Half Marathon, Day 13

60 minutes
6.61 miles
9'06" pace
Home > Peachtree Circle > Home > Alliance Theatre > Home

What a run! My best 1 mile, 5k and 10k times - 8:13, 27:58 and 56:22 - AND my longest run at 6.61 miles. Love it!

Half Marathon, Day 12

60 minutes
6.14 miles
?? pace (darn treadmill!)
The treadmill on the left...

After a f-f-freezing Saturday, I was hurting yesterday and didn't run. I knew I couldn't take two days off, so I sucked it up and ran inside today.

It was terrible. I hope it gets warmer soon!

A whole lot of whole wheat

With James' recent high cholesterol diagnosis, we're making some big dietary changes. Not just eating healthy, but making the absolute best choices about everything we buy, make and order. Thankfully, Kroger is helping us out - they now have whole wheat tortillas AND whole grain bread in their store brand. Good for the pocketbook as well!!

Technology-enabled Training

I'm not sure how people used to determine how far they'd run when training for a race. Drive your car around the block? Count your steps and multiply by your stride length? It sounds like a tedious, imprecise science, and I'm glad to have technology on my side. But even that has proved challenging.

When I moved to Atlanta, I at first depended on Google's walking directions to map out a path and figure the distance. They're quite reliable and the site is obviously easy to use. My only complaint is that it can get messy if I decide to deviate from what I researched because 1) the path is obstructed 2) something/someone seems sketch 3) I had the walk symbol in another direction or 4) I was feeling spontaneous.

Lucky me, when I, for the first time ever, went to get fitted for running shoes (I went to Phidippides in Ansley Mall, and they were fabulous. I highly recommend a visit!), I ended up with the Nike Air Max Moto, which featureds a built-in nook for Nike + iPod. It wasn't compatible with my iPod Video, but six months later, I scored an iPod Nano and was off to the races ... sort of. The product itself is great - it's like a souped-up pedometer that tracks your steps, time and distance, it compiles your running over time and can be synced with Nike.com. I have three complaints. First, the physical design is lacking. You have to plug a sensor into the iPod to talk to the sensor in your shoe. The sensor is so small, it's hard to keep track of/remember to take to the gym with you. Plus, tracker in your shoe has a battery that cannot be replaced, so when it dies, you have to go drop another $40 on a new set (reviews said it lasts about one year, but I have had mine for three with very limited use). Second, no iPod armband (at least that I could find) is designed to work with the sensor, so I actually had to turn my armband upside down so my Nano wouldn't fall out since the case no longer closed. Third, the calibration never seemed to get my pace down so I never trusted the accuracy of its end-of-run report.

Thankfully, I have found a solution to my problems! I joined the iPhone world last month when I started my new job, and the App Store has changed my life. Nike + GPS takes the Nike + iPod software to a whole new level, and it uses GPS rather than your steps to track your run. The result is more accurate, comprehensive tracking of your runs over time. I'm in love, and it was totally worth the $1.99. One of my favorite features is the map that shows your pace along your route - it is helping me as I learn to keep a consistent pace throughout my now six-mile daily runs. There are features to compete with friends, sync with social media and other items I haven't used - but it is sufficient to say that it's an extremely robust and well-thought app. I'm sure my feelings will change when something new and exciting comes out, but for now, I'm content!

How are you using technology to enhance your workouts?

Image via Apple

Half Marathon, Day 10

60 minutes
6.23 miles
9'38" pace
Home > 10th > Monroe > Piedmont > 10th > Peachtree > Baker > Home

Half Marathon, Day 8

60 minutes
6.03 miles
10' pace
Lake Hearn > Concourse > Northside > Glenridge > Lake Hearn

From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!

Last week, I was feeling a little frustrated because my workout regimen was not providing any (and I mean ANY) results after 10 days of cardio and Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. The Shred is what pushed me from being fit but plateauing to the best-I've-ever-been shape and confidence last July. But, as has been the story of my life for the last three years, school promptly kicked into full gear and the gym fell down the list of priorities (work, school, husband took precedence, in that order I am sad to say). So within six months, I was back to mushy-gushy and within a few pounds of my heaviest ever. I guess that's why they call it a yo-yo, right?

At any rate, I was feeling vulnerable so when I came across a story on my company intranet about a team that would be running the Publix Half Marathon and Marathon on March 18, I spontaneously signed up. In retrospect, forking over $100 didn't seem nearly as painful as that afternoon's return to sanity and the realization that I had now paid an absurd amount of money to be forced to run 13.1 miles.

