Less than a week until the half marathon!!!

Well the race is one week away and I am super excited for it!  OK maybe super excited is a slight exaggeration but I am looking forward to conquering this goal.  Yesterday I ran my longest difference ever! 10 Miles!!!  But let's back up another day...

So as I have previously mentioned, I am a huge fan of the Biggest Loser, and I just found out that Tara from season 7 is going to be at our half marathon! (Although she is pretty baller so she is probably running the full)!  So I have been feeling particularly unmotivated since having the flu and was seriously questioning my ability to complete this race.  Fortunately, Matt decided to be my Bob Harper the night before last and gave me a Biggest Loser style workout... meaning I complained, whined, almost cried, swore, and oh yes, fell off the treadmill.  The only part that was missing was puking, and to be honest, I came close!

First he made me run intervals--first sprints for about 12 minutes and then walk uphill at a 12 incline (at about a 3.5 speed) for the next 8 minutes.  Then he made me do a series of ab workouts and then some jumping jacks.  I had to count out loud to 50 jumping jacks...I got weak around 45 and stopped, so he told me I had to do 10 more...that taught me to challenge my trainer! LOL!  Then I ran a mile in 7:36 (1 second away from my 7:35 goal)!!!  I am getting closer!  Then I stretched out some more and then walked up a 10 incline for another 20 minutes.  All in all, it was a fantastic workout--I was incredibly sweaty and worked out!!!

So now we are up to yesterday... my big 10 miler!  This run was both physically painful and mentally challenging.  The hardest part was probably looking down at my pacer/tracker and seeing that I had run 3 miles and knowing that I had 7 more miles to go... talk about a mental test!  I ran on the American Tobacco Trail and it was absolutely gorgeous!  It was a nice 75 degrees out (although this ended up getting a little warm and I got very very thirsty even though I had my trusty water bottle belt!)  It was nice to see all of the families out bike riding together and the other runners...it was very inspiring to see so many people enjoying the outdoors!

I am learning new things about myself and my running style each time I run.  I still need new socks, as I continue to get blisters on my right foot.  I also know that I need to drink wayyy more water before I start the run, as I was very thirsty the entire time I was running--at least they will have water stations along the way to keep me fueled!

In addition to water, runners need proper food to get themselves fueled up.  Now I am by no means the healthiest person in the world, and YES I do sometimes eat ice cream while watching Biggest Loser!  But whatever, that is neither here nor there...

Anyway, I thought I would share with you all a great staple for any runner or athlete who is looking to fuel up in the morning.  I got this recipe from none other than Jillian Michaels...

Take two whole grain waffles and toast them.
Spread each with a 1tsp of almond butter and 1tsp of honey (each waffle).

Then slice a banana and place on top (I used a whole banana although Jillian suggests half--I just don't like saving bananas for later when they are already open and I don't want to waste them either).