Week Three: Memories and Milestones

Week three was full of memories and milestones......  If you have happened to check out the left hand column of our blog, you will find a bio for each member of our running team.  This week we ran in memory of our dear friend Wendy who would have been right by our side for this full marathon training program.  Wendy unexpectedly passed away last October after a tragic head injury.  She is missed every single day by her family and friends.  Her energy and humor is sure missed on our running team.  We had so many traditions before races - our group has run several half marathons together.  Her spirit will drive us to complete this full marathon this year - no matter what happens to the in-person race experience related to COVID.  We. Will. Do. This.  

Michelle reminded our team that March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.  Liz, Michelle, and I got together and organized a fun, friendly, casual walk/run.  We invited Wendy's friends, family, and local walkers/runners to join us for our weekend long run.   Liz was very close to Wendy and I am sure she thinks about her on most of her runs - especially when certain songs pop up along the way.  Inviting everyone to run in memory of Wendy on Saturday was a great way for all of us to run with her.  It is just surreal and sometimes still not even believable she is not here.

 

We had such a nice turn out for our morning walk/run.  We had a one mile, three mile, and five mile route.  Most of the walkers finished the three mile route.  Liz, Michelle and I completed our weekend five mile long run.  It is hard to believe that five miles will really be a short run in the very near future.  Our mileage jumps pretty quickly after this!  One of the great running memories we have of Wendy was the post run selfie.  She was the tallest of the group by a mile.  She was always able to get all of us in the photo!

 

Michelle is so sweet and always things of the best "swag" for race days.  She ordered these shirts in honor of brain injury awareness month.  The morning started off pretty chilly so these came in handy.  Once the sun came out, it turned out to be a pretty nice day for a run.

 

Sometimes we can get so hung up on the logistics of running.  The watch, perfect shoes, electronic apps, distance and accurate pace.  Today's run was a the perfect reminder that those things really don't matter.  Sure, we like to see our pace improve - we like to PR - we like to push ourselves.  But really, it does not matter.  We run because it challenges us, because it is sometimes hard, because it is sometimes easy, because it keeps us moving, and because we can.  As Liz noted in Wendy's bio - she often ran for those who can't - including her pride and joy daughter Emma.  The two photos above deeply remind me the love of friendship and our love for running.  Liz, Michelle and I were clipping along at a decent pace and we were to the point we would pass the group that was doing the three mile route (their pace was great too, just so happened we would pass here).  On many of our runs, we get so hung up on pace and time.  Not today.  Today was about just being present.  Liz spotted Ashley across the way who is a newer runner.  Ashley worked on a 5K walk/run program last fall and completed her first 5K.  It was SO much fun to watch her run and finish that first race!  Ashley and Liz were both very close to Wendy and as soon as Liz was reaching Ashley, she zipped across the road to embrace her.  On this day, the hug was way more important than any certain pace we were trying to keep.  Michelle and I paused and waited for Liz and honestly, I stood there and cried.  It was way more emotional than I thought it would be.  

Some people prefer to run alone - Wendy was actually one of those folks.  She loved to run in the country on long roads.  For me, I love having people around.  It was so much fun to see all of these walkers along the way.  I love every second of group runs.  Do you think we can convince these folks to train with us for the rest of the program??  All of them here also have fond memories of Wendy.  Their presence today was a strong reminder of how many lives are touched by others. 

Michelle and I plugging away.  She crushed the five miles!  There were many times I needed to stop and catch my breath but running with Liz and Michelle always pushes me and holds me accountable.
 

 

Five miles in the books - and the sun came out by the end of the run!

 

Michelle put together these gift bags for our walk/runners.

 

Earlier in the week, Liz and I accomplished two morning runs.  I am NOT a morning person and will share more about that in a future post.  I will take it as a win we managed two!

 

Earlier in the week, we also welcomed March.  February was a total of 52 miles for us.  Our miles will climb pretty quickly from here!

 

 I mentioned this post was also about Milestones......

Jenn was SO excited to share with us this week that she nailed a sub 30 minute 5K for the first time!  That is so exciting!!  Here she is doing her happy dance after this fantastic accomplishment.  The sun is out, the snow is melting, spring running is here - we hope to stay!  Congratulations Jenn - nicely done!!

 Next week we will check in with Lou and Sara!

Hit the pavement folks.....

