Training update and a GIVEAWAY!

Mileage is getting up there!

Running at the cabin, putting some good miles on my YakTrax.

Training update:

This has been a great week. I was able to get all of my workouts in, which is the first week I’ve been able to do that – mostly due to motivational issues.

I asked Craig to hold me accountable this week. I would have asked Nate, but it’s all too easy to make up a lame excuse to him (I cannot be coached by my husband!).

So, this week involved:

Monday: Easy 5.5 miles to and from mom club

9 miles with 30 minutes of 1 min on/off. I was feeling terrible from the start of this run. My heart rate was super high even running at 9:30+ minute miles. I knew this would be rough. But, I powered through. It hurt. A LOT. On my last repeat I looked down to see that I had hit a new workout max HR: 202. Wow. That’s hard to do on a fartlek workout that has a lot of rest!

Then all of a sudden I needed to throw up. I dry heaved a few times, while Craig and Greta looked on. I have never done that before in a workout! Guess that means I pushed it hard? 🙂

Wed: 4 miles easy. I ran to and from a meeting with the Red Wing Girls on the Run program director. More on that later…

Thursday: 10 mile progression run. I nailed this workout! I started at a HR of 165 and worked up to 202 (again!) by the very end of the run. I was a little sad to see I had only run a 7:40 mile the last mile — I was working SO hard for that! Oh well. The only way to get faster is to put in the work every day. I made myself faster that day.

Friday: off. Slept.

Saturday: 12 MILES! I am so pumped I did this!! This seems so freakishly long now that I have a hard time wrapping my brain around running for that long when I’m 2 miles in…

Sunday: 4 easy peasy miles with the pup!

= 45 miles!

This week is a 50 mile week. I’ve already nailed a 10.5 mile run with 1 minute hill repeats and a 6 mile recovery run. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t struggle with my hip flexors or control of my legs. DOUBLE AWESOME.

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Goals:

I cheered on an athlete at Zoom! Yah! Yah! indoor marathon last week. It reminded me how great of an event it is! Perhaps it’s a good thing memories fade after a bit… I vaguely remember saying I’d never do it again… but there’s a world record out there that would be really, really fun to reset. So, I tentatively have that as my “A” race goal for the year. Chris, my coach, said he’d tentatively agree to pace me.

Chris is in red with the white hat.

But, before then my intermediate goal is to break 3 hours at Grandma’s this year. Brenden, the GAC assistant coach that ran my OTQ with me in 2011 at Grandma’s is also going to try to break 3 with me as a training run for an ultra. Picturing 2:59 definitely helped me push a little harder on those hills today. Show Greta 2:59, Nichole! (She will be 8 months old by then)

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Life updates:

Greta is becoming so much FUN! My heart is so in love – both with her and also with our small little family. I apologize for being a sap but I really, really do love being a stay at home mom. As in, you couldn’t pay me enough to go back to corporate finance. That’s saying something coming from me.

Greta is ridiculously smiley and happy now. I love it!

Little G and I reading. Pretty sure she has no clue what we’re doing, but she happily stares at them and bats at the book every so often. If nothing else, I just want to teach her that reading books together is fun snuggle time together.

Printed off some newborn pictures. This is my absolute favorite!

Greta is getting baptized this Sunday. I give myself a 0% chance of getting through the service dry-eyed.

Craig’s mom was able to alter my old baptism dress since it was just a little big :). I don’t think I was that big of a baby, but I was able to wear this when I was 2 months old. She’ll be 3+ months old. Ha!

It’s so beautiful and can’t wait to hold her at the front of the church in it!

HAHAHAHAHA

One of my athletes made this for us! How awesome is that?! I can’t believe one of my athletes would do something like this for us (I know how much time is involved) – we are so unbelievably lucky! BTW, Greta’s given name is Gretchen in case you were confused 🙂 We use both names interchangeably, but mostly use Greta.

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Giveaway!

Let’s be honest, you’ve just scrolled down the post because the giveaway is the real reason you’re reading this!

Stunt Puppy is offering one lucky blog reader a STUNT RUNNER!