It’s here!!!

After months of anticipation, race weekend is finally here!

I’m packing the last of my stuff now, and then will be en route to Pittsburgh! This time tomorrow, I should be a few miles in to my 26.2 — yay!

(Sorry for the absurd amount of exclamation points in this post. I’ve gone from really nervous to really excited all week, and now I’m just ready to get out there, kill it, and achieve my New Year’s Resolution. Let’s do this!)

Want to follow me throughout race weekend? Follow me on Instagram @abbynicole1204…

You can also sign up for text updates on my progress if you’re really interested!

I hope to check back in no later than Monday morning with some race updates for ya’ll…thank you so much for your supportive comments and emails these past few months. They’ve helped to keep me going, and I can’t wait to make it across that finish line!

Image courtesy of etsy.com

What am I going to do?

With only 14 days left until my marathon, all I can think is #TGIAH. (That’s Thank God It’s Almost Here!)

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Here’s why I’m ready for my 26.2 to be over:

My body hates me a little bit. And by a little bit, I mean alotta bit.
I want to be done “taking care of my feet.” I won’t go into any details, but my fellow runners understand this one. After a long run, it takes me a good twenty minutes to clean, soak, pop, and bandage things as needed on my feet. This doesn’t include the ten minutes it takes me to wrap and bandage them before my run…
I want a pedicure. (I think I’ll still have to wait a few weeks on this one for the sake of whoever gets the job of trying to make my toes look socially acceptable.)
I want to wear sandals without having to bandage a few of my toes. (Okay, feet reasons over!)
I’m tired of saying “It’s okay, I’m running a marathon” when I reach for an extra handful of nuts or scoop of peanut butter.
I’m ready to say goodbye to my “marathon belly.” If you’re trying to lose weight, running a marathon is not the best move. You’re always hungry and even when you’re not, you’re eating to prepare for your next run.
I’m excited to go to bed whenever I want on Friday night and not have to worry about waking up early to get my pre-run fuel and run in.

Here’s why I’m not:

I’m not sure what I’ll do when my thoughts don’t revolve around nutrition, paces, splits, pre-run fuel, etc.
I’m no longer going to be able to justify my out-of-control eating habits with “It’s okay, I’m running a marathon.”
This has been one of the most challenging, emotional experiences of my life. In the end, I loved every single second.

Pittsburgh, here I come!

Hitting the wall + baked banana walnut oats

As I mentioned earlier this week, it was time for a break from marathon training. My body was feeling the rigors of training and I was overall tired. I did pretty well sticking to my “rest” plan– besides a six mile run on Monday, I stuck to arm/core strengthening workouts and yoga all week.

I woke up yesterday morning excited! In exactly one month, I would be toeing the starting line of the Pittsburgh Marathon. AHHHH.

I originally planned to run this morning but because the weather was so nice, I decided to tackle my 20-miler yesterday afternoon after work. My eating had been a little “off” during the day since I wasn’t really hungry, but I still ate a decent amount and stuck to the foods I typically do when I go running in the afternoon. (That typically means having a snack of 1/4 c. nuts about an hour before my run for fuel.)

The setting was perfect — it was over 60 degrees and I ran in shorts for the first time since last fall. Miles 0-5 weren’t too bad. I was averaging a 8:05 pace, which is a little fast but I felt okay. Luckily, I wrapped my toe and didn’t feel any pressure like I did when I ran on Monday morning.

Slowly, things started to go downhill. I slowed down a bit (around 8:25/mile, which is closer to where I should be anyways), and just really wasn’t feeling it. At mile 11, I had it. I was so tired. I was tired of training for this marathon, I was tired of hurting, I was tired of feeling like I’m dragging my body around. I ended up calling the hubby hoping he’d tell me to suck up and keep going, but he told me I needed to stop and give my body some time to rest and attempt the run later.

But, I’d already come 11 miles, I really didn’t want to do that all over again. I pushed through for a while and even cut my 13 mile pace down to 8:30 (faster than my splits that had just kept creeping up). But, by mile 15, I was dragging. I hurt all over, and I knew I shouldn’t finish. (At that point, I think I could have finished, but not without doing some more damage to my body.)

