Well peeps, yesterday I had it set that I needed to run EIGHT miles! The weekend before was six, and I couldn't do the whole thing without stopping because it was too hot / humid. I walked mile 4-5, drank a sports drink, then finished six. That was basically my plan for the eight ... even if I made it further than 4.5 miles I'd consider it a win because that's the longest distance I've run consecutively so far.

I went to this place in town that has a lake and there's a 2 mile loop around it, and its relatively flat (tallahassee, although in Florida, is SURPRISINGLY hilly!! no me gusta).

I brought my handheld water bottle:

It holds 10 ounces and it perfect for 4-6 miles. I also think it's perfect for races though because I will just refill my water bottle at the water stations and drink whatever gatorade/powerade they have. I just am never gonna be a person who feels comfortable running with a fuel belt. I need to have as little clothing/"extras" on me as possible and this works perfect. The spot I ran at yesterday has a park with a water fountain so I refilled it once.

I also gu'd for the first time.

Honestly, it was not as gross as I expected. I put it in the pocket of my running shorts and took it around mile 5.5 ... I think next time I will take it around 45 minutes (which will be between mile 4-5) because I was just about spent when I took it. Definitely if I didn't take it I would not have been able to finish the next 2.5 miles.

There are other options like jelly beans you can do but I think I prefer the gu, just squirt it in your mouth and swallow. haha. I realize how gross this sounds.

These running shorts:

They're only $22 on amazon and they are long enough. It's been REALLY hard to find like 'spandex' running shorts and i CANNOT run in like nike tempos or other shorts that aren't form fitting because they ride up and/or cause terrible chafing (tmi?) it's just not a pleasant time...but in Florida better to have as little clothes as possible! amiright?

Finally, da shoes:

 The compression sleeves are here (and yes I DO think they make a difference especially after the run).

 That's a nike tom tom GPS watch..honestly, you don't need me to tell you that you don't NEED the watch especially because I'll never be a competitive runner, but I like it!

Felipe found my tutu that I'm gonna wear at the race! haah! I came out of the shower and this is what I saw!!

Oh, but on the training side of things - LITERALLY the first day I started training for this race was Jan 19 - exactly five weeks before the half. I had not run in 2 MONTHS prior to that (or ANY kind ox exercise) because I was sick and then I was in NYC were it was "feels like -9 deg" and the first day I only ran 2.1 miles, and I could only run .5 miles with stopping...and THREE weeks later I ran 8 miles without stopping (except to take the gu!).

The moral of the story is -- don't wait till 5 weeks out to start training for a half marathon, but, if you do...you can do it!!

Now excuse me while I go foam roll my legs!!

xox

A post about running.

"did you take an awkward pill?"
"no, I'm always like this" 

muahaha. sorry, watching west wing and that line just happened and it made me lol. 

I just wanted to write a post about the fact that my half marathon (disney princess for those of you following along) is 3 weeks away! yikes!

i started running again 2 or 3 weeks ago (?) and this weekend I NEEDED to do 6 miles (bc I'm increasing by 2 every weekend until the race).

Last weekend I did manage to get 4 miles, and then I repeated it during the week. But yesterday I tried to go do 3-4 miles (originally I wanted to do 6 but then I had to meet my sister and I didn't have time) and I could only do TWO and then I had to walk! I was like, ffuuuuckkkkk. So what was the problem? A little thing I love to hate called HUMIDITY! Thanks, florida! You're the best!

I mean, first of all, I decided to go running at 11:30 and it was 70 degrees out and 95% humidity.

 

earth. 

 That was a rookie mistake, but its been pretty cold in Florida for the past couple weeks and I just went crazy and forgot. 

So then today I was like, "Ok, Im gonna wake up early, go running around 7am, it won't be hot, and then it'll be fine". Little problem - I didn't wake up early and I didn't go at 7. Also, little thing about me, the last time I worked out in the morning - like really hard - I went to Urgent Care because I thought I was going blind/ dying (it was a migraine). 

So, I woke up, ate an orange, at an access bar (it's a exercise bar that *supposedly* burns fat instead of carbs if you eat it 15 min before working out -- I don't know if it actually does that, but I DO feel better if I eat it before exercising), and drank 25 ounces of water. Then I went to the Causeway (my original running stomping grounds) and was like, let's do this. 

It was 10am, 75 degrees, 90% humidty, NOT ONE CLOUD IN THE SKY. AKA I'm sunburnt now. 

I started off pretty good but then around mile 3 I was like, shit. This ain't gonna happen. I'm just like HYPER aware of how hot I am/the fact that I've had probably 200 calories before exercising and I'm going to burn upwards of 1000 cals. So, I decided to run AT LEAST 4 miles, then stop and get my sports drink - drink that and walk mile 4-5, and then run the last mile. My thought was even if I have to walk, at least I am still doing the mileage and to be honest, I probably WILL have to walk during the half marathon so it's better if I just get into the habit. 

My face was SO RED, you can't really tell from the pic. Man o man. I'm so happy I did it!

Also, this was like the first time in the past couple weeks that I've had a *spark* of like, "yah! I like running" ... I know I used to love running, but right now I'm just so focused on getting these runs in, I haven't been looking forward to it. Please no one let me stop running after the half marathon! There is nothing worse than having to start over again...although I will say that I've done pretty well for myself this time around (only because I HAD to! haha)

Anyways, if you read this, wow! You're awesome! I'm looking for running blogs to read so if you know any, send 'em my way!!

xox