Silence that is GREEN, Motherhood Reflections, and Week 4 of Boston Training

Silence.  
Not even sure I can imagine silence anymore.  When my kids aren't talking loudly, asking me questions, or creating noise of one kind or another, my head is usually loud enough with my own thoughts to keep me from even recognizing silence when I do have it.  I really should make more of an effort to just...
Be
Still
With Silence.  
This would mean getting up extra early for some morning meditation.  Or turning everything off at night and just sitting for a bit with myself before I fall asleep. Silence is most definitely not going to be found around here during the day. I'm certain this practice of BEING with silence would be good for me to start.  After Boston.  Until then...


Here's another kind of silence that I'm lovin' as of today:

The Green Silence by Brooks

I've been wanting a nice light shoe to use for shorter races like the 10k and 5k.  It has taken me forever to get a pair since I've been content just racing in my Brooks Launch but after hearing about these shoes from several friends, I finally ordered a pair.  It was hard deciding on a color because they come in some really cool designs!  I went with the baby blue but I'm sure this won't be my only pair.  My first thoughts when ordering these was that if they didn't work out for a racing shoe, they would surely make a great addition to my wardrobe and look cute with jeans, shorts, capris and even a sporty dress!  You can read all about these shoes on the Brooks Running website.  You can also read more about them by reading the excellent review of them on RunBlogger.  I can't write a very good review of these shoes at this time since I've only run in them once.  My initial thoughts:

• I like that they are a "Green" shoe and are made with recycled materials.
• They felt great in my tempo run today.  I ran a total of 6 miles in them and then switched back to my Launches just to make sure I wasn't overdoing it on my first time in them.
• They are only 6.9 oz
• I think they will make a good racing flat for 10k and under or even up to the half marathon perhaps.  The review that Pete from RunBlogger did says that he would give them a thumbs up for a marathon even.  
• They are so CUTE.  I know, not the biggest reason to buy a shoe but with this shoe fashion meets function.  I might have to break the rules and wear these out sometimes when I'm NOT running.  Shhh, is that allowed?  If anything, I'll just have to replace them sooner.  
• They look unique with the way the laces tie

Here's what Brooks has to say about them on their site:

"Make an eco-statement with the Green Silence racing flat. Each and every part in this fast, groundbreaking shoe has a sustainable element, including soy-based inks and recycled materials. And in this case, "green" goes hand-in-hand with the great performance you expect from Brooks. The Green Silence helps you take responsibility, and first place—with good karma to spare. Weight: 6.9 oz."

And if you're interested in seeing some of the other styles, here are just a couple:

Ooooh, I didn't even know until now that they have brown!  After these have too many miles on them for running, wouldn't they be cute with jeans?  Putting them on my wish list.  And brown is easier to keep clean than the blue that I have.

I know that this SPEEDY GIRL loves these shoes and I'm pretty sure she has this color. 

Boston Training
So far so good.  I'm recovering quite nicely from my strains that I had awhile back.  I've been eating lots of healthy (and some not healthy) food, making sure I get adequate recovery, taking time for core work (although still don't have a set routine), and really just enjoying running without OVER-thinking the whole thing.  I'm not making things any more complicated than they need to be.  Just running.  And taking care of myself and my family.  Thankful for good friends to keep me in check and help me keep things in perspective.  Here are some randoms of training:

