10 miles= hungry

This is the Nike "videos" I mentioned with my Nike plus watch! I was thrilled to see this lady pop up, I wasn't sure how I did today. I tried NOT to look at my watch as much, instead concentrated on making the run "fun" by NOT looking at my watch.

I prepared last night by making a playlist with songs I knew I wouldn't want to change on my arm throughout the run. I put enough music for 2 hours, but didn't need it :)

Here is the playlist I listened to today (I can' tell the exact songs because I had it on shuffle!)

It was GREAT. I even found myself singing along to pass the time, since I did the run today solo. I decided to run my 10 miles today, even though it hasn't exactly been a week since I ran my 8. Tomorrow I have a busy day, and knew I had time (and energy) to complete it today.

I ran my 10 miles in 1 hour 27 minutes and 10 seconds. 8'42 minute miles average. 


I wore my lululemon Run Speed shorts, which honestly were better than the RLX ones. The RLX ones, although I love them- ride up. The Run Speed shorts, don't!

After my run I was really hungry. I went to Kroger with my mom and we bought some healthy snacks. We also bought this Black Cherry Zevia. I read about in a magazine, and since then have been wanting to try it. I LOVE IT! My mom, cousin and I all had it at dinner and we all loved it. It was $5.99 at Kroger for a 6 pack.

Writing in the "journal" today was fine, however I burned 1023 calories today during my run! How in the world do I eat healthy when I'm starving after a run? I usually have a protein shake, but we were out today so I had a string cheese.

I didn't end up seeing Harry Potter last night, we would have been late. I despise being late for a movie. Even missing a minute. It's Friday night at 8:07 PM, my cousins and sister just left my house. They were all over for eggplant parmesan and pasta dinner. I skipped the noodles again and had eggplant and sauce.  I have a busy day tomorrow, therefore I have to wake up early to do my 3 miles EZ run before it all. There are not may things that will wake me up early on a Saturday morning, I love to sleep in- however for some reason running is one thing I don't mind waking up for! One thing that is difficult is my mom hates running. She is convinced it's terrible for your knees and body all around. She wants me to become a walker instead, insisting it has the same health benefits of walking. I love walking, but I can't imagine feeling accomplished after completing a half marathon, walking. Is it terrible for you?

Training

I have been training for my first half marathon since December 27. I was sick last weekend, so did not train from Thursday January 20- Thursday January 27.

I will start with my run today! I have never been a winter runner, mainly because I dislike (or thought I did) the treadmill. I was wrong! I joined a local gym, and have been doing my runs on the treadmill, even the long ones. Today, however I ran my 8 mile run on a track. I am doing this run with a friend and she prefers running on a track so I decided to give it a try. I was apprehensive at first about the thought of running in circles, but to my surprise it was a a great change from the treadmill. It was a small track, 12 laps=1 mile, however I had my best run yet! I love my nikeplus SportBand, because it keeps track of my pace, miles, and every past run. There is a chip that goes in my shoe, and it corresponds to the watch. I know there are a lot of programs for your ipod as well, however I wear my ipod on my arm so the watch is easier to keep track of the pace and distance. I own this watch in grey and yellow, and it was $59 for both at Nike.

Today I ran 8 miles in 1 hr 10 min 00 sec. 


I bought my running shoes at Hanson's Running Shop in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. I brought a old pair of shoes in and the running pro was able to look at my stride and pick out a few pairs he thought would fit my feet. I have always liked Nike running shoes, so I went for the Nike Zoom Structure Triax+ 14 Women's Running Shoe. They were $100 and I bought the Metallic Silver/Black-Wineberry-Dark Grey combination. I just checked online for them, and there is a new color that wasn't available when I purchased mine, which is Dark Grey/Vibrant Blue-Lime-Anthracite. I guess I'll just have to run 500 miles quickly in these so I can purchase another pair! (I believe that is what the running pro told me should be the limit of miles before switching). I can't recommend these to you, because I truly believe you need to be fitted for your own shoe, however here is the shoe I am currently running in on Nike.com. 

I started running in high school. I joined the cross country team with a few friends as a freshman, mainly because I never played sports and wanted to do something active. I didn't love cross country, or running until maybe the end of my sophomore year. I was never a top runner, or never really tried, but I believe cross country was the start of a relationship with running that has lasted with me the last twelve years.

I am by no means a pro, and not pretending to be. In fact this is my first half marathon, which is why I thought it would be fun to start this blog! I have ran a few 5k and 10k's in the past, however never attempted a half.

My goal with this blog will be to track my progress, sign up for different runs, and try to incorporate strength training and other workouts to not get burnt out. I have always been active, but it's always been hard for me to lose weight and keep it off.

I always used to run in old gym shorts, dance pants and t-shirts. However I recently started spending the extra money and buying actual running clothes, and I do believe it makes a difference. I feel dry during the runs, which is a plus. I will also try to update the blog with new purchases, running outfits, etc.!

My favorite items currently include:

The Run: Inspire Crop in all black from lululemon.

For long runs however, I do prefer to run in shorts and I really like the Run: Speed Short from lululemon. I own them in this orange strip combination!

Well, it's Sunday night and I have to wake up for a long work week. Goodnight!