It's almost game day

8 days til game day! I'm lying here in bed. The race enters my thoughts and I get butterflies. I haven't gotten butterflies in so long. It's so scary and exciting at the same time. I am doing this! All the training, pain, 5am wake ups, mosquito bites, and tears come down to this. I was thinking about the half-marathon today. I was thinking this is not that big of a deal, anyone can do this I'm not that great of a person. But for once, even if it was just in my brain I was going to say screw that and give myself some credit. I am going to run 13.1 miles! That is awesome. I am so excited. I am worried though, because I seem to easily mentally pysch myself out. I wish I would have documented more along the way but I'm not going to dwell on that now. I am just going to spend my time with my eyes on the goal and the thought of me having that medal around my neck. :)

Week 9 Peeps

Wow week 9! I haven't updated in a while but unlike my old life just because I haven't updated doesn't mean I've been failing and too ashamed to admit it. I have still been doing well. I did have to skip one run this last week because I think I may have been over training a bit because I got really sick after a run at the gym. I started buckling down on my diet this week. Trying to eat clean all week and give myself one cheat day. So far so good I have been somewhat going over my calories. I'm trying to stick to 1500 calories per day I might go over a bit on days that I run. But o boy I am having some massive cravings! All I want is pizza, burger king and olives. Started dreaming about food this week, literally. Which I always hate because whether I'm dieting or not food seems to creep it's way into controlling my thoughts, and that's just wrong!
Tomorrow is an hour run before work. Better get some good sleep! O Daisy Mae is doing a little better. She went running with me a couple days ago. It's good to have her back. :) Good Day.

Week 6

Second time this week going on a jog before work! I'll tell you what, when that alarm goes off at 520 I am not in the mood to run. But shucks, I ate pizza last night so I gotta. It went well. It was still dark outside when I started. After my run and once I got to work my right knee started hurting! Ugg! I am trying SOOO hard to avoid injuries while training. O, you know what? I haven't lost any weight in my 6 weeks of training! So frustrating! Granted I have still be occasionally eating pizza here or there. But still, not nearly as crappy as I used to. And I'm exercising nearly 6 days per week. So I don't quite understand.

My sweet Mae is still coughing. I started her on antibiotics just in case she has an infection. I was going to take her running this morning but she was coughing quite a bit. So she went back to bed and I ran 3 miles! LOL
Until next time...

Sick running partner

My sweet little running partner is sick. Little Daisy Mae started coughing a couple days ago. I'm worried. I am a veterinary technician so I'm a little paranoid. But, I'm just hoping is is something simple and fixable like kennel cough or something. I will be doing the rest of this week without her. :(

Last run went well with Daisy didn't stop to walk except for warm up and cool down. I skipped my cross training today and ate McDonalds! Ugg.  Tomorrow is my long run, I'm back to building mode so this week is another 4 miles. Wish Daisy could come.

Holy Cow Week 5 already

Week 5 and doing really well! Week 4 I took a good turn, for the better! I was able to run without walking for 3 and 4 miles. That is really quite the accomplishment for me. Also, I feel good when I'm running. I don't really feel "cardiovascular tired" but my legs, ankles and knees get tired. Usually I am able to run through the discomfort though. So I am really excited. I had a couple of really good runs last week.
Tomorrow I am going to try to go for a morning (before work) run with Daisy Mae. We will see if I can get up at that time. ;)

It's gotta be the socks

After much research. I splurged on a pair of compression running socks. I encourage anyone to research them.
Because of my roller derby accident I was already experiencing ankle issues on my second week of training. I did some research and found that these compression socks can help with ankle problems, shin splints etc.

I decided to purchase the CEP compression running socks. http://www.cepcompression.com/
And I'll have to say, I was a little skeptical, especially for 40 bucks! But I could tell the difference immediately. First of all, when I purchased them I was concerned about how these things are going to fit. I mean, "compression" doesn't sound that comfortable when you are running.  Also, I have huge calf circumference. I get compliments on them often, but trust me, it's not by my doing, I was blessed with muscular legs. I was pleased to find that they offered several different sizes, depending on calf circumference. Anyways, long story, short. I forgot I even had the socks on! Then, half way through my run I was like "why am I doing so much better today?" Then it hit me. It has to be the socks. This is my review after wearing them on one run.  Check them out for yourself.

Nervous

Yesterday I went for a run without stopping! First time I have been able to do that since I started training. Granted it was only 1.6miles but considering a couple weeks ago I could run for 2 minutes without stopping, I think that is pretty good. Plus it was sprinkling rain at the time as well.

Tomorrow is my long run day. I am supposed to run a total of 5 miles. I'm nervous, I haven't ran that long in a very long time. We will see how it plays out. I am definitely getting stronger and more endurance.