• I'm still having to break up my mid-distance runs that are over 11 miles.  I just don't have the time to fit in a 15 mile run in one stretch of my day but once a week I do go to the gym and do 11 miles while my little man plays in the gym daycare.  He enjoys it and it gives me a chance to fit in a longer run and still have plenty of time to be with my kiddos and feel productive as a mom, self, wife, etc.  Then later in the day I can fit in 4 more.  
• My body is handling the mileage very well and I'm glad I decided to only do the up to 70 miles a week plan instead of shooting for higher this time.  I'm in a good spot for ME.  No doubt that I could handle higher mileage but right now I am happy to just be healthy and strong.  I'm not doing too much and I'm improving...isnt' that goal?  
• I'm still not entirely sure of my Boston goals.  Part of me thinks I will just be content running strong and enjoying the ride without being too ambitious with my time goal.  But this could also just be the part of me that is scared to shoot too high and then fail.  If I'm ever going to see what I'm capable of, I have to get rid of the safety net.  Not sure I'm ready.  
• I'm keeping on the weight. I always feel stronger and better about my body when I stay at 120 lbs without going under.  I'm 5'4 and weigh more than most people think I do.  If I got down to the weight that many people my height are then I would look AWFUL and not nearly as cute as they do at the same weight.  117 on me is probably the lowest I'd want to get and even that is pretty low for me.  Weight is all relative.  SO different for everyone!  I'm just personally happy to be staying solid and strong without losing weight while I increase miles!  Yay!  
• Core work often means playing with cars while in a plank position and using funny voices to make the cars talk and crash into each other.  I'm okay with this.  It's called multi-tasking.

And since I don't keep an online training log, I thought some of you might be interested in seeing some of my training.  And some of you probably don't give two hoots.  Here is this week (week 4 of 12 in Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger).  I've been sticking pretty closely to the plan but last week I had to change some things around because of changes I made with my long run the week before. This is all part of being responsive and adaptive with training and I'm thankful that I'm learning so much about training so that I can make decisions that are best for me.  This week has been spot on for following the plan.  

Week 4:

Monday 2/13:  

Off/Rest/Nada/Zip...a good solid Mommy Day!  (20 miles on Sunday@ 8:13 pace and ending week with 68 miles)

Tues  2/14:  

13 total  A.M 9.5 on treadmill at 5:30 a.m so that I still had time to read to both of my girls' classes for Valentine's Day.  Most at 8 min pace (7.5 speed) with lots of playing around with the incline.  P.M 3.5 easy

Wed  2/15: 

15 miles total.  11 miles in morning with some .25 pick ups @ 7:14 pace for first 5ish miles.  Ran miles 6-10 @ 7:53 pace and mile 11 was 7:30ish.  In afternoon I finished with 4 miles. Not sure my avg paces when I run on the treadmill and not outside with my garmin since I'm too lazy to do the math.  

Thurs 2/16:

5 miles SLOW recovery with Nicole

Friday 2/17:

10 miles in 1:14:31 (this is with stopping the TM for 3 or 4 minutes to stretch, get my kids situated, etc. so not a true 7:27 avg since I had a couple breaks)

First 2 easy

5 mile threshold:

6:59

6:59

6:54

.25 @ 8:34 for active recovery

6:54

6:49

Finished 10 miles with last mile @ 7:24.  

Feeling STRONG

Tomorrow:  

5 miles recovery

Sunday:

18 miles

Motherhood
I have some motherhood reflections coming soon. Hope to get inspired to do a blog post on managing motherhood and marathon training and ways I make it all work without losing my mind or ruining theirs. Lots on my mind as I am ramping up my training here.  What I am I talking about?  It feels like I've been training forever really.  I miss some of the motherhood magic that comes for me when I'm not focused on a serious goal.  Although I'm surely enjoying my training and having fun with it right now, I do know that I will welcome the transition that will come when Boston is over.  I'm not rushing it or wishing it away.  Just knowing that when I'm not specifically training for something, I will have more energy and inspiration to be doing some of the things with my kids that make me excited as a mom.  Like creating forts, going on more adventures around town, PAINTING and creating art, coming up with performances to perform for our family.  I'm still finding time and energy for lots of fun and memorable things but I'll tell ya, this marathon training takes a lot out of this momma!  


Hope motherhood, running, and life in general is good for you right now! Happy Friday!


