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Running & My Return to Utah

May 142013

Posted by Britta on May 14, 2013 at 8:53 pm in Sweat, Travel No Responses »

Hello! A quick dose of random updates for you tonight!

I returned on Friday from the first business trip I’ve been on with my current company. I was attending a conference called the Shingo Prize Conference, which focuses on management systems and strategies for achieving “operational excellence” (for those in the biz I work on implementing Lean and driving continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment sooo this conference is basically a mothership for my kind). I learned SO much and had the privilege of listening to and meeting knowledgeable people from many different industries but I will spare you all a full-on geek-out on my personal blog.

However, I will NOT spare you from pictures of all the fun stuff I did when my coworkers and I weren’t working hard at the conference! None of these pics are edited, sorry no profeshunul Photoshop skillz today.

Gorgeous view from the conference center in Provo

Salt Lake Temple aka Cinderella’s real life castle

I know the quality of this picture is undeniably the worst but I can’t get over the THOUSANDS of flowers planted in Temple Square. These were the most beautiful flowers I think I have ever seen.

We spent our last night hiking in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was SO SO cool to drive through the same areas Brandon and I saw during our ski trip in March, when there was a lot more snow! We actually climbed up pretty high and did some casual rock climbing that was out of my normal comfort zone and now I think I’m hooked. I can’t wait to go scrambling around on some rocks the first chance I get on a camping trip this summer.

Last day – after plant tours, we spent the afternoon on Main Street in Park City. Can I please just move to Utah now?

UGH! What an awesome trip! The weather was beautiful almost the entire time, with just a few rain showers here and there. I couldn’t stop staring at the mountains and the sunshine felt so amazing on my face after such a long winter in MN. I saw people golfing, biking, climbing, running, and I heard there were even ski resorts still open! Utah. God’s country, man. The only downfall is the requirement that you have to buy snacks with any alcohol, but that can very well be seen as a positive I think

How goes the running? My training has gone really well the past week or so to my complete surprise. My “long” runs of 7, 8 and 9 miles were absolutely brutal over the last month with a LOT of walk breaks and painfully slow paces. To be honest, I did not have a lot of endurance built up before beginning my half marathon training plan and it was starting to bite me. I also experienced intense leg pain and calf tightness after my 7-mile-long-run week, which I partially blame on waiting too long to replace my shoes. I had been running in my old New Balance shoes for well over 2 years and had completely trained for my last half in those shoes. I went to a specialty store (Marathon Sports for TC people – HIGHLY recommend!) and got fitted by a running shoe expert. I ended up in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13 shoes – they feel great on my feet and seem to have cleared up all the knee and calf pain I was experiencing.

My running is getting better but I don’t think my self portrait skills are improving at all.

So, I took it really easy the week my calves were so tight, reinvested in a foam roller (Teto completely shredded our old one) and struggled to do my best on the next few weeks of running. Last week, my training wasn’t too consistent – I logged a quick 3 miles on the hotel treadmill DYING in the elevation and worked hard on the hike, but that’s it. On Sunday, I think the extra rest helped me push through a steady 10 miles, no walking, feeling great. I went from spending almost 2 hours in the fetal position wanting to throw up after my 9 mile run to feeling like I was on cloud nine just a week later after 10. I have 3 more full weeks before my half marathon race so fingers crossed the runs continue to go well and the race is just as enjoyable! Keys: hydrate well all week, avoid booze the night before running (der), and fuel after mile 6 (Mocha Clif gels are my fav).

Finally, this is belated but I need to give a blog shoutout to my roomie, friend, life coach, travel buddy, recipe tester and life love for his birthday <3

This is the most mild of all the embarrassing photos I was tempted to post! and it has a baby Teto in it!

I love this guy so much I even allowed Saturday’s birthday celebrations to commence at Fogo de Chao, home of never-ending skewers of RED MEAT. And boozy papaya cream. Actually delicious.

I love you, Brandon!

