The biggest Perk of my job is when I open my inbox in the morning and one of the other teachers sends the whole faculty a message about having way too many goodies around their house and so they brought them in the faculty lounge to ‘get rid of them.’ FYI, I will be the first person to help you ‘get rid of deliciousness.’
I bet you have never seen a teacher (me) run in high heels and a skirt at 8.8 miles per hour down the hallway to be the first one to the ‘goodies.’
I only pushed a few kids out of my way.
Chocolate peppermint truffles from Chicago……
Of course I chose the sprinkled variety, sprinkles just add happiness.
They melted in my mouth and I almost considered going back and stealing the other teachers rations but I didn’t and ate my favorite granola bar instead.
Cross Country Update:
They are rocking it. The last timed mile that we did a time trial for, one of my students was literally still swallowing a ginormous piece of pizza as he started and got a 20 second pr, he is my fastest runner. I don’t know how that pizza didn’t come back up but I may have to bring cheesy, greasy food for him to gobble down right before every race.
Wednesdays are SPEED DAYS!!! The craziest thing is that speed work is my teams favorite workout.
They have memorized what I tell them 38 times on Wednesdays, ‘Speedwork prepares you to keep going when the legs usually would slow down.’
Speed work can also improve form becuase your body searches for ways to move at the same pace without extraneous motion and your tendons, muscles and nervous system ADAPT to the faster pace.
Although, speed work CAN increase the risk of injury, I make sure my athletes get plenty of recovery before their next workout and they never push themselves too hard that they couldn’t do at least one more repeat. NOT a sprint! They have to save their races for the races:)
Tomorrow’s Workout:
Warm-up
5 X 800
First 2 @ 8 seconds faster than goal race pace for 5K (aka their competition course length).
Last 3 @ about 4-5 seconds faster than current goal pace for 5k.
Walk/jog for 3 minutes between each 800.
COOL DOWN
popsicles and chocolate milk (glutamine on GEAR PAGE:)
——————————————————————————-
What was the last food you had with sprinkles on it?
Fan of speed work? Any favorite speed workouts?
Speaking of RACING…..when is your next race?
-Saturday…not running but I have my CENTURY RIDE!!!
When faced with a delicious box of………..
which one do you choose FIRST?
-The dark chocolate circular one filled with marshmellow and caramel!
78 comments
Ally
Anything with caramel!
I’m racing the Susan G. Komen 5K in October and am thinking about doing a sprint tri at the end of this month, but it’s the week before my LSAT and I should probably be studying instead..
Janae
WAHOO…do the sprint tri, it will be a great stress-reliever before the LSAT you are going to rock!
Anna @ Food Fitness and Frolicking
I’m so glad to hear that your cross country team is going well! It helps that they have the best coach in the world :)
And of course, free goodies are the JAM. I get free cookies and snacks with my job too, and it’s AWESOME.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I had sprinkles…this calls for a trip to the froyo place, like RIGHT NOW :)
Janae
You are SO nice Anna. You better have gone to go get fro-yo:)
Tabaitha
Love sprinkles, so much so that i added them to my froyo a few days ago. My daughter told me to add ‘sparkle’ to hers too. I go for the chocolate with coconut, my fav.
Janae
SPARKLES….HILARIOUS!! Okay, girl your combo sounds amazing. Someday we WILL go for froyo together:)
Haute Running Mama
Yaaaay for your Century Ride! I can’t wait to read about it….from MAUI! I have 3 races this weekend on the island. I will be taking it easy since my achilles is still agro, but I will be enjoying some awesome scenary and a lot of fresh pineapple! Yiipppeeeee!!!
I love speed work but it’s a no go for me until I am healthy again :)
P/S the last thing I had w/sprinkles on it? Nutella brownies…last night. So.Good.
Janae
MAUI…..girl, you are going to have a blast and I can’t wait for all the pics and to read all about it. FRESH pineapple is the BEST! Okay, I need those brownies now.
