Tag: half marathon training

A New Podcast, Running at Work, & Happy Hour

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S town podcast

S*Town

You guys. If you have a long commute or like to listening to podcasts while working out, you have GOT to listen to S*Town. The first 10 minutes will have you addicted. I promise. It’s from This American Life, the same people who brought you Serial (a podcast I also highly recommend). So good! It’s been making my morning get-ready routine far more interesting.

Also: yesterday I ran 6 miles in the middle of the workday so that I could have a couple margaritas at my work-wife Happy Hour. Priorities!

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3 Big Takeaways from “The Ultra Mindset”

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Endurance

I just finished The Ultra Mindset, An Endurance Champion’s 8 Core Principles for Success in Business, Sports, and Life, and while some of it felt lackluster—or far-reaching, as he tries to educate both on the mindset of an extreme endurance athlete and that of any other endeavor in life—there were three sections that really hit home for me in my running.

While I’m not training for any ultra distances (yet?), I can already see how these ideas have trickled into my training and helped strengthen my mental stamina.

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The Paradox of Relaxing While Running

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10 mile run

(+ A Lot of Garmin Photos)

I think ever since I fainted while running back in July 2016, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my running pace, fueling strategy, and overall training mentality. It’s been a little difficult comparing myself to where I once had been while also having a lingering fear of feeling weak or pushing myself too far. It’s been annoying, to say the least!

Well this week I feel like I’ve finally let some of that go, and oddly enough, I’m seeing improvement in my running again. Go figure.

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Scenes From a Long Run

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Scenes From My Long Run, running, fitness, food, half marathon training, Denver Colorado Wash Park

Before, During, & After

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? We switched things up a bit and did our long runs on Saturday this time around. I’m kind of a fan of the change.

The man had a more intense run on his training schedule—14+ miles of trail at White Ranch Open Space—and I did a solo long run of 9 miles at Wash Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.

I took this opportunity to document everything that happens in the hours prepping for a long run, scenes along the way, and how I decompress/celebrate afterward. Enjoy!

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A Weekend Chock-Full of New Things

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Eat to Run to Eat, running, half marathon training, fitness and food blog

Running & Eating & Reading, Oh My!

Happy Monday, friends!

I know what you’re thinking: new things, Vanessa? running, eating, reading? That’s basically all you do. And you’re right, but this past weekend was dedicated to mixing things up when it comes to half marathon training, upping my mileage, meal prepping, and eating well.

Here’s a plethora of weekend snapshots that won’t look like my same old photo updates.

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Running for Beginners: Increasing Pace

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An Easy Guide

I think I’ve entered the world of at least intermediate runner status, and I want to share how I was able to (finally) run a half marathon under 2 hours (it took me 5 tries).

The key is to incorporate around 2 workouts a week that focus entirely on intervals. Here I made an easy-to-use graphic on a quick 24-minute treadmill workout that bumped my average pace from around a 12:00 mile to a 9:00 mile.

*It’s also broken down by time, because I know trying to do ANY math while running is just EVIL. You’re welcome!

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Daily Diet: Monday Runday!

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Daily Diet: What I eat on running days | THE REAL LIFE BLOG | fitness, weight, health, food, intuitive eating, weight maintenance, half marathon training, cooking, healthy, recipes

What I Ate

SPOILER ALERT: All the carbs. Carbs are my friend, seriously. I will never understand those who believe gluten-free is the way to health, unless they have an actual gluten allergy. That’s just my opinion, based on my incredibly biased penchant for all things starchy (I am Italian, after all), and also the way carbs make me feel (energetic and happy).

I’m especially prone to carb-gorging on run days. Here’s a little cross-section of my Monday Runday (yesterday).

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Race Face! Official Colfax Half Marathon Photos

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DO I REALLY LOOK LIKE THAT?

[WHAT is the skin on my calf doing in the above picture?!]

If these weren’t photos of me running a PR half marathon—one that was extremely emotionally significant to me—then I’d probably delete them from the Universe.

But they are, and vanity aside, I love seeing on the exterior what I know I was going through inside: pain, struggle, reserve, and inner strength. Check out the photos!

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