Interval Training

Today was another Wednesday weigh-in and I am happy to say that my weight was 130.2 this morning after a couple of weeks closer to 132. I'm still sticking with the calorie counting, and although I was over several days last week, I was under on the weekend due to my long run, so I was on plan for the week.

Speaking of the weekend, it has been a couple of days since my last post! Not too much has been going on, we spent most of the weekend working on the yard. I didn't take any before and after pictures because the before was pretty shameful and the after is just average! Not that we didn't work hard, but at this point it was mostly clean up, getting rid of fire ants and the spreading fertilizer/weed killer so hopefully things will grow well in the spring!

I had planned to run 10 miles on Sunday, but I got a bit of a late start so it was pretty warm out (TX winter does not exist, it has been 75 for the past week or so!) and then my left ankle and knee still had some nagging pain so I headed home early and just did 8.5 miles, which I still thought was pretty good the week after the marathon! My right hamstring had also been bothering me, but I think that has mostly worked itself out now.

In addition to working towards my goal of 1200 miles before by birthday in June, I'm also trying to work on my speed ahead of the 5k I am running next weekend. I haven't been trying to run fast for awhile now, so I'm hoping to gain some speed back over the next few weeks! One thing I learned last summer is that interval training is key to getting faster.

Before I started running intervals I had a really hard time running any faster than 10 min/mile - maybe sometimes 9:30 min/mile if I really focused on maintaining my pace, but my body's natural rhythm was at 10:00 it seemed.

When I started my 5k training plan last summer it included interval runs every Wednesday so instead of running the prescribed distance at a consistent pace, I would run as fast as I could for 0.25mi and then recover at a slow jog or walk for 0.15mi. Nothing special about those distances, but the training plan called for 400m (which is about 0.25mi) and the loop in my neighborhood is 0.40mi, so I figured I'd recover for the rest of the loop and then start again. You can also do time based intervals (fast  run for 2 mins, recover for 1 min, for example).

Either way, the whole point is to force your body to do something uncomfortable and get away from its 'default pace'. Once I started doing intervals my other runs got faster too because my body no longer thought that running was only one speed! If that makes any sense :)

Anyway, for today's workout I did 12 repeats of the 0.25/0.15 intervals, with a 0.2 mile warm up for a total of 5 miles. That was the most repeats I have ever done, so I figured the last ones would be tough, but I was hoping to be under 7 min/mi for at least the first half! I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to do them all under 7 min/mi! I always think the charts look fun after I upload the data from my Garmin:

You can see I also wore my heart rate strap. It is not the most comfortable thing for sprints since it straps across my rib cage and makes it a bit harder to catch my breath, but I like to have the data so I can see how fast I might be able to run the 5k. Since my heart rate got up to 190 after a quarter of a mile at a 6:30 pace, I definitely can't run that fast for 3 miles! But hopefully a little slower (near 7:15 maybe?) will do the trick!

Tomorrow I need to do 5 miles again and I am not sure what my plan is for the run. I will probably try to make it a fast run since I'll take a couple of days off before running again on Sunday. Might as well wear myself out!

In Other News...

I feel like all I have posted about recently is running! And although that's been pretty all consuming, there have been a few other things going on in my life in the past few weeks.

For starters, we've been sprucing up the house a bit since we have a string of visitors coming in March. I started by painting the guest room a nice, boring tan color to go with the rest of the house. The big change is painting the trim a nice crisp white - before both the walls and the trim were the same off white color (which you can still see on the door.... I swear all those doors are getting painted this week!)

I am working on a couple of projects for the walls, since as you can see they are quite empty. First up was the frame collage that I have been 'planning' for about 2 years now. Those frames are getting a nice coat of paint, and at some point I just have to find time to hang them.

Sam says I always talk about spray painting but never do - proof!

I'm also hoping to work on a pinboard map, but we'll see if that happens - don't want to get too optimistic since we also have a lot of yard work to get to this weekend!

We also decided to finally replace the fans in both the guest room and the master bedroom. I don't know why I didn't think to take any before pictures, since the fan in the master was especially atrocious, but oh well. Replacing the fans was definitely a two person job and took a lot longer than we expected (at least 1.5 hours each) - although I'm sure we were not the most efficient since we really didn't know what we were doing!

New master bedroom fan - the guest room fan is similar.

Other than the housework, we went out for sushi on Valentine's Day, which after 2 years in a row I suppose is officially a tradition! We started off taking a few normal pictures, which quickly digressed when they brought out long stemmed roses to all the women in the restaurant. I was laughing so hard at all of Sam's faces:

I was also too hungry by the time the food got there to take any pictures before eating apparently!

We had a nice night, ate too much sushi and mostly bought each other candy. We are serious candy lovers around here! Sam also got me an entire box of Madagascar 3 valentine's rather than just a normal card and scattered them around the house with silly things written on them like "To: Will Smith, From: Aliens" and "To: Tootsie, From: Roll" - it made me laugh a lot and kept me entertained as I kept finding them!

