Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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marathon monday: playlist for tempo

It’s Monday again and I am happily perched at the top of another marathon training week. Week 7 to be exact. We are approaching the halfway point.

Last week was weird because I accidentally wrote on my planner the mileage plan for a different program (still unclear how this happened) so I followed that and wound up running way less than I should have for my real plan and way less than I was ready for. Then Handsome and I rested hard like serious business all day Saturday and Sunday, so by this morning my legs were bouncy with energy. Energy to spare.

The llamas have energy to spare, too. They have been filling up on sweet, soft hay like 24/7 plus all the treats they can wheedle out of us, and this cold yet abundant sunshine puts them in the best mood! They are my running buddies and I love them.

Dulcinea is behind me there, facing off with Romulus and Meh. There is always a gentle conflict. xoxo
Dulcinea is behind me there, facing off with Romulus and Meh. There is always a gentle conflict. xoxo

My correct plan this week has me running 4 miles, then cross train, then 7 miles, then 4, then 13. Since I had extra energy today I did light weights plus 5 miles, and it all happened pretty quickly. It was fast for me, at least, which in this game is all that matters. I felt so amazing at the end that I almost ran more but decided to stick mostly with the plan. But I have to say… While endurance is my overall goal, the (relative) speed is addictive.

Do you happen to remember last May when the Monican recorded an entire vlog in answer to my Twitter question about speed? Click right here to read her entry and maybe watch that vlog. She’s really great, and this stuff was so helpful to me. One of her tips was to use music to improve cadence, and today’s run here at the farm brought all of that back.

So I thought it would be fun to share the songs on my phone that help me run a little faster. Okay? Okay. Cool.

  • Rap God Eminem
  • Smack That Eminem
  • Happy Pherrell Williams
  • Black Widow Iggy Azalea & Rita Ora
  • White Walls Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
  • Can’t Hold Us Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
  • I Will Wait Mumford & Sons
  • Problem Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea
  • Come With Me Now Kongos
  • Best Day of My Life American Authors
  • Shake it Off Taylor Swift (shut. up.)

My actual running playlist is much, much longer than this (major props to Handsome for this), but these are the songs that I shuffle to help my legs move. The tempo of each one is quick and sustained, and all of it is addictive. Very helpful.

Do you have your own tricks for running faster? Do you have any great running songs you’d like to share? Thanks Monican for your guidance! Pace times are gradually improving here at the W.

Shake and Bake
XOXOXO

marathon monday: november is a new season

It pains me to admit this, but I have been making every excuse under the sun for not running regularly. I’ll squeeze in three or four miles here and there, maybe six miles once in a blue moon, and I always feel better afterward. It’s so refreshing, mentally and physically! But this early autumn has been busy around the farm and just in life, and my heart is in more important places than the running trail. The paradox, of course, is how much running actually helps every other part of life. So neglecting my miles can have a gradually negative effect on other things.

Anyway.

Back to the grind, happily.

To start this month off right, Handsome and I threw a really fun bonfire party here on Saturday night. Right before our first friends were set to arrive I flung myself out to the back field for one single, solitary 8-minute mile. It was short and sudden, just long enough to shake up my energy for some fun. I’m not proud of one mile, but at least I didn’t let the first day of November slip by with a goose egg.

running, pile on the miles, lazy w, marathon training, run eat repeat

 

Today was much better. I lifted a few baby weights then got outside in the blustery Oklahoma weather for six miles. I am feeling way more motivated, very happy to reconnect with how spending energy creates more energy. Happy to enjoy the cool temperatures. Happy to make the sweaty most out of shorter daylight hours. AND thrilled to participate in a fun new running challenge!

The Monican over at RUN EAT REPEAT (my most favorite running blog ever) is hosting a thing called “Pile on the Miles” for all of November. She’s encouraging people to pile on the miles before piling on the calories at Thanksgiving, and she’s giving away tons of prizes along the way.

And I groove it. I love well contained, focused, manageable projects like this, and gearing up my cardio before winter sets in? It’s just plain smart.

Run Eat Repeat, running, Pile on the Miles
The Monican! She is totally bringing braids back.

My goal for November is 8o miles. So, 73 to go. Finally a realistic short term goal!

Care to join us? Click over to The Monican’s site and you’ll be able to enter to win all kinds of runner-focused prizes all month long.

rp_xo-running.jpg

 

Are you grabbing any miles lately? Will you join the pile on fun?

“Running is nothing more than a series of arguments
between the part of your brain that wants to stop
and the part that wants to keep going.”

~unknown
XOXOXO