Returning to Running

Apr 082013

Posted by Britta on April 8, 2013 at 9:21 pm in Sweat No Responses »

It wasn’t pretty, but I did it…

Yesterday I ran (ran/walked if we’re going to be honest here) 6 miles. Longest I have run in probably over a year. Note to self: do not consume fettuccini alfredo in servings the size of your face the night before long runs. All that butter is not a good idea, peeps, but I slowly made my way through the long run for week 3 of my half marathon training plan.

Yep, I decided to train for another half! I’m registered for the 13.1 Marathon in Chicago on June 8! I will be running it with a friend so I am extra excited, plus it gives me a reason to visit Chicago – my fave destination. I am now on week 4 of 12 weeks of training and going strong. I’ll post a full update on my training plan and progress soon.

Getting back into running has been a very slow process. I did a terrible job of working out regularly after finishing my first half marathon last May for a variety of reasons. My IT band was injured after the race, I was still getting accustomed to a new job, and am in general a very lazy person when I give myself the choice. I’m not really that person who craves a workout (and if you are, I HATE YOU) and I put focus on my job before a lot of things during the week, but I’m aware that some sweat in my life helps me recharge and be physically and emotionally ready to take on my busy work days.

I’m always trying out new workouts and plans, and have casually been doing probably 2-3 days a week of strength/free weight workouts, TurboFire and ideas from fitness blogs with some random yoga sessions thrown in there, but nothing with enough consistency to really improve my fitness/endurance. I started feeling a little squishy and out of shape around the holidays and started run/walking about once a week before starting an actual “plan” on 5/18. Now, even though I’m almost a month into my training plan, I am still feeling like I’m “getting back into running”… and the proof is in the shinsplints I have today

Here’s the list of things that have been helping me get pumped to hit the pavement… or the treadmill, for the foreseeable future until Minnesota decides that it’s really time to warm up WHEN WILL IT HAPPEN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

Anyway. While I cry myself to sleep over the weather, here’s the list of Things That Make Running More Fun When You Are Out Of Shape And It Hurts A Lot:

New workout playlists!!. Share what you’ve been dance-running to during workouts in the comments or on twitter plz. I ‘m building a new playlist, but I need some ideas! I am not great at keeping my music selection fresh and am in NEED of some pump-up jams. Some current favs of mine include Calvin Harris, KANYE AND BEYONCE (on every playlist ever, do it), The Strokes and Purity Ring. I have also been loving listening to full albums all the way through for the first time on long runs (Justin Timberlake – I like the whole album much better than I liked Suit & Tie the first time I heard it! and Atlas Genius just OK on my 6 miler yesterday – maybe better driving music than running music.)
Fresh running gear. My shoes from last year are starting to wear out in the heel, and I had INTENSE pain on the bottom of my right foot after my last half. I’m planning to get fitted at a running specialty store to try to find something that’s more suited to my foot and running gait this week. I’ve also been scoping out some spring-weather layering options… WANT:
Summer daydreams. I was less than in-shape for our ski trip to Utah, and I paid the price with super sore quads and less time on the mountain. We have a trip planned to the Boundary Waters this summer and I am using the thought of being in better shape for outdoor adventures (and who are we kidding, impending bikini season) to keep me excited about getting my butt in gear.
Inspiration from the blogosphere: Are you trying to get into running regularly or running long distance? It always inspires me to read about bloggers who take on seriously impressive distances (at FAST paces!) and have a lot of passion for the sport. When I can’t convince myself to even WALK 3 miles, I like to check out these chicas – they eat wimps like me for lunch: Hungry Runner Girl, Rose Runner, sweat once a day and Once Upon a Lime.
Cross-training. As I said, I can be lazy when it comes to workouts. A lot of days it becomes another box to check on my to-do list rather than something I look forward to for an energy boost. During my last round of half marathon training, I followed a plan that recommended a cross-training day and I ignored it. I am sure this contributed to the knee/IT band pain I experienced and the difficulty I had recovering from the race. This time around, I am incorporating at least weekly yoga and some light strength training. I’m hoping the extra stretches will keep me pain-free and the weight training will help with any muscle imbalances or poor form that make running not so fun.

