My weekend revolved around this little princess…

Isn’t she precious? This is Macie Mae… she is the baby girl in the lime green collar. The other little precious pretty pooch is her sister Maggie. My mom’s best friend (my second Mom Jeanie) has Maggie. Macie has been so good all weekend! She is only 6 weeks old though so she requires lots of loving, cuddling and carrying. I carry her around like a small infant wrapped up in a towel. LOL. She is only 8 lbs! 8 lbs of love! ha ha ha… 

So far marathon training has been okay… my LR this weekend was craptastic due to shitty weather, a rolled ankle and lack of sleep from puppy whimpers. Hopefully this weekend will be a success! I got in 3 *hot* miles at lunch today and have a nice track workout on deck for tomorrow! Stay tuned for running stories…. and of course come back for more pretty pooch pictures of the newest member of our family!

xoxo!

Guess what folks? I’ve been marathon training!!! I sat down the other day and redid my training plan to tailor my busy schedule. The one I had was bogging me down, stressing me out & overwhelming me to the point of not wanting to run at all! I am SO glad to say that so far its working wonderful! I read through the book Run Less Run faster by Runners World and decided to give their plan and ‘idea’ behind the saying Run Less Run Faster, a shot.

Their plan calls for 3 days a week of running. A track day, mid week longer run & ofcourse your long run on the weekend. I didn’t feel like 3 days a week was enough for me, so I added another easy running day to my plan. For example:

Mondays: I plan to use as my added easy running/recovery run day
Tuesdays: Track workout
Wednesdays: Rest or Cross Train
Thursdays: Mid week long(er) run
Fridays: Rest or Cross Train
Saturdays: Long run
Sundays: Rest

The rest days in between break up my runs and give my body time to recover. On Monday I ran a nice and slow- easy 3 miles on my lunch break. Its been miserably hot here & this plan is exactly what I need to help me get my runs in without dieing a miserable death. Since Monday is totally relaxed I wasn’t focused on pace or anything- just enjoying my run.. which has been difficult lately.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I ventured up to the track for my first workout since high school. I was hesitant to do this because the track and I didn’t leave on the best terms, but I was hopeful to try and enjoy some good ole’ torture… track style!

The Workout
I ran up to the high school which ended up being about a mile..
1 mile warm up: 8:59
mile repeats
1: 8:17
2: 7:56
3: 7:53
1 mile cool down: 10:43
Total 5 miles= 43:49
AVG pace: 8:46
AVG BPM: 178

This workout was NOT easy. I ran at 5pm & the sun was beating hot rays on my small running body. It was probably a good 20 degrees hotter on the track too. It was tough but I made myself MAN up and get it done. I know I have faster repeat miles in me because I’ve done it… but like I said, the track and I are slowly becoming friends again, so it may take a few dates to get my pace in check!

Here’s to another spectacular run tomorrow! Catch-ya on the flip side!

xoxo

<3 in honor of yet another late Thursday night almost Friday post, I deem the title Thriday!

1. I scraped myself out of bed this morning at 6:30 and was out the door by 6:45! go me! my car had some troubles the other day so I was car-less!  I had two options: B take me home or running. I chose running… obviously! B lives around 8 miles from my parents and I figured I could handle it. I ran most of the way but took necessary walk breaks too.. i ended up making it 7 miles…. and used the last mile as my cool down. I made it but it was rough!

2. Thursday’s i clean house for my grandma. every Thursday i spend 3ish hours hanging out at her house helping her and my papa with chores and such. they love having me there & sometimes they even take me to lunch! i am very close with my grandparents… more so now than i have before & i really cherish having them in my life… Today while I was cleaning, I sat down on their bed to dust and literally fell asleep! Talk about being Goldy locks! LOL! they let me sleep & woke me up just in time for lunch! an hour quiet nap was just the ticket!

