It's here!

6 days!!!

Donut Face

This morning I had a donut...




As big as my face!




It. was. awesome. It kept me full for about 5 hours. If I didn't mind being fat I would eat one every day. I highly suggest you try one also.

Taper Time

And it can't come soon enough! I have really felt a decline in my running over the last week. I was planning on exercising every day this week and then resting Friday and Saturday, but I may just focus on getting in my three runs and not worry about any other workouts. My legs (and whole body) just really need a break and a chance to recover and restock glycogen.

I did 7 miles today and it went ok. I wanted to run in the rain so I will be prepared for race day rain, but it didn't even start raining until about 2 1/2 miles in. Then I remember I had my BodyBugg on and it isn't supposed to get wet, so when I reached my house I went inside (3.06 miles). I took off my gloves and Garmin and ran upstairs to hop on the treadmill for the remaining 3.94 miles. I took 2 walk breaks during my treadmill time. I just didn't have the mental strength to push through like normal.

Hopefully a week of rest and better nutrition (not dieting) will give me the mental and physical boost I need on race day. I know I can finish the half, but I would like to have somewhat of a good time while doing it.

Tonight I have a date with my hubby, we are going to McMenamin's Grand Lodge. They have delicious veggie burgers, and literally the *best* brownie I have EVER had. And I have eaten my fair share of brownies. I am very excited about this. Hopefully all the suger will help me stay awake tonight. You know you are tired when putting on compression socks seems like too much energy.

Shopping + Running = Awesome

With multiple sweat sessions per day I have been running out of workout clothes and by the end of the week my bathtub is full of sweaty pants, skirts, tank tops, tees, and sports bras (I'm a firm believer in only doing laundry on the weekend). So I set out this morning to find some new threads for spring/summer running.

Primarily, I am a Reebok girl. I have many Reebok items in my closet, including my favorite pants and skirts. Adidas is ok but runs too big, and Nike runs too small, except for in the chest where the built-in bras are ginormous on me. I love Brooks and Lululemon but I can't afford to build my whole running wardrobe from them. So for now, Reebok it is.

I was super excited to find they have new Reebok running skirts out! And in hot pink and black no less. They also still sell the running shorts I found last summer, the only pair of shorts to EVER look good on me so of course I had to get another pair. Sadly there was not a single Reebok tank with built-in bra in the entire store (Dicks). I perused the Under Armour and Adidas sections and finally settled on Nike DriFit tanks. I am hoping the giant bra cups don't distract people from my superior running skills. I look like a 12 year old girl wearing her mom's underwire.

One fitting-room stop later and here's the damage...



Notice a pattern?

I love new running clothes! Can't wait to try them out on my long run tomorrow!

Training Week 11 Recap

Sunday - Ran 12 miles
Monday- Walked 2.5 miles
Tuesday - Ran 4.5 miles, strength - chest, triceps
Wednesday - 30 minutes Pilates, biked 11 miles
Thursday - Ran 4.5 miles, strength - biceps, shoulders
Friday - Biked 10 miles
Saturday - Rest day!

This has been a TOUGH week! My last rest day was Tuesday of last week so my legs weren't too excited about all the running and biking. Next week I am tapering so it should be smooth sailing to the half marathon (hopefully!). I am also starting to cut back on my weight training. Instead of trying to do every muscle set every week, I am going to cycle through all sets every 2 weeks. I don't really want to build muscle right now, I mainly just want to maintain muscle tone. Plus my tri training officially starts the day after my half-marathon so I'll need the extra time for swimming and bricks. (Oh yeah, did I mention I started tri-ing?! I am excited and terrified at the same time!)

Two-a-days

Lately I have been taking full advantage of my later work days and getting two workouts in on these days. For example, on Tuesday I ran before work and did strength training after, on Wednesday I did pilates before work and rode the bike after, and on Thursday I ran before and did strength training after. It is working out really nicely because I have enough time to get in all of my workouts in the week. I try to run 3-4 times, bike 1-2 times, do strength training 3 times, and add in some pilates or zumba at least once a week. It can be hard to find time for all of that! So splitting it up has been great.

Today was my 9th day in a row of doing something on my legs (running, biking, and/or walking), and I could feel it during my run this morning. It was miserable! I could only hold my normal pace for 2 1/2 miles, then I had to slow down. I felt so defeated. Hubby tried to convince me that it was due to not enough sleep, not enough food, and no rest. I am hoping he is right, because this is making me nervous with my race so close.