Carrie and the crew

 

 

 

 

 

Week Two

Week two with some sun......  I am a little late on my weekly post.  I was in Arizona over the weekend visiting some friends.  It was a quick trip but nice to get away to enjoy some sun.  We were supposed to run 3-3-3-7 last week and we all got our miles in.  Because I was on vacation, I broke my long 7 mile into two 3.5 miles.  I get the point of the long run - endurance, fuel, hydration, longevity, etc.  But I also get the point of vacation!  I was thrilled I ran all three days while in Arizona for a total of ten miles.  I have plenty of time to work on long runs the next several months.

 

Each morning I headed outside by 7:30 am to get my miles in.  I took a new route each day and enjoyed the scenery.  It was actually a bit chilly when I would first leave but it didn't take long for the sun to warm up.  I can't wait until late spring running when it is warm outside but early enough in the year we haven't hit the humidity yet.  

 

In my excitement to be running in Arizona versus northern Wisconsin, I didn't even pack a long sleeve shirt to run in.  I pretty quickly noticed I was the only person out in the morning with a tank top on.  There were always active people out and about so I am not picking on these girls.... they are moving!!....... but it did make me giggle a little.  They had warm jackets and the one on the left had a warm head band and mittens on.  I thought immediately "these girls can't be from Wisconsin".  Of course as I ran by, they were probably thinking I was crazy for being "under-dressed" for the weather.  

 

My daughter is a big coffee lover and headed to Starbucks every morning.  On this trip, I actually asked her to get me something each day.  What a great post run treat that was!  I bet I didn't even burn enough calories on my run to cover the calories in the coffee.... but a huge win for me was being on vacation and not gaining one single ounce!  Goes to show.... hard work pays off.  I got up and ran every day while I was there, enjoyed some extra vacation calories and special treats, and didn't sabotage my progress 

 

I almost felt guilty posting my warm runs when looking at Jenn in the snow! Looks like we are turning the corner with the weather though and it should warm up and be good outside running this week.  Nice work Jenn.

 

Michelle powered through her seven miles on the treadmill!!!  That is pure dedication there.  Nice work Michelle!!!  And thank you to Liz who went into photo stealth mode while I was gone, you make me proud! 

Liz usually doesn't have to take a post workout selfie, I usually make her take one.  She posted this in our group chat while I was gone.  She conquered one of her three miles and then worked on some plank.  I see here she said this was not for the blog.... but later in the group chat she said she knew I would use it, so... here it is!  I think this is the best drill sergeant look ever.  GET IT DONE... planks are no joke :)

 

Lou got some outside cross training done this week too.  I think we should ask him to wear the unicorn helmet for his next run!

 

Another super fun unexpected team building this week.  I literally had zero intentions of getting my three miles in this evening.  I hard worked two long back-to-back shifts on campus with nursing students including a three hour round trip commute both days and just did not want to run.  Since we are increasing our miles to four days a week and Arizona was coming up, it would have made for a miserable rest of the week if I didn't run. Still, I just couldn't get the motivation to run - until I noticed the whole team had already logged miles for the week.  Ok fine, I ran.  One of my biggest pieces of running advice is find your running peeps.  I know many people prefer to run alone - and that is ok - we don't complete all of our runs together - but the accountability of a training partner/team has been priceless for me.  Since everyone had already logged their miles, I really had no excuse not to run.  I headed to the basement and was SO thankful they pushed me to run I had to video group message them.  It was actually pretty funny.  Lots of laughing and heavy breathing (gross, right??).  Folks, finding your running peeps... IT HELPS.

Pretty short and sweet this week since I am a bit late.  This week we have 3-4-3-5 and for our long run on the weekend, we have a very special event planned that I can't wait to share here!

 

Get out there,

Carrie and Crew

Week One, Check!

Week one in the books!  The weather is slowly but surely on the uptick this week.  We all finally got some miles outside again.  This week we increased running days from three days to four days.  We got some crossing training in and some SUPER fun unexpected team building remotely.  I can't wait to share those photos below.  This week seemed to go pretty well.  Running felt good.  Nutrition remains a work in progress but I felt fueled for all runs including the weekend six mile.  Lots of photos this week.......

