WEIGHT LIFTING! BOO-YAH!!!

Two weeks ago my hips were hurting VERY badly from all the running. My feet were cramping, knees complaining... It was not good at all. I could feel that I was on the verge of injury that may have hung me out to dry and forced me to give up on the upcoming race (aka bucket list event.) I read all I could about what to do to STOP an injury in it's track, what to do to make sure I am preventing injuries etc etc... Here's what I have learned: 

Tip #1: Lift weights. Especially focus on the core, lower back, butt and hamstrings. 

Tip #2: Stretch.

Tip #3: Run less.

Tip #4: Rice. Ice. Compress. Elevate.

Tip #5: Take anti-inflammatories

So...I have added weight lifting, cut running back to three days a week, resumed stretching, and have made my ice pack and ace bandages my new best friends. I have been taking motrin as needed. And wouldn't ya know it...the experts were right! Less sore, better results, easier runs, not as totally exhausted or starving all the time. 

I also started doing upper body weight training. My arms are looking pretty good already, if I do say so  myself. My back is pulling in tighter as well. I am pretty pleased with this. I want to be strong. I want my arms to be impressive, and I am not afraid to admit it. Someday, bulging biceps and impressive triceps WILL be mine! And that weird, old lady, turkey waddle back-of-the-arm thing WILL be gone if it kills me. Oh...and...I WILL have a back with those cool muscles between the shoulder blades and...all over. 

OAN: I have not weighed myself in a little while. I became far to obsessed with the numbers. It has been liberating, but also slightly nerve racking. I will start using the one to check body fat and muscle mass percentage again once I feel like I have fully refocused on what healthy living vs just losing weight. In the mean time, I am really pushing myself to eat as healthy as I ever have, and to focus on strength again. I even opened a jar today, and I didn't even need to run it under hot water or bang it with a knife to make it happen. GO ME!!!!

 :) 

Vegetables Rock

A little while ago I posted a blog about a tasty recipe with veggies and pasta. I tried it last week and keep making it, over and over. Why? Because it is SOOOO good! And It is loaded with veggies, and veggies ROCK.

Wanna stay full after eating a meal? Add lots of veggies.
Wanna lose weight? Eat veggies.
Wanna lower cholesterol, blood pressure, add vitamins, minerals and fiber to your diet? Add veggies.

Getting the picture?

I adjusted the recipe a little bit. I cooked the chicken AND pasta in broth (chicken, but veggie would work too if you are a non-meat eater.) I chopped up all the veggies and had them set aside until the chicken was fully cooked, then tossed them in and BARELY cooked them, just enough to add a hint of flavor.

I am so enjoying this meal! It's super light and perfect for summer.

Did I mention...VEGETABLES ROCK!!!

Say WHAT?!?!

Ok I am not a sucker for the "latest and greatest craze" when it comes to eating and drinking healthy a fad (uber amounts of green tea etc etc.)

BUT...

A fad that is a CHOCOLATE drink?
Where do I sign up?

http://thebarrestudio.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/brewed-cocoa-the-hottest-new-fat-burning-drink-you-probably-havent-heard-of/

I WILL be trying this. Soon.

This Weeks Plans:

On running days: run (obviously.)
On the off days: do weights and core work. Everything I am reading says "strong core help you be a less injured runner," as well as "have a strong butt, your knees will thank you" and "jump rope on your off days helps with better running form." So noted.
On Sunday: rest.
I will need it.
Will keep ya'll posted on how it goes.
Wish me luck.

Adjust Your Focus

Sometimes, in the old days, when one tried to take a photo, the camera would get out of focus and unlike the new fancy-schmancy cameras, the old ones had to be manually adjusted, while the human operating the thing peered through the lens, hoping to get the focus just so. 

Life is often like those old cameras, and we have to carefully, with thorough and detailed persistence, adjust our focus. 

At the beginning of the year, I had razor sharp focus on being strong, fit and healthy. Then I started to lose weight and for whatever reason, I got out of focus. Seeing myself in the mirror as a smaller version of myself freaked me out. I started to focus on the wrong numbers and for the wrong reasons. I lost sight of "fit" and focused on "thin." I really don't want to be a thin or skinny person (see previous posts.) That is not my ideal at all. What I DO want is to be VERY fit, and to have that as my lifestyle. 

My goals lens, for whatever reason, has been out of focus for a couple of weeks. 