My awesome hubby also surprised me at work with flowers and a new sweatshirt from Lululemon! It was part of a "race" gift bag for my half-marathon, he also got me a gift certificate for a massage for after the race, and a gift card to Peach Wave, my favorite frozen yogurt place! It was one of the best surprises ever! I think I may have to take a trip to Peach Wave after my long run Sunday...

Boo-Yah

My plan totally worked! Not only did I have enough energy for 11 miles, I had enough for 12! I thought about pushing out another mile and just doing a whole half-marathon right then and there, but I'm being cautious and would hate to have an injury this close to the race. I stuck to my plan perfectly and took three 2-minute walk breaks after 3, 6, and 9 miles to eat some power bar. I got a little tired around 8 miles but then I got my second wind and felt great finishing out.

Today reminded me why I do not do marathons. I had set my alarm for 7:30, which felt way too early when it went off. So I slept in until 8:19. I got up and had breakfast (sandwich flat with peanut butter, and power bar), and since I couldn't run until about 10 (I get a side ache if I run too close to eating) I started cleaning the house. I have a friend coming over around 4:30 and since I spent all day downtown yesterday I had to do all the cleaning today. I got most of the downstairs clean by about 10:15, and started my run. 12 miles + cool-down + stretching + foam rolling = about 3 hours. So now its already well into the afternoon and I still have tons to do! I couldn't imagine if I had to do even longer runs, I would never have time for anything. I cleaned the gym and the upstairs bathrooms and showered. I just finished lunch, and now I have only 2 free hours left in the day. I probably shouldn't spend it blogging, but my legs needed a break. So now I'm off to finish cleaning!

Training Week 10 Recap

Sunday - Ran 10 miles
Monday - Ran 2 miles, strength - biceps, shoulders
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Ran 4.5 miles, strength - chest, triceps, 30 minutes Pilates
Thursday - Biked 10 miles
Friday - Ran 4.5 miles, strength - legs
Saturday - Biked 6 miles, walked 4 miles

Hubby and I went and saw Hood to Coast today. It was good, made me remember why I love running. And it made me really want to run Hood to Coast! We also ate a ton of delicious food, including



Frozen yogurt, my new obsession. And



Devil's food cupcake with chocolate mint filling, chocolate mint ganache, and an Andes mint on top!

I decided instead of eating a lot after my long run, I would try to eat more before my long run and use it as fuel. Last week I only ate about 1500 calories on Friday and 1900 calories on Saturday, and I was struggling during my 10-miler. So we'll see how stockpiling the calories this weekend works for my 11-miler tomorrow!

100th Post!

Wow, can't believe this is my 100th post. Crazy. Today's post was inspired by Sweat Once a Day.

My loving husband is willing to put up with me despite the following...

Signs you are married to a runner

- She has a Power Bar and an imodium in her purse at all times
- Your outlets are full of chargers for her Garmin, iPod, and BodyBugg
- She schedules your dinner dates around her workouts and runs
- She schedules basically every weekend around her long runs
- Your bathtub is full of sweaty running clothes (where the dog can't get to them)
- Your power bill has increased significantly due to your treadmill
- Serious planning goes into what to eat pre- and post-long run
- Somewhere in your mail pile there is a Runners World, a local race magazine, and a running store catalog
- You shop at Lululemon for her Valentine's Day present, and know she will love it

I am so grateful to have such a supportive husband who encourages me and is genuinely happy about my running. I love you hubby!

I Can't Believe I Missed an Excuse to Eat Pie

Yes it is national pi day. And considering how much I love pie (the chocolate/cream kinds, not the fruit kinds. except for apple), I can't believe I did not take advantage and celebrate like a good American. I did do some good eating though, including this:


Chicken sausage and corn salad. It may not look like much but it is delicious, trust me. I plan on eating this every day this week. Really.

I was folding my massive pile of laundry last night and I had to document the sad state of my old running socks. Now you can understand why I wasn't sure I was buying the right socks since they were so clean and white (and not shrunken) in the store.


Can you tell which one is new?

Nothing quite like slipping on a brand new pair of running socks. So soft. So non-sweaty.

Today I had a 2-mile recovery run and did some strength training. I wanted to do Pilates but decided to put it off until tomorrow, then I realized tomorrow is a rest day. So it looks like Pilates will make an appearance on Wednesday. Mmm my abs can't wait!

In case you couldn't tell...

One of the (many) reasons I love running is because I get to eat more :) This should come as no surprise.

Today was no exception.

I woke up surprisingly tired at 8am (daylight savings slipped my mind) and was on the treadmill to start my 10-miler a few minutes after 9.