It was an emotionally draining evening. I feel like I’ve come so far, and I’m only a month away from race day! With only one more long run left on the schedule (22 miles), I wasn’t feeling as confident as I wanted to at this point.

After a quite emotional call to my sister, I gained some perspective.

It’s my first marathon, and I’m going to do it — even if I walk all the way to the finish line. (That’s not going to happen, let’s be honest). I need to take the pressure off myself to be “fast” and just focusing on finishing. She’s right — when I was running my “slowest” yesterday, I was still keeping a 9:10/mile pace. That’s more than respectable — that’s awesome! I need to focus on finishing and not on my time.

I’m hoping to take some time to rest and recover today and attack a shorter distance run tomorrow — without my watch and without worrying about pace and time. I’m going to enjoy running again.

The game plan for today is to take it easy and let my legs recover. As usual, I wasn’t really hungry after my run last night but was starving today. I legitimately woke up at 4:30 this morning and had to convince myself not to get up and eat, haha! I held off until 7:15 a.m. before getting up and enjoying the last of these baked banana walnut oats…

Baked Banana Walnut Oats
Serves 4-5

2 bananas (1 sliced, 1 mashed)
2 c. oats
1/4 c. flax meal
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. walnuts
A few shakes of cinnamon
1 1/3 c. milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond)
1 Tbsp. agave syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a round (or 9 x9 square) pan with cooking spray.
Slice one of your bananas and lay slices evenly on bottom of greased pan.
In a large bowl, combine your oats, flax meal, salt, baking powder, 1/3 c. chopped walnuts, and a few shakes of cinnamon.
In another bowl, combine your mashed banana, milk, agave, vanilla, and egg. Mix until well blended.
Slowly pour dry ingredients into wet, mixing until both are well combined.
Pour mixture over bananas. Top with remaining walnuts and place in oven for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

How to “level up” this recipe:

For added sweetness, you could add 1/2 c. blueberries and leave out the agave.

How to “level down” this recipe:

For a chocolate-ly breakfast, add in 1/2 c. chocolate chips before baking!

Is it taper time yet?

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s What I Ate Wednesday time! I’m going to review my eats after sharing some personal stuff about my marathon training. No interest in listening to my running woes? Scroll on down — I won’t take offense! 🙂

—

It’s been a tough week so far. With only four and a half weeks until my marathon, I still have a good amount of training amount and I’m starting to feel worn down. Is it taper time yet?

To this point, I’ve followed my training plan to a T. I may have missed one or two cross-training workouts, but I haven’t missed any of my two mid-distance or long runs each week. I’m consistently training six days per week and taking one full rest day. I’ve been doing tempos, hills, speed workouts, and “easy” runs. I’ve been hydrating and eating right.

So, you can only imagine my disappointment when I had a quad muscle strain and the dreaded runner’s “black toenail” make an appearance this week. (I will spare you the details, but I can tell you that it hurts — a lot. Not as much as the Kevin Ware leg break, but still quite alot.)

I pushed through six miles on Monday but was in a decent amount of pain for the first mile and a half. My toe felt better yesterday, but the quad is still really, really tight. So, what now?

Everyone says trust your training. The problem is I still have two solid weeks of training left (a 20 miler this week, and a 22 miler next week) before I can think about tapering and really holding on to that mantra. What to do, what to do?

The truth is — I’m really tired. I’m still excited about my marathon, but right now, I’m just tired. So the game plan for the rest of the week is to scratch all of my workouts (a hilly six-mile and two cross-training workouts) and instead focus on recovering and preparing for my 20 miler on Saturday. I’m going to try to attend a yoga class tonight (just to help with some stretching and soreness), but besides that — it’s nothing but rest.

It’s tough. I love being active, but right now, I can trust my training enough to know that three days off will do me so much better than another six mile run or circuit workout.

With that said, it’s WIAW time!

Breakfast (Top right): 1/2 c. oats, 1/2 Tbsp. chia seeds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/4 c. blueberries, and natural peanut butter

Morning snack (2nd from top): Banana

Lunch (left): Chicken & Bean Crockpot Chili served over top 1/5 c. quinoa + romaine lettuce and baby carrots on side

Afternoon snack (3rd from top): 3 oz. blood orange CHO + 3 oz. plain 0% CHO + oats and puffed wheat on top

Dinner (bottom): Two slices of almond flour pizza crust + balsamic roasted asparagus

For my nighttime snack, I threw a few things together and created this masterpiece!

