Blogmas 2019! 🎄

Since I've taken a bit of a break from YouTube, I won't be doing my Happy Vlogidays videos like I've been doing for the last several years. I do really enjoy posting regularly during the holiday season, though, as so many fun memories can be made during this time of year that you want to be able to cherish for years to come. I still don't feel like I'm quite ready to make a return to YouTube yet, but I have been really enjoying posting on my blog on a regular basis, so I'm going to participate in Blogmas this year! Basically that means I will be posting daily to my blog between December 1st and December 31st. The traditional Blogmas/Vlogmas goal is to post daily until Christmas, but I always love to include New Year's in there as well, because why not? 😊

The last time I posted daily on my blog was during BEDA and it actually ended up coinciding with one of the most difficult times I've had with my mental health to date. It wasn't a great combination. I am feeling like I'm in a much better mental state these days, and much more prepared to take on the project of Blogmas than I was for BEDA. I have all of my posts planned out week to week which will help keep me motivated, and I plan for this to be a really casual approach to daily blogging. I'm not trying win a Pulitzer with each post, ya know?!

Posts will include my regular content like training updates and reading wrap ups, but I will post more about my day to day goings-on and all holiday-related activities. My hope is that it will be a lot like my vlogs, but just in blog form. We'll see how it goes! First post is tomorrow - wish me luck! 😉

Are you doing Blogmas or Vlogmas? 

Let me know where you're posting so I can follow along!

'Tis the Season-a-Thon TBR!

It has been a good long while since I've participated in a readathon. These last few months my reading game has *totally* dipped and it bums me out because I love reading so much! During this time I had zero motivation to participate in any readathons because I just knew it was going to be a massive fail. However, with the year coming to a close and the Christmas season officially kicking off (my personal rule is that the Christmas season doesn't start until December 1st, but I guess post-Thanksgiving still counts 😉), I thought a fun way to get in the holiday spirit is to participate in a Christmassy readathon, so I decided to hop on the 'Tis the Season A Thon train from December 2nd to December 8th!

This readathon has 5 challenges. I'm usually the type of gal that likes to pick out as many books as there are challenges, but given my current rate of reading, I doubt I'll get all of these books read! I am really excited about the books I've chosen, though, and I think they'll be a great combination of different genres and topics to keep my reading motivation high throughout the week. Here's what I'm hoping to read:

North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek

A book you received as a gift

My sister gave me this book as a birthday gift a few years ago and I still have not gotten to it! I am really surprised that I haven't because A. I absolutely love memoirs about ultra running, and B. it is currently on my 5 star predictions list. As I'm currently in the middle of a marathon training cycle (let's be real, when am I not?), I'm hoping this will give me some extra motivation for training as the weather starts to get even colder.

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

A book title related to music

A book you received as a gift

While I don't know if this was that authors' intention (obviously I haven't read this yet and don't want to spoil myself through research!), What If It's Us is one of my very favorite songs from the musical Dear Evan Hansen so I think that totally counts for this challenge. This book was also a Christmas gift from my pal Michael last year, so it could also totally count for the challenge of a book I received as a gift. Two birds, one book! 😉

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman 

A book with snow on the cover

A book you received as a gift

This is the sequel to my very favorite book from 2018, Beartown and I am NERVOUS to read it. I loved Beartown so much and I'm really hoping that this book lives up to how good it predecessor was. Fingers crossed! This is also on my list of the books I'd like to read by the end of 2019, so I'm excited to get into it. PLUS this is the third book on my list that counts as a book I've received as a gift (a birthday gift from Michael this year!). Lots of gifts will be read next week! 😊

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

A holiday themed book

A book you read while eating a holiday themed treat

I lumped these two titles and challenges together because I figured it would be more of a game time decision as to which one I go with. I think I'll be listening to these on audio during my commutes, so it really depends on what I'm in the mood for! However, they're both Christmassy books and I can enjoy listening to them with a holiday beverage (egg nog latte, anyone?) while I'm in the car.