First things first...... Let's get right to the fun photos.  This week I decided to resubscribe to Peloton.  I really need to focus on stretching.  We all know how important stretching and foam rolling is and like many people, it is the first thing that gets dropped with a busy program.  We are running four days a week, cross training two days, we all have busy home lives with kids always on the go, and then there is the ever important job.  Hard to fit all of that in - plus make time to foam roll and stretch.  Many of us have old injuries and we are working hard to prevent new ones, so I really wanted to make sure I stretch more.  I found Denis Morton on Peloton and love his ten minute yoga workouts that focus on the legs.  They are only 10 minutes but SO helpful.  I ended up doing 4 in a row.  It is weird, I would have never picked a 40 minute yoga workout - who has time for that - but the smaller ten minute ones seemed more manageable and once I started, I just could stop.  40 minutes went by so fast.  Of course I took some photos and sent them to the running team - which then lead to the funnest remote team building ever.  The whole team took photos and we shared them on chat.  All of them could have used the hashtag "nailed it".  So fun - and yet also so good for what we are actually here to do - RUN!  Disclaimer:  they all posted these photos to a public facebook conversation so I really feel I don't need permission to share here 😜

 

Ok, so this is what we were trying to do.  The stretch actually felt really good on the running legs - it is just a bit challenging for us beginners

 

The form is terrible, but I felt good stretching!  My teenage son was not thrilled he had to take this photo!

 

Liz did a good job of stretching - the dog on the other hand looks like what on earth are you doing.... the dog wanted to play, not stretch

 

Told you, "nailed it" is the theme.  Lou is always good for a chuckle!

 

Yeah, Sara makes the running page!  Nailed it.

 

And my absolute favorite, Jenn!  Winner winner chicken dinner.  She has the best one of all.  To her credit, she is the only one who attempted the pose and a selfie.  Nailed it! 

 

My next favorite part of the week was our six mile outside run.  We stopped at a special sign to remember our dear friend Wendy.  You can read about her over on the left hand column under the bio section.  She tragically died last year and would have ran this race with us.  We miss her so much on our runs - and of course, every day.  This street in our town is the same as her last name and it was a fun way to still capture her in our running selfie.

 

 

Jenn got some outside miles this week too.  Look how sunny it is!

 

The three of us were able to get outside for one of our mid week runs

 

Finally above zero - and I have some new running shades

 

A little cross training this week - boxing with the teenager

 

Lou at the gym - usual pose ;)

  

Over all, this was a great week of running despite the cold.  Next week we move to 3-3-3-7 for mileage.  Let's hope the weather stays on our side!

I just couldn't pass up this TikTok challenge, so fun!

Have a great week everyone!!

Carrie and the crew
 

 

 

 

 

Here we go!!

Here we go, official marathon training starts!  Hello marathon training!  Wow, the first six weeks went fast - which is important to remember because I am sure the next 18 weeks will fly by!  The day-to-day and the miles will feel long, but I am betting it will be June before we know it.  The last six weeks was focused on "getting ready to train".  I think we each accomplished some grounding work to get ready for the big show.  I had grand plans to lose a bunch of weight but instead I shifted focus to healthy, balanced, smart, marathon training fuel/eating.  I am so glad I am not "training on a diet".  Not smart or sustainable.  I did take a photo at the start of this program and I am excited to share a side-by-side right before the marathon.  Running four days a week, two days of cross training, and smart methodical fueling will definitely make me feel better - regardless of what the scale says!

Short and sweet check in this week - let's get to work!!!  Here is what we have been up to....

It is stupid cold here in Wisconsin and Minnesota where we are training.  We have done a great job this winter of getting outside in the elements but this past week has been dangerous cold.  Thankfully we have all conquered our runs indoor on treadmills.  Looks like a few more brutal days and will be above zero again.  What a goal - to be above zero!!!  Later in the week looks like double digits.  

 

I did brave one little mile outside this week.  My weekend long run was five miles - I ran four indoors on the treadmill and moved outside for the last mile.  It seriously took me longer to layer all of my clothing than it did to run the mile! CAN'T WAIT to be back outside full time.  I am one who doesn't totally dislike my treadmill, but not having a choice to be outside is irritating.

 

While I managed an outdoor run this week, Liz tackled an early morning run.  Check out that time of 6:36 in the morning!  I am sure many of you are morning folks and prefer to get your work out done.  I have struggled with mornings but worked hard last year to try and incorporate them into my workout routine.  It does feel pretty awesome to get a run out of the way first thing in the morning.  Nice work Liz - it is also important to point out she had to leave her house, drive to the gym, and use the treadmill all while it being disgusting cold at 6:00 am! 

 

Jenn also hit the treadmill this week.  Her hashtags are the best!!  