3. tomorrow is Hawaiian day at work! i have this sick get up i will be supporting while in the pool & at our company party tomorrow afternoon…. then I’ll be headed over to Erika’s for the night for swimming and drinks! hopefully we will bust out a 10ish mile run on Saturday but if not, that’s okay too!

it has been great reflecting on my running life the past few days and i really enjoyed my run today… even though it was hard and took me much longer than normal, at least i was out there having fun and not running totally heartless!

here’s to a happy fun weekend & a great start to next week!

xoxo

The Bad News
After spending all of last weekend, most of last week & all of this weekend stressing out about getting my runs in, I have decided that I am no longer going to attempt maniac status. I don’t need a singlet to tell me I’m awesome. ha ha ha.

I spoke to my running friends about my decision & I am happy to announce the race in September (that I have yet to sign up & pay for) will no longer be in my race agenda for the fall.

The fact that I’m going into training already burnt out is a BIG red flag. I’ve decided to take the week and reflect on why I love running & why it makes me happy. I’m going to sit down and redo my training plan & make it Nicole friendly. I every run to be convenient and necessary. I know every run won’t always be fabulous but knowing that I have longer than 10 weeks to get myself in gear makes the giant brick on my shoulder disappear.

The GOOD News
If all goes as planned, I will be able to happily complete the Long Beach Marathon & the New York City Marathon without wanting to quit before I even begin.

“Running shouldn’t be a chore, it should be fun- and when it becomes a chore you should sit down and reevaluate if what your doing is helping you or hindering your ability to succeed.”~ ME

xoxo

PLEASE SEND extra running mojo and running love THIS WAY!!!!!

I am seriously slacking… the weather has been insanely hot & running has been the LAST thing I want to do… Id rather spend my time lounging in the pool, hanging at the lake, jet skiing, shopping or reading… anything but running. I cant even function in this heat. Its a terrible excuse!!! I have a marathon in 11 weeks i need to get my ass in serious training gear but i just don’t feel like it…. not only do i have one in 11 weeks, i have TWO a short time after that! I’m being a serious ding-dong but i cant help it!

My running buddy Erika was in Florida last week & I’m HOPING with her back around, my motivation will magically appear… she even snagged a super cute pair of Nimbus 11′s… my fave running shoes on sale while she was out shopping! eeee!!! They are speedy red! I hope to use these as my racing shoe but i feel like they need a little breaking in! Maybe that will help carry me out the door tonight!

Please tell me  your summer running habbits & how you beat the heat!!

Needless to say, I have started and almost finished Breaking Dawn for all you twilight fans… I’m LOVING every second of it too! I cant put it down & its BY FAR my favorite book of the four! I haven’t seen Eclipse yet but I hope to this week sometime!

I’m thankful of the short work week and the fun thats planned for the weekend! More on that later… I’m off to run!

xoxo

well well well… its that time of year again. the time when fall marathon training starts! in my case 3 in 3 months! yesterday was the first day of official training, but since it was a rest day- i deam today training UNDERWAY! eeee!!!

i am so excited for marathon #3! i already feel so confiednt and sassy going into training. i’m going to take my plan in 3 week incerments- kinda like my running buddy Danica. i’m counting on sticking to a routine for 3 weeks & after that 3 weeks, i will assess my progress & go from there. by breaking up my plan, i’m hoping it will help keep me from getting burnt out too quickly.

i kicked off marathon training with an easy 7 mile run tonight! this morning when i got in my car, it said it was 59 outside! a far cry from what the weather has been lately- i was even chilly on my way to work. as the day went on it warmed up but after some yummy mexican tonight for dinner, i came home and headed out on my run-venture.

i was having trouble deciding on where i wanted to get my miles in- if i wanted to stay around town, run from B’s to my parents (8ish miles away) or what… but as i was going i decided to do a whole different idea. que turn down random dirt roads and hope i dont get mugged or ran over & try to enjoy my run. needless to say it was hilly but FABULOUS! i felt great- it was good to be back out winding  up, down & around the country roads- eventually making my way back into town! 1st training run for marathon #3= success! 7 miles in 1:04:33 *9:13 pace*

i am counting down the days until friday & the long weekend arrive… but in the mean time, i have a rest day & two 6 mile runs to complete before 12 on sunday! here’s to the rest of week 1!!!

