhaler

•Bib (Most important!!)

Food
•Breakfast
•Something for after the race
•Gels or whatever you use during the race

•Extra Water

In the gym bag

•Change of clothing (everything!)

•Change of shoes
•Instant Ice packs
•Ibprofin
•Extra safty pins
•Foam roller
•Hair Gumbies (hair tie)
•Bobby pins
•First Aid Kit

•Toe nail clippers

•Tweezers

•Deodorant
•Baby wipes (if you're going out after, you'll understand)

•Body Spray

•Bio Freeze, Tigerbalm, ice hot
•Purell
•Headphones
•Music

•Cell phone
•Cell phone and music chargers
•Sunscreen
•Camera

•Money

A lot of things seem like common sense but when you're packing a bag right before race day, you're bound to be nervous. I'm the type of person that will forget something like bobby pins and then have a total mental breakdown the night before when I know very well that there is a Wal*Mart down the street from where I'm staying. 

Usually by the time I'm done running whoever is waiting for me is starving and wants to go eat so I try to pack enough things to keep me from smelling after the race where ever I go. 

I still haven't decided what I'm eating before the race but I did go to Panera before my run the other day. I got my pre race favorite of Chicken Sorrentina Pasta and classic salad with a black iced coffee. This might be my night before food option. 

Are you running Pittsburgh half or full?

What are you favorites to take with you? 

My first 20 miles ever!

Thursday I was supposed to get 20 miles in. A mile down the road I realized it wasn't going to happen. I couldn't even run back, I had to walk. The pain in my lung was so sharp that it hurt to touch. After falling asleep and it still no going away, I went to the grocery store to get some medicine. I skipped CrossFit that night but went Friday for Open Gym. Open gym is just a day where you can work on things that you need. I took it easy since I knew I would be doing my long run and I didn't want to over exert myself.  

So Saturday, we woke up and Hudson had a hair cut so we walked him through town to his groomer. This was his first hair cut ever. 

That was his before and after. I gave her strict orders of "Do what you have too but don't cut him like a poodle." When he came out we didn't recognize him. We weren't happy with it but I guess there isn't anything we could do. We officially have a poodle. They left his bushy tail. I can't wait for it to grow back.  Adam and I and planed that we would try a new trail in Greensburg, he would golf 9 holes and I would run 20 miles. They were close to each other so it was convenient. As he was changing one of our friends sent us a text and said to go from Connellsville to Ohiopyle and her and out other friend will meet us on the other side and take us back to our car. Adam changed again and since he said that he would ride along side me I promised he could golf the next day and I'd play caddie. 

My 20 mile run

I try to be positive but it was kind of awful. I knew Adam didn't want to be there and that kind of made it worse for me. I did the number 1 rule of what not to do on a long run or race day. Wear something new. I was pretty pumped that I had recently bought a pair of 4" tight running shorts from TJMaxx and want to try them out. Big mistake. They kept riding up for the first mile and a half. That's when Adam asked if the logo was supposed to be in the back. Well, that solved the riding up problem. There was no where to take my pants off to change so I did it out in the open when no one was coming. Then I had the worst calf cramp. Super frustrated that I'm at my first 2 miles and already having problems, I stopped my garmin, stretched and went for a new beginning. Adam wasn't a fan of following me because he was testing his new road bike. It's hard to go slow with a runner on those kind of bikes. He would go ahead and make sure I was still in sight. There was ALOT of walking. Every time I walked he would tell me to keep running so we could get there faster. My legs hurt, my lungs hurt and I was being a baby. Truthfully, I have a bad feeling that I'm going to get picked up by the cart. From mile 10-17 he was my motivator though. These were his favorite lines:

-Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming

-You're making the turn at the Blvd of the Allies. It's all down hill and you can almost see the finish line. Just a little bit more! 

-You got this!

-How are you feeling about that full ironman now?! (That ended in a big ol' two words starting with 'F' and ending in 'it') 

I told him that I hated this and I'm never doing a marathon again. His answer was that I'm going to cross the finish line and say how great it was a sign up for another one. Doubt, but we'll see. 

At mile 17 our friends were waiting for us cheering. I told them to hold on because I still had 3 more miles. I kept going, once again stopping a lot. I almost just gave up at 17 and went home but I finished it off. With my last .25 miles my friend Katrina ran it with me and told me how proud she was of me. That's a best friend. When I finished I yelled, "20 miles, done! I did it and I want beer!" 

