Preparing for the Half

This weekend marks my first half-marathon, and I'm more than excited.

First of all, I'm so happy to finally see and catch up with this girl.

And this girl.

Such beauties with even more beautiful hearts (Oh, I'm also thankful to see West, but he's not running with us, so I'm not counting him. Sorry, West.).

But in preparation for the 13.1 mile showdown, I'm taking it easy this week. Because it's been absolutely b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l outside, I've been taking walks every single day.

Walk Photo

I also busted out my old Power Yoga video with Denise Austin. Denise definitely keeps it real. While part of me can't stay focused on the yoga because of the music in the background and Denise's thorough directions to feel the power of yoga, it's been helpful to get my IT bands all stretched out. They've been kind of tight after my crazy trail run this past weekend. 

I ended up running 11 miles on the trails at the National Whitewater Center this past Saturday. It wasn't 13 miles, but I bet it was more difficult than what I'll be running this coming weekend. The roots were definitely a force to be reckoned with, and I spent most of my time thinking about where I was going to put my next foot or how I was going to run over a bike jump hill rather than my usual meditation on the life and times of the LaCross family. 13.1 miles will be hard, but at least I won't have to worry about roots and gravel.

But, back to this week. I'm going to try and run once tomorrow, a short 2-3 miler, and then I have a walking date Thursday. 

I've also been trying to eat pretty healthy this week. A friend asked me this past weekend what I've done differently in my diet since I've been training. The truth is, I haven't done too much.

I've cut out most everything I drink except water. That may seem like a feat in and of itself, but I had a stomach virus that made me get over my caffeine addiction, so it wasn't too hard to stop. I just didn't start drinking coffee again after I felt better. I guess there was some good to come from that stomach virus.

I also haven't been drinking alcohol. I don't drink much, but I find I feel much better and less full of carbs/beer in the morning if I don't drink a beer the night before. My one exception is that Tyler thought I deserved a nice night of a glass of wine, dark chocolate, and a good conversation. How can I turn that down? So I did let him treat me to some wine that night. I've consumed some hot teas when I'm really chilly, but usually I pick one without caffeine in it and rarely add anything to it.

As far as food goes, we eat pretty healthy around here. I didn't have to cut out fast food, because we don't eat it unless we're traveling and desperate. So I didn't have to wean myself from fried foods and jump to eating tons of fruits, veggies, and proteins. I am eating more food and making sure I eat carbs the night before a long run. 

But being a typical vegetarian, I did struggle to add protein to my diet. I've been eating many more seeds and nuts. I've also added a bit of fish into my diet to make sure my body has enough protein to recuperate from the runs. A personal favorite is a fruit smoothie with some soy protein powder added. Smoothies are liquid heaven.

But it hasn't been all that easy. My sweet tooth, or every tooth in my mouth for that matter, has been so desiring to just eat whatever sweets I want because, "Hey, I'm burning tons of calories a day! I can do what I want." But, I've found I don't feel as well after I eat sweets, and they definitely don't help me run faster. So, it's been a struggle in the sweet department.

I haven't decided exactly which clothes I'll be running in Saturday, but I'm bringing a few options and a sweatshirt to wear before we start running. Faith is planning to cook a scrumptious meal on Friday night and have bagels, peanut butter, and apples for breakfast Saturday.

Spinx Run Fest, here I come!