girls and curls

this post is dedicated to those girls at the gym who always look cute.  i don't understand you.  do you try on different gym outfits before coming?  is there a purpose behind those spandex you're sporting underneath your short shorts or is it style?  does your hair not go back into a messy ponytail and headband because you have so much product on those bouncy curls or do you just not want to mess it up because it took you two hours to do this morning and your boyfriend is working out with you?  i look at your cute, skimpy outfits and wonder how comfortable that can be.  not to mention your fancy earrings you 'forgot' to take off before class and that fake tan you've been working on. i guess us practical girls will just never understand. but we will sweat, and we will shower, and we will leave with wet hair and no makeup on, and we will feel good about giving it our all in there.

who would run on a mountain, anyway?

Time till Terrapin Mountain Half Marathon... 23 days.

WOW

What was I thinking? Actually I am feeling okay about it, right now. I remember how badly I wanted to die during my last half marathon though. This one is a ton harder considering the elevation changes and hills involved. I guess that's what you get for running on a mountain?

I printed off a "personal trainer" program that I made on Runners World. When I printed it off, I had 4 weeks to train. That's not a long time for someone who hasn't been running much. So far, so good. I still think that I will hurt, but I am praying that my training will pay off a little! One thing I am trying to focus on a little more this this around is my eating habits. Compared to some people, I eat great. Compared to others, not so great. There are so many rules and suggestions for runners when it comes to eating. I want food to give me energy, not take it away. I don't want to be sick to my stomach after every run. I also want food that will not sit and rot inside of me. It is such a nasty thought. The problem is finding things to eat, that I can eat ALL day long. On days after I train, I seriously could eat all day. I don't think I can feel full. Hunger is such a distracting feeling for me too, it is so hard to get work done or think straight when I am hungry. I think tomorrow I will make 5 sandwiches - 2 to eat at lunch and another one each hour.

I've been reading through this great book that my amazing friend, Jenny Meier, gave me for Christmas. It's a book put out by Runners World, specifically for women runners. There is a food section in there that I am working my way through. It has all this advice on protein, fiber, iron, grains, water... I don't fully understand it all yet, but I am trying!

Well hopefully I will continue to be able to kick up my training routine through March 27th. I do need to mention how thankful I am for my healthy body that allows me to do this. So far no injuries to report! Oh, that reminds me... I was at the Y last night and had to run 2 miles. So I hopped on the treadmill and it guided me through choosing a program. I chose a pretty hilly one because I was only doing 2 miles. The last question is asked me was the speed I wanted to start at. I don't remember a treadmill ever asking me that before (I also don't think I've ever set up a program on one before seeing how I've only used one maybe 3 times). I thought about my average speed and bumped the treadmill speed up to 10. Obviously I was hungry and not thinking clearly. Not long after pressing the "START" button did I realize that I had set the treadmill to 10 miles per hour! Who the heck would ever run that fast is what I want to know. I think I was thinking in my head that a good, slow pace for me is 10 minute miles. I sacrificed a small amount of my pride in that moment, but thankfully I thought fast enough to move my feet off to the side rails to slow it down. Of course that was in the front of a full gym.