Her and our other friend Daneille also brought us snacks and water for on the way home. I was too exhausted to eat. We had a little family game night with  pizza afterwards. 

We love Clue but they changed everything since we were kids. 

During and after my run, everything hurt. The balls of my feet the most though. I went to sleep around 1:30am because I couldn't sleep. I was back up by 3am stayed up watching Three's company until 5:30am. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. I sent my mom a text and asked if I could go to her house for an ice bath. Of course she said yes. 

After we woke up I promised Adam that I appreciated him following me so much that I would be his personal caddie today. I've never played golf and I don't plan on it. So we got everything ready and headed to my moms. 

After my ice bath and hot bath, I started my caddie duties. We walked 9 holes to strech our legs from yesterday. 

My handsome golfer. 

He let me pick the lucky game ball. Her name was Callie and we kept her the whole time! 

He has a bag boy so it wasn't that bad. The hills were rough but we made it. I really enjoyed myself though. I could handle 9 holes,18 probably not. I also learned a lot about golf.  After he finished, we went home and relaxed until our bike ride. 

This was my first treck out on my trek. I was really nervous since I had never riden my bike near other cars. For the most part we stayed on the trail. When we got to the next town, we rode on the roads a little. I got a little more comfortable but not too much. It takes practice, but 11 miles seemed pretty awesome after my 20 mile run yesterday. Half Ironman here I come! 

So that was our weekend full of fitness. It was a quick weekend and I'm ready for a rest day tomorrow. 

Everyone knows that I'm blogging for the Panera Training Menu. I had my new favorite You Pick Two this week. 

The Chicken Sorrentina and Classic Salad with Greek dressing. It fuled me for my weekend workouts and kept me full. If you haven't tried it, I would recommend it. That's becoming my favorite combo. 

How was your weekend. 

We're down to 3 weeks. Hows training? 

10 Wheezy Miles

I held myself accountable and posted on my blog and social media that I was going to get 10 miles in and I did. It wasn't as fast as I wanted but I did it. Today's weather was too beautiful to pass up.

I got to test out my new knee brace because it seems that when I get to mile 5 or 6 it feels awful and makes it hard to keep going. I also got a new pair of shoes that were on sale the other day. 

These are my first pair of Soucny's. I've always been a Brooks fan, but these were a pretty big win. 

Here's an update on my asthma. It sucks. Haha I'm not making excuses but with how bad our winter was mixed with how bad this spring is, it's getting hard to train. I'm trying to not let it hold me back but I got to mile 5 and need my inhaler break. I wheeze at CrossFit and I wheeze when I run but today wasn't the best day. Once I took my inhaler I did better on my run but it was still hard to breathe. Last year I could run 13.1 miles at a pace of 10:40. This year I'm lucky to do it at a pace of 12:00. It get extremely frustrating but I keep telling myself the more runs I get in the better it will get. 

This long run was faster than my last long run but on that run I didn't need my inhaler. I'm not going to let myself get down on this run because other than needing my inhaler half way through, it was a comfortable run. 

My chest still hurts and it's hard to breathe but I'll do a breathing treatment before I go to bed. Hudson likes to help with those.  

We put my camelbak on him. Cutest.Dog.Ever 

Have a great Workout Wednesday! 

If you haven't enter my contest yet for a free Spartan Race ENTER HERE!

winner will be announced Sunday. 

Maybe Next Year

So if you've been following me for the past few days then you know that I didn't get through the lottery of the NY Marathon. I didn't think I'd get though on the first shot but I'm still pretty bummed. I was really upset that I waited a day until 7pm when I pretty much knew at 12pm. Oh well, I'll put my application in again next year.  

Now my focus is on the Pgh Marathon and my triathlon coming up in August.  I was planning on just riding my mountain bike but I'm thinking about looking for a road bike. Maybe I'll do a Half Ironman one day. ;) So that's where I'm going to put my focus and training. Maybe I'll do another marathon towards the end of the summer, I haven't decided yet. 

