The Return of W.W.

A week before Thanksgiving, I was cleaning out my room and came across all my old Weight Watchers pamphlets. I decided, to try counting points for a week. After one week I had lost two pounds, so I decided to pick it back up after Thanksgiving. While, I'm not really trying to lose weight, I am trying to get in decent shape for my next half marathon and pay attention to the foods I'm eating. My plan is to use the winter months to build up my strength through weight training and core straightening activities (not too much running, gotta rest those knees). Then come February, when I start running again, I should find it a lot easier to run 13.1 miles. We'll see how this all plays out...

My next half marathon will be the Napa-to-Sonoma, my first big race for a cause. I will be fundraising for and training with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. I'm planning to use this blog to document my training and experiences with the Team Challenge group. For those of you unfamiliar with Team Challenge, check out there website and get pumped because you will hear a lot of about them in the upcoming months!

http://ccteamchallenge.org/

Pumpkin

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays - football, family & food, who could ask for anything more. I focus a bit more on the food. Pumpkin is by far my favorite food. Thanksgiving is merely an excuse to eat a ton of pumpkin, while in season (people look at me weird when I make pumpkin pie in the summer).

Leading up to the holiday, I attended a pumpkin pot luck, enjoyed pumpkin pie and ice cream at my boyfriend's and went to a pumpkin patch, picking out the most perfect orange pumpkin. Right now I'm even sipping on a pumpkin latte. I'll be sad when this holiday is over, because it will be the beginning of the end of pumpkin season and the start of finals at school.

Happy Holidays Everyone! Roll Tide and eat pumpkin!

cirque du soleil

I went to see Kooza, a Cirque du Soleil show last night at the National Harbor. Pretty freaking phenomenal! I wanted to book a flight right after the show to Vegas so I could see another one.

Week 11 Summary

I'm no longer posting my weekly picks online beforehand. Apparently, I do way better when I don't. With only two picks wrong this week, sadly the Washington Redskins kept me out of the winnings. booo home team!

Brady got his first win, so proud.

My total standings through week 11: 109-51 (pretty damn good)!

National Bundt Day!

No football picks this week because I'm swamped. But I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Saturday, November 15 is National Bundt Day! I am going to a pumpkin pot-luck that day and will be bringing a pumpkin bundt cake to celebrate.

A little history brought to you by Wikipedia ;-)

"A Bundt cake is the name used for a dessert cake cooked in a Bundt pan, whose identifying attribute is its ringed shape. It is pronounced "bunt", the "d" being silent. The Bundt pan (a registered trademark) was created in 1950 by H. David Dalquist, founder of Nordic Ware, at the request of members of the Hadassah Society's chapter in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[1] They were interested in a pan that could be used to make bundkuchen (sometimes called kugelhopf or Gugelhupf), a popular German and Austrian coffee cake. The old-world pans, with fluted and grooved sides, made of delicate ceramic or heavy cast iron, were difficult to use. He modified some existing Scandinavian pan designs and fashioned the pan out of aluminum."

There's a breeze in the air...

Pants and a long sleeve shirt were called for this morning, as I set out on a beautiful fall morning run. It took a little adjusting to get used to breathing in the crisp air, but after a couple strides, I loved it. Nothing beats cold weather running!

I'm not really motivated to do speed work or long runs right now. But there is something nice about just being able to go out and run a few miles with no pressure to finish in a certain time. I'm so distracted by the fall colors, that I almost forget I'm exerting energy.

On complete random note, Vera Bradley is having some nice website sales. Check it out!

Week 10

I ran this morning! I'm so proud of myself. (Although the real reason was that I couldn't bare to turn the TV on at the gym. Good luck America, I didn't vote for him). Since the Army 10 Miler, I have just been running on the weekends and going to the gym during the week. I'm trying to increase my running ever so slightly, aiming for one weekday run and one on the weekends. I went on a beautiful run this weekend through Northwestern University's campus. One week too early because the Buckeyes will be there this weekend, oh well!

