We stayed in Grand Targhee the last few nights. It sits at about 8000 ft and where we live is 4500 ft so yesterday’s run definitely felt a bit harder than normal but the views made up for that. Isn’t it crazy how much harder it is to run at higher elevations? I feel like I notice going up in elevation and how hard it is way more than I notice it being easier when I am running at a lower elevation.
Six miles done and done with 500 ft of elevation gain so I definitely clapped for myself at the end of this run because I felt so accomplished:)
We were able to bring most of our food for this trip but started to run out so we stopped at a place called Street Food near Jackson Hole. You can just order online and they bring it out to you. This kimchi rice bowl with carne asada and an egg on top was unreal!
We decided to drive about an hour outside of Jackson to go to Granite Springs!
As you are driving there you really wonder if you are going the right way because it is so in the middle of nowhere. You also drive on a dirt road for a while but we all agreed it was worth the trip.
The water was about the same temperature as a warm bath and felt so calming. It will be really fun to come back here during the winter.
There was also an amazing waterfall just a few minutes before you get to the hot springs.
We finished off our time in Jackson with ice cream and that Huckleberry shake was delicious.
PS our AirPods have been through way too much… They were in Andrew’s shorts pocket in the hot springs and they survived!
Megan had a great question yesterday so I thought I would answer it in a post because I am sure a lot of us experience this!
I will be the first to say that I am addicted to the feeling that I experience after I finish a run or good workout. I love how the rest of my day goes so much more smoothly when I take time to move first thing in the morning and I am so much better at getting things done on my to do list. BUT I have also learned that without those rest days, I don’t get to experience all of those amazing post-run feelings on other days because I get injured. My body needs a full day of rest each day to truly recover and rebuild stronger for the next week.
So what are my tips for rest days?
*GET OUTSIDE. A big part of why running makes me feel so good is because I am out in nature with fresh air and doing my own form of exploration. On rest days I always make sure to get outside. Maybe I’ll go for a walk and look at houses with Andrew (one or our favorite activities) or maybe I’ll just sit under our walnut tree with the kids and eat snacks. I think that the fresh air and sunlight recharges me a lot and gives me some energy!
*I remind myself that the rest days are what make the run days possible. That helps me to enjoy my rest days a lot more.
*I take the time I would normally use to run on a different skill/passion/hobby that I feel like I don’t normally have time to do. Another reason that I love running is because it helps me to set aside time for myself each day to take care of myself. Find something else on your rest days that feels like you are taking care of yourself so you still get the benefits of that… I usually bake something, read something I’ve wanted to read or take time to journal.
*Be okay feeling lazy! Slowing down is definitely hard for me but I’m really trying to remind myself that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having days where I’m not accomplishing things or I spend more time on the couch than normal (my rest days are on Sundays which makes it easy to do that because we have nowhere to be). Sometimes I remind myself that without the blah days I wouldn’t know how great it feels to feel on top of things and energetic. It’s all part of the ride!
*Caffeine hahah… I kid kind of but isn’t it crazy how much more tired we feel on the days we don’t run?!
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What do you do on rest days to help you to not feel blah/lazy/unmotivated? How often does your body need a rest day?
What is the elevation where you live? Do you notice big differences when you run somewhere with a different elevation than what you are used to?
Caffeine… use it or no thanks?
What’s your run today if you are running? Give me the details!
23 comments
Lee
Your vacation looks like a lot of fun. It looks like something my family would enjoy. We need to find something like that on the east coast. We’re headed to VA in a few weeks to stay in what looks like a pretty unpopulated area on a river for a week. I can’t wait. We wanted to get away but didn’t want to go where the crowds are. My husband did a lot of searching and came up with something. We’ll go away for a week a do nothing (like we are now) but with a different view.
I take a walk on rest days (Friday). If I can get out of the house before work, I do. Otherwise I watch TV while on the treadmill. I need the me time before I have to give everyone else my time. I only run four days a week in order to prevent injury. The other days I do the rowing machine and weights so I get those endorphins but using different muscles in order to prevent injury. I don’t know if it’s working. We’ll see when we come back from vacation. There will be sand involved. My knee has swelled up the last two years while on vacation because it doesn’t like sand.
I don’t have any caffeine until after my workout in the morning but it’s a must. I start with a big mug of green tea and then switch to iced tea.
Enjoy the rest of your trip! It’s making me really look forward to my vacation.
Mariah
Running with friends motivates me on blah days! Also a fun playlist.
Today I did 3 miles on the treadmill at 5 am. The treadmill is not my favorite, but needed to run early before work because I knew it would make me feel better during a long work day!
I really want that ice cream now too! Looks amazing.