Other than that, I did make this lasagna this week that was really good and only 350 calories for a fairly large serving. I increased the recipe to make 8 servings and we have been eating on it for several days.

Recipe from Cooking Light March 2013, you can find the recipe online here. I realized I haven't been posting many recipes lately, and since we typically try 3-4 new recipes each week around here, I definitely have a lot to pull from! So I'll try to start including that more often.

Hope you guys are having a good weekend! Are you watching the Oscar's tonight? We developing a voting ballot and scoring system to make it a little competition, and Sam is making mushroom risotto so dinner so that sounds fancy and Oscar-like right?

No More "I Could Never..."

Yesterday I alluded to the 'one big takeway' I had from the marathon. The major realization basically boils down to this: if you want to, you can. Now obviously there are limits to this (having x-ray vision, growing money on trees, turning water into cookie dough, etc.) but I have spent a good portion of my life thinking that "I could never...." - fill in the blank with any fitness or weight loss accomplishment. What I have learned is that if you want it bad enough, you can make it happen.

So my charge to you is to stop saying to yourself "I'm not the type of person who could ever run a marathon" or "I could never have the discipline to cut/count calories and lose weight" because it is not true! It might not be easy or convenient, but (unless you have a legitimate medical concern) you can lose weight and you can exercise (and even finish a marathon!) if you really want it. It might take 3 months or 5 years  but you can do it. The question is not whether you can, but whether you want it enough to work for it and make sacrifices if needed along the way.

I hope that is encouraging for some of you! Sometimes it is also a harsh realization - usually it is only you who is standing in your own way. You'll have to sort out discipline and scheduling and motivation and sacrifice along the way and those are hard things too. But don't let fear of failure or low self confidence stop you from even starting! Because if I can do it, so can you.

Here's my thoughts on how to get from where you are now to finishing a marathon (or any other goal you have - if you are at all sane, you probably aren't interested in 26.2 miles!)

Decide What You Want (And Prioritize!)

To ever get started you need to have a goal. And you need to be realistic in what you are willing to give  up to get there. If your goal is to go to an exercise class three times/week, are you willing to give up two dinners out to eat a month to pay for a gym membership? Yes sounds like the obvious answer, but it might not be the right one for you. Be realistic with yourself on your priorities. Maybe you need that time out with friends to decompress from stress at work and you would be better off not joining a gym at all. You can always exercise for free at home just by walking or jogging. It might be less fun than the exercise class, but you don't have to give up your nights out.

The same thing goes for weight loss - would you rather go all out and cut back to 1200-1300 daily calories and lose the weight fairly quickly just to get it over with? Or would you rather not suffer through those 3-6 months of not eating out, no dessert, etc. (it is pretty rough)? Maybe you would be better off cutting back your calories slightly and losing weight over 1-2 years. Do what will work best for you.

Weight loss and exercise are not the only things in our lives for sure! Don't set a goal of working out five times a week if you know that your family schedule won't allow it - constantly failing at your goal will not make you feel good. Instead start with two dedicated times a week and move heaven and earth to meet that commitment to yourself. It will be far more effective in the long run than trying to fit in five and constantly having to skip workouts.

You have to start somewhere, so make sure your goal is manageable and fits with your priorities.

Set Small Goals Along the Way

If your ultimate goal is a long way off from your starting point, then set milestones along the way. Way back in 2010 when I started exercising I didn't have a goal of running a marathon 3 years later, but if I had, 3 years probably would have been the right time frame from my couch potato starting point!

Setting smaller goals not only helps you stay motivated since the payoff is more immediate, but it also helps you build confidence along the way. Start with something small like "I will walk a 5k by the end of June" or "I will run a mile without stopping within 8 weeks" and go from there. Each success will make you more excited for the next milestone.

This applies to weight loss too - if you want to lose 50 lbs, make sure to celebrate every 10 pounds with a reward or at least an conscious acknowledgment of how far you have come. Always focus on how well you have done so far, and it makes how far you have left to go much less scary!

Move at Your Own Pace

It is easy to go look up a training plan online and think "perfect, I can be marathon ready in 18 weeks"! But in reality, everyone improves at their own rate and there is no cookie cutter training plan for everyone. When I trained for my first half marathon last year I (luckily) left a few extra weeks in my training plan because I knew that I had always had a hard time building distance quickly - I ended up repeating an 8 mile long run three times before I felt ready to move on to 9 miles. Don't feel pressure to meet a certain timeframe - if you sign up for a 5k and you have never run one before, then start your 8 week training plan 12 weeks before the race. That will allow you to repeat weeks if needed, and there's no downside to being over prepared!