The last couple of days I have REALLY been focusing and working to remember why I started this lifestyle change in the first place. I have worked to remember what my original goals looked like in my head, and have been working hard to adjust my focus. My sister Emily suggested I go back and re-read some of my earlier blog entries, and doing that helped a great deal.

What do I want? Strength. Muscle. A powerful body. A capable body. THAT is my focus. THAT is what I want. And THAT is NOT weak, vulnerable or easily controlled by others. What I want, is strength in ALL areas of health and life. 

Focus: adjusted. 

(Why be strong, capable and healthy? Because one never knows when something like the "Hunger Games" is actually going to happen, and damn it, if it does, I want to be able to stand a fighting chance. Ya know? Kidding...mostly.)

BTW: The woman in that photo is Miranda O. She was the coach at the CrossFit I use to go to. She is truly an inspiration to me :) I didn't get permission to use this photo and I apologize to anyone if it's not ok for me to use it. Should you (whoever doesn't want me to post it) stumble across this, let me know and I will remove the photo.

Again With The Mind/Body Connection Thing (And a Yummy Pasta Recipe Too)

Ok so when I decide I am going to do something, or learn about it, I tend to geek out on it a bit. I get online and head to the book store or library and do a crap ton of research. This happened at the start of the year with eating healthy. I wanted to know what REAL healthy eating looked like, so I found out and then did it (and still do to a great extent.)

 Now it's on to healthy weight and life style. The topic du jour: How to let myself be ok with being thin, how to not freak out and feel like a moving target, how to be ok with being a less big version of me. Again, geeking out. When I googled "mind body connection weight loss" I got this:

See that middle set of photos? Same guy (well, ALL the photos are the same guy but the middle two are the ones I find most interesting ). His name is Jon Gabriel and he spent years on every diet on the planet trying to figure out how to lose weight. He was an EXPERT on weight loss. Unfortunately, like myself, he was also an expert on weight gain. He started doing TONS of research, going to school to learn about how the human body works, super duper geeked out on the topic of healthy living. He realized there's a MASSIVE connection between mind and body, and some people's mind simply tell the person, "Hey um...you don't want to be thin. There's danger in that." I watched the movie "Hungry for Change." This is where I first came in contact with this guy, and with the idea that mentally, I have sometime against being thin. I thought about it for a while, originally thinking it was a crock of crap because I want to be thin and fit more than I want pretty much anything right now. But then, when watching the film for a second time, I heard a line and it made me cry. "How will I keep myself safe in this new, fit body? What will I do to protect myself?" and it made me cry, and I didn't want to think about it. Anytime something makes me cry and I want to avoid thinking about it, it's a pretty good sign that I NEED to be focusing on it, because usually, it's the one big thing I have avoided thinking about. 

So anyway, it's time to find a copy of this guys book (and maybe a few other on changing long held, unhealthy beliefs) and get cracking. More work to be done. I have to succeed at this. 

OK PASTA RECIPE!!!! 

In an effort to cut sugar our of my diet, I started looking for a pasta sauce that has less sugar than the usual. It's a sneaky hidden ingredient in the stuff. I just ate some of Newman's Own, and since I don't eat sugar on a regular basis anymore, I could taste it right away. SUPER SWEET! Not what I want on my whole wheat, ground flax seed noodles. I am also not eating canned tomatoes or tomato paste. The lining of the cans has a chemical in it that has a strong link to cancer, and I prefer to avoid knowingly and purposefully ingesting the stuff. 

When I was in college, I had to stretch a bottle of pasta sauce out for as long as possible, so I would get creative. I tried lots of things. I often did something similar to what I am posting here, but I usually ended up with extremely overcooked veggies, the skin on the tomatoes were unsavory, and I ate it because I didn't have any other option, not because I actually liked it. I would mix it in with about a quarter cup pasta sauce, hoping it would be edible. I have learned a couple things about cooking since then, and although I still like the idea, have realized how to fix the afore mentioned problems. After eating my dinner tonight, I had this thought, and I THINK (haven't actually tried it yet but I am going to soon and will post results) that is will be good. 

Get some healthy noodles. Cook them. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss. Set aside.

Get some veggies (yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus maybe, peppers for sure.) Also get fresh basil and oregano and maybe rosemary and mint too. 