run happy!

xoxo

1. I sat down with smart coach and made my marathon training plan… it starts monday and i’m giddy nerdy excited! Its 12 weeks with low to mid 30 miles per week with a max at like 47 i believe. Much less intense than my first training cycle for Chicago… i may even tweek it as we go. I’m pretty proud of my excel skills.. check it OUT!
Nicole’s Training plan

2. This weekend i’m going to learn how to shoot a gun. I’m pretty amped about it too. Don’t wory folks, I’ll be safe. Sunday my family is going on a 3 hour long Canoe trip down the river… nothing like family time drinking & floating down the river… i suppose its highly likely my boyfriend & brother will team up against me & will dump my ass in the river, but if i come to terms with it now, i wont be so pissed off at them for it when the time comes! bahahahaha

3. Sadly B and I wont be getting our puppy this summer like we thought. Abby (B’s brothers dog)((aka the mother of our unborn puppy)) is still too young to have puppies this summer, so we shall wait paitently..errr impaitently… until winter, when hopefully she will be ready. Maybe by then we will have a yard for it to play in anyways… who knows!

3.5 up&coming *flat nicole* AKA *flat stanley* trip to florida next week with erika… this story is bound to make you giggle… atleast it cracks me & my 12 year old sense of humor up! bahahaha

Happy weekending bloggies… i’ll try not to shoot myself in the foot, or drown in the river! *knocks on wood*

xoxo

P.S. Go lurke Shut Up & Run’s blog for her amazing super cool giveaway… actually dont lurke, cuz i want to win! muahhahahahahaa

oh where oh where could she be?!? he he! well well well ladies and gents, its been a while… almost a week exactly! Phew! I’ve been staying updated on posts via google reader on my iPhone (amazing) & i haven’t had time to sit down and yap. Bad for me, good for you! Anyways… well what have i been doing? Running! I’m trying to get back into the swing of things & my mind has been all over the place with training, which marathon’s to run & how in the hell I’ll ever run 3 in 3 months aka the trifecta!

I have been going back and forth on if I should run Vegas or not. I was leaning more towards the not because after flying out west in October, and heading east in November, another trip would be a little much, especially if I wanted to run here &&& potentially go on spring break again! I cant do everything, even though it would be nice. I need to force myself to stick to a budget and start playing with my money so I can enjoy all the fun stuff i have planned.

So lets just say Vegas is a no. I googled September races in the area since everyone knows a Marathon in Michigan in December is pretty much out of the question. My only other option was to run one in September. I happened to find the Oktoberfest Marathon in Spring Lake, Michigan (yes its called Oktoberfest but its in September).. hmmm. Anyways, It runs ALL along Lake Michigan and isn’t really that far away. Double win. I wouldn’t even have to get a hotel since its only about 45 minutes from the lake house and even if i did, I cant imagine it would be that expensive… PLUS the race is on a Saturday. I love Saturday races… && since its on a Saturday, I wouldn’t have to miss work && to top it off, its only $60 dollars! I think i have found enough positive’s that its time to sign up! SO Ill be doing a shorter training plan, which is fine with me because 18 weeks was WAY too long last time. So the first race of the trifecta is now in September & its close to home so HOPEFULLY lots of my family and friends will come watch!

I had a training plan all typed up and ready to go but i think that Pfitz is going to be too much. I think i’m going to stick with smart coach on runners world or use my run less run faster training guide. Probably a little of both. I only want to run 4 days a week & i need to find a way to break up my plan so i don’t get bored or burnt out. Plus i don’t want my life to become so much about running that if something fun were to come up, i would be freaking out about missing a run..

