Gretch Runs

Can you believe it's May already?  I'm definitely a summer person and I could just feel myself busting with happiness as the days get longer, the sun shines brighter, and the air warms up.  There were days when I would literally skip around the house, singing to myself and twirling around (Dan might think there's something wrong with me but I can't help myself- evidence below).  Does anyone else suffer from SAD that can relate? Since it's a new month, you know what that means!  That's right...it's already time for the monthly linkup with  Kristen and me.  Make sure you link down below and tell me what's going on! Monthly Goals Last month I mentioned that I wanted to switch things up and make some new goals for myself.  Here's what I plan on working on for the next few months: Do Something Crafty .  I've mentioned this a lot of times before, but I love being creative and doing something crafty.  I'm not going to make s...

Welcome back to another Tasty Tuesday post!  I've been working on this one for a while and I hope you all find it helpful.  For the past few months (really when I started training for the Gettysburg Marathon), I knew that I needed to add protein to my diet.  There were so many vegan protein powders out there that I didn't even know where to begin!  So, I bought all of the brands that I could find at Target or Amazon that weren't crazy expensive (and luckily, most are available in a sample size).  Today I'll be sharing my thoughts on them! Aloha Chocolate Overview -  Pea, Pumpkin Seed, and Hemp Seed Protein, 18g of protein per serving This powder immediately tasted like licorice, then had an aftertaste of sweeter chocolate.  The texture was a bit grainy, but blended really well with milk and smoothies. Rating - 3/5 (docked a point for the licorice taste and grainy texture) Price - $22.79 for 1lb 3.6 oz on Amazon Aloha Vanilla Bean Ov...

Happy Weekend!  After a lot of excitement and events this month, I was happy to have a week without plans.  Which, of course meant that I got sick!  I could feel something lurking for the past few weeks, and I finally caught it.  Luckily I just needed some extra rest, some vitamins and fluids, but I definitely enjoyed an off week.  I also took some time off running which felt weird, but it gave me time to think out my next running plan and future races.  I'll share more soon, but for now I'm looking forward to a chill weekend and sharing some favorites with you all today. I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll talk to you on Monday! linking up with  Erika ,  Heather , and  Friday   Five   Song : John Mayer - The Search for Everything I'm really in love with John Mayer's new album.  I haven't always been a big fan of his and I don't think that I've ever listened to an entire album before, but I'm really en...

I feel like I've been reading like crazy lately, and have had a lot of luck with books lately.  I have a few to recommend today (as well as one that I really didn't enjoy).  I'm always looking for new books to add to my library list, so please let me know what you've been reading lately in the comments, and I hope you find a few to add to your own list! Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband, Joe—who was brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband—and herself. My Thoughts :  This was a fast-paced b...

Well, that didn't go as planned!  This weekend was my big race, my first marathon in nearly 4 years.  I was excited and felt ready.  Then the race started and everything went downhill (except for the course, which went up and down and up and down....).  Here's a look at how my final week of taper went, as well as the race itself: Monday Rest Day! Tuesday 3.1 miles / 9:28 miles  I felt great, which made it hard to keep the pace slow!  I ran in the morning before work and kept my pace slow enough that I didn't lose my breath or break a sweat. Wednesday Yoga Nice and easy flow just to keep everything loose. Thursday 4 miles / 9:15 pace The plan was to run 4 miles, with the middle two at marathon pace.  My "warmup" pace kept creeping up into that race pace territory, so I had to force myself to keep it slower.  I felt amazing and did this run with absolutely no issues, which made me super excited for the race! ...

Happy Friday everyone!  This weekend is my marathon, which blows my mind.  The weeks have just flown by and it doesn't seem possible that it's already the last week of April!  I'm excited for the race and also have some fun things planned while we're visiting Gettysburg.  I'll be sure to share it all next week!  For today, I'll be talking about some of my favorite things from the week.  I hope you all have a great weekend, and good luck to everyone else racing on Saturday or Sunday! linking up with  Erika ,  Heather , and  Friday   Five   Song : The Cure by Lady Gaga I was not at Coachella but I heard that Lady Gaga debuted a new song at the festival.  I love the song so much and have been playing it non-stop ever since!  It's so catchy and up-beat..the perfect song for summer.  I definitely added this to my marathon play list (which you can find here ). Podcast : By The Book This technicall...

It's finally race week and I have a lot of thoughts about it!  Since it's Thinking Out Loud Thursday , I figured it was a perfect time to share all (or at least most) of them. I've really enjoyed training .  This is a big deal to me, because I've always been someone that trains just so that I can race.  This time around, I've just been enjoying the training aspect!  I've found mileage that works really well for me and the majority of my runs have been amazing.  Even when I have a tough workout, I've always felt like I was getting stronger or becoming a better runner. This has been my best training cycle ever .  I ran more miles than ever, didn't skip out on any important workouts, and really pushed myself.  I think this has to do with feeling settled in my life- this was my first training cycle since moving into my first house, getting a job that I absolutely love, and getting married.  My life is good right now and I have a great rout...