5k Training: First Race and Next Steps

Happy Monday! Hope that you had a fabulous weekend. We had a lot of fun running our first race of this spring season on April 5. It was also a really good learning experience. As much as I wanted to PR (set a personal record for my time in a race), I was forced to realize that I wasn’t in good enough shape to do that yet. Rather than finding this extremely upsetting, I was able to see it as a starting point. I knew that from that race that I really needed to work on hills. I was on track to possibly set a PR in my first mile, but by the time I hit mile two, I knew that that wasn’t going to happen. I was really trying to keep my pace but was not successful. In my training cycle last year leading up to this same 5k, I had been mostly running solo and had managed to get in some hill work heading out to the trail. This year however, my husband and I have been training together, which means more running on the trail. And our trail is a former railroad and very flat. Mile three of the 5k was mostly downhill and I was trying desperately to make up time but I had slowed down too much and wasn’t able to meet my goal. Last year I ran a 25:24 and this year I ran a 26:01. I did feel really strong on that third mile and I think that that can be attributed to all the speedwork we have been incorporating. I was able to go from an 8:53 to an 8:09 on tired legs. It is always nice to see hard work pay off.

If you read the last training post, you know that we decided that we still wanted a half-marathon to be our goal race and we will be running one in June. We will also be doing a tune-up 10k in May when we are one month out from the half-marathon. Setting a half-marathon as our goal means that we will need to work more on endurance and time on our feet versus speed. We need to be able to get our bodies used to running at least two hours at a time, if not more. Our workouts will change in that our speedwork will be focused on longer intervals and we will also be including a long run each week. Something that I am doing this training cycle that I didn’t enforce enough in my last cycle is to make sure to keep easy run days easy. I think that last year at this time I was too focused on my goal that I didn’t stop to make sure I was getting enough rest. I suffered a shin injury in May last year and then again in January of this year. I think that both of these injuries  had a lot to do with my overpronation and that I really needed orthotics. However, I do think that some of it was related to needing more rest. This time around our easy days have a prescribed pace and I have to remind myself to reign it in and not push myself to hard. I know that I have to give my muscles adequate time to rest and repair in order for all the work I’m doing to actually show.

We just wrapped our first week of running after our race and I’m happy to say that I got in a five run week, which has been a goal of mine for the last year. After my initial injury in May, I was so scared of reinjuring myself that I wasn’t running very many days a week or doing any specific speedwork. I was mostly running just by how I felt. I think that this was a good plan in general for all around running but not for when I have a specific goal that I want to reach. Make sure to check back next week as I will be going into more details about our strength training program.

Homemade Vegan Pesto

We had an awesome time at our race last week (I’ll have a post up soon) but now we are back home and back to training. As a family, we are trying to focus on cutting out extra snacking and eating less sugar and additives. And now that the weather has warmed up (well except for today), I’ve been wanting to try all sorts of new salads and recipes to incorporate as many fresh fruits and veggies that I can. Pesto has long been one of my favorites but so far the only dairy-free one I can find has been at Trader Joe’s and we don’t have one near us. I decided that it was time to make my own recipe. I am going to have to get a new basil plant (mine didn’t survive the winter) so that I can have fresh basil all the time. My whole family enjoyed the recipe and I loved that the nutritional yeast made it taste very similar to the kinds that have cheese in them. I hope you enjoy!

*Disclaimer: Thank you for supporting Strength in Strides: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

HOMEMADE VEGAN PESTO

DIFFICULTY: EASY
YIELDS: 10 SERVINGS (SERVING SIZE 1 TBSP)
NUTRITIONAL INFO: 1 SERVING IS 77 CALORIES AND MACROS ARE 2G CARBS, 8G FAT AND 1G PROTEIN 

INGREDIENTS:
5 CLOVES OF GARLIC (MEDIUM SIZED)
2 TBSP PINE NUTS
2 TBSP CHOPPED WALNUTS 
1 CUP FRESH BASIL LEAVES (PACKED)
1 CUP SPINACH (PACKED)
1/2 TSP RED PEPPER FLAKES (OPTIONAL)
1 TBSP NUTRITIONAL YEAST (I USE TRADER JOE’S)
JUICE OF 1 LEMON (LARGE)
1/4 CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
*NUTS CAN BE OMMITTED OR REPLACED WITH SUNFLOWER SEEDS.

