Back on track

Hooray! I ran 2.5 miles yesterday, and it felt really good. No injuries, AND I stretched afterward. Leaving work early today and going to run in a park in Wheaton that has a long paved path.

SHOES

p.s. Katie, good idea getting fitted for shoes at Fleet Feet...my friend Julie just bought hers there I think, and she said they're the best she's ever had. I forgot what the brand name is--it's definitely one I haven't heard of before. But I will find out and keep you posted! I know they were around $100. How much were yours??

Need to Start Running STAT

Hi girls!

Okay, I'm determined to get back on track. For reals. I want to feel good and look good--most importantly though, I don't want to die whilst trying to get through the 7th mile, okay?! So I'm going to the gym today (its been over a month now I think since I've visited) and I plan on running at least 2 miles....that's not even enough, but it's a start.

Here I go.....and p.s. those restaurants looked really good, but expensive!! Where else are we planning on going before the race? We're going to be there for a few days before so we should probably figure that out...maybe we should consider just laying out by the hotel pool and eating lots of carbs?? Okbye!!

It's the weekend!

Hi ladies!!!

It's get-back-on-track weekend. Reagan, mostly I mean you.

But I've also been slacking. I only ran once this week, and strugged through 2.5 miles. I suck. Seeing as we are now nearing the start of October, we should be aiming to try to run 4 miles this weekend. Let's do it!!

Also: I know we're using the schedule as a guide, but if we get behind a week or two, it's not a HUGE deal. We should try to keep each other on track, but with trips, job stuff, family crises etc. bound to pop up, we need to be flexible.

Once we get up to the 6-8 mile range, I have a feeling we'll find running long distances a lot easier. It's just starting out and conditioning your body to do the longer miles in the first place that's the tough part.

P.S. Did I mention how much I love walking??

More motivation

Here are some restaurant ideas for out post run celebration dinner...

http://www.craftrestaurant.com/craftsteak_lasvegas.html
- Owner is Tom Collicchio from Top Chef. Read great reviews, and not as pricy as a lot of other places.
http://www.mandalaybay.com/dining/fleurdelys.aspx
-French Restaurant- More Pricey, but I hear it is yummy
http://www.mandalaybay.com/DINING/mix.aspx
-My old company did a show on this place- looks good, but again more pricey than Craft

Being a complete Top Chef geek, my vote right now is for Craft Steak.

Hooray for rest day

1) I am sore!

2) Running with a partner definitely makes it go faster.

Shit, if he can do this, we can run 13 miles...

Run, Izzard, run and run again

By Claire Heald 
BBC News 

It's the last leg of Eddie Izzard's 43 marathons in 51 days. How did the less than athletic comic pull off such a feat of endurance?

Running into London's Trafalgar Square on Tuesday, Eddie Izzard took the last of 1.6m steps, from the 43 marathons he has completed in 51 days.

He has run at least 27 miles a day, six days a week, over the past seven weeks, covering more than 1,110 miles of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The aim - to raise what he calls, in classic whimsical Izzard style, "billions" for charity Sport Relief.

Just the one marathon race is enough for super-fit modern athletes, and the pinnacle of achievement for "fun runners". The suggested recovery time afterwards is two to three weeks.

It seemed impressive enough when hardened explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes ran seven marathons, in seven days, on seven continents in 2003.

So how has Izzard, a 47-year-old with no previous aspiration to emulate Paula Radcliffe, made it through so many since his first marathon in July?

And if he can run 43 marathons in a row, can it really be that difficult?

Absent toenails

The secret does not lie in strict training. Where athletes devote a life to running and amateurs clear the diary for months before a race, Izzard admits to only five weeks of prep.

Indeed, during the course of his schedule he has demonstrated what sports scientists call a "training effect" - he has sped up instead of slowing down, from about 10 hours to just shy of five.

It's a positive, if unexpected, benefit of all the running.

Some nay-sayers wonder whether a 10-hour marathon really counts, arguing that it is little more than a lengthy sponsored walk.

And Izzard himself admits people no longer believe how many races he has run. "I might as well say I've just eaten a car."

But run them he has, despite the painful physical cost of the friction, the impact on his body, and the mental struggle to get up every day and run.

Before each race, his feet are bandaged. He has lost toenails, and one ankle ligament is seriously sore.

"My feet blistered up terribly, then started healing when I shoved them in surgical spirit," says Izzard. "Then they reblistered because you've got new skin coming through.

"Blisters upon blisters are not very nice. It's the pain. Like the pain from mouth ulcers, it's not a massive area but sharp and quite agonising."

