crazy hills - 6 miler

We decided to take on some crazy hills for our 6 mile training run this morning.  We ran from my parents' house in Irmo, out of their neighborhood onto Lake Murray Blvd.  We ran up and down and up and down some major hills, until we reached the last 1.7mi of our 6 miles, and I can't tell you how thankful I was to reach this point in our run....

1.7 miles of FLAT trail.  It wasn't nearly as clear as this picture today, either.  It was super foggy, which I think was probably a blessing since I couldn't see too far ahead to see what was coming my direction on the hills or see how far was left on the dam.

If today is any indication of how our race day will be, I've got a LOT of work to do to conquer the bridges in Georgetown!    Luckily, every uphill comes with a downhill, and that's definitely something to celebrate.  We actually were pacing faster than most of our short flat runs, so at least we felt accomplished picking up our pace a little despite the difficulty of the uphill parts.

I think all of us were a little unsure of how this run was going to go, and although it's not always fun to wake up super early on a Saturday, we were all happy we did it when we finished.  Also, I have to thank my running buddy Jenny for telling me to keep going several times when we hit hard spots on the hills.  I think she enjoyed turning the tables on me a little bit, since normally I'm the one with the "don't quit, keep moving" mantra.

Also, by the end of our 6 miles... we were truly feeling this quote....

Happy running this week :)

Menu Plan ... Tuesday (Year 2, Week 33)

Yep, so I was a little slow on the comeback from vacation, and here's Menu Plan Monday, Tuesday!

8.13.12 – Dinner on Road back home

8.14.12 – Salads/Hamburgers/Hotdogs Leftover from vacation

8.15.12 – Tacos/Taco Salads Leftover from vacation, homemade guacamole

8.16.12 – Baked Chicken Parmesan & Salad 

8.17.12 – BBQ Grilled Country Style Ribs; Tomato, Cuc&Onion Salad, Sweet Potatoes

8.18.12 – Date Night out 

8.19.12 - TBD

Have a great week!

One morning really early

It's not news to anyone that I'm an early riser. This week, despite being our vacation was no different. There were lots of early morning walks, but this was one of my favorites. Definitely up WAY earlier than normal, but totally worth it for the views. And an awesome reminder of God's beautiful creation.  The pictures don't do it justice, but it was a BEAUTIFUL sunrise to the east while a thunderstorm raged just to the west of the beach.

"You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." -Nehemiah 9:6

Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 32)

Our toes are either in the sand or walking the course for the PGA Championship this week.  We also have lots of relaxing to do, including some frozen meals made last week at home and several dinners out.  Vacation style menu plan means as little work as possible!  See y'all next week :)

On the run again!

It's official, the date has been set for my next half-marathon (Georgetown, SC - October 13th), and this is the first official week of training!  The schedule is a MUCH simpler version of the build-up we did with TNT.  Since I'm not overly concerned with time/pace, and I am REALLY concerned about not becoming injured this time around, we're sticking to a 3-day-per-week training schedule.  That means 2 short-to-middle distance runs during the week and 1 longer run on the weekends.  AND, we're not exceeding 10 miles for our training runs.  I'm training with my tried & true running buddies, the Jennifers (Jennifer that ran with me in Savannah, and my best friend from high school, Jenny).  I love the Jennifers, but I promise, I have friends with other names, too!

 

After my first half-marathon, our TNT coach said he knew the big problem for most of us first-timers was the fact that we didn't believe we could actually complete the 13.1 mile goal we had set for ourselves.  That's why it was so important to do lots of long runs before the race, including that awful 12-miler in the pouring down rain.  However, now that we know without a doubt that we can do it, we decided to cut ourselves some slack this time around.  

 

I've been running two 3-milers a week for a while now, and the last two weeks I have gotten in a 4.5-5 miler on the weekend, so I'm ready to start bumping it up.  Here's what things look like (basically) for the next 10 weeks:

 

Week 1   (08/04):  Long Run = 5 miles,  Short runs = 3.5 miles each

Week 2   (08/11):  Long Run = 6 miles,  Short runs = 3 miles & 4 miles hills

Week 3   (08/18):  Long Run = 7 miles,  Short runs = 4 miles each

Week 4   (08/25):  Long Run = 7 miles,  Short runs = 4 miles & 5 miles hills

Week 5   (09/08):  Long Run = 8 miles,  Short runs = 4 miles & 5 miles

Week 6   (09/15):  Long Run = 9 miles,  Short runs = 4 miles & 5 miles hills

Week 7   (09/22):  Long Run = 10 miles, Short runs = 5 miles & 5 miles

Week 8   (09/29):  Long Run = 10 miles, Short runs = 5 miles & 5 miles hills

Week 9   (10/06):  Long Run = 8 miles,   Short runs = 4 miles & 3 miles

Week 10 (10/13):  Long Run = RACE DAY = 13.1

 

We also had to add hills to our schedule this time around, since our race is the Georgetown, SC Bridge2Bridge 1/2 Marathon, and we have to cross over both of the major bridges in town TWICE.  Not gonna lie, that is making me a tad bit nervous. I'm sure most of our long run routes will include hills, but we will make some plans to hit some of the bigger hills in Columbia specifically to prepare us for those bridge crossings. I'll keep y'all posted on our progress!

Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 31)

7.30.12 - $1 Tacos
7.31.12 - Grilling
8.1.12 - Buffalo Chicken Pizza
8.2.12 - Baked Ziti - making bigger recipe to freeze and take part with us on vacation!
8.3.12 - Leftovers/Fridge Cleanout
8.4.12 - Vacation!
8.5.12 - Vacation!

Menu Plan Monday (Year 2, Week 30)

7.23.12 - Leftovers
7.24.12 - Chicken Burritos - making a bigger recipe to freeze and take with us on vacation
7.25.12 - Bacon & Mater Pasta
7.26.12 - Leftovers
7.27.12 - Supper Club... in charge of appetizer... making this
7.28.12 - Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes
7.29.12 - Sour Cream & Bacon Crockpot Chicken