Marathon Monday: 1/10

Yes, I realize I am once again a day late for my Marathon Monday post but most of yesterday was spent walking around DisneyWorld and on an airplane so I didn’t have much of a chance to type anything up. I also woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and by that evening had a slight fever so I figured an early bedtime would be a good idea. It seems to have helped because my fever is gone but I am still kind of a congested mess… bring on the EmergenC!

This past week has FLOWN by! I cannot believe I have now completed 3 weeks of marathon training. It is insane to say the least! Another thing I found insane this morning was looking up the just released marathon route for Green Bay. Let’s just say when I saw the map and all those crazy mile markers I kind of freaked out and wondered how in the world I would be able to run that far… But hopefully once training has progressed a bit more and I have done some higher mileage runs, I will feel a little bit more secure with the thought of 26.2 miles! I can honestly say I was incredibly jealous of those people I saw walking all over WDW the last two days with their marathon medals on. I want one of those so bad! Here’s to hoping on May 20, 2012 I will be wearing a marathon medal!

My last week runs looked a little like this:

Monday: Five mile easy run – Since Monday was a holiday for me and I was off of work, I was able to really enjoy this run and complete it in the daylight for once instead of the pitch blackness! I am not sure if I really ran 5 miles or more like 6 because I didn’t wear my Garmin (battery died on me) and didn’t use my iPod either. I don’t think I even listened to music on it?!? I have been much more inclined to head out sans music as of late which is very weird for me and something I never imagined I could do but now almost prefer it! Something about getting lost in the run maybe? I was supposed to keep a mid 10min/mile run pace but since I was all technology-less, I really have no idea if I accomplished this part or not?

Wednesday: Four mile easy run – It worked out well that I did not have a Tempo or Speed Work run this morning since I was gearing up for Saturday’s magical race! I don’t normally do any speedwork in the week leading up to a race just to save my legs as much as I can. This run also went pretty well and once again was run without music. I did have to run this one in the dark though! I did wear my watch on this run so I was able to at lease monitor my pace. I need to get better at keeping my pace a little slower for these runs but did at least get close to the goal pace of 10:36.

Saturday: WDW Half Marathon – I don’t recall what the initial plan was for this weekend but it was replaced with a half marathon! And a Magical One at that! When I wrote the race flashback, I typed that I didn’t know if I would do another Disney race but after a few days, I am thinking maybe I should… you know, just to not judge RunDisney on this one race?? Ha! Sister and I are already thinking maybe the Mickey Marathon next year since it’s an anniversary year and all – lol!! How quickly we both change our tunes! I guess only time will tell on this one…

All in all, this week went well for me running wise, pain free and drama free. Soon I will start upping my mileage into unchartered territory and I am kind of freaking out about that a little bit. I just re-read my post on my first attempt at marathon training and kind of freaked myself out about doing this. I know this time will be different and I am in such a different place running-wise so hopefully that pans out and turns out to be a good sign. But it is still so far to run!!

I still have a few more Disney days to recap soon too! Still can’t believe it’s over and back to reality! But my legs are sure happy for a little rest I put on quite a few miles walking in the Vibrams all weekend! And received quite a few odd looks and comments! Never fails! Happy Tuesday!

Day Three: Exhausted in Paradise

So you already know how this morning started… with a scenic 10k run in Koloa.  But the exercise and activity level did not stop there!  So when we got back from our run, we of course were starving so we decided to make some pancakes.  Sister and I had picked up a box of boring Bisquick mix at the grocery store the other day.  The nutrient density of this mix was not up to par for me so we decided to get creative and up the level of protein, healthy fats and fiber in this mix so we added chia seeds, buckwheat groats and toasted millet (purchased from a BULK BIN – my favorite – here in the island).  We then put a wee bit of Sweet Marie’s granola on the back of the pancakes before flipping them over… oh.my.word!  Those simple little additions turned these pancakes into quite possibly the best pancakes I have ever eaten – not just the best gluten free pancakes but the best pancakes.  Period.  We served them with bacon and Passion Fruit Coconut Syrup and they were sooo good.  We will be making these again and soon!

