I’m still alive!  Quick updates below!

The Vermont City Marathon was many weeks ago.  Then I needed a break.  From training, from blogging, etc. etc.

So what was I up to?

Right after coming back from Vermont, I took separate trips to three new time zones in two weeks (Arkansas (work trip), Colorado (work trip), and California (family wedding)).  I also took a super quick work trip to New York City, and for several weeks leading up to the week of the 4th, things were busy busy around the office.  Somewhere in there I ran a hot, slow charity 10K  in DC and a faster, cooler 5K with my family at the beach.  Oh, and I did some nice hikes (Maryland Heights near Harper’s Ferry, WV, and Billy Goat A near Great Falls, VA — but both actually in Maryland), a horseback ride, a swim in a suburban pool, a few rounds of golf, my first November Project workout (this morning! more on that in a separate post), a few pilates and Orangetheory workouts, indoor rock climbing, a little weightlifting, some training runs in the heat, and some long-distance beach walking.  I also spent many, many, many hours soul-searching regarding the direction of my life — mainly where I want to live and what I want to do with my career  — and Googling “bucket list trips before having kids” and “30 years old big adventure.”  (Update to come on the result of all of that, but if you have suggestions, please let me know in the comments.)  Now I’m finally feeling ready to blog again.

On a relatively smaller scale, there are two changes I’ve been working on during my hiatus: (1) bedtime and (2) MyFitnessPal.

Bedtime: Between work and all the other hustlebustle and general stress of my life, I somehow allowed my sleep schedule to suffer.  I’ve always been one of those people that needs 8-9 hrs of sleep, and anything less than 7 hrs a night for a significant period of time really affects me.  So I’ve instituted a 10 pm bedtime.  I need to be in bed, with my teeth brushed, unwinding by 10 pm.  No starting DVR’d episodes of Southern Charm at 9:50 anymore.  It’s worked really well so far, and I’m finding it easier to get up in the morning.

MyFitnessPal: (Press “Play” on the broken record.)  I’ve written many times about how I’d like to lose some weight to improve my running times and BQ.  Well now that I‘m running the Chicago Marathon and working to qualify for Boston 2018, I’m pretty serious about it.  To help me stay on track while making sure I get the nutrients and calories I need to support my training, I’m now (once again!) using MyFitnessPal.  It helps me be mindful of what I’ve eaten and what nutrients I might be missing day-to-day.  I’ve used it in the past with varying degrees of success. Have you ever used it?  How’d it go? 

I also wanted to provide a rough outline of the rest of my Mesa Falls Marathon training.   I’ve done some 10-13 mile jogs to make sure my base is OK, but they’ve been slow because of the heat.  I’m finally feeling a little more acclimated, so it’s time to start adding the miles.  Here are my planned long runs:

Week of July 4 (THIS WEEK!)

• 15 miles (probably trails)

Week of July 11

• 15 miles
• Wedding that weekend; probably should do long run during week just in case

Week of July 18

• 17 miles

Week of July 25

• 18 miles
• Out of town that weekend; probably should do long run during week just in case

Week of August 1

• 20 miles
• Camping and hiking trip planned; probably should do long run during week

Week of August 8

• Trail run in SWVA 10-15 miles

So what did I miss while I was out of the blogging loop?  Is anyone running the Mesa Falls Marathon ?  Or better yet, does anyone have tips for seeing Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Jackson while I am visiting that area to run Mesa Falls?  And how about this heat?!