With only six weeks to train, I'm on a rather accelerated training schedule - 45 minutes a day for one week, then up to 60 a day for the next five weeks, plus increasingly long runs each Saturday (60 minutes, 10k, 10 mile, etc.). I've recruited a friend to join me, so we can sympathize/support each other through the process, and that's helping quite a bit. I also, upon calming my now yo-yoing emotions (as if the weight wasn't bad enough!), realized that this adventure could be just that - an adventure, a challenge and a test of my will.

I've always thought about running a half, but when I run a 10k, I always think, "I'm crazy, I don't like this, why am I doing it?" and I have no reason to continue, so I don't. BUT I decided this is my year. 2012 is my chance to do the things I want to do, spend my time as I want to and accomplish more than I have been able to imagine while I've been in grad school. This is a new year full of so many new beginnings, challenges and unknowns, and I feel like a half marathon will fit nicely into my year. PLUS, it's three days after my 27th birthday, and I feel there is no better way to ring in my late 20s! :)

I’ll be documenting my training adventures, lessons learned and overall progress here. I figure it’s also a great opportunity to get out my blogging fingers and dust off the ole’ Les Writes More page. Your support and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!

Note From the Universe

There is perhaps no more empowering belief than understanding you're always in control of how you feel.

Similarly, understanding that just because you're not always skipping through tulips with joy doesn't mean that something's wrong with you.

Half Marathon, Day 7

45 minutes
4.63 miles
9'44" pace
Lake Hearn > Concourse > Glenridge

Half Marathon, Day 6

45 minutes
4.57 miles
9'53'' pace
Lake Hearn > Glenridge > Concourse

Half Marathon, Day 4

30 minutes
3.29 miles
9'11'' pace
Juniper > Piedmont > Myrtle

Half Marathon: Day 3

45 minutes
3.99 miles
11'16'' pace
Chattahoochee River, Roswell
With Melissa

Half Marathon: Day 1

45 minutes
4.36 miles
10'31'' pace
Lake Hearn > Johnson Ferry

Note from the Universe

Did you know that it's perfectly OK, even highly ideal, to claim all is well amongst doubt and confusion? To be happy in spite of challenges? To laugh at problems? Dance without a partner? Sing without a rhyme? Talk to inanimate objects? Oddly, most don't.

Note From the Universe

There's nothing challenging that has ever happened in your life that one day you won't look back upon with deep gratitude.

Note from the Universe

Be there. Go there now and never leave. Imagine that your dreams have already come true. Live your life from that mindset. Predicate your behavior on that reality, not the illusions that now surround you. Filter every thought, question, and answer from there. Let your focus shift and be born again - because dwelling from, not upon, the space you want to inherit is the fastest way to change absolutely everything.

Note from the Universe

Sometimes when you've had a difficult day, or met difficult people, been let down, disappointed, or heartbroken, it's easy to completely forget the most important thing of all... you're alive.

Steve Jobs on Not Settling for Less

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

Flashback: Daily Candy 2008 Halloween Lexicon

These are too good to be left out of the Halloween season, and a DC Lexicon always makes me chuckle.

boo-bies
n. The effect of constantly being startled by the number of revealing costumes surrounding you. (There’s so much cleavage in this room, I’m getting the boo-bies.)

candy rapper
n. The smooth-talking little kid who “trades” with all the other kids for the best loot.

costomb
n. The overcoat you inevitably have to wear every year, which totally kills your costume.

monster mesh
n. The effect of too-tight fishnets.

tramplify
v. When you decide to go as yourself, only sluttier.

vampire weekend
n. The massive 48-hour hangover that comes from attending too many Halloween parties.

veepie crawler
n. One of the hundreds of Sarah Palin/Tina Fey costumes you’ll spot this year.

wee-atch
n. That ho who copied your witch costume.

wicked witch
n. Just a regular witch. In Boston.

Red, Red Wine

Last Christmas, I finally broke down and bought a decanter since James and I have been enjoying more red wine. I love the decanter, despite its slightly awkward pour near the end of the bottle, but I have often struggled with cleaning it, especially if someone ::cough, cough, James:: didn't rinse it properly after use. After a bit of Googling, I found a solution that worked so well, it wouldn't be right not to share. A mixture of lemon juice and salt - I used about 1/8 c lemon juice and 1 tsp. salt -- gently swirled around the vessel took off the red wine reside without soaking for longer than it took to put the ingredients away. The directions cautioned against using too coarse of salt or swirling too briskly, for fear of scratching the glass, but you honestly don't need to. Definitely a keeper!