Gourmet Runner

Once upon a time I was an awesome zen runner. I would run outside with no music and focus on my breathing and each footstep. Up until about six months ago I never had entertainment of any kind when running - and that includes a twenty miler on a treadmill with nothing to listen to or watch. In my defense, my own thoughts are pretty entertaining. I can easy fill three hours of running with thoughts like "I can't believe I can run so far. I'll totally run an ultra one day," " I wonder if Kim Kardashian's butt is real?" and "holy crap this is the worst feeling ever I'm never running again ". For years people have been telling me to shut up and I could never understand - I'm incredibly interesting. But one day I just...got sick of myself. I know, it seems impossible. But it happened. So I got some headphones and busted out my iPod to listen to some music. I ran my first race with music last November (Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon)...

One hour change and now it totally feels like summer - how does that happen? Yesterday I ran 13 miles with my friend who completed her first 20 miler (she's training for the Knoxville Marathon) and I got pretty sunburned. I promise I wore sunscreen. But I was outside for almost three hours in total and it was a gorgeous 70 degree afternoon, so....I got burned. Luckily it wasn't as bad as last summer's sunburn tramp stamp: That was super fun. I also managed to get my drink on a few times this week. I don't drink much but for some reason warm weather gets me in vacation mode. I had a strawberry daiquiri last night with some friends and it was perfect - ridiculously sweet and super low in alcohol content. Just the way I like it. I also had some Bass beer this week from the UK. It's actually made in the little town my grandparents live in (Burton-upon-Trent) so it felt really nostalgic. When I wasn't busy boozing (when did I get so old and boring that ...

This morning Tim had to work in Chattanooga so I decided to be seriously exciting and....also work this morning. I know, I know. When does the fun STOP , am I right? This afternoon we were so close to hitting a rave and then getting our midday drink on but then we just decided to go all out and hike around a Civil War Battlefield along the historical trail and check out the monuments instead. Scene of the Crime : Chickamauga Battlefield National Park (AKA that place I ran a marathon that one time). Turns out it is a lot more fun to hike the trails at a moderate pace than it is to run for 26.2 miles. Go figure.  We covered 9 miles in about three and a half hours. This accounts for a little snack break and maybe also an impromptu photo shoot where we wanted to see if we could remember how to do cartwheels. Heads up: we can't. Well, maybe technically we can but it's not pretty.   That's right, Tim. If I'm going down I'm bringing you with me. See that blue sk...

First - a question. It is possible to truly "race for fun"? No, really. REALLY. I mean, even people who use races as training runs are still using it for something productive - to gain endurance, learn how to fuel properly, test out race day clothes, etc. Personally, if I'm going to pay money to run a race I'm going to race. Not jog. Not see how it goes. Not just prance around for fun. Race. It might not always go well but I'll try. So when I heard about the Color Run a few months back I was intrigued. It's not a race for time. It's a race that you want to last as long as possible because it's so freaking fun.  I contacted the race director right away and asked him some questions about the race. He got busier and busier....because this race is blowing up. Most of the destinations sell out instantly - including Atlanta. Luckily they announced this week that there will be an encore race in Atlanta on April 7th - and I get to give away two race ...

Even though I feel like hiding anytime someone mentions racing right now, I still managed to sign myself up for a race next week. Yes, if you're counting - that's two races in four days to the girl constantly crying about how she is having a hard time running. Stop reading now if you hate hypocrisy. Since my GI drama and hip pain (and mental blockage...and maybe laziness, too) are preventing me from running a full marathon next weekend, I'm downgrading to the half. And for fun, I'm running a local 2 miler next Thursday too. My local running club hosts this two-miler for St. Patrick's Day every year and I'm really excited to participate. It's going to be a small race and even though I won't be breaking any land speed records I will definitely be getting a PR! Mostly because, um....it's my first ever race of this distance. The way I see it even the worst case scenario has me being done with the race in 20 minutes. And I can do anything for 20 m...

I feel like I am getting the hang of this early morning workout thing. For the record, I would like to be clear about what constitutes an "early morning" for me. If I'm working out by 7 that's basically the middle of the night. You crazies with your knuckle lights who hit up the streets before the bars close from the night before are my idols. My biggest problem with waking up and working out straight away (aside from sheer laziness) is that it's COLD. Yeah, yeah...I know I live in Georgia and I need to give it a break. But in the morning it's still cold so I feel the need to bundle up while I walk all of 18 feet from my closet to the room where I workout. I think it's a pretty dang sexy look: By "sexy" I do mean a little creepy. I don't where my impish face came from but let's blame it on the early morning, shall we? This morning the workout was 35 minutes of spin with intervals whenever the chorus of the song came on. I also did ab...

I was kind of on the fence about doing a weekly recap for the last week. After my disappointing half marathon I'm kind of floating around without a plan. I've pretty much decided that a marathon on March 18th is off the table. I flip flop back and forth all the time but I know it will be much easier on my body to do the half. I am fine with all the decisions I made the last week for me and for my body - but I was still thinking, "Can't post this on my blog. Everyone will see my lack of miles and no long run!"  Guess what? Nobody cares. I have to get out of the mindset that I need to run an extra mile or pick up my pace for the people who read the blog or check my stats on Daily Mile. Seriously - I can't believe I even have to tell myself that. I run for me . The end. That said, here's last week for you: Monday: 30 Minutes of Spin, 35 Minutes of Upper Body and Core ST. Tuesday: Ran 3 Miles, 30 Minutes of Lower Body ST. Wednesday: 35 Minutes of Sp...