Stitch Fix Number Six...and getting over the fear of the 'tempo run!'

It's that time of the month again...for Stitch Fix! This was my sixth "fix," I didn't take any pictures with the clothes on, because by the time I came back from my run (see below), showered, ate dinner, got Max ready for bed, it was already 930pm- first world problems.

Stitch Fix is interesting;  while they send you clothes that match the survey regarding your style preferences,  those clothes are often made up of choices that you wouldn't normally pick out on your own.  When I opened up my box last night,  I actually made a face.  At first glance, I had received a purple shirt that looked like it was from an early 90s music video, a black shirt that looked like bat wings,  a sweater that looked like it was taken out of an old German man's closet, gold earrings (I do not look good in gold jewelry), and a pair of black pants that were going to be way too short (which they were.)
   First, I tried on the earrings- they weren't as bad as I thought; however, they weren't that flattering so I decided that they were a no.  Then, I tried on the black pants; they were a perfect fit on the waist...except they had a 31 inch inseam....and I need about 5 inches added to the length.  They would have been super cute if they were much longer- #tallgirlproblems.  The pants would definitely be a no.

Then, I tried on the old German man sweater.  It was actually cute and very warm- perfect for the polar vortex-filled winters of New Hampshire.  It still looked like it was pulled out of a closet in Germany, but it was weirdly flattering.   I decided it was a keeper!
   The purple 90s shirt was next....it ended up being cute as well.  Plus, it was something that I could wear to dress-up, for casual days, or to join the boys of Color Me Badd.

Finally, I tried on the bat wing shirt.  It didn't look like bat wings on me, and ended up being flattering and comfortable.  That one was a keeper!
 
I ended up keeping the German sweater, the purple shirt and the bat wing shirt.  I showed Max my clothing choices this morning, he was all about the purple shirt, but said the sweater was "yucky."

Stitch Fix is really fun!! If you haven't tried it, and are interested in signing up, here's my referral link!

https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3596515

Now back to training for the marathon....

I'm currently on my 7th week of training for the Honolulu Marathon-almost half way!! This week, I    

am scheduled to do between 36-39 miles.  This is the most mileage I have ever done, I have a 16 mile long run (longest I've ever run at one stretch), and two seven mile mid-week runs scheduled (in addition to a 5 miler and 2-3 recovery run.)  One of the seven mile runs was a tempo run with 5 miles at 8:13 pace.  Tempo runs make me nervous, they're different than speed work because you don't get a break between the miles.  They're challenging, but important because they get you used to running long distances at a goal speed.

    I decided to do my tempo run after work on Wednesday for two reasons:  I was going to have a hard time fitting the run in during lunch, and I didn't want to think about work while running.

  I ended up having to work from home on Wednesday because Max had a cold, and it seemed like a good idea to have him take a rest day from daycare.  I don't like working from home because I don't have adult interaction, and I don't walk around as much as I do at work.  I also don't have a fancy espresso/latte machine like work does.

   The good thing about working from home was that I could get changed into my running clothes, and head out on the road right at 5:30 (as opposed to 6:15 which is usually the time I get home by the time I pick up Max.)  I was a little stiff from sitting down for the majority of the day, so I did my first mile at 9:00 to warm-up.  After the 1st mile, I switched on a new playlist that I had made (Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots...it was 90s day yesterday!) and started the tempo run for the next five miles.  I chose a route that would end up being 8 miles,  it had some hills, but was mostly flat since it runs along Route 1a.  I figured I would do 5 miles at tempo, and cool down for the remaining two miles.  I had 7 miles (at easy pace) scheduled for the next day, and knew it would be hard to do at lunch...so I wanted to make up the mileage.

  The first couple of miles at tempo flew by, the weather was perfect and I was glad to be out of the house.  By the 3rd mile of the repeat, I started to get nervous about how I was going to make it for three more miles...but, I knew that there was an unopened Stitch Fix package waiting for me back at home, as well as pizza.

  Long story short, I finished my tempo run, and felt great! It wasn't easy, but it was a good confidence booster!  I did my 5 miles under my goal 8:13 pace! Maybe Eddie Vedder is a good motivator.

1.0 mi	08:56 min/mi	00:08:56
2.0 mi	07:38 min/mi	00:07:37
3.0 mi	07:51 min/mi	00:07:50
4.0 mi	08:05 min/mi	00:08:05
5.0 mi	07:31 min/mi	00:07:29
6.0 mi	07:59 min/mi	00:07:59
7.0 mi	08:47 min/mi	00:08:46
8.0 mi	09:14 min/mi	00:09:13
8.0 mi	11:48 min/mi	00:00:16