Starting week 4

The start of a new school year is an exciting time with all new students... and all of their germs. :( Last Sunday I had an incredibly sore throat (not to be blamed on the little darlings... we were also packing up to move, and I think the dust stirred up my allergies/asthma). However, there was also a nasty stomach bug going around my classroom. I was up all Tuesday night with a stomach illness. I'm still having chest congestion! Anyway, all of this sickness completely ruined our proposed training schedule this week!

Today we just started Week 4, which is a five minute run. I was able to get farther along in my readings and I had a good week at work. I know this might not seem directly related to running, but all of those aspects create stress and take a toll on your body. I have really enjoyed running, and I'm actually looking forward to it. This morning was a really tough run- even though it says it was only 77 degrees outside, the sun was glaring down on us. Also, the humidity of 69% wasn't helping.  We stuck with it and completed our first 5 minute solid run.  I struggled with the second long run mentally.  We were three minutes into what I believed was the long run, and the app chimed for us to stop.  This totally threw off my game- I thought I was halfway there on that stretch, I liked that part of the course, and mentally I had already gauged my stopping point.  When we actually began our real second 5 minute run, I struggled the entire time.  I don't think this really had anything to do with my ability- it was more of a mental game.  Part of the time I even walked for a few seconds, with much chastisement blended with encouragement from my husband.  Which song is playing also seems to have an impact on my running- my personal connection/sentiment to it, the speed and beat of the song also contribute to my running.  I believe this proved to be true on my two longer runs today: the first one I was enjoying with a  coming-of-age song for me by Our Lady Peace.  It had a good beat and felt like a song that pushed me to run even faster.  On the other hand, when I was mentally struggling on the second run, the music wasn't helping.  It wasn't memorable, and the beat was sluggish.  We even shuffled through a few to find something a little more upbeat, but again there was no real connection.

Still Diet Coke free!

Week 3

Written on 8/18/13 Still Diet Coke free!  I went cold turkey on that one.  It's been really freeing, though!
This week I discovered some new drinks to replace DC.  We had already been doing Chocolate Soymilk, water with lemon, chamomile tea, orange juice and skim milk.  My husband was drinking pineapple juice instead of orange juice.  This week,

2 weeks complete!

It's been raining nonstop!  Earlier this week we did a day of training in the rain, but today we opted to head to the gym and check out the treadmills.  A very worthy decision indeed!  I thoroughly enjoyed the low impact workout, and being (mostly) dry was an added bonus.

2 weeks completed!

I haven't had a Diet Coke in 2 weeks either.  Our food habits have been altered; another factor that contributes to this is the genesis of another school year.

I have increased my intake of bananas.  I had one before my run today and I did not get a cramp, which was a drastic change from the norm.  I currently have a glass of Soymilk for breakfast, a lean cuisine for lunch, blueberries for a snack, and a regular dinner.  I am looking for an alternative for lean cuisine for lunch... I refuse to eat salad.  Last year I had a slice of Sarah Lee deli meat, slice of cheese, and a side of veggies.  I don't like the amount of sodium in the deli meat, or that it is processed.  Still looking for a viable lunch alternative that I can stick with!





I still need to research more about:

• Stretches
• What food to eat before/after a workout
• Which 5K to run... and I need to register! 
• Running shoes.  We need to go to a running store and have them do a gait analysis, etc. 

As far as learning goes, it helps that we have many friends who are runners.  Social media makes it easy to get input from experienced runners.  Facebook helped us get started!

My Facebook post & responses:

Another encouraging factor was the response from friends/family/total strangers!  My first blog post had nearly one hundred views, including some from Germany and Alaska.  I think having this supportive community also makes this journey more exciting.  

We had a scare this week with my medical issues... I have a nodule on my thyroid.  The doctor is recommending that I have it removed; I should have a surgical consult soon.  Hopefully this won't impact our workout schedule too much.

Also, we will be moving to downtown Nashville soon. (Woohoo!)  While this is an exciting change, it also means we will have to find a new location to run.  I'm looking forward to checking out places to run in the city.

On to week three!

An Ode To Diet Coke

I have some depressing news.  Apparently, in order to be more successful in my half-marathon training program, I must give up my beloved Diet Coke.







Written on 7/31/13