going the distance

My sister asked me if I would be interested in doing a half marathon. My initial reaction was 'heck no, I have no interest in running for 13 miles.' But then, I started thinking more and more about it. I still haven't decided if I will (or can) do it, but it is certainly something I am now considering. I want to do some research on it and see what the training schedule looks like, first.

I really want this lifestyle change to stick with me so I am afraid of doing too much and burning out, but then I am afraid of not challenging myself enough and giving up. I am feeling really great and balanced right now, so I don't want to push it. At the same time, I am steadily increasing my running distances, so maybe in a few months, I will be much more ready for a half marathon.

I also think it would be a great accomplishment. The half marathon I am thinking about would be the first weekend in September, which would be right around the 1 year mark for starting this blog and for making a huge change in my life. I think that is a pretty great way to celebrate 1 year and to really see how far I have come.

What do you think? Should I go for it? 

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When I got off of work yesterday, the sun was blaring so I grabbed Franklin and headed out for a run. My run turned more into a walk, but it was nice to get out and stretch my legs a bit. For some reason, I couldn't get myself together to actually run for more than a mile or so. I kept stopping, getting tangled in my headphones, and getting wrapped up in Franklin's leash. It just wasn't our day.

We walked for a little over 2 miles, and then headed home. I think Franklin was glad to cut our walk and run short, since he hadn't eaten yet and was probably starving.

For this week's bible study, I decided to make some blueberry muffins. We had decided last week, as a group, that we would have a breakfast pot luck for this week's meeting.

I followed a really simple recipe, I think from Betty Crocker, or some cookbook I had, and they turned out pretty good. They didn't have the big fluffy top like I would have imagined, but they were still pretty good.

When I got there, there was an entire table full of awesome breakfast treats. It was a total carb fest though, with biscuits, pancakes, muffins, and bread. There was also a bunch of fruit, so I tried to put a lot of that on my plate to avoid too many carbs.

I didn't take any pictures (these people don't know me very well yet, so I will slowly introduce them to my picture and blogging ways), but I had a pancake with blueberries and syrup, a biscuit, a handful of grapes, and a small piece of monkey bread. Everyone enjoyed the blueberry muffins, and I had a few extras to bring home.

When I got back home, I spent a good 30 minutes packing up my breakfasts and lunches for the next 2 days. I am working at the hospital tonight, so I will be really thankful that I already have my meals packed up and I can head straight to bed when I get off.

For breakfast this morning, I had some vanilla greek yogurt, frozen cherries and berries, and some granola on top. It was so delicious.

Then, around mid morning, I had a half of a whole wheat bagel thin with chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough almond butter and sliced banana.

I am pretty excited about my lunch today. I cut up a bunch of veggies (tomato, red pepper, orange pepper, cucumber), grabbed a handful of spinach, some chicken that was in the fridge, and a little balsamic vinegar to put inside of a whole wheat wrap. I hope it is as good as I am thinking it will be.

Hope you all have a great day! It is going to be busy, busy, busy all week since we are out of town this weekend. So much to do!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 534
Sodium (+) 408
Protein (+) 6

No One Loves Running...

This post was supposed to go up last night, not sure what happened... I got busy at work and could have sworn I hit publish before I left, but I guess not. Looks like you will get 2 posts today!

I hear people talk all the time about how they wished they 'loved' running. No one 'loves' running... Sure, they love getting outdoors, getting some exercise, and having the body they desire... but I guarantee, no one loves the physical act of running. It is just something we have to do. As you run more and more, I think most people develop an appreciation of running and know how great they are going to feel afterward, which makes it easier. Races are fun, accomplishing goals are fun, but training for those races and getting to those goals are not.

Source

This morning I woke up at 6:30 AM and was out the door by 6:55 to do something I assure you I do not 'love.'  I love my husband, I love my family, I love my dogs, I love good food. I love shopping, Christmas, iced tea, boats, and the beach. I love my friends and I love lazy weekends. I love the feeling I get after a good run, and the way my clothes are feeling looser and looser since I have been doing these dreaded runs for the last few months. I will most definitely LOVE eating my Thanksgiving dinner with no guilt because I will have completed a 5k earlier in the day. I think I will save my 'wishes' for for good health and getting rich... not a love for running.

I think the more you know about something, the more interesting and easy it becomes. I would guess that people who 'love' to run, have been doing it for years and have a lot of knowledge in the sport. They know it works and they know that it is important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I try to educate myself in running everyday so that I can enjoy it just a tad more than I did yesterday. I want running to become part of my day, just like brushing my teeth and taking a shower. I don't really think anyone 'loves' doing those things either, we do them because we have to and because of the feeling afterward.