My week 9 picks were pretty pathetic, my boyfriend beat me, therefore I have no control over the television remote. Thank god the Greek season finale was last week!

Without further ado, my week 10 picks:
Denver @ Cleveland - I'm going with my new favorite AFC team! Go Brady!

New Orleans @ Atlanta - Going with the home team since this is almost a dead even match-up

Tennessee @ Chicago - I was really torn on this pick, since Tennessee was neck-in-neck with Green Bay at home last week and now they are away. I also have worried about Rex Grossman, but my BFF has convinced me to go with the home team, "Tennessee doesn't really have any tapes out on Grossman for this year its like the first game of the season in a way...he has it in him, h just has to show up"

Jacksonville @ Detroit - The jags should really be so much better, they are going into Detroit to win it.

Baltimore @ Houston - Now that I'm a browns fan, I really hate the former browns.

Seattle @ Miami - Way to turn it around Miami!

Green Bay @ Minnesota - I'm still a cheesehead!

Buffalo @ New England - The bills have disappointed me all season, sorry Courtney.

St. Louis @ NY Jets - New York fans now understand the roller coaster ride that is being a Brett fan... 12 interceptions, but he is still winning games.

Carolina @ Oakland - Do I really need an explanation here?!

Indy @ Pittsburgh - Indy has a lot to play for and Benny boy is out, but I'm still going with the home team, the stealers are looking pretty good... guess I shouldn't say that as a browns fan.

KC @ San Diego - Not much to discuss here, SD is favored by 15.

Giants @ Philly - Time to end all the excitement in the city of brotherly love.

San Fran @ Arizona - Cardinals are sitting pretty on top of a horrible division.
total points: 47


A little college football commentary
For the first time this season, all the college football teams I root for are ranked... let's see if they can keep it up. I'm personally a little concerned about Alabama being #1 this early, but since none of the ESPN writers expect them to be in the National Championship, that takes a little pressure off.

Brady Quinn

You heard it hear first, this blogger is now a Brown's fan. While, I grew in Cleveland I was raised a Green Bay Packers fan (my father is from the great state of Wisconsin, mmm cheese). But today, in front of all my loyal readers, I declare my love for Brady Quinn.


*I still love you more Grady Sizemore.

Football

I don't have any upcoming races so I thought I would change it up a bit and talk about football.

Through week 8 of the NFL, I am 77-39 with my picks. I won week 7 of my pool, with one wrong pick, but correctly guessing the score of the Monday night game. This has gone to my head a bit. I feel like I have some authority on football picks now, even though it's totally luck. Anyway, I'm going to start posting my weekly picks here for the remainder of the season, with some added commentary.

Without further ado, here are my week 9 picks (additional commentary provided by JoJo):

NTJ @ Buffalo - "..after last week with Miami destroying them I think they are looking for blood" - J. I agree 100% and will also add that Brett should not have won last week the way he was playing.

Detroit @ Chicago - I cannot stand the trash talk from the Lions QB last year. Still bitter.

Jacksonville @ Cincinnati - Every time Garrard throws a TD, Crohn's & Colitis gets $10,000.

Baltimore @ Cleveland - Are they finally starting to play like they did last year?

Tampa Bay @ KC - "Jon Gruden instills the fear of god into his team" - J

Houston @ Min - Minnesota is favored by 4.5 and at home, I think this may be my upset pick of the week, if you can even call it that.

Arizona @ St. Louis - This game could go either way if you ask me, so I default to the home team.

Green Bay @ Tennessee - I am a huge huge huge, GB fan, but to make it more interesting this week, I'm going against them in my picks. Then it's win/win for me.

Miami @ Denver - Mascot pick: Broncos beat Dolphins.

Dallas @ NYG - "Dallas had high hopes but they have fallen apart i would def. take Giants" -J

Atl @ Oakland - Atlanta is a great city. I really got nothing here.

