This picture is from Monday and not from yesterday’s run but we’ll just use it to talk about yesterday’s run because it was a lot prettier than the one I took yesterday:)
8 miles @ 9:18 average pace and most of those miles were in the shade which felt amazing.
I found a big heart on the street while I was out.
I listened to the Armchair Expert with Blake Griffin during my run (I usually listen up until the ‘fact check’ portion because the language seems to change a lot for that portion) and it was really good. I love feeling like I can relate in some way to professional athletes and during this interview Blake Griffin spends a little time talking about his routine before a game. He has a VERY specific routine that he does leading up to a game where he knows exactly what he should be doing down to the specific minute before the game starts that also correlates with his playlist that he has made. I think they need to make a movie showing these exact routines of these players!
I’m not nearly as precise as the pros but I DO really love that I have a routine before a race (or big workouts) that I love to do because it gives me that sense of control that I just love so much. My routine definitely starts the week leading up to the race with things like my runs and the food I eat that I love to do but the day before and morning of the race I like to feel pretty structured with my routine. For the St. George marathon I even like staying in the same hotel as part of my routine!
A few of my rituals the day before a race:
*I run 2 slow miles with a few strides at the end.
*I go to the expo to pick up my bib.
*I eat pancakes/eggs or oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta with chicken for dinner.
*I set out all of my things and make sure everything is charging.
*I lay on the couch and watch tv, go over my game plan, look at all of the training runs/workouts I did leading up to the race, think about all of the positive things and go to bed as early as possible.
A few of my rituals the morning of the race:
*I shower.
*Eat bagels with jam 2-3 hours before the race and then start sipping on UCAN up until the race starts and usually take a gel about 30 minutes before.
*Say a prayer (or a million:)
*Do a short warm-up jog with a few short strides
I wonder when I will be doing this again:
Tennis is still a big highlight of our days and she worked on her serves yesterday.
We made it over to the pool after that.
For dinner we made paninis with cheese, turkey, avocado, bacon and extra butter on the bread.
And then we all played tennis together.
Followed by a treat!
Two random things before I say goodbye:
*Skye experienced the joy of chocolate chips on her peanut butter spoon for the first time and that event was a big one.
*My sister asked me to join her at the park the other night with the kids but I was already in bed… so I sent her this picture. I told her I am sleeping for two people which is why I need to sleep double the amount of time that Andrew sleeps each night;). I was also having nausea again and my favorite way to beat that is just by going to sleep ha.
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How many hours of sleep each night have you been getting these days?
Are you big into routines before races/workouts etc? Are you a routine person in your normal life?
-Have I ever told you that Andrew HATES routines… they drive him crazy. Opposites attract ha because I love them.
What was the last thing you listened to while on a run?
Any word on the schools in your area and what their fall plans are for opening?
38 comments
Victoria
OMG that panini looks and sounds AMAZING.
Yay to Skye for discovering one of the highlights of life.
The Hungry Runner Girl
You must make a panini today.. it hits the spot. Have a beautiful day, Victoria!
Mariah
If I wake up early to run, I get about 7. But if I don’t, I can get closer to 8 or 8.5! Once I go back to in-person work and school, I’ll get less, so trying to enjoy it now.
My school is still trying to figure out their exact fall plans. They said every class will be offered virtually for people who can’t or don’t want to be back in person yet. But they will have some in-person classes! Just need to figure out which ones and how many people can attend. Luckily graduate classes are smaller, so it won’t be as much of an issue for us as the undergrads. I feel bad for them though, this is not the undergrad experience they expected :(
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you for sharing your school’s plans! I am so glad that you will still have a similar situation for your classes! Keep enjoying the extra sleep and I hope you have a really great day.
AmandaM
I also only listen to Armchair up until the Fact Check! We are the same in that I don’t feel like foul language is really necessary (I’m prudish I guess in that way). I also just think that portion is boring :) I loved the Blake Griffin episode and hope Dax does indeed interview more athletes as he said he wants to.
The Hungry Runner Girl
YES! I love finding our similarities. Hahah totally agree, after an exciting interview the fact check just is a let down. I really hope he has on more athletes too! Have a wonderful day, Amanda!