DIRECTIONS:
PUT ALL THE INGREDIENTS IN A FOOD PROCESSOR, THE ORDER DOESN’T MATTER, AND BLEND UNTIL A SMOOTH SAUCE FORMS. SERVE OVER PASTA OR VEGGIES. LEFTOVERS CAN BE REFRIGERATED. 

Target Spring Try-On

Happy Saturday! Yesterday we went out to run errands and get our car worked on. The car place happened to be right by Target, so the kids and I went to hang out there instead of the tiny waiting room. There are so many cute things out right now and I didn’t have time to try it all. I decided to stick with casual clothes this time around. I found some great jumpsuits but I will have to share those next time as they aren’t currently available online. What else would you like to see me try?

*Disclaimer: Thank you for supporting Strength in Strides. As a Target Affiliate, I earn on qualifying purchases.

Jumpsuit: Wild Fable Women’s Strappy V-Neck Cropped Knit Jumpsuit

Tank Top: Women’s Rib Raceback Scoop Neck Tank Top

Dress: Women’s Sleeveless Button Front V-neck Midi Dress

Top: Women’s Striped Long Sleeve Boxy Crop Top

Shorts: Women’s High-RiseCutoff Jean Shorts

Top: Women’s Short Sleeve Side Tie T-Shirt

Shorts: Women’s Mid-Rise Rolled Hem Jean Shorts

Top: Women’s Cozy Crew Neck Tank Top

Sweater: Women’s Open Layering Sweater

Shorts: Women’s Mid-Rise Rolled Hem Jean Shorts

Top: Women’s Long Sleeve Soft Twill Shirt

Shorts: Women’s Mid-Rise Rolled Hem Jean Shorts

Top: Women’s Short Sleeve Side Tie T-Shirt

Sweater: Women’s Textured Open Layering Cardigan

Shorts: Women’s High-Rise Button Fly Jean Shorts

Top: Women’s Long Sleeve Button Down Camden Shirt

Shorts: Women’s High-Rise Button Fly Jean Shorts

Tank Top: Women’s Rib Racerback Scoop Neck Tank Top

Leggings: Women’s Freedom High-Waisted Colorblocked Capri Leggings

(There are only a few left in this color so I am going to link the super cute grey pair here).

5k Training: Week 5- Peak Week

It’s peak week of our first spring training cycle of the year. This was a very short training plan, which will be the first in a three part series of our training for a half-marathon in June. It will not look the same as if we had been following a longer training plan towards a goal race (race that is a runner’s main focus) as we had originally intended. The basic idea is the same though, as this will be our hardest week of training before we start a short taper (period before a race where the mileage decreases but intensity remains the same) next week leading up to our race. The idea behind a peak week is that your training has continued to intensify up until this point. As each of the previous week’s training posts have showed, we have slowly increased our mileage as well as the intensity of our speedwork sessions. For example, in a goal race training cycle the peak week would be two to three weeks out from the race allowing for a longer taper, where the body can rest and replenish glycogen stores (this is what the body uses as fuel for those runs). This way, come race day, a runner is full of energy and feeling his/her best.

This week we did a tempo run with the strollers and it was really hard for me. I have been suffering from terrible spring allergies making it really hard for me to breathe, which has been no fun, especially, combined with my asthma. I’m really hoping all this congestion clears up before our race next week. I was a snot covered mess by the time we finished our three mile tempo run. My goal had been to hit around 8:45/mi pace but I fell short of that. I was still happy with hitting an avg of 9:04/mi for the three miles, while pushing the stroller. If you remember from last week’s coaching advice section, the goal of a tempo run is for it to be hard but not as fast as your race pace. Our goal race pace is 8:00/mi, making 8:45/mi a decent goal to hit. I was super proud of my husband, who crushed our goal pace hitting 8:36/mi for the three miles.