Philly @ Seattle - "Seahawks put on a nice show but Westbrook is back so eagles might pick it up a notch." -J

New England @ Indy - I think Indy is looking for redemption over their loss last week to the Titans...

Monday: Pittsburgh @ Washington - I have a DC drivers license and a redskins loving boyfriend, so why not!
Total Points: 42 - no rhyme or reason

College football update:
Buckeyes and Terps are off this weekend... so the Tide gets my undivided attention on Saturday. Wait, when did I become a 'bama fan. Crazy! Love that Leigh Tiffin.
and finally... a baseball update:
For your viewing pleasure, Grady Sizemore: http://www.mensvogue.com/magazine/articles/2008/10/grady-sizemore

That's all folks... off to Chicago for the long weekend!

Marine Corps Weekend

I'm not longer running the 10k this weekend (for medical reasons... I want to, but my mother would kill me) ...but I still got to enjoy the race expo last night. I think I must have a sticker on my forehead that says "sucker" when I walk into these things. I literally buy every new product. Last night was an all time low for me. I bought some strap that goes around my boobs to give me more support when I run. I tried it this morning and while it actually works, it's very uncomfortable.

I want to wish everyone running the Marathon this weekend a ton of luck! I will be out there cheering everyone on, especially Chuck Bell from NBC4, Andy Baldwin from the Bachelor, and most importantly my amazing boyfriend. I'm so proud of him for all the hard work he's put into his training.

I have a special outfit picked out for race day (lets just call it an Erbear Original). I promise this time to actually post pictures of it afterward.

13.1 vs. 10

I've never trained for a 10 mile race before. I just assumed that if I could run a half marathon, 10 miles would be a piece of cake. However, in my mind I was having a hard time visualizing the difference. It wasn't until I actual ran my first 10 mile race that was I able fully comprehend the 3.1 mile difference.

At mile 8.5 of the Army Ten Miler it hit me! Only 1.5 miles to go (huge smile on my face). If I had been running a half I still would have another 4.6 miles to go. That is where I finally realized the difference. It's not in 3.1 mile difference, it's at mile 9, when you only have one more to go!

26,000 Army Strong!

Yesterday, was the Army 10 Miler, the largest ten mile race in the country.

It was a beautiful day in the district, 52 degrees when I woke up at 5 a.m. Walking to the metro, I had goose bumps on my legs, so I knew it would be a good running day. You know it's a large race when everyone on the metro had race numbers on. It was quite a site.

As we arrived at the Pentagon, the sun was just rising above the Potomac. It was truly a beautiful October morning. With the weather on my side, the only real concern I had was the sheer volume of racers I would be tripping over the first couple of miles. A plane took off from Reagan National Airport as the gun went off. I could only imagine the captain coming on the loud speaker telling the passengers to look out their left window. Twenty plus thousand racers were lined up to take to the streets of DC.

My partner in crime told me to just look at my feet until things spaced out a bit. That I did. I went with the flow of the crowd and ran the first mile in 8:51. This is the first race I ran with my new watch. It confirmed how great of a purchase this was. I wrote all goal split times down on a post-it note last week and memorized them, along with my overall goal time. After the first six miles, I was well ahead of my pace. I had planned to do a negative split time, but was feeling good during the first half and knew there were some difficult hills at the end, so with my eye on my watch, I reevaluated the course and decided to do a positive split. I hit six miles about two minutes ahead of schedule. Miles seven and eight were my slowest miles, but I knew I had to save my energy for the last mile. After running the previous two miles at a 10 minute pace, I pushed hard through mile 10. I had 8:30 left on my watch before I hit my goal time. I ran that last mile in 8:49. I crossed the finish line at 1:37:24... only 19 seconds after my goal time. I was pretty damn pleased!!!!!!

Overall, I was very happy with my ten miler performance. I would like to work on pushing through the miles right after the half way point better. I was successful at managing the water stops, even with the crowds. I jogged through them, not stopping or walking, but thinking of them as a rest point, which helped mentally. I run hills everyday living in DC, but they are still something that I struggle with. I had some minor foot issues around mile 8/9, but during a race it doesn't seem to affect me as much as training. While I hit my goal, I still think of each race as a learning and growing experience.