Kim
Good luck on your century ride! I can’t wait to hear about it! I am doing a 5k – my first race I can run in its entirety since this injury in April. I think my last sprinkle was on a cupcake. I think. I go for chocolate covered caramel first UNLESS I know there’s one with a chocolate filling (cream or meltaway – I don’t care:)).
Janae
THANKS KIM!! You are going to rock your 5k and I am so happy you get to do it. I will give you my chocolate filled ones if you give me the carmel filled ones.
Elizabeth @ reads recipes runs
I got a cake pop from Starbucks on the week of my birthday, I needed something pink with sprinkles!
My speed work right now is running faster than I walk. Sometimes easier said than done (I am looking at you big hill on my route!) haha.
My next race is a 5K on Oct. 15… I really should register for it though… haha. It’s a race that starts/ends at my work, and it goes around my neighborhood :) PS you should come!
I am always apprehensive when it comes to boxes of chocolate because I am not a huge fan of the weird fruit cream filled ones, and I swear it’s some kind of sick joke that even if I look at the paper, I end up with one of those. I love the ones with caramel inside
Janae
Cake pops are amazing!! Whatever girl, you are incredible!! AHHH OCT. 15…that is so so exciting! I might have to come! Okay the fruit creme ones make me SICK, who likes those ones?
Elizabeth @ reads recipes runs
No one! That’s who!!
Katie
You are so cute!! I love the picture of you all ready to race in the store :)
AND! The chocolate you described is my FAVORITE See’s chocolate EVER!! I always get it, and my family knows not to touch it and to just let me have it first, and no one gets hurt ;) (It’s called Scotchmallow, if you were interested.. hehehe)
Janae
Thanks Katie. THANK YOU for reminding me of the name, now I can order them easier. Wanna have a scotch mallow eating contest with me?
Tiffany
I do speed work on Wednesdays too! I just do what Kara Goucher put in her book on her recommended 1/2 marathon training schedule. I love doing speed work on the treadmill to force myself to go super fast (which is probably slow to others! LOL) No workout today for me or probably tomorrow b/c I have some type of viral infection :( Boo. Glad you love your new track team.
Janae
I LOVE Kara’s plan! Okay, the treadmill is the bomb.com for speed work…I am such a numbers freak so it really helps:) Girl, I am so sorry about your infection…that sounds AWFUL!
Allyson @ (so not) Super Runner Mom
I think I will steal your speed workout. I am embarrassed to say I’ve never done any speedwork (maybe that’s why I am still slow?) :). But I plan to start incorporating it weekly after my next race, which is this Sunday. I was registered for the half, but am not quite recovered enough from my injury. So I’ll be doing the 10K and hoping for a PR.
I always go for the dark chocolate w/nuts first.
Janae
Don’t be embarrassed, I didn’t start until last winter! AHHHH GOOD LUCK AT YOUR !)K and I KNOW you will PR, just listen to your body:)
Jerilee E.
I had a sugar cookie with sprinkles last week! I want more.
I have only been running for a year and was just getting into speedwork when I got my stress fracture. Maybe that means my body doesn’t like speedwork ;). I don’t love it, but that could be because I haven’t done it enough!
The next race I PAID for is St. George. The next race that I am actually cleared to do is the Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge in January!
I go for the one with caramel and almonds/hazelnuts inside! mmm…
Janae
BOO to St. George and stupid stress fractures but you are going to have SO SO MUCH fun at the Goofy half!! Now I am craving SUGAR COOKIES!!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey
mmm I love the caramel filled treats the best! You are seriously a rock star for being able to teach, coach, and blog full time!!
Janae
Ha, I just don’t sleep. PS….there is nothing wrong with turning orange….mine is just from self-tanner, not delicious veggies:)
Rosa - Fitness, Food, Fulfilled
The See’s Scotchmallow is my absolute favorite. Did you know you can get a whole box of just those? Yes, very dangerous.
You’re going to kill your race on Saturday. Murdify it!