Following this delicious feast, we showered up and got ready to head out for the rest of the day.  Today’s destination was North Kaua’i and once again it was amazing how different the climate was from one side of the island to the other.  It was almost like what I would picture South America would look like and really felt like a rainforest.

Stop number one of the day was really not much of a stop…We tried to find Guava Kai Plantation to pick us some guava’s but it had apparently closed and reopened as some sort of sustainable farm thing… That was a drive that was worthless!  Luckily it was kind of on our way to the next stop…

Stop number two of the day was Kilauea Beach Lighthouse.  Thanks to the Veteran’s they were offering a fee free day so we were able to walk right up to the lighthouse and see some amazing views and some birds.  Shocking!

Stop number three of the day was a bit of a treasure hunt… we were looking for Lappert’s Ice Cream shop and the GPS was telling us 22 miles but I knew one was coming up soon… I saw the mall it was supposed to be in and we drove in there and drove all around and still did not see it.  We decided to park and try to find a map, which we did, and after reading that and seeing the address, we finally found it!  Man, was this place hidden!  I got a two scoop dish – once scoop Lilikoi sherbet and one scoop Caramel Macadamia Nut – YUM!  Of course everyone else decided on sundaes after I’d ordered so their all looked better but next time I will be prepared.

Stop number four of the day was a hike in Hanalai.  The road just ends and from there, the hiking begins.  Mom decided to wear flip flops today so needless to say, she was left behind… And good thing too because this hike was pretty much straight up and all rocks.  We only hiked up about a ½ mile because we really are not hikers nor were we dressed for hiking (what, swimsuits and shorts??) but ½ a mile was really all it took to see some more gorgeous views!  It was really breathtaking and also quite windy.  A bit of photography ensued and we were headed back down to find the Mother.  Going down was so much worse than going up!!!

If I get asked one more time if these are comfortable... I am gonna kick someone...

At the bottom we walked to a little beach, found mom had walked back to the car and then headed that way as well.  There was a cool tunnel cave thing that we stopped at to grab a picture or two on the way.

Stop number five of the day was Hanalai Lookout.  This was another set of breathtaking views!  You could look out and see Taro fields, mountains and lush greens everywhere!  So pretty.  This was a quick stop  – lol!

Stop number six of the day was trying to find Anini Beach.  Um… thanks again GPS for leading us the most complicated way.  We ended up going down this steep, probably .15 mile trail thing and finally coming across the beach.  We sat there for just a few minutes because all of a sudden I was starving and then headed back UP that crazy path to get to the car… let’s just say the way up was much steeper.  I had elbow pit sweat by the time we got to the top… gross and I am sorry…

Stop number seven of the day was finally dinner!  I was soooo starving.  My stomach has been going from fine to past the point of no return with hunger this vacation.  Oops!  We picked the Lemongrass Grill for dinner because a) mom had a coupon and b) because I could smell the food when I just looked and the menu and knew it would be good.  Right away my eyes narrowed in on Guava BBQ Ribs.  I could not even tell you what else was on the menu because I saw these and knew I was decided.  The only thing standing in my way was any hidden wheat in the ingredients.  Lo and behold, when I asked this the waitress right away was super nice about asking if it was an allergy and needed to be made gluten free!  This made me very happy because I hate making a scene about things and normally just order something boring and plain because I know it’s safe.  But I am so glad I decided to ask on this one because it was probably the best meal I have had in my life… They served it to me on rice instead of the potatoes on the menu because those had some wheat and honestly, I think they should always serve it like this!  The BBQ sauce was beyond delicious, the meat was sooo tender and the rice was even fantastic!  I think we’ll be back for this meal again before leaving.  I also forgot to mention that I had a Guava Mai Tai to start.  Cheers to the Guava!!

Time for a drink!!

Our final stop of the day was finally the condo.  We hit up the hot tub for a few minutes and a quick swim around the pool and then I passed out on my bed by 8:30pm.  Party Animal!!  On to another fun day for Day Four!!