Lose Weight (If You Need To)

Running/exercise may or may not help you lose weight. If you keep your eating habits the same, then adding exercise will definitely burn off the pounds. But if you eat more because you treat yourself for exercising, or just because you are more hungry from working out, you may not lose any weight at all. That happened to me with triathlon training in 2010.

BUT, losing weight will definitely help you run. I can hardly think of a running or exercise goal where losing weight would not help (sumo wrestling?). Not only will you likely have more energy, but it is much less of a strain on your joints! I do not think I could have completed marathon training injury-free while I was overweight. Everyone is different, but my joints don't seem extremely strong as is! And I definitely noticed an increase in speed after I lost about 30 pounds. I was consistently running 10 minute miles and struggling to run even a single mile faster than that, but over the summer after about 30 pounds lost, I was really able to pick up the pace.

So, if you have an exercise goal, particularly with running or walking, consider losing weight to help you meet it! And if you goal is losing weight, don't count on just exercising to get you there without also paying attention to what you are eating.

Don't Expect It To Be Fun (At First)

Exercising is generally not fun. Especially when you are first starting out and your body is screaming "WHYYYY!!" Continually remind yourself that you are doing it because it is good for your health. Do you brush your teeth because it is fun? Probably not. Exercising is a part of taking good care of your body too. The minutes or hours you spend working out might not feel fun, but the satisfaction you get from the results will be worth it.

Plus, there are lots of ways to make exercise more fun. Do it with a friend, join a class that you love, buy bright, fun workout clothes, make awesome playlists on your iPod that you only listen to while working out, etc. You may or may not get the "endorphin high" people talk about while running, but always keep in mind - most people don't work out because they love it, they work out because the love the results and it is good for them. That can be you too!

If you want to, you can. That was my big takeaway and I hope you will take some time to think about it. Lifestyle changes can be really difficult, but they are one of the only things in life that we have complete control over! Don't stand in your own way due to fear or self-doubt. If you want something bad enough, make a plan and make it happen!!

Marathon Training FAQs (kind of...)

First, I owe you a Wednesday weigh-in - today's weight was 132, so I am flat from last week. It actually had come down to 130.8, but I've been extra hungry in the few days after the marathon so I've been eating a little above my calorie goal. I'm not really worried about it, but if it keeps going up I will have to reevaluate things!!

I mentioned yesterday that I would write up some of my thoughts on the marathon process. I had one big overall takeaway that I'll save for it's own post tomorrow. For today I'm going to answer what I assume would be the most frequently asked questions about my marathon experience (if you guys had asked haha).

What was the best part about the marathon experience?

First of all, of course finishing was the best part - seeing all of my hard work pay off! But I think in general the best part was constantly reaching a new milestone. Nearly every time I did a long run it was the farthest I had ever run before. Unless I go crazy and decide to run farther than 26 miles, I'll never have that feeling again, so I think getting to have that experience of being constantly amazed at what my body can do was the best part. And that all culminated in the race itself, which of course was a new 'longest distance ever run' for me.

What was the worst part about the marathon experience?

Beforehand, I would have expected that my answer would be the time required for the long runs. But I'll get to that in later section. The absolute worst part was dealing with the self doubt after my bad run. Maybe I need to get better at handling failure, but it took me longer to mentally recover from that than it probably should have. But I'm proud to say I was able to turn it around and think positive and the race went great even after all that worrying! I guess in general, the fear of the training not paying off was the worst part. Hopefully now that I've been through it once, if I decide to do another I can  go in with more confidence and not be thrown off my game by one bad run.

What is one thing that you wish you knew before you started marathon training?

This is definitely where the time commitment factor comes into play. I knew before I started that training for a marathon meant 2-3 hour training runs for several weeks in a row. What I underestimated is that the weekend long run essentially takes up three days of your week. The day before the long run, you don't want to do anything too strenuous, need to get a good night of sleep and need to not eat anything to greasy, no alcohol, etc. Of course there are exceptions, but the run might be pretty brutal. Then, after the long run you are pretty wiped out. And the day after the long run you are sore, so you don't want to do too much then. Add that to running 7-8 miles on Wednesday's and it definitely becomes a big time commitment.

That's not to say that I wasn't able to maintain my normal life while training, but it did mean that I needed to do a lot of planning in advance (you guys know I love having a plan!) and be willing to sacrifice some things for my training. I don't say this to scare any of you off - it was unexpected but manageable!

Do you feel like your training plan worked?

I definitely thought my training plan was appropriate in terms of total mileage, how fast the mileage built up, etc. You definitely need to consider your starting point, but for me it worked out well. I essentially started training in June, and at the time I had completed a half marathon (in March) and was running around 3-4 miles on a routine basis. I used Hal Higdon's training plans after reviewing plans online, I think I picked them someone randomly, but I did like that it was usually 4 days a week of running, not 5 days.

