With 7 days left until my first half marathon I'm feeling good about my progress right now after running a solid 10k upon my return from LA this evening. I think the endorphins can be contributed to an earlier nap and a few days off of running. My schedule got a bit goofed up this past week as I traveled bi-coastal from Florida to Los Angeles and the time change exhausted me. I caught a cold on the plane and felt really congested and sleepy when I arrived on the west coast, so I listened to my body and went to bed early 2 nights in a row. Mentally I did not want to deviate from my routine, but my body was screaming for rest so I did not run Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I hated missing 3 in a row. Saturday I still felt congested but decided my body needed a light run and it was time to sweat out the junk. The 2 miles I did on Saturday were easy and felt great. Today was a travel day beginning at 5am. When I got home in the late afternoon I ate, took a rest and then headed out the door for my scheduled 6 miler. Ahhh, back on schedule, but my usual routine is to run early in the morning to beat the heat, of course that couldn't happen today due to circumstances described and I'm happy for it because I enjoyed mixing things up with a run at dusk. Mixing things up is good for keeping it all fresh, and I know it's important to do this as to not get too comfortable. This evening I really focused on my running form, deep breathing and repeating positive affirmations. Each mile got a little faster and I ended strong with an 11:42 time for the sixth mile. While this is not fast to some, it is an improvment from where I started doing 14 minute miles. I can't wait to do a 5k in 29 minutes one day soon.
The perfect end to my 10k tonight was drinking a semi frozen chocolate Muscle Milk, which tasted like a shake. YUMMY! I've said it before, and I will say it again, replenishing right after a workout makes you feel stronger immediately. I'm all about the nutrtion these days and the benefits of Muscle Milk are numerous. Visit Muscle Milk.com website for the scoop on sustained energy and why this prodcut is a powerful protein drink post workout.
Interestingly enough, Muscle Milk has partnered with the Chicago Cubs. Muscle Milk is distributing a limited edition bottle with the Chicago Cubs logo and baseball stitching incorporated into the bottle design. You can pick up your limited edition bottle at Chicago-area Jewl-Osco stroes through the end of August. The Muscle Milk tie-in is the latest marketing move at the Cubs under Wally Hayward, the recently-appointed chief sales and marketing officer for the team. Cubs fans can now visit www.musclemilk.com/chicago for a chance to win the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Cubs home game. So fun!
Finally, thank you to the most recent people who have donated to Theo's race to cure. Breda, Joe, Mary, Pete and Vicki you are so sweet! After my half marathon I will list all the people that gracioulsy donated to Theo. He is the real reason I am running, and HE WILL WIN!
Talk to you soon...
xo
The Roadrunner