1 small honeycrisp apple, chopped
2 1/2 Tbsp. oats
1/4 c. milk
A few shakes cinnamon
Optional: Nut butter + flax seed

In a small bowl, combine apple, oats, milk, and cinnamon. Microwave for one minute.
If desired, top with nut butter (I used cashew butter) and flax seed. Enjoy!

How to level up this recipe:

For added protein and fiber, add in 1 Tbsp. ground flax.

How to level down this recipe:

If you prefer more sweetness, add in 1 Tbsp. sweetener (agave, maple syrup, honey, Stevia, brown sugar, etc.)

One mile closer

As of yesterday morning at 8:30 a.m., I am one mile closer to my marathon!

I won’t lie — I was stressing about when and how I was going to fit in a long run this week. I took today off work and am going to Pittsburgh to see my sister (!!!!) in just a few hours and didn’t want to try and fit in seventeen miles while also hanging out with her. I went through a lot of options — run Thursday afternoon before a 6 p.m. meeting (that wasn’t happening — not enough time), run Friday morning and push back my arrival to Pittsburgh (not ideal), run a few miles Thursday morning and a few more that afternoon (does that even count?) — you get the idea.

Finally, I settled on getting up super early yesterday morning to get it in before work. Hello, 5:15 a.m.

I woke up, got dressed, ate a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and flaxseed, started drinking some water, and left around 5:45. Unfortunately, since it was so dark, I had to do the run on the treadmill (second week in a row!). I was on a treadmill by 5:55 and I was off!

I don’t really have a play-by-play for it…it was pretty similar to last week. I did the first seven miles in 58:13, took a quick break, and immediately started my second round of seven miles, finishing in 58:06. I really started getting hungry during the 10-14 mile range, so after mile 14, I hopped off the treadmill, refilled my water, and took a gel. For the first time, I actually really enjoyed the gel and noticed a difference!

Then, it was back on the treadmill for the last three miles, which I finished in 24:30. Total time –> 2:20:49, 8:26/mile!

One good thing about the ‘mill is that I really try to push my pace, but I do want to make sure I can start doing the rest of my long runs (only three left — 18, 20, and 22!) outside (and on some hills).

After a quick shower, I headed to work where I subsequently couldn’t walk all day, haha. I was so sore! That’s what happens when you rush from a long run right to work, I suppose…

I forced myself to eat all day (I was literally not hungry at all) and definitely a little sleepy. After work, I did something I never do — I took a 40 minute nap! It was glorious. I woke up feeling completely refreshed and whipped up this yummy dinner before heading to my meeting…

Balsamic Turkey Grilled Sandwich
Serves 1

2 slices of whole wheat bread
2 slices of deli turkey (I used low-sodium.)
Red Onion, thinly sliced
About 10 baby spinach leaves
1 slice mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Mix together your olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and brush one side of each slice of bread with the mixture.
Spray a pan with cooking spray, and place one slice of bread (with olive oil mixture facing down) on the pan.
Next, place your turkey, red onion, spinach, and cheese on top. Top with your other slice of bread (olive oil mixture facing up).
Cook your sandwich on medium heat, flipping once, until cheese is melted.

This was simple, but so good! I can only imagine it would be better in a panini maker (or the George Foreman, which I was too lazy to get out). The balsamic mixture makes the sandwich slightly tangy, and I loved the taste.

How to level up this recipe:

Add more veggies! If you are vegetarian, you could easy swap out the turkey for a few slices of tomato.

How to level down this recipe:

Use white bread instead of wheat.

Time for Pittsburgh!! I packed all my road trip snacks (it’s about a five hour drive), and am looking forward to seeing this girl so soon!

Have a great weekend!

Shake, Shake, Shake Senora…all the way to sixteen miles!

I have Pitbull to thank for getting me through my run today. Shake Senora — which was the song my sister and I listened to non-stop during our vacay to Punta Cana last summer — came on during the last mile of today’s run and helped me push through. Hey, whatever works!

