Tuesday's Taper Run & Three Facts...

I decided to do my mid-week running session today and will do my second one on Thursday so that I have 2 rest days prior to the Palm Beach half on Sunday. Yesterday I rested and iced my knee so this morning I felt pretty good. The weather was awesome...

And I was able to complete a 30 minute session...

My pace was not the best, but I was aiming for a slower run (which I clearly achieved). The pace per mile breakdown...

(is it "frowned upon" to get excited about negative splits when you only have 2.5 miles to compare?)

Post run selfie...

Even though the running session was just "ok" I was excited that I had a chance to use my new Metronome app to help me improve my cadence...

I'm at 175 right now...but only for short durations (2:1 intervals) so my future goal is to get to 180 and maintain that for longer and longer durations. 

It would be nice to get to 5:1 intervals by the end of the year (aka the next 4 weeks), and ultimately I'm shooting for 10:1 by the end of 2015...

Today ended up being a "I really need a hug" type of day...

It all started with the realization of these three facts...

Even my "Christmas" skittles didn't cheer me up...

Speaking of Christmas...I found the perfect website for Christmas shopping for all the runners in your life. I still have a lot of shopping to get done (and I hate shopping) so I'll be doing as much stuff online as I can. I have 3 LRs before I head home [so excited!] which means that I have 3 weeks to get all my shopping done....sigh....this year might be the "year of gift cards".

Also, don't forget that you still have a chance to enter the Holiday Giveaway! The deadline to enter is Dec 11th! The gift basket has a lot of cool stuff (shown in pic) and you can check out the link for more information on all the items...

Have you started/finished your Christmas/Holiday shopping (if you celebrate this time of year)?

What's at the top of your running "Christmas" list?

The LR Countdown and email excitement!

Today was the longest Monday in the history of long Mondays. I required a lot of coffee to make it through the day. Thankfully I didn't have too much...

I did my sit up challenge this morning before work. I completed five sets of 25 sit ups (it's easier for me to break down the session into manageable sets...for Day 24 I was supposed to complete a minimum of 115 sit ups, so a total of 125 isn't bad). For the rest of November I'm going to aim at adding an additional set every couple of days or so, but I'll need a new approach to my 30 Day Challenge for December. I'm planning on restarting the sit-up challenge and maybe incorporating some wall sits in there as well. Thoughts?

My legs felt good today. I have some mild soreness but  overall I think the hot/cold soak and compression leg sleeves really helped in the whole recovery process. I also wore knee-high socks today which provided some mild compression for my lower legs :)

Can you believe the year is almost over?? Below are a few of the major events I'm looking forward to for the rest of the year (as measured by Long Runs)...
Zero LRs before Thanksgiving
One LR before the Palm Beach half (my third and final half marathon for this year)
Two LRs before my Dad's birthday! (December 11th)
Three LRs before my 2 year anniversary at work (which means extra special stuff will happen!...or so they tell me)
Four LRs before Christmas (this is probably the most exciting news ever! I can't wait to go home!!)
Five LRs left in 2014 (I'm excited to see what 2015 will bring)

I'm trying to come up with a safe training plan for 2015. As you may know, I adjust my training plan as needed to incorporate safer mileage incremental increases and to accommodate for changes in my work schedule. For 2015 I will be sticking to a formal plan that's well thought out, not complicated, and not too intense (so it doesn't put me at risk for injury) but intense enough (so that I push myself safely to get stronger).  So I'm trying to get a general consensus on what other runners are doing (or have done) to prepare for their full marathon(s). Please leave a comment with your answer to the following questions (it will be greatly appreciated)...
1. What is your longest LR during your training cycle? (some people don't go past 20 miles, others go up to the full 26 or more)
2. How many LRs (20 miles or greater) do you run during your training?
3. How far apart are these LRs?
4. How many weeks before your marathon is your longest LR?

On a more exciting note, I received an absolutely fabulous amazingly wonderful email from my boss today...

Never before have I felt so excited to work in an area that is considered to be "non-essential". I'm so happy that I'm off on the Thursdays and Fridays of the holiday weeks!!! However, the term "non-essential" is kind of insulting isn't it? They need to come up with a better phrase/term like "totally awesome departments that are vitally important but can take the days off since we have other people to cover life threatening emergencies"...or you know, something like that.

A quick reminder: The Holiday Giveaway closes on Dec 11th! Don't forget to enter :)

Also, please take a moment to comment on your training cycle LRs! (thank you, thank you, thank you!)

10 Day "YOU" Challenge Day Seven: 7 Books & a Holiday Giveaway!!!!

Since I love to read talking about some of my "favorite books" seemed like a natural choice for the next segment of the 10 "Day" YOU Challenge. There is no way I could limit my favorite books to only 7 so instead I'm going to (mostly) talk about some of the recent books I've read that I really enjoyed.

Again to Carthage (John L Parker Jr):
This is the first novel about running that I read earlier this year. It's an inspirational storyline that has you falling in love with the main character and realizing that complaining about your training plan is a ridiculous concept compared to the type of training detailed in this book.

Iron House (John Hart)
This is a story about the ties that bond families together beyond the strain of loss, pain, time and space. An epic book that is frustratingly unpredictable and equally enjoyable. Sometimes losing yourself in the predicaments of the protagonist puts your own problems into perspective.

The Innocent (David Baldacci)
Suspense and action and a story line with a twist (have to love those!). This is the first book by this author that I've read and I'm already on the hunt for more!

A Time to Kill (John Grishman)-- (not recent, but an all time favorite). This was also my introduction to John Grisham as an author (years ago). I've read 95% of the books he's written since then. Both my mom and twin sister love his writing so for several years we were trading books back and forth.

If I Stay (Gayle Forman)
This one is a definite tear jerker. I haven't seen the movie (yet) but if it's as good as the book is it will be amazing.

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
I usually tend to love the first book in a series the best so although I've read the entire trilogy the Hunger Games is my favorite. I went to see the Mockingjay part 1 with Kaiyu and we both loved it. Can't wait for part two!

Divergent (Veronica Roth)
Divergent is the first of this series and it's my absolute favorite, but all the books are great (as are the ones in the hunger games series).

As you can probably tell my reading taste is very diverse. There is no particular "type" of novel that appeals to me the most, which allows me to enjoy a wide variety of writing styles. There are a few types of books that I don't enjoy though. I try to stay away from books about slavery, the holocaust, human trafficking etc...in general I don't enjoy non-fiction books.

What are some of your favorite books?

Do you ever re-read your favorite book?

On a more festive note...It's never too early for free stuff is it?  I'm helping Amber @ Bold Fit Mom with her Holiday Giveaway and I have to say there are some amazing things in her holiday gift basket!

The giveaway is open on her blog until December 11th and there are a few ways that you can enter. Be sure to click on the link to learn more about the giveaway...

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY