Chicago |

08/23/2016
by She's Going the Distance 5 Comments

I got My Phil of Indiana ;)

Monday: 6m easy 9:11/pace, Crossfit

Tuesday: Rest

I’m continuing to receive congratulations for the ultra i ran a week ago and each time I get confused for a second. I swear I keep forgetting it happened. haha. I think my brain is trying to erase it from my memory.

Marathon training is going very well. I’m using Hanson’s Marathon Method this training cycle and so far I love it. I choose my time goal, Hanson’s provides the paces and the workouts. I’ve also recently started Crossfit and will do a post about it soon! I have so many thoughts so a blurb just isn’t enough.

To the main event! I found cheap airfare and headed to Chicago/Northwest Indiana last week to hang out with my former roommate/Bff who had a baby over 4th of July weekend. Marie is on maternity leave and I wanted to see her family before her life gets hectic.

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This trip was so fun and relaxing. Her 6 week old baby, Phil, is such a cutie and sleeps and eats very well. We spent time watching the the Olympics, movies, eating pizza (nothing tops midwest pizza) cooking, trying new local coffee shops and catching up on life. She’s the kind of friend you can tell anything to, she’ll finish my thoughts and join in when I start singing songs outloud.

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When I found a break in the weather (it was humid out there and rained on and off a couple days) I fit in training runs. I had a tempo and a long run to squeeze in. And let me tell you something: the flat terrain was easy, but running in a straight line 6 miles out and back was mindnumbing.

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I can say now, I appreciate running in Maryland. The terrain changes, the hills and the trail systems are incredible. I’m super grateful i’ve been able to live in different states and continually grow as a runner.

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I’m also growing as an eater. We stopped at Baskin Robbins for a large waffle cone. They have a flavor called Oreo Milk. It’s oreos, kelloggs cereal, and frosted kelloggs corn flakes. I can’t even tell you how good it was. Just go try it. Even if you just get the pink sample spoon.

yes i had a stomach ache after this

My last day was spent with Elise. I missed her.

They have an HTC Vive virtual reality headset. It was so much fun! There’s nothing to compare it to either. It’s so different than any video game, 3D or 4D Universal Studios ride. There is nothing like it- if you know someone with a Vive go play on it!

Kyle and Elise had me in a Minecraft world, and asked me to step of the ledge of a very high building. You are lucky enough to watch me with my scared high voice freak out. Here ya go..my first appearance on video on the blog. So proud of this moment.

Last Week

Monday: 6m easy 10:30/pace, Crossfit

Tuesday: 8.1m interval (5 x 1000s @6:40/p)

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 9.1m tempo (6 @ 7:47/pace)

Friday: 12m long 10:09/pace

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 8m easy 8:20/pace

Total Miles: 43.2

Ever tried VR?

How do you workout on vacation?

06/16/2014
by She's Going the Distance 14 Comments

Chi City & the CLICK Protein Winner

The weekend trip to Chicago flew by! We had pizza and beer at Revolution Brewery. The food was crazy good and the brewery is beautiful.

I met up with my best friend Patrick down at Grant Park to visit the Blues Fest and walked around. Chicago is truly the most beautiful city in the summertime. And probably the most fattening since everyone just wants to give you food and drinks 😉 not complaining!

Patrick at the fountain.

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And here’s the Click Protein Winner:

Congrats Brianna! Email me at shesgoingforspeed@gmail.com with your mailing address!

Weekly Recap

Monday: 1.5m easy treadmill run, 20min back/triceps

Tuesday: 20 min chest/biceps, 15 abs

Wednesday: 3m easy run, 1 hour heavy leg day

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 2.2m easy + walking miles in Chicago

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

Total Miles: 6.7

Anyone had a stubborn injury before?

Favorite summer city?

02/11/2014
by She's Going the Distance 10 Comments

Beer for Breakfast & a Workout Summary

Monday: 6.5 easy 8:24/pace

Alright, I’m going to talk about something everyone can relate to. Working out on vacation. While I was in Chicago over the weekend I messed up and missed my long run on Saturday. I even squeezed my runs in before the trip without a day off just so I’d only have 1 run to do during the weekend. But with 3 feet of snow on the ground and having to drive to a gym, I just wasn’t motivated.

it snowed about 2-3 more inches later that day

I’m human. Some people think I’m a machine when it comes to working out, but i get lazy and procrastinate and sometimes I don’t want to leave my friends and family because I’m afraid i’ll miss something. I don’t feel that bad, cause I spent quality time with my nephews 🙂

Mason, Jaxon & Brant

I had a hard 10 miler on the schedule, and I felt bad missing it–literally stressed about it all weekend! Which is crazy. One missed workout isn’t going to make or break a half marathon time, but if this was happening all the time, I couldn’t expect amazing things to happen in a race. Running is something I love because you really get out what you put into it.

Monday I had an email waiting in my inbox from my coach.. She was waiting for my log to update and show my long run. No, she wasn’t upset when I skipped it, she just wanted to discuss moving forward and suggested a 5k race to really see where my speed is. Then we can come up with some realistic 1/2 marathon goals. I’m about 4 1/2 weeks out from the USA 1/2 already! I swear if you stick to a training schedule and take it one workout at a time, the weeks fly by!

Just like the past weekend, it flew by. I want to go back to Revolution Brewery and get brunch again. Breakfast foods are my all-time favorite type of foods. This was the BEST BREAKFAST I’VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE.

Perfect eggs in a basket with hollandaise sauce that was to die for! Also, this was the first time i’ve had beer with breakfast. Move over mimosas! There’s a new Sunday drink in town.

Two hours after I landed back in DC Monday morning and went for an easy 6.5 mile run. I was going to try and makeup the 10 miler, but after a weekend of beer/pizza/no workouts my legs were heavy and tight. It felt great to get a run in, but man, it’s hard to take a weekend completely off. I’m back and ready to get back to it!

Late Recap from Last Week

Monday: 4m easy 8:25/pace, 20 min shoulders, 10 min abs

Tuesday: 7m hills 8:10/pace, 20 min chest/biceps, 20 min abs

Wednesday: 5 easy 8:25/pace

Thursday: 6.4m moderate 7:21/pace, (7:55, 7:36, 7:37, 7:15, 6:56, 6:47)

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Rest

How did your weekend run/workouts go?

Ever do a shorter race before a goal race one to gauge fitness?

02/08/2014
by She's Going the Distance 11 Comments

Getting faster!

Thursday: 6.4m moderate 7:21/pace, (7:55, 7:36, 7:37, 7:15, 6:56, 6:47)

Friday: Rest

Well that was new. It was the first time I’ve ever run a sub-7 pace during a run, not just intervals or a track session–an actual run! I haven’t been this excited about running in a long time.

I was worried heading into this year with my new goals that i was plateauing and I couldn’t get a whole lot faster or better at running. But having a coach and seeing some amazing #’s beep out of the trusty Garmin is making me feel like I’m just getting started. I don’t ever want to doubt that I can or can’t do any better than where I’m at.

Ok now that the cheese fest is over, I’m heading to Chicago 🙂

The place got a rare treat and flew past downtown Chicago and over lake Michigan (which was mostly frozen). Since 9/11 they haven’t allowed planes to fly so close to the city. The clear day made it pretty cool for pictures.