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.