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

A holiday themed book

A book you read while eating a holiday themed treat

Bonus buddy read

Similarly to the two titles above, this one is going to be a game time decision. I love a good YA holiday romance this time of year, and since this is the recommended buddy read I figured why not throw it on the TBR and get to it if I can! Again, I'd probably listen to it on audio during my commute, and since it's a Christmassy book, why not also have a holiday themed treat while I read it as well?

Are you participating in 'Tis the Season-a-Thon? 

What are you planning to read?

#Sub5orBust: Week 5 Training Update (November 18 - November 24, 2019)

Monday, 11/18 → Rest

Tuesday, 11/19 → 5 mile run (treadmill) w/ .20 cool down walk + phase 1 lift + stretch

Wednesday, 11/20 → 1 mile walk (treadmill) + phase 1 lift + volleyball match

Thursday, 11/21 → Rest

Friday, 11/22 → 5 mile run (treadmill) w/ .25 mi cool down walk + phase 1 lift + stretch

Saturday, 11/23 → 3 mile run w/ .32 cool down walk
Sunday, 11/24 → 12 mile run w/ .26 cool down walk

100 miles in November Update: 84.15/100 miles completed

Y'all I am TIRED! My body is definitely feeling this training right now. My legs are achey and I'm just thoroughly EXHAUSTED and I think my body is revolting a bit because I feel like I've been fighting off a cold/flu/fever thing for a couple of days now. I truly hope my immune system toughs it out because I'm on such a roll with my training and I don't want to get off track! Luckily it's nearly Thanksgiving break, so I plan to take it *very* easy and get lots of rest outside of my workouts this upcoming week.

Positive news is that I'm still seeing some steady progress in my training! I was able to get a speedy 3 miles in on Saturday (these miles BURNED but I was able to push through the pain). I had a realization that I really struggle with getting myself motivated for my shorter runs. For whatever reason I feel like if I skip short runs it won't matter as much? Which of course is not true! So I told myself that I wasn't allowed to get a coffee until I did my run. It only took me til 11:30am to get out the door and run, but I got it done and rewarded myself with a nice big Milky Way iced coffee to celebrate a 9:40 pace!

🔥🔥🔥

A happy girl with the iced coffee that she bribed herself with 😅

I woke up to 35-degree pouring rain for my scheduled long run yesterday, so pulling myself out of bed in the morning was ROUGH. I decided to focus on the positives and remembered with weather like this I'll probably have the bike path all to myself (I pretty much did - I saw maybe 5 other people on the path!) AND running in terrible weather will just make me stronger. So I laced up and out the door I went. By the time I was done I was DRENCHED but I actually maintained a pace that was faster than my sub-5 target and felt (dare I say?) pretty comfortable the entire time - so comfortable that I totally spaced out in the last mile and got myself a little lost. 😂 I ran a 10:34 average and I am so thrilled with that pace! I think I'm really getting into the realm of possibility of a sub-5 here and I am super pumped. We'll see when we get into my longer runs but for now I'm feeling really motivated!

My splits were pretty consistent which I was really happy about!

Slightly resembling a drowned rat, but 12 MILES DONE!

I also finished up phase 1 of my strength training program this week! I'm excited to dive into phase 2 for the next 5 weeks and try out some new exercises. It will also be great to see how changing up my strength training will impact my running as I up my mileage. This next phase of the strength training program is called "Hypertrophy & Volume" and its purpose is "to increase the demand of the body and begin the adjustment toward endurance exercise"... which reads to me I REALLY need to be taking my rest days seriously and be really diligent about stretching and foam rolling. Wish me luck!

