Monday: 45-minute spin class, yoga class that ended up making my back hurt again -- ugh!
Tuesday: 8 miles, easy pace
Wednesday: rest day to let my back re-heal
Thursday: speedwork, on treadmill because the track run got cancelled because of snow, 2-mile warm-up, 1600 @ 7:03 (1:30 RI), 800 @ 6:43 (2:00 RI), 1600 @ 7:03 (1:30 RI), 2-mile cool down. PT appointment.
Friday: 1 easy mile and a lot of walking
Saturday: 22.10 in 3:16, longest training run I've ever completed!
Sunday: rest day
As you can see, my back was giving me grief again after yoga on Monday. One of the forward-bending moves with wide legs is what pushed my back over the edge. I thought yoga would be great for my back, but it looks like I need to get stronger before I go back to yoga. Or just not do that move next time I'm in class.
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Luckily the back outage wasn't as intense or long-lasting as last time. To keep my back strong, I'm doing planks like a maniac, basically anytime I can. Also, I'm incorporating lots of hip and leg exercises that I can do at home or anywhere, like squats, lunges, leg lifts -- all really simple moves that I always need to be doing more of anyway.
Here are some of the highlights from this week in pictures.
The mother load from the thrift store. They had a bunch of new Target cast-offs for $3 each. Those yoga pants are about to become my new uniform. The gray pair of capris are actually for running, and the black pair is for lounging or yoga (aka also for running). Plus I found a pair of 7 jeans for $5 (my first pair ever because I'm super cheap) and a bunch of matching jackets, sweaters and shirts for the twins.
Because I needed a new phone case (mine broke and I keep dropping that darn slick phone), I checked out the thrift store's supply and narrowed it down to these two. The question here is: should I go funny or practical?
And I went with ...
If something makes you laugh every time you look at it, it can't be bad.
I also picked up this shoe pocket for another running pocket. With distance running, I feel like you cannot have too many little stash options.
You never know when you're going to have to throw some homemade protein power bars in your available pocket. Then where does your key go? Shoe pocket!
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Go here for protein power bar recipe. |
I ate this protein mix during my long run on Saturday. The fuel was awesome, filling and long lasting with a great flavor. The consistency, of peanut butter, not so awesome. This would probably work well for an ultra, where there will be moments of walking/hiking that will be perfect for choking some of this mix down.
Here are some food highlights from this week. This quinoa, chicken, and olive soup was a win.
Best roasted brussel sprouts I've ever made. Toss the halved sprouts in tamari sauce, salt, pepper, olive oil. Set the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes. So easy, and my kids will eat them.
But the biggest news from Alabama is that we are finally got our own little drizzle of snow.
Not everyone was as happy as I was about it. Where are this kid's parents? They should probably get him some gloves.
The only unhappy part for me was the traffic. I think I found the reason why so many people were wrecking even though the roads were just slushy, not icy. People were forgetting to brush the snow off their back windshield and side mirrors. Kind of important. I bet you thought I was going to say that the wrecks were because of people taking cell phone pictures while driving. Pinky swear we were all stopped for a long time when I took this.
Outside of annoying traffic, we had fun with our five minutes of snow. It took pretty much all the snow in the yard to build these snow monsters with alien babies erupting from their abdomens.
How much snow have you had where you live? This was it for us for this winter so far.
What extra pockets have you found for running? The classic back-up pocket for me is always the sports bra. Guys, what do you do for emergency pocketing?
I love your thrift store bargains, you must have a great thrift store if you can get a iPhone there too! Wow, 22 miles, I am really impressed, I can't imagine running that far....We have no snow in Australia - been super hot here - hottest day on record in Sydney 3 days ago:) I have a Nike belt with a pouch for running, it works great.
ReplyDeleteWell, just the case, but still great!
DeleteYou must have the best thrift store in the USA! I never find cool items like you do! You have more snow there than we do in MN right now - but we get the pleasure of below zero temps anyway. Way to rock that 22 miler. When is your 50K
ReplyDeleteIt's February 23rd. I went for another 12 today on some single track, and it felt really great. My plan is to just take it really slowly and finish without wanting to saw my legs off.
DeleteCan't tell you how happy I was when I saw which iPhone case you chose. And wow...what loot!!! And yep, she does look like Katniss.
ReplyDeleteUGH snow...two days of it and I'm missing California already!
You must still be home. That's exactly how we like our snow in Alabama -- for less than 24 hours. More than that, and we go nutty.
DeleteWhat thrift store do you go to?!
ReplyDeleteThis stuff is from the Goodwill in Gadsden when I was visiting Bethanne the other day. It always has the best stuff!
DeleteOh no, your back! Dang yoga :( Glad it wasn't a major problem this time. Your phone case...people are going to think you are one special grown up lady with that, I really love it! We have a few inches of snow,less than usual...hope we get nailed with it soon!