Karen
My friends with school age children are so bummed after reading the three scenarios for fall school schedule?. I hope it’s better by Fall.
Sorry you’re experiencing nausea again.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I really do too! I just don’t know how working parents are able to do some of these plans! Thank you Karen and luckily it is just at night so I can just go to sleep:) Hope your morning is off to a great start!
Stacey
My pre-race looks almost identical to yours!
Today is my first day back to work and my baby had the worst night of sleep since he was born. He’s typically a decent sleeper (unlike my other son when he was a baby), but last night, we got about 3 hours total. I usually need at least 7, but thrive on 10. Ironically, I work in a sleep center and since starting here, I’ve been highly aware of how much/what quality my sleep is. Sleep is amazing, and quite fascinating!
Take care, Janae! You’re amazing!
The Hungry Runner Girl
NOOOO I am so sorry that you didn’t sleep last night and I really hope that he makes up for it tonight with a perfect night of sleep. I bet your job is so interesting, I love learning about sleep and I’m like you and thrive on 10 hours! I hope your first day back to work went really well. Thank you Stacey, keep me updated with how you are doing!
Kristin
I LOVE a routine, and am having a little trouble getting in the summer groove…most things around here are still closed, so trying to find ways to keep busy! The heat isn’t helping. :-)
I’m definitely an 8 hours a night kind of person. I usually get my running clothes out the night before, and anything else I need, so I can just get going right away and not think about it!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Oh Kristin, that definitely does make it a lot harder to have a routine again. I hope you are able to find a really good schedule for you! I love doing that too and it is so much harder to get up and go run when I don’t do that the night before. I hope you are having a great Monday (I wrote that and then realized it was Wednesday haha)!
Erika
Never enough sleep :) I usually get 6.5 hours of sleep but could use at least one more hour – I know, I know… I need to go to bed earlier!
They are still in talks with our school plans but they have about every option mapped out – from going back as normal to doing it only online, half days, etc. I’m soooooo hoping they can return as normal!
I feel like a need a routine with some things so I don’t forget something. If I do it out of order than I’m sure to miss something.
The Hungry Runner Girl
I hope someday soon you are able to get that 7.5 hours! Keep me updated with what they decide on in your area. I really need to know the plan for this fall! I feel that way about my routine too. Hope you are having a great day Erika!
elizabeth
I get about 7-8 hours of sleep. That seems about right for me because I always wake up before my alarm.
I love routines before a race and I love hearing other people’s routines! I feel like life goes a little smoother if you have a few things that you can always count on. I like to make lists too but sometimes I get distracted and don’t get to everything I had planned on.
Your treat looks AMAZING!! I got brain freeze just looking at the pic lol
So sorry your nausea is back. Hopefully it won’t last much longer. Maybe some Great Harvest bread will help?
The Hungry Runner Girl
That is a great sign that you are getting enough sleep! I hope you get a delicious treat soon and thank you so much… I think you are right! Luckily it is just at night so I will do the Great Harvest trick tonight. Have a beautiful day, Elizabeth!
Erica
I love routines, so much so that my husband says might be addicted to them. Yikes.
My sister is a routine hater, and although I love her to death it really can be hard on your family get togethers because we have such different needs. She is coming to stay at my house over the 4th and she still cannot tell me what day she is coming.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Erica, once again we are so alike ha… definitely addicted to my routines. It’s so interesting to me how we can have the same parents and be raised the same way and then be so different like you and your sister with routines. I hope you guys have a great time over the 4th and that you get a date from her soon ha. Have a beautiful day!
AG
Armchair expert gets great guests, but I just find Dax so irritating/righteous and I don’t like the whole dynamic with Monica… I love listening to nonfiction on my runs, and I specifically love trashy celebrity autobiographies. Jessica Simpson’s really made me appreciate her intelligence, Rob Lowe’s made me like him a lot, and Leah Remini’s was pretty fascinating. “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone” is also very much worth checking out.