6/11 - 8/19:     Intermediate 5k Training Plan - I repeated weeks 7 & 8 to make a 10 week plan
8/20 - 10/14:   Intermediate 10k Training Plan - Did not do strength training or cross training, oops.
10/15 - 2/17:   Novice 2 Marathon Training Plan - Did not to do cross training, oops again.

So, as you can see, it was a long process! But I knew from previous running experience that it takes me a while to build up mileage, and I also wanted to work some on my speed. So it made sense to work through those 5k and 10k training plans first. I got faster, which helped me set and meet my goal for the Dallas Half Marathon (under 2 hours!), and by the time I finished the 10k plan, I could run 8 miles pretty easily, which was a great starting point for marathon training.

What would you do differently?

I think one thing that would have benefitted my training is to actually do the strength training and cross training that I left out of my training plans. It would have been hard to fit in strength training to my marathon plan, but if I had done some during the 5k and 10k time periods, when my distance was less and I had more time, then I would have been stronger for my marathon training. And stronger = less knee pain most likely! And I do think the cross training would have helped to keep my legs from wearing out towards the end of my training. In the last few weeks I definitely felt slower on my training runs and overall just more physically worn down. The cross training would have helped loosen up my muscles by working out using different muscle groups than running, and still would have been easier on the joints that running.

Will you do another marathon?

I think so, but I'm not sure when. I definitely will do a half marathon again next fall/winter and I want to work on improving my time event further. But I'm not sure if I'll be ready for another marathon next year - it probably depends on what is going on in the rest of my life. But I definitely think I will want to do another one in the next 2-3 years, and maybe even with a goal this time. Under 4 hours would be awesome!

What's next for you with running?

I have a few things coming up - first I am running a 5k here in Beaumont on March 9th - my brother is coming to visit and he is running it too. I would love to beat my previous 5k record, which was a 7:19 pace, but I don't know if that is in the cards since I am just coming off the marathon! But I did a fast run today and it felt pretty good so we will see. Since it is a small race, I probably have a chance of placing in my age group, which would be awesome, but it all depends on who is there that day! My time is fast, but not that fast!

After that we have the Texas Independence Relay, which is shaping up to be super fun since our good friends Declan & Christine decided to do it too. It will certainly be an experience as 12 of us cover 200 miles of Texas roads, running all through the night! Overall, we'll probably run about 16 miles each over 3 different legs, so not too bad compared to the marathon.

The after that, my last  goal is to hit 1200 miles by my birthday on June 15th! I have to stay pretty active to get there, so right now I'm targeting about 25 miles/week. Then maybe I'll start all over again with the 5k and 10k training plans? We'll see!

I'm also looking forward to getting back to other forms of exercise - biking, and maybe some of that strength training I've been needing! We actually have a few fitness classes offered at the office gym now, so I'll try to take advantage of that some too.

We'll thats all of the made-up FAQs I can think of - if you guys have any other questions definitely let me know!!

Austin Marathon Recap

So I am thrilled to say that I am now officially a marathoner! Most of you probably saw on facebook, but the short story is that I accomplished nearly all of my goals from this post:

1. Finish the race. Done!
2. Finish the race on my own terms. Check, since I accomplished #3!
3. Run the whole race (except for walking through water stations and such). Unbelievably, yes! 
4. Finish at a 10 min/mile pace. Almost, my Garmin said 10:10 min/mile - close enough for me!!

This post will probably get a bit long, but I want to document my race experience!

Before the Race

The race started at 7AM, so we got up at 4:45 to have enough time to eat breakfast and digest a bit before running. I ate my english muffin with peanut butter, which was my plan, and then took some Gu  Chomps (basically energy fruit snacks) with me to eat once we got downtown. Turns out the buses weren't running from outside Kelly's apartment, but we were able to drive down and find a parking spot not too far out of the way. By the time we checked our bags in and stood in line to use the bathroom one last time (very important if you are going to be running for 4 hours!) it was basically time for the race to start!

Hard to get a good picture in the dark!

Sam & I got up to the 'corrals' right as the race was starting, but it was no rush since it takes a long time to get thousands of people moving. The way it works is that you line up based on your expected pace, from fastest to slowest, so I was fairly far back and perfectly okay with that. Sam probably should have started a little farther up, but no matter what you end up weaving through people for the first few miles so it didn't really matter. We finally got moving and crossed the start line at about 7:09.

Miles 1-10: Don't Start Too Fast!

For the first few miles I was just focused on keeping and even pace and not starting out too fast! I wore my heart rate monitor that syncs with my Garmin watch, so I was able to keep and eye on my pace and my exertion level. My 'max heart rate' is 190, and I didn't want to end up much above 180 by the end, so I decided to target around 170 for the first half of the race. That meant I had to take it easy on the uphills on miles 4-6, but I cruised a little faster on miles 7-9, which were mostly downhill.

