Prep for the First Half Marathon

Today I felt the effects of poor choices I made yesterday. Yesterday I was able to get a lot of errands marked of my to do list. In order to get it done I had a hamburger, fries and a soda for lunch then a turkey sandwich for supper. Not a good idea, really. I chose these foods as a matter of convenience and economically it was cheaper than going in somewhere to sit down and eat. I could feel my food allergies all awry today. My bones aches and my legs felt like moving lead. I write this so maybe next time I say it won't matter I'll be more likely to remember.

Last Saturday was my last long run as I prepare to taper down for this race on Sunday. I did 10 miles, that's my longest run. I've learned to fuel around mile 8 with honey and water so I won't "bonk" or give out before I'm finished. I'll take honey with me on the race next weekend, but have been advised to take it at mile 4, 8 and 10. I learned from listening to a the Zen and the art of triathlon training to get the honey packets at Whataburger because they are 100% grade a honey. Thanks for the tip!! I'll fuel this week by eating rice noodles, sweet potatoes and rice, but not too much or I'll gain weight.

After the group run on Saturday a friend who is also running the 3M Half and I drove the course. It's predominantly downhill, but yet there are still some hills. It's not an out and back course, so we start on the north side of town and end in South Austin. There will be a shuttle to take us back up North.

After this race I plan on doing some speed work and continuing to build my base. Until recently I was not able to run 6.2 miles without walking. I'll work more on improving this and hopefully I'll be able to drop some more weight. I'm sure that if I eat fewer sandwiches and fast food I'll drop more weight.

School starts next week and I've always been challenged to find foods that are convenient, cheap, fit in my diet and yet fuel my runs/workouts. I had finally gotten good about taking salads for lunch, but they don't give me enough fuel for an afternoon run. Tacos would be great, but they are a pain to assemble in a small cafeteria and all the bowls to wash that night create a nightmare. I'll be in San Marcos on Wednesday and Round Rock on Thursday. Thursday's are late night and Friday's I'm back at work at 7 am.