1.  Have you ever heard of or tried out the Green Silence shoes?
2.  How do you balance motherhood and training so that you still feel like your doing a good job at both? What are you tricks for making it all flow? (Blog post about this coming soon).
3.  Anyone racing this weekend?  I know that Nicole from I Dream of Running is racing a 10k for a speed workout so go wish her good luck.  That girl has got some talent to go with her beauty and strength!  

Amanda

Things I'm Loving Lately

I love Valentine's Day. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, it is a holiday that can surely be overdone and used as an excuse for card companies and stores everywhere to make an extra buck. Just walking into most stores around this time of year can be an overwhelming overdose of pink, red and white.  Chocolates, cards, stuffed animals, flowers...we can't help but feel the pressure to buy something.  Can we say consumerism?  But Valentine's Day doesn't have to be about spending money.  It doesn't have to be yet another holiday about "stuff".  Not if we don't "buy" into that side of things. It can simply be fun to have a special time of the year to create some special memories with our kids, slow down a bit to reflect on those we love, have an excuse for a little romance and embracing all things love. After all, there isn't much in life that is greater than LOVE, right?  So, it makes sense to have a special holiday just to wrap ourselves up in it even though we should certainly still celebrate it year-round.  I like having Valentine's Day as a reminder that EVERY day can be romantic and worthy of celebrating such a powerful part of living...LOVE!  


In honor of it being almost Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share some of the things I've been loving in my life lately.  

• My Valentine  This is a constant love for me.  Not just "lately" but "always".  As many of you know, we have a marriage journal that we write to each other in from time to time.  It was fun taking a few minutes to write to him this morning while my daughter finished her preschool valentines.  Gosh, this man is special to me!  

• New Brooks Launches  There are very few things in my running world as sweet as putting on a new pair of Launch shoes. Oh baby, I love these shoes.  I really hope that Brooks never ever ever stops making them because they really are a great shoe for me.  Right out of the box, they feel like a small slice of running heaven.  And I LOVE the new colors!!  

• Early Reading It wasn't too long ago that my oldest daughter (now almost 7) was learning to read and now my almost 5 year old is too.  It has been so fun to watch her pick up these little B.O.B books and sound out the words to simple stories like Dot and Dot and Mit.  I'm so proud of her and my teacher heart is especially happy.  I've also been loving this time in my daughters' life where we can all enjoy a good read aloud from a longer book at night instead of just picture books.  This week been living in the book Matilda, written by one of my all-time favorite authors, Roald Dahl.  I used to love reading this book to my students and now I'm having a great time reading it to my girls.  We've flown through it and will be done in less than a week's time.  It is really neat to see them both excited about it and have them beg for just one more chapter!  

• Story Time/Early Literacy I may not be teaching in the classroom right now but I'm still finding ways to fill my teacher heart. One of the things I've been doing that has made me feel connected with the world of early literacy and children is the leading of story-time once a month to a group of preschool kids. I always leave feeling happy and energized. How can one NOT be energized after being part of a Bear Hunt and the Bean Bag Dance?!  I'm also excited to read some Valentine's books to each of my daughters' classes this week as well. So far, my passion for early literacy instruction, teaching kids, and helping kids love reading and writing is still a pretty HUGE part of my heart.  This is a good sign that I'm not done with this field yet and I will most likely return to my graduate studies and teaching in the classroom someday after my kids are older.  

• Sports Beans  I tried these sports beans for the first time on my 20 mile run yesterday.  Although I wasn't running fast enough to "need" a lot of fuel, I do think that these little guys will be something I use in the future for racing.  I used one bag gradually over the course of my run, taking a few at a time with sips of water. I'm pretty sure I will like this method of fueling better than gels.  We shall see. I do think that I will want to wear my water belt in Boston or at least have a hand held water bottle that I can throw away if I need to.  It is nice for me to be able to take sips of water when I WANT and not just at the water stations.  Especially if I will be fueling gradually over the course of the marathon instead of taking my fuel in full doses at set times.  Even with gels, I like to take a little bit at a time over a few miles as opposed to just taking the whole gel at once.  

