15 things + an interval tip for YOU (from my first little bit of speed)!

1.  Hello from most of our crew: 

2.  Below is the hair of somebody that slept 6 hours and 50 minutes STRAIGHT.  I woke up freaking out (and hurting a little bit ha) thinking something was wrong at 5:50 because usually Skye wakes me up long before that to eat!  She didn’t wake up at her normal times and she just wanted to snooze for pretty much double the time that she normally does.  I’m not counting on this being a new thing but I am very thankful that it did happen because it felt amazing.

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3.  Fed, played and then she took her nap snuggled up on Andrew and I set out for a run!

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4.  I think that all of the sleep had me craving to move my legs a little bit.

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5.  The crazy part about that feeling that I had once I left the door was that it was very windy and I still wanted to see if I could get my legs moving.  Normally the wind makes me want to run as slow as possible.

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6.  What I ended up doing was a 10 minute warm-up followed by 5 x 1 minute fast for me (between a 6:55-7:05 pace) w/ a one minute recovery after each one.  Then I finished off with just running a normal pace until I hit 4.5 miles.

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7.  There is something I like to do during intervals when I am tired and need to get my brain somewhere else than thinking about wanting to quit—> I love to try to guess where I will hit the end of the interval.  I turn it into a guessing game.  Will the interval finish up at the stop sign up a head?  The tree at the corner of the next street?  Where a certain parked car is on the road up ahead?  I like to turn intervals into a little game for myself to see where the interval will end… try it and let me know if it helps you.  This is a little harder for longer intervals but maybe start guessing towards the end of that interval.  I always like to over guess a bit so I go a little faster at the end to get to where I guessed the minute/mile/half-mile/(whatever the interval is) ends.

Also, I almost stepped on a mouse during my run.  I was about an inch away from full on stepping on the mouse that ran right under me.  That got my heart rate up higher than the intervals.

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8.  Andrew went mountain biking once I got home. I wanted to take the kids to my niece’s basketball game but of course that took a million years.  So the drive-thru at Wendy’s saved me for our lunch.  Not going to lie, their pecan salad is heavenly.

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9.  Surprisingly we made it on time to the game.  I’m not sure how but it happened (I shouldn’t congratulate myself too much.. the game was at 1 ha).

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10. They were both pretty happy to see my nephew.

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11.  This was Skye’s first basketball game ever and she snoozed the entire time.

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12.  There was about 5 minutes yesterday afternoon when Skye was showing me all sorts of big smiles!  When Brooke saw this picture she said, ‘Skye is so cute it makes my eyes melt.’

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13.  Andrew’s parents live about an hour away so they came down to visit and we went out to dinner with them.  We had pizza, breadsticks and salad!  Brooke now eats her breadsticks like corn on the cob.

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14.  And then they came over to our house and we all hung out for a little bit!

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15. February 1st is coming up so just in case you need this hahahaha:

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Have any tips that help you with intervals? What is the best part of your Sunday going to be? Did you make goals for 2018?  How are they going so far?

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30 comments

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I start my day reading your blog Janae… I have been following you for years but this is my very first comment. You have helped me get through some difficult times and for that… thank you!

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Sadhana, wow. I can’t thank you enough for your comment today! It means the world to me! I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday and keep in touch please with how you are doing!

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I like to do the same with intervals. Sometimes I’ll count in my head and guess what number I’ll get to.

I’m looking forward to a family day. The hubs is teaching at church this morning, then home for lunch and naps, and back to church for a dinner and lesson.

Goals are going pretty well so far, minus the flu taking me out for like 2 weeks but can’t help that :)

Happy Sunday!

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Ahhhh the flu, not fun (especially for two weeks!!). Sounds like a fabulous day and I am going to try your interval trick next time! Thank you Marissa!

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Hi, just to say I find your running blog so inspirational – I know I’ll never be as fast as you, mainly as I don’t put nearly as much effort! Maybe I should try again with interval training, after a few attempts where it didn’t do so well….

I love hearing and seeing the pics how your family is getting on, and I have to admit you have really killed my preconceptions about Utah and Mormonism, and after all those mountain pics I really want to visit now.

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How about you do come visit and I’ll take you running in the mountains?! Wouldn’t that be so much fun! Seriously! Thank you so much for your comment today… it sure made me happy! Keep me updated with how you are doing, loved hearing from you!

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Have to say, next time I come over the pond, Utah is definitely on the list.

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I’m counting on it!!!

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I do that with intervals too! It gives me a focus to keep working hard.

My goals for 2018 are all about adding value to my life and creating positive habits. So far it’s going really well and I already feel a difference – more sleep, more yoga, more reading, more podcasts and less mindless screen time. Perfect!

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Your 2018 goals sound amazing… way to go Allison! I want to join you:) I hope you are having a wonderful morning!

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I always do that with intervals! It definitely takes my mind off of how fast I’m trying not to go.
The best part of my Sunday is going to be the movie marathon I’m having later! It’s going to be raining all day so my boyfriend and I have a bunch of movies to watch.
My goals are going really well so far! I think I’ll hit my first goal of paying off all student loans right around my half marathon. Which has another goal of breaking 2 hours. Woo! Have a great Sunday :)

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Thank you Maureen! When is your half marathon? I’m so excited for you already rocking 2018! Enjoy your movie marathon.. that sounds perfect!

