November Running Recap

83.4 miles

15 hours, 30 minutes, 43 seconds

2,747 feet of elevation gain

Average pace of of 11:10 min/mile

Dairy-free Thanksgiving for Two

Craig and I ended up spending our first married Thanksgiving in Pullman, without family. This was my first year cooking a Thanksgiving meal. Because I have a dairy allergy, I had the extra challenge of trying to find dairy-free recipes. Everything turned out delicious (although I still missed my family)!

Exciting Life Updates

   
     The past few days have been crazy exciting! On Thursday, Craig passed his Ph.D. defense. This a huge deal. It basically means he is finished with school! He turned in his completed dissertation last Friday, so as long as it gets accepted (which it most definitely will) he will be Dr. Craig!

     What's just as exciting: He is currently at a job interview. The company flew him down and is paying for all expenses. From what we can tell, it could be an amazing opportunity!

Eight Mile PR Attempt

Now that I am about 2 months into race training, I am gaining confidence during my runs. I am pushing myself to run faster and further. This weekend, I ran a fast (for me) 5K and 8-miler. 

First Snow Run(s)

I had a cozy-snow-filled weekend. It was a bit of a surprise; We don’t normally get snow before Thanksgiving. I did a long run in the fresh snow and made it home in time to watch the New York City Marathon elite women's finish. 

Self-Bribery

A simple trick to make exercising a habit.

David's tea: a treat I use to bribe myself to exercise :) 

I’ve mentioned this before, but I hate dislike strength training. I can rationally acknowledge its benefits, but for the past year or two I have found myself skipping workouts, to the point where they become so infrequent that I end up quitting altogether.

October Running Recap

60.36 miles

11 hours, 35 minutes, 33 seconds

1,181 feet of elevation gain

Average pace of of 11:31 min/mile

Recipe: Homemade Mint Chip Larabars

Craig and I both really like Larabars- especially the Mint Chip Brownie flavor. At $1.50 a bar though, we don’t buy them regularly. Instead, I found a simple recipe to make them at home. Over the past couple years, I have made a few modifications, including adding almonds for additional protein. 

Reasons I Run

I am kind of obsessed with running (obviously which is why I have an entire blog mostly dedicated to running). I'm no elite and will never earn any money as a runner, so it may seem silly for me to spend so much time and energy at a sport that I'm moderately ok at.

However, running has brought so many positive changes to my life since I began 5 years ago. I wanted to take a moment to attempt to describe why I love running so much, by compiling a (somewhat corny) list of reasons why I run:

Running Without a Gym Membership

If you can afford a gym membership, by all means go for it! Your health is definitely something worth investing in. However, if you are unable afford to pay membership fees, there are still ways to stay in running shape.