TGIF! Seriously, I am so thankful for Friday! There was a point this week that I wasn’t sure if it would ever come.

I realized it has been months since I have done a Things I’m Loving Friday post. In case you haven’t been reading very long you can find my previous posts here, here, here, and here. I actually think there were a few more but you get the idea!

Here are some of my Friday loves currently.

 

Avocado

For years and years I would never touch an avocado. I know right!? 

When I made the commitment to change my diet around and work on fueling like I needed to my first focus was finding forms of healthy fats. I made it a point to make sure at every single meal I had some form of a healthy fat included. Ladies (and gentleman), don’t fear the fats! Just eat the right kinds. They are so important!

I recently began using avocado and love it. I put it on omelets, sandwiches, salads, sweet potatoes, Chicken, pretty much everything.

I really wish I hadn’t waited so long to jump on this band wagon.

Even last Monday night when I had an epic battle with an avocado that left me with a pretty messed up finger, it still did not deter my love!

Don’t worry, that isn’t blood. That is just the Neosporin I put on it showing through the bandaid.

 

Winters in Virginia

The last 4 years were filled with more snow than I even care to remember. There are some enjoyable things about snow, but after living in one of the snowiest cities in the country from those 4 years I am so glad to have said goodbye.

Yep, I don’t miss that.

I don’t miss the having to leave extra early for work in the snow, having to scrape my car every time I got in it, having to dig my car out of various places, or having to wear an four different layers just to stay warm.

I am also so thankful to be away from it because now I can actually run outside in the winter more. I sliped and fell more times than I care to say in the first couple years in Pennsylvania trying to run in the snow. The last 2 years the majority of my winters were spent inside the gym on the treadmill.

The recent snow storm reminded me just how thankful I am now am for winters in Virginia! I’ll take 1 or 2 snow sightings a winter and be completely happy.

 

My Girl, Zoe

One of the biggest things that people tell you when you get a dog is to get them and keep them on a schedule. We have tried so hard, but unfortunately Wes schedule changes from month to month and while I still try to keep her on a schedule she gets confused, especially when he is home during the day sleeping.

Due to the craziness we have been having more accidents than we want in the house. This past month I have really tried to regroup and get her on a better schedule. Wes is off of nights now until his 2nd year of residency so for the most part he will have day hours.

We have now gone 3 weeks without any accident. I know for those of you that aren’t dog fans this may sound crazy, but I am so proud of my girl!

 

Jack Daniels Running Equivalents

I often get questions on how I figure out what paces I am going to run my workouts at. Frankly, the past couple weeks have just been off feel. I try to base it off of effort instead of an exact pace, though I’ve roughly still been going off some of my workout paces from my marathon training.

This past week I stumbled across Jack Daniels’ site and his running equivalents. Basically, you just plug in a goal time or your most recent race time and it will break down your other race equivalents.

[Tweet “Need help finding your pacing for your workouts? #run #running #pace #workout #jackdaniels”]

I am still playing around with what my goal marathon time will be in the fall, but here is an example of how I determined my pace for Thursday’s workout.

A lot of workouts will tell you: 5k, 10k or half marathon pace and now with this you can estimate what those will be pretty quickly. I always end up starting slower than what it says on whatever interval workout on the first one and work my way into it.

I used the 6:55 pace (as shown above) for my 1000 meters on Thursday. I started at 7:05 and worked my way down to running the last two at 6:53.

 

Morning Productivity

I have decided that if I could keep the productivity I have in the morning throughout the entire day I would be way ahead.

Thursday morning for example I:

• Woke up at 4:15, got dressed and took Zoe out
• Ran a workout totally 9 miles
• Did a small core workout
• Fed the cats and Zoe
• Put in two loads of laundry
• Fixed breakfast and lunch
• Cleaned up the kitchen
• Put clothes away
• Responded two several emails
• Showered, did my hair, makeup and got dressed for work

That may not sound that impressive, but compared to the lack of productivity I have when I get home at night I really wish I could keep that going throughout the day. I don’t know if it is the early morning hours or post-run high but whatever helps me get it done!

 

New Running Clothes

Who doesn’t love new clothes? I get more excited for running clothes these days than normal clothes!

My hubby surprised me on Thursday by getting me these awesome Oiselle shorts! I have never tried Oiselle before, mostly because of the price tag. However, he found a great deal and I can’t wait to try them out once they are delivered!

 

What is one thing you are loving this week?

Got any big running plans for the weekend?