10 Miles + I have some things I want to say + Progression really is addicting.

A Saturday morning run with two of my favorite girls.  They sent me a text Friday to join their group for a Saturday morning run and I think I replied back with close to one hundred exclamation points.

They told me that the run was kind of a hike too which I was confused by but once I got to the mountain part, I fully understood what they meant;)  It was beautiful but there were parts along the way that we were going straight up… as I was going up some of the harder ones I remembered a quote that I saw somewhere that said—>  “It’s a hill. Get over it.”  It helped me to quit my complaining in my head as we were climbing the tough parts.

Brought the wrong shoes but I’ll take any chance I get to run on the dirt.

View from the top.  Seven miles total for the morning.  It was so nice catching up with them about everything!

We all went back to the running group (where we met up) and hung out with my good friend.  If you started reading my blog after Brooke was born then I’m going to tell you a little story about this house/friend… if you already know it keep scrolling:)  When I was pregnant with Brooke I moved to California a few weeks before she was due.  I didn’t have an apartment or anywhere to stay but my friend’s mom from college offered to let me stay in their basement.  My doctors gave me the ok to take the short flight to California and a few hours after I got off the plane I started feeling contractions but I wasn’t really sure what they were.  I went running the next morning with this lady and we did 8 miles together.  A few hours later  I realized that I was having contractions… the next day I had Brooke.  This sweet lady took such good care of me while I was there.  She had never met me before but she did everything possible for me to be so comfortable.  She is the best and her post-run drink selection for her running group is amazing too…

I got back to the hotel and did 3 miles on the treadmill (for a total of 10 miles… 7 on the trails) along with some weights.   It’s always nice to have a breakfast ready and waiting for you at a hotel for when you finish your workout.

After a quick shower I went to Santana Row for 2 things… walking around the shops and for lunch.

Plutos really is one of my top restaurants ever.  They have incredible salads (I topped mine with steak, edamame, oranges, grapes, jicama, grilled veggies and strawberries) along with their mashed potatoes (with turkey gravy… so good).  I try to make sure I always visit one when I’m in the bay area.

Window shopping somehow turned into buying a new running tank because I read somewhere that we can’t ever have too many running clothes… it’s science.

Ready for summer running!

Dinner was next and in honor of Andrew I ate pizza (dipped in ranch because that is his favorite) with a Caesar salad and watched the Jazz game.

Hotel snacks.

Dana emailed me about this Birthday Cake Bar from Trader Joe’s and I think I’m going to have to stop for one of these before getting Brooke.  I think we will both love it.

Brooke had a good day doing art and cruising around in her jeep.

And Knox partied with cousins and legos all day.  I miss these PEOPLE!!  I’m not going to lie, the back and forth to California so often isn’t my favorite but I want to make sure Brooke has the best relationship possible with her dad.  It’s never easy sharing kiddos and especially in different states… but I try to make the best of these trips and not miss my family or my bed or my house too much;)

I laughed pretty hard when I saw this!!  PS if you didn’t see the Breaking 2 hour attempt.. it is here!

I had a few things I wanted to say about the marathon that has been on my brain since watching the race!

*Did anyone else notice that it looked like Eliud Kipchoge (he finished in 2 hours 25 seconds) kept on smiling at different points along the way in the last 20 minutes.  It made me thing that he truly loves running and that maybe he does that as part of his mental game…. note to self, smile at points in those last few miles or a race when I’m really hurting or starting to have negative thoughts.

*I LOVED that they talked about how important the team effort was for the three runners… Those pacers sure did a lot to help them get to the finish line.

*Zersenay Tadese (world record for the half marathon ((58:23)) finished in 2:06:51 which is an awesome PR for him!  Lelisa Desisa finished in 2:14:10 but I read that he had a few training hiccups along the way this year.

*Barrier Breaking.  So this Nike team is doing everything possible to break this 2 hour barrier (and I really think it will happen… that is just one second per mile faster ((okay, that is a huge deal when you are running that fast but I do think it will happen).  This whole thing really got me thinking about what my own personal barriers are?  What barriers do I have with my running and training?  What barriers have I set up mentally?  How can I break through any of my physical barriers?  Think about these questions for you… I want your answers back to me by Tuesday (the teacher in me comes out every now and then;)

*The loop that they did Saturday morning in Italy only had about a total of 10 ft in elevation change over the course of each loop.  They also did this loop 17.6 times… I think I like point to point courses best but for that amount of flatness on a course… it would be worth the boredom;)

*NIke sure had a great two hour commercial… by the end I was thinking that the Zoom Vaporfly Elite will get me a PR in the marathon;)

*Eliud (the fastest marathoner ever) has only run on a treadmill TWO TIMES.  I guess that means he doesn’t love catching up on This Is Us while logging the miles on the treadmill like I do.

Look at these splits! (source)

Thought this was really interesting too! (source)!

Anyways, I just think it is amazing to see how far running has come for these elites and for each of us… the progression is addicting.

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I hope your Sunday is amazing!  Tell me what is on your mind right now!?!?!