Flashing back two days, the race expo was great. I got a shirt that I wore on race day that says "Will Run for Ice Cream." I got a lot of cheers for "Ice Cream Girl" during the race!

This was definitely a great race. The crowd, the other runners, and the course made it an exciting morning. I wish there was a better way to get back to Virgina at the end, but every course has its challenging sections. I'll definitely sign-up again next year!

Timing is Everything!

So I caved and bought a running watch. It's changed my life in just one run!

I was in Cleveland this past weekend for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah, which meant lots of shopping. I had spent all last week surfing the internet for the perfect semi-cheap pink running watch. I didn't need anything with bells and whistles, so I settled on the Timex Marathon (in pink of course). Lucky for me it was on sale at Dick's and came with a pedometer.

I ran 6.5 miles on Sunday with my new watch. First off all, I felt amazing during the run. I had only managed to run 2 miles since the half marathon the previous weekend. I ended up on a trail that had quarter mile markers. This resulted in me looking at my watch every 2 minutes. I pushed myself well beyond my limits. It was sort of fun at the time. It kicked my ass though, I was on the couch for the following two hours with a headache.

While, I need to not try and push myself beyond my capabilities, this new timing device has helped me understand what my race pace feels like. I'm going to try not to look at it every two seconds but maybe every 9 minutes and 21 seconds to get to know what a mile feels like during a a race.

I guess now I don't have any excuses to skip speed workouts!

Race Expos

The Amy 10 miler is two weeks from Sunday. But what I'm looking forward to most is the race expo. According to the website, there will be a lot of great vendors.

I'm such a sucker for this stuff. When racing, the expert say to use your training as practice for what you will do on race day from what you eat, drink and wear to how much you sleep. I follow this idea with one exception, I always buy a new shirt for race day. Probably not the smartest thing in the world, but it's a fun little tradition for someone that loves to shop!

Army 10 miler vendors, I'm your dream customer!

No PR

I write this posting with mixed emotion. While, I came no where close to a PR yesterday (which I will get to in a moment), the course was beautiful. I had run most of the Parks course in segments in advance of the race. But running it all at once was stunning. Minus a little pushing and shoving right when you entered the park path, it was a great course for a race.

The down side: I ran with my pace group (9:30/min. mile) for a good 4.5 miles of the course. Then I was a couple seconds behind that until the 6 mile marker, at which point I felt sick beyond belief. I think I finally made it to a port-o-potty at mile 8. I then waited in a 5 person deep line. ugh. Who waits in line for a stinky port-o-potty?! After about a 10 minute or so detour, I was back on the course. Dumping water on myself at every water station to follow (it was 90+ degrees). Honestly, no idea how I managed to cross the finish line still running. Or how I managed to jog the last three miles of the course after my "incident."

Why did this happen? I've begun to process the situation, as I would like to run more half marathons in my life. (nope, I'm not giving up after this horrible experience). So here is a list of things I would do differently for half #3:
1. Do not sit outside in 90+ degree weather the entire day before
2. Use the port-0-potty multiple times before the race begins (just keep standing in line... yes, this is gross, but part of the racing experience).
3. On hot days, go a little slower than my pace group for the first half
4. Don't skip fluid stations
5. SLEEP! I did nothing good for my body leading up to this race. I had something going on every night this week and clearly did not sleep well. Before my last half, I completely shut down the week before the race, coming home every night and getting in bed by 8:30 or 9pm.
6. As for my stomach... still trying to figure out how to avoid stopping during a race. This has never happened to me during a race or a long training run (happened during shorter runs, thank god for gas stations).

T minus three weeks until the Army 10 Miler! Stayed tuned...

