I ran the Nicholasville Turkey Trot 5k this weekend. It was a really great course - a lot of downhill stretches, a water stop about the 2.5 mile mark, and everything was clearly marked. I ran the first mile in 7:34 - I didn't know my legs could move that fast! I finished in 26:06 - a 5k PR for me.
Chad and I will leave for Sevierville, Tennessee in the morning. We are meeting Chad's family there for a relaxing Thanksgiving in the Smoky Mountains. I've never been to this part of the country, but I've heard it is beautiful. I'm excited about it all - a break from work, a chance to relax, spending time with Chad and his family, hot tubs and fireplaces, trail runs, outlet malls, and FOOD!
Since we will be "off grid" I probably won't be posting until after the weekend. Here's to a happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful time with friends and family!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Marathon Plans 2008
Woo hoo! My twin sister Megan just agreed to run a Spring 08 marathon with me! We are probably going to do either the Kentucky Derby Festival marathon on the last Saturday in April, or the Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati during the first weekend in May.
Megan is an amazing athlete and can pretty much whip my tail at anything, so it will be fun to train in anticipation of running with her. I know she will push me much harder than I pushed myself during my 1st marathon. She is a personal trainer, cyclist, triathlete, marathoner, and is training for a body-building competition. That might come in handy next Spring if I hit the wall - she could just throw me over her shoulder and carry me to the finish!
Megan, left, and me before our cousin's wedding this past August.
Megan is an amazing athlete and can pretty much whip my tail at anything, so it will be fun to train in anticipation of running with her. I know she will push me much harder than I pushed myself during my 1st marathon. She is a personal trainer, cyclist, triathlete, marathoner, and is training for a body-building competition. That might come in handy next Spring if I hit the wall - she could just throw me over her shoulder and carry me to the finish!
Megan, left, and me before our cousin's wedding this past August.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Updates
Things have been really busy at work, and will only continue to get busier until the end of the year. So, I will attempt to post over the next few months, but it might just be short and sweet updates. For example:
Wednesday 11/7/07
1. I did my civic duty last night and voted in my first election. Elections were being held for Kentucky's Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner, Secretary of State and some other offices. This is the first time in my adult life that I've been living in the state where I was registered to vote when an election took place.
2. I got to work really early this morning to put some final touches on a project I'm working on. I have had 2 Starbucks Doubleshots and a lime Tootsie Roll for breakfast. My heart racing, my hands are shaking and wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'm typing this post really fast.
3. I am training for a 5k. It seems weird to be "training" for a 3.1 mile race, but I am hoping for a PR of under 25 minutes and an age group win. It is a "Turkey Trot 5k" - I remember during our first year of college, my sister and I signed up for a Turkey Trot 5k in Nacogdoches, TX. We went to the start, picked up our t-shirts, decided we didn't feel like running and went to the cafeteria to eat donuts instead. When we were walking back to our dorm rooms we saw a person in a very large turkey costume running through the street, with a pack of people chasing him.
Wednesday 11/7/07
1. I did my civic duty last night and voted in my first election. Elections were being held for Kentucky's Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner, Secretary of State and some other offices. This is the first time in my adult life that I've been living in the state where I was registered to vote when an election took place.
2. I got to work really early this morning to put some final touches on a project I'm working on. I have had 2 Starbucks Doubleshots and a lime Tootsie Roll for breakfast. My heart racing, my hands are shaking and wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'm typing this post really fast.
3. I am training for a 5k. It seems weird to be "training" for a 3.1 mile race, but I am hoping for a PR of under 25 minutes and an age group win. It is a "Turkey Trot 5k" - I remember during our first year of college, my sister and I signed up for a Turkey Trot 5k in Nacogdoches, TX. We went to the start, picked up our t-shirts, decided we didn't feel like running and went to the cafeteria to eat donuts instead. When we were walking back to our dorm rooms we saw a person in a very large turkey costume running through the street, with a pack of people chasing him.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Marathon Pictures
I'm a marathoner!
Spotting Chad, Dru, and Amberly at mile 25.5
A strange smile/grimace look at 25.5
With Dru and Amberly at the finish (...I'm not exactly sure why that area of my shirt was wet)
With my supportive hubby, Chad
Post-race fare at Joe's Crab Shack
Post-burger
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Fast Food Nation
This past Sunday evening I promised myself that I wouldn't eat any fast food this week. I classify "fast food" as any establishment with a drive-thru. My biggest vices? Starbucks, Taco Bell and McDonald's. It is Thursday morning, and so far this week I have had pizza from Little Ceaser's, a double cheeseburger Mighty Kid's Meal from McDonald's, and a triple grande non-fat Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. So much for no fast food this week!
However, I think the reason I craved these things so badly this particular week is because of the simple fact that I told myself I couldn't have them. As you can see, I fold pretty easily.
In his best-selling book "Fast Food Nation," author Erich Schlosser writes that “the whole experience of buying fast food,” he writes, “has become so routine, so thoroughly unexceptional and mundane, that it is now taken for granted, like brushing your teeth or stopping for a red light.” This is where the danger lies for me and Chad. It is so...easy. It is mindless. After being at work all day, neither of us want to make any more decisions. We just want to eat. We've gotten a lot better about making more attempts to cook throughout the week - but it is just so much easier (and surprisingly less expensive for us) for us to pick up sandwiches from Subway or order Chinese food.