Janae
MURDIFY IT….I love it! You are hilarious. Are you kidding me? Sorry, gotta go to See’s and buy 5 scotch mallow boxes just for myself…thanks a lot Rosa:)
Nicole @ Of Cookies and Carrots
Okay I’m loving that you’re coaching an XC team… just wish I was on it too! ;)
Those treats look delicious. :) And I weirdly kinda like speed workouts, they make me feel like I”m a faster runner than I am ;)
<3
n
Janae
GIRL, YOU ARE FAST!!!
Lisa Jameson
if you haven’t tried it already- you will LOVE sea salt chocolate caramels! caramel surrounded by milk chocolate with sea salt sprinkled on top- yum!
Janae
OH MY GOODNESS, LISA, that sounds incredible…..where do you get it?
Lisa Jameson
I think what I had someone made. I googled it real quick and came across this recipe
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Chocolate-Caramels-236701
otherwise you can modify it how you like – if you make them, PLEASE share what recipe worked :)
Janae
I owe you my life. Thank you so much…I CAN’T WAIT!
jp1550
Since you like food and baking that much why don’t you have a look at this? I haven’t tried them but I DO trust the taste of the writter.
(The Blog is of a friend of mine)
jp1550
This is “this” :
http://donkeyandthecarrot.blogspot.com/2010/09/7-reasons-to-become-chocoholic-biscuits.html
Lauren
I bet you’re an awesome coach! My favorite speed workout from cross-country was when our coach would hide in the woods to make sure we were working hard. He would jump out and scare us once and a while, and they sure made me run faster!
See’s candies is the best! I love the dark chocolate with the creamy fillings.
Janae
BAHAHAH That is hilarious and I will so be trying that on practice on Friday when we are running in the mountains:)
Lori
I’m going to need you to send me your leather jacket. As your biggest fan, I have to say, that is the coolest thing ever.
And I love a good gallon of choco milk.
When I was in HS track, I had a Egg McMuffin ritual. Gross, I know. But, mentally – it worked like a charm!
Answers to your questions: I can’t remember the last time I ate sprinkles. Sad, I know. I love speed work – it is uncomfortable and it reminds me that I need out of my comfort-zone. Chocolate filled with chocolate, please.
Janae
Ha….you are so nice, I got it for 75% off at banana last year…SCORE!!! Egg McMuffin ritual, that is awesome…I might have to try that one;) Um, your homework is to go get something with sprinkles NOW!
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes
I lovee the ones with maple syrup or raspberry fillings. When I get a personal box of chocolate ( which rarely happens) I squish most of them to check! Haha :)
Janae
HA…I squish mine too. I will give you the ones with the maple and raspberry fillings but you have to give me the caramel filled ones okay:)
Annette@EnjoyYourHealthyLife
Anything with caramel out of that box!! I like the small, flat round ones–milk or dark.
i <3 speed work as well! It makes me feel fast (duh!), sexy, powerful, and fit. LOVE.
Erica
You are going to dominate that century! Girl, your quads are going to be smoked and you are going to love every single second of it!!
Next race, it’s pretty awesome really, our staff is doing a half in November.
By the way I am coming to visit wherever you and Billy move, because I am sure the midwest is not the top of your list?!?
running ricig
Chocolates filled with caramel please!
I wish you were my running coach! How fun would that be? When you move to CT for Billy to go to Yale, you can come yell at me at the track.
Amy N.
Don’t hate me, but I don’t really like sprinkles.
I LOVE speed work! It took some time, but the more I do it the more I enjoy it!
My next race is October 1st, St. George Marathon! Woot woot!
Any chocolate that has peanut butter in it is always my number 1 choice, caramel is my second.
Lilly
At Christmas my family always gets tons of those sees boxes. I used to bite each one until I found one without the gross fruity stuff in it… as I got older I learned to just cut them all in half haha my family appreciates less bite marks for some reason :D I like the ones with nuts or caramel the best, but the caramel ones go fast! AHHH I am so excited for you and your century :D
Nicole
I didn’t actually have any, but I saw chocolate convered animal crackers with sprinkles! I am going back for those.
