Track Season 2012: Week 2.

This week was definitely a tough week. I was really busy (lots of nighttime shifts at work and lots of studying to do) which always makes it tough to get myself to go to practice. I love running, but sometimes when you're flat out exhausted it doesn't sound so hot. Luckily I convinced myself to go every day this week and after each day I left feeling happier than when I came.

after thursday's sweaty workout! 

[click here to check out my original goals post - these weekly recaps are basically a check-up of how i'm doing on getting to my goals!]

Workouts/Runs This Week

Sunday: BodyPump + yoga class. Both teachers weren't my favorite (the BodyPump instructor kept messing up the timing on everything, and the yoga instructor talked WAY too much for me to get relaxed) but I accomplished my goal of strength training once a week. 

Monday: 5 mile run

Tuesday: 2.5 mile run, 2x800 (at 3:10 - 3:15 pace), 2.5 mile run 

Wednesday: 4.5 mile run

Thursday: 600 ladder workout. Basically this workout is a kind of countdown workout - we ran a 600 fast, jogged a 500, ran a 500 fast, then jogged a 400, until we got down to the 100s. Warmup was an 800 and cool down was a 1200.

Friday: 5 mile SUPER hilly run. I haven't run any hills since XC season so this one was definitely a toughie! After we got back we did 2x100 and 1x200 strides. [for those of you that asked, strides are in between normal running pace and a sprint. to me, most of the time they feel like the pace that I would race an 800 at.]

Saturday: Time trials! I ran the 800m and felt pretty good. I didn't start out too fast and had enough in me to sprint the last 200 and pass a couple of people. I don't know what my time was (I know it's going to be pretty slow for me since this is just the beginning) but overall I'm fairly happy with how it went. After we warmed up and did the time trial, we went on a short 1-mi cool down run and then did 6 x 150 strides.

I definitely forgot how good it felt to put on my spandex and spikes and get out there and run fast. I love the burn and the lack of oxygen! <--quite the odd sentence. ;) 

I'm taking either tomorrow or Monday off depending on how I feel. I am a huge fan of rest days! :)

Core/Stretching

Days that I completed: 4.5 out of 7. [the half is because i stretched but didn't do core one day] Not the greatest I can do, but like I said before - the reason I sometimes skip this is because of time. If the workout went super late and I'm working a night shift, chances are I won't do core and stretch because I know it takes ten minutes. Then again, last season I barely ever stretched or did core, so I'm pretty happy with last week. 

Fueling

Preworkout: I'm doing really well on my goal for this one! I've had a mini Luna bar before every practice this week and it's working out really well with my stomach. I also don't come home after practice and raid the kitchen frantically like I was doing before. Win-win!

Postworkout: I'm really good on the food aspect of this, but for hydration I need to work on it a little more. Often I'll forget to fill up my water bottle after practice and then get home, eat some food, and not feel too thirsty. Then, later I get a headache and feel like crap and wonder why. Now I'm making it a priority to drink lots of fluids after practice.

stopped at the gas station on the way home one day to pick these up :)

Random Thoughts

• I am loving having my new Lunarglide+ 3's! They're the exact same shoe as before but my old ones were getting really run down (I'd had them for 4.5 months) and these ones feel a lot better.

• I am addicted to omelets with TJ's refried beans, shredded cheese, and salsa. I've eaten this meal like 4 times this week. 

• I miss strength training more often! I wish I could fit in 1-2 more lifting workouts but I just don't have the time. 

what's the best workout that you did this week?

My Pantry Staples.

Today I went on a big grocery shopping trip and realized it was a good opportunity to show you guys what my staple groceries are!

I do a lot of the grocery shopping for the family when I have the time to because a) i LOVE grocery shopping and b) both of my parents are currently working full time.

The four places that my family goes the most are Target, Safeway, Costco, and Whole Foods. Today I hit up Target and Whole Foods - two of my favorite stores!

Here's the loot:

Produce

• 4 apples: 2 fuji, 2 pink lady
• 2 bags steam-in-bag broccoli

What's already in my fridge:

• romaine lettuce
• baby carrots
• green beans
• strawberries
• grapes
• frozen mixed berries

We always have lots of fresh fruits and veggies on hand (which is why we go to the store so frequently) so I didn't have to buy much today!