2:08:30

Two days to go! Wow, I have not prepared mentally at all for this race. It hasn't hit me yet that this will all be over in 48 hours. Months of training, getting up early, pushing myself to go faster and farther each week... all over on Sunday. But don't worry, I'll be back training for the Army 10 miler which is only three weeks away!

A couple of people have asked about my goal time. I did my first half marathon in 2:14 and some odd seconds, so I'm not looking to be too ambitious with the second one. My mile pace is significantly faster than when I trained last, but with all my aches and pains I'm aiming for a 9:48/mile pace, which puts me across the finish line in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 30 seconds. We get to predict our race times as part of a competition when we pick up our race packets, so wish me luck in winning that side bet.

I probably won't have time to blog again before the race, so before I say farewell for now, a shout out to my teams: Go Buckeyes! Go Terps tomorrow! A big week for both playing west coast teams. And congrats to my brother for winning big in Vegas this morning!

Investments

As a current MBA student and someone that actual enjoys finance, I think today's runner's world quote hit the nail on the head:

"Running is a great investment. Your principal is low. Your rate of return is enormous, and it keeps growing every year. And there is no hidden charges, unless you count an occasional blister."

-Florence Griffith Joyner and Jon Hanc, Running for Dummies

My Second Date Theory

Fact: The second date is by far the most awkward when pursuing a new relationship.

I think first dates are so much fun because you get to know someone. It is like sorority recruitment. I thrive in situations like that because if it's not going well I make stuff up about myself knowing I will never see that person again. I can also literally talk to a wall, which helps.

If you make it to a second date, however, it gets a little tricky. I find it to be awkward because you've already done the "get-to-know you" questions/conversations, so you really have to dig deeper for material. I just think you might as well skip the second date and go straight to the third date where you've established that you both like each other enough to put the awkward second date past you.

Where is all this going you ask... it dawned on me this week, as I prepare for my second half marathon, that this could be like the second date. I'm going into it a little too relaxed. Not quite on my game. I may need to just do it, get it over with, and sign up for the third one the second it's over to reassure myself that I am committed to continuing my relationship with running.

Home Stretch

This week will be completely different from the week leading up to the last half marathon I ran. I purposely had no plans after work that week. I woke up earlier and earlier each morning in preparation for the 7 am gun time and made sure to get plenty of sleep. This time I do not have that luxury. Tonight I have class, tomorrow the Indians game in Baltimore, Wednesday dinner with an old friend (who's only in the country this one week of the year), Thursday class again and Saturday college football bright and early in the morning (can't really complain about that though, I'm a true fan).

This busy schedule has made it hard to emotionally process the fact that the race is on Sunday. It really has not sunk in yet. I'm also beyond scared to run 13.1 miles because of my recent toe pain. Despite everything, I'm stubborn and I will do it and I will be upset if I don't get the time I want even with everything I have going in my life and with my body.

On a bright note, I have full control of the TV remote this week having picked more NFL games correctly than my boyfriend (I'm pretty sure he's the only one that reads this... so a little bragging is in order). Go me and go tribe tomorrow night!

T minus two weeks

My training for the Parks Half was better than could ever be expected... until I started tapering. I'm having all kinds of foot issues now. I've never had foot pain before when I've run. I used to have issues with my feet falling asleep, but that was easily fixed by buying a new pair of shoes. I'm to the point this time where I'm just not sure I can endure the pain for 13.1 miles. So with less than two weeks until the race, it's really up in the air as to whether I will be able to run.

I had a good decently paced 4 mile run this morning (I ate half a cliff bar beforehand, go me)... but there was still some foot pain. And for such a short distance. I'm concerned about what will happen at the longer distances.

I'm going to try and take it easy over the next week and a half, with short easy runs. I'll be spending a lot of evenings doing school work and watching TV (now that new shows are airing, yay), so I'm hoping to be well rested. Although I'm not quite sure what affect that will have on my feet.

