Tag Archives: Little Rock Marathon

Packing is Hard

Daily Life!, Running, , , , ,

So I started finally packing my race weekend bag last night… And I must say, it’s hard to pack for a race when the temperatures could be anywhere from 40-60 degrees and there’s a good chance for thunderstorms.

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From left to right, I compiled a cold outfit, a medium temp outfit, and a ‘holy crap it’s hot’ outfit. If you look closely, you can see a sleepy puppy that was no help at all in this process.

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Mr. Mac was a lazy boy last night! Anywho, I’m hoping I’ll be wearing my medium temps outfit: Lululemon running crops and tank top. This will be the comfiest for me. But I know I’m not in charge of the weather that day, so I’m prepared to adapt to whatever the Little Rock meteorologists say!

Due to the rain in the forecast , I’m also packing a hat with a brim to keep the rain out of my eyes, lots of Aquaphor! (for obvious chafing reasons!), and plenty of trash bags and ziploc bags to go around. This girl doesn’t mess around when it comes to being prepared, so I’m ready to rock this potentially rainy first marathon! 🙂

I got in my last scheduled run this morning despite sleeping past my alarm a bit. Oops!

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I did this run at a nice easy pace. It was definitely more for my peace of mind than anything else! The whole time I was trying to focus on my stride and how I wanted to run during the race. I was completely at peace by the time I arrived home, so I think that’s a good sign. I’m not sure what this 26.2 will bring, but I do know that I’ve done everything I can to be as successful as possible.

Tonight I’ll be focusing on finishing packing my bag and packing Mac’s bag for the weekend. Luckily, he’s not difficult. Food, a toy, and his bed is all he needs to be happy!

Nick and I will be finalizing our travel plans, and I’m hoping he’ll be the world’s best navigator for me. I will drive us on Saturday and he will drive us back on Sunday. But he will also do all the driving to the start line on Sunday morning. The stress!! I’m praying that this is much simpler than I’m anticipating. And if we get desperate, he can drop me off and go hunt for a spot farther away. Post-race pics with my giant medal will be the most important thing anyways! 🙂

I’m off to get some of my packing done before Jazzercise at 6:45. I’m thankful that during this stressful week, I still can go and dance with my awesome Jazzer ladies! Have a great night, everyone!

Carbs & Anxiety

Daily Life!, Running, , ,

Happy Tuesday!! I hope you’re having a great day.

The last couple of days when I’ve written, I’ve been avoiding the big topic of the week: my first marathon. It’s a big deal and lots of last minute preparation is going on. But I’m trying to not talk about it too much – simply because I’m trying to remain calm and not go crazy by writing out every last detail I have planned for the weekend. Now, with that being said, my attitude will most likely change. And if you wake up tomorrow with a new post from me that outlines everything for the Little Rock Marathon, I apologize in advance. 🙂

Breakfast

Breakfast today was a little more fun than normal thanks to chia seeds!

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I added this little packet of chia to my morning oatmeal, and it was awesome! It added a nice flavor and thickened up the oatmeal perfectly.

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I felt accomplished for the day after reading the nutrition facts on the chia seeds. Those little seeds pack some powerful nutrients!

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And while we’re on the topic of food, my dinner last night was pretty fab as well.

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I was near a Chipotle, so I decided I could get a fairly healthy and delicious meal to take home. So I opted for this massive chicken burrito bowl! And it tasted as amazing as it looks. I loaded it with brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, grilled chicken, corn salsa, and guacamole! It was amazing and I felt like a stuffed piggy by the time I threw in the towel a few bites near the bottom of the bowl.

I was reading about race week nutrition on Active.com, and I came across one article that really stuck with me. It said that the week of your race is the time when you really need to care for your body. You’ve spent months sculpting it into a lean running machine. So this is the week to flood your system with antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and nutrients for muscle repair. And this burrito bowl was awesome in that respect! Brown rice, beans, veggies, and chicken… All superfoods to help our bodies be strong and repair muscles after exercise. I rarely splurge on eating out during the week, but this week just seems worth it! 🙂

So other than fueling my body with lots of good food and carbs, my only other main anxiety factor is the weather. Why must the weather always be against me?! My first half marathon was run in frigid temps with wind gusts of 40 mph. And now the forecast for Little Rock is around 40 degrees and rainy. Can I not get a race in 50 degree temps with partly cloudy skies? So I’ll be weather watching all week in hopes of the forecast changing to be slightly warmer with no rain. I’m going to be optimistic as long as I can!

Send me your positive thoughts as I prepare for my first marathon this weekend. This Type-A girl needs to take a chill pill and know that everything will be ok!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Little Rock Marathon Training Plan

Daily Life!, Running, , , ,

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!!!

LRmaraThe 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.

trainingplan-fullDownload 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!

IMG_3084I 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.

IMG_3085I 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!