My family is actually up in Utah right now and very much enjoying the weather and all the hiking/outdoors! We did a waterfall hike and the Heber railroad yesterday which my kids LOVED. We drove up from SD while we put our house on the market and it’s been a great break. Any recommendations on where to stop when we drive back? I was thinking St. George but it’s supposed to be like 107 there…
My two year old is going through a crazy climb out the crib every ten seconds and only will sleep with mom in the room phase so my sleep has not been… optimal. In general though I am one of those freaks that only needs about 5-6 hours a night. I wake up like clockwork (no alarm) about 6 hours from when I go to bed.
In San Diego, the school situation is pretty vexing. My kids aren’t at the “REAL” school age yet, but for my friends a lot of the schools are doing 50% in class and then want 50% from home which is just really impossible for my working mom friends who can’t spend 7 hours every other day trying to make a 6 year old concentrate on a computer :(
The Hungry Runner Girl
I totally see what you are saying with Dax and it is always so crazy to me because his wife seems the exact opposite ha but I do love who they have on and their conversations. Oh I LOVED Jessica Simpson’s book, I felt the same way. Now I will check out Rob Lowe’s book and “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.” I also love Leah Remini’s book! Thanks for the recommendations. SO happy you are here in Utah and Heber is so close to us. My brother is in Moab right now and having the time of his life (and hiking in the mornings and evenings to avoid crazy heat). Bryce Canyon is incredible and of course you have to go to Sundance while you are so close:) Please keep me updated with what you end up doing. You sound a lot like Andrew, I don’t know how you guys function on so little sleep but that is awesome. That is exactly what I’ve been wondering… how are working parents able to do anything but full-time school?! Thanks for sharing and I hope you are having a beautiful day today and you get in a great hike.
AG
Aww, thanks for replying! We’ve been exploring the new Bonanza Flats Open Space (which I am sure you are aware of but SUCH a cool story that people saved the land). And post hike we hit up the Dairy in Heber/Midway for ice cream (for the kids) and cheese (for me!). Utah certainly is a special place for people who love the outdoors, I’d move here in a minute but we both have good jobs back in SD (and my husband doesn’t want to do cold winters— I keep trying to tell him that Utah cold is different than Boston/NYC cold but…).
And I don’t know about Andrew, but my “not needing to sleep” didn’t make me very popular in college… We’d stay up late and then I was always like first person up, singing and making pancakes the next day at 7am. Ha!
Rob Lowe’s book is pretty cool because I didn’t realize all these famous people lived in Malibu before Malibu was a thing in the 1960s/70s… He’s like “then I went to the store and these kids “Sean Pean and Charlie Sheen” were playing basketball. Also he seems like he ADORES his wife, which always makes me happy. Have a wonderful day!!!
Becky Przy
A 7:00 bedtime sounds wonderful!!! I haven’t been getting nearly enough sleep–only 6 to 7 hours and I prefer 7.5-8. I am loving the summer life though!
I love a routine! I wish I was a little more flexible because sometimes life is more fun when you don’t have a schedule all the time…I am working on it!
Do they have a plan for back to school in Utah? Here they are working on 3 plans–1. all distance learning 2. a hybrid of school and distance learning 3. all in person with some modifications (lunch time, bussing etc) Really narrows it down, doesn’t it;-). My kids go to a private school so they will most likely be at school because they have small class sizes, but we would have to drive them if the public school does distance learning.
Happy, happy Wednesday!
The Hungry Runner Girl
How is your camper?! It sounds like you guys have been having a blast and your kids are going to remember this time forever. I’ll work on flexibility with you too because I definitely struggle with that. They haven’t put out any concrete plans and I’m so eager to hear what they will do! Oh that is great that your kids already have small class sizes. Keep me updated. Thanks Becky, you too!
Kathy McElhaney
I’ve been getting about 7-8 hours of sleep lately and it’s been wonderful!