ReplyDeleteExactly -- I told one of my friends that it was a joke, and she was super worried for me that people wouldn't realize it was a joke. Those people can kiss it!:)
DeleteYes -- you need snow for your ski expeditions!
I do splurge on expensive jeans, but I fill in with Target and Forever 21 stuff. I've had one pair for almost 7 years...they seem to last forever.
ReplyDeleteI love your Jacob Black cover...so funny! Aren't you an Edward fan though?
Ha -- they both have their solid points.:)
DeleteJealous of your jean find. I'm too cheap nowadays to splurge but they just opened a 7 jeans outlet near us so I might check it out. We went to Disneyland a few weeks ago and spontaneously stopped at a random Goodwill shop on the drive down. We bought about 6 items for under $20. Score! I got a cute little mini skirt.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your 22 miler. That's awesome!
And no snow for us.
They are really comfy!
DeleteI love thrift stores in south Florida (does Orlando count as south?). I've found lots of great stuff down there, but I also saw a pair of shoes priced for $36 once. C'mon, Goodwill, not cool.
We usually get a ton of snow in Toronto. This winter hasn't been too bad. It's bloody freezing though. There's been a cold weather alert issued for the next week. It was -8 celsius when I got up this morning and it's only going to get colder as the week goes on!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME score at the Thrift store holy moly. Love the phone cover, ha ha ha.
I use the sports bra as an extra pocket sometimes. Most of my running jackets have pockets in them and in the summer I usually wear tri shorts and they always have extra pockets so I'm usually good.
As for jeans - expensive jeans are my weakness but I figure I wear them every day to work so it's kinda like spending money on a good suit, ha ha. Although I RARELY ever pay full price. I usually buy one pair at full pop and then scour ebay for a couple of other pairs. I've gotten so many good deals on there it's insane.
Holy cold! I need a jacket on just to read that temp. But the extra pockets are the good thing about having to wear running jackets.
DeleteAfter wearing these 7 jeans around all day, I'm starting to feel like it might be worth trying to scour ebay for more. They are super comfortable and the perfect length, which is hard for me to find.
Wow - you got the mother load at the thrift store!
ReplyDeleteToo funny on the snow (I lived in Alabama a long time ago for grad school - snowed once and shut the entire state down!).
I'm new to your blog but I really enjoy it!!!
Thanks so much for checking it out! And if you lived here, you definitely get it. Just say snow and people go crazy.
DeleteThe Runners World code isn't working for me. Maybe it's expired? That's a great deal though, I'd love to get it!
ReplyDeleteWe've hardly had any snow here in KY, which is fine with me. I don't like snow or cold weather!
Dang, you missed it! It ended last night I think because this morning the code wasn't working anymore.
DeleteYou have the BEST luck at the thrift store - you really find great bargains! Mine is so hit or miss, usually miss. I keep hoping I'll find another cheerleading sweatshirt to add to. Y collection! Like your phone cover (brilliant!) anything that makes you laugh is worth it!
ReplyDeleteImpressive 22 miler. How did those last few miles feel? May join Alex's group on Thursday if I feel up to it.
ReplyDeleteThey felt great! Honestly not much different from the first. We kept the pace from 8:30 - 9 pretty consistently, so that helped. I hope you can make it out to the track. I think this week it's on Wednesday instead of Thursday. We alternate to help accommodate everyone's schedule.
DeleteHoly cow, it can only be some serious depair that relegates a pair of $180 jeans to the Goodwill donation bag. I hope their former owner finds her way to running sometime soon! But you lucked out, show us a pic of you in the jeans soon. The best thrift store find I've heard of recently was a friend finding Frye boots for $30 - they were beat up, but after she put in some elbow grease, they are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI am loving my pocket I bought recently. It's called roo sport. It's a magnetic pouch that wraps around your waist band and sticks to itself. Big enough for a phone. But not huge. I love my pocket stash. http://theroosport.com. :-)
ReplyDeleteooh. i love a good pair of jeans. i think you are much smaller than me, otherwise i would send you a few pair that i am about to get rid of. those brussels look so good! and, so jealous yall got snow and we didn't. why doesn't atl have a thrift store like yours??
ReplyDeleteI DO see the Katniss resemblance. Lucky both of you! Your cell cover made me laugh. for real. Now that you're Team Whoever That Is, though, I don't know if we can be imaginary blogfriends...
ReplyDeleteThat soup looks amazing!!
Wow, you really scored at the thrift store, good work! Yoga can be a good way to hurt yourself, be careful! Some teachers are much better than others at adapting the class for people's different injuries and vulnerabilities.
ReplyDeleteNice phone cover -- I'm hoping the snow stays away in Denver! We've had enough for the year!
ReplyDeleteCoool, thanks for sharing that protein power recipe! I'm always looking for new ways to fuel during a long run/bike ride.
ReplyDelete