Half-Marathon...T-Minus 4 days!

The countdown to my half-marathon has begun! In 4 days, I will be traipsing through Louisville, each step taking me closer to my goal of completing a half-marathon. I'm currently in the tapering phase of my training - this has its ups and downs.

It's good because I am getting to cut back on my mileage and rest up a little bit, but its bad because I have to pay a little more attention to the calories I'm bringing. It's easy to eat like a ravenous caveman when I am burning about 700 calories each morning, but since I've cut back on my work-outs, I need to make sure I don't pack on any extra weight that I will have to carry around with me on Saturday. My husband is an amazing cook and has been making me great meals this week (steak tacos, pork loin with cous cous...I know, I'm lucky!) and it has been relatively easy to eat healthy and be mindful of my portions. On Friday, Chad and I have been invited to a Lexington Legends (semi-pro baseball) game. My plan is to pick up my usual pre long run meal at Fazoli's (whole wheat pasta, tomato sauce, meatballs, ceaser salad, unsweet tea) and eat it on the way to the game.

Saturday morning, Chad and I will leave our house at 4:00am in order to arrive in Louisville at 5:45am. From there, I will pick up my bib number and race packet, hop a bus to the starting line, and then cross the starting line at 7:30am. I am very excited, but also very nervous about the logistics of being at all the right places at all the right times. However, that is to be expected since I tend to be a nervous person. Chad and I have a plan of how we are going to meet up at the end, and we can only pray that it will work out. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, and I have a feeling that everything will work out just fine. I keep trying to decide what I would like my post-race meal to be (after I gather up some goodies from the post-race party) and right now I really think I would like it to be McDonalds. There is just something about eating a double cheeseburger after a long run.

I also want to give a shout-out and wish good luck to all of my training buddies from Wilmore who are running in the Nashville Country Music half-marathon this weekend. I know that everyone will do well!

I came across this picture today on The Daily Puppy and I thought that it was just too cute to pass up.

Chad and I have an exciting few days ahead of us - his family is in town! We are so excited to have them in Kentucky. We've got lots of fun stuff planned, including (you guessed it) a bbq!

I am really looking forward to having a few days off of work to relax and be with friends and family...it is definitely time for a vacation!

Exciting Day

Chad and I are watching American Gladiators on ESPN Classic and it is amazing. My sister and I loved American Gladiators when we were growing up. One of our best friend's aunts actually was an American Gladiator ("Freeze" from Dallas) and we were stricken with awe every time we saw her. On Saturday morning, after watching the show, we would set up our own AG course in the living room. We would re-create each event, including "Assault", "Human Cannonball", "Snapback" and of course..."The Eliminator." We would use anything we could get our hands on to outfit the course: tennis balls, socks, couch cushions, etc. We had so much fun, and only broke a handful of bones.

I am also very excited because I got a bike today! Granted, it is a 90's splatter-painted Huffy Mt. Storm pre-teen bike, but hey - it was out on someone's curb and it was free! Chad is going to paint it for me, and then I'll hit the streets. Chad was laughing so hard when I showed it to him, and we both agreed that we think we had this same style of bike when we were in elementary school (Chad would like to clarify that his did not have splatter-paint.) While I would love to one day have a road bike, this little Huffy will have to do for now.

In a post on Pop Candy today, the "worst mix tape ever" is discussed. Limited to 5 tracks - what would your worst mix consist of?

Here's mine:
1. Truly, Madly, Deeply...Savage Garden
2. Liquid Dreams...O-Town
3. Follow Me...Uncle Kracker
4. Getting Jiggy With It...Will Smith
5. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)...Looking Glass

Starbucks...love it or hate it, this is an interesting site. I especially love the celebrity sightings posts.

Post Race Post Script

Well, I did it! The 10 mile race was a lot of fun, and I even managed to beat my goal time of 2 hours by 14 minutes! My final time was 1:46:33. It's a bit sobering to see the female winner's times of 58 minutes on the race results page, but I'm still proud of my new PR.

Distance running is kind of like an out of body experience. At about mile 3, I started thinking "How am I ever going to make it 7 more miles?" But the next thing I knew, I was at mile 5 and feeling great, especially since I knew that I was half way done. The friends and family members who lined the course were very encouraging, always eager and willing to cheer on the passing runners.

After the race I staggered to the post-race tents to get a Panera Bread blueberry bagel and some bottles of Powerade. On the drive home, I treated myself to a double cheeseburger from McDonalds. It was like a small piece of heaven in a yellow wrapper.

We've got a busy April ahead of us - Easter, a visit from Chad's family, time with friends, and my mini marathon.