Still going strong on the half training......

sorta. Last week was amazing from a running perspective - i got my 8 miles in!  Wow that is far! 8 miles...what?? and I didn't die. Or puke.  I was so proud of myself and felt really accomplished. This is the farthest I've run ever and I just felt so very proud, strong & accomplished - YAY ME!

Then we had company in town & drank all the booze and ate all the food. It was a fun weekend and I enjoyed every minute.... but when Monday rolled around I definitely felt like a slug. Oh and haaaeeeyyy humidity! The temps have been awful. The humidity and dew point each morning have been horrible and i've given myself permission to skip my morning run outside and run on the treadmill at night.

I can't shake the feeling that skipping my morning run and getting the miles in on the treadmill, in the AC, with a fan blowing on me is cheating. I do run on a slight incline but still....not the same as running outside. I have people tell me - hey 5 miles is 5 miles! But... I know better.

I also have realized what a mental game running is. I get so freaked out and feel so anxious when I think about my long runs. Holy fuck I have to run 9 miles this weekend? OMG how am I going to do that?!? And damn on Race Day I will still have to run 4 more after that! WTF am I doing?? Why didn't I sign up for the half in April when my long runs would be in much MUCH cooler temps - grrrrr!!!!!

Not sure why i let myself get so anxious and worked up - I am not setting out to accomplish a PR here - I just want to check this off my bucket list.  I am realizing that I am not very kind to myself and my inner girl voice has been a real bitch lately. I constantly remind myself to CFD and just keep running.

But then I remember how I feel when I finish a run - especially a new "farthest run ever!" run - and it makes me smile and makes my heart happy. SO.... today I have decided to skip my run - or maybe just do a short run - and treat myself to new running shoes. I think I am overdue and.... new shoes always make me happy :)

 I will do my 8 miles tomorrow - OUTSIDE - come hell or high water. And... start next week fresh with a renewed focus, a commitment to wake up early and just go.

Planning & Meal Prep

Today was all about planning - i have planned my workouts for this week....

I decided to keep Friday open for an optional rest day as I may be needing it after 4 workouts in a row but - I have had a LOT more energy lately so - will see how I feel on Friday.

Planning out my workouts like this will help me to be more accountable....at least that is the theory :) I am adding weights back in as I really do miss lifting and I know it will help with my running.

Sunday is our meal prep day in our house - it is so much easier & fun now that my husband is joining me on the meal prep. He is all about getting the portions correct & so he is all about the measuring and weighing everything on our digital scale. I tend to eyeball things on the portions.  This week I have my egg muffins for breakfast each morning & baked chicken/lemon quinoa/broccoli for  lunches. I can't stress  how much easier this makes the mornings (and days) flow in regards to getting out the door on time and healthy eats. If I don't plan then my day is very likely to go sideways aka cupcakes, eating out for lunch & a light afternoon snack of starburst/laffy taffy/skittles in the afternoon. Not so good.

Now today I did drink a glass of wine as we meal prepped. I was wondering if this was ironic or zen as I sipped my wine and steamed the broccoli. I decided to go with zen. Cheers.

This is so true. Wine is my go to answer for just about everything these days :) Happiness! Stressed? Irritated! Relaxing. Celebrating! There is a wine for every occasion....

Me being goofy as usual below :)

 Cheers to a successful, low stress, focused, productive week! :) Oh and see calendar above on Thursday...hair is really getting chopped this week!

7 Miles!

life has been crazy busy with work & out of town guests! But very happy & proud to report my half-training is going strong! I even got up last weekend early when we had house-guests and got my 6 mile long run in. And today - I ran 7 miles! This is the furthest distance I have run ever in my life.

I was exhausted but very proud of myself here :)

I had planned to run 5 miles this morning but when I woke up at 5am it was raining and lightening out so decided to go back to bed.  I was very happy I did this as our bed felt amazing and I got another hour or so of sleep :) But then i started working as soon as I woke up and one thing lead to another so - decided I would run 5 on the dreadmill. Ugh.

I really really REALLY do not like running on our treadmill as well, it's boring and I am not really much into watching shows or movies while I run. But decided the treadmill was a better option than the heat and humidity outside... think it was in the 90s with 90%ish humidity. This is awful to run in - so hard to breathe and you just feel like you are running through mud. Ugh!

Anyway - I was feeling great in miles 4 & 5 and decided I would push through and just do my long run today - 7 miles - when all of a sudden at 5 miles, my treadmill shut down. Boooooo. No good.

So I made a split decision to just run the final 2 outside. Not the best decision of the day as it was awful out and I am sure I looked like a crazy woman to anyone that I passed - I was sweating my ass off & cussing like a sailor as my legs were starting to cramp up. Sounds awesome, right?

BUT - I finished & once I got inside & my husband brought me some water and a chilled towel from the fridge....and OK maybe after I laid on the floor panting for like 20 minutes and cursing some more... well I felt amazing. Accomplished. Happy. Proud.

YAY ME!!!!

So now I am in bed again and cannot wait to crash. I know I will sleep soundly tonight. And I don't have to get up early for my long run - whooooo!!!! Only problem is I am starving right now after burning all those calories but.... too tired to get up and snack. Big breakfast tomorrow folks!

Cheers to 7 miles and a big breakfast :)