Weekly Wrap #13

Definitely didn’t have time to write Weekly Wrap #13 before all the fun festivities on Sunday, so I’m catching up now.  This marked the 4th week of Earth Day 50k training. With my longest run of the year so far, but also a pretty lazy week with strength, nutrition and motivation.  Oh well, on to a new week! Linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap and Marcia for Tuesday’s on the Run.

 

 




Monday 1/29

Run: No run today, just core class at EDGE.  My core is the area of strength I tend to neglect the most, so I am intentionally signing myself up for a class for accountability. It’s a night class which I never do, but if I cancel last minute, I get charged extra, so I’m hoping that is enough motivation to go.

 

Tuesday 1/30

Run:  Back to the treadmill climb!  I did my speed on the treadmill today, an ascending pyramid with hills as my recovery.  In 7.5 miles, I climbed 1300ft.  I still can’t figure out how to calculate elevation gain for Earth Day.  According to Strava, my total elevation for the race last year was 1800 ft… but it felt WAY hillier than that.  So I’m hoping that I am doing enough?  If anyone has insights into elevation gain/change/training please comment below!

Other: Ended up having an impromptu coaching session and woking on the blog longer than I wanted to, so never ended up getting to my double and pushed it to Wednesday instead.  Also found out that I could participate in a bake sale later in the week so my evening was spent deciding what to make, what ingredients I needed and how I wanted to package the treats.

 

 

Wednesday 1/31

Run:  Was not supposed to run today, but I skipped my double on Tuesday afternoon.  After strength class, I just did an easy 4 miles, never leaving zone 2.  Explored a new route because I was tired of going on the 606, but it took longer with all the traffic lights.

Other: Published a new recipe post for the Super Bowl: vegan spinach artichoke dip.  It’s made with white beans, so it’s soy-free and nut-free.  Basically a great dip for a party because it’s so allergy friendly.

 

 

 

Thursday 2/1

Run:  Chris Mosier took over leading the upper body and posture class that I do in the morning and my shoulders definitely felt sore afterwards.  I hopped on the treadmill for a tempo run.  It was supposed to be 8 miles long, two rounds of 21 minute sets: 3x 5 minutes at tempo, 2 minutes at marathon pace, with a mile of climbing recovery between.  I mentally checked out after the first 21 minute round.  Instead I did about 1.5 miles of running at a 10% incline, tried to start the next tempo portion and decided NOPE.  Ended at 5.15 miles and opted to do an easy 4 mile recovery run after work.  For some reason, mentally I am having a hard time locking into this 50k training.

Other: First day of my February Meditation Challenge!  EDGE is hosting the challenge, the idea being to add 1 minute of meditation each day in February until you reach 28 minutes.  I downloaded Headpsace to help.


 

Friday 2/2

Run:  It was another super cold morning and I passed on running to November Project again.  Did 4 really slow aerobic miles on the treadmill watching the Today Show.

Other:  Had the opportunity to check out Square Roots Kitchen’s new restaurant location in the West Loop.  It’s a new fast-casual restaurant that has a good amount of vegan options.  I’ll do a review later this week, but overall, I was very impressed.  I ordered a custom bowl with quinoa, veggies and tofu:

 

 

 

Saturday 2/3

Run: 18 miles of trails.  Jeremy and Avi were going to join but both cancelled last minute.  Instead, I went to Swallow Cliff and ran about 7 miles alone before crossing paths with Al and Miana, who were out there for a short, easy run.  I tagged along for the rest of their run (~3 miles) and then finished the rest on my own.  I definitely am out of practice with fueling and hydrating both during the run and after.  Forgot to bring enough water for the run, and afterwards I didn’t want to eat.

Other:  I spent the remainder of the day baking for the Vegan Mania bake sale tomorrow – made chai spiced biscotti and tart cherry n’ chocolate energy bites.  Earlier in the week, I had ordered individual cellophane wrappers and little plastic containers to hold the finished goods.  I wish I had thought to order some labels to put my logo on as well.  Next time!



Sunday 2/4

Run:  Stayed local because of the bake sale.  HOLY BANANAS the weather was rough!  Strong 30+ mph winds along the lakefront and snowing; heading north was a nightmare of getting blown around and pelted in the face with ice pellets.  I will say though, that the meditation is helping so far as I just focused on my breath instead of the, “WHY DOES WINTER SUCK SO MUCH” thoughts rolling in my head.

Other:  Bake sale time!! I was SO excited about this!  My first time selling goods to random people.  All the proceeds went to Chicago Vegan Mania, so it wasn’t for profit for me, but it got the wheels turning for sure!  I dropped off my goods and then offered to say and help; they had my assembling take out boxes for customers, which turned into the information booth in a sense. I had a lot of fun, met new people, and saw some familiar faces.  Afterwards I went home to make spinach dip for the November Project Super Bowl party.  Definitely a great day!

 

 

And that’s it for Weekly Wrap #131!  Totaled 50.4 miles for the week, with about 2600ft of elevation gain (counting Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday workouts).  My goal was 53 miles, but I just felt wiped out this week physically so I’m not going to fuss over 3 miles like I would have in the past.  Progress!  Next week is a recovery week, and the my plan has 42-45ish miles.  Outside of running, I have nothing on my calendar for mid week, so looks like it’ll be pretty mellow around here.

 

How was your week?  What’s on tap for February?  Would you be interested in a meditation challenge?  Comment below and have a great week!

 

Happy running,

Becca

 

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Laura
6 years ago

That’s a lot of elevation- awesome work! I had one of those snow pelting/windy runs the other week too- I am over winter!

Kimberly Hatting
6 years ago

Wow…your recovery week has 45ish miles? ((gulp)) I’d be zombie walking LOL All of those cupcakes look SOOOO yummy 😉

HoHo Runs
6 years ago

My Garmin elevation and Strava elevation are night and day different. And Strava gets its info from my Garmin device. So, I just don’t get it. Anyhoo…2600 feet of elevation sounds like a very strong week to me! I’m impressed you are training for a 50k too! The bake sale sounds fun! Thanks for linking!

Chocolaterunsjudy
6 years ago

I have a regular meditation practice but not 28 minutes — holy moly! I do guided meditations, and occasionally I’ll do multiple ones, but they tend to be about 5-10 minutes.

I definitely wouldn’t worry about 3 miles. And the beans and all those baked goods look amazing.

Marcia
6 years ago

How fun to participate in a bake sale. The spread looks amazing! All the best with the meditation challenge. Adding a minute a day sounds doable but 28 minutes sounds like a lot! I downloaded Headspace a couple of weeks ago. I’ve used it a few times but need to make it a habit.