food is fuel

I had an interesting revelation over the weekend. Drinking lots of water makes me feel good. I don't drink enough - I've always really struggled with getting my daily intake in. You would be shocked and alarmed if you knew how much diet soda I drank. It was late Saturday morning and I began to feel really weak and lethargic - it occurred to me that I needed to hydrate for the Sunday long run so I began chugging water and I felt amazingly better. Yes, I know. I'm an idiot. A 32 year old idiot who is just realizing all the virtues of water.

I've also been thinking a lot about food as fuel. How am I going to get through these long runs without bonking? I do seem to get a little farther each week before I start feeling like crap. I guess that is the point of a training program. I bought 4 new Clif bar flavors today - so far, "Blueberry Crisp" is a winner. I don't know if I can do "Gu" again. I don't think I have the stomach for it anymore, but we shall see.

two a days?

The weather gods were playing with me again today. Wednesday is my normal work from home day - the opportune day for my mid-week medium length run. I had heard "flurries" in the forecast, but the flurries continued pretty steadily all morning. I also quickly realized that my winter running apparel is severely lacking. So... the treadmill. again. For some reason, treadmill runs take me longer. I suppose I take more breaks because I get bored pretty quickly. I ended up having to cut my 6 miler down to about 4 when the phone rang. Not happy. I decided to get in a few more miles after Liam went to bed. So in total, I ran almost 8 miles today, but in 2 shorter segments. I realize that working out like that is probably not going to help me run long distance any better, but still good to get the miles in - that's my story anyway. I figure at this early stage of training, it is not going to have a huge impact.

But it does bring up the challenge of the mid-week longer run - what to do? The most I can get in during my lunchtime run without too many eyebrows being raised at work is 4, maybe 5. So I guess I'll keep them on Wednesdays and hope for the best.

the weather waits for no one

After last week's unfortunate long run, I spent the weekend hydrating and making sure I was eating right in preparation for this week's long run. Yes, it would be cold but armed with my trusty new running tights, I knew all would be fine. That is until I looked out the window and saw this:

I'd even proposed to Nathan earlier that I would get up and run before church... but the pull of my cozy bed was too much to fight so early on a cold January morning. Such are the pitfalls of training for a spring marathon I suppose. Onward to the treadmill for an 8+ miler. At least Liam had fun breaking in his new snow boots:

Ok, I'll admit that I'm using this blog to shamelessy post pics of my kid. Enjoy!

aches and pains

A blog about running and marathoning would not be complete without some griping about aches and pains. I'm a little bit down because I have some nagging pains that don't seem to be going away - shin splint, neck pain, little tweaks here and there. As of today, I decided to focus on the Beginner training program because frankly it is about half as much mileage as the Intermediate program. The good thing about this is that it will allow me more time to cross-train and strengthen up the weak areas. I should also have more rest and recovery time. My work schedule has been quite heavy lately, which means fewer lunchtime workouts. I mean, do they not understand that I NEED to work out?! Priorities, people!

I read an interesting article today about women and why most shouldn't run:
http://www.coreperformance.com/article.php?p=3&s=1&id=273

After my demoralizing gimpy shortened lunchtime run, I almost agreed with this jerk. But then I just realized he had probably been passed by one too many women and needed some type of "outlet". I will say that he does have some points, but his attitude and delivery suck. Anyway, just thought this was interesting.

swirl, tap, and buff - NRR

On a whim, I picked up the bare minerals starter kit from Ulta cosmetics store. I'd seen the infomercials a million times and was pretty impressed with all of the results on TV (hmmm, is this the beginning of my testimonial?). My daily makeup routine consists of applying makeup at the stoplights on the way to work. in the dark. so you can imagine how GOOD I look every morning! I put some on tonight before heading over to Mom's for a family dinner and miracle of miracles, Mom commented on how good my makeup looked! Without prompting! While I'm probably still a girl looking for mom's approval, I have to say this is the best money I've spent in a while.

long runs - what NOT to do

I had a long run scheduled for today - 7 to 10 miles for week 2 of 18. I decided to do two 4.3 mile loops which would put me right in between 7 and 10. Armed with my new nike elite running socks, I headed out the door. Another beautiful Sunday afternoon in mid-January! As the run quickly degenerated into a shuffle, I began compiling a list of things I am doing wrong:

1. indulging in chips, salsa, and margaritas the night before a long run
2. counting coffee alternaing with diet coke as "hydration"
3. finishing Liam's half eaten cheese dog for lunch does not equal "fueling up for my long run"

As you can see, there are some holes in my nutritional plan. Gotta work on that. It wasn't all bad. It was really a nice day for a run, there were lots of people out, my much discussed playlist was spot on and I ended up completing 7.5 miles. Week 2 - check!

random liam pic