This week I'm aiming to finish up the 100 miles in November challenge and will have not one but TWO races to run - my local Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, and the Yukan Happy Holidays Half Merrython on Sunday (my third time running this race)! It should be a fun week of running - with lots and lots of rest in between! 😋 

#Sub5orBust: Week 4 Training Update (November 11 - November 17, 2019)

Monday, 11/11 → Rest

Tuesday, 11/12 → 6.32 mile run (treadmill)

Wednesday, 11/13 → 5.41 mile run (treadmill) + phase 1 lift + stretch + volleyball match

Thursday, 11/14 → Rest

Friday, 11/15 → 35 minute run (treadmill) (equating to 3.5 miles!)

Saturday, 11/16 → Rest
Sunday, 11/17 → 7 mile run + phase 1 lift

100 miles in November Update: 57.12/100 miles completed
My picture was also featured in the first 100 mile challenge recap on Angie's blog!

For whatever reason last week was a bit more difficult to find the motivation to get my runs in. I think now that it's getting darker out earlier all I want to do when I leave the office for the day is go home and hibernate! I've been keeping myself motivated by telling myself that I might as well get to the gym on campus and get my work out done because if I leave campus right at the end of the day I'll just be sitting in traffic anyway. Whatever gets you to do the work out, right? 😋 It has been a bummer not being able to enjoy the sunlight during most of my runs, but hopefully I cab get at least one outdoor run in a week during these darker months.

I checked out a new trail for my long run on Sunday with mixed results. Unfortunately the first mile and a half of the trail was an un-managed TRAIL, which I am definitely not used to running, and there were constant breaks on the path to account for roads without a seamless next entry. I feel like any time a got to a point where the road came through the path, I had to stand on the side of the road for a good 30 seconds at a time trying to figure out where to go next! My overall pace for the run was pretty similar to last week's long run at 10:40, but my splits were all over the place. That's what you get when you put a road runner on the trail for the first time in a while! 😂

My legs felt like lead for pretty much every one of my runs last week, so I think training fatigue is definitely setting in. I also wasn't great about stretching last week, so I need to make sure I'm doing better about that each day! This is the point in training (entering week #5) where I've been notorious for starting to slack, so I'm going to try to continue to focus on one workout at a time and continue on work on slowly improving over time. Only 12 weeks left until race day! 🎉

Friday Reads {11.15.19}

Happy Friday, y'all! It's been a whirlwind the last few weeks, but I finally have some downtime scheduled for this weekend. I don't plan to do much beyond getting a couple runs in and seeing New Found Glory in concert on Sunday (!!!), so I thought I'd spend some serious downtime getting some reading done! I've been feeling pretty burned out from these last couple weeks of craziness, so a low-key weekend is in desperate need. I have a few books that I'm hoping to focus on, so this is what I'll be tackling this weekend:

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

I started this one last week and I've been making slow progress through it. Because it's a YA I should be able to breeze through the rest of it this weekend!

Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell

I also started reading this one last week for a professional development book club at work. It was my hope to finish it last weekend, but our trip to Maine didn't necessarily make for a conducive reading environment 😂 This book is super fascinating, though, and I've been really feeling non-fiction as of late, so I'm excited to get further into this book as well.

Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 19-21 by Hiromu Arakawa

I had a goal for a little while to finish the FMA series in 2019, but I haven't picked up a volume in months! Because I've been a bit slumpy in my reading, I feel like an action-packed manga will be really fun to read! I miss the Elric brother and I can't wait to continue reading the series, especially as I get closer to the conclusion!

November Road by Lou Berney

I feel like because I'm in a more non-fiction-y mood for reading, I feel like a historical fiction will be right up my alley for my next novel pick. I've been purposely saving this title for November (because I'm weird) so I'm excited to read through a JFK crime thriller. 

What are you reading this weekend?

Photo Diary: A November Wedding in Maine

Over the weekend, Brett and I drove up to Maine for a friend's wedding. Brett was at the helm for the trip up so I got the opportunity to chill in the passenger's seat and get some knitting and work in my Strong journal done!