Amanda H
So I looked up the town in Ohio where I live, and apparently I’m at a whopping 879 feet in elevation lol. I’ve never tried running anywhere with higher elevation, but if I ever get the chance I will, just to see the difference.
Melissa S.
So wow just looked up the elevation where I’m at in NH and I am at 558′ in elevation. Wow. I cannot believe I never looked this up before. So fun.
Minimal caffeine for me, one black tea in the morning. I would love it for more energy but it kicks my normal anxiety into overdrive anxiety.
You’re vacation looks fun, Janae.
Lindsay
I’m basically at sea level here in Maine but I do get up to about 4,000 ft while hiking in western Maine. No running there – the trails are way too rocky! This may sound silly, but you made my day by talking about elevation differences and not altitude! I have never understood why runners say “altitude” training. You’re not running around suspended up in the air, you’re still on the ground! It’s high elevation training as you said. Okay, rant over :-).
Kelcy B.
I’m at ~10,000ft (Leadville CO) and running is such a struggle – ive had to add walk breaks to get my heart rate down. I’m curious to see how much better running feels at when I visit a lower elevation again!
The Hungry Runner Girl
10,000 feet?!? I don’t know how you run at all at that elevation, you are AMAZING Kelsey!
Wendy
I love Jackson! I need to go back again soon.
I completely agree with you about getting outside on rest days. Sometimes even just having coffee on the patio can be such a help. I also take our dog for a walk every day, but on my rest days, it just feels so peaceful to be out with my sweet “old man”.
I live at sea level, but was born and raised in Colorado (Denver area). I find that the 1st run in Colorado will take a mile or 2 to get me adjusted to the altitude, and then I’m fine. But, I always remind myself that my pace will be a little slower, and that’s ok!
Today is the 1st day of school here, completely distance learning at least through the 1st quarter. The district has set up what I think is a good schedule ( our youngest is a junior in high school), so the kids have to be “in” class at the normal time with 8 minute breaks between each class and a regular lunch. It will be different for sure, but I am so happy to have an almost normal schedule. My husband is a teacher at our son’s school, so he’s back to the schedule too.
Today’s run is just a quick one through the neighborhood. I’m still being a little cautious and careful with my achilles.
Have a good day Janae ?
Dorothy
Hi! I wanted to comment on the sweet picture with Andrew and Skye. It is so dear and completely captures a feeling of Skye wrapped safely in her father’s arms and his hand (wearing his wedding band) resting on the table. A beautiful moment reflecting the joy and divine solidarity of your family. Very heartwarming.
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thank you for your sweet comment and I totally agree with you. Andrew is such an incredible dad and his kids feel his love daily! Have a beautiful day Dorothy!
Erica
Plan something out of the norm on those rest days, I find it especially helpful if you even can coincide it with when you normally run. Meet up with friends, have them to your patio/house for coffee or breakfast. I find part of what adds to the lazy feeling is instead of running I am not really doing anything. NO Judgement we all need that, but if you are looking to rid yourself of that feeling commit to getting out the door as you would for your run.
Katie A
All of your photos make me want to switch our next family trip to go there immediately! I’ll at least be adding it to my list of places to visit someday.
*Rest days are pretty easy for me, but do like having my rest days on a consistent day(s) of the week – that way you don’t have to question whether it should be a rest day or not.
*We are at about 900 ft elevation – wow I can’t imagine running at 8000 ft!
*Caffeine – YES, but I am trying to cut it out and get more sleep.
*My run today may or may not happen – on my run last night, I somehow tweaked my ankle a bit. I kept running on it because it did not feel too bad, but it’s not so wonderful this morning. So it may be an impromptu rest day.
Glad you all are enjoying the trip!
Becky Przy
Love, love the pictures of your vacation!!! It looks like you are soaking up the scenery and family time!!! Enjoy!
On rest days I always take an easy short walk and/or take the kids hiking because lets face it, it’s more like exploring;-). Plus, I agree being outside simply lifts your mood.
I have found I need one rest day per week, sometimes two. I used to think I could only run 3-4x/week or I would get injured. I realized that if I slowly increase my mileage or don’t run fast on all my runs, I can run 5-6x/week and be fine. However, I also am much better at fueling myself throughout the day.
I LOVE caffeine;-). It is my goal in the next year to give up coffee for at least 3 weeks, but I have a lot of weaning off to do in the meantime. It has been part of my morning routine (and sometimes afternoon) for the past 15+ years.
I ran an easy 6 miles today. Cutting back a bit this week since I have another triathlon this weekend. It’s a Sunday race so it is throwing off my entire week. I think I have only had one other race on a Sunday. All races here are typically on a Saturday–I thought this one was too until a few days ago when my sister told me it was on Sunday.