I LOVE speedwork. I don’t do enough of it.
Next race is a Glow In The Dark 5k on Friday night. Then a 10k/7miler on 9/24.
Anything from a box of See’s is fine. We don’t have See’s here and it is a treat. My sister gave me dark chocolate Nut & Chew bars (or something like that) for Christmas and they were unbelievable!
The Kidless Kronicles
Wag More, Bark….
Corey @ Learning Patience
I always pick the square one filled with caramel…love it
xoxo from Trinidad
Amylee
So excited to hear about that race! I’m just glad that HRG is racing again!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated
I’m doing a 10k on Saturday! Yahoo!! :)
And as for the box of chocolates, I go for the milk chocolate with caramel in the center. Yum! ;)
Lindsay @ Lindsay's List
I’m a caramel or coconut girl.
My next race is on October 8th. Just a 5K. BUT, they are having a triathlon (kayaking, instead of swim) and I’m thinking of signing up for that instead.
kait
I am a shameless See’s Candy connoisseur. Anytime I go to my grandmother’s house, she has a 5 lb. box of all my FAVORITE See’s Candies. My favorites are any and all of the white chocolates. I love them with nuts. I love them with caramel. I love them with coconut. . . and if they manage to work all three into the mix, then I am truly in love.
Janae
MY GMA always has See’s Candy too:) Okay the white chocolate ones are the best!! Can we have a See’s candy eating competition:)
Lauren
Last thing I had with sprinkles was cake batter truffles I made :)
I liked speed workouts when I could actually run. But being gimp, not so much. I’m also back to no running because my nutrition drove my body into the ground. Nothing like screwing up your life.
When faced with that box of chocolate, I would choose what you chose… Unless they have dark chocolate pb. Or maybe I’d squeeze all the dark chocolate ones and see which one I salivate at more. Either way!
Lauren
I love me some speed!!Those x-country kids are super lucky to have you as their coach!! And I know you are going to freaking rock the century ride this Saturday!! So fun!! Next race for me- running top of Utah!!! Freaking out cuz it’s my first marathon ever. I’m so excited and even more nervous. :) I do want to give you a shout-out though cuz little do you know, you’ve been a HUGE inspiration to me. And if I die at mile 22 you’d never know how much I love reading your blog!! So thank you for always brightening my day and inspiring me to run a marathon. Hopefully I’ll still have the same feelings on Saturday around 11 am. ;)
Janae
LAUREN!!! Your comment absolutely MADE MY DAY!!! Girl, Top of Utah was my favorite race EVER. You are going to absolutely love it. If it wasn’t for the century I would be there cheering YOU on. PLEASE let me know how you do….okay, actually I am expecting a detailed race report. You are awesome and thank you for your sweet words!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
I go with the dark pieces first!
Speedwork sesh coming up on Thursday. Hoping to find a track that’s not innundated with kids now that school’s started!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles
I eat sprinkles on EVERYTHING!!! (except a salad of corse…)
I have sprinkles in my desk at school to add to oatmeal and stuff!! :)
Hannah @ PalmBeachRunner
the last food I had sprinkles on was a cupcake at a bake sale. It was loaded with them AND for a good cause- double score!
Alisa @ Runs with Knives
Are those Frangos? I would recognize the cute little rectangle shape anywhere. I could live off those candies. I miss Chicago now.
Janae
YES, THEY ARE ALISA!!! You are good!! I will send you some if I am ever in Chicago:)
Alisa @ Runs with Knives
Have no fear, I still have family back in Chicago, so if the craving ever strikes, I know who to beg. Also, if you have a craving, come to me, I will hook you up!
Janae
Um, Alisa….I might have to take you up on that:)
Alaina Johnson
you blogging about this perk made me just become very excited all over again to be a teacher. thanks for keeping it real about being a teacher
Janae
You are going to be an AMAZING TEACHER!!!