I noticed today on my easy run how hard it really felt and I actually find that a good thing. We have been working on making our “hard” workouts difficult and making sure to take our easy and recovery runs slow. I used to find it hard to keep those easy runs slow and would find myself pushing the pace even though I knew I shouldn’t. I think that I was running into the problem because I wasn’t pushing myself on my more difficult workouts. As you may recall, I had been neglecting more varied speedwork sessions, and instead had been mostly focused on progression runs and fartleks (a run with varying paces with sections of faster running and sprints mixed with slower running). I think that by putting more focus into a variety of workouts and paces that we will have a much stronger training base as we go into this race and into our next training cycle.

We will not be doing a full taper/rest period for this race, as although, we would like to PR (set a personal best time) at this race, our “goal race” will be a half-marathon in June. Instead, the goal is to use this 5k race along with a 10k race in May as training/tune-up races to get ready for the half-marathon. We had originally planned on doing a half-marathon the same weekend that we will be doing the 5k. Unfortunately, my husband and I both suffered from injuries pushing the start of our training cycle by several weeks, which led to the decision to forgo the half-marathon. I am really looking forward to continue this training and getting prepared to beat two-hours in a half-marathon. This was my goal last year at Race 13.1 (we are going to do the same race this year). I didnt’ meet this goal and it has been in the back of my mind ever since then.

Our last hard workout day will be on Monday and our race is on Friday. Instead of doing three miles at a tempo effort we will instead be doing only 20 minutes, which is about 30 percent less time at a hard effort.  We will follow this with a shorter easy run, which will be our last workout prior to the race.  Fingers crossed my allergies are better by then. I’ll update you next week on our taper and race day!

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Soup

I know it’s spring, but I thought I’d give winter squash one last hurrah before I retire it until next year. If you have read my other posts you know that my kids love soup and I make it a lot. It is an easy meal, especially when you can do most of it in a crockpot. I’ve never tried cooking squash in the crockpot before but I will have to try it sometime to test if you can do this entire meal in the crockpot. I also switched up the spice blend I used in this soup, which gave it a sweet smoky flavor that everyone liked. Grab a butternut squash before they are off the shelves and let me know what you think of this soup.

BLACK BEAN & BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 CUP DRY BLACK BEANS (216G)

4 CUPS WATER

5 CUPS CUBED BUTTERNUT SQUASH (25.8 OZ)

OLIVE OIL SPRAY

1 CUP CHOPPED ONION (4 OZ)

1 1/2 TBSP CHOPPED GARLIC

1 1/3 CUP CHOPPED CARROTS

2 1/8 CUP CHOPPED ZUCCHINI 

1 TBSP OLIVE OIL

2 TSP CUMIN

2 TSP PARSLEY

2 TSP PAPRIKA

1/4 TSP BLACK PEPPER

1/4 TSP CAYENNE PEPPER

1/4 TSP SALT 

1 LARGE CAN CRUSHED TOMATOES (280Z) 

DIRECTIONS:

START BY PUTTING THE DRY BLACK BEANS IN THE CROCKPOT WITH FOUR CUPS OF WATER. COOK ON HIGH FOR 3-4 HOURS OR UNTIL TENDER. WHILE BEANS ARE COOKING PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 400 DEGREES FARENHEIT. WASH AND PEEL THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH. CUT THE TOP AND BOTTOM END OFF TO MAKE CUTTING OFF THE SKIN OF THE SQUASH EASIER. LIGHTLY GREASE A GLASS PAN WITH THE OLIVE OIL SPRAY. CUT THE SQUASH INTO CUBES AND BAKE FOR 35- 40 MINUTES OR UNTIL SOFT. WHILE SQUASH IS IN THE OVEN, HEAT A LARGE POT WITH THE OIL ON MEDIUM HEAT. SAUTÉ THE ONION AND GARLIC UNTIL ONIONS ARE TRANSLUCENT. ADD THE CARROTS, ZUCCHINI AND SPICES. SAUTÉ UNTIL TENDER. ADD THE BEANS TO THE POT, AS WELL AS THE WATER THAT THEY COOKED IN. ADD THE CAN OF CRUSHED TOMATOES. ONCE ALL INCORPORATED, MIX IN THE SQUASH. SERVE IMMEDIATELY. 