ENJOY your vacation!!!
Jenny
I’m loving all of your vacation smiles!
I don’t feel like I get rest days with kids! Ha! Having said that though I save them for the weekend when we’re all home together. My 6 year old has 0 chill and I’m the lucky one who he chooses to wrestle with, chase, ride all the bikes/scooters/trikes w/, run through sprinklers with etc. It’s exhausting! I feel like a run/workout day is more relaxing than a day with a busy kiddo! Lol!
I live at about 550 ft; the Puget Sound is only 2 miles from my house so I feel like I live at sea level. The highest I’ve ran is Mount Rainier about 6,000 ft and I felt no difference in endurance. I was also power hiking along with running and taking a ton of pics so that helped!
Give me all the caffeine!!
No run today; I developed a niggle after my 10 miler yesterday so I did a full body resistance band workout and yoga to rest my tendon.
Have a great day!
Megan
Thanks Janae! Those are great ideas!
The Hungry Runner Girl
Thanks for the question Megan and I hope it helps! Have a beautiful day:)
Erika
I don’t mind taking rest days when it’s my choice but on days like this morning when I overslept and didn’t have time to get my workout in is when I feel mad at myself and will feel more blah throughout the day.
I drink a cup of coffee in the morning – well, I sip on it for about 3 hours so I don’t think the caffeine really benefits me other than making me have to pee a lot. I drink it for the taste and not the energy.
Amy S
Hi Janae! Ideally I would you know do strength training at least some core work on a rest day but that doesn’t always happen. I am working on not feeling bad about it but just doing the best I can. The other day on a rest day my fiance and I did one of Jane Fonda’s old tapes. It was actually a good workout and I’m sure all the giggling at how they were dressed back in the day and all the random weird noises they make while working out added to the ab burn ;)
Anna @ Adventures En Route
Yes caffeine (as I sip my coffee). I will say, I think I enjoy the ritual of coffee more so than the caffeine though. I think I’m going to try and recreate your rice bowl at home! Looks delicious!
Kathy McElhaney
I like to do a little extra stretching on my rest days. It’s money in the bank.
The elevation where we live is 768′ – I definitely notice when I’m at a higher elevation.
Caffeine… oh yes!
19 mile bike ride today with 40 on the schedule for Thursday. Les reminded me that I am 8 days away from my first 100k ride!
Kirby
I live at 7522′ above sea level and I LOVE how the higher elevation makes me feel. I actually struggle running at lower elevations, especially in the summer, because it feels so muggy and thick. I prefer the thinner air! I will say that when we try to trail run up in the mountains (so gaining about 2000-4000′), I can feel the lack of oxygen.
No caffeine for me! I stopped drinking coffee almost three years ago because of sinus headaches and I just never went back to it. Some days I really miss it!
Hoping to get a nice easy three mile run in this afternoon. I have been off my regular schedule over the past couple of weeks and I miss it! Ready to get back to it.
Kelly Suzanne Carleson
Rest days are so important! I’ve learned to enjoy the “extra” time and do things that I usually don’t get around to on run days. I also mix up my nutrition on rest days since I’m not accommodating a run. It wasn’t easy to get used to rest days and sometimes I feel really blah on them or even blah the day after, but in the long run they’re so beneficial to allow those muscle fibers to regenerate and build.
We are at 1800ft elevation. One summer my brother and I were planning an ultra at way higher elevation and I was freaking out. Turns out, it wasn’t bad. The elevation peaked at a certain mile point then leveled out. It’s fun to see the difference in terrain at higher elevations and feel the difference. Briefly.
Mountain biking today due to high heat and humidity. BOnus was finding three new trails.
I drink coffee every day. I love making an Americano after my run. Or, we will stop mid way/end of a long ride and get coffee. I’ve taught the bakery ladies how to make one (sometimes they’ll make a shot of espresso and set a little pitcher of the hot water next to it and I mix it).
Kathy
I’m in Denver, so 5280′ and I don’t notice a big difference to be honest. I definitely do when I probably get to 12k-ish ft? I ran a half in Estes at Rocky Mountain National Park where it’s 7400-7800 and didn’t notice a big difference, but when we would hike 14ers I could definitely feel the elevation then. I have noticed that humidity affects me WAY MORE than altitude does though. My husband always runs a little faster when we visit St. Louis, but I’m slower than my normal pace bc it’s SO humid and HOT!
As for rest days, I’m ok with doing them now since I’m usually chasing around a toddler, however, in the past, I would do a little bit of yoga to stretch or go for a long walk outside with my dog.
Jackson Hole is beautiful!! I love small little mountain towns!