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It’s Sunday April 15th! It seems far away but considering we’re just days away from February it’ll be here before I know it.

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My 2018 goals are going ok. Some I’m doing good on and others I need to work on more. One of them was to dress a little better which for me means wear something other than old running shoes as everyday shoes, and that is one I need to work on. My feet are super picky (and tiny) so I need to find a good pair of comfortable boots or flats or something that actually fit me.

I saw the greatest showman last night. It was just as amazing as everyone kept saying.

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Let me know if you find some really comfy boots.. I want them too! PS when I saw you, you looked so good so don’t be hard on yourself! My feet are double your size hahah! Ahhh I am so glad you saw it, I want to go again! Enjoy your Sunday!

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The mind is so important with intervals or really any endurance work. I rowed a half marathon yesterday (as part of a rowing challenge I’m doing), and I can’t tell you how often I wanted to quit (rowing is a lot more boring than running). But I just broke it down one kilometer at a time and somehow got through it in 1:41. My butt and hands hurt!

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WOW!!! You rowed a half marathon?! Jen…you are absolutely incredible! Next time I’m bored on the treadmill I will use your rowing for 1:41 as my motivation and take it one mile at a time! I hope you have a beautiful Sunday!

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That is so sweet of you. You’ve certainly served as motivation for me on many runs!

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Oh my goodness!! That smiling Skye picture is so cute! My eyes melted too! II’m speaking in church today. Wahoo! My 2018 goals are going pretty great so far. Enjoy your rest day!

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I run intervals similar to you, but I use distance instead of time. The park that I usually run in has a 3 mile loop with light posts every 100 feet so I use the posts as my interval markers. It works great for me.
My 2018 goals include spiritual, creating family memories, and running. So far, I am doing better at the first two and not as good at achieving my running goals. I may have to use that quote about “starting Feb 1. Ha!
Best part of Sunday is a run later after it stops raining, making tacos for dinner, mentally preparing for work tomorrow, and putting my training runs for next week on my calendar. Have a great Sunday everyone!

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Skye appears to have grown over night….and the picture of Andrew holding her (where we can see HER hairline…..I am thinking she got that from Andrew…ha!)

Lovely pics, lovely family…..but the Beretta and Brooke pics are priceless!

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Janae you are such an inspiration! I can’t believe you got back into speed intervals like that and make it seem so easy! I have 13 weeks until my half so I’m easing into it, but this post aaaaalmost makes me want to do speed work! ;)
I went to a workout class this morning that was SO hard but in the best kind of way, so that might be the best part of my day…it gave me amazing exercise endorphins which really is the best way to start a day!
Skye’s smiles are so cute!!! Aaahhh baby smiles just melt my heart!

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Sunday plans = Costco. I am excited because I am still ravenous from my long run yesterday

Goals= following a training plan and blogging more consistently. Among other things

Happy Sunday!

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Ah Amazing Sleep ^^

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Today I baked for my sons’ 20th birthday tomorrow, brownies for his work colleages and cherry pie for us. I haven’t baked the cherry pie before, it looks good, but we have to be patient for 24 hours. Amazing how time flies. I haven’t run in 10 days because I have a bad cold. I hope it gets better soon. I try not to worry too much about losing fitness. Next Thursday I have the afternoon off to shop for new running shoes. Exciting! I like to see how many lamp posts I can run before the interval ends, And I try not to look at my watch too early with the longer intervals. Have a great Sunday!

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I have a question about intervals. Do you slow down to a normal pace in between miles, slow to a slow jog, or walk, or even stop? I don’t really know how to do intervals or mile repeats, but I’d like to know exactly how. Thanks!!

Happy Sunday!!!

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GREAT QUESTION HOLLY!! For me personally, I go to a slow jog in between intervals. I’ve done all sorts of different things though… especially just walking around in the area I am at until the next interval starts or jogging for half of the time that the interval lasts etc. It kind of depends on your fitness level. I think the most popular thing to do is to do a slow jog in between intervals. I wouldn’t recommend stopping completely though. Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope you are having a fabulous day!

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There were a couple good parts of my Sunday… first I went on my longest run in probably a year or more. It was only 4 miles but I was forced to cut wayyy back on my running last January because my husband and I really want to start a family and I was really underweight (lots of running/working out combined with not nearly enough fuel) which caused my hormones to be almost nonexistent. I got my cycle back in July and have been cleared to exercise more now. I can’t go back to what I was doing, obviously, but I have been enjoying getting back into running.
Also the hubby and I went on a random lunch date to Panera, which was delicious! Hope you had a great weekend!

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my tip for tricking my brain during timed intervals it’s to miss count them so I think I have more left than I actually do. When my Interval Timer tells me congratulations my workout is complete I am pleasantly rewarded with one or two less intervals than I told myself I had. It’s a little mind trick that helps me.

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I love your blog for so many reasons! I have to say that the latest pics of Beretta & Brooke are just so sweet – nothing like a loving dog for a child ?

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