I went to CrossFit today because that always helps with stress,frustration and disappointment. Our warm up started like this: 

3 rounds

10 burpees

10 supermans 

1 minute handstand 

10 pull ups 

3 rounds of 5 rope climb downs

Then the work out 

I got 9 rounds out with 5 lunge steps. Not too shabby I would say..

So I went to Panera the other night. I've had to stay at work late the past few nights so I went to Panera to fuel up before CrossFit the next day. 

I think I've found one if my favorite combinations! I got the classic salad with Greek dressing and the Chicken Sorrentina Pasta.  Panera's You Pick Two is always my favorite. It goes great for the  indecisive mind. 

Did you play the "lottery" for the NY Marathon? Did you get in? 

What summer races do you have planned for this year? 

Training 26.2 with Asthma

I've partnered up with Breathe Pa to do some training blogs. If you haven't checked out their sight, you can do it at www.breathepa.org. 

Background I my Asthma 

If you check out my About Me section, you will see I was a very large child. I always wanted to play sports and be active but I tired out quickly and would just go inside to play video games. I lost the weight going ito highschool, thanks to some bullies that are now twice my size. 

For a few months after highschool I took a break from sports. I started college in July after graduating and once I got into the swing of college and work, I decided to get active again. I started running with my sister and kickboxing. After a few months of being stagnant, I knew something was wrong. I went for a 1 mile run with a friend on a trail and couldn't finish the mile. When we were done I couldn't stop coughing and chocking. I tried to play it off like I was okay but the coughing wouldn't stop over the next few days. One of my other friends told me that they think I have asthma so I need to go get checked out. I thought it was just really bad allergies from the trail. After seeing the doctor, he said that he thinks it's asthma but I'd have to get tests done to confirm it. Unfortunately, I didn't have health insurance so getting those tests done wouldn't be able to happen for about 3-4 years. After needing my inhaler 4 times a day, I had to go back to the doctor. What he gave me wasn't working. He eventually had to put me on Advair twice daily until I could pay for the tests. Advair without insurance isn't cheap. After paying for that for two months I got myself some good insurance and went for the tests. 

It confirmed that I had asthma (as if they didn't believe me) and my pulmonary doctor put me on a few medications to relive it a little bit. 

Training with Asthma

After being on my medication for about two years I've been cleared to train. Here's an idea of my daily medication routine:

Advair: Twice daily 

Asthma/allergy pill: Before bed

Nasanex: Two inhales, each nostril before bed 

Nebulizer: When needed, usually when I'm sick or go on a long run

Albuterol inhaler: as needed 

I initially started my blog to show people that there shouldn't be an excuse as to why you can't exercise while you have asthma. I have friends that try to tell me why they can't, but there's always more reasons as to why you can. Training is hard with a breathing conditions but if you manage it correctly, you'll be okay. As long as I take my medicine and use my inhaler when I need it, then I'm usually okay. 

I have many apps that remind me to take my medicine and tell me what color day it is. Normally on an orange or red day, I stay inside. It's not worth hurting myself. When I run, I go slow. If anyone ever looks at my time you'll know that I'm not the fastest. I could be much faster but I take my time. 

Here's something that I want everyone to know while training with asthma:

1.) Take your time: If you feel like crap and still want to try to go out, then do it but do it safely. If you need to stop, then stop. Walk a little bit. 

2.) You WILL have bad days: There will be days that you can finish a mile. Those days are going to make you wonder if you can do 13 or 26 miles. Bad days happen but you can't let that bring you down. 

3.) You WILL have good days: Those days will make you wonder if your asthma went away. Usually not, but if you're feeling good keep going! 

4.) Take your medicine: It's okay to buy a running pouch solely for your inhaler. I'm a dork like that too. 

5.) Take care of yourself: If your long run was planned but you wake up to 70 degrees and it's a "red day" use "red day" as "rest day". If you're committed you can find a better day to go. 

6.) Know when to take your run: Are you an early morning runner or sunset runner? I'm early morning. I'll get up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise before I watch the sunset. I personally feel like the air quality is always much better in the morning. Running at 2pm usually isn't a good idea when it's 90 degrees out. 

Those are some of my training tips. I have a training schedule set up that I usually go by but I stay flexible. It is completely feasible to train for a marathon with asthma if you take care of yourself. If you have any questions on training or taking care of myself, just ask! 

Are you training with asthma? 

What are your training tips?