By about mile 10, I felt pretty confident that I would be able to run the whole race. My knees were hurting, but it was a normal level of ache, not the 'my knee can't support my weight anymore' type pain that made me stop a few weeks ago. So I started psyching myself up for that and also focusing on my pace a little bit. I was averaging around 10:02 per mile through the first 10 miles so I thought maybe I could keep it up the whole way.

Miles 10-20: Gummy Bears & Trying to Enjoy It!

I took my energy gel at mile 9, and by mile 12 I was starting to feel hungry! I knew they weren't giving out energy gels until mile 17 so I was a little bit worried. Luckily the race spectators in Austin were awesome and lots of them were handing out food! I grabbed a whole handful of gummy bears from a tray around mile 13, and that hit the spot! By mile 15, my pace had slipped to 10:08 or so, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to get it back down to 10 min/mile, but I was still pretty happy with my pace so far!

I would say that around mile 15-19 is when I started to really enjoy the race. The first 15 miles I was so focused on pacing myself so that I wouldn't burn out early, and worrying about whether or not my knee would start hurting worse, etc. that I really wasn't taking time to just relax and enjoy it! Once it hit mile 20, I was pretty excited that I had now run farther than ever before, but I also started worrying about "hitting the wall" - I've always heard that happens around mile 20!

Miles 20-26: Setting a Random New Goal

I made it through miles 20-23 a little slower (about a 10:30 pace) and at that point I knew I wouldn't be able to hit a 10 min/mile average pace, so I started hoping that I would make it in under 4 hours, 30 minutes. I didn't know exactly what pace that would be, but I figured if I stayed around the same pace I could make it. Then around mile 23 was when I finally 'hit the wall' I suppose. My ankles started hurting, my left one in particular, which I have never had happen before. But at that point I knew there was only 3 miles left and there was no way I was stopping! I checked my watch with about 2.8 miles left and it was 11:09, so I knew there was about 30 more minutes and I could probably still make it!

At this point, my dialogue with myself was getting pretty entertaining. I kept trying to pump myself up with things like "it's okay if you totally ruin your knees - this isn't a training run, it IS the race - who cares if you need surgery later!" (even though my pain was never that bad) and "Rachel, actually lifting your legs is going to be a requirement for finishing the race" (after I dragged my toes a few times and almost tripped). But mostly I just focused on the fact that I was so close to the finish and to my goal of running the whole race, and that I would be so disappointed if I stopped to walk now!

(I should probably mention at this point that I don't think there is anything wrong or shameful about walking during a race - I know a lot of people even employ a run/walk strategy on purpose. In fact, during those last few miles there were numerous people that I passed while they were walking who came running past me a few minutes later - they were able to run faster by taking short walk breaks. It's a great strategy for some people. But for me personally, I had set a goal to run the whole thing and that was more important to me even than my finish time. Plus I knew that for me, starting to walk would make it really hard to start running again!)

The Finish!!

Within the last half mile there was a pretty steep hill (cruel!) but at the top Sam & Kelly & Will (Kelly's roommate) were there cheering so that pumped me up for the last little bit! Sam tried to grab a few pictures, but of course I wouldn't be capable of giving them a normal, smiling face:

I was in the middle of raising my arms to cheer, but I guess Sam took the picture a bit early, so I look ridiculous!

Should have just smiled for this one and it would have been good! But I was in the middle of yelling "I haven't
 stopped yet" as if I couldn't believe it... I look like I'm either lost or mad that someone is taking my picture! Oh well.

As I rounded the corner to the finish line I could see the race clock showing 4 hours and 38 minutes, and since I started 9 minutes after the clock started, my new 4:30 time goal was still in reach! I crossed the finish line after it hit 4:39, but I didn't know if I had made it because I couldn't remember how many seconds into the 9th minute we had crossed the start line!

After I crossed the finish line and stopped, all of a sudden I could barely walk. It's kind of hilarious when you think about it, because literally 2 minutes earlier I was running and now I could hardly move my legs! I guess that's what the adrenaline does for you! I hobbled through the medal area and got a water bottle and a banana and went to get my bag. I sat down on the curb (that felt nice!) and I called my Mom right away. She had been tracking my progress online and told me that I had finished in 4:29:41 - just barely under!!! I was definitely excited about that! All together it was an interesting mix of emotions at the finish - I was so proud and excited but also so tired and relieved to be done that it kind of all balanced out to neutral, or maybe I was just stunned!

Here's a couple of the "official race photos" I haven't purchased them yet (and probably won't), so sorry for the low quality and the copyright watermark - I guess they don't want you taking the pics off the internet (like I just did haha).

I hobbled over to meet up with Sam, Will & Kelly and headed out to lunch after much-needed showers!   We headed back to Beaumont right after lunch, and we were home by 8 so that wasn't too bad. On Sunday my joints were so sore - I waddled more than walked for the rest of the day! But Monday and today and I have had more general muscle soreness, but not too much lingering knee/joint pain. My ankle still feels strained, but I think it just needs a few more days to rest and recover. All together, not too bad for running 26.2 miles! I've had fun recounting the whole thing to family and friends and now you guys - it's hard to believe it really happened!!