Of course, of my fall racing schedule, this race means the most and would be most disappointed if I missed it. Such is life I'm learning though. As an MBA student, this semester I have more work than my last five semesters combined. I'm trying to learn not to be disappointed when I miss out on social events and other fun things people are doing while I'm home writing papers and reading about strategic management. I guess this lesson can also be learned in the racing world.

Breaking Bad Habits

This morning I forgot to eat before running, oops. I just need to remember to work it into my morning routine. It'll catch on at some point.

Putting that aside, this morning's run was all about breaking bad habits. When I walk and run, I have a horrible tendency to look down at my feet. I mean given that I am a klutz, this makes perfect sense. But as a runner, it's horrible for your posture. So I spent 3.3 miles this morning focusing on keeping my head up. It was hard, but I did it. I'm not sure at this point I could maintain that through a half marathon, but small steps.

Taking a jump back in time for a moment. Had a decent 12 mile run on Saturday. The route was amazing, I highly recommend it and therefore am posting it for all to see.

Personalized Racing Gear

So before my first half marathon back in March (seems like forever ago), I decided to make a tshirt to commemorate this experience. The shirt got messed up, so no one ever saw it. I think it said something like "my first half" and then had some inside jokes on various parts of the sleeves. For the upcoming half I wanted to find something a bit more professional, so that it wouldn't get messed up before the race. (Basically I used a sharpee last time and it bled all over the shirt... still bitter about that).

Most of the websites I came across wanted a bulk order. I was not interested in ordering 100 tshirts. But after a lot of research, I found the perfect piece of gear. The item arrived today in the mail and I'm super excited about it. Hence the post!

I'm going to be a little bit cryptic here because I got two. One is a surprise for my training partner/boyfriend. I wanted to wait and give it to him on race day... but I'm way too excited about it.

A picture of the item will be posted early next week. Any guesses as to what it could be?

Brew at the Zoo

Tonight I'm doing something out of the ordinary, I'm not going to class, I'm not studying, I'm not going to bed earlier to wake up for a run, and I'm not watching the Olympics.

I'm very excited about this evening's festivities. One because I haven't gone out in FOREVER and two because it's something different and I always pride myself on finding new activities.

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/YoungProfessionals/AfterHours/default.cfm

Be Jealous!

The need for speed...

Confession: I hate tempo runs.. so I skip them each week and substitute in a regular run.

This morning I hit the trail for a 5.25 mile run, which turned out to be somewhat of a speed workout. I had great leg turnover. I couldn't figure out where this burst was coming from. Did I do anything different this morning? Yes, I actually did. It was so subtle though, so I didn't realize it would have such a big impact on my run. I ate half a kids cliff bar on my way out the door. I only did this because I was excited to try a new flavor (honey graham, mmm).

Seems like this could become a new trend. I normally don't eat before my weekday runs, I never felt like I needed to for runs under 6 miles. Turns out about 60 calories makes a difference. I'm fascinated by the fact I've been running for just over three years now and each time I train for a race I learn something new about my body and limits.

Gels

My boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Cleveland to see the Indians... and my family. For some people, traveling is an excuse to take a break from training... not for us! Saturday, we covered 10 plus miles of suburbs. Five miles in I was pretty dead, there were many reasons, the two major ones being lack of sleep and knee pain. However, after a shot of gel (Cliff Shot Energy Gel - Mocha, yummy) I was running as if I had just started. This is my first time using any sort of fuel during a run and I was quite nervous about using it. But I've learned that they really work! Now I just need to figure out when in the run to use them and to not become addicted. I'm pretty sure one or two per 10 plus mile run will be sufficient.

In other news, the tribe did not win while we were at the ballpark (my streak ends) but they did take two of three games from the #1 team in the AL. Go Grady!

Top of My Game

After an 11+ mile run yesterday, I'm feeling great! Even after being sick for a week, I feel like my running is the best it's ever been. My legs don't even feel like I ran at all yesterday. I'm running at a great pace and feeling confident, finally, about my fall racing schedule. I ran with a slight cold yesterday, so I'm wondering how much better I could with my full strength.

