Who knew eating right would improve your running performance? (Everyone)

You know what's crazy? I ran 19 miles yesterday over the serious hills around my house and I woke up today like it wasn't no big thing.

Look look SPRING

For once that smile isn't fake.

Now, don't get me wrong; it was a challenging run.  I was really pushing during that 19th mile, and those hills were not making my life any easier, let me tell you.

It was all downhill from there.  And then uphill.

But for once I wasn't completely destroyed the next day...my legs today felt amazingly...just fine.  In fact, I cleaned the entire house today without my legs feeling like stiff appendages that weren't really mine once.  And after cleaning I did 45 minutes of spin and about 35 minutes of lifting heavy things with my tiny dog as supervisor.

Tiny dog is unimpressed with my workouts.

Look out weights...here I come.

Tiny dog did helpfully clean my weights between each use.  Which is gross, actually, but we pretty much let tiny dog do what she wants because of the sheer magnitude of her tiny and cute.

Tiny dogs licking weights aside, some might attribute my new-found long-run recovery to me consistently running all the runs on my training plan, which I'm pretty sure has helped a ton.  But I actually think a lot of the credit for my new-found long-distance running strength is the whole "not eating crap" thing I've been doing for a few months.  In fact, I have even started meal prepping a bit.

Yummo alert.

So far I've just been doing lunch because that's what I don't have time to make in the morning (I *am* running 10-12 miles before work some days, remember), but it has completely helped with keeping my diet consistent and my portions under control.  And because this former biology teacher knows a few things about science and how cells work and stuff, I'm pretty sure my healthier options are giving my cells what they need to not only perform well but also recover well.  Case in point: my splits from yesterday's run, excluding mile 9 where I stopped at the house to go to the bathroom and forgot my watch wasn't set to auto-pause.

Kids, for me to be running 9:30s at the end of a run like that is amazing. And now I wonder why I didn't do this healthy eating and run all the runs stuff for my previous 33 marathons.  After all, being 12 pounds lighter is also probably doing a lot for my marathon goals as well..and I'm actually beginning to see that the weight is coming off.

I also see that this post is over, and it's now time for the learnings:

• I am not exaggerating about those hills, people.  They are some serious business.
• I am also not exaggerating about the convenience of meal prep. Those 5 lunches took me less than 20 minutes to make and prep.
• Those 5 lunches are also all the same...because I am the master of eating the same foods over and over again.  What can I say; it's a gift.
• We really do let tiny dog do whatever she wants, except be nasty to the cats or eat non-food things off the floor.
• We also need to stop typing now because large dog is trying to sleep, and he needs his recovery time just as much as I do.

Tomorrow's workout: My usual Monday speed...just some quick 200s though that for some reason will last 9 miles.

Getting to an "I got this" mindset

So here we are, folks: 40-ish days away from my goal marathon.  Or so my little training app says, anyway.

It also says I'm on target with my mileage, which is a first for me during any training plan.  Actually, there's been a lot of firsts and positives for me during this training cycle, and they have really boosted my confidence in terms of reaching my marathon goal (beat a 4:10).  Kids, I think I may actually show up at the start line with a feeling of "I totally got this" rather than "OMG I hope I don't die and maybe just maybe I could hit my goal if I just don't die."  Here's what's helping me get to the "I got this" mindset:

1) I made an commitment early on the RUN ALL THE RUNS.

In the first week of the training plan, I remember looking at a 4 or 5 mile run on the plan and not wanting to do it, wanting to just skip and go back to bed.  I almost did until I caught myself and thought, "I can't start off this training plan this way.  I have to do ALL the runs."  Something clicked in my brain at that point, and from then on I was willingly waking up during AM hours beginning with 3s on a regular basis to get in all those crazy miles (12.5 mile runs before work WTF). And I am proud to say I have done every single damn run--including the cool downs, which I had a bad habit of skipping--on that plan.  Even the runs that scared the crap out of me just looking at them in the app.  Speaking of scared...

2) I'm no longer scared of some of my usual running obstacles. 

That aforementioned 12.5 mile run before work? No longer afraid of that distance (even if it is almost half a marathon...jeepers) when I see a workout.  Hills?  The roads around my house are full of them, and I have run 3 loops of the same crazy hills on many a long run now.  When I saw the hills in my half marathon last weekend, I didn't freak out or think twice--just put my head down and got up those suckers and sailed to a sub-2 half.  Like I said, my mental mindset during this plan is just a quiet "I got this" rather than a freaking out OMG I WILL DIE.

3) I'm feeling stronger than ever.

On Monday, I had a 20 x 400m workout...about 10 miles when everything was run and done.  This morning I had a 9 mile threshold workout (2 x 2 miles).  For both of those workouts I just jumped on the treadmill and attacked the workout like it wasn't no big thing. 

Workouts: Prepare to be attacked.

And I felt strong during both of those workouts, even though the threshold workout was at a faster pace than normal because I was a stupid person who told the app "yes" when it asked me if I wanted to train at the faster pace I ran at my tune-up half-marathon.  That 20th repeat on Monday wasn't completely exhausting and I wasn't hanging on for dear life during the last quarter of the 2nd 2 mile repeat this morning.  It's a nice feeling, feeling like you've actually progressed in your training rather than feeling like you're torturing yourself for nothing every morning.

4) I have tie-dye shoes.

If these don't make you feel all warm and fuzzy and confident inside as a runner, I don't know what will you cold insensitive block of ice you.

You know what else we have? LEARNINGS:

• It's amazing how much better you get at running when you actually run the runs.  All of them.
• It's amazing that I accidentally took a picture of myself this morning and it turned out so well it looked like I was about to pounce on the camera.
• Its amazing that hills ain't no big thing anymore.  Unless it's a big hill, that is.
• It's amazing how magically awesome those tie-dye shoes are.

Tomorrow's workout: Some much needed cross-training, seeing as I have run three days in a row this week.  Then a quick little 19 miler on Saturday on those crazy hills.