Treadmill all ready to go! (What the picture doesn't show are the two extra towels on the handrails. I'm a sweater. As in, I sweat a lot. I am not an article of clothing. Just to clarify.)

My plan was to take two .1-mile walk breaks at 3.5 miles and 7 miles so I could munch on a power bar, but I was feeling so tired after 7 miles that I added another stop at 8.5 miles. I think it is due to eating reduced calories this past week, not getting enough sleep the last few nights, and not having a rest day since Tuesday. I will use next week's 11-miler as a dry-run for the race, and plan on eating, sleeping, and exercising how I will in the days leading up to the half.

Following my run I stretched, foam-rolled, and showered. I had been planning how to stuff my face following this calorie-burning session (1450 calories total including warm-up and cool-down baby!) so I knew the plan. Small vegetarian pizza and cinnapie. I was happily chowing down by 1pm.


What, doesn't everyone eat half a pizza in one sitting?

Despite eating 1/2 a pizza and 1/2 a cinnapie, I wasn't completely full. So when hubby suggested a trip to the mall I knew where to go. Orange Tree Frozen Yogurt! It is my new obsession. Self-serve frozen yogurt and my choice of delicious toppings? Yes please! I got chocolate and peanut butter frozen yogurt, topped with peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, a Reese's, and sprinkles. De-lish. Normally when I get dessert, I pretend that hubby and I are sharing (hubby happily goes along with this) but today when the guy asked if I wanted 1 or 2 spoons, I said 1. No shame. I just ran 10 miles mister.

The point of this story is to demonstrate that by enduring (and enjoying, for the most part) 2 hours of running, I then have the freedom to eat myself silly. I do still keep track of my calories, but thanks to my run I will burn over 3000 today, which is enough to treat myself to pizza, cinnapie, and frozen yogurt.

If only my knees and ITB would shape-up, I could be running double-digits all the time! Imagine how much I could eat then...

Training Week 9 Recap

Sunday - 10 mins elliptical, strength (biceps, shoulders)
Monday - ran 7 miles
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - ran 4.5 miles, strength (chest, triceps)
Thursday - biked 10 miles, strength (abs)
Friday - ran 4.5 miles
Saturday - 45 minutes Zumba, 20 minutes Pilates

Since I was on PTO Monday, I had to work 9-10 hour days the rest of the week to make up the time. But I still fit in most of my workouts! I missed a leg workout though. Anyway I am happy with the week. My BodyBugg has been great, I re-set the "trip" meter so I can see how much I am burning each workout. Running burns about 600 calories (4.5 miles). Biking only burns around 250. Zumba burns 320. So now I know what to do when I want to get the burn up!

Three weeks till my half!

New Gear

I LOVE getting new running stuff! My current shoes have about 250 miles of running, in addition to biking, elliptical-ing, walking, and normal wear. By my half-marathon I would add another 50+ miles so I figured I should get some new shoes to break in and use for the race.

There are a few running stores around here so I decided to try a new one, RoadRunner. There are stores around the country but the only one in Oregon is about 10 mins from our house. Whoo-hoo! It is definitely the best and biggest running store I have been too.

I currently run in Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10. I was tempted to get another pair of these on the cheap instead of moving to the upgraded GTS 11. After reading the reviews though I thought I should give the new model a try. I slipped on a pair and did a quick jog around the store. I loved them! They are lighter than the 10 and you can feel it. In addition to shoes, of course I had to get new running socks. Our running socks have a habit of disappearing. And they are so gray and dingy, I had to double check that I was buying the right kind because they looked so white.

I perused the rest of the store and ended up getting Body Glide (mine has turned sticky and crumbly), a pack of sweatbands (these have also disappeared), and a pack of cute pink Nike headbands. The store has a program where if you pay $20, you get 10% off of everything for a year. I more than made up for the cost in this visit alone :)

I am excited to run in my new shoes but I figure my 10-miler tomorrow probably isn't the best time to debut them. So I will wait till my 4.5-miler on Tuesday. My feet are cravin some Brooks love.

New Toy

I have wanted a BodyBugg for a long time but I hesitated because it was so expensive. I had mentioned getting one for Christmas but we were in the middle of buying a house and I felt bad spending that much money. Well, imagine my surprise when last week hubby said he wanted to get me my BodyBugg! It was on sale for $149! (Usually $200). We were in Virginia when it arrived so I didn't get it until Tuesday night.

I LOVE IT.

