Breakfast on the Go

In college I feel like almost every meal is "on the go."

If you can't make it to the dining center, there isn't much you can make in a dorm with only a fridge and a microwave.

For breakfast I like to swing by the dining center before going to the gym because of the "free" coffee shop. Lattes errrday! But after I get ready and before class, I get hungry and don't want to go to the dining center. A warmed up Clif bar is usually my go-to, but I tried a new recipe and I may have found my second go-to!

Overnight Protein Oats

When I hear overnight oats I think of multi-colored fruit flavored oatmeal in mason jars perfectly displayed on Pinterest. Mine is a little bit more real life than that. 

Ingredients

1 cup quick or old fashioned oats (whatever texture you prefer)

half scoop protein powder

about 1 cup milk

Mix together an put in fridge before bed!

I made up this recipe with just some general knowledge of what overnight oats are. I thought it tasted pretty good, but I think it would taste better without the protein powder and just some Truvia sprinkled on top. I know a lot of people like protein supplements, but it doesn't always agree with my tummy. So, I don't use it often. 

Some recipes I looked at called for yogurt. Greek yogurt would make it nice and creamy with plenty of protein, but I didn't have any so maybe next time. :)

I am linking up on The Fit Dish with hosts Jessica Joy from thefitswitch.com & Jill from jillconyers.com. 

xx 
katelynn

Post Race Blues

Post race sadness may not be a real mental health condition, but some blues after a goal race for runners is all too real. 

Think we just need to "get over it"? Well, my nonrunner friends, think of it this way: You put so much effort, time, and heart into something and then after a few hours it's over. 

After a training cycle and race I always get a little sad and feel like I have somewhat lost my self-identity. It hit me hard after the Yellowstone Half in June. I was in a rut for weeks after that race. It slowly creeped up on me after the Bismarck Half last weekend. After a great race like that one, I was ready to keep my training up to do another half in mid October. I scheduled my week of workouts while still on an endorphin high and that was a HUGE mistake!

I ran two easy miles on Monday. It was nice to take in my surroundings and the sound of my breathing and footsteps without music for once. 

On Tuesday I started boxing class at the wellness (OMG SO MUCH FUN) and had planned to go for a bike ride that night, but I straight up didn't feel like it. 

On Wednesday I had planned to do about 20 minutes of intervals with a mile warm up. I ended up only doing 10 minutes of intervals. I meant to do a core workout that day too, but that didn't happen either. 

Thursday was boxing class again, which involved a lot more strength conditioning than Tuesday. Instead of going for a run or spending some time on the stair stepper, I watched Netflix and ate dark chocolate. 

Friday, I did what I had planned and spent an easy hour on the elliptical (re-watching Parks & Rec; yes I still laugh out loud even the second time through.) 

This morning I let myself sleep in and then set out for a super slow long run of 7 miles (I consider anything over 5 miles or an hour a long run). I ended up doing 7.5 because of construction, but for the most part IT FELT GOOD. Usually the first long run after a race is the worst, but I feel like I approached it right with 8/2 run/walk intervals. 

*taking in pretty leaves while trying to stay upright*

To get out of my funk after Yellowstone I had to do some serious running retail therapy. I bought two new pairs of shoes. Today I only bought a new pair of socks (because poor college kid status) and I'm excited to run in them! Weird how people get excited about material things like that. 

My week of crappy workouts is over and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. Lesson learned once again, even though my mind is ready to go full steam ahead right after a race, my body is not.

Katelynn

xx

Bismarck Half Marathon

3rd half marathon done!

I ran my third and not final half marathon this weekend in Bismarck. It was a great race! I PR'd by about 10 minutes running an unofficial 2:16:??.

The course was pretty along the river and through Seratoma Park. A few things I didn't like about the course was the amount of cement sidewalks and the lack of aide stations. I ran with a hydration belt, so few water stations didn't really effect me. One thing I was dissapointed about was the Kroll's Diner truck serving knoephla soup wasn't there like last year. Also, the medal was kind of bland.

If a runner wants a big screaming crowd, the Bismarck Marathon is not for them. It is a relatively small race, but that also allows for a less crowded course. 