I will share some more info about the race/race weekend, my training plan, and some progress updates in the next couple weeks. For now, I am loving the improvements in fitness I’ve seen already and I’m pumped to get back up to double digit distances! Anyone else chasing spring fitness/health goals?

Gotta go hang with my homies now, bye!

Summer Bucket List & Week 1 SSU

Jun 172012

Posted by Britta on June 17, 2012 at 5:03 pm in Goals, Sweat 4 Responses »

I’m having a pretty lazy Sunday over here. Brandon’s brother and his girlfriend were up visiting for the weekend, and I think I overdosed on fun. Friday night, we went to the Twins/Brewers game.

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It was the first time I have ever been to an away Brewers game, and we won! Whooo! And let’s be honest about why I really had fun at the game – I got to eat soft-serve ice cream with sprinkles out of a tiny baseball hat. Saturday was spent brunching, strolling around the Mall of America, and napping (oh yeah). We topped off the weekend with what was possibly the best meal of my entire life at Oceanaire in downtown Minneapolis. Oysters, delicious barramundi, and merlot was consumed. Everyone’s meals were perfectly prepared and the presentation of the dishes took the experience over the top. Our waitress was awesome and gave us a complimentary baked Alaska desert with the most delicious strawberry ice cream filling. OMG I am dying just thinking about it!

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We had a nightcap (or 2) at a swanky bar downtown called Prohibition, which is up on the 27th floor of the Foshay Tower and is set up like an old speakeasy. Such successful weekend-ing.

It’s been awhile since I did that dorky thing that I do and overshare with the Internetz what’s on my to-do list. My goals for May were…

Kick butt at my new job – Work is still consuming lots of my time these days, but I’m okay with it since I am still learning SO much. There hasn’t been a dull moment since I started, which I really enjoy, and I am really starting to feel like I’m in the swing of things. It takes awhile to get to that point with a new job where it feels like the “new normal”, but I’m getting there!

Run my first half marathon – check!

and then choose my next fitness goal – Summer Shape Up coming at ya later in the post. Still deciding what’s next after that but running might make a come back!

Redesign blog format – still haven’t done this because it’s so low on the totem pole. I really hate how cutesy my blog looks right now but I just haven’t had the time to re-do the look and do it right. Someday…

Instead of goals for June, I decided I wanted to do a “summer bucket list”. I got the idea from my girl Janetha, obvs. Here’s my list!

summerbucketlist

Last thing for now – today marks the start of week 2 of the Fitnessista’s Summer Shape Up. I said last week that I wanted to share my progress & stay accountable on the blog while I try to follow the program, but obviously I suck at blogging every day during the week and should quit saying I’m going to.

I followed the meal plan and workout schedule pretty closely during the week, with some switching up of the schedule to match what was going on in my week. I skimped a little on cardio by counting some long walks as “steady state cardio” when I probably could have squeezed in a few runs. I did do Gina’s SSU workout #1 on Tuesday and today. The strength moves combined with the 45 minute Turbo Fire workout I did on Monday kicked my butt and I have been sore pretty much all week.

I did a good job of following the meal plan through the week but I definitely ate (AND DRANK) whatever I wanted to all weekend. I guess that’s balance, right? We are going on vacay this coming weekend (long weekend! traveling with Brandino! lots of wine! I can’t wait) so my workout schedule & eats are going to be pretty flexible this coming week, too, but it has been really fun and motivating to have some new workouts to try and ideas for healthy meals even if I’m not staying 100% “on plan”.

Do you have any big plans for the summer? Have you been stepping it up a notch on eating healthy and working out since it’s summatime? Make sure to check out the Fitnessista’s shape up if you want to join in on the fun Smile

PS – Happy Father’s Day to my favorite dad

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and to my grandpas, too. I am lucky to have you in my life!

(you are welcome, Internet, for sharing the experience my awkward youth self in all of my glory. It’s worth it to also share how awesome my dad is Smile )

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