It was also awesome fill in a blank spot on my personal records on the Garmin Connect website where I track all of my runs! Note that I actually ran more than 26.2 miles - pretty typical that a race ends up a little longer than advertised. My watch said 10:10 pace for those 26.3 miles, but if you divide my total time by 26.2 miles the pace would have been 10:17.

Well I think that is enough for today, I have some more thoughts on the whole marathon process in general but I will save those for tomorrow! All in all it was an awesome race and I am just grateful that I didn't experience any bad knee pain or any other pain that made me stop. I know it is mostly due to my training but I feel like there is some amount of luck involved - any day can randomly be an 'off-day' so I am thankful that this was not one of those! Thanks to all of you guys for your words of support - as I was running I knew I wanted to be able to report a good race back to everyone!!

Race Prep: Nutrition

Well the marathon countdown is now at 17 hours!! We are in Austin staying with Sam's sister Kelly and trying to keep it low key today. The weather looks like it is going to be perfect tomorrow so that's a plus! Today we went to the expo and picked up our shirts & our bibs with our numbers on them, so I guess this is really happening! I also snagged a free 5x7 print that I think is pretty cute and will look good in some sort of frame collage in the house:

I talked the other day about mentally preparing for a race, which has been my biggest challenge so far. But another important component of race prep is nutrition. Of course it is important to eat healthy foods while you are training, but the last few days before the race are extra important. I am not an expert in this area at all, so I've been looking for articles to help making a plan.

Basically, the articles I have read online (such as this one) suggest the following principles:

1. Don't try to just load up on carbs the night before the race. Instead, increase your daily carb intake gradually in the week before the race up to about 70% on the last few days before.
2. Do the same thing with hydration - don't just try to drink a lot of water the day before or you may feel bloated. Ensure you stay well hydrated the week before the race rather than just chugging water the day before.
3. On the morning of the race, eat what you usually eat! Presumably you have done numerous trainings runs, so you know what worked and what didn't as far as breakfast before a run. Don't try something new just because it is race day.

And obviously, it is wise to avoid greasy foods or lots of sugar right before the race also. We have definitely been eating Valentine's candy this week, so at least for today I am trying to hold off!

I already track my calories daily on MyFitnessPal and the app also shows a chart of % carbs, protein and fat. So my plan was to use that to make sure I ramped up my carb intake over the week. Typically I eat 50-55% carbs, so Wednesday and Thursday and did about 60%. I was planning to do 70% yesterday and today but I somehow ended up back down around 55% yesterday - oops.

Today I have no idea where I stand - we ate lunch at Whole Foods and I just got a wide assortment of things from the salad bar so that will be a challenge to add up, but I did try to make sure I got a decent amount of carbs in. We are going to have pasta for dinner, so hopefully I end up closer to 70% today? Regardless, I think I will be fine since I never really bothered "carb-loading" for my long training runs!

I've definitely tried to be conscious of staying hydrated this week, which just reminded me I need to be drinking more today than I have been. So I think I've got that one covered.

In the morning I am planning to eat an english muffin with peanut butter and a banana, which is what I pretty much always eat before long runs. Hopefully that means no digestive issues on the course since it is tried and true! I'll probably eat a couple of energy gel chews before the race starts too - sounds weird but they are basically just big fruit snacks! And then during the run I will refuel every 8-9 miles with either an energy gel or more chews, which is also what I have done in training so I think that will work out well.

I have tried enough different things in my training that I think I know what works for me. Next time, if I'm targeting a fast pace or something of the sort I might pay a little more attention to what I eat for the entire week before, but for now, it is what it is!

Anyway, we are off to hit up some thrift stores I think. Hopefully next time I write I will be a marathon finisher!!

Race Prep: The Mental Game

Okay so I've definitely been slacking a little bit in the blogging department again! But now it is officially marathon week so hopefully I'll be checking in more often! First off, today's weigh in was 132lbs. I wasn't thrilled but not too discouraged either - although I have been sticking to my calorie target, I have definitely been eating more junk over the past few days, so I'm sure it will go back down if I stay on track.

So I wanted to write a couple of posts about race day preparation since the marathon is now only 4 days away! (eek!) But these thoughts could definitely apply to any goal, particularly fitness of course - whether it is walking your first 5k or running a marathon. There are lots of important areas for race prep, but today I'm going to brain dump on you guys about mental preparation.