We will be sure to check in on Michelle this week - I am hoping we can get outside together.  Once we get into a routine, we usually are able to meet more than once a week.  

 

I reached out to my sister before posting to see if there where any exciting updates from Lou's workouts this week.  Hello AUTO CORRECT.  OMG.  Thankfully she did not respond with some deep thigh photos 😅😆.  We don't get a fun photo of Lou this week, but we can laugh and giggle at this text.

 

Nutrition:  If you followed my post last week, I talked about transitioning from a diet to proper running nutrition.  It was hard to figure out what to eat since I was either entirely keto or binging on whatever.  This week I made a conscious choice to make meals matter.  I baked banana chocolate chip muffins and worked on portion control.  The muffins aren't "bad".  Five muffins at once are bad!  Here are some of my meals this week....

 

 

And just like that, another week in the books.

Here again is the training plan.........

 

and a little inspiration.....

 

Here.  We.   Go.

Carrie and crew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Groundhog's Day

One week out from our training program.  This week was Groundhog's Day both literally and figuratively.  Of course the little rodent saw his shadow and we will have six more weeks of winter - which in Wisconsin, does it really matter?   It has also felt a little groundhog day around here since it feels like we are repeating the same day every single day for the past few months (actually, almost one year).  Now don't get me wrong my family has done some awesome things during the pandemic - I am not complaining at all about our extra time together - it just feels like it is never going to end.  Mid-week I was a little over the whole thing and drug my feet to get motivated (note to self:  read last week's post about motivation versus discipline).  All I did this week was my three required runs - no cross training.  However, I did have some revelations about nutrition (stand by for that long winded discussion).

Nutrition Goals.  For me, the goal of the first six weeks of this training was to focus on the last few pounds I have to lose.  Well, more than a few - ideally I could lose another 30.  I lost about 60 pounds prior to the "lock down" and was able to keep all but 15 off over the last year.  One would think it is easy to keep losing weight at home.  Um, no.  Wow, hard.  Why?  No idea.  I lost the weight while finishing my doctorate degree that required weekly clinicals.  My family was super busy and I think I just focused on planning, meal prepping, and really didn't have time to eat off plan.  For whatever reason, that was just not as easy being less busy and at home.  Not to mention, we love to cook and bake and spent months trying new recipes during periods of quarantine.

Restrictive Diet.  How did I lose 60+ pounds?  A very restrictive carb diet - yes, the ever popular keto diet.  A few things about that......  As a long time nurse and new nurse practitioner, I totally understand the risk of a restrictive diet.  I know they are hard to maintain and I know they only focus on one area and not overall nutrition.  I know there is risk of gaining weight back once stopping a restrictive diet.  I also know people analyze the macro content of these diets - low carb and high fat.  Some think that is dangerous.  I get that.  But isn't it just as dangerous to be overweight?  Isn't the risk of Type II diabetes just as dangerous?  For me, it worked in a big way.  I have tried to lose weight for most of my adult life and it was really the only thing that worked. 

Why did it work?.  Of course it worked because if you limit your carbs your body will respond by burning stored fat.  That's the science reason why it works.  But at the core, why did it work?  Back to discipline again.  I learned so much during the restrictive diet.  I learned about portion sizes - normal portion sizes.  I measured everything.  Wow, a person can really overeat without knowing portion sizes.  I learned where hidden calories come from - where hidden carbs and fats come from.  I learned to plan ahead - pack lunches and snacks.  I learned to control my choices.  I made the choice to not eat carbs.  Who knew - you can control what you eat!   I learned to not eat if I am not hungry.  I learned that you can actually deal with stress in different ways than eating.   I am a huge emotional eater.  Guess what, there are ways to handle emotions without eating!  I learned I am actually in control of my choices.  I learned discipline.  I have zero regrets about a restrictive diet.  I would recommend it to anyone - but for the right reasons - not as a magic fix but to really take some time and learn about calories, carbs, fats, proteins, portions, your body, self control, alternatives to emotional eating, and yes most importantly - discipline. 

What now?  I planned on staying keto through this first six weeks of training and then was going to transition to a more sustainable plan for marathon running.  I am five weeks in and probably stayed total keto five days.  Struggle bus with a capital B.   Right about the time the Groundhog's day effect was happening, I stumbled upon someone I follow on Instagram who was highly successful losing weight on keto who announced she was leaving the keto world behind and moving towards intuitive eating.  This got me thinking - what makes sense for me?  My cousin Jenn on this training plan focuses on the "non-diet life".  She referred me to Noom and this week, the rest is history.  I am no longer dieting.  