Cate
I go for the caramels! I don’t love speed work, but I feel it really has helped. I’m not very fast to begin with, so my speed work is probably as fast as your warm up! Ha-ha! My next race is this Thursday – 4.2 miles. It’s the last of a five river run series. I’m read to run! The last thing I had with sprinkles was a birthday cupcake in July. I’m well overdue sprinkles!!!
Alina
I had no idea you even looked at my blog ever! I am not as entertaining as you but I agree I have to join you for Yogurtland sometime!
PS those truffles look divine!!! I am all about surprise treats.
Dorry
I love speed workouts! I really do. Especially on the treadmill. I forgot your Century Ride was THIS weekend! Very exciting. :) Wish I could be there to cheer you on!
Corrie Anne
Last thing with sprinkles —-> birthday cupcake.
I did a track workout today! Looooooooooved it!!!
My next race is in about a week and a half. I’m trying my first trail run in Estes Park! I’m soooo excited!
Jessica @ rerunrunning
You are such a great high school coach!!! Those kids are lucky!
I love speed workouts… they give me the confidence I need to push it in the race. I love 400 and 800 repeats… 1000/1200/1600’s are pretty fun, too. 200=not fun. I’ve only had to do 200 repeats a couple of times and dang… they are so stinking fast, with little recovery. I’ll leave those for the 800/miler girls. :)
Sprinkles are so fun and colorful that I can’t help but be happy seeing goodies covered in them… but I actually think they taste pretty weird.
Good job refueling your kids with choco and popsicles… I want to be on your team! :)
Andrea
Food with sprinkles: ICE CREAM!
I did my 2nd ever speed workout tonight. 1 mile warm up, 6 x 400 and 1 mile run cool down. Not my fave, but I’m convinced I have no fast-twitch muscle fibers. My legs are tired!
Next race: Big Sur half marathon November 20! So pumped, the course is going to be beautiful!
Chocolate: anything with PB or nuts in it. Yummy!
Janae
CONGRATS on your AWESOME SPEEDWORK!!! You are incredible and ice cream with sprinkles is the bomb.com!
Marijke
Mmmm sprinkles! Sugar coma central…
I absolutely HATE speedwork (I know, shame on me). I’m not built to be a fast runner at all but I still love running all the same! The only speedwork I do is a 3 mile race every Saturday morning where I try and beat my PB every week.
It’s a real challenge but it makes running fast fun!
Keri @ Blue-Eyed Runner
YAYYY for speedwork Wednesdays!!
Karyn
omg i love/hate speedwork (I did some yesterday) BUT 800s are my fav <3
and i totally go for the fruit creme flavored ones. YUM
Sarah
I just discovered your blog and love it as I am obsessed with running and eating!
I love the feeling after speedwork but am not a huge fan during it. And I’m trying to find a good speed workout but I don’t have access to a track, do you have any suggestions for this?
My next race is the Susan G Komen race for the cure 5K in a week and then I have the US half in SF in November. I’m so excited for both!
As for chocolate, I eat the whole box but the toffees covered in dark chocolate are my favorite and I’ll eat one first and last :)
Danielle
wow – i want one of those truffles, now…I would choose the dark chocolate flat top circle – those usually have pb or caramel in them :)
I am hit or miss with speed work, I hate it until I realize how much i push myself in it, then i feel a rush of energy and self accomplishment. No speed work for this injured gal though…marathon in 4 weeks…outlook = not good….boo :(
CatieB
The last food I had sprinkles on it was an ice cream sundae!
I just went to my first speed session on Monday! It was really hard but I loved it.
My next race is the NYRR 18 mile tune race before the Portland Marathon! woot! woot!
Sarah @ http://thedirtroaddreamer.com/
I can’t wait to try some of your speed workouts. I need to be doing more, but I’m unsure of how to put them together. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jessica
I am addicted to sprinkles but honestly can’t remember the last time I had them! And I don’t like chocolate….so I’ll pass of the box of it!!
I just bought RunLessRunFaster which incorporates one speed workout a week…I havn’t started the training plan yet but I will be soon! These will be my first speed workouts!