I've heard a lot of people say that for a marathon, your physical training will get you through the first 20 miles, but your mind carries you through the final 6, so I've been preparing myself for that. But I think this applies to any new distance you are running, or a faster pace, etc. I remember when I first started running it took me forever to get up to 3 miles, and almost as long after that to go from 3 mile to 4 miles without stopping. I am sure that if my body could handle 3 miles fairly routinely then 4 miles should have been no problem, but I had some sort of mental block where I always gave up or wouldn't push myself to get there. When I finally did it felt amazing! So here's the strategies I'm planning to use this weekend...

Focus on the positive.

I have been working hard on this for the past several weeks after my attempt at a 20 mile run. Having to stop from the knee pain really shook my confidence and made me question if I could do the marathon. So I've been looking back through the training records and reminding myself of all the successes I've had a long the way. I keep telling myself things like "if you can run a half marathon at a 9:05 pace, you can finish a marathon if you run a lot slower!" and I'm trying to focus on memories of how I felt when my long runs went well. Unfortunately, most of my long runs have been on the same route where I had to stop on my 20 miler and walk back to the car... so I am having a hard time remembering the good ones (although my notes even say that my 19 mile run was "awesome"). But, I did have one great run while I was in NC over the holidays that I can clearly remember how I felt during and afterwards, so I am focusing on that.

Choose a mantra.

I don't know that I'm really into mantras for day to day life, but it definitely helps to have something short and sweet to hold on to for motivation during a tough workout. For at least a year now, I've been carrying a fortune from a fortune cookie in my wallet - at first it reminded me to keep at it with my weight loss efforts, but now it works for running too. A short little phrase that is a good reminder that I have put in a lot of effort in to my training and it will pay off!

Think about why you started.

It definitely helps me to think about all of the progress I had made over the last 13+ months. Losing 40lbs and running my first half marathon. Finally running 3 miles at a 9 minute pace in June (which I thought I could never do) and then running my second half marathon at nearly a 9 minute pace just 6 months later! When I first signed up for the marathon I didn't tell anyone (even Sam!) for two months because I wasn't sure if I could do it. But as I trained through the summer I got more and more confident and I wanted to push myself to this goal. Thinking back to how far I have come makes me grateful that it is even a possibility for me to run this marathon, and proud of myself for making a lifestyle change to be healthier!

Prioritize your goals.

This is going to be super important for me during the race. I keep telling myself that these are the priorities:

1. Finish the race.
2. Finish the race on my own terms. I would rather employ a walk/run strategy then have to walk the last 5 miles any never start running again if that makes sense. I don't want to feel defeated.
3. Run the whole race (except for walking through water stations and such). 
4. Finish at a 10 min/mile pace.

The long shot is #4, so I don't have too much hope built up there - if things are going well in the first half of the race then I will try for it. But I am really hoping to accomplish #1-3. So in case things don't go awesome and I end up having to walk some, I am hoping that reminding myself of my priorities will help me stay positive! My original goal was just to finish since this is my first marathon, and I'll have to remind myself to be satisfied with that if it comes down to it!

Plan & visualize your race.

I am all about this last one because I am a bit of a control freak and I like to be over prepared. So if you are like me, it really helps to review the course beforehand! I haven't driven the whole thing obviously, since we don't live in Austin. But I have mapped out the course, including the elevation changes, so I know what to expect. For example, miles 1-6 are slightly uphill, so I'll plan to keep in slow. Miles 6-9 are downhill, so if I find myself going a bit faster I won't force myself to slow down. Then it is 10 miles of slight incline and the last 7 miles are downhill (thank goodness!). Thinking through the race in my head (and trying to visualize success!) helps me to feel more in control/prepared. 

I think that's enough for now, but hopefully this helps anyone who is fighting a fitness battle in their mind like I often do! Some of it is cheesy but it works! I know I get emotional when a run is difficult and it is hard to keep going so it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve to stay mentally strong. Any other tips on how to stay in the game? Some people are able to just zone out while they run - I wish I was one of those!!

Weekend Recap

First up, the Wednesday weigh-in. Today's weight was 129.8! Woohoo! Here's to hoping I hang out in the 120s for awhile - I would love for my maintenance range to be permanently below 130. I also dug back out my old spreadsheet that calculates what my metabolism is doing based on calories I eat/burn and my daily weigh-ins. So far this year, my metabolism has been ~1650 cals/day, which is consistent with the 1610 cal/day target I've been using on MyFitnessPal for weight maintenance - that app is smart, I tell you!

We had a somewhat busy schedule last weekend compared to our normal laziness. Usually the most productive thing that gets done around here is our long runs! But this weekend we were both productive and social.

Friday night we went out to eat with some friends, where we stuffed ourselves thanks to half price appetizers during happy hour combined with a Groupon we had worth $40. It is hard to spend $40 only on $5 appetizers! :) But since we went out to eat fairly early, we were also home early, so I started on my weekend project of painting the guest room. We haven't really reassembled things yet, so I'll have to post pictures later. We have a string of guests coming through in March so I though it would be nice to spruce things up a bit!