• Training  My training has been going really well these past couple of weeks.  I've felt strong and my body is responding well to the mileage and workouts.  Knocking on wood here as I hope it continues to go smoothly.  Last week I finished the week with a 20 miler (yesterday) that brought me to 68 miles.  68 miles WITH some speed and tempo and an easy 20 miler @ 8:13 average pace ending with 3 miles close to marathon pace.  This makes me happy!  I felt strong the entire 20 miles and never felt like I was dying or too tired.  For most of the run, I was pretty consistent with low 8's or 7's for my miles.  And my average is with an almost 9 minute mile warm-up to start.

• Sushi Dates  Last night my daughter and I tried a new restaurant for our sushi date.  I LOVE that my six year old loves sushi and that we can share it on our special dates.  Last night she tried some salmon rolls and even gobbled up the fish eggs on top.  So cool! Next time she said she'd try some octopus.  

• Movies I don't watch much television or movies but the other night I found this movie Morning Glory on netflix and really enjoyed it.  I know it isn't new but it was new to me and I didn't want to turn it off even to go to bed at a decent time before my 20 mile run the next day.  Made me smile and definitely entertaining.  

• Recovery Food  Okay, really bad picture here.  Gross even.  But I had to take a picture of this dish as I stuffed my face on the way to church after my 20 mile run.  This was the food my husband made for me for post run recovery.  So Yummy!  It consisted of quinoa and red/brown rice blend, chicken sausage, broccoli, spinach, Udo's oil, chia seeds and a bit of hot sauce. 

 

I'd love to hear what you are loving lately!  

So, What ARE you loving lately??  

Do you like Valentine's Day and what do you do to celebrate?  I already said that I love Valentine's Day but I don't make it about buying a bunch of stuff.  We make our own valentines with the kids and my husband and I just make an extra effort to write a love note to each other, light a candle or two and sometimes enjoy a special meal together.  Nothing fancy really. And he knows me enough by now to know that I would rather have a hand written note on scratch paper ANY DAY over a store bought card with a generic message in it.  If he does get a card he knows better than to just sign his name after some message that was written by Hallmark (one of my greatest pet peeves).  

Happy Monday!  Hope to get caught up with you tonight.  

Amanda

Recovery Days, Lucy Shorts, Marathon Plan, and Monkey Boy

Here I am on week three of my Pfitzinger plan and today is a recovery day!  After a non-stop day yesterday of trying to fit in 13 miles in addition to all my parental duties of carting kids around, running errands, doctor visits, meeting up with friends and still remembering to eat, I felt like all I did was run.  I am welcoming my measly 5 miles that I have on the schedule.  Giddy really.  And I'm extra indulging in this recovery day by not even planning on my run until this evening.  At that point I will probably go outside and just plod through it at a very slow and sweet pace and not even take my Garmin with me.  


Just a few reasons why I'm loving recovery days:

1. More time with my kids.  Instead of heading to the gym or turning on Seasame Street so that I can fit my run in, I can spend more quality time with them  write a blog post.  
2. I actually put on make up and wear normal clothes instead of spend my day in workout clothes and looking like crap.  On days that I have longer runs to fit in, I usually end up wearing my workout clothes for most of the day until I can fit in my runs and find time for a shower.  It's funny the look I got this morning when I dropped off my kids without running tights and a workout hat on.  
3. More time to sleep.  I usually end up sleeping in a bit since I'm in no rush to fit in my longer runs and all the other stuff that comes with the day. 
4. I don't feel as much pressure to go to sleep as early the night before since I don't have a ton of miles or a hard workout staring me in the face for the next day. I enjoy staying up later since that is my kid-free time.  
5. More time in general!  More time to read for fun, catch up on blogs, have one-on-one time with my kids, talk to friends, etc.  
6. Running slow can be so fun sometimes!  