What now - for real.......  I am taking everything I learned on the restrictive diet and applying that to my nutrition.  I will still manage my carbs because I do feel better when I am not experiencing the carb overload bloat - but I won't severely restrict them.  I will still pay attention to portion control.  I will be mindful of emotional eating.  My athlete friend (and honestly one of my inspirations) that I refer to in most of my posts commented that she "loves my relationship with nutrition and food".  That was a few weeks ago and I didn't really agree with her at that time.  But this week, I believe her!  I feel like a weight has literally been lifted from me.  Weight loss is still important to me - but guess what, I lost weight these past two days NOT dieting.  Who knew.  

What on earth does this long talk about my nutrition have to do with a running blog???   Well obviously it takes nutrition and fuel to run and I can't run 26.2 without being somewhat mindful of nutrition - but I am so happy I made a shift this week in my nutrition relationship. Throughout the training plan, I will share nutrition victories versus diet strategies.  Yesterday I enjoyed a snack that I have not had in forever.... apples, peanut butter, and low sugar chocolate chips.  HELLO!!!  Healthy and balanced.  I measured the peanut butter to avoid extra calories, but quite honestly - I ran six miles yesterday and had plenty of room.   One more thing before moving on from nutrition..... to my closest running buddy and partner in crime Liz..... we got this.  She was also super successful on keto crushing her weight loss goals.  I didn't really tell her that I was shifting gears because it just sort of happened.... but I am not leaving you in the diet dust...... we are still in this together..... 

 

My snack - healthy, full filling, rewarding, NORMAL, RUNNING FUEL!

 

Liz is traveling today and this is the text I get from her showing me her snack.   When restrictive dieting, we would have picked meat, cheese and almonds.  When "binging" we would have picked chocolate covered popcorn and the yummy rice crispy treat.   Guess what, none of the choices are wrong.  Today - it probably felt good to make this choice and save the crispy treat for a different day.

 

Tonight's dinner:  Pork chop, baked potato and broccoli.  News flash for me this week:  

The potato is not always the devil.... the potato is only the devil if you have consumed an entire bag of Cheeze-It Grooves in the same day (which are my favorite).  Carb balance today and a very satisfying meal that will fuel tomorrow's work out! (PS, the broccoli is not overcooked - I used the air-fryer and it was SO good!)

Running - are you ever going to talk about that this week??  Yes we ran!!  3-3-4 this week.  No real cross training but also no guilt about that either.  We have reached the "polar vortex" section of our Wisconsin winter this week.  I really don't feel like I need to prove to myself I can power through a -20 degree run.  I hate the cold and am pretty proud of the cold weather running we have already done.  I am pretty sure there is no medal or finishers donuts for running outside this week (if there is, maybe I will reconsider it).  We did get outside early in the week before it got ultra cold, then it was treadmill the rest of the week.   I had a not so good run at the gym the other day. Just wasn't in to it - stopped a lot, hopped off a lot, eventually ended early and did a little elliptical.  I know there will be good days and bad days - but I also know there is no quitting 26.2 so I came home from the gym and ran 4 miles on my treadmill.  All in all - it was a boring week with all runs accounted for.  One more week until the 18 week training plan begins!

 

Four miles indoors - working on a steady pace

 

Hello February! I’m so proud of my January miles. As I was scrolling through my Instagram feed I noticed people posting 200+ miles last month. I was like wow, here’s my little 44.... then I smiled and remembered we each have our own goals. My January goal was 42 running miles. I ran 44 plus elliptical, snow shoe and skiing. Nailed it . February goal: 52 miles.

 

Outside run before the polar vortex hits

 

I mean I guess the sun is shining, but this cold is just not normal ;)

 

Michelle!!!  Yeah - the three of us back together for miles.  

 

Jenn also found the treadmill this week - although I see her post today asking what people wear for layer during this cold weather for outside workouts - guess that means she will brave the cold this week - way to get it done! 

 

Lou and his usual gym photo ;)  According to Sara he gets most of his miles chasing their toddler.  Nice work keepin' on - every moment at the gym counts.

This week.....  3-3-5 and our last week of three days a week running - next week we start the plan and up the running to four days a week.  Stay warm!

Carrie and the crew