Sunday Wrap-up #1

Happy Sunday! I decided to switch things up this week on the blog. From now on, I will be doing a Sunday wrap-up post where I share more about what happened this week as far as training, meal planning and new fashion finds. I think that this will be a better approach, as it will keep the content new from week to week, rather than just linking everything from Instagram. I hope you enjoy the post!

This was week four in our 5k training and things have gone well. We have had warmer weather making it possible to break out the strollers. Unfortunately, along with the nice warmer weather of spring, we have also been hit with spring allergies. After checking the weather forecast’s pollen count, it seems that that our whole family is allergic to or at least sensitive to tree pollen. The wind this week certainly hasn’t helped any either. Anyone else dealing with spring allergies? I’m hoping I won’t have to put the kids on allergy medicine but we will have to see how it goes. Poor things are so stuffed up.

I tried a new recipe for energy bites, which I use as my pre-workout snacks to fuel my runs. I have found that they are the perfect amount of nutrition for me before my morning runs. My stomach can be really sensitive, even more so in the morning. And if you are a runner, you understand that you want to minimize GI (gastrointestinal) issues as much as possible. Mid-run bathroom breaks are not convenient or timely. I don’t like to eat a lot before I run but I also do not run well on an empty stomach. Fasted cardio is not for me. In every recipe of energy bites/balls I make, I try to keep a good balance of protein, fat and carbs as well as keeping the dietary fiber content fairly low.  When my runs get longer, I will probably start increasing the carb ratio as I will be burning more calories on each run. You can find one of my energy bite recipes here. I will be sharing more in the weeks to come.

If you follow me on IG you know that I spend most of my time in running clothes, even when I’m not running. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good pair of jeans and a t-shirt but I feel most comfortable and like myself in a pair of high-waisted running tights and an athletic style shirt or hoodie. I was super excited when I found that C-9 by Champion at Target is carrying some new athlesiure hoodies in bright colors for spring that are so soft and comfortable. There is just something about a bright colored hoodie that makes me smile. Make sure to check them out if you are looking for pieces to transition into the slightly warmer temps of spring. Have a wonderful Sunday. I’ll be back Tuesday with Black Bean & Butternut Squash Soup!

Hoodie: C-9 by Champion Fleece Sweatshirt Full Zip-up

Hat: Nike Legacy Golf Hat

* Disclaimer: Thank you for supporting Strenghth in Strides. As a Kohl’s Afffiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Target Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.

5k Training: Week 4

Our training has been going well and this week we were blessed with sunshine and warm weather! The trail has been dry and with temperatures in the low fifties we have taken the strollers back out to do our runs together as a family. I absolutely love getting to run with my husband and kids but pushing the jogging strollers is hard work. I always forget how hard it is when I start up again after having taken a break (we don’t use the strollers in the winter). Wednesday we ran intervals with the strollers on the trail. Five minute intervals are tough on their own and adding in the additional weight of the stroller had me struggling. I was so happy that my son kept cheering me on. I don’t think he realized how much his encouragement helped me. He kept saying, “Go Mommy! Go faster! You can do it.” I might have wanted to cry during those five minute repeats but I was really happy that we finished the workout strong. Thursday was an off day from running but I added in a strength training workout and walked two miles pushing the kiddos in the stroller to the park and back. We took turns running this morning for an easy four mile run as we will be doing speedwork again tomorrow. I still struggle with speedwork but it is nice to see the progress that we are making as we are able to add an additional repeat onto our workout. Last week we did three sets of five minutes and this week we did four. Next week we will aim for five. Next week will also be our peak week prior to starting a short taper before our race, which is the first Friday in April.

Paul’s Training Corner 

By Paul Zwintscher, Cross-Country and Track Coach

Tempo Runs

Another way to improve your readiness for racing is to make use of tempo runs.  A tempo run is used to help your body get used to running faster for a longer period of time.  It should be run at a pace that is faster than the pace of your long run, but slower than your race pace.  While running the tempo run your breathing should be somewhat difficult but not overly so.  Your workout should begin with a 10 minute easy run, continue with a 10 minute tempo run, and end with a 10 minute easy run. Over time, increase your tempo run to 20 minutes.