Hey there! How’s your Tuesday going? So far, so good around here. Today started out with one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments for me. You know, those moments when something really sets in deep in your brain.

I don’t always run on Tuesday mornings, but the weather has been so nice this week that I wanted to get out and enjoy the snow-free roads and sidewalks. So I set my alarm for 5 a.m. to get in a little run before the work day began. When my alarm went off, I turned it off and rolled over. I did not want to get up. At all. Like really really really did not want to get up. I struggled for about 15 minutes before I finally just got my lazy butt out of bed and out the door.

It took me about 5 seconds to get into my normal groove, and I completed 4.2 miles at less than an 8:30/mile pace. It felt so good to get in the zone and focus on some speed work. I got home and hopped in the shower, and that’s when it hit me: I really do love running. I enjoy it so much because of how it can make me feel. I was dancing and happy in the shower at 6 a.m. and without that run, I would have been grumpy and sluggish through my whole morning routine. SO, moral of this story, anytime I feel like hitting snooze and skipping my morning workout, I need to remember how much happier and healthier I feel if I start my day with a little sweat. 🙂

But onto other things…. like my first Marathon!!!

The Little Rock Marathon will be in Little Rock, AR on March 2! I’m so scared/excited about taking on this major commitment! I wouldn’t have even thought about taking on the full marathon until I started looking into some training plans. Since I have been training for my first half since October, I was right on schedule for a beginner’s marathon training schedule!

My girlfriend Heather was already registered for the Little Rock Half Marathon, so when I found out the full and the half marathons were at the same time, I decided to be brave and register for the full course. Am I a little crazy? Well my family sure thinks I am. But I’m pretty much determined to run the whole thing and get my HUGEEEE medal. The Little Rock Marathon is known for their big medals, and I cannot wait to get mine! They posted on the Little Rock Marathon Facebook page that this year’s medal would be around 2.5 lbs!

SO this major commitment meant changing up my Frostbite Half Marathon’s training schedule to be longer and work in some longer runs.

Download the full size PDF here. Download the Excel Sheet here.

So this plan is just a continuation of my half marathon training. I will be incorporating two 20-milers, and those will be my furthest distance before race day before I begin the taper the last 2 weeks before race day. I can’t believe I’m already on week 13 of my this 19 week schedule! haha I guess I had a head start.

My half marathon is coming up in less than 2 weeks. My Runkeeper app was kind enough to bring this to my attention this morning!

I took this screen shot this morning, so I am nearing right at 10 days until race time! I know I can do it, but I’m already dreading those crazy hills that I encountered during the Frostbite 10-miler. But, on a positive note, I’m just a few days from a small carb loading extravaganza!  Next Thursday and Friday my diet will consist of about 85% carbs, and I cannot wait. I will be loving some bananas, white bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, Greek yogurt, pretzels, and crackers! Low fat and high carb will be my philosophy for a day or two.

On one more side note, Lululemon released some new compression socks this morning, and I obviously bought them within 5 minutes of finding them.

I had a gift card to Lululemon burning a hole in my pocket from Christmas, so I gladly used a portion of it for these. I should have them soon and can hopefully wear them for my half in 2 weeks!

Well I’m off to my Jazzercise double-header. Have a great evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow!