Day 64 - Half Marathon Training

It's going goooood! I'm not blogging consistently, but I'm training as consistently as I can.

I have been running futher than I ever have. Five miles, 7 miles, 8 miles! I'm doing it!

Tomorrow's schedule says I should run a 10k race, but instead will take that as an "easy day" and run the 6 miles. A low mileage day is 6 miles. That blows me away!

My first half marathon is only 2 weeks away! The holidays have been good to me. Not much overindulgance, just treating myself to well-deserved goodies. And I don't feel the least bit guilty. I've earned it and feel great!

This half marathon is possible. No fear. No defeat. Just attempt and success.

Merry Christmas everyone! and Happy New Year!!! The next few weeks will be busy with getting our son back to school from winter break and me training. As well as everyday family responsibilities...

Our fam on Christmas Eve...

Day 51 - Half Marathon Training

Short and simply - 7 miles today!!!!

This is the longest I have ever run. I felt great. Even better than after my 5-miler on Thursday. I'm still getting a bit sore. I expect that with the colder weather and pushing my body to new distances.

This was a huge hurdle and milestone for me. I have officially reached the half way distance of a Half Marathon. I have always made myself think "If I can make it halfway up, then I can surely make it halfway back."

My right calf/ankle was going numb and so was my right arm from the elbow down to my wrist. I'm not sure if that's ok... It started around 4 miles. I've done that kind of distance before and never felt it.

Tomorrow is a cross training day and I'll figure out what I'm going to do later. Whatever fancies me then.

Day 50 - Half Marathon training

Training has been sporatic. One day I'm doubting I can do this at all and the next day I'm feeling excited to cross the finish line. As my feelings go back and forth, so does my training. I always keep running. I do that because I love to, but how far I run depends on if I'm "training" or not. I always keep in mind the bigger picture - my love of running, how at peace it makes me feel, how it's cheaper than therapy, and how healthy it keeps me.

Some days I feel up for the challenge of something new and other days I just want to run a couple miles instead of pushing myself. For anyone reading, that's perfectly ok to feel like that. First and foremost should be the LOVE for this sport. Yes, it's a sport. Call it maintence, call it cardio, call it a discipline. Either way, it's a sport and if you do it and love it then you're an athlete. In fact, you don't even have to love it... but you will!

Athlete: n.
A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports.

I have 2 quotes in my bathroom that say
"If you have a body, you're an athlete."
"The more you run, the more you are a runner."

Some days, when I want to be mad at myself for not desiring to run 6 miles, but instead go out for only 2 or 3 miles... I remind myself that no matter what, I'm out there running and doing what I love.

So anyway...

Yesterday was 5 miles.
Today was cross-training with a 25-minue Shaun T ab workout.
Tomorrow's a long run of 7 miles. It'll be the farthest I've ever run. But only 2 more miles than what I did yesterday so I feel hopeful.

A few of my favorite things...

Of course Jesus and my family win the titles in life, but today we'll be talking about material things. :o) And *no* I don't get paid for this lol

Peanut Butter!
In a packet nontheless. And organic. It's called Justin's Organic Peanut Butter Squeeze Pack. It rocks! As I type, my daughter is trying to steal the packet I'm using to reference the information. The kids love it, it's great for the glycemic-challenged athlete, or any person looking for a healthy organic protien boost at any time of the day. They come in Honey and Cinnamon flavored. All natural flavorings though. Actual honey and actual cinnamon. The cinnamon tastes like cinnamon peanut butter toast explosion without the extra carbs. I cannot rave enough about these! I'm looking VERY forward to using these on my long runs and during my races. I found these packets at Whole Foods in Towne Square. In the Peanut butter aisle by the baby needs/beauty sections.

Nutritional Info:
net wt. 32g (1.15oz)
Serv size - 1 packet
calories 180
fat cal 140
total fat 15g
sat fat 2g
trans fat 0
cholest. 0
sodium 65mg
total carb 8g
fiber 2g
sugars 2g
protien 7g

Gluten & dairy free! No hydrogenated oils.



Odwalla
Juices and Juice Blends. They are chock full of vitamins and nurtients. Each bottle tells you what percentages of that bottle is organic or from fruits. For instance, there are protien blends made with soy milk and so one of them says 76% organic ingredients and another says 91% organic ingredients, whereas the one I love the most (Red Rhapsody from the SuperFood collection) is a 100% juice/puree blend and so are the rest of the Super Food collection. Then they have smoothie blends, like Wholly Grain! that include grains and are made up of around 75% juice/puree. I can't say "ALL" but the majority of them are Gluten free! The sugars range around 20g+, but that is all from fruit usually. Some have the consistency of juice, some of a thick fruit puree, and the protien ones seem like the consistency of a protien shake. I've found these at Glaziers supermarket (cheapest), It's a Grind coffee shop and Whole Foods.


Glaziers
The new supermarket. Ok.. ok.. I know this isn't a one item thing. But I just HAVE to rave about this place. Today for less than $3, I bought a pack of already chopped up Kung Pao mix of veggies. Ready to be thrown in the pan and cooked up. It's amazing that I can pay the same amount I normally would for the vegetables they included and I don't have to do the work of cutting it all up! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm actually a really old fashioned girl. I peel and slice my own apples for apple pie, I make my own french fries, and I make my daughter's gluten free bread by hand. I like putting more work into things because I feel I get to put some more lovin' into it that way. But I'm also the mom of 3 kiddos with lots going on, and already chopped veggies can make the difference of how much time we get together around dinnertime. Glaziers also has THE best prices on fresh fruits and veggies. Right now bananas are 39cents/lb. Apples, oranges and pears are 2 lbs for 98cents. They have a section for organic produce and even bins of loose spinach and baby spring mixed greens so you can however much you want. Glaziers has also seemed to win over the love from men, with a huge selection of fresh seafood and delicious seedless watermelon pretty much year-round, which my husband goes crazy over.

Glaziers is at the corner of S.Durango and Warm Springs. They are family-owned, the owners walk the store every single day, the Mrs.G's brand items are from the wife's personal recipe box, and the owners are from the East Coast (Philly). So that automatically makes me a fan! Every week's flyer has coupons for FREE stuff. You will never see *no one* walking around. There constantly stockers out on the floor and you will be greeted throughout your visit with "Hello.Good afternoon! Are you finding what you need?" Also, as you check out, make sure to notice how the checker will walk the last bag around to put it in your cart. The service andp prices there are A+++++++!

That's about it for now :o)