Last week I got in some decent mileage… around 30 I’d say. I’ve been less uptight on tracking my mileage and I honestly have no idea where I’m at.. if daily mile would get an iPhone app, my life would be a hell of a lot easier. hear that daily mile? help a sister out! I’ve been running shorter distances on my lunch break with Erika. We’ve just been taking it slow and running together since its been so freaking miserably hot. Today we had our first GYRO (get your run on) run & we met up with our friend & coworker Ginger. She is coming back from an injury & I’m bound and determined to help her sub 30 in her 5k! You can do it Ginger! We ran 4 miles at 12:30 this afternoon… it was SO hot but I’m glad i got it done.

After our run Erika and I treated ourselves to some yummy Mongo & went to the running store to pick up some goodies. My calf muscles have been SUPER tight lately & my i wanted to try some Zensah Leg Sleeves. I snagged some up from the store & Erika got her first bondi band! Yay! Then we came back home & for some insane reason I decided it wise to go for another 4 mile run.. making it 8 total for the day! Wahoo goooo me! It was hotter than hati out AGAIN but thankfully my run was mostly shaded. I saw 2 deer and totally basked in the country smell of fresh flowers the whole run! It was fabulous!

Happy Wednesday! I cant believe tomorrow is already the middle of the week!

xoxo

Baby Nicole & Daddy in 1989! Happy Fathers Day to all the daddy’s out there… especially mine, the most amazing one of them all! <3 <3 <3 <3 Love you Padre!!!

Race recap!

Sunday morning our alarm’s went off at 4:30am. Its been a while since i’ve woken up THAT early. However, I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed and we made our way to the shuttle that was supposed to leave at 5:45… but ended up leaving at 5:30… good thing we were early! We got to the starting line about an hour and 45 minutes before the start. Highly unnecessary. To give you an idea how close we were to the lake see Exhabit A…

Yep… thats lake Michigan just before mile 11! Before we left home, the forecast called for 80′s muggyness & rain. Boohoo. However, when we got to chicago, it was 60 & rain. Needless to say I wasnt prepared and left all my arm sleeves and pre race jacket at home. wahh. The wind off lake michigan was freeeezzzzinnngggg but once we started running, It was perfect.

Miles 1-5 wound through these beautiful parks and it flew by!
1. 8:18
2. 8:23
3. 8:26
4. 8:48
5. 8:49

We ran across tons of bridges- under a few too. The course was breath taking. Just looking around the whole time kept me entertained. Miles 6-13.1 were along the lake. The one downfall i didnt like is that this was an out and back course. It ended up being okay, but something about running out to run around a cone pisses me off. All that way for just a cone? A cool statue would be much more fun!

The race started in waves. A-T; I was in D. Each wave was about a minute apart. I was about 3-4 minutes off gun time which was nice. Plus it was fun to try and catch people in b&c. However, Stacy & Hayley (the girls i was with) had intentions of walking the whole thing, so they were in wave R and ended up starting a 1/2 hour later than i did.

6. 8:45
7. 8:39
8. 8:41
9. 8:45
10. 8:49
11. 8:45
12. 8:55
13. 8:29
.1. 1:02 (7:28 pace)

13.1 1:53:31 *3rd fastest 1/2 out of 6*

I felt pretty good the whole race… until around mile 11. Then I got bored, so I called my running buddy, Erika to make me feel less lonely. Thankfully it worked! lol! Who else calls people while they are running?

My fuel for this race ended up being sweet tarts & gatorade. I forgot until it was too late to pick up some starbursts… if my Running buddy would have been with me, i know she would have had my back. Oh & for breakfast, I ate a poptart… and had zero water until after the race. Had i made better attempts at getting lots of water in on Saturday and packing appropriate food, I probably could have ran faster. Oh well, you live and learn! Not too shabby for back to back half marathons if i do say so myself! My medal collection for this year is rapidly growing & I see more in the future! What can i say, I’m obsessed!

Erika & I are starting a Michigan Chapter of GYRO *get your run on* and we are in the process of spreading the word! I bought a tank from target today to have screen printed! I cant wait for our first GYRO run!

At lunch we ran an easy recovery 3 miles nice and slow so I could losen up my legs. It was glorious running around town and ofcourse telling E about my trip to Chicago.

Plans for my next race? Stay tuned!

Have a great week!

xoxo