 Boil the tomatoes and do that cool trick where you dip them in cool water and the skins peel off really easily. Cut all the veggies up into smaller, bite sized pieces. Cut up or just pull apart the herbs. Boil some water. When it's really rolling, toss in the veggies (minus the already cooked tomatoes), NOT the herbs, and let them cook for only about 2 minutes, so they are still pretty crisp and fresh. Strain them. 

Put all veggies, noodles and herbs in a big ol' skillet. You may need to add a touch more olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Heat til warm and yummy smelling. Don't heat too long or it will turn into a big, mushy mess. Top with grated parmasean cheese. Eat it up yum! 

Feel free to add meat. If doing so, cook it in the skillet with some of the herbs, salt and pepper BEFORE you add the veggies and pasta. You really only want them in there long enough to get some of the flavor of the basil etc etc, not to cook them more. The fresher the better.

I am excited to to try this no sugar, high veggie content alternative to pasta sauce. I think it will be super yummy.  

Fat = Safe (or so says my mind)

I know I have written about this before but it has been on my mind more and more lately, so here it goes again:

The mind and the body are connected. To say otherwise is plain old idiotic. Need proof? Try this: Think of something that scares you, that REALLY scares you. (For me it's heights.) Now, go on youtube and watch a video of exactly what that thing is. Half way through said video, notice what's going on with you physically. Tense? Stomach in small knots? Sweating more than usual anywhere? Yup, I thought so. And why is that? You KNOW you aren't actually sitting there in real life facing your extreme fear. It's because the brain doesn't know the difference. It experiences the stimuli of watching the video as real. It's a good thing logic weighs in a little, or you may end up curled up in a ball on the floor crying and hoping you don't wet your pants, depending on how bad your fear is. THAT my friends is mind/body connection.

When you experience a stimuli, your brain reacts, sending messages to your body on how best to respond, and you don't have to do a darn thing to make that happen. It just does.

I am starting to believe that the mind/body connection, for many people, plays a HUGE roll in health and weight management. Let me try to explain why I think this, from my perspective and experience. I understand that this will be different for everyone and I can only speak from my own perspective, so bear with me here.

I have been doing some soul searching lately about a lot of things in my life. Personal relationships. School. Jobs. Where to live. Some pretty big issues. Another on that list is my weight, body composition and health. I have realized, in moments of quiet self-reflection, that in my mind, fat = safe. It's like a cushion that keeps out the world. It's a barrier and a layer of protection. It keeps away unwanted attention. In my mind, thin = weak = small = vulnerable.

Do I logically think that bad things never happen to fat people, that they are never the target of crime or unwanted sexual advances? No. But on some level, for some reason, I believe this to be true. If you are thin, you are weak, you are small and you are a target. I know I do NOT want to be a target. Ever again. I know last time I was thin and confident, I had a bulls eye painted on the middle of my forehead. And boy did they get smacked with a bullet. When I was small, the same bull eyes was there, and holy smokes did it get smacked hard then as well. So it stands to reason that I have this belief help rather firmly in my head. If I am thin, if I am small, bad things will happen.

So my question is: Now that I realize this, and fully understand that this is indeed my belief, and that my mind says to my body "STAY FAT AND STAY SAFE" rather loudly, now what do I do? Where do I go from here? This is a very old message that is pretty firmly set in my mind. How do I change it? Funny, that I have spent 14 years helping kids overcome this exact issue of how to alter perspectives of reality, but when it comes to myself, I have no idea how to start.

I have hit a plateau and need to figure out what to do next. I know changing my thinking is the biggest step. I am VERY aware of how the mind send signals to the body telling it to be hungry, to protect itself, to be safe, that more calories and more unhealthy, sugar and fat rich foods are needed, that I am getting thin and the outline of the bulls eye is returning, that it's time to hurry, be safe, and be fat. I need to figure out how to stop those signals, how to convince my mind that I can be safe as a fit, thin, strong person. Fit = safe. Strong = safe. Thin = safe. These are the messages behind the new reality I need to accept. Or maybe just that those things do not make a difference at all in ones levels of personal safety. I don't know. I really don't know what to make of it. All I know is, this is one belief that needs to be let go of. Soon.

No Really, I NEVER Burn...

I have worked with kids in residential treatment centers for a while now...for a long while actually. Every spring I tell the kids they need to wear sunblock and every spring hear the same thing, "No seriously Polly, I NEVER get sun burned." I let the kids who have darker skin tones (and by darker I mean African-American) go ahead and skip the sunscreen. The rest, however, are not allowed out to play until they bathe themselves in the stuff.

