Gretch Runs

Hi everyone!  I have a packed post for you today.  I was originally planning on writing a separate race recap and Vancouver highlights post, but since it was such a short trip I decided to combine it into one post.  I hope you're ready for lots of pictures and highlights!  It was such a great trip and race, so there's lots to share.  Enjoy! I've only heard good things about Seawheeze, and the race definitely lived up to the hype.  Everything from packet pick-up to the race itself and post-race felt like a special event filled with tons of surprises!  Here are some highlights: The day before the race, I picked up my packet and checked out the exclusive Lululemon Seawheeze store.  This opens early in the morning just for the runners, then to the public later in the day.  We got there around 12:00 after landing in Vancouver, and there were no lines at all.  There were still lots of products available, but people were saying the more...

Hi everyone!  I can't believe that race day has come and gone already.  When I signed up for this race last year, it seemed like it was so far away.  Then, I picked up training and the 10 weeks of training seemed like such a long time.  Now the race is already over!   This was a great week for me that culminated in one of my favorite races to date.  While I didn't get a PR, I did have an amazing experience that might be one of my favorites of all time.  I'll definitely be sharing more, so today I'll just give you a quick look at the final week of training! Monday 4 miles Nice and easy workout this morning. Jogged and strolled my way through 4 miles.  Trying to keep it easy for the week. Tuesday Yoga Took it easy in yoga this week.  My favorite instructor was back and led us in some great folds and stretches. Wednesday Rest Day! Thursday 4 miles Easy four miler in the morning with some strides thrown in th...

And just like that- another training cycle is in the bag!  This weekend I'll be running another half marathon, and my final full week of training was a good one.  I feel ready for the race and excited to run!  Let's take a quick look at how this week of training went: Monday 4 miles / 38:15 / 9:33 pace Little morning run to get the week started! Felt good, just a little tired today. It was a beautiful morning though, and the days are starting to get (slightly) cooler! Tuesday 5 miles / 44:18 / 8:52 pace Great speed work this morning! 5 miles with 20 minutes alternating fast and slow. Funny how I can start out feeling so tired and legs feel heavy, then as soon as I have to start the speed session I can bust out 7:00 paces and it not feel hard at all. Felt so good to stretch out my legs! Loved this workout. Yoga / 45:00 My normal favorite instructor wasn't there, but the sub was alright.  Not my favorite, not my least favorite. ...

Another week bites the dust- and we're one week closer to race day!  All of my long runs and speed work is behind me, and now it's just time to taper.  I can't believe how quickly this training cycle went, and before I know it I'll be in Canada!  I'm so excited to race, but for now let's see how week eight went in training! Monday 3 miles / 28:10 / 9:23 pace I didn't sleep well the night before so I skipped the gym in the morning, and took a longer lunch to go running. It's crazy how much better I feel when I run in the morning..I just felt tired and sluggish during lunch! It was better than nothing, and my legs felt surprisingly fresh after my long run on Sunday. Tuesday 4 miles I went on a super easy, slow run.  I still was having trouble sleeping (this was the night that I started to take Olly sleeping vitamins which completely turned around my sleep) so this was more like a run/walk.  I was just happy to get the miles in, but...

I feel like I'm finally back on track with training, and it couldn't have come at a better time.  With only a few more weeks until race day, everything clicked this week and I'm feeling stronger than ever!  It's nearly time to start tapering, so I'm hoping for a few more solid workouts and a great race.   Let's take a look at my workouts this week! Monday Rest Day! Tuesday 5 miles / 45:30 / 9:05 pace Felt great this morning! Beautiful start to the day- couldn't ask for anything more. Lunchtime Yoga My favorite yoga class!  Today we did a special flow for the full moon.  I've never gone to a teacher that mentioned the spiritual side of yoga and meditation, so it's always so interesting to learn from my teacher.  I always leave the class in a calm, happy mood with loosened up legs, and today was no different! Wednesday 5 miles Same course as yesterday but in reverse. About halfway through there was a guy ru...

Hi everyone!  What a busy week this was for me.  Does anyone else seem to have nothing going on for a while, then get TONS of plans all at once?  This was definitely a "tons of plans" type of week!   I was lucky to get most of my workouts in, and my hamstring is finally feeling better!  I think a combination of lower mileage, slower miles and lots of recovery work helped out, and I'm hoping for no more issues during training!  Let's take a look back and see how the week was: Monday 2 miles I wanted to go out for a short run just to see how my hamstring was feeling, and to loosen up a bit.  It was still sore, but going super slow on my run seemed to help! Tuesday Lunchtime Yoga I went to my favorite yoga class this week!  It was another amazing class.  The stretches felt so good, and some of the moves really pushed me.  As usual, this is the most perfect way to spend my lunch break! Wednesday 3 miles I w...

I can't believe it (and it kind of freaks me out to say) but training is halfway over for the Seawheeze Half Marathon!  Miles have been run, rooms have been booked, planes have been scheduled, and now this race is feeling very real.  Today, I'm going to be sharing a check-in so that you (and I!) can see how I'm doing so far. Training By The Numbers 114.2  - Total Miles I'm happy with where my overall numbers are, but I would like my long run to be longer!  I was hoping to hit 10 miles by this point, but that will be my goal for this weekend. 63  - Current songs on my workout playlist I usually only listen to music during speed workouts, or the second half of long runs!  I only use Spotify, and you can find my playlist here ! 21  - Podcasts in my rotation (current favorite is Young House Love Has A Podcast ) Most of the time I listen to podcasts on 1.5 speed, and I've been listening to so many lately.  It seems like most of ...

Another week of training is in the books, and suddenly I'm half way through my training schedule.  It's so hard to believe that in just five short weeks, I'll be at the starting line for another half marathon!   This was a challenging week for me, filled with lots of ups and downs.  Later this week I'll be reviewing my training up to this point, but for now let's check out how the week went! Monday Rest Day / Travel Day! Tuesday 4 miles Nice and easy run to ease back into training.  After a fun weekend and lots of driving, my legs were dead! Wednesday 5 miles / 43:10 / 8:37 pace Morning speed workout! My legs were feeling much better and really fresh after yesterday's run, so this workout was great.  1 mile warmup, 3 x 5:00 at an 8:00 pace with 5:00 recovery in between, and 1 mile cooldown.  Great run! Thursday 5 miles Such a great morning run!  It was a beautiful, cool morning.  I got to run on my fa...

Hi everyone!  Today I'll be recapping last week's training.  It was a traveling week for me, so I only had about half of a week of real workouts.  The rest of the week was spent having fun with Dan's family, so I'll be sharing that as well.  I'm hoping to get back on track this week, and we'll see if taking a mini break helps or hurts my training! Monday 2.5 mile walk I was still feeling a little sick on Monday (I think the 5 miler race in the heat affected me more than I originally thought!) so I took it easy this morning.  I went on a nice walk before work and rested the rest of the day. Tuesday 4 miles / 36:50 / 9:12 pace I woke up feeling a lot better, and it was my birthday, so I went out for a run on the river trail downtown.  It was such a beautiful day and a perfect way to start off my 26th year!  I also decided to take a yoga class at lunchtime, and it was one of the best classes I've ever taken.  The instructor was f...