Welcome to the Weekly Wrap. Thanksgiving Week training was full of themed workouts (Planksgiving is always a favorite) and lots of delicious vegan food. Recapping week 4 of my F3 Half Marathon training plan. Linking up with Holly and Wendy.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of good food and good company! I don’t say it enough but I am very thankful to have you all as readers of the blog. Your encouragement and support means a lot and keeps me going. Thank you!
Monday 11/19
Run: Easy zone 2. Helloooooo recovery week! 30% reduction in volume this week meant just an easy 30 minute Monday run.
Other: Agility Drills. Went to EDGE after work to do some agility drills with Katie and drop off some leftover cranberry almond cookies for Chris, one of the other coaches. Part of me wishes I could open up a bakery and bake all the time. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Tuesday 11/20
Run: Fartlek Fun. I had the Sprint Tuesday crew create my fartlek for me. They randomly chose between a 30s and 3:00 minute interval and whether it was a rest interval or a sprint interval. The resulting workout was crazy and intense, but I loved not knowing what was coming next.
Wednesday 11/21
Run: Rest day. First no-running day in over a week and my body was feeling it.
Other: PLANKSGIVING! This is my favorite workout day of the year. For the past two years, I’ve joined Robyn at EDGE for her Planksgiving workout, an hour-long ALL PLANK workout. Both the bottom and top floors at EDGE participated, as did the pugs. It was a huge crowd and a total blast. I love how excited Robyn gets and how creative she is with the planks.
Thursday 11/22
Run: Turkey Trot. I participated in 3Run2’s annual Turkey Trot 8k again this year (last year’s race recap). It was just as fun and challenging. This year I was unlucky and got stopped at more red lights. But I still managed second place female in the 8k. So much fun and recommend for any runners in Chicago looking for a low-key, free Turkey Trot.
Other: Thanksgiving. Fun time with the family. I made roasted root vegetables with a maple tahini sauce, vegan sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and stuffed acorn squash. We spent hours chatting with the cousins and getting competitive with charades. We divided into “adults” versus “kids,” although the kids are all of us in our late 20s and 30s. HA! Kids won, naturally. I also spent lots of quality snuggle time with Frizzle.
Friday 11/23
Run: November Project. Today was an off day so I biked to November Project and took it easy in the workout. I was happy to catch up with Daniel who was visiting from Madison.
Other: Black Friday and recipe testing. The only Black Friday deals I participate in are for myself. Guilty. This year I bought a personal training certification program, some hydration products, new running shoes and some kitchen odds and ends. Anyone else take advantages of sales? In between searching for sales, I experimented with using Thanksgiving leftovers in different recipes. The result? Vegan and gluten-free cranberry thumbprint cookies. YUM.
Saturday 11/24
Run: Long Run. Recovery week means shorter, easier long run. Just 10 miles today with some .5 mile surges to half marathon pace every 3 miles. My Windrunner teammate Britney joined me, and we spent the miles catching up about boys, work and 2019 plans.
Other: I tried Pho for the first time with Brandon and loved it! It’s a lighter option than ramen but a more substantial version of miso. Adding it to my warm winter soup rotation.
Sunday 11/25
Run: Pool run. I had just a super easy aerobic 5 mile written and decided to swap it for an hour pool run instead. It had been months since I got in the pool. Weird given how much time I spent in the pool leading up to Berlin!
Other: Deck a Day. My gym’s strength class schedule was not very convenient for me today, so I chose to do a Deck workout. Chris has a “Deck a Day” contest running from now through the end of the year. Each day, grab a deck of cards for a workout. The suit corresponds to a workout. Today, hearts were speed skaters, spades were lateral hops, diamonds were jumping jacks and clubs were cross body mountain climbers.
And that’s a wrap! Thanksgiving week brought lots of opportunities for catching up with friends and a really chill training week. I’m grateful to have so many friends in the running community, and that they enjoy training as much as I do! During week 4 of the new training cycle, I ran 32 miles (recovery week!) and made it to 2 strength classes. Unfortunately, I was only able to do agility 2x this week instead of my goal of 3 times. Better luck next week.
If you’re interested in joining me for the F3, prices increase on Saturday 12/1! This Saturday! Use code BECCA2019 to save $5 on either the 5k or the half.
Also! Tomorrow is Cyber Monday. I’ve curated a list of Kitchen Gift Ideas and Running Gift Ideas at my Amazon Store. Check it out here.
How was your week? Let’s stay in touch! Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.
Happy running,
Becca
What an awesome week! Just reading about planks giving made my abs hurt lol.
I just checked out your cranberry thumbprint cookie recipe and I am obsessed with it!
That puppy!
Planksgiving, Plankful. So many fun ones.
Pho is so delicious, especially on cold days when you feel cold to the core. DO you like udon?
So much YES to cranberry thumbprint cookies! What a great idea. You had some fun workouts this week. Planksgiving sounds like a blast!
Wow! Planksgiving sounds intense! An hour of all planks??? You had a great variety of workouts in addition to your running this week. Loved seeing the photo of your fartlek crew! 🙂
Sounds like a fun filled recovery week! Those non-running days can be a welcome change 🙂
Those cookies looks really tasty.
Good for you for opting for the pool instead of the run- I need to do the same. Haven’t been in the pool in quite some time, but it was my best friend during broken leg recovery!
I wish my body could take the miles like your’s…32 miles for a recovery week. That’s considered a pretty high mileage week for me LOL That hour-long plank workout sounds interesting! I love planks!
An hour of planking? Oh, my! The thumbprint cookies look delicious. When I was very young, there was a bakery next to our ballet studio. We were allowed to stop and get a thumbprint cookie (or two) after class. Great picture from the 8k! Congrats on your second female placement! Thanks for linking.
Planksgiving! I love it! I’d be all over that. I need to remember that for next year. How fun.
I’m thankful that you join our linkup every week. I love that you are local and I hope to meet you someday! You inspire me with your speed and your perseverence!
I love Pho as well when I can find a vegetarian version of the broth. It’s so good! Looks like you had a great week of fun workouts love the Planksgiving