We got up there around 10:30am or so and started pre-gaming with Mimosas as we got ready.

It was a chilly but beautiful November day for the wedding. The ceremony was outside which none of us were expecting but it was absolutely gorgeous so it didn't matter that we were a little cold!

The ceremony was followed by lots of drinks, dancing, and delicious food. My fave part of the whole day was the couple's dog, Odie, roaming freely throughout the ceremony and reception. He almost out shined the newlyweds! 😜 

On our way home the next day, we had to make a stop at our very favorite pizza place, LA FESTA! 💖🍕

It was a beautiful, memorable weekend. Kongrats to the Konrads! 🎉

#Sub5orBust: Week 3 Training Update (November 3 - November 10, 2019)

Sunday, 11/3 → Rest (volunteered at a local half marathon!)

Monday, 11/4 → 5 mile run (treadmill) + phase 1 lift + stretch

Tuesday, 11/5 → 5 mile run (treadmill) + phase 1 lift + stretch

Wednesday, 11/6 → Volleyball match

Thursday, 11/7 → Rest

Friday, 11/8 → 3 miles incline (treadmill) + phase 1 lift + stretch

Saturday, 11/9 → Rest (went to a wedding in Maine!)
Sunday, 11/10 → 10 miles

Another week of training down! This was an 8-day week in order to accommodate for a trip up to Maine for a wedding (I'll share pics later this week!). Our original plan was to drive up Friday night and I was going to get my long run in on Saturday morning with plenty of time to spare to get primped before the wedding, but Thursday night rolled around, we had both been working late pretty much every day that week, and we just weren't in the right head space to get ourselves packed and ready to hit the road after work on Friday. SO I changed up my training schedule and got my long run in the day after the wedding instead. Woop woop!

Last Sunday (11/3) Cassie and I volunteered for the Ocean View Half Marathon in Ipswich, MA. This race is put on by Yukan Run, which is a race company that has put on quite a few of the races I've run in the past! They do a great program where if you volunteer for one of their races, they'll give you a free entry to another one of their races in the future. I did this back in 2014 and really enjoyed my experience volunteering with them, so when Cassie asked if I wanted to join her I said yes! We had so much fun handing out water and Gatorade to runners and meeting the other women we volunteered with, who were all badass runners themselves. Cassie and I will be running the Happy Holidays Half Merrython on December 1st (which will be my third time running this race - check out when I ran it in 2013 and 2018!) for our free race entry. You know I love me a good festive race, so I'll absolutely we rocking an ugly sweater while I run!

I finally tracked down a pace chart to work off of during my training. Time is something that I haven't really paid too close attention to during my running career. It's usually been a "oh wow, I ran faster than normal!" kinda thing instead of "I NEED TO HIT THIS PACE" kinda thing. Now that I'm working toward a specific time goal, I'm trying to use all the tools I can at my disposal in order to accurately train for a sub-5. I guess the *slowest* that I can run and still hit a sub-5 is 11:26/mile, so I've been trying to stay faster than that in my training runs, especially when I start to get tired. I snapped the photo above for reference during my 10-miler yesterday. I'm happy to report that I ran well under that pace for the entire run! 

DEM HILLS

I'm not sure if I'm ~supposed~ to try and run faster during long runs while I'm training, and I'm thinking that when I start to get into the longer mileages (15+) I'll try to aim to hit my paces so I can save my legs from fatiguing in the later miles (you can see my last two miles I was definitely feeling it), but for now I'm really happy with how training has been going and I'm really proud of myself for keeping up with all of my workouts. 

On to week 4!
(But not without some long run pics from this week, of course!)

(Oh! And for those wondering how I'm doing on the 100 miles in November challenge, I am currently 34.89 miles in. It is my hope to get to 50 by Friday [11/15], when we'll be halfway through the month. My training should allow me to get there, no problem, but keep your fingers crossed for me!)