Oh, and in addition to a recovery day today, my son slept in until almost 9.  I'm tempted to use exclamation points throughout this whole blog post today.  Can you tell I'm happy?  !!! But I'll try to use periods and save my exclamation points for most appropriate places so I don't overdo the !!!. !  This was my facebook status this morning:

"AMAZING the time I have on my hands when good ol' Sam sleeps in late.  Still sleeping.  Usually by now he's already knocked over a few chairs, spilled some water, made me pull out a few hairs, put a few dents in my table, poked some random holes in my coach cushions, crashed a few cars into his sister and serenaded us with his loud loud 2 year old voice.  Gosh, I love that little man.  But it surely has been nice having some quiet reading/breakfast time with my little girl.  Thanks little guy."

Marathon Plan

So far so good with the Pfitzinger plan.  I'm on week 3 of the 12 week plan.  Honestly, I don't think I'll ever follow a plan to a T.  But I think that is the way it should be if we are being responsive and adapting to our personal needs. Our plans are simply a framework to go from, right?  Playing my own coach means making changes as I see necessary.  The biggest reason why I switched to The Advanced Marathoning Pfitzinger plan was because I felt like I'd missed so much with my Hudson plan with my injuries, time not specifically training, etc.  I just felt lost. I wanted a fresh start to a more linear plan.  And I like the way his plan looks all typed up in his book. His book also captured my interest a bit more. I have to say that I have learned a ton through this process of reading so many books and watching running videos on youtube.  I could see being able to actually write my own plan in the future and not be so overwhelmed.  In the meantime, gosh I'm thankful for some really wise and dear friends who seem to know their stuff!  My new doctor seems pretty darn wise too and he gives plenty of advice when it comes to the training.  

Things I'm digging about this plan:

• I can see a very linear build up of how I will get from here to where I need to be.
• Plenty of easy long runs but a few good marathon paced runs that I think are good for me if I can find a race to use to be more successful with them.  
• Plan seems pretty uncomplicated.  Just fitting in the mileage. However, I have to break his plan when it comes to the medium long runs longer than 11 miles because I just don't have the time to fit these runs in.  I try to do a longer run of like 10 or 11 miles with a shorter run later in the day to make up the mileage.  This will have to do.  
• Silly little thing but I like how the weekly mileage numbers are written at the end of each column so I can see the progression without counting them up.  

Lucy Shorts

Not too long ago I received these Catch Me If You Can Lucy running shorts.  Have to say, I really do like them even though they are not a short that I would rave rave rave about. I think they are a quality item worth buying if you like them. At first I didn't know what I would think since I already had a pair of shorts that looked like this but it is clear that these are a much more quality short than the ones I own like this.  They run around $35. 

Pros:

• Great fit.  They don't bunch or blouse out around the crotch area like some shorts this style.  
• Light and great to run in in warmer weather (like Hawaii)
• They fit really well around the thigh...I think they are good "make your legs look good" shorts.  
• The fabric feels good. 
• I like the little orange Lucy tag on their clothes.  :)
• I like that I don't have to roll the top to get the right length.  These shorts lay nicely on the top of my hips unlike my Nike tempo shorts.    

Cons:

• I would prefer more pockets.  Like maybe one more so that they would be better for racing in or going longer distances.  
• I like the key pockets to go horizontal instead of vertical so that my keys don't dig into my leg.  

Okay, onto my day.  Gotta get to the bookstore to get a couple of books and spend some time with this little monkey of a boy of mine that is currently holding on to my back jean pockets like they are monkey bars.  Pretty sure my butt crack is showing as I stand in a sort of chair position to brace myself as I type on the kitchen counter.  He's really swinging now....These are expensive jeans so I better go so he doesn't rip the pockets off. Weeeeee...

1. Random here but anyone know the author Cathy Lamb?  Just found out that she will be coming to our next book club.  This means I really must find time to read her new book.  
2. Are you as excited about recovery days as I am? 
3. Anyone have any good 2 year old boy stories for me to make my child look more normal??  

Amanda