I was super excited. And still am. I'll be having one of these on my long run on Sunday and another NEXT Sunday during my half marathon.
Despite my excitement over mint chocolate gu (did you not know I like mint + chocolate?) I was exhausted after getting home from work on Wednesday so I made it a rest day. I think the gross weather was making me feel rather blahhh too. Pup-a-roo felt the same way too:
Oh wait, I'm pretty sure she naps on our bed every day (I caught her mid-yawn here). Look at what a number she did to our nicely made bed while we were at work.
I kicked my feet up for a little. Did some laundry. And when hubs got home, he seemed to be feeling the same way, so we walked down the street to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner.
These flowers my husband picked up earlier this week will help me remember it's spring even though it's been barely 40 all week. Oh, and after dinner on Wednesday? It was raining/sleeting sideways. Hard. And then it started to thunder and lightning. Then we had pea-sized hail. Perfect spring weather.
We were stuffed from dinner, but brought home this delicious macaroon to split.
...minus a couple bites.
In other news, recently I picked up a giant 1 Liter container of coconut water from Trader Joe's. I used to love the Zico brand, but then they started selling it in plastic bottles instead of little tetra-packs and it tasted different in a not-good way (here's my previous discussion of coconut water). But I was intrigued by the return of the tetra-pack-like packaging and took a risk.
And I'm glad I took the risk, because the taste of the coconut water in this packaging is good again! Also, I found an explanation on the tag. According to the tag (pictured below), the blend of Brazilian, Thai, and Indonesian coconut water tastes like balls. However, Brazilian or Thai on its own is delicious (my opinion).
I drank some on its own the other day and in a smoothie with strawberry lowfat kefir, a frozen banana, and some frozen berries:
Last night I did my bootcamp class. As usual there were a lot of planks, crunches, pushups. We also worked on triceps, biceps, did bench presses, and ended with some lunges and squats. (I promise the class was more varied and exciting than my summary though).
Afterward I did the speedwork I should have done Wednesday (by the way, I'm glad I took a rest day Wednesday...I ended up passing out on the couch after dinner and macaroon, somewhere around 9:30).
My speed work was 5 x 800 @10k pace. You can see my recap on Daily Mile here. But to summarize, my goal pace for the 800s was 9:49-10:07. I ran them at the following paces: 9:46, 10:02, 9:40, 9:38, 9:42. I did a .15 mile rest interval between each. 0-2% incline to keep it interesting. Including a short warm up and cool down, I ran 3.5 miles. Avg HR 167, Max 185.
(Does anyone else find some minor discomfort in the ankle/lower shin region while running on a treadmill...but never while running outside? I stopped and stretched, changed the incline, and it got better).
Those paces weren't uncomfortable, I was just bored out of my mind because I did not bring my mp3 player, did not have headphones to plug into the built-in tv, and I couldn't figure out how to get closed-captioning on it. So I watched a tornado special on the weather channel, without any audio or text, for 39 minutes. There's a cool built-in fan on the treadmill which is nice...but it turns out that if you're 5'2" you're not really tall enough to enjoy the full benefit of the fan. Bummer.
Anyway, I was pleased with Thursday's workout. Today was a scheduled rest day. Tomorrow's a shorter pace run. Eight days to go til my half marathon!
If you run with a Garmin, please check out my post from earlier this week and comment on how you like to use your Garmin during races (what screens you find most helpful, etc). Inquiring minds want to know!
Enjoy your weekend!!
I cannot run on an incline on the treadmill because it gives me peroneal tendon (under my ankle bone) pain. I dont know why but I certainly have stopped doing it!
ReplyDeleteI have to try that new Zico. I can't stand coconut water - every time I drink it I just wish I had a fresh coconut!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like your paces are really getting faster - good for you! I bet you are going to have a massive PR next Sunday. Running on the treadmill without headphones is amazing, I would have stopped after 2 minutes so I find that impressive. That's funny because I don't like Zico because of the plasticky taste. I have another brand I like but I can't remember the name of it.
ReplyDeleteI cant run to fast on a treadmill or have an incline it causes pain in my back and hip. I do well outside. I have never heard of coconut water. Might have to try that. Good run
ReplyDeleteBecky- Glad to hear I'm not the only one. It's weird because I'm totally ok running up real hills... not sure why it's different on a treadmill.
ReplyDeleteGreen Girl- I've had some that are not good at all. If drinking it on it's own, I like it to be VERY cold, over ice.
Alyssa- Do you not like any Zico or just the kind in the plastic bottle? I think the plastic bottle kind had the plasticky taste. I like Vita Coco too, and Goya's tastes like actual coconut water but has some other stuff added. I didn't love the O.N.E. brand or the Naked.
Penny- Coconut water is supposed to be good for you post-workout because of its electrolytes. I can't prove that it really helps, but I use it in fruit smoothies and sometimes drink it on its own.
Never tried Mint Choc GU - in fact I never see if for sale anywhere in stores?
ReplyDeleteReally want to try coconut water... LOVE macaroons!!! Hope it was yummy, looks it!
I have a mint chocolate brownie recipes I HAVE to send you!!!
ReplyDeleteRun with Jess-
ReplyDeleteI won the Mint Choc Gu in a blog giveaway back in the fall...I really liked it when I tried it a couple weeks ago. I asked for it at the bike shop where I get my gu, and they didn't have any. The guy thought it was a newer flavor. I was so happy he offered to order it for me! He called their supplier while I was standing there. I haven't seen it at any other stores, but I haven't been in a lot of stores that sell gu.
Little Miss Runshine-- Sounds AWESOME, I would love that recipe! :)