Daily ice baths are a necessary evil, he says, "to stop your legs inflating to twice the size of an elephant".

Body eats itself

And internally there is more, albeit temporary damage, says sports scientist Professor John Brewer, of the University of Bedfordshire.

With each run sapping about 3,000 calories, Izzard's body will be eating its own fat stores to keep going.

The force of four to five times his weight slamming through each foot, with every step he takes, takes its toll on muscles, tendons, ligaments.

Haemoglobin - the blood protein which carries oxygen around the body - will be broken down by the power of his own frame repeatedly crushing it in his feet.

So is completing these punishing runs miraculous?

It seems not.

"He should be commended for showing that anyone can unlock that running potential," says Prof Brewer.

"Our bodies are designed to run because that's genetically how we developed - to catch food and avoid being someone else's food. We have enough body fat to sustain about 40 marathons."

“ I would definitely put him closer to the Kenyans than to the man in the diver's suit ” 
Andy Dixon, Runner's World

Although it's better to build up slowly, Izzard will benefit from reshaped muscles, more efficient organs, and boosted blood vessels.

And expert commentators are impressed by his endurance.

"In terms of the sliding scale of marathon runners, I would definitely put him closer to the Kenyans than to the man in the diver's suit," says Andy Dixon, editor of the racer's bible Runner's World.

"Covering 26 miles in a day at whatever speed for 43 runs, it's demanding.

"A five-hour marathon is a fairly decent pace. It's a massive achievement. The big difference is raising yourself to do it again and again and again - physically and mentally. I can only imagine the suffering he's going through."

The relentless runners in life, the real Forrest Gumps, do exist. Take American He-man Dean Karnazes, a brawny type who brands himself Ultramarathon Man.

For him, 50 marathons across 50 US states in 50 consecutive days, only to run back to the start, is a mere jog.

Perhaps the real surprise is that the British equivalent is a once well-upholstered comedian, and sometime wearer of heels.

What we have to look forward to...

I got my new shoes at Fleet Feet... one of those places where you are required to be a runner to work there, you know. So the girl helping me asked what I was running for, and I told her Vegas. She is also running in Vegas, but, naturally, she is doing the full marathon. ANYWAYS, here is what she had to say about the Vegas Marathon...

"Vegas is funny. Like, every couple of years, there is, like, 2 inches of snow the day of the marathon. Usually it is 65 and sunny and perfect for a marathon, but, like, every couple of years there is a bunch of snow. It is so weird!" (continues to tie my shoes as I stare at her in horror)

I'm saying it right now... if there is 1 centimeter of snow, or even snow in the forecast, my ass isn't moving from the roulette table! Zero/double zero, here I come!!!

Some pretty pictures of Vegas

What happened to my sister?

Reagan?? Where you at.

We demand an update on your progress. Last I heard, you fell off the treadmill at the gym, much to the amusemment of our fellow gym-goers and to the embarassment of your nearby family members.

So, it's been awhile....

I am sorry!

I totally dropped the ball on this. My last post was in July, and it's now mid-September! According to Hal Higdon's Half-Marathon Training Program, we should be preparing to run five miles this week.

Here's where I am: I tried to run a mile yesterday and could barely do it. Since the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon in mid-August, I have been totally slacking. Work got in the way, and there are thousands of other excuses. But I am READY to start this up again! Although after yesterday's short run, I am feeling nervous and anxious....13 miles is a LONG way from where I am.

Anyway. First thing I have changed in the past few days: My eating. I will touch more on this later, but for now let's focus on breakfast.

For breakfast, I usually eat eggs (1 whole, and egg whites) and sometimes turkey sausage, and wheat toast w/ peanut butter. According to Women's Health, it's the ideal breakfast because:

1) Eggs and turkey sausage have TONS of protein. Always a good thing to eat in the morning. Protein helps your muscles recover quickly after workouts.

2) Wheat toast provides the carbs, but the good kind (white bread essentially breaks down in your body very quickly, making you feel hungry again in a short period, whereas whole wheat breaks down slower, keeping you fuller longer). Also, peanut butter provides just a little bit of the good kind of fat that helps keep you feeling full. (mono and poly unsaturated, as opposed to saturated)

So there you have it: an ideal combination of protein, carbs, and healthy fat. Breakfast really is the most important meal, as it sets the tone for the rest of the day. You are less likely to gorge later when you have revved your metabolism properly in the a.m.

So EAT BREAKFAST, people. Have a nice day.