I haven't set up all the features yet to track my diet, etc., I am just using it to calculate calories burned so far. It is cool to see how many calories I am burning during different things like running, working, and even sleeping! I was getting caught in that mentality that I can eat whatever I want because I'm in training. It was not leading to good things. Now I have a much better idea of my caloric needs and I can't rationalize that its ok to eat 1/2 a box of Girl Scout cookies because I MUST have burned at LEAST 3000 calories. Yes I am a little delusional.

We had a fun, food-filled trip and now I am back on track. Third day in a row of successful dieting. This blog must sound like a broken record, I am always dieting good for a week and then I fall off the wagon. Hopefully I can put an end to that.

I am 1954 calories for the day. Gotta get moving if I want to hit 2500 by midnight!

Long Run Monday

Yesterday I used my better judgment (don’t you hate when you have to do that) and pushed my long run back a day to let my IT band rest. When I stepped out the door I thought, this is a great idea! Yesterday it was pouring down rain all day, and today it is sunny and beautiful out. I made a good decision.

Cut to 1/4 mile into my run, when I literally ran into the 20 mph winds forecasted for today. The great thing about running right along the ocean, is that not only did I get the NNW winds, I also got the ocean winds coming from the East and Southeast. So basically everywhere I turned there was wind. I didn’t know it was possible for wind to make you nauseas. I would find a reprieve for a minute here and there, but for the most part it was 7 miles of straight wind. I did not expect it to be this cold so I had only packed running tights and a thin long-sleeved top. I did not have any gloves, headbands, or ear warmers. I kept switching off my handheld so I could put the free hand in my armpit to keep it from freezing. I only passed 2 other runners the whole time, and both had on thick jackets, scarves, and gloves. So, I may have been a bit underdressed. I checked the weather when I got back to the hotel and the wind chill was 33*, which may explain the numb hands and face when I was done.

Our hotel was in the middle of the jogging track on base, so I headed out to the south till the track ended (about 1.25 miles), then turned around and ran north till the track ended on the other side (about 4 miles). I headed back to the hotel and at about 5 miles I saw hubby driving by. He pulled into a parking lot near the track and came running out to join me! He had not planned on outdoor running so all he had was a t-shirt and shorts! Poor guy. If I was freezing, I can only imagine how cold he must have been. I was glad he could join me for the last 2 miles though. It was fun to share in this character-building run :)

Hubby has also been reading Dean K’s new book “Run!” all week. It has been re-invigorating him to run. He hasn’t really been into it since we moved. In fact, today was the first time we have run together since last fall. Previously running has given him something to focus on when work wasn’t going the best, so hopefully it will do that for him again. It is nice for me to have a running buddy again! This training cycle I have done all of my runs solo, and it gets a little boring and lonely sometimes.

I am glad to be done with my 7 miles. Only 2 long runs left, 10 and 11 miles, then taper week and the race! I am excited to do another race in cooler weather. When I first started out today, I was just running at a natural pace. My usual long run pace is around 12 minutes, and when I checked my Garmin I was doing an 8:05 pace! Holy cow! I have never run that fast. I think my cross training is helping. And the cold weather of course. I am not sure what pace to go for during my half-marathon. Based on my 10K time, I should be able to do a pace in the low-to-mid 10s. But I am afraid of burning out too soon. Maybe I will try for an 11 minute pace for one of my long runs coming up to see how I can hold that. Don’t want to have any regrets with this race!

Training Week 8 Recap

Sunday - Ran 9 miles
Monday - 45 mins Zumba
Tuesday - Ran 4.5 miles, strength (chest, triceps)
Wednesday - rest (traveling)
Thursday - Ran 4.5 miles, 35 mins elliptical, strength (legs)
Friday - Biked 14.5 miles, 10 mins elliptical
Saturday - Walked 4 miles, strength (abs/core)

I have been on vacation for half the week so I have access to a gym. My cardio has been good, but my strength training could have been better. I wanted to run again on Friday or Saturday but my IT band has been bugging me a lot. Hopefully I can do my long run tomorrow, it's a cutback week so only 7 miles luckily.

4 weeks till my half-marathon!

365 Days

Tomorrow marks the 1-year anniversary of when I started running. Which means, today makes 365 days of running! I didn't really have any goals for my first year of running, other than my initial goal to run a half-marathon. I do have a few goals for my second year of running:

1. Break 30 minutes in a 5K
2. Break 2:30 in a half-marathon
3. Do a triathlon
4. Work up to running 4 days per week regularly
5. Do one race per month

Here's to a second year that's even better than the first!