Nuts/Bars

• Emerald dry roasted almonds aka my favorite nut!
• Skippy Natural Peanut Butter (I know that this kind still has a little bit of sugar in it, but I grew up on Skippy so this is my favorite. I still buy other kinds but this is the one I buy the most often.)
• 1 box mini Luna bars - these are sitting really well with me before workouts and I'm loving them! This box has S'mores and Nutz Over Chocolate flavors. 

What's already in my pantry:

• a few big Luna bars (honey peanut pretzel, white chocolate macadamia)
• a few Odwalla bars (chocolate peanut butter, chocolate chip walnut)
• an almond, cashew, and cranberry trail mix

Dairy

• 6 flavored Chobani: apple cinnamon, peach, and vanilla (my three favorites!)
• 4 plain 0% Fage greek yogurt: my mom prefers Fage so I mainly got these for her. 
• 2 packages shredded cheese: 2% mexican and full fat cheddar
• Laughing Cow wedges
• Mini Babybels (I always have either these or string cheese sticks in my fridge because they're portable and a good source of protein.) 

What's already in my fridge:

• real eggs
• egg substitute (aka egg whites in a carton)
• vanilla whey protein powder

Breads

• English muffins
• Orowheat Healthfull Nutty Grain bread: this bread is my absolute favorite. It's packed with chewy grains and nuts and has 5g protein per slice. 

What's already in my fridge/pantry:

• whole wheat tortillas (large and mini sized) 
• old-fashioned and steel cut oatmeal
• popcorn
• pretzels
• Kodiak Cakes mix

Random

• sliced turkey (I am really picky about my meat - I mainly eat only chicken and turkey and it has to be super thinly sliced, which is why I like this kind.)
• Sabra roasted red pepper hummus
• puffed rice (WF was out of my favorite puffed millet so I got rice instead)

What's already in my fridge/pantry:

• TJ's apple butter
• Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (we buy this in the giant 6-pack at Costco because it's such a good deal!)

Splurges aka why my parents shouldn't let me grocery shop ;) but hey, i use coupons and always buy what's on sale - my momma taught me well!

• Kettle Baked Barbecue Chips
• Vitamin Water
• 2 packets Barney Butter

what are your pantry staples?

favorite place to grocery shop?

WIAW #8: Busy Bee.

hey guys! i hope all of your weeks are going wonderfully and you had a fun valentine's day yesterday!
the past few days have been super busy for me so my mom gave me a couple of valentine's day presents on sunday instead of on the actual day.

she got me a few dark chocolate bars (my favorites!) and a few new protein/fiber bars to try

and she also got me some (unpictured) nail polish and this necklace! i love it - it has a cross, a heart, and an anchor all on the same chain.

i love my mom. <3 best valentine ever.

anyways, onto the eats! [another thanks to jenn for hosting WIAW!]

I fueled up for my long day with two fried eggs with colby jack cheese on top of an english muffin

 which of course needed to be topped with ketchup (because eggs need ketchup...)

clearly i have a kindergartener's talent for art. 

outfit:

i love this shirt - i spotted it at target a few days ago and bought it without even trying it on. definitely a lucky guess since it fits perfectly! it's super soft and flattering. only problem that is that it was a little colder than i expected and i was pretty cold during the day. 

i also wore some heeled black booties that were super comfy. there's no freakin way i would be wearing heels to class if they weren't comfortable! ;)

lunch and my midmorning snack all packed up:

i had a apple cinnamon chobani, strawberries, carrots, and a pb and apple butter sammie. oh, and a dark chocolate hershey's kiss. 

before track practice i had a mini Luna bar - working on my goal of eating my food more spread out throughout the day so that i don't come home from practice and raid the kitchen. i think this is definitely helping and my stomach isn't giving me any problems on my runs - yay!

both of these flavors are excellent! i can't decide which i like more. 

track workout:

• 2.5 run to the park where we were doing our workout
• 2 x 800 (I did mine at about 3:15 pace - we were supposed to do them at current 3200 pace so I think I was pretty close!)
• 2.5 mile run back to school
• core (2 x 30 crunches, 2 x 15 pushups) and stretching

I came home starving and immediately inhaled some fresh strawberries:

And then made a giant salad with romaine, carrots, onions, mushrooms, grilled chicken, shredded cheddar, and sesame ginger dressing. 

I scarfed my salad down a little too fast because my tummy was a bit upset when I went to work :( Luckily by the time I got home it had calmed down again.

Nighttime snack: two chocolate marshmallow treats that my mom brought home from her work, and a mini tortilla with peanut butter. 

Then, I faceplanted in bed. 

what was the best part of your valentine's day? 

favorite pre-workout snack?