Race Time!

Hi!  

Even though February is a short month I am still surprised how quickly it passed by this time around.  I started my half marathon training 3 weeks ago and aside from missing some cross training this week I have stayed on track.  I am learning to really enjoy the speed work sessions on the treadmill and am surprised at how quickly they make the miles pass.  I set a goal of hitting 10 miles on the treadmill by the time we were back home and I hit that goal last weekend.  It wasn't nearly as awful as I had in my head, it actually went by rather quickly and I was able to catch up on a documentary I really wanted to watch.  I talked about it in this post, it is called Hungry for Change and I really recommend it, I found it on Netflix in their instant section.  I also realized this week that it was almost March and I needed to get registered for some races before all the prices go up.

I signed up for a 10k in Plymouth on Sunday March 17th.  I am excited to do this race, it'll be my first time heading to a race solo.  I always have Katie with me, so this will be a good experience for me!  

  


Jess, as a Christmas gift, registered me for the Portland Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon.  It'll be my first big race of 2013 and I am following Another Mother Runner Training Plan.  I wasn't sure if I would share or not but I decided to just put it out there, I am going for a PR in this race.  My goal is to hit 2:15 or less and I am really liking the AMR Training Plan, I recommend it for mom and non-mom runners.   

Katie created a team with the Electric Run so I am running the 5k in July in Portland.  This race will be an easy fun run in the evening which will be different!  

In honor of the reason Katie and I started to run, Maverick, we are signed up for the OHS Doggie Dash in May.  We did this dash last year and it helps to raise funds for the Oregon Humane Society.  I haven't decided if I'll bring my Lucy but it was a lot of fun last year, 2 words: Complimentary Mimosas.  

Last but definitely NOT the least I swallowed a huge "I told you so" pill and registered for Marathon #2!  The Sunriver Marathon For A Cause takes place over Labor Day weekend  and I am pumped to have another marathon under my belt.  

I also have some half marathons and possibly marathon #3 on my list that I am going to be registering for soon.  Once I complete those shorter races in the first part of this year I want to concentrate on longer distances.  I really enjoy long runs and going the distance over shorter, run as fast you can gonna puke at the finish.  Is that totally weird?!

What is your favorite distance to race?  

Do you have a race for 2013 that you are totally stoked about?  

Tell me about your favorite PR if you have one!  

     

Hungry for Change

Good morning!  

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, I ran 10 miles on the treadmill yesterday and did 2 miles at my race pace.  This morning I am going to a TRX class because my favorite Barre class filled up before I got to a chance to register.  I've seen a lot of people doing the TRX classes and it looks like something I could like!  As of now I know nothing about it, but I will definitively share what it is like on tomorrow's post! 

I am actually a little sore from yesterday's long run and that is a good feeling.  I haven't ran anything close to 10 miles in a while and it was nice to know I still had it in me.  Once I accomplished my 10 on the treadmill yesterday I realized I could really get use to this treadmill thing.  Dare I say I might actually really like running on a treadmill?!  I have been able to feel what the my different paces actually feel like and can control my speed work at lot better.  Its nice to not have a bunch of gear on and not have to wear my water, there are some perks to running on a treadmill for sure!  

Afterwards I made sure to stretch and foam roll.  I have a foam roller at home but I didn't bring it with me because as you know they are so bulky.  Luckily the gym I am using has a foam roller so I am forcing myself to use it.

While I was doing my run yesterday morning I watched a documentary called Hungry for Change on Netflix.  It completely re-lit my drive to be a vegetarian and do better at cutting out sugar.  There are so many health benefits to eating more fresh vegetables and fruit and I learned some news things I never knew before.  For example did you know that eating foods like chia seeds and parsley actually will help detoxify your system?  I've been putting chia seeds in my salads and making pudding for about a year for the protein but didn't realize they also helped detoxify.  They cling to toxins in your body and help you to flush them out as you are sweating, drinking more water, etc.  The movie also pointed out how much sugar the average person is consuming without even realizing it and really hit some hard points about diet soda.  For some reason the last 3 months I started to drink diet coke knowing it was a dumb idea.  Think about it, most diet sodas have 0 calories but are full of taste and ingredients, unless those ingredients are air how can there be 0 calories?  Because it is a chemical shit storm, excuse my language.  I honestly cannot believe I was allowing myself to put it in my body and I know it did some damage in just that short amount of time.  My scalp has completely dried out and therefore my hair is a hot mess.  With every diet coke I was drinking that was less water I was putting in my body.  Needless to say I am done with diet soda.

Do you watch any documentaries?  
They are some of my favorite movies to watch, running and food documentaries are at the top of my list!  

Is there a food that you know is bad for you but you eat it regardless?  

Sometimes I wonder if I drink to much coffee and if that could be bad for my health.

Did you have a good weekend?!