Then I am gone for a day or two. And the other staff, newer to the field of working with teens from other parts of the country, let them run and play in the 4,000 ft altitude, dry air sun that they are not use to. And I return to work, and get to listen to the shock in their voices as they tell me, again, that they NEVER burn, despite the evidence proving them wrong. Even the kids of Native American and Latino descent are shocked to see that they too, are pink, sore and sometimes blistered.

Right. In Chicago, I bet you don't. But here, it's a totally different story. The other thing you don't know is that in Chicago (or Kentucky, or pretty much ANYWHERE else from whence you hail) you are still, despite a lack of a sun burn, doing damage to your skin.

I would love to have my teenage skin back (minus all the breaking out.) No wrinkles, no sun spots, tiny little pores. Alas, I didn't start really using sunscreen til I was in my late 20's. By then, I had multiple sun spots and the wrinkles were settling in.

I now wear sunscreen every day. So far this year I have even remembered my hands. Today I learned that for the first hike of the year, SPF 15 is not quite enough. So noted. Although not a bad burn I am not pleased that  it happened at all. Health isn't just about exercising and eating right. If your skin rots away from cancer, all the good food in the world can't and won't save you.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say, "If I'm going to die anyway, I may as well look good!" and use that as a reason not to care for their skin. Skin cancer is a brutal, horrific way to die. It generally likes to leap to your brain, causing dementia and basically making you go crazy, THEN you die. Ever  watched someone fight cancer? Any kind? Go wander through Huntsman Cancer Institute, then ask yourself if that's how you want to go. Think you'll look good, with a nice tan, when you're dying of skin cancer? Think again. Don't like the feel of sunscreen on your skin, or the smell? Again, wander through Huntsman and see how comfortable the people are, and take particular note of the aromas. Yeah, I can see how sun screen would bother you.

I'm not saying you have to stay pale all year round. I certainly don't. I'm just asking you to be smart. Wear sunscreen. You'll still get color, and you also greatly decrease your chances of getting skin cancer. Take care of ALL of your organs, especially your biggest: your skin.

Week 1 of Half Marathon Training Complete

Today, it was a 4 mile run. Not too bad. The first time I did a four mile run it about killed me. Today, it actually felt really good :) YAY!

This weeks total miles run: 13.

I changed my weight loss goal from a lb and a half a week to one lb a week. It increased my daily calorie intake to a little over 1600 per day.Right now my focus is more on getting ready to run this race than it is on losing weight. The extra calories a week are welcomed. I am SO hungry. I have been working out regularly up til now but running, even though it's just another level of calories burned, is hard work. Harder than an elliptical for sure. But I am loving it.

Thinking, maybe, after the half marathon, it might be time to try a triathlon. Maybe...
One step at a time.

Next weeks projected total miles to run: 15

Try New Stuff :)

Among the things I want to try over this coming year, new foods is on the list.Today's experiment:  


FENNEL

(see image below.)

Not the seeds (which are often placed near the cash registers at Indian restaurants), but the bulb. White, similar to celery in texture, only not as "woody", but FAR more flavorful. Slightly minty and slightly like licorice, it is truly  a tasty addition to may recipes. Tonight, it went into stir fry, then after, I ate about a quarter cup fresh. SUPER yummy. 

So why fennel? 

Like I mentioned, it is full of flavor. Very light, but...filling as well. Plus, it also has many, many healthy benefits. Touted as a natural anti-inflammatory, it is reported to be good for heart health, high in vitamin C, potassium and many trace minerals that are not common in other foods. It is also high in fiber. Some say it has strong anti-cancer properties as well. It is often used to help stomach issues (think of it as a plant based pepto :-). Mothers who have trouble nursing are told it helps being in milk, and since it can help with stomach problems, can also help with colic in babies of mother who eat it. Here are some links if you care to do some reading on the topic. The LIVESTRONG site has many links to research on the plant. The other is just kind of interesting. 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/381916-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-fresh-fennel/

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/fennel-bulb.html

Sound too good to be true? 

Maybe. 

Ya never know.

Here's what I noticed tonight: 

* Upset stomach I was experiencing (ok and some gas too), were helped significantly 

* Breath is fresh and mouth tastes sweet and clean, in a really natural, healthy way. 

