Furlough Friday Funday and Happy Halloween

Well, I have completed my first week of workouts since I started blogging again - here are the results:

On the schedule this past week:
Sunday: 17 miles
Monday: 3 recovery miles
Wednesday: 7 miles - 5 at LT
Friday: 4 miles

I have to say all were completed with success!!

I won't re-cap my 17 miler in detail today as I have a 20 miler on the schedule for tomorrow that I will review, but it was as amazing as 17 miles can be. While training for San Diego Rock 'N Roll back in the spring I did not have one successful long training run - whether it was the heat, the rain, my shoes, etc - everything seemed to go wrong. Thus, I was really nervous to start upping the mileage for CIM for fear that I would have the same experience but so far so good. I even took GU, something I never thought I could do. I think these past two years I have been just mentally told myself I couldn't take it because of the texture, however, I actually really enjoyed it and within a 1/2 mile started to feel an energy boost.

However, I also experienced something I have never have before . . . chaffing under my right arm. I think it was a combination of my sports bra and tank top rubbing the wrong way. Luckily, I didn't start to feel it until around mile 14.5 but it hurt. Thus, I armed myself with some body glide! I feel lucky that I have never had to use it but I guess there is a first time for everything.

I don't really have a goal for CIM, just to beat my Rock 'N Roll time - okay, well I have a small goal - to run it sub 5. Last Sunday I did 17 miles at a 10:11 pace!! I was shocked - maybe there is a sub 5 in my future. I won't hold my breath though - I still have 3 more long runs to get through so I will see how those go before I get to excited.

My knees were pretty sore after Sunday so my 3 recovery miles didn't get done til Tuesday. Wednesday I headed to the bay area for my mom's birthday so I made up those 7 miles on Friday. Over the summer my work instituted once a month furloughs. So yes, while I lose one day of pay I get a day off, which I will gladly take.

7 miles total - 5 at LT.
My LT splits were:

Mile 1 - 9:24
Mile 2 - 9:18
Mile 3 - 9:26
Mile 4 - 8:58
Mile 5 - 9:13

Not the negative splits I hoped for but I was happy with the sub 9 mile! The rest of my furlough day was spent (fun) shopping (I know, ironic - a day I am not getting paid and I am out spending money) and (not so fun) studying (I was really productive though).

This morning I headed over to the gym for an easy 4 miles and a spinning class. All the spinning music was Halloween themed!

I wish I was able to go out tonight and partake in some fun Halloween festivities, however, tomorrow if my 20 miler and I don't think a night of partying and 20 miles would go well together so alas, I am being boring and staying home. We are headed up to Folsom (where CIM starts) to run though so I am excited for the change of scenery. After last weeks successful GU experience I am going to integrate it into my fueling for tomorrow. The plan is a Vanilla GU at mile 5, 4 Gel Bursts at mile 10 and Plain GU at mile 15.

Another perk to tomorrows run is the extra hour of sleep we get tonight - don't forget to "fall back" your clocks!

Even though I was lame and didn't dress up, I will leave you with a picture of Griffey in his costume. Isn't he just adorable?!? This is his costume from last year he never got to wear. Unfortunately, I didn't have one that would fit Victory so she didn't get to dress up, but next year I will be more on top of it.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Eating Healthy - Kashi Go Lean & Yogurt

One of the benefits to running and training is the ability to eat more calories! While training for my first marathon I definitely took advantage of that perk - to the tune of 5 pounds. I always felt hungry and since I was a running a lot easily justified the extra food. Thus, one of my main focuses while currently training for marathon #2 has been to really watch what I eat and find foods that are healthy and keep me full and satisfied.

When we crossed the finish line last weekend at the Nike Women's Marathon, one of the snacks they were passing out was Kashi Go Lean Crunch in vanilla yogurt. I was starving so I took it despite the fact I knew I wouldn't like it. I have never really been fond of yogurt. It is one of the foods in life I wish I liked but could never get there with. Honestly, I think it is something about the "live active cultures" I just can't get past. However, the Kashi/yogurt mix wasn't too bad so I decided to give yogurt one more try.

I know that a contributor to my marathon 5 pounds was the delicious frozen yogurt shop right across the street from my work that my co-worker and I would frequent 2 or 3 times a week in the afternoon for a snack. This gave me an idea to try - that would not only be healthy, but satisfy my frozen yogurt craving. About 30 minutes before I want a snack I put the yogurt in the freezer. 30 minutes is the perfect time to give it that frozen, but still creamy texture. Then I mixed in the Kashi Go Lean. While it isn't exactly the same, the Kashi adds a sweetness and a crunch to the yogurt so it tastes like a frozen treat. The best part - it is healthy, full of fiber and keeps me full!

This really is a satisfying afternoon treat in disguise!

Keeping Up

Welcome!

My first blogging attempt blogging at "It's Not the Destination . . . It is the Journey," did not progress as I had hoped. For lack of a better explanation the space was not "mine." I think I tried to hard to conform my blog to others I had seen, stay on a specific topic, etc instead of just being original - being me!

So, here I begin a fresh start at "Kristen Keeping Up." I am still me - a girl in love with running (and now I can say I am a marathoner training for number 2), cycling, yoga, fitness in general, animals, wine, and shoes to name a few. As the title of the blog implies I am a constant state of busyness and wouldn't have it any other way.

My last blog was used solely for reporting on my journey to train for my first marathon and while I intend to use this blog primarily to report on my running and training adventures, I also hope to have the opportunity to blog on the other fun things that keep life interesting.

I hope you will keep up with me!