Coffee Run

Brian and I went to the beach the weekend before last and when I returned to work everything was a blur - mountains of work to come back to and had a really hard time getting my running time in with all of the catch up I had to do! And I was a bad blogger! I think this weekend I got back into my groove and this week should be much, MUCH better!

This was at a new place we tried called "Hooks" in Port A. We usually always just go to Snoopy's (best seafood ever) but we decided to try somewhere new, (of course, we still stopped at Snoopy's on the way home).

Saturday morning April came over about 7:30 a.m. and we went for a nice, long run! It was soooo great! We decided that since it was 2 miles to the Starbucks by my house, we would walk a mile to warm up (because it was 35 degrees outside! - not acceptable in Texas in March!) run there, get coffee, then run 2 miles back.

Let me just say, it was a lot easier than I anticipated. We both had a ton of energy and it was really nice to stop, sit outside and drink some coffee and talk. Excuse the tired eyes, no makeup and greasy hair, please! Thanks! :)

AND -- I had April try my favorite drink from Starbucks - a french vanilla coffee and not being a coffee lover like myself, she loved it! So she's just as addicted as I am now. Ha!

Saturday afternoon B and I went to Iguana Grill, overlooking Lake Travis. Always a spectacular view, except the water was a bit low, but who can complain when you are right on the water. I had a Texartini which I highly recommend!

All in all, we had a great weekend!

Race Rundown

Can I just say that I love the magazine "Fitness?"

I have always bought Shape, Self - Love those too, but my friend's mom gave me her Fitness mag and it has some really great articles and tips!

Interesting Marathon Facts: (courtesy of Fitness)

This year more than 400,000 people in the U.S. will pound the pavement for 26.2 miles!

2 -- Pairs of sneakers a marathon runner goes through while training

25-29 -- Age range of the majority of female marathon runners in the U.S.

34 -- Number of marathons across the U.S.

50 -- Number of local bands playing at the Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Nashville on April 25 ( April - We would LOVE that I'm sure, one day! one day!) haha

2,880 -- Calories burned by the average woman while running a marathon (Does that mean we will be burning approx. 1440???)

4:59:28 -- Average time of U.S. female marathon runners

51,214 -- Number of steps it takes the average woman to complete a marathon

Buda-tiful day

Last night Brian and I went running around Buda. He is not much of a runner so if he even makes it a mile I am happy! Last night we ran 2.3 miles around Buda. How do I know this? After we ran, we took the car around and clocked it. I was surprised. Usually he quits after a mile. The weather was sooooo gorgeous! And I loved that it didn't get dark until 8 p.m. I felt like I could have definitely kept going, however, it was getting dark, Brian lost interest, and I wanted to get some crunches and pushups in as well, so I dragged my little yoga mat out to the front porch. It felt great. Perfect end to a Monday!

Note to self: No eggs/sausage morning of 1/2 marathon

My good friend Melissa participated in the Austin 1/2 marathon last year. Of course, I had to know how what to expect/training tips/her experience, etc. We did a bootcamp together a couple years ago and then her and one of the girls from our bootcamp decided to start training for Austin's 1/2 Marathon. I remember she became pretty obsessed with running! :)

Her top 5 tips:

1. Eat enough, but not too much. She ate oatmeal, her friend had eggs and sausage. Eggs and sausage was a big no-no after a couple miles and they had to stop. Enough said!

2. Start training early, but not too early. She got burned out because they started training extremely early for it. (I think I will need my whole 8 months to get prepared, so I'm going to overlook this one). :)

3. Drink plenty of water. (A given right?)

4. Look up an online running program/schedule and follow it. It really helps.

5. Be mentally prepared. It's very emotional when you finish.

Great tips, Melissa! I hate oatmeal though.

My running buddy

Didn't have a lot of time to run last so I took my dog, Dakota for a brisk walk/run. I was also reading that you should take a day rest in between runs - "Don't build too quickly, and don't go out too fast." So I'm looking at doing a 2-mile run tonight.

Eat 'em up Cats

I ran at the Texas State track again last night. Brian had to be down there to work on school stuff so I took advantage of the track located right next to his building. Only ran about a mile and a half. Stretched my legs a little before and after. I'm wondering if this is going to be an excuse to buy new running shoes soon?? I have had these for about 6 months and did an intense bootcamp in them so they might be wearing down. Any suggestions on the best running shoes to buy on a budget??

Gimme More

There is no way I could run without music. I HAVE to have my mind concentrating on the song, and I have to say, it really does motivate me to start running, keep running, run farther, run faster, etc. When I don't have music to run to, it's very difficult to keep going.
My current running playlist:

Britney

- Gimme More

- Circus

- Womanizer
- If you seek Amy

- Piece of me

- Toxic

- I love rock n roll

Ashly Simpson

- L.O.V.E

Kelly Clarkson

- Since you've been gone

Miranda Lambert

- Kerosene

Kate Perry

-I kissed a girl

Miley Cyrus

- See you again

What songs do you run to?? Suggestions please???!!

You want to run what? Can't you only run a mile? And you're winded after that?

How this half-marathon adventure began:
I was at work, perusing Facebook status updates.
April had a post asking if anyone would be interested in running the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in November...

Simple as that. We met up two days later. And so it begins...

Day 1 of training: Sunday, March 8, 2009

We met up at the Texas State track in San Marcos. April got a little lost. I've been going to that track for a while now and still probably couldn't give step-by-step directions on how to get there. While waiting, I sat on the bleachers trying not to get stung by a few bees that were swarming around the trash can. April arrives. We both admit we are feeling a little queasy/tired from the night before. We went out Saturday night and with the time change, we both felt pretty low-energy But after hearing our boyfriends laugh (ahem, talk) about how we both couldn't do a half-marathon the night before, this is all the motivation we need!

With ipods in hand, we ran a mile. Walked a couple laps, ran another mile. (It's at this time I discover that Britney Spears has some really, really motivating songs to run to). As I told April, two miles down, only 11 to go. We are being realistic, this both being our first half-marathon. But with that comes determination and curiosity about how we will progress. I have to say, I am really glad we have a goal and am even more excited about achieving it.