I feel like a key part of my upcoming half-marathon and marathon training will lie in modifying my diet. I've always tried to eat a balanced diet with fruit and vegetables, grains and proteins. But I don't think I consume enough of the "right" grains and proteins, etc. I am going to attempt to keep a food log - not so much so that I can be a strict calorie counter, but so that I might be able to give myself a wake-up call and realize what kind of foods, and how much food, I am taking in each day, and how Chad and I can both add more "superfoods" into our diet.
However, I think the reason I craved these things so badly this particular week is because of the simple fact that I told myself I couldn't have them. As you can see, I fold pretty easily.
In his best-selling book "Fast Food Nation," author Erich Schlosser writes that “the whole experience of buying fast food,” he writes, “has become so routine, so thoroughly unexceptional and mundane, that it is now taken for granted, like brushing your teeth or stopping for a red light.” This is where the danger lies for me and Chad. It is so...easy. It is mindless. After being at work all day, neither of us want to make any more decisions. We just want to eat. We've gotten a lot better about making more attempts to cook throughout the week - but it is just so much easier (and surprisingly less expensive for us) for us to pick up sandwiches from Subway or order Chinese food.
I feel like a key part of my upcoming half-marathon and marathon training will lie in modifying my diet. I've always tried to eat a balanced diet with fruit and vegetables, grains and proteins. But I don't think I consume enough of the "right" grains and proteins, etc. I am going to attempt to keep a food log - not so much so that I can be a strict calorie counter, but so that I might be able to give myself a wake-up call and realize what kind of foods, and how much food, I am taking in each day, and how Chad and I can both add more "superfoods" into our diet.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Marathon Challenge on PBS' NOVA
I almost forgot! Be sure to check out "Marathon Challenge" on your local PBS station tonight at 8pm (ET) or at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/.
I've been watching it for 13 minutes and have already learned more about VO2 max than I ever thought I would be able to comprehend.
Be sure to check it out -and if you would like to order a copy of the program, contact:
WGBH
(800) 255-9424
P.O. Box 2284
South Burlington, VT 05407
I've been watching it for 13 minutes and have already learned more about VO2 max than I ever thought I would be able to comprehend.
Be sure to check it out -and if you would like to order a copy of the program, contact:
WGBH
(800) 255-9424
P.O. Box 2284
South Burlington, VT 05407
Rejuvinated
After two great workouts yesterday and today, I feel like myself again. I think I was in a post-marathon funk last week. The post-marathon days were a strange transition time for me. Monday morning - as I rolled stiffly out of bed and walked like a pigeon-toed caveman to the bathroom. I felt like the feat to which I had devoted 10 months of my life had been conquered. So...what next?
I didn't work out any last week - except for my daily walks with Emma. I felt terrible - sluggish, overweight, lazy, etc. But I was too sore to do much activity and I wanted to save myself from any injuries I might incur from starting back too soon.
But alas, there was light at the end of the tunnel. As the week went by, my post-marathon blues lifted. I mapped out a training plan for the Fall/Winter, and also found a Hal Higdon plan that I am going to use for the Derby Festival Mini-Marathon in April 2008. My goal is to get a little faster through the Fall/Winter/Spring - and be in top form for my 2nd marathon debut in November 2008.
I've already decided that I am going to do the Marshall University Marathon in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington is only about two hours from Lexington, and I've heard that it is a great marathon that is well-directed and has plenty of aid stations! I've also heard that it has one of the best post-race parties around with pizza, hamburgers, etc. Sure sounds better than the one stale Hy-Top sugar cookie I was able to get from the table at the post-race "party" at the Louisville Marathon...but I digress.
However - the main reason I have chosen the Marshall U. Marathon is because of this notice I found on the race website:
This really impressed me. Also, the marathon falls under the umbrella of HealthyHuntington.org - an organization that is striving to increase health and wellness in the tri-state area of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio. The group also organizes a triathlon each year.
I'm really excited to have another goal set before me. Next fall, I know I will run a 4:30 marathon.
Marathon pictures to come soon - I promise!
I didn't work out any last week - except for my daily walks with Emma. I felt terrible - sluggish, overweight, lazy, etc. But I was too sore to do much activity and I wanted to save myself from any injuries I might incur from starting back too soon.
But alas, there was light at the end of the tunnel. As the week went by, my post-marathon blues lifted. I mapped out a training plan for the Fall/Winter, and also found a Hal Higdon plan that I am going to use for the Derby Festival Mini-Marathon in April 2008. My goal is to get a little faster through the Fall/Winter/Spring - and be in top form for my 2nd marathon debut in November 2008.
I've already decided that I am going to do the Marshall University Marathon in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington is only about two hours from Lexington, and I've heard that it is a great marathon that is well-directed and has plenty of aid stations! I've also heard that it has one of the best post-race parties around with pizza, hamburgers, etc. Sure sounds better than the one stale Hy-Top sugar cookie I was able to get from the table at the post-race "party" at the Louisville Marathon...but I digress.
However - the main reason I have chosen the Marshall U. Marathon is because of this notice I found on the race website:
Worship Services Available
This really impressed me. Also, the marathon falls under the umbrella of HealthyHuntington.org - an organization that is striving to increase health and wellness in the tri-state area of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio. The group also organizes a triathlon each year.
I'm really excited to have another goal set before me. Next fall, I know I will run a 4:30 marathon.
Marathon pictures to come soon - I promise!
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