I decided to get my long run in this afternoon since this weekend is already quite busy! It’s opening weekend at my church’s new location, so I plan to be there as much as possible. We had an open house last evening followed by a mini rally to get pumped up for this weekend, and it was amazing! Here was our band rocking it on on our brand new stage…

In addition to opening weekend, I’m all signed up to run the ShamRock ‘n’ Roll 5K with my running group on Saturday morning!

Unfortunately, the weather looks really awful (they’re calling for a combination of rain and snow), but I’m still hoping to achieve my 2013 goal of a sub-24 minute PR!

I’m also hoping to get in a dinner & fro-yo date with my friend Alyssa and a trip to Trader Joe’s! I need some more almond flour, almond butter, and almond milk stat… #cleaneatingproblems

So, since I’ve got a busy weekend ahead of me, I decided to take time this afternoon to get in my long run. I had originally intended to do it outside, but after checking the weather this morning, I threw in another set of clothes in my bag in case I decided to do my run inside.

I ran out over my lunch break, and it was incredibly windy and almost bitterly cold — so inside it was! I’ve never done more than seven miles on the treadmill, so I wasn’t quite sure how it would go, but decided to give it a shot.

The treadmills at my gym only let you go for 60 minutes, so I decided I’d split my run in to three parts — two seven milers and one two miler. I don’t have an exact time since the time restarted, but I finished in about 2:16, and kept a steady pace between 8:34 and 8:17.

After the first seven miles, I took a break, ate one gel (still not a fan), took a quick bathroom break, and came back for another seven miles. Although these were definitely harder than the first seven, I still felt pretty good. I did a quick stretch, refilled my water, and jumped (okay, more like hobbled at this point) back on to the ‘mill for another two miles. Done!

I came home, took a quick shower, and made a nice recovery dinner…

A steamed sweet potato topped with two cooked egg whites and a side of grilled asparagus — so good!

I’m currently on my couch where I’ve been since I sat down for dinner. I am very tight, so my big goal for the evening is to watch Grey’s Anatomy and fold a load of laundry…although I’m not making any promises.

Have a great Friday!

Long, hard, and wet…

There are three words to describe yesterday’s 12-miler: long, hard, and wet.

But, so worth it! (Even if I now have a cold. Boo.)

After procrastinating my morning away yesterday, I finally put on my running clothes around 11:45 a.m. and decided I was going to go out and get a run in. Since it was raining, I was trying to decide between running outside and running on the treadmill, and my husband made a good point: you can’t control weather on race day, so you might as well get outside. So outside I went!

Within about 0.2 miles, I was wet…but happy! As soon as I started pounding that pavement, I felt instantly better. I stopped at miles 5 1/2 and 9 1/2 to grab water and stretch out. I had grabbed a change of clothes before I left my house in case I wanted to finish the run on the treadmill, and although I considered it multiple times (especially between miles 6-8!), I figured I needed to just finish it out. And finish it I did…with no splits over 8:55/mile! My goal pace is about 8:45 for the marathon, and I did a pretty good job on yesterday’s training run…

I was incredibly sore and tired when I got home yesterday, and ended up laying on the couch watching Downton Abbey (so good!) for a few hours and trying to eat. Does anyone else completely lose their appetite when they do long runs?! After church, I was finally hungry at about 7:30 and whipped up a coconut shrimp & broccoli quinoa (recipe coming soon!) and then headed out to frozen yogurt with some friends. Always a fun way to end a Saturday!

This morning, I woke up and made some amazing cinnamon apple pancakes…definitely a great addition to my Sunday morning pancake lineup!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Serves 1

1/3 c. flour (I used half oat flour, half whole wheat flour)
2 Tbsp. rolled oats
2/3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 apple, finely chopped (I used a Pink Lady with skins on…you can remove if you prefer!)
A few shakes of cinnamon
1/3 c. milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. agave

Mix all of your dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and apple) in one bowl. Mix all of your wet ingredients in another bowl.
Slowly combine wet ingredients into dry, mixing well. (Batter will be thick.)
Spray a pan with cooking spray (or melted coconut oil) and pour batter into pan into three pancakes. Flip each one once until browned on both sides.
Top with you favorite toppings and enjoy! I melted some peanut butter and topped mine with the PB, maple agave syrup, and flax seed.