I don't know if it's the experience I now have of already completing a half, or if it's been running with a partner that has pushed me to perform better. Probably the combination. Right now I'm really excited for the half and it's still a month away, I'm hoping I can maintain this positive attitude until then... we shall see.

Sick

I've been sick the past week which has made running/working out pretty difficult. I still got my long run in last Sunday and a shorter run in Tuesday but not much since or in between. At this point I'm gaining some strength back and think I will be good to go again this Sunday. My training partner and I are running the one section of the half marathon we have yet to explore pre-race. Before getting sick I was pretty happy with my progress, I'm running a lot faster than I did the last training time around, so if I can get healthy and back on track, I'm feeling confident about breaking my previous time.

Dear Comcast

In my leadership class this past weekend, we learned about Comcast having "great customer service" and that they respond to negative blog postings. Therefore, the following is a test:

Dear Comcast,

It took you over a month to properly install cable in my boyfriend's new condo. He lives in a large building and the only real option (or lack of option) he has for cable is Comcast. Therefore, the wiring should be properly maintained and ready for installation in every unit. This was not the case for him. Apparently, the wire was cut and took a month to repair or a month of waiting for someone to repair it in five seconds. He was a loyal Comcast customer in his old apartment and asked for the exact same service, however, several channels he requested are not part of his current service. What's the deal Comcast? Where is the customer service you promise?

I have RCN and anytime there is a problem or I have to wait for something to be fixed (that is out of my control), RCN offers me a deal or gives me a refund. Now that is customer service!

Sincerely,
Erbearontherun

Who's says shopping and running don't mix?!

I love new running accessories! They renew my love of running and get me excited to head out the door. My running wardrobe is quite small considering the amount of time I spend running and exercising. So when my mother told me she was heading to the Nordstrom's' sale for the 4th time this week, I made sure to give her my order for new shorts (see picture... aren't they cute? don't they make you want to run?)

Next on my list is a water belt. I learned during my last training season that once I get up to the nine and ten mile runs, I better have water or a sports drink nearby. Readers, please keep your eyes peeled for a fun/cute looking water belt cause this runner is in the market to buy...

It's official

Last night my boyfriend asked me if it was ok if he also run the Parks Half Marathon and then it dawned on me that I hadn't actually signed up. So now it's official, I'm registered and really running another half marathon this year.

Yawn

I've been getting way more sleep than I'm used to this week (thanks impart to not being social), however that caught up with me last night. I maybe slept for two hours, I was literally wide awake the whole night. The two hours I did sleep happened to be during my planned morning run. I'm a little disappointed only because this is the first non-humid day this month.

I am typically a morning person and love working out before starting my day. Motivating myself to exercise after workout is hard, but when I do, I find that I can push my body more than in the wee hours of the morning. I'm hoping to do that this evening because I cannot let this beautiful day pass me by. My goal is to run 4 or 5 miles at a pretty decent pace. This run will come after hardly any sleep, a full day of work and class... thank god tomorrow is FRIDAY!

...I'm back!

After a four month hiatus, I'm back and blogging again (just not on a network TV station's website). The meat of this blog will be about the trials and tribulations of running, with a side helping of social commentary.

After running my first half marathon in March, I'm back at it again and training for another 13.1 miles in September. I'm a little more 'lax on my training schedule this time around and yet way more nervous. Last time there were no expectations, just cross the finish line. Now, I feel like I have to beat my previous time. And to top it all off, if it's 90 degrees on race day, I'm not sure I will even make it to the finish line.

HEAT is a big problem I've had with my training this time around. I hate heat! You will never hear me wishing it was summertime when it's 20 degrees out and I can barely feel my fingers. I would much rather run in the cold and snow then the heat and humidity... but that is a rant for another day...

With that lovely introduction, here is my anticipated fall racing schedule:

September - Half Marathon
October - 10 miler and 10k
November - 5 mile turkey trot (gotta burn some calories before I sit on the couch, watch football and eat all day).