Saturday I did my long run of 12 miles, which went pretty well - I kept it nice and slow at a 10:13 pace both because I was worried about my knees and because it was pretty warm outside. That's probably about the pace I will target for the marathon, so its also good to get some time in seeing what that feels like. We also took the dogs to the dog park to hand out with their friends, but it turned out we had to split them up because the big dog area had some questionable spots where our dogs could have gotten out of the fence. Usually we just take all of the dogs to the small dog area, but there were some actual small dogs there so the big dogs couldn't come over. I need to get a better picture of all of them together at some point, but here's Ellie trying to make friends with a dog more her size. They were both pretty hilarious with the two chihuahuas that were there - they kept sniffing them like "are you really a dog?!?".

Then we ran a few errands and then engaged in our typical weekend activity of watching Netflix before we headed out to dinner (out to eat two nights in a row - a calorie splurge for us!!) and then to see the local indoor soccer team, the Texas Strikers. This is the first year we've had a team and they only had a couple of home games left so we decided it was time to go. Although the team isn't great (their record is now 2-12) the game was definitely exciting and they won! There were very few fans at the game but at only $9 I would definitely go again! I'm not sure if the team will still be around next year since attendance has been so low, but I hope they are.

Sunday I got back to painting and finished up the guest room except for the doors. I hate painting doors! That will be my project for this weekend. Remember the hallway of off-white doors? Well those will be conquered this weekend also. And maybe it won't be that bad, I just feel like I really hated painting doors when I did my laundry room...

hallway, your days are numbered...

Then we were off to our friends Zach & Mallory's house for a super bowl party. They were kind enough to host about 20 of us and provide burgers/hot dogs. Everyone else brought sides/appetizers potluck style and people definitely went all out - I was impressed! Sam made a jalapeno popper dip that was awesome, and tasted amazing as a burger topping too!

Obviously I managed to take zero pictures of our weekend... maybe one of these days I'll get better about that haha. But it was a good one and we were excited that the Ravens won! I definitely got on the Ray Lewis bandwagon when the playoffs started. I am a continual bandwagon fan and I'm not ashamed to admit it - I just like a good story! And we were rooting against the 49ers since they knocked the Packers out of the playoffs and Sam has decided he just doesn't like them regardless. We were really excited when the Ravens were up for so long (Sam really wanted the 49ers to get embarrassed) but ultimately I was glad is was an excited game at the end.

Anyway, thats enough for today. Did anyone else tear up a little bit during the Budweiser Clydesdale commercial? Pathetic, but the animal stories get to me I guess!

Utah Ski Trip

Okay so better late than never on the Utah trip recap! Sam & I were invited by our friends Dan & Mallory (the same ones from the 80's party here) to go on a ski/snowboard trip and although I was hesitant at using vacation days so early in the year (I have vacation day planning OCD) we decided it would be fun and worth two days off.

I hadn't been skiing in 5 years, and I was never really very good at it, so I was nervous for sure! Sam has a lot of skiing experience so I was just hoping I wouldn't be holding him back from having a good time. In the end I exceeded my own expectations and I was able to hold my own pretty well! It helped that we were at a really large resort for the last two days so we could take different routes down the mountain (me = nice and easy, Sam = crazy hard).

We skied the first day at Powder Mountain which, true to its name, was nice and powdery! It ended up being a snowy day so we were pretty cold and wet by the end. The awesome part was that there was basically no one else there, so we had the slopes to ourselves. I think it was a combination of it being Thursday and the fact that we were at a smaller, more local resort.

On Friday and Saturday we drove out to Park City Resort, which we originally thought might be crazy busy   because the Sundance film festival was going on. But then we found a "buy one day, get one day for $10" deal on the lift tickets - turns out not that many people ski during the film festival so they were trying to get more people in. Park City resort was awesome and huge and we had nicer weather - cold but sunny and not too snowy. It was such a clear day and the views were incredible - I should have taken more pictures!

While we were there, we stayed with Dan & Mallory's friends Scott & Kelsey and they were awesome hosts! Scott was able to come snowboarding with us all three days but unfortunately Kelsey had to work. We had a lot of fun hanging out at their house though and trying out a lot of awesome local restaurants. 

On Saturday night we stayed in Salt Lake City so that we would be closer to the airport in the morning. We went to dinner and did a bit of shopping at City Creek Center, which is one of those nice, new indoor/outdoor malls - but it is right in the middle of downtown Salt Lake! Sam & I enjoyed going to H&M since we don't have one around here, looking around some other stores and eating ice cream (we definitely did not hold back on the eating during this trip!).

Another nice part about the trip was that we were back home by about 3 on Sunday - it gave us a little bit of time to recover before heading back to work. Overall, I was very impressed with Utah - people were nice skiing was awesome, food was good! It would also be an awesome place to visit in the summer also for hiking and such. And I got to check another state off my list! (still 17 states left to go though haha)