#summermiles

JUNE MILES & JULY INTENTIONS: June: 133 miles fun, (lots of swimming, strength & biking) So this month had many many ups & downs in terms of training & just life! Some weeks I got all the miles in & some weeks I didn’t! As many of you know my knee has been pretty wonky these past few weeks so my running speed & intensity has decreased & biking has become nonexistent. With all of this I’m just going into the 10k as a fun run & the sprint triathlon as a bucket list type race. I’m looking forward to these racing this week & then I’m planning on taking an entire week or so off running. I’m hoping that will help with my knee & any other pain I’ve been having. Then I’m going to start rebuilding my base and working towards my 20 miler before my 20th birthday! So July will start with racing, then recovery & then the last two weeks will be rebuilding mileage & lots of strength. I will admit I did just okay with my June intentions. I didn’t try meditating because I was just so crazy busy and at times overwhelmed. So I’m hoping my July intentions reflect that! I’m going to try to slow down because I tend to overwhelm myself & I know once I hit August my life will be going full force ahead. In terms of having patience this is just something I need to practice in regards to those around me & the kids I deal with everyday. I need to understand that sometimes you just need to take a deep breath & try to see things from someone else’s point of view. I would like to try doing one selfless thing a day. I tend to be very passionate in my goals, but many of these goals are self serving. I also want to cut down on social media & screen time. I spend wayyyy to much time on my phone & it’s a waste of time! I’m looking forward to this month & all the new memories to be made! Here’s to a new month :)

Up and down the fire tower trail twice. 1st time feeling good, 2nd time trying not to heat stroke out. I might have pushed too hard the 2nd time, I got a little competitive with some cyclists. 😅 19.2 miles with 6,500 feet of elevation gain. #50ktraining #trailrunning #summermiles (at Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower)

Today I’m thankful for chocolate that gets me through the day & being surrounded by kiddies all day

5/22-(4 miles +bike/gym) This morning I tried to copy all of the healthy bloggers I follow with my own ~Toast Tuesday~ I used to eat sourdough toast every single morning in high school! That all changed when I went away to school & discovered oatmeal. Sometimes though it’s nice to mix things up & go back to your roots :) So pre-gym breakfast was a sourdough with cream cheese, raspberry jelly, chocolate chips & raspberries! When we got to the gym all of the bikes were taken because it was weirdly crowded so I switched the workout around and did 20 minutes of abs first!! I’m able to hold planks longer now so I can feel my strength increasing. I have to be careful with an exercises because any crunch sort of thing or bicycle seems to irritate my lower back/pirifiormis. But I did a lot of Russian twists & planks. Then I found an open bike! I decided to skip swimming today & instead swim later in the week because I don’t want to overdo it. Today was an easier bike ride because the legs were tired let me tell you! Either way a good 30 minute ride and 7.8 miles! I’m getting more used to cycling and the time is beginning to pass quicker. Post cycling I did 10 minutes of arm weights & stretched. After that we drove back home, I walked Rosy & then had to force myself to run. I really wasn’t in the mood after the gym so yes force is the right word. Another slower run! I was supposed to do intervals today, but I’m trying to take it easy with the speed. I’m pretty much ignoring any workouts I had planned for myself this week & just running on feel & mileage. The first mile my legs felt so heavy & I thought this isn’t going to be good, but then I started to feel better and my easy run turned into progression miles! My miles were 9:16, 9:08, 8:47 & 8:06! I realize I sped up a lot on that last mile, I really didn’t mean to😬 The good news is my glute felt okay! Slight soreness, but nothing bad. The only concerning thing is my shins & ankles have been feeling sore from biking. So I need to stretch those more. Post run I recovered with a little over a mile walk back. Humid & cloudy today, but at least no rain! Today’s run was powered with Cage The Elephant 🎧 Post run I was pretty exhausted😂 I took a shower & then finally had the smoothie bowl I have been wanting! A berry smoothie & sweet potatoes combined with some oats, topped with berries, cereal & honey 😍 After that huge brunch bowl I was stuffed. The rest of my afternoon was extremely lowkey. I bought a new book & I kind of got pulled into it so I spent an hour reading that. Then I walked rosy & got ready for a retirement-ish party for my high school theater director. I was there for about 3 hours & it was fun to see everyone from high school! Then I ate dinner at home which was so good! Grilled chicken, mixed greens, chickpeas, feta & radicchio all on a pita! Soooo good & I was starved! After that my mom & I took rosy on her nightly walk. I seriously need to stop eating desert, but I cannot help myself from having a little on a summer night 😅 The rest of the night was spent reading & stretching. Today’s snacks included: dry cereal pre-run (because my stomach was growling), tortilla chips & halo top (whoops I’m addicted to desert help) Today I’m thankful for old friends & summer reading

5/27-(5 miles)-Sunday Runday!!! I actually got my butt up early today because it’s going to be real feel 100 today! It was already humid & gross even at 6:30. I was covered in sweat by the end...as I said I’m still getting used to the heat so just a progression run for me this morning. It was supposed to be a fartlek, but I started to feel good so I just went with it. My legs were feeling a little heavy, but after a few miles I was hood! I only ran like 12 hours ago so a fast turnaround😂 My knee is still feeling a little kinky. For some reason the side of my left foot was bothering me for the first mile? I had to stop a couple times to drink some water, but other than that I got it done! I wore this new nike running shirt that’s good for the heat & it really helped keep me cool the shirt few miles. I was still soaked in sweat when I finished😂 No glute pain though which is awesome because last Sunday I ran this fast and had all sorts of problems. If you slow down more you can run faster more:) My time was 42:35 for 5 miles or 8:31 pace! Positive vibes & negative splits😎 9:28, 8:52, 8:34, 8:16, 7:25 🙌🏻💪🏻 Of course the three middle pictures are a progression of me being tired & so hot after a run, setting up a timer camera picture, forgetting about it & realizing that I was taking a picture😂 Post run I walked back to my house for recovery. Then drank the coffee, walked the dog, attempted pull ups (still not there), a lil yoga & a lil stretching, showered, then SMOOTHIE BOWLS!! There’s nothing better than a smoothie on a hot summer morning:) Berry smoothie bowl, chocolate, cereal & honey! I also found a frozen chocolate chip pancake and heated that up. After breakfast it was off to the races! We spent all day getting ready for my brothers college graduation party. Of course the day we have a ton of people over it’s like 10 degrees out😑 Either way most of my day was spent running errands, setting things up, making chocolate strawberries, cleaning & decorating. If you didn’t know I LOVE decorating & im also really good at it. Lunch was around noon. I had scrambled eggs with cheese & spinach (thanks mom) & a Carmel rice cake:) I read & went on a walk this afternoon (yes it was hot) & then it was grad party time all night! Dinner was a burger & salad & mac & cheese & all good things!! Overall a real good night & a real good party! Ate wayyyyy to much food, but hey that’s life :) Snacks: literally all the snacks😅 I made chocolate covered strawberries and you know I ate a ton of the chocolate because I seriously couldn’t help myself...then during the grad party we had some appetizers & then cake & well you know how it goes😂 basically I just kept eating and ate all the foods! Sometimes we have those days....gotta enjoy life! Today I’m thankful for my family friends that keep me laughing & my own family that keeps me on my toes :)

Up to the fire tower again today! I doubled back a little to hit 13 miles and over 4,000 feet of elevation gain. No bears this time!🏃‍♀️#trailrunning #summermiles #50ktraining (at Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower)

#trailrunning #appalachiantrail #easttennessee #summermiles (at Appalachian Mountains)