The first ten miles absolutely flied by. It feels like it only took ten minutes. At about mile 10 I knew I was probably going to PR. I followed a run/walk strategy of 9/1. I was able to keep a pretty good pace, without much speed work in training, even with a minute of walking. I kicked it into high gear with a half mile to go trying to get the most out of my PR. 13.1 went by so fast, that I almost wasn't ready to be done. 

My mom brought Kensley down to cheer me on. They missed me the first two spots because I was just too speedy ;), but they made it to the finish and Kensley crossed the finish line with me. After she said, "next time, let's run the whole thing together!" I'm thinking a 5k will be in the near future for us. I love her enthusiasm for running. It reminds me to just enjoy the run when I make it more like work. 

My cousins Jodi & Cristin ran the 10k! Super proud of them for not only finishing, but running the whole thing!! 

go Laura go!

After I finished, we jumped in the car to go find Grant's mom, who was running the full.We cheered her on at several places until she finished her first freaking marathon!!!! So so proud of her. And thankful that 20 years ago she actually brought Grant home from the hospital. HAPPY BIRTHDAY G!

I am thinking about doing a full for myself. The Fargo Marathon is in May and would give me a good training base before the Yellowstone Half and possibly one in South Dakota in June. The mere thought of 26.2 used to be intimidating, but now I am feeling as it's a challenge waiting for me to conquer. We will see what this winter brings me, but as of now I am penciling in an event of the Fargo Marathon.

Bismarck Half Marathon Playlist

In 9 days I will run my third half marathon.

Third half marathon? Whatttt?! 

Two years ago I would have laughed in your face if you said I had finished one and been crazy enough to sign up for two more.

The most common reason I hear people say they don't like to run is because they get bored. They obviously weren't listening to the right music (or they didn't run long enough that their brain turned to mush and to stop running is a conscious decision, haha) when they ran.

A good playlist can change my entire attitude about a run.

Headphones in = happy runner

With a race in less than two weeks I figured I would share with you the music that has gotten me through my training and will get me through the entire 13.1 miles next Saturday.

After quite some time mooching of my mom's Pandora account ( thanks mama!), I finally did the adult thing and got my own Spotify account. I tried the regular free account for about a month. The features of a premium account, add free playlists and offline listening, seemed to be a runner's best friend. Students get a half off discount - and let me tell you that is the best $4.99 I spend each month!

My taste for running music is truly all over the place. If I find a song that I can see myself running to, it's added right to the playlist!

My playlist for the Bismarck Half consists of...

Roses - The Chainsmokers

Shots & Squats - Vigiland

Dancing in the Dark - Rihanna

Gone - Jr.

Freedom - Pharrell Williams

Cheerleader - Felix Jaehn vs Salaam Remix - OMI, Kid Ink

Circles - machineheart

Riptide - Vance Joy

Mess is Mine - Vance Joy

When the Beat Drops Out - Marlon Roudette

Breezeblocks - alt-J

Overflow - Ghost Loft

5 Years Time - Noah and the Whale 

She Came Along - Sharam, Kid Cudi

S.O.B. - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Jordan Belfort - Wes Walker

Got It - Marian Hill

Sound of Your Heart - Shawn Hook

All My Friends - Dylan Kelly

$ave Dat Money - Lil Dickey ( this one literally makes me laugh out loud)

Search Party - Sam Bruno

Makeba - Jain

Easy Love - Sigala

Love Myself - Hailee Steinfeld

Warriors - Imagine Dragons

Come and Get It - John Newman

Devil - Cash Cash

Weekend - Priory

High - Young Rising Sons

Here is the link to my playlist if you want to listen to it on Spotify!

I am only at 1h 48min for this playlist and I cannot run a half marathon that fast, so if you have any suggestions let me know! I love new music. Speaking of new music... It's New Music Friday tomorrow! 

Summer Recap

Well hello there! Haven't heard from you in a while, oh wait, that's my fault. I haven't posted anything since April. *embarrassed emoji* I know, it's bad. I want to take my blog seriously and I feel like I finally have the time to do that. 

This spring was so unbelievably busy. With peak softball season ( we came within one game of state), training for a half marathon, and planning graduation I was stretched pretty thin. Did I physically any thinner though? Absolutely not. Who needs the freshmen 15 when they got the graduation 15? haha. 

