September 13, 2013

Marathon Training Week 12 and Five Friday Faves 9/13/13


marathon-training-update

The Road to 26.2 -Marathon Training Week 12
Runs:
Short runs: My training group was still hillwork again-gotta be prepared for those Baltimore hills! We did 4-5x each of the 4 hills. The last two hills are the steepest so I was definitely feeling it in my legs by the 4th or 5th repeat of those guys. 

Long Run- Saturday was a scaled back week, mileage-wise. We did 14 miles, which is still no small run.  I was in a rush in the morning which led me to only pack one gel and just fill my fuel belt with water and powerade. I was regretting not having another gel but ended up feeling okay. The first 7 miles were uphill and then we turned around and ran the last 7 mostly downhill so I wasn't hurting too bad.  The weather was a bit cooler and the route pretty shaded so it was a nice run overall.  My hamstrings still feel really tight so I need to take extra care of them and stretch out really good.

What was awesome last week:   I've been really great at fueling properly and paying attention to eating more protein and carbohydrates. I've got my pre-workout meal down pretty well (nut butter, banana and bread or bagel) and am starting to choose better recovery meals/snacks.  I think I'm going to try to make more smoothies because they seem to be very satisfying. Eat to grow! With a month left until the marathon as of today (AHHHHHHH!) I need to forget about worrying about my weight and just fuel my body with good food to prepare for the miles ahead!

What I need to work on this week: I still on tinkering with my sleep schedule. If I can get to sleep and workout in the morning, then I have lots of time to take care of errands, cook dinner, and relax after work, which will allow me to get to bed earlier instead of sitting down at 9:30 PM after returning form the gym and just trying to all that.

I'm changing things up a little bit on you guys. There are tons of regular Friday posts bloggers have so I'm merging  my Friday Favorites post and Five for Friday. I like the added alliteration of (nerd alert), and it's easy to stick to a number of things to ramble on about!

My FIVE Friday Faves this week are:

1. Favorite Contest: Delta Labs is having a FALL INTO HEALTHY EATING Recipe Contest (I made up the name!). Entries should be original recipes with photos if possible and can be submitted via email to contests@deltalabsusa.com until next Friday 9/20/13. It can be any kind of healthy recipe that would be great for fall.  The top 5 recipes will be announced on Monday 9/23, and the winner will receive a $50 VISA gift card and gets to have their recipe featured on the Delta Labs website and made into a Delta Dishes video

delta-labs-fall-healthy-eating-contest

2. Favorite Snack: Think Thin Creamy Peanut Butter Bar 
think-thin-peanut-butter-protein-barThis bar is crazy delicious! I picked one up to have as an afternoon snack at work and wished I hadn't eaten it so fast! I bought it because it was gluten-free and had 20g of protein. It tasted like a peanut butter cup with it's soft peanut butter center coated in chocolate. It also didn't have that weird aftertaste some protein bars have. 



3. Favorite Afternoon Pick-Me-Up: Coco Cafe
coco-cafeYesterday after work I was just feeling beat. All I wanted to do was veg out in front of the TV, but I needed to rally and do some homework and cook dinner. I was at the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and threw this into the basket with the hopes it would give me a little caffeine buzz.  I was surprised at how delicious it was! It tasted like one of those Starbucks frappuccinos  in the glass bottles but with less calories and sugar. These have a shot of organic fair trade espresso, a bit of reduced fat milk, and natural coconut water, all for 140 calories. The 120 mg of caffeine definitely helped me power through the afternoon. 


4. Favorite Beauty Product: Suki Face® Concentrated Nourishing Toner


I've reviewed products from Vitacost before because they have such an amazing blogger review program. My most recent shipment of goodies was some Suki beauty products! I used to have really bad acne and still have oily, acne-prone skin so I'm pretty cautious about what I use  on my face.All of the Suki products are non- comedogenic, cruelty-free, sensitivity-tested, and synthetic free so I gave them a shot.
 

I used to use a Lancome toner that I swiped from my mom back in high school but have simplified my face routine and haven't tried one in a while until I fell in love with the Suki toner!  Apparently it contains some shittake and olive leaf extracts to provide lots of antioxidants to the skin. I've been just misting it onto a cotton ball at night before I apply my night moisturizer. I forgot how refreshing and cooling toner feels. I haven't noticed a huge difference, appearance wise, but I do think my skin has been looking pretty clear and nice lately. Check out the Suki products on Vitacost!


Remember to click here to shop Vitacost and save $10 on your order of $30 or more! 

Disclosure: Vitacost provided me with an assortment of their products at no cost. I received no monetary or other compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

5. Favorite TV Show: Orange is the New Black
orange-is-the-new-black

I FINALLY finished the whole season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix. The end is kind of emotional and cliff-hanger, but I can't wait for the next season! I plan on reading the actual book less which I'm sure will be filled with less sex and dramatized violence. I thought the show was really unique, well-acted, and funny. Check it out if you aren't already loving it!

How were your workouts this week? Any new favorite snacks or TV shows?

4 comments:

  1. Great training week! Hill repeats are killer but worth it in the long run!

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    1. They are killer but really useful and great at building hillwork skills!

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  2. I admire you for the hard work and training! What gels do you use?

    Also, is the DeltaLabs contest only open to US residents?

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    1. Thanks so much! I mostly use Vega or Gu gels. They get the job done! I really like the raspberry Vega and the chocolate Gus. I also use honeystinger chews sometimes. It doesn't seem like much upsets my stomach too much.
      The contest is open to anyone! Just specify if you are outside the US in your email entry :)

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