* Perhaps it's the potassium, but the pending muscle cramps I have had all day seem to be abating, always a bonus

* Joint pain is noticeably lessened. 

I didn't know that fennel has all these supposed health properties when I bought it and ate it. I saw it online in a recipe and could remember what it tasted like, and for some reason it sounded incredibly good. About a half hour after I ate it, I noticed stomach issues were settling down so I became curious. And lo! So many pleasant surprises. 

My point in sharing this info? To encourage other to try new things too. It goes great in stir-fry, fresh salads (going to mix it in with a spinach and orange salad, think it will be SUPER yummy), and who knows what else. There are many, many recipes online that inclued it, cooked or fresh. So join me! Expand what you eat and the flavors you use! Fun times! 

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Things to Be Proud Of (Real Self-Talk)

Tonight I did day 3 of week 1 of a ten week "get ready to run your first half marathon" training. The first two runs this week, although short, were closer together than I am use to and my knees were telling me to stick to the treadmill tonight, so I did. The ones at my apartment are in a little on site gym, right in front of giant windows that have reflective glass. So, as I ran, I got to see myself...the whole time.

Aaaaallll 45 minutes of running and walking...me, staring back at me...

And here was my thinking and what I noticed and the self-talk that happened:

"Man...I am really looking better than I have in quite a while. Like...seriously. Check me out... Waste: smaller. Hips too. And that weird fat deposit by my shoulder under my collar bone is almost gone...." Running zone out starts to kick in as I settle into a comfortable pace.

Then a couple of minutes tick by and this happens:

"What the...? Is the skin on my upper arms seriously that flappy?! And yes I mean flappy, not flabby. Ew! Look at it ripple with every step. OHDEARLORDTHATISSOGROSS!! I need to start doing push ups again. Like now. Like stop running and do push ups. Strong is good. Flappy arms are NOT good!....No wait...You need to run for the half marathon. Right. Stay on the treadmill, just focus on the good stuff.... So...what was the good stuff again?"

A couple more minutes tick by as I try to remember the good stuff, and do a head to toe review.

I need a hair cut. My skin, outside of being flappy on my arms, looks pretty good. It's clear and bright. Cuter running clothes would be awesome but not necessary. My chest is looking good. Strong. Arms, well, we discussed those already. Stomach: room for improvement but MUCH better than it use to be. Legs...here's an interesting topic. From feet to knees, pretty impressive. A guy at Target even told me so. Good legs run in the family, We are blessed in this area. From the knees up, they resemble my flappy arms: room for improvement, but much better than they use to be. Back: not exactly sure but the push ups I will start doing again on my non-running days are bound to help. Ankles: cute, as usual (when I exercise regularly that is.) I for sure look like a middle age, in shape despite being over weight woman. Overall, not bad. some strong points and some areas to focus on. Lungs: working beautifully. Heart-rate: steady and in a good zone. Muscles: exerting effort but not crying for me to stop. Ok so, areas to focus on have been identified and areas to maintain are noted as well. Excellent. Adjust game plan as needed.

And that was pretty much how it went. I wanted to be honest, but not harsh. When I first noticed my arms and how not-strong they looked, I immediately went into attack and berate mode, which accomplishes nothing but makes me feel horrible about myself.

What I wanted to do was an  truthful self-assessment. Lies, whether too harsh or too nice, only hurt. So I gave myself a head to toe eval that was real, that saw the good, the bad, the ugly, and the "high five yourself because you have rocked it these past three months" areas of my physical being. Some people may be appalled by this. I am not. I want to know where I need to improve. I want to acknowledge how far I have come.

Tonight I hopped on a treadmill for 45 minutes, including warm up and cool down, and ran 5k, non-stop. Three months ago I could barely run for two minutes straight. In my book, that is something for me to be proud of. It is not, however, a reason to say, "Go me! I'm so cool and fit and healthy!" and then stop, or coast along on the success I have experienced so far.

At work I expect feedback as to how well I am or am not doing. I expect it to be honest, frank, and with directions as to how to improve. If I am not willing to do this with myself when it comes to goals and plans and directions I want to go, how on earth do I expect myself to improve.

I hear people tell themselves lies all the time about their health, their weight, their eating habits. They justify. I know what they are doing because I have done it myself, for years. I still find myself slipping back into that habit sometimes. Lying to anyone, but ESPECIALLY to ones self, about anything at all, will only prolong the damage and hurt you are doing.