So I am going to catch you up on almost everything from April 28th to now. This will be somewhat lengthy and probably a little rambled, so read at your own risk ;)

On May 24th, 2015 I graduated with my 14 other classmates. I earned the honor of being named valedictorian. To date I feel that is my biggest accomplishment of life, even though it doesn't mean much in college. 

Turtle Lake - Mercer Class of 2015

Val and Sal

On May 25th, I moved out of my childhood home and into my parent's empty rental house in Mercer. It was time for me to be on my own, and not just for my sake, but also for my family's. Living on my own was a good experience and I feel much more independent from it. I am so grateful my parents trusted me and provided the opportunity for me do to so.

For the 4th summer I babysat for a family of four girls in Washburn. Once again, being a nanny taught me patience and responsibility. It also taught me that I want to wait a longgggggg time before having children of my own. Even though at times it was a little stressful, I love that family and I consider those girls sisters. 

On May 31st, there was a local 5k fundraiser for our school's music program. Mom walked and I ran. I was in pretty good shape in the midst of half training. I ran my 5k PR of 25:06 and was the first female finisher and second overall finisher. Even though there was a total of about 15 runners, I'm still considering this a highlight of my summer!

Never been a winner before!

On June 13th, I ran my second half marathon in West Yellowstone, Montana. Mom and I road-tripped and tented for our trip. I had a specific time goal for this race, but I didn't reach it. The elevation and a gigantic hill were not factored into my goal. I still PR'd and enjoyed an extremely well-organized race in beautiful country. Vacation Races did a great job and I'm excited to run Yellowstone in 2016!

Where's Yogi and Boo-Boo?

Climbed to the top of Mt. Washburn with my mom!

Hiking and exploring the park

I really wanted to do another half in July while I was still in good shape, but there were not any nearby, so I settled for a duathlon. On August 1st, I competed in the St. Gabriel's Community Duathlon at McDowel Dam in Bismarck. I didn't train too much specifically for the duathlon, but I kept up my running and added a few bike rides in throughout the week. I am not too sure that I liked the duathlon event. Running after riding 14 miles on a bike is HARD. My legs felt about 300 pounds each. It was a somewhat miserable experience. I have decided that biking is for fun and crosstraining. 

2015 St. Gabriel's Duathlon

That same day, the 31st, after my duathlon in Bismarck, my mom and I booked it to Jamestown for State Women's Slowpitch Softball. A local team asked me to play with them for the summer and I ended up playing 1st base for them. It was fun, yet competitive. I don't mean to brag, but at the Mqcuade tournament (after a very fun night at my cousin's wedding ) I hit a home run right over the left field fence at my first at bat. I surprised myself. I had no idea I was even capable of that. At the state tournament we placed third. I was nervous that since I was the new girl I would be a bench warmer, but the entire team was very welcoming and I hope I have the chance to play with them next summer. 

At the end of August my mom and I went back to school shopping with Kensley and her mom. I love this little girl and I am excited for her to start school this year. This was the first time she got to go just girl shopping for clothes - she's a natural. 

The Sports-Booster club put on a color run fundraiser the week before I moved to Fargo. The day we went shopping, Kensley and I decided that we were going to do it together. I came to the school with expectations of her wanting to walk the course, but when I got there she informed me that we were going to run it. I didn't turn her down! We did a run-walk throughout the entire 2 miles and once again - she was a natural. 

Photographer: Robin Wahl

On August 22nd, I moved to Fargo, North Dakota to attend North Dakota State University. My parents helped me move into my tiny dorm. So far, I am liking the college life. I am able to navigate the campus pretty well and my classes are fun, yet challenging. All summer I was looking forward to running in Fargo, and now after two weeks of Bismarck Half Marathon training in the books here, my feet and legs are aching for the softness of a gravel road instead of cement sidewalks. I still love the unlimited options of routes and house gazing, but I might be on the Wellness Center treadmills to save my legs for the Bismarck Half on September 19th (more on that later :) ). 

So if you made it through that it entire post, HIGH FIVE TO YOU! That was long, but I feel that I needed to recap the time I missed blogging so I can continue to blog about the present, not the past. 

xx Katelynn