The Day Before The Half Marathon

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I survived my first half marathon today! Unfortunately, it was a pretty painful run for me, but I will be saving these details for tomorrow’s post. All that matters though is that I finished!

Recap from yesterday

I did my best to get a good mix of carbohydrates and protein in my diet yesterday. Friday I stocked up on the carbs as well (that was when I wasn’t feeling well and only bread and fruit tasted good to me). I was building my glycogen stores!

Anyway, I began my day with my standard as of lately: Cream of Wheat sweetened with stevia, a touch of brown sugar, and cinnamon.

After breakfast, we walked a few blocks down the road to cheer on a friend of ours who was running a 5k race in our neighborhood. It was a gorgeous morning and it felt good to stretch the legs on our walk to the race.

We spent a couple of hours out there, cheering (she did awesome btw), supporting, and chatting before heading home.

I was starving by the time we got home so I snacked on a banana some peanut butter.

I made sure to drink A LOT of water throughout the day to hydrate myself well for race day.

We relaxed for a while, gathered some items from Dana’s parents for our upcoming garage sale, and eventually ate lunch. I heated up the last of the grilled chicken breast, sauced it with Kraft’s Asian Dressing. On the side, I had green beans.

In the afternoon, Kevin, Dana, and I headed out to pick up our race bibs, race chips, shirts, etc.

I was EXCITED! Team Ortho did a wonderful job with the production of this Minneapolis Marathon. We have run one other race with them when we ran the Get Lucky 7k in March (which was great too). Everything from registration, to race-info pickup, to the actual day of the half marathon, was very well organized and the volunteers were great too!  I would recommend their races to anyone.

When we got home from picking up our stuff, we fired up the grill. I wanted to make sure we get dinner in at a decent hour so that we had plenty of time to digest it, and sleep it off, so that we wouldn’t feel icky in the morning. I planned a protein and carbohydrate packed dinner. I gotta take care of my boys. On the menu: Super lean turkey burgers and sweet potato fries on the grill, and ketchup obviously.

The rest of the night was spent preparing for the run. I laid out my running gear, pinned my number on, placed my race chip on my shoelaces, packed our bag, charged the iPod, iced, stretched, and did anything else I could think of to make the next morning go as smooth and painless as possible for us. I’m a planner.

We got a good chuckle from the doggie when Dana put a backpack on his back. Moose is all ready for school. He’s always such a good sport, not to mention the cutest thing ever. I wish I knew what he was thinking at that moment. Probably something like, “Really guys? Again? I’m the brunt of your joke…again? You’re going to have to start paying me for this kind of entertainment.” Love you Moosey.

We got to bed around 9:30-10ish, and slept pretty well surprisingly. Excited to fill you in on the race details. Stay tuned!

Continue Reading The Day Before The Half Marathon

My Feel Good Workout Gear

Good morning! Nothing like Saturday morning huh? I woke up early, headed to the gym, hashed out a 7k on the treadmill and then did the pyramid arm workout courtesy of the Tone it Up Girls. Both the run and the arm workout were extremely challenging for me today. I feel like even just a week of slacking a bit on the strength training, and I am noticing a loss already. I’ll get it back though! Have you ever felt lower back pain after deadlift sessions? If so get back to basics with this post.

Right now, I am relaxing in my sweaty gym clothes, sipping on my morning juice, aka coffee. I have some fun plans for the day!

****************

I thought it might be fun to share with you some of my favorite workout gear. Everyone has their favorites, here are mine!

1. Nike Tempo Shorts. I used to think I wouldn’t like any running shorts that had the built-in ‘underwear’ but honestly these shorts are the comfiest things ever! It feels like you aren’t any wearing shorts. Is that weird? They also come in a wide variety of colors which make for a fun get-up.

2. Dry-fit tanks. Nike, Gap, TJMaxx…these are very easy to find and inexpensive. They keep me cooler and dryer. If I plan on workout out on any type of machine where my skin will touch the machine, I will throw on a long-sleeve t-shirt because that grosses me out. There are some sweaty men (and women) on those machines.

3. Under Armour high-impact sports bra. I’m baring it all. I’m not ashamed. I like bras that offer a lot of support. It is on the pricier side but I cannot believe the support I get from this bra. It is a challenge getting this bad boy off after a sweaty workout session.

4. Moisture-wicking socks. The ones pictured here are from Target and I love them. These socks are so important for helping to prevent blisters and extra sweaty feet.

5. Asics Gel Kayano 17 Soft Top Duomax: In other words, a good pair of running shoes for my feet and my stride. Of course finding the right running shoe for you depends on your arch, where you land when you run, etc. Consult the pros on this one. I go to speciality running stores in my area so that they can help me find the right shoe for me. It is so important to have a good pair of running shoes, and remember to replace them when needed as well.

6. Bicband. This sparkling beauty is GREAT at keeping my bangs out of my face and it does not slip off of my head like other bands tend to do. They have so many cute ones to choose from and in different widths as well!

The only thing missing is my music. I usually always have my iPod Nano or my iPhone to jam out to while I workout.What pumps me up the most is when I add new songs to the mix. I look forward to hearing them while I am running. When the new song comes on, I generally amp up the speed through the duration of the song. I gravitate toward pop and hip-hop music for my running tunes.

I have found that I feel better about myself when I am in cute workout clothes versus frumpy old t-shirts. No doubt I still wear the old t-shirts for at-home workouts though! Anyone else agree with me?

There you have it! Some of my favorite workout pieces! Have an amazing Saturday!

What are some of your favorites? Can’t wait to hear from you!

Continue Reading My Feel Good Workout Gear