Be honest. Look at the good, the bad, the ugly and the things to proud of and make adjustments as needed. You don't need to tear yourself down. You don't need to only see the bad. There is PLENTY about you that is good and beautiful. See it all. Acknowledge it all. You deserve to hear the truth, especially from yourself.

Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculations: Trust Them or Not So Much

I just watched a story on NBC nightly news about how the BMI is about 200 years old and not a good way to measure if someone is at an unhealthy weight or not. They showed a picture of a woman who appeared to be slightly overweight, not in very good shape and overall not very healthy. The news caster stated, "This woman was told she was obese, which is shocking to many of us." I thought, "It is?" I have been realizing lately that societies view of what  is a "healthy" body size, is actually quite different than what really IS healthy. Maybe it's because so many Americans struggle with weight issues that the accepted standard is shifting.

I have mentioned my friend Ellie before. She is tall (6 ft), and really very beautiful. She is also thin. It's genetic. Her grandmother was a model, with the typical model body. Her mother is very tall and thin as well. She was recently pulled aside by a coworker and asked if she has an eating disorder. She is one of the healthiest people I know. Thin? Yes. Eating disorder? No.

I have been heavy for a great deal of my life. I recently started eating healthier and getting in shape. This has resulted in my being smaller than I was a couple of months ago. I recently had a concerned coworker ask me if I am "being smart about how fast I am loosing weight" because I am getting too thin. Currently, I am obese. I am no where near too thin, and have not lost weight too quickly. I have made sure of it.

My same friend, Ellie, told me I look great (which I VERY much appreciated.) When I told her that I am still measuring in the "obese" range she was shocked. "How can that be?" she wondered. Despite her own body type, she admitted that her view of what is healthy is warped.

I think her question, combined with societies view of what is and is not healthy, is what the news report was getting at. There are better judges of ones health. There's a blood test that measures levels of a certain hormone (leptin.) There is a body scan that measures bone, muscle and fat density. These two test are FAR more accurate at determining who is truly "obese" and who is not.

All of this having been said, I think what it boils down to is this...

Ask yourself is you are really, truly a healthy eater. Do you REALLY get 5-7 servings of fresh veggies a day? Do you REALLY get 2-3 servings of fresh fruit a day? Do you really exercise regularly? Do you really regulate your sugar intake? Do you REALLY drink about 8 glasses of water a day? If you're in my age group or older, do you have regular doctor visits and get all the necessary tests? Do you know your cholesterol levels? How about blood pressure? Ever had a doctor you're at risk for developing type II diabetes? How's your muscle tone?

Chances are, you know if you are healthy. You know if you have some bad habits you should probably shake. You know, and you know you know.

So, all this drama over "is the BMI a legit way to determine who is obese and who is not" seems a little silly to me. Do you really need a chart to tell you? I bet not. I bet you are VERY aware if you are healthy, or if you are not.  I do think that the BMI can give people a decent idea of where they are, in reality, when it comes simply to a height/weight ratio. And the other two tests are great wake up calls as well. But overall, I think many people are simply comfortable sitting in a quiet unwillingness to be honest with themselves, and they chose to ignore what is happening. I know I have done that, quite well actually, for a long time.The hard part in all of this is getting people to admit  it, and then to do something about it.

Be honest with yourself. Be honest about whether or not you are willing to do what is needed to change, and then be ok with that choice. If you aren't ok with your decision, do what you need to do to ok with your reality and you conscience. Most of all, I hope you're able to love your body to health, not to death.

Easy - Peasy

The official training for a 13.1 mile run began today. First day: run three miles. Easy - peasy! I have worked up to 4.5 twice a week so today's 3 felt like a break.

Tomorrow, a day of rest, followed by three days of small runs like today's. Then, gradual building towards the big day.

My main goal, outside of completing the 13.1, is to do it without injury. THAT is the challenge. I am insisting that I follow the training schedule of slow increases, even if I feel like I could do more. I am also committing, right now, to do the days of rest as scheduled as well. I tend to push too hard and that's when trouble happens.

So tomorrow, even though it will feel lazy to me, I WILL rest. Wednesday, the training will begin again. Ice packs, knee wraps and all.

I CAN do this. I WILL do this. And if I know me, which I think I do, I am going to like this :)