I haven’t done a lot of races so I don’t have much of a routine, but in real life I’m all about routine! Today is laundry day ;)
I only listen to music when I’m running. I like the background noise that I don’t have to think too hard about. The group MercyMe has a new song out called “Hurry Up and Wait.” The video is super cute about quarantine. I love when it comes on because the bridge says, “We will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not grow faint!” I smile every time and pick up the pace just a little.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Happy laundry day! I am so glad you have been sleeping so well lately. I will have to check out the video, thank you so much and that line is perfect! Enjoy your Wednesday, Kathy!
Annie R
Oh man, I need to sleep SO much longer than my husband does. I’ve been getting 9ish (sometimes even 10) hours every night lately. I had a really bad bout of insomnia from November until about Mid-May so I’m using that as an excuse and just saying I’m making up for all the sleep I lost during that time ;)
I also really like routines but I think I’ve gotten slightly better at not being completely obsessive about them lately. It’s odd because letting go of my strict routines I think has actually made me less anxious. It’s like “oh, I can actually survive if things don’t go exactly the same way every single day!”
The Hungry Runner Girl
That is a long time to be dealing with insomnia so YES, keep making up for those months! Is it because of covid that you have gotten better with not following a strict routine. That is so interesting to me because you would think it would be the other way but you are SO right. Hope you are having a beautiful morning Annie!
Annie R
I think the break away from routine is part due to COVID but it also sort of happened when I was experiencing such bad insomnia. My bedtime routine started giving me a lot of anxiety because as soon as 8pm hit I started to panic about not being tired or not being able to sleep (which obviously did not help). I think routine is great for a lot of people (and sometimes myself included!) but it can also be really anxiety-triggering, especially when things don’t go according to plan.
Andrea
Getting into bed early is the absolute best feeling ever. I am right there with you. 7:00 PM sounds heavenly – Nothing beats knowing that you’re going to get nine or 10 hours of sleep (or more…hah) I aim for 8-9 hours a night. I love my sleep!!!
I think I would lean towards not liking routine, Doing the same thing day after day drives me crazy.
The Hungry Runner Girl
YES… it seriously is the best treat I can give myself ha. I hope that you get an amazing night of sleep tonight! Andrew totally agrees with you on routines! I hope you have a beautiful and routine-free day. Thanks Andrea!
Amy S
Hi Janae! Peanut butter with chocolate chips, what a great idea! I love when you give podcast recommendations because I sure can’t get enough. I definitely sleep more when I’m in training mode than right now when I’m not training for anything. Working from home makes it so tempting to get a short nap in sometimes! Have a great day!
The Hungry Runner Girl
You must try the pb and chocolate chip combo today… please! I totally agree, our running makes a big difference on how much sleep we need (and Andrew is agreeing with that as he is in marathon training). I think you should get in a short nap today if you can’t. Thanks Amy and have a great Wednesday.
Jenn
8 hours plus here!! I need my sleep! Sometimes I get a little less and sometimes a little more! No plans for school yet but there are some scenarios. None of the scenarios include 100 percent in person. Im lucky enough to stay at home so I won’t have to make extra childcare plans but my soon to be first grader learns much better in a classroom environment. Everyone says it’s easy to teach her bc she is so young but umm no. Spring was a disaster.
Felicia
That photo of you running with the trees in the background is so lovely. I usually take vacations in forest-y areas (though all plans for this year are on hold) so I appreciate seeing pics of others enjoying time in nature. :)
Mary
Does Andrew take over bedtime when you go to bed that early?
I get 7-8 hours each night usually. I love routine and schedule too! My husband is actually the same
With me on this too. So it’s good when we always leave on time for places but sometimes having a little spontaneous spirit would be good too, but we don’t have that!
Leanne
Hi Janae! My daughter and I are big on routines, my husband not so much! My daughter has perfected her pre-race rituals (complete with me braiding her hair) for cross country and track! I’m so proud! :)
Our school system, in northern Virginia, just announced yesterday that kids will go to school at least two days a week and learn virtually for two days, with the option to opt out and have your kids learn virtually four days a week. We are still waiting to hear about cross country, but I’m not feeling optimistic.
And now I need a spoonful of peanut butter and chocolate chips!
emily hein
Those paninis sound sooo good!